April showers bring May flowers?

April is almost over, and the merry, merry month of May is right around the corner. When we were youngsters the idea that we might actually be able to pick fresh flowers outdoors for May Day brought a lot of laughs. We were pretty much still wearing snow suits and galoshes through most of April.

This year though, it’s still April, and grass is green, daffodils, violets and arbutus are blooming, and birds are singing all around us. Morrell mushrooms are probably out, but we haven’t found any yet. Nights have perhaps been too frosty, which makes me wonder - is Maple sap still running?

Anyway, we should all be grateful the rest of April turned out pretty nice after awful snow storm and power outages on April 2 and 3, and hopeful that there won’t’ be any more surprises like that this year.

PLANT A TREE

Arbor Day 2024 falls on Friday, April 26. In years past, Old Farmer’s Almanac has suggested celebrating by planting a tree dedicated to someone who is special to you, and that’s still a great idea.

Arbor Day exists because of a zealous tree lover named Julius Sterling Morton, who was born in Adams, New York, in 1832. On the day after their wedding in October of 1854, Morton and his new wife, Caroline Joy French, headed west for adventure in the wild Nebraska Territory. They settled on 160 treeless acres, and Morton promptly set about remedying the treeless situation He planted thousands of trees on the homestead, including an apple orchard, peach, plum and pear trees, plus cottonwoods, evergreens, beeches and more.

The Morton family home came to be known as Arbor Lodge, and also became a state park in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Morton worked as a journalist and a politician. He was secretary and acting governor of the Nebraska Territory from 1858 to 1861. In 1893, President Grover Cleveland appointed him U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

At every opportunity, he urged Nebraskans to plant trees and try new crops. At one point in 1872 Morton declared: “If I had the power, I would compel every man in the state who had a home of his own to plant out and cultivate fruit trees.”

On April 22, 1885 Arbor Day became a legal holiday in Nebraska. Thousands of Nebraska City citizens turned out for one big party, including a parade from 1,000 school-children. Within 20 years of its creation, the holiday was celebrated in every American state except Delaware, which eventually joined in.

Contrary to that, in the days immediately after the Peshtigo Fire of 1871 trees were outlawed in Peshtigo. Thinking was that if there were no trees there could be no future forest fires. Eventually city fathers realized the error of their ways and relented. Today Peshtigo has a regular tree planting program and is recognized as a Tree City, USA. Trees are once again, and actually always have been, an essential part of yards, parks and streetscapes.

NATURAL REPELLENTS

Speaking of planting, weather is right for getting parts of the garden planted, even if it is a bit early. Wouldn’t set out tender plants for at least another month, though.

Also, when planning your garden, keep in mind that some plants are natural bug repellents. For example, bay leaves repel flies; chives repel carrot flies, Japanese beetle and aphids; dill repels aphids, squash bugs, spider mites, cabbage loopers and tomato hornworms; fennel repels aphids, slugs and snails, and as said above, lemon balm and citronella repels mosquitoes suggested around outdoor seating areas. 

ON THE SOAP BOX

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Our elected and hired officials are held to very high standards, at least on a local level, when it comes to ethics, which includes not accepting gifts or voting on issues in which they may have a conflict of interest.

Some years ago a Marinette County Sheriff decreed that his officers could not accept gift certificates to a local business place that were being offered by the family of a fallen deputy in memory of their relative. Violation of ethics. Conflict of interest.

County, school and municipal officials must abstain from voting where their personal finances or those of family members may be affected. Conflict of interest.

Elected office holders set salaries for those who will serve the next term, not the one they are in.

With some specific exemptions, elected officials are prohibited from serving on a board that hires them or the company they work for, awards contracts to them, or purchases from them. Conflict of interest.

Therefore, consider this: Shouldn’t people who collect government welfare checks over an extended period of time without having gainful employment be somehow prohibited from voting for the legislators who set the requirements and amounts of those checks and the governors and presidents who sign the benefits into law?  After all, that too is conflict of interest.

COOKIN’ TIME

For most of us spring means easy cooking so we can spend more time outdoors. There are some great recipes to help us do those.

GREEK CHICKEN RAGOUT

Slow cooking makes the chicken thighs in this luxurious tasting dish stay moist and succulent, while an easy sauce made with egg, lemon and fresh dill gives it a Greek accent. Serve with crusty bread to soak up the sauce. 

1 pound carrots cut into 1-inch pieces, or 3 cups baby carrots

1 pound (3-4 medium) yellow-fleshed potatoes, such as Yukon Gold, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1-1/4-inch-wide wedges

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed

1 14-ounce can chicken broth

1/3 cup dry white wine

4 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 can artichoke hearts, 15-ounces, rinsed and quartered if large

1 large egg

2 large egg yolks

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup chopped fresh dill

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Spread carrots and potatoes over the bottom and up the sides of a 4-quart (or larger) slo cooker. Arrange chicken pieces on top of vegetables and potatoes. Bring broth, wine, garlic and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and pour it over the chicken and vegetables. Cover and cook until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours on high or 4 to 4 1/2 hours on low. Add artichokes to slow cooker, replace cover, and cook on high for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk egg, egg yolks and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken and vegetables to a serving bowl. Cover and keep warm. Ladle about 1/2 cup of cooking liquid into egg mixture. Whisk until smooth. Whisk egg mixture into remaining cooking liquid in slow cooker. Cover and cook, whisking 2-3 times, until slightly thickened and sauce reaches 160°F on an instant-read thermometer, 15-20 minutes. Stir in dill and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and vegetables and serve. Has only 355 calories and 27 grams of carbs per serving.

EASY NO BAKE ECLAIR CAKE

Need a treat to bring along for a pot-luck event? This is perfect, and so good that there probably will be none left to take home. However, it must sit for at least 8 hours before serving, so it must be made early in the day or the evening before. If you want to change it up a bit, add a layer of sliced bananas or fresh strawberries before the second layer of creamy filling

24 graham crackers (one 14.4-ounce box)

2 (3.4-ounces) packages vanilla instant pudding

2 1/3 cups cold milk

1 (8-ounces) tub whipped topping, thawed

2 (4-ounces) semi-sweet chocolate bars

1 cup heavy cream

In a 13-x 9-inch glass dish, place one layer of graham crackers, breaking up the crackers as needed to fill the space in the bottom of the dish. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the instant pudding mix and cold milk. Fold in the whipped topping.  Spread half of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers. Top with another layer of graham crackers. Spread the remaining pudding mixture over the graham crackers. Top with a final layer of graham crackers. Transfer the dish to the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. While the cake layers are chilling, make the ganache topping: Finely chop the chocolate, and transfer it to a heat-safe bowl.  In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream on medium-low for 5 minutes until just boiling. Do not allow the cream to heat to a rolling boil. Slowly pour the hot heavy cream over the chopped chocolate. Let this sit for a minute or two to melt the chocolate then whisk until smooth. Pour over the chilled cake and smooth with a spatula.  Cover the completed éclair cake with the baking dish lid or plastic wrap, and chill for at least 8 hours before serving.

Thought for the week: We shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously. As an anonymous philosopher once said, “God must enjoy laughter. He gave us a sense of humor, not only to laugh at things but to laugh off things. The art of laughing at yourself is the highest kind of laughter.” I think maybe God shakes his head and chuckles over some of the really dumb things we do, just as we chuckle sometimes over the things our children do.

(This column is written by Shirley Prudhomme of Crivitz. Views expressed are her own and are in no way intended to be an official statement of the opinions of Peshtigo Times editors and publishers. She may be contacted by phone at 715-291-9002 or by e-mail to shirleyprudhommechickadee@yahoo.com.