Bi-Weekly? Bi-Monthly?

Lately my column has only been printed every other week. I could get used to only writing (blathering?) twice a month. Is that considered bi-weekly or bi-monthly? I didn't know, so I looked it up. It seems either term would work. Both mean "every other" or "twice each" month or week. That can be very confusing. The English language is messed up. Either way, I only get a check once a month (and that goes into the bank for the grands). So there's my nugget of good information for you this week.

Since the last Green Spaces column was penned, a lot has happened. We got snow. We got more snow. Boy, did we get snow. We got cold, lots of cold. We got rain. We got ice fog. We got frost. And now we're getting thaws. Mother Nature cannot make up her mind.

I'd said I was going to get the rest of the potatoes and carrots dug the day after I last wrote. With Dennis' help, both chores were completed. I've stored the excess carrots in the spare fridge. They're in old bread sacks, with holes poked through using an ink pen, so they don't draw too much moisture. They did not get washed first. It was too cold, and I'd already shut off the hydrant and disconnected the hoses. I kept enough carrots in my fridge to cover my needs for at least a month (unless I decide to make a carrot cake). Some were delivered to our favorite sports reporter.

The potatoes, both red and golden, were also not washed. I piled them in precarious pyramids until the scant dirt that adhered to them dried. Then the dirt was brushed off. I kept enough spuds here to last at least a couple months. The rest are stored in a couple large styrofoam coolers in the farm's shop. That building doesn't go lower than 40° all winter. It's warmer if Dennis is working in it.

Enough spuds got poked/stabbed with the spud fork that the next day I made a huge pot of my dad's seafood chowder. It's basically potato soup with the addition of canned clams (with the juice) and canned baby shrimp (drained and rinsed to remove excess salt). The soup uses crumbled bacon on top (no ham), and sometimes shredded cheddar added to each bowl. It's especially delicious warmed up the next day. This is soup weather.

There were more injured potatoes than I could use in the chowder, so I boiled them, then shredded them, and froze them for hash browns. They're vacuum-sealed, so should keep for quite a while. I'm going to use a package of them tonight (Saturday night) to go with this chicken recipe I'm sharing. It calls for chicken wings, and is to be grilled, but I'm using a boneless, skinless chicken breast sliced about 1/4-1/3" thick. I stir-fried it after it had marinated about an hour. I recommend keeping the marinating bag in a shallow bowl in case of leaks. I only used half the marinade so I'm using the rest today. I used shrimp sauce in place of the chile sauce. Dennis had asked what I'd done to the chicken, which made me fear the worst, but he said it was great. That's a win: I can keep this recipe.

Maple-Glazed Chicken Wings

2-3 pounds wings

1 C maple syrup

2/3 C chile sauce

1/2 C finely chopped onion

2 Tbl Dijon mustard

2 tsp Worcestershire

1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Cut wings into sections. In a large zip-loc, combine all remaining ingredients. Reserve 1 C for basting. Add wings, turning to coat all pieces. Refrigerate 4 hours, turning occasionally. Drain. Grill, covered, over medium heat, 12-16 minutes. Brush with reserved marinade. Grill, uncovered, 8-10 minutes. (May bake in 375°oven 30-40 minutes.)

I served the chicken with the following rice recipe. This one was also modified by using a mix of brown rice, bamboo rice (from the bulk bins at WinCo - it's a pale green), and wild rice. I used sliced almonds because I'm currently out of slivered. (I keep the various nut meats in the freezer so they don't go rancid.)

Persian Rice Pilaf

2 Tbl butter

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 C slivered almonds

1 1/2 C raw basmati rice

1/2 C golden raisins

1 1/2 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3 C chicken broth

Melt butter over medium high heat. Add onion and nuts. Sauté 7 minutes. Stir in rice and next four ingredients. Sauté 2 minutes. Add broth, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat. Simmer 20-25 minutes or until rice is cooked.

At Eugene's last week, I was stopped and asked what recipes I'd be sharing this week. I didn't know at that time, but here you go, Kurt. I hope you enjoy them. (He said his wife had been a cookbook hoarder, and left him a library of them.) It's good to know some people appreciate that with which I fill this space.

Here's an extra. It's a quick treat, especially good for those of us cutting sugar and wheat flour from our diets. It's a coffee mug treat, and worth finding the ingredients. To your coffee mug, mix together 3 Tbl oat flour, 2 Tbl chocolate protein powder, 2 Tbl coconut palm sugar, 1 1/2 Tbl cacao powder, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/8 tsp salt. Stir in 1/4 C unsweetened almond milk. Fold in 1/2 Tbl sugar-free chocolate chips. Put another 1/2 Tbl sugar-free chocolate chips on top. Microwave 60-80 seconds, or until cake expands to the top of the mug. Watch closely. Serve hot.