It is Spring and I am Late!

I think spring is here. The temperatures are in the 70s a bit higher than normal, but ever so welcome after so many dark and damp days. My neighbor's tulip tree is in full bloom and ever so gorgeous.

Up to now the weather has been quite cold. The vineyards have been in frost protection mode for several weeks. The vines are just about to "bud break", when the swollen buds open and tiny green leaves start to emerge. Frost during that first period would seriously damage the buds, setting the vineyard back weeks. This in turn endangers the ripening dates; if they start too late, will the grapes be ready before bad weather in the fall? Will so many buds be lost that they reduce the harvest to an economic loss? So, huge fans blow each cold night, or sprinklers spray, keeping the frost at bay.

In my garden all this means is I am already so far behind with the garden that I will never catch up. One day it is too wet and miserable to go out. The next thing I know the sun is out and I am swamped with things have to be done last week and there is no hope of catching up. It has been this way ever since I can remember.

Where I live, zone 8b, today and tomorrow are the days (that moon advice, again) to plant above ground annuals, especially cabbage and all leafy greens. As soon as I post this I am of to the garden. The tomatoes we planted in February are sun bathing on the front porch, as are the onions which should have been planted long ago.

One thing I did get done was to tie up the cardoons. They have to be wrapped to keep out the sun so the stems, the edible part, stay white and don't get coarse and stringy. When I first planted them I did not know about that part and I have to say the stems were tough, stringy, really terrible. If they had not produced those gorgeous flowers they probably would have been in the compost now.

Recipe

If you still have cabbage in your garden, or if you didn't finish what was in the crisper for St Patrick's Day, here is a way to use the rest. This is not an Irish recipe, this one is German.
My grandmother, my mother's mother, was German. She was one of those the U.S Census people deemed "Germans from Russia". Many years ago a census taker was confused by all these people in Texas who spoke German, had a German culture and came from Russia. Investigation showed that there were others in the Dakotas, in Ohio and, in fact, all over the U.S. They were given this special designation. Sometimes I am not sure where Grandma's recipes originated, she made a mean borscht, but this one came from Germany.

Grandma's Bierocks

This is pronounced "beer rocks".

For the filling:

Oil, about 1 tablespoon

1 lb. ground beef

Half a large onion, sliced thinly

About 1/3 or a medium size cabbage, sliced thinly

1 teaspoon table salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Heat a skillet; add just enough oil to film the bottom of the pan. Drop the meat in by pulling it apart into small pieces. As it browns continue to break it up into smaller and smaller pieces. Add salt and pepper. when the meat is full cooked (not dried out) remove from heat and spoon into a bowl.

In the same pan add two tablespoons butter. Over medium heat, saute onions. When they are starting to limp, add the cabbage and continue to cook, stirring, until the cabbage begins to wilt. Add the vegetables to the meat. Stir together and set aside to cool. After the filling has cooled, taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. remember food served cold needs more seasoning than food served hot.

This can be done a day or two in advance.

For the dough:

1 pkg. instant yeast (not "rapid rise")

1 cup warm milk

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons melted butter (or substitute oil)

1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 to 3 cups all purpose flour

1 egg (to glaze the top)

In a large bowl place the first five ingredients and half of the flour. Beat until it starts to become elastic. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time and beat until the dough starts to pull together and come away from the side of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board and shape into a ball Wash and dry the bowl, oil it, and replace the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk.

On a floured board turn out the risen dough and divide into three pieces. Roll and stretch, one part into a square 10 inches by 10 inches. Divide in half and in half again making four equal pieces. Spoon filling onto each piece. Pull the four corners up over the filling and squeeze together. With your fingers, pinch the seams closed. You should have a square pastry with a seam in the form of an x. Place on parchment paper. Continue, using each third of the dough until you have all twelve bierocks formed.

In a small bowl beat the egg and then paint the top of each bierock

In an oven preheated to 375, place the pan of bierocks and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until they have a golden top.

Notes:

If you are really pressed for time; this can be made from a frozen dough from the supermarket, one loaf size. The above dough is an especially nice, very soft dough which works very well here, but time being what it is, do what you can.

These complement a light soup. they are also nice to take on a picnic, pack in a lunch box, provide a quick lunch or just enjoy on the back porch. Serve hot or cold.

They freeze nicely