Now that my vineyard is pruned, I’m enjoying the growth spurt produced by each spur on the lateral cordon. I often think about the old wives’ tale that states “A thunderstorm in February means a frost on the same date in April.” That had me concerned because on February 19 of this year, marked for reference on my calendar, Rains County had a very strong storm with lots of thunder. I certainly don’t want to upset any “old wives,” but I am relieved to see that today, April 19, there will not be a killing frost. I’m hopeful this will be a good year for grapes.

I continued planting seedlings in my garden. I have now added pepper, tomatillo, eggplant and melon plants. I’m waiting to sow the finer seeds like carrots and radishes because I fear the rains this week will simply wash them away.

Before the vineyard, I had always planted my garden by mid-April. It seems that now I am always running behind.

I made a tasty fish dinner on Friday with fresh green beans and potatoes. The flavorful green-bean side was the best part.

Buttery Cracker-crusted Fish Filets
1 lb. fish filets
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 c. crushed crackers
1 pinch each salt and pepper

Combine lemon juice and melted butter. Stir together cracker crumbs (I used townhouse crackers and oyster crackers), salt and pepper. Coat each filet in the lemony-butter mixture and dredge in seasoned cracker crumbs.

Place on a lightly-greased baking sheet and bake in a 400-degree oven for 20 minutes or until done.

Green beans and Caramelized Onions
2 bunches of green beans
1-1/2 large onions, julienned
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic, minced
3/4 c. chicken broth
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbsp. almonds, toasted

Cook the onions in olive oil on low heat, seasoning with salt and pepper. After about 20 minutes they will turn a lovely caramel-brown color. Add cleaned green beans and garlic.

Cook for about 5 minutes and then add chicken broth, thyme and Worcestershire sauce. Cover with a lid and turn the heat as low as it will go. Let the beans cook for about 15-20 minutes more. Garnish with toasted almonds.

Microwave Potato Slices
Slice 4-5 small red potatoes, 1/2 inch thick
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. butter
1/4 c. parsley, minced

Place potatoes in a microwave-safe bowl and toss with salt and pepper. Cook covered on high in the microwave for 4 minutes. Remove, stir and place pieces of butter on top. Cover and microwave for 4-5 minutes more or until done. Garnish with parsley.

I think my right forearm may be larger than the left, but I’m relieved to finally be finished pruning in the vineyard. It is satisfying to see that job completed, however my favorite time in the vineyard is when the little shoots bud out and are 4-6 inches tall. That sea of green on the vines after the long dormant season makes my heart swell with joy. It is a promise fulfilled.

All around the county, shrubs are blooming with early spring colors. On Sunday, I visited the Scarbrough’s place for Emory Blooms. The azaleas were stunning pops of color along the paths that led through the wooded property. That was my second visit to their property and once again, I struggle to find the right words to describe the experience. Words like peaceful, serene and tranquil come first. Then, knowing how hard I work to achieve just a bit of beauty at my own place, I think industrious, ingenious and meticulous should also be included. Regardless, the place is magnificent, brilliant and incredibly impressive.

Afterwards I weeded a few of my own flower beds. They are less than impressive, but it felt good. I cleaned up one area and discovered that a peach-colored iris is getting ready to bloom. I received the plant in the mid-90s as a birthday gift. Those rhizomes traveled with us when we moved to Colorado and then back again to Texas. It’s amazing that the ugly roots have such resilience – another promise fulfilled.

With that note, I better get back to this column’s purpose – food. After enjoying the beautiful day, I wanted dinner to be light and flavorful with lots of fresh herbs. I had thawed ground beef and pork and planned on making meat loaf. Somehow that no longer interested me. We’ll have meat loaf another day. Instead I used part of the pork to make meatballs for gyros with tzatziki sauce. I strongly recommend homemade pita bread. Gyros are great, but the fresh pita made it excellent.

Grilled Pork Meatballs
1 lb. ground lamb, beef or pork
1/2 c. onion, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 lemon, juiced
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp. fresh oregano, finely chopped
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 c. panko breadcrumbs
1/4 c. feta cheese crumbled
1 egg, whisked

Combine all ingredients and roll into balls. I made 20. Spear 4 meatballs each onto metal skewers. Refrigerate while the grill heats up and make the pita dough.

Pita Dough
1 pkg. yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
1-1/2 c. warm water
4 c. flour
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water in a large bowl. Let it sit while the yeast blooms. Then add 2 cups of the flour and stir. Add the salt, the rest of the flour and olive oil.

Stir until it becomes difficult and then use your hand. Knead by scooping the dough from the far side of the bowl and folding it over. Just try it, it will make sense. Add a little flour if it is too sticky to work, but not more than half a cup. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let it rest.

Now that the grill is hot, turn to medium heat and grill the skewered meatballs about 4 minutes on each side. I used both a spatula and tongs to flip them over. When done, remove and cover with foil while making the tzatziki sauce.

Tzatziki Sauce
1 c. yogurt
3/4 c. cucumber, peeled and grated
2 Tbsp. fresh dill, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lemon, juiced
Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until dinner. At least 30 minutes in the fridge will help the flavors meld together. While that happens, roll out and bake the pita bread.

The recipe makes about a dozen small pitas. Just divide the dough and roll out on a floured surface while preheating an oven to 350 degrees. I placed 3 pitas at a time on a lightly greased baking sheet and cooked for 5 minutes on each side.
When ready to serve, heat a small amount of olive oil in a hot skillet and toast the pitas on each side. We only used a couple, so I stored the rest in a plastic bag and refrigerated for another day.

I served each toasted pita with chopped lettuce and tomato, meatballs (removed from the skewers) and topped with tzatziki sauce. The grilled meatballs had a herby flavor with a hint of lemon and the cool-as-a-cucumber tzatziki sauce was tangy and fresh. But it was the texture of the pita bread that I liked the best. Surely you’ve had freshly made tortillas, and if so, you know a sack of 20 in a bag on the grocery store shelf could never compete.

I’m pretty set in my ways when it comes to cooking chicken. However, Easter Sunday I tried a new recipe that turned out well and received lots of compliments.

Lemony Rosemary Chicken
1 stick of butter, melted
4 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
6 chicken breast halves

Combine butter, rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a re-sealable plastic bag. Add chicken and massage to cover the chicken breasts with marinade. Refrigerate for 3 hours.

Take the chicken and marinade out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking to allow it to come to room temperature. Using a paper towel, wipe excess marinade from chicken and sear each side in a hot oven-safe skillet. Reserve the marinade.

Squeeze or scoop marinade over the seared chicken. Cover and finish cooking in a 375-degree oven for 25 minutes or until done.

I think this marinade would also be good spread under and over the skin of a whole roasting chicken (about 5-6 lbs.). Then put the leftover lemon rinds and rosemary twigs in the cavity of the bird. Roast in the oven as usual at 425 degrees for 1-1/2 hours or until the juices run clear when testing a cut between the leg and thigh.

Calf Liver Pâté
1 pkg. or 12 slices bacon
2 c. chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, minced
2 Tbsp. fresh thyme, minced
1 lb. sliced beef liver
1/2 c. melted coconut oil
1/2 tsp. salt

Cook bacon until crispy in a cast-iron skillet. Remove the bacon to drain on a paper towel. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook onion, garlic, rosemary and thyme in the bacon fat for about 20 minutes. Do not let them burn. Reduce heat if necessary.

Dry the slices of liver with paper towels. Move onion mixture to one side of the pan and lay half the sliced liver in the skillet. Scoop the onion mixture over the liver and lay down the rest of the liver. Spread the onion mixture evenly over all the liver. Cook for 4 minutes.

Then flip the liver slices, cover again with onion mixture and cook for another 4 minutes. Turn off heat and let cool about 10 minutes.

Purée onion mixture and liver in a food processor with coconut oil and salt.
The recipe recommends sprinkling chopped bacon over the pâté when serving. I saved the bacon for BLT sandwiches since I believe pâté should be smooth and creamy. Crispy bacon is not.

I served the pâté with wheat crackers and thinly sliced gherkin pickles as an appetizer before the Easter dinner with my family. The verdict from the group was that if you like liver, you’ll love this pâté. If you don’t like liver, you’d be willing to eat it if you were starving. I guess that’s a win.

I didn’t really know much about crappie. Could be I still don’t, but I know I like it. I have occasionally pronounced it incorrectly – a word I wasn’t allowed to use as a kid. Out of respect for the little fish, I will try harder now.

I had the good fortune of receiving frozen crappie from Bill and Lyn Baldwin along with a few recipes. I love my job. I also love serving and eating healthy foods that are locally grown or raised.

When I was young, we’d go fishing and my mother would always fry the catch-of-the-day. It was very good – no complaints, but I love the delicate flavors of pan-seared and baked fish. The Baldwin’s sunfish, or crappie, had a wonderful mild flavor that paired nicely with fresh herbs and a firm texture that held up well in the oven. I tried the first recipe on Friday evening, and it tasted marvelous.

Crappie with Crab Meat Stuffing
2 lbs. crappie
2 6-oz. packages frozen crab meat
1/3 c. butter, melted, divided
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1/3 c. celery, chopped
1/3 c. green pepper, chopped
2 c. bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
1-2 Tbsp. mixed fresh herbs (like basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, chives)
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 lbs. shrimp
2 cloves garlic
Butter or olive oil to sauté in skillet

Thaw fish, crab meat and shrimp, if frozen. Drain well. Measure 1/4 c. butter into skillet. On medium-high heat, cook onion, celery and green pepper until tender.

In a separate bowl, combine crab meat, bread crumbs, eggs, herbs, 1 tsp. salt and pepper. Mix those ingredients with the cooked vegetables and turn off the heat.

Arrange crappie fillets on a baking dish. Brush with melted butter and spoon the dressing mixture over the top. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

When the fish is almost done, quickly sauté the shrimp with chopped garlic and butter or olive oil. Sprinkle with a scant amount of salt and pepper.

Remove fish from the oven and pour shrimp scampi over the top. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Now, I must be honest. I looked at crab meat at the store. I looked at the fake stuff too, but quickly put it down. Back to the real crab meat, I shuddered at the price. So I skipped it when making the above recipe. I’m sure it would have been fantastic with all the ingredients, but it was still fabulous without the crab.

That last bit about pouring the shrimp scampi over the fillets was the ticket. All that scampi loveliness soaking into the bread crumbs was sensational. Imagine it poured over cooked rice. Mmm, wish I had done that, but my side salad was a good healthy choice.

Other recipes for Crappie include:

Pan-Seared Crappie Fillets
1 stick butter
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp. dried tarragon, crushed
1 lemon, juiced
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Place crappie fillets on a paper towel, pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Let the fillets come to room temperature.

Place a large non-stick skillet on the stove and sauté butter, onions, parsley, garlic and tarragon on high heat until caramelized. Place fillets in skillet and cook on high heat for exactly 2 minutes – no longer. Turn the fillets once – do not turn again – and cook until done.

While fillets are cooking, preheat oven-safe serving plates in oven. Place the done fillets on the warm plates. Pour lemon juice into the skillet. That will deglaze the pan and pick up all the yummy bits. Drizzle over the fillets.

Bill Baldwin recommends serving with freshly steamed asparagus and buttery-parsley new potatoes. I concur.

This last recipe sounds intriguing, I have never made Creole with so few ingredients. Definitely worth a try.

Crappie Creole
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 c. celery, chopped
1 c. onion, chopped
24 ozs. vegetable juice or 32 ozs. tomato sauce
Creole seasoning, to taste (like Tony’s)
Hot sauce, to taste
1 lb. shrimp
1 lb. crappie

Cook flour and olive oil in a large pot, making a roux. Add vegetables and continue cooking until softened. Add vegetable juice or tomato sauce and season. Simmer for half an hour, stirring occasionally as the mixture thickens.

Add shrimp and push them down to the bottom of the pot. Lay crappie on top and push them just under the surface of the sauce. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Baldwin says that you’ll know when it’s done.

I thoroughly enjoyed receiving those recipes – and the fish too! Crappie is a winner. In recipes, it could easily replace store-bought farmed tilapia or swai, usually raised in questionable conditions. Local crappie will be on our table more often. I may start fishing – in my spare time.

While rough-pruning the vineyard on Sunday, most buds on the cordon wire were still tightly closed. That’s good because I want to remove the long vines tangled in the trellis without disturbing those buds. The more tightly closed, the less likely they will be damaged by a whipping vine as I pull it free.

I’ve been working on that task every day possible and am only halfway through. Unfortunately, I noticed a few buds starting to swell at the end of vines and a couple of little green shoots as well. Bud burst this early in the season is worrisome – especially if we haven’t seen the last frost.

Since I’ve spent so much time outside, I’ve made crock pot dinners.

Italian Meat Loaf
1-1/2 c. tomato sauce
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1/2 c. green pepper, chopped
1/3 c. bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. fennel seed, crushed
1-1/2 lbs. lean ground beef

1/2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
Mix tomato sauce, salt, pepper, oregano and basil together. Reserve and refrigerate 1/4 c. for topping the loaf later.

To the rest of the sauce mixture, add egg, onion, green pepper, bread crumbs and fennel. Mix well. Add ground meat and mix until combined.

Pat together a loaf in the crock pot, pressing the meat away from the sides of the cooker to keep it from burning.

Cover and cook on low heat for 7-9 hours or an internal temperature of 170 degrees. When done, spread reserved sauce over the top and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Place cover back on the cooker and let sit for 10 minutes. The recipe makes about 8 servings.

Spicy Pot Roast
2-3 lb. roast
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 onions, 1-inch chopped
6-8 carrots 1-inch chopped
1 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 c. cooking liquid (wine, broth or water)

Heat the oil in a skillet at high heat and brown the onions and carrots. Once some brown occurs, move onions and carrots and spread over the bottom of the crock pot.

Season the roast on all sides with salt and pepper. Sear all sides of the roast in the hot skillet until nicely browned. Then transfer the roast to the crock pot.

Mix together the dried spices and sprinkle over the top of the roast. I used a cup of broth to deglaze the skillet and pick up all the nice brown bits. Then pour the liquid into the crock pot on the sides – trying to avoid the spices on top.

Cover and cook on low heat for 7-9 hours. When done, remove roast and let rest. Skim fat off the top of the liquid in the crock pot. Then using an immersion blender, puree until the carrots, onions and liquid make a sauce.

I made smashed potatoes to go with the roast and the gravy was good over both.

I have an especially weedy asparagus patch that seems to get worse each year. Last Sunday afternoon I decided to tackle the 6×24-foot patch one-spade width at a time. After only having cleaned the first third a few hours later, I gave up exhausted and vowed to finish another day. I just don’t know how things get so out of hand.

There’s so much to do this time of year and I can’t believe that spring is almost upon us. I did get my tomato and pepper seeds planted. Hopefully the weather will be better this year and my garden will not be a swamp.

In a few weeks, I’ll start pruning my 650 grapevines and will need to simplify my life and my recipes. It is always good to have rice, beans potatoes and onions on hand for whipping up a quick dinner. I also picked up a teriyaki marinade to help cut corners.

Teriyaki Beef and Stir-fried Vegetables.
1/2 lb. beef, cubed
Very Teriyaki Sauce, to cover
2 Tbsp. oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
2 carrots, chopped into thin slices
2 ribs celery, sliced
2 c. broccoli florets
1/2 small head of cabbage, shredded

Marinate the beef overnight in the teriyaki sauce. Drain the beef, reserving the juices and brown in oil in a wok or large pan. Remove the meat and add the onion, green pepper, carrots and celery. Stir-fry until tender.

Then add the broccoli, cabbage and beef. Add reserved marinade and cook until the cabbage wilts.

Serve over rice. Garnish with chopped cilantro and soy sauce.

I usually make more rice than we need, because it’s always good to have extra cooked rice. I served it with two meals this week.

Baked Cod with Rice
4 small cod filets
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. panko bread crumbs
Salt and Pepper for seasoning

Season the cod with salt and pepper. Then dip it into combined lemon juice and butter. Then bread the cod with a mixture of the flour and panko bread crumbs. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until the fish is done.

I also roasted asparagus spears tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper while the fish cooked. Once again, leftover rice came in handy to serve with the meal.

In observance of the Lenton Season, I’ve been making vegetarian dinners. Going vegan would be too hard for us. I have old standbys like potato, tomato and red pepper soups – most have already appeared in this column.

I always like to try something new and looked around for a recipe that would use the broccoli I still have producing from my fall garden. The soup is very green and would be great for St. Patrick’s Day next month.

Broccoli Soup with Potato Wedges
4 medium-sized potatoes
4 slices of bacon
1 onion, chopped
6 c. vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. ground sage
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 head broccoli florets
2 c. fresh spinach leaves
1/2 c. heavy cream
Salt and Pepper, to taste
4 oz. grated cheddar cheese

Poke the potatoes with a fork and place in a microwave-safe container and cook for 5 minutes. Rotate the potatoes and cook 5 minutes more. Let cool.

In a stock pot, brown bacon. Remove the crispy bacon and let cool. Sauté onions in the bacon grease until soft. Add vegetable stock, bay leaf, celery seed, sage, garlic, broccoli and spinach. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and continue to cook about 15 minutes until the broccoli is tender.

Meanwhile, cut the potatoes in quarters. Then scoop out most of the cooked potato leaving about 1/8-1/4 inch on the skins. Add the potato meat to the stock pot.

Place the potato skins (skin side up) on a roasting pan. Coat lightly with cooking spray and bake in the oven at 450 degrees for 10 minutes or until they turn golden. Flip skins over and garnish with cheddar cheese.

Back to the soup: Remove soup from heat and working in batches, use a food processor or imersion blender to purée the soup until creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings. Stir in cream.

Chop the crispy bacon. Serve the soup garnished with bacon bits and a side of cheesy potato skins.

I also like a hearty soup that uses red peppers and beans. I don’t miss the meat.

Red Pepper Soup
2 c. chicken stock
1/2 c. roasted red peppers
1 small onion, diced
1/2 c. carrots, chopped
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 can white beans, rinsed and drained
14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. lemon zest
1-2 tsp. lemon juice

Bring stock to a boil and add red pepper, onion, carrots and garlic. Simmer until vegetables are soft.

Purée vegetables and add beans, tomatoes and spices. Purée again and then pour all back into the pot. Bring to a simmer. Stir in lemon juice.

Serve garnished with your choice of sliced avocado, chopped cilantro or chopped green onions.