Plant Life

I have been thinking about plants a lot lately. I am sure that part of that is due to the gloomy weather. February is definitely the time of year when I begin to long for spring. We haven't had a lot of snow so I shouldn't complain, but looking at all the brown grass gets to be a bit depressing. In light of that, Adam's Valentine's Day gift of flowers was all the more welcome.


The arrangement is lovely--bright, playful, and springy. I don't know what they are exactly, but the big pink blooms made me smile. I hate to admit it, but the pink and purple combination works for me here. Does that mean that I have a pimp's taste in flowers? I probably shouldn't explore that thought so I will change the subject and point out that I was most happy to see the snapdragons. Yes, I did pinch them and made them roar. It seems perfectly appropriate for the day.

The flower arrangement is still surviving, but I know that I will have to say goodbye in a few more days. Our herbs, however, have settled in nicely. My parents gave me an Aerogarden for Christmas and the plants are thriving. It has been one of my favorite gifts.

The Aerogarden is a little hydroponic garden. You set it up, fill the tank with water and nutrients, and put in the little seed cups. We have a standard herb kit. I have really liked watching the plants' growth. I cheered for the tiny seedlings and now I have to get in there and harvest, snip, and trim. Delicious!


You can't really see it in the picture, but there is a very bright light over the garden. The garden requires about seventeen hours of light in the beginning. That has changed to about fifteen hours. I can certainly see why the directions stress that this may not be the best product for those who live in a one bedroom apartment. The light would certainly disturb my sleep. Luckily, the light can be seen from our second floor, but doesn't really get into the bedroom. The light comes on every night at 8 o'clock and goes off sometime during the afternoon.

They claim that you can change the timing on the light. We haven't been able to make that work. It seems somehow appropriate that it is the garden who is the boss. It will tell us what to do and it won't accept argument. As long as I get tasty herbs out of the deal, I can handle that. Tasty herbs without mud and bugs is even better as far as I am concerned. Today I will enjoy the bright light because the rainy weather means there won't be much real sunlight. Tonight, I will be harvesting some of the chives for our baked potatoes and some dill for a dill-horseradish vegetable dip.

Finally, I have been thinking about plants because Adam and I have once again given up meat (except for seafood) for Lent. This time around I am trying not to make this the forty days of dairy. I have been pretty successful so far. We did order a Garden Special pizza for Valentine's and we have had Adam's childhood Lenten dinner (fish sticks and mac-n-cheese), but we have also have had some balance. We have had ramen soup doctored up with baked tofu, peas, mushrooms, scallion and egg. I made peppers stuffed with basmati, lentils, garlic, onion, basil, and tomato. They were baked over a bed of sliced potatoes.

Upcoming menus include: roasted vegetable salad (beets, potatoes, turnips, carrots, green beans over romaine) with Brie and French rolls; salmon over green lentils, served with rice and mixed vegetables; baked potato, broccoli with cheese sauce, honey roasted carrots; shrimp and scallops with pasta (probably a garlic and olive oil)...and so on. I am really trying to stay out of the restaurants and convenience food aisles (though my snack stack won't bear close scrutiny).

It shouldn't be surprising that trying to go out this time of year can be difficult. Actually, it isn't really a problem in Louisville because they have so many restaurants. The Lafayette area presents a slightly bigger challenge. Most of the chain restaurants don't have a lot of options and what they do have may not be the healthiest. You have to want fried, creamy, or cheesy. I suppose the problem is that I am all too ready to get into that. I don't need encouragement.

I guess if it were easy it wouldn't be much of a Lenten sacrifice, would it?

Then again, I can't say that "having" to go out for Chinese, Thai, Sushi, Italian, or Mexican food is something I am going to cry about.

I'll close this post with a joyful (and fruit-centric) poem by William Carlos Williams:

This Is Just to Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold