March's Letter

Sixty degrees, banana bread muffins, and made in Italy

There was just one thing on my list as I pulled to a stop at the local nursery: a bag of potting soil. But the warmth of the big greenhouse with its flourishing life inside was too much to ignore and I was soon strolling the gravel pathways between the benches full of green.

A stroll through a greenhouse in February simply restores your soul.

I first experienced this at Bell’s nursery in Anchorage, Alaska, nearly thirty years ago. Inside their beautiful glass greenhouses, Bell’s would overwinter potted and hanging perennials for the local people who owned them. When the wind blew and the snow stacked several feet deep outside, you could open the door to Bell’s and enter an entirely different world. You could sit inside among hundreds of pots of fuscia and geraniums, listen to classical music, drink a cup of tea or coffee from the fancy coffee bar, and soak up warmth and life in a world that was yet far from it.

This was a little like that.

Turns out I had to grab a box to hold everything I hadn’t come for: an angel vine, a maidenhair fern, basil, and a miniature cyclamen in full bloom. Oh, yes, and a bag of potting soil.

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Moments Lately

For remembering that summer is coming

For appreciating another’s frizzy hair

For shaking my head in disbelief

For lighting my way

For sauteing with Brussels sprouts

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Reading Lately

A Gentleman In Moscow - I didn’t understand how a story about a Russian former aristocrat who was on house arrest for the rest of his life in a fancy Moscow hotel following the Bolshevik Revolution could possibly be interesting, so I kept passing this book by. I’m so glad a friend nudged me once again to read it. What a delight! And the ending! I cannot wait to see the mini series coming soon!

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Eating Lately

When you have a stash of frozen ripe bananas, and you have a kid who’s circled back home for a minute to gather himself and his things before setting off again for life’s next adventure, you pull those bananas out, double the recipe, and bake a batch of muffins to pop in a bag and slip into the box that he’s toting out the door, the box that’s full to the brim with a dozen eggs, a half gallon of milk, meat and cheese, and a loaf of bread (and a box of bandaids, too, in case his new boots give him blisters). At least he’ll have food enough for the first day or two in his new place when he arrives out east of here. Wrapping up nourishment and sending him away with it is the best way I know for a mama to take care of her grown up boy.

Banana Nut Bread

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 3/4 cup sifted all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a medium size mixing bowl, with an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat well. Sift together the dry ingredients and add it to the creamed mixture alternately with the mashed banana, blending well after each addition. Stir in the nuts. Pour batter into greased muffin tins, paper muffin liners, or a greased loaf pan. Bake muffins for 25-30 minutes, or loaf pan for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the top comes out clean. Cool slightly and remove from the pan. Serve warm or cool.

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Favorites Lately

• Seed Starting 101 (Almost time!)

• Between the pavers (oh how I love this idea)

• Have willow, make a support (I know where wild willow grows…)

• For stocking up (I needed more, so looked at my favorites in my own collection and they were stamped ‘made in Italy’. There we go.)

• First Bloom (And now I’m dying to know, What is this best brand of peanut butter?)

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The first Gather of 2024 is coming up! Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 16 at 10:00 MDT! If you’d like to come and you’re not yet a paid subscriber, you may simply upgrade at the button below and you’ll be able to join me in our home for an hour on that almost-spring Saturday morning (I’ll likely be planting seeds, drinking tea, and showing you anything else I’ve been up to).