St. Dorothy's Day

St. Dorothy lived in Caesarea in central Turkey, around the year 313. She was tried for refusing to worship idols, and a mocking lawyer asked her to send him fruit from the garden of Paradise. In response to her prayer, an angel appeared and presented three roses and three apples. Because of this, she is the patron of gardeners. Also of brides and brewers. 

She wrote: 

"And then said the holy virgin with a glad semblant: Do to me what torment thou wilt, for I am all ready to suffer it for the love of my spouse Jesu Christ, in whose garden full of delices I have gathered roses, spices, and apples."

Agenda Today:

1. Make Persian Spiced Apples: 

I made this exotic treat to honor St. Dorothy.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Tbsp. dried rose petals
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground coriander 
•  1 c. pitted dates
•  1/2 c. pecans
•  4 large tart apples
•  1/2 c. sugar
•  3/4 c. flour
•  1/2 tsp. salt
•  1/2 c. brown sugar
•  1/2 c. butter

Yield: Serves 6- 

1- First make the Persian spice mix-- Grind up the rose petals with a mortar and pestle (I found it easiest to cut them up first with nail scissors). 


Mix the rose petals with the remaining spices and set aside.

2- Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 1-1/2 quart casserole. 

3- Cut dates in half crosswise. Chop the pecans. 

4- Peel and slice the apples. Combine the apples, pecans, and dates in the casserole and stir in white sugar and 1 tsp. of the spice mix. 









5- In a separate bowl, mix together flour, salt, brown sugar and 1-1/2 tsp. of the remaining spice mix. Cut in butter until the mixture is well mixed. 






6- Spoon topping over the fruit, and bake for 35 minutes or until apples are tender.

2. Garden Journal:

Each year on St. Dorothy Day I begin to fantasize about changes in my garden. I get out my seed catalogs and notes from last year, and start to dream about which new plants to grow, and which beds to plant them in. 

First I ask myself-

How can I make my garden a better sanctuary for my family, more comfortable for friends, a greater learning-experience for my art class kids, more mysterious and secluded, more of a visual treat, AND easier to keep up with?

3. Garden Visualization & Plan:

The winter garden is a blank canvas for visualizing colors, shapes and composition. Today I took a notebook outside, walked around my entire garden once, and examined it in a non-critical way. I wrote down these ideas:

• I see a river of flowers under my apple tree, flowing from a wellspring (maybe a brick planter?) 
• A protective wall of tall flowers (sunflowers, hollyhocks, mullein...) along the west.

4. Work Outside:
I need to set priorities, and work back and forth between visioning, planning, and actually working in the garden. My goals for early spring are:

1- Re-seed the muddy area under the apple tree.
2- Remove English Ivy from under the hedge (again).
3- Move leaves and prepare garden beds for planting.
4- Start some tall flowers indoors.