Martha (who has a lot of opportunities to observe winter in the Great Lakes from her perch over in Door County, Wisconsin) commented that as much as she enjoys pictures of snow . . . perhaps a little color would be welcome about now. She suggested colorful vegetables. Vegetables???
How about a pileated woodpecker from Bruce Laidlaw’s collection?
Pileated Woodpecker - Copyright 2009, Bruce Laidlaw
And now how about a colorful little lunch? As it happens I have a nice selection of colorful fruit and a longing for vitamins. The recipe:
- Stare into the refrigerator until something looks good. Pull it out and inspect it. If it still looks good, throw a couple handfuls into a bowl. Today that was mixed salad greens.
- Find two more ingredients that meet the same test. Chop as needed and add. Today that was a lovely orange and some enormous blueberries.
- Top with whatever kind of cheese seems like it might complement the first three ingredients. Feta. Feta sounds good.
- Toast some nuts and add those, too. Pinenuts. Burned the first batch. Toasted the next to perfection.
- Mush in a little olive oil and a few drops of balsamic vinegar and eat.
Here is your colorful slideshow:
You will note that I have kept the orange peel and the burnt pinenuts. That is because I have a weakness for bitter tastes. I will actually nibble on that orange peel as a snack later on. As for the pinenuts, I’m thinking they might be salvageable tossed into a casserole with some browned onions. Waste not want not. See why you want to be careful about accepting impromptu dinner invitations at my house? But you have to admit it’s colorful.
Torch Lake Views 
Heather
January 26, 2012
I like your meal-prep directions 😉
Also the woodpecker. We saw one while skiing at Shanty Creek over the weekend, but had no camera handy.
Gerry
January 26, 2012
There’s been one at work in my yard, too, but I haven’t caught him at it yet. Pretty things.
Martha
January 26, 2012
Totally delightful, Gerry! Mmmmm. Good things to eat. Oh, and lovely to look at, too! Thanks for the nod and thanks for making me laugh today! Eat up!
Gerry
January 26, 2012
I’m glad you approve. It wouldn’t do to have a monochrome blog here at TLV.
WOL
January 26, 2012
Ah, yes. A little free-hand salad. (I like to think of anything not made from a recipe as “free-hand” — like drawing something free-hand, versus tracing something.) I’m currently contemplating a little free-hand lunch. It might involve blue corn tortilla chips and cheese. But then again,. . . .
Gerry
January 27, 2012
That’s a very good word for it. “Free-hand” sounds much more creative than “grabbing blindly.” I hope you enjoyed your lunch.
Fee
January 27, 2012
Well, that lunch makes my cheese sandwich look very … boring … dull in fact. Must try harder!
Gerry
January 27, 2012
Depends entirely on what kind of cheese and what kind of bread and what kind of mustard. And whether or not you feel like buttering the whole concoction and toasting it until the cheese melts. I believe we’ve decided on what to have for lunch today.
Joss
January 27, 2012
What a good-looking chap! Our woodpeckers are handsome too though, with black and white added to the red so they look even more military. I love the salad, and feel inspired to make one exactly the same. Two problems though: one, it’s not seasonal and so two, I only have the feta in stock. I actually like the idea of eating seasonally, even if I rarely succeed in doing it. The salad I had planned for today involves beetroot, coleslaw, grated carrot, potato salad and then some protein of some kind. I think it amazing that there are some vegetables which don’t care about the snow. My brussel sprouts just shrug it off.
Gerry
January 27, 2012
On behalf of Bruce, thank you. I really like woodpeckers, in spite of their tendency toward gouging holes in my siding. The little downy and hairy varieties come around here a lot, but it’s a treat when I see the pileated.
I like to eat seasonally, too, and locally, but all my rules go out the window when it comes to oranges, coffee and pinenuts. And then there were the blueberries, sitting there in their little plastic carton, gleaming. You’ll be glad to know that the salad greens came from a northern Michigan hoophouse. The Lunch of Roots sounds tasty as well, and I have some brussel sprouts I was too lazy to steam yesterday. I believe supper plans are made, too.
Oh dear. You see how I can go on about food?
lynnekovan
January 27, 2012
Lovely way to go about preparing dinner. Next time I open the fridge, I shall do the same!
Gerry
January 27, 2012
My theory is that pretty much anything can make a good lunch if you put enough cheese on it. Comes of growing up in Wisconsin. Part of the way anyway. I’m finishing the job over here on this side of the Big Lake.
Karma
January 27, 2012
That looks pretty yummy to me! How nice of your fridge to toss out such a lovely combination of ingredients!
Gerry
January 27, 2012
Now you’ve got me thinking about a great invention. A refrigerator that tosses out supper suggestions. Better yet, a refrigerator that tosses out stuff that needs to be tossed out.
La Mirada Bob
January 28, 2012
Like our full bag of spoiled green beans tonight. Darn, and we all like them a lot.
Gerry
January 28, 2012
I take it that’s a vote in favor of the self-tossing refrigerator? See, I knew it was a good idea.
Karma
January 28, 2012
Sounds like a great idea to me! 🙂
Gerry
January 28, 2012
Another vote for the self-tosser!
Dawn
January 28, 2012
Oh yes, I’d buy one of those refrigerators! Sadly last night when I looked in mine no magical salad appeared. Which is why it was a good thing I stopped at a restaurant before coming home! My refrigerator is often only the storage for that which should be tossed.
Gerry
January 28, 2012
Another vote! Maybe the self-tossing refrigerator should have a mulching attachment that feeds the tossed organic matter directly into the compost bin.
isathreadsoflife
January 30, 2012
Colourful indeed and tasty ! I love those improv’ meals when one’s “frigidaire” – as called in French – is so co-operative. Blueberries like the cherry on top of the cake 😉 Beautiful pictures that makes you hungry… even if you just had lunch.
Gerry
January 30, 2012
Thank you, Isa. I like the way that “a cherry on top” has come to be a metaphor for the most excellent of treats. I can see that it is time for me to go over to King’s for some frozen cherries. I must learn how to make a decent pie before George Washington’s Birthday, and that will require a lot of practice.
Ed LaFreniere
January 30, 2012
So where do you buy fresh produce and the other ingredients up there this time of year? Do you sell them in your bait shop?
Gerry
January 30, 2012
Nope. I don’t even sell bait in the Bait Shop, but that’s another post entirely.
You’d be surprised the places where people are extending the season with hoophouses and root storage. Ken Scott posted great photos of the winter CSA shares from Nine Bean Rows – but that’s over on the Leelanau. So I go to the grocery store like everyone else and buy oranges from Florida and blueberries from Oregon. I can still get fresh local apples, and dried or frozen local cherries, and some salad greens from a gardening friend. I have some carrots and potatoes and onions in cold storage, too.
Not very leafy, but I don’t feel sorry for myself. My freezer is well-stocked with local fish, local beef, and Sonny’s excellent sausages. I believe I’ll get by. Of course, we do get pretty excited when the first stinky little ramps show up.