Gardening: Rosa multiflora

A true poet does not bother to be poetical. Nor does a nursery gardener scent his roses. – Jean Cocteau 

Even just looking at the picture I can smell these roses.

So would you like to have a living fence? I did, and now do. Here’s one that’s guaranteed to grow for you if you’re brave enough. Rosa Multiflora.

I don’t know if I mentioned this last year but this time of the year the air in the village where I grew up is scented with roses. It’s true. And I don’t just mean a little bit. Most places you walk you can actually smell the fragrance hanging in the air. It’s quite something to experience.

Henry, our Bouvier, gives scale to the size of this rose.

Think about it. Not just a corner of someone’s garden, or even their whole garden, but the majority of an entire village. It’s all due to this little beauty: Rosa multiflora.

Actually “little” beauty is a complete misnomer. This thing can be huge.

I found it a little difficult to find the proper name for this plant when I went looking online. It’s always been “that white, wild rose.” Wild it may be, but “introduced” wild, and also a rampant escapee. 

Its first appearance on this side of the Atlantic Ocean was about 1860 in the USA. It was imported from Japan for soil conservation, as a natural hedge to border grazing land, and to attract wildlife. The rose had different ideas.

Native to Japan, it can now be found from Newfoundland and Nova Scotia south to northern Florida, and west to Minnesota, Nebraska, and Texas. It has also made its way to the West Coast from British Columbia to California.

Rosa multiflora has many different names including baby rose, Japanese rose, many-flowered rose and seven-sisters rose.

Multiflora rose is a perennial shrub that forms very dense, impenetrable "clumps." Single plants can grow to a height of 15 feet (5 m). The canes originate from the base with multiple branches on each, and arch outward and up. 

They like to sprawl over or climb up anything they’re close to. My mother has one blooming halfway up an old apple tree. The canes also have recurving thorns which make them nasty to tangle with. They don’t like to let go once they have you.

In bloom it is a stunning garden feature. At the end of each branch a flower cluster forms. Each cluster consists of many (between 20-100) five-petalled, highly scented, small, white blossoms. 

The flowers are followed in the autumn by bright red hips that can make beautiful additions to Christmas wreathes, or an entire wreath on their own. I have done both.

Sounds good so far? Well, most places that have this plant list it as either undesirable, prohibited, or a noxious weed. I have read the words “forms an impenetrable thicket” several times in reference to this rose. It will also choke out nearly anything else it is close to. 

This is part of my living fence. It needs some pruning.

You can say goodbye to anything growing underneath these plants. In our front yard we are witnessing the battle of the titans right now: poison ivy and this rose. I’m not actually sure which one I’m betting on.

Because of its strong survival instinct it is often used as a root stock for more delicate grafted ornamental roses. And it does perfume the air like nothing else I can think of.

If you’re interested in letting an area of your property go “feral” this may just be the plant for you. It does provide excellent screening during the spring through autumn, and I can’t think of a person that would be stupid enough to want to brave a hedge made out if it to enter your property illegally.

It does reseed itself alarmingly easily, and once growing will not go down to defeat gladly. I have been pulling canes of this out of the front holly bushes for the past 7-8 years. It just won’t give up…

Mind you, it is a beauty, the birds do love it, and it certainly cuts down on the area you need to mow.

.......................................

If you like this post retweet it using the link at top right, or share it using any of the links below. Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks?

Gardening: Wisteria Vine

We ought to do good to others as simply as a horse runs, or a bee makes honey, or a vine bears grapes season after season without thinking of the grapes it has borne. – Marcus Aurelius

Some day mine will look like this... Photo: @BlogChicaViajera, Flickr ccl

It’s 10:30am and it just started to rain as I pushed the mower back into the garage. That was close. It’s supposed to rain from now until Monday until Nova Scotia – if you believe CTV’s Cindy Day, meteorologist extraordinaire. 

This was the growth at the end of May: 2 sad buds.

I don’t much care for her or her prophesies. She’s the kind of meteorologist who takes glee in snow forecasts. Does she not shovel? Does she not drive? 

I would have posted earlier but I needed to get the mowing done before the rain started. I have two fairly large lawns I tend every two weeks and if I miss my slot the grass waits for another 14 days. Not good. As it was I was “making hay” in some parts of one yard.

One thing mowing does allow me to do – besides let off steam – is to inspect all the plants and see how they are doing now that summer is officially here. Where is the time going?

One plant I was surprised at was the wisteria vine. It has grown quite vigorously. Four weeks ago there were two sad blooms hanging on what looked like a lot of stalks that had a very hard winter. Unhappy looking  would have described it fairly well.

Same corner as bud photo.

I have a pergola topped deck on the back of the house and at some time in the future I hope to sit underneath and enjoy the long panicles of purple flowers that will be hanging overhead.

Every winter brings winter kill and my dream seems a little further away. This year’s growth stirred all those hopes again.

And what a difference a month makes. Some of the new (that’s this year’s only) that has emerged from the branches is in excess of 5 feet long. That’s four weeks growth. Amazing.

Wisteria is an excellent vine to try if you have somewhere to plant it that receives a lot of sun. Interestingly, when mature, it provides excellent shade. So if – like me – you want a deck that has both sun and shade plant a wisteria vine at one end. Of course it needs support, but not necessarily a pergola top like I have. That’s just icing on the cake.

Wisteria is a native of Southeastern North America (which I didn’t know) and China, Korea and Japan. They are a woody, climbing vine that is quite ornamental both in flower and in leaf. 

A piece of the new growth. My foot at bottom right.

They are members of the pea family and the flowers resemble pea blossoms, just much longer and far more of them. Wisteria can climb 60 feet high by 30 feet wide so when mature can put on quite a show.

I have two beautifully scented Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) that bloom before the leaves emerge. North American and Japanese wisterias bloom in mid summer. So you have a choice when you purchase as to flowering time.

Wisteria are quite hardy (USDA Zones 4-9) and fast growing. When planting think of the vine in 20 years. The trunk can grow to be as thick as your wrist (I have seen thicker on very old specimens) and will crush any support that isn’t up to the task. Lattice will not do. Wisteria can be pruned to keep it behaving.

There’s a reason I have two wisteria growing up the back deck.I lost a 15-year-old plant a few years ago. The main stalk divided quite low to the ground and as it matured the stress from the upper part of the plant caused a split where they joined.

Rot set in and that was that. In hindsight I should have sacrificed one of the leaders to make a sturdy stalk for the plant t thrive.

Every year the wisteria blooms it’s a cause for celebration. So far on the new plants I have only had a blossom or two. But give them time…

Climb, baby climb...

.......................................

If you like this post retweet it using the link at top right, or share it using any of the links below. Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks?

Foraging for Syrup: Rose Hips

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying. – Robert Herrick

Rose hip syrup. Use as a pancake syrup, tea sweetener,
or any other way you can think.

Roses are slowly showing their beautiful fragrant blossoms again for the season. I would be hard pressed to find anyone that isn’t entranced by their beauty and scent.

I’m posting this recipe now so you will be prepared for the season when the hips are ready for use. It’s always good to “mentally mark” where forage plants are growing so you can return when they’re ready for use.

Rosa rugosa hips, almost ready to harvest.
They will get redder.

I have used petals several times in the past to make liqueurs. The resulting liquid’s flavour and colour is entirely dependent on the type of rose. I have used two: rugosa rose (here) and Harrison’s Yellow (here). I have a third rose, a white rugosa, which will probably fall victim to my penchant as well. They make a nice liqueur.

North America is host to may native species of roses. One of the most common is Rosa virginiana, the beautiful, simple five petal rose. In the village where I grew up they, and another rose, are so common they actually scent the air. It’s wonderful. They’re in my crosshairs for liqueur as well.

But rose petals are only one part of the rose that can be foraged for the kitchen/liquor cabinet. Rose hips have been used as a food source for millennia. 

The hips are an excellent source of Vitamin C, actually packing more punch than an orange. I have read that three small hips have as much as one regular-sized orange. Preserving (including drying) rose hips for the winter weather provides you with a Vitamin C “bomb” right in your kitchen pantry.

Rose hips are used for herbal tea, jam, jelly, soup, pie, wine and marmalade, to name just a few foods. They can also be eaten raw, like a berry, but take care not to eat the “hairy” seeds inside – just the flesh. Today, we’re making syrup.

There’s one major caveat when gathering roses. Take care when harvesting to avoid areas that may have been sprayed with pesticides. This is also a good reason to avoid using purchased roses. They’re guaranteed to have been sprayed.

When foraging choose rose hips that have turned bright red and are fully developed. Some people recommend waiting until after a first frost (hopefully a LONG way off yet). I did when I made this last year.

I used rugosa for this recipe, but if you have a source of wild rose hips they would be stellar.

Rose Hip Syrup

Prep: 5 min  |  Cook: 40 min 

4 cups Rosa rugosa hips (or Rosa virginiana)

4 cups water

1 cup honey

Gather the rose hips, remove the spent flower end with a knife and rinse well.

Add the rose hips to the water in a pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 20 minutes. Mash the hips as they simmer.

After 30 minutes, strain the mixture through fine cloth or a jelly bag. Return the liquid to a clan pan, add the honey and let simmer for a further 10 minutes. It will thicken slightly as it cools.

That’s all it takes. You now have a syrup that can be used on pancakes, drizzled on baked goods, as a tea sweetener or any other use you can think of.

This syrup must be refrigerated, but will keep for quite a long time.

.......................................

If you like this post retweet it using the link at top right, or share it using any of the links below. Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks?

Recipe: Tancook Sauerkraut Sausage Bake

Preservation of one's own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures. – Cesar Chavez 

A Nova Scotia classic.

Here’s a recipe from my childhood. Some days these sort of recipes call to you. They can certainly be a comfort. I guess that why the call it “comfort food”, eh?

Rush hour on Big Tancook Island. Photo: harawitz, Flickr ccl

One of the most commonly preserved vegetables in Nova Scotia is cabbage made into sauerkraut. For some it is an acquired taste, but it's difficult to deny the pleasure of its pickled deliciousness. Sauerkraut is also extremely good for you.

The reason I call this “Tancook” sauerkraut isn’t because it’s a recipe from Tancook, but because the brand name is Tancook Sauerkraut. 

If you asked 100 people in Nova Scotia what sauerkraut they use, at least 95 would say this brand. Probably the only ones who don’t use it make their own. (I do on occasion, see link here.)

Tancook is an actual place in Nova Scotia, or more correctly, places. Big and Little Tancook Islands are about a 20 minute ferry ride out into the Atlantic from Chester on Nova Scotia’s South Shore.

The islands have been inhabited since the mid-1700s and currently boast a year-round population of around 125. They have their own fire department, general store and museum. Being six miles out into the sea, everything has to arrive by ferry, which runs several times a day (two times on the weekends), except in very extreme weather.

Originally the native Mi'kmaq used the islands for a fishery outpost. The current name is an Anglicization of their word for "facing the sea." In the past Tancook's main industry was making sauerkraut, but as the desire for it waned so did their output. The residents initially diversified into fishing, and currently many work on the mainland, commuting via the ferry.

The necessary accompaniment: fluffy masked potatoes
with butter and cream.

I have gone out for the day (ferry leaves Chester at 7am, returns to Chester in the late afternoon) and had a very enjoyable time. If you want a Nova Scotia adventure you should consider a day trip to these charming islands. They’re beautiful and somewhat like stepping back into a previous, simpler time.

But back to the sauerkraut… Big Tancook Island was once the leading sauerkraut producer in Canada. I’m not sure if it is still made on the island, but I do know it is still processed and packaged close by in Lunenburg County.

This recipe screams German heritage, which makes up a large part of the lineage of folks on the South Shore. I have German heritage on both my mother’s and father’s sides of the family: Arenburg, Wile, von Tibert… If you’re a local it’s almost impossible to avoid.

Essentially this recipe is just sauerkraut and onions baked with sausage on top, but if you’ve never had it don’t let the simplicity deceive you. Sometimes other pork, like chops, is added. In South Shore country kitchens, old-timers would sprinkle on salt and pepper and that was pretty much it.

But the devil is in the details. The basic recipe is often modified to include juniper berries or caraway seeds. Sometimes some white wine, or in this case beer, is included to impart more flavour. I like to throw in some whole black peppercorns for spiciness as well.

This recipe stirs memories of my childhood, although my mother would never have used beer or wine. We had a strict no alcohol household. Even without the beer or wine this recipe is a standout – simple, hearty and delicious. Just leave the packing liquid in its place.

I hope you try this one. If you like sauerkraut, you’ll love this. With a side dish of mashed potatoes (an absolute necessity) you have a Nova Scotia classic.

If you can put things in a pot you can make this recipe.

Tancook Sauerkraut Sausage Bake

Prep: 5 min  |  Bake: 1 hour  |  Serves 4

1 large package sauerkraut (900 g)

2 medium onions, sliced

1 tsp whole peppercorns

8 juniper berries, crushed

4 garlic cloves, sliced

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 cup brown ale, or other beer

8 German-style sausages (2 per person)

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Drain about 3/4 of the liquid from the sauerkraut and place it, and the remaining liquid, in the bottom of a Dutch oven or other ovenproof pot with a lid.

Slice the onions and add to the top.

Add the remaining ingredients, except for the sausages, and stir together well.

Place the sausages on top, cover and bake for 45 minutes. After the 45 minutes, remove the top and bake for a further 15 minutes uncovered.

Serve with fluffy mashed potatoes. It’s required.

.......................................

If you like this post retweet it using the link at top right, or share it using any of the links below. Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks?

Not so Classic a Recipe: Eggplant Bolognese

A well made sauce will make even an elephant or a grandfather palatable. – Grimod de la Reynière

Eggplant simmered with meat and tomatoes on long macaroni.

I’m always mucking with the things I eat. Either it’s an undeniable sense of adventure (and the distinct possibility of abject failure for dinner) or I’m just too stubborn to have a recipe dictate to me.

Let’s say it’s the former and leave it at that, shall we?

I love a good Bolognese sauce for pasta. There’s something undeniably rich and comforting about a sauce made from slow simmered meat and vegetables. "Rich and comforting" describes Bolognese to a “T.”

This is the kind of eggplant to use, not the long,
skinny ones. Just purchase one that isn't too big.
Photo: jackie Kever, Flickr ccl

In case you aren’t familiar with this Italian kitchen classic:

From wisegeek,com:

Bolognese sauce is an Italian meat-based sauce for pasta which originates in Bologna, a city in Northern Italy. A true Bolognese sauce includes a small amount of tomatoes or tomato paste in a rich sauce with meat and other ingredients. It tends to be served on thick pasta, as larger pasta shapes hold meat much better than finer pastas such as capellini. Variations on the sauce outside of Italy often include much more tomato and vegetable ingredients, which change the flavour profile considerably.

Bolognese is essentially a ragu (meat sauce), and in Italy this sauce is called “ragù alla Bolognese” (meat sauce from Bologna). Throughout the country there are many other ragù, some named for locations, of equal deliciousness.

Since Bolognese has so many variations, and mine sticks to the script fairly well, I deemed it appropriate to name mine as I did, even though it could also be called eggplant ragù.

The technique to make this is very straightforward. Aromatic vegetables are sautéed in oil and/or butter. Then meat, cream and wine are added, then tomatoes, and the whole is simmered slowly for a couple hours until the vegetables are broken down and the sauce becomes thick.

This is the sauce just as it begins to simmer. You have to let
almost all of the liquid evaporate.

Cream may seem like an unusual ingredient with wine, but it helps tenderize the meat via lactic acid. The wine does its part in that regard too.

In my version I introduced an odd vegetable to the mix, eggplant. Although used throughout Italy, it originally was associated with southern Italian cuisine. Bologna is in the north.

Eggplant has a rich taste all on its own, so I thought it would be a good gamble to take in making a sauce that was rich to begin with. What could it hurt?

Well it didn’t hurt at all. The eggplant added a level of complexity I have never had in any other Bolognese I have made.

I did break one cardinal rule. I added herbs. Classic Bolognese has no herbs, believe it or not. I really don’t think it would have been as good without them. The eggplant demanded their companionship.

Bolognese is not a quick recipe. It should simmer for 2 hours, at least. The vegetables need to break down to thicken the sauce, and that takes time. By the way, if you're feeding fewer than six people this ragù would make an excellent lasagna meat sauce. So you could "cook once, eat twice."

Serve with broad, flat noodles or tube shaped pasta – never spaghetti. According to the experts, serving bolognese with spaghetti has been said to be a sign of lack of understanding about Italian cuisine. So there.

Eggplant Bolognese 

Prep: 10 min  |  Simmer: 2 hours  |  Serves 6

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion

1 small carrot

4 garlic cloves

1 lb hamburger

1 small eggplant (about 10" long, black)

1 medium green pepper

1 lg can whole plum tomatoes (28 oz.)

1 cup milk

1/2 cup white wine

1-1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tso dried basil

1 tsp cracked black pepper

1-1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup tomato paste

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven. Dice the onion and carrot and add to the oil. Peel and crush the garlic and add. Sauté for few minutes until fragrant.

Add the hamburger and sauté, breaking the meat up with a spatula as it cooks.

Cube the eggplant and green pepper. Add both to the pot, along with the tomatoes and their liquid. Pour the milk and white wine on top and mix well.

Add the remaining ingredients, stir and cover the pot.

Reduce the heat to medium low and let cook for about 2 hours. Stir occasionally to avoid the mixture from drying out and sticking. If it does get too dry before 2 hours, add a little water.

The end result will be thick with very little liquid.

Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve on pasta that has enough body to stand up to the sauce, like tagliatelle, fettuccine, rigatoni or penne. I used long macaroni.

.......................................

If you like this post retweet it using the link at top right, or share it using any of the links below. Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks?

Recipe: Asian Crab and Corn Soup

A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine. – Anne Bronte 

Asian flavours, crabmeat and sweet, fresh corn.

Usually when one sees “on sale” corn at the grocery store they think of corn on the cob. Although very good, it’s just one way to use those sweet kernels. Often my mind turns to this soup. It’s delicious, and surprisingly filling.

This week one of our local groceries have six ears on sale for $1.98. That’s a good price, but it isn’t local. This recipe takes four so the corn cost is a mighty $1.32. Not bad at all.

Photo: backpack Foodie, Flickr ccl

Many people overcook their corn. Even just on the cob it shouldn’t be boiled for more than 5 minutes. The short cooking time preserves the sweetness, I believe.

It’s a shame the price of crab isn’t as affordable. Whatever money is saved on the corn is – sadly – “redistributed” to purchasing that ingredient. Canned lump crab will cost you $6+ for 120 g. Yes, I typed that correctly. Even the cheaper 15% leg meat will set you back over $3 for the same size can.

This recipe takes one of each... Sometimes this soup is made with the crab flavoured pollock, but I just can'e see it being even remotely the same. You could also steam and clean your own crab for less cost, but that's a job all in itself.

I guess you have to put the whole thing into perspective. If you were buying steak how much would you get for $10? Not much, and this recipe will feed four.

Fresh corn kernels can be removed quite easily. They only take a few minutes to cook and the taste is so much better than canned or frozen. There’s a sugary taste to the fresh kernels that just doesn’t compare.

Removing corn kernels from the cob is a bit of a messy procedure, I have to admit, but it can’t be simpler. Just run a sharp knife down the sides and the kernels come off easily.

Some suggest doing it over a bowl. I use a cookie sheet so the mess is at least minimized. It’s also easier to cut off the kernels over a flat surface than in a bowl.

Assembling the soup is so fast it’s amazing. Mere minutes will have piping hot soup ready to serve your hungry family.

Asian Crab and Corn Soup

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook: 10 min  |  Serves 4

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 thai chilli, minced with seeds

1” piece ginger, peeled and minced

6 cups chicken stock

4 ears corn

240 g crabmeat (120g lump, 120g 15% leg meat style)

1 bunch green onions, sliced

2 eggs, whisked

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cracked black pepper

Mince the thai chilli and ginger and set aside. Remove the kernels from the cobs and set aside.

Heat the sesame oil in a stock pot and sauté the ginger/chilli for about 30 seconds.

Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Then add the corn kernels. Let cook for between 3-4 minutes. The kernels will be barely cooked.

Add the crab with whatever liquid is with them in the cans. It has a lot of flavour you don’t want to waste. Bring just to a simmer and then add the green onions.

Once the pot comes back to a simmer slowly drizzle the beaten eggs on the surface of the soup while you stir. It ill break up into thin strands.

Taste for salt and adjust. Stir in the pepper and serve.

.......................................

If you like this post retweet it using the link at top right, or share it using any of the links below. Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks?