The Flower Press - - a newsletter of the Lincolnshire Garden Club
January 2009 |
General Meeting and Program
January 15, 2009
Landscape Design
Kristi Robinson
Kristi is a landscape designer with Martin & Associates in Vernon Hills. She will speak with us about general principles of landscape design. She will be highlighting aspects to consider in the design of a property, steps to the design process and design elements. Of course there will be lots of pictures!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Time: 9:30 a.m. – Continental Breakfast
10:00 a.m. – Business Meeting
10:30 a.m. – Program
Place: Vernon Area Public Library
Hospitality Committee:
Eve Jacobs
Joan Keyes
Hazel Weaver
Meg Zimmerman, Chairperson
From the President’s Desk
Jan Stefans,
President
What a winter wonderland we have had this holiday season! Now my yard thinks it's spring with 50 degree weather. Hold on "Mother Nature" I haven't even taken down my Xmas tree yet! It will be another wait and see what happens in the garden this spring...
I would like to take this opportunity the thank Jeanne Top for opening her home and also, her hospitality committee: Dimitra Alexakos, Iris Cosnow, Rose-anne de Haan, Kathleen Hamilton, Janice Hand, Lois Hicks, Barbara La Piana, Lisa Lewis, Cheryl Mitchell, Adriana Reyneri, Rick Sanders, and Mary Spiewak for a fabulous December luncheon. It was wonderful to see so many of our club members sipping cider and trying to find out just who was "Ferdie, the Falcon", the Gimbels Easter Bunny, or the newspaper delivery "girl."
Looking forward, our January meeting on the 15th will jump start our thoughts to spring with a talk on landscape design, by Kristi Robinson, a designer with Martin & Associates. Along with all the seed catalogues starting to arrive we will have enough "food for thought" in the coming months when we can't get out in the garden and get our hands dirty!
Wishing you all a healthy
and happy new year.
TOOL TIME
By Marj Lundy
So…you clean your tools every time you use them and you sharpen them regularly, right? Oooops! Neither do we. Four Garden Club members, whose names (except mine) will not be revealed, recently attended a free workshop on tool care and sharpening at the Chalet. Boy, were we embarrassed to learn about important things that we haven’t been doing.
The workshop leaders introduced us to equipment like diamond files and grinders; supplies like special lubricants; techniques like mixing sand and car oil in a bucket to clean off a shovel; demonstrations of how to clean and sharpen pruners; and some interesting new tools that are bound to make our gardening not only better but also easier.
And another heads up: new tools you buy, like shovels and trowels have not been sharpened; sharp edges get damaged in shipping and are dangerous to store customers. News to us and maybe to you too. So be sure to sharpen your new tools so they’ll be in optimum working condition.
Want to learn more? Check the web site of an expert in tool sharpening, Sam Darin, at samdarin@sbcglobal.net.
GOING GREEN
Electronic Recycling:
Friday, January 9th, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Vernon Township Offices, 3050 N. Main St., Buffalo Grove.
Tuesdays and Fridays 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. City of Highland Park municipal building, 1180 Half Day Road.
Disposal of old major appliances:
Environmental Field Services, 800-480-4337. This service will collect appliances for a fee that is much lower than the fee Waste Management charges.
Also if you’re interested in other Chalet workshops – for some there is a fee – contact Jennifer Brennan at 847-256-0561, x 225 or email her at jenniferb@chaletnursery.com.
FOUND: Pair of reading glasses at Jeanne Top’s house after December party. Jan Stefans will have them at the January meeting.
BEEF BOURGUIGNONNE
By Jeanne Top
3 lbs. lean beef 1/2 t salt
3 T. bacon drippings pepper
6 medium onions 1 c beef bouillon
3T. flour 2 c dry red wine (Pinot Noir works well)
1/2 t marioram 3/4 lb. Mushrooms (sliced if large)
1/2 t thyme
Peel and slice onions and saute them in bacon drippings until brown. Remove to a separate dish. Cut beef into 2-inch cubes and saute them in the same drippings, adding a bit more fat as needed. When the cubes of beef are browned on all sides, sprinkle them with the flour, rnarioram, thyme and salt, and a grind of pepper from a pepper mill. Add beef bouillon and wine. Stir mixture to blend, then let simmer, covered in a dutch oven (or in a casserole in a preheated 325 oven) for about 2 hours. When meat is tender and sauce thick and dark brown, add onions and mushrooms which have been sauted in a bit of butter or margarine. Stir everything together and let simmer (or return to oven) for 30 minutes to heat mushroorns and onions, and to blend flavor
Serve over rice or cooked egg noodles. Serves 6-8.
VEGETARIAN CHILI
By Cheryl Mitchell
Ingredients:
1 T canola oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped carrot
4 garlic cloves, minced (I cook with a whole clove and remove the clove before serving)
4 cups water
2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn
2 cups chopped red bell pepper
2 cups chopped zucchini
2 T chili powder
2 t dried oregano
2 t cumin
1 t salt
2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes
2 16oz cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 16oz cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 16oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 6oz can tomato paste (can use no-salt)
1 ½ T rice vinegar
Preparation:
Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic, sauté 5 minutes. Stir in 4 cups water and next 12 ingredients (through tomato paste); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until carrot is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in vinegar.
Finished chili can be topped with chopped cilantro, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, or plain yogurt.
The following businesses supported our October benefit. Please consider returning the favor.
Sunset Foods |
Midtown Athletic Club |
Angelo Florist of Lake Forest |
Chocolates by Bernard Callebaut |
Cubby Bear North |
Cutco |
Destination Fitness |
Helanders, Inc. |
Dave Wille of Auction Merchandise Source |
The Suerth Family |
Vernon Hills Golf Course |
Bath & Body Works |
Starbucks |
Didier Farms |
Michelle Sherman |
Crowne Plaza Chicago * North Shore |
Karma Asian Food and Fine Wine |
Kona Grill |
Lake Forest Hardware Cards & Gifts |
Mambo Italiano |
Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre |
North Shore Shell |
Opa! Estiatorio |
Portofino Italian Bistro |
Robert Vance Ltd. |
Zanies |
Dover Straits Restaurant |
Wildfire Restaurant |
Lincolnshire Marriott Resort |
Holistic Essence |
Chalet Nursery & Garden Shop |
Martin and Associates |
The Arboretum Club |
Philly G's |
Cheesecake Factory |
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The Flower Press
Jeanne Top, Editor
14532 River Oaks Drive
Lincolnshire, IL 60069