Winter Flowers?

I’ve just noticed that two of my bakers’ dozen amaryllis bulbs are sending up flower stalks. Of course they are: we’re getting ready to leave on our annual Christmas trip to Florida. We do love spending the holidays with our grandsons. The beautiful non-wintery weather (and seeing our daughter and her husband) are benefits we also enjoy.

Back to the amaryllis: the bulbs sold each winter because of their willingness to bloom indoors are actually cultivars of Hippeastrum, a genus with about 90 species. There are also tons of hybrids. These are native to the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, from Mexico all the way to Argentina. Some are found on some of the islands in the Caribbean.

The amaryllis itself, according to Wikipedia, is the only genus of the sub-tribe Amaryllidinae, which has only two species. Native to the western cape area of South Africa, the amaryllis Belladonna is distantly related to true lilies. In the Victorian ages, they represented love, beauty, and determination, as well as hope (winter will end?) and achievement (lovely flowers).

In any case, these bulbs usually only bloom once per year, although some will manage that twice in the same time. I think some of mine have. Their timing is not regular. With proper care they can bloom for up to 75 years. They can be planted outdoors after all danger of frost is over. I just set the pots mine are in outside on the east side of the house, where they get the softer morning sun, then are in light shade the rest of the day. They do like to be crowded (pot-bound) and in easy-draining potting soil. I read they like coffee, but since I don’t, my bulbs never get any.

Somehow I still have basil, parsley, and a lone rosemary still living. I’ve usually managed to kill all my herbs by now. We’ll see if any survive the weeks we’ll be away. How long can they survive without the weekly watering? The basil keeps trying to bloom, and I keep pinching off the buds. I’m sure they’ll manage full flowering when I’m not here to prevent that.

Yesterday I combined several online recipes to make a large pot of taco soup. Two onions, one red and one white, were diced and sautéed in olive oil. Two large garlic cloves were then pressed into the pot. I pushed all that to the side of the pot and dumped in a pound of ground beef to brown. As that browned and got broke up, it was sprinkled liberally with taco seasoning (1-2 Tbl). I added two beef bouillon cubes with one and a half cups hot water. I stirred in a can of undrained black beans (low sodium), and a package of my frozen corn (about a cup, maybe one and a fourth cup). Dried cilantro (definitely optional) was sprinkled on top, stirred in, and left to simmer for about an hour. I served it with corn tortillas crisped up in the air fryer (400° for 2-3 minutes) and crumbled on top. Dennis added sliced black olives to his bowl, while I added chopped avocado and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt. We both topped off our bowls with grated sharp cheddar. You could add taco sauce, but we didn’t. Corn chips could be used instead of crispy taco shells.

Today I used a package of southern biscuits to make my laddermom’s (Lois thought stepmom had a bad reputation) Sweetie Rolls. Heat the oven to the temp the package requires, and melt about a tablespoon of butter in each of two smallish cake pans in the oven as it heats. Once melted, pull the pans out and sprinkled in some cinnamon. Place four biscuits in each pan, flipping once to butter both sides. Add more cinnamon if you feel the need. Bake as directed. While they bake, mix up some powdered sugar icing: softened butter (about one tablespoon), 1/4 tsp vanilla, and powdered sugar. Add milk to thin as needed. I used about one and a half cups sugar and a tablespoon of milk. You can frost the rolls while still hot, although some icing may slide off (doesn’t matter if you leave them in the pan for this step), or wait until they’re cooled. I guarantee these are not compliant with the Whole Life Challenge (which never occurs during this time of year - they know we won’t follow those guidelines now anyway. They aren’t totally nuts!).