Weathery Wind And Wordy Wind

Depending upon how you view reading my musings, you’re either in luck, or doomed. There was no major snowstorm on this Monday morning, March 2, just wind. And that wind was more of a breeze than the major gale we experienced Sunday. It had been warm enough that the fresh snow from the week before partially melted and compacted, so very little of it moved in those gusting winds, although it was drifting across the highway closer to Opheim. It’s still whiter up here beyond the Middle of Nowhere than we’d like.

Ah, well, spring is coming. The blues of the sky are somehow a different tint than the wintry blue-grey. Even the clouds seem fluffier and more friendly.

The little birds are returning. I can hear them singing outside when I first wake up, before the noisy tv gets turned on in the other room. They’re visiting the bird feeders, and are hungry enough to not turn up their beaks at the old, musty seed that’s been out there since last fall.

I’ve brought in the feeders from our front deck and beside the walk to our mailbox. The ones out back would require a concerted effort, trekking through two to three foot deep snow, to retrieve. I’ll get the ones I have retrieved cleaned up, refilled, and reinstalled today. Eventually I’ll feel guilty enough to make that trek to get to the other ones, but that won’t happen today.

I caught the radio broadcast about gardening last week. She reconfirmed for me that it’s still much too early to think about starting seeds for us northern gardeners. Yes, the seed displays are arriving in the stores, so dreaming about getting your hands into the dirt is allowed. Actually doing it is ill-advised. So my seed catalogs remain locked away in the dark.

Now I’ll throw in the recipes I tweaked this week. Both of them made enough for a couple of meals for the two of us. The sheet pan meal was better the second time around, which I find to be true of many recipes, notably soups. I might even actually make it as written next time. Sheet pan recipes are amazingly forgiving, and allow for many great variations.

Sausage Sheet Pan Meal

2 C (1 small) red potato

3/4 pd. fresh green beans

1 1/2 C (1 head) broccoli, cut up

1 1/2 C (2 large or 6-7 small) bell peppers, chopped

9 oz smoked sausage (NOT ground)

6 Tbl EV olive oil

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, optional

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbl oregano

1 Tbl parsley flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 400°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Cut veggies into bite-sized pieces. Chop sausage into coins. Put all on foil. Pour oil with spices over all to coat evenly. Bake 15 minutes, flip all pieces, then bake another 10-15 minutes until veggies are crisp/tender and sausage is browned. Sprinkle with parmesan. Serve with cooked quinoa or rice.

My changes to this included using a large russet potato, chopped into 2”x2” chunks. I didn’t have green beans, but I did have a package of Brussels sprouts to use in their place. I cut my single red bell pepper into large chunks, also. I mixed the oil with the seasonings and poured that over the veggies in a large bowl, stirring to distribute it evenly before dumping them onto the prepped baking sheet. I’d sprayed the foil with no-stick spray. Then I added the sliced sausages as well as six slices bacon, cut into 2” pieces, scattering the meat over the top. I maybe should have used two baking sheets, but didn’t. I also didn’t bother turning all the pieces halfway through baking. That would have required too much effort. I didn’t make any rice or quinoa, nor did I sprinkle on parmesan as I was still on the WLC last week. If you don’t like spicy, leave out the red pepper flakes and use non-spicy sausages.

Baked Spanish Chicken Wings

1/2 C dry red wine

1/2 C water

3 garlic cloves

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 1/2 Tbl sherry vinegar

2 tsp sea salt

2 1/2 # wings

Mix all in a large Ziploc, adding wings last. Toss to coat. Squeeze out the air, seal the bag, and marinate in the fridge overnight.

Heat oven to 475 degrees. Put wings on rimmed sheet lined with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Pour marinade over. Bake on middle rack for 25 minutes. Crank oven to broil, leaving pan in same place. Broil 4 minutes or until skins are browned and crispy. While baking, make sauce.

Almond Sauce (for wings)

3 oz raw almonds

5 Tbl EV olive oil - DIVIDED

1/4 C parsley

2 cloves garlic

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Salt & pepper

1/2 C water OR broth

Saute almonds in 1-2 Tbl oil over medium heat. Put in processor, adding rest. Drizzle in oil, puree until smooth. Add water OR broth as needed if too thick. Adjust to taste.

Life got in the way of my plans for this, so my subbed in drumsticks (they were on sale) were marinated for a couple of days. When making the almond sauce, do your puree-ing in a deep container, not the nut chopper! The liquid will shoot out around the lid in a chopper. That maneuver will not only cause a mess, it will result in some colorful language, which could concern your mate.

Side note: Perhaps my mate should consider purchasing an actual food processor for my birthday in May? Or at least said mate shouldn’t fuss about the cost of one should I decide I really need another gadget in my kitchen...

Anyway, drizzle in the water/broth slowly. It may not all be required to make a smooth sauce. Or you could skip this step and just use jarred BBQ sauce should your palate not be refined and you always want all your chicken to taste the same. (Not naming names here, but you know who you are. I still love you, Dennis.)

Addendum: as I was finishing writing this, we experienced a short but intense snow squall. Mother Nature was reminding me that it was Monday, after all.