Category — Jim’s Thoughts

(20 Minute Jim) Following my new mantra, I got up this morning and harvested a paper bag full of mint before coffee and even before the dew was off the lawn. Yes, yes, yes – technically this is a case of “do what I say, don’t do what I do” because it’s best to wait until the dew dries before touching plants. It’s just too easy to transmit soil-borne diseases to the leaves where the dew can help them stick and help them grow. In the cool of the morning, feel free to take walks through the garden, to appreciate the new wonders and perhaps to map out the work you’ll accomplish later. Just don’t get dirty until things dry off.

Unless you’re deliberately trying to kill off something, say, like a rogue patch of mint. A few roots of mint and another few of lemon balm escaped when I “transplanted” the major planting a year or two back to make room for more asparagus. I say “transplanted” because I’d kept the mint growing in a bucket that I cleverly submerged in the soil with the intent to KEEP it from spreading. Silly human. Now there’s a luxurious patch of mint and lemon balm underneath the asparagus right near the rhubarb.

I’m almost ready to play along with this spontaneous grouping, at least for a bit. This trio of the tall ferns of the asparagus, the broad elephant-ear leaves of the rhubarb and the wily opportunistic shoots of the mints seems like a good match of height, leaf and growth habit. After these three are done sucking up the sunlight, I bet there will be very little left for any weeds to grow. But at the moment, there are lots of weeds mixed in and to get at the weeds, I had to harvest some mint.

I used normal kitchen scissors – don’t let 20Mintue Jan know, OK? – and I dropped the sprigs cut end down in a standard paper grocery bag. The kind of bag I used had handles which will be handy to hang for drying. Paper bags are best because they’re porous and will allow the leaves to dry without molding and they’re also opaque. A weird thing I learned about mint is that it must be dried in the dark or the leaves will turn black. They’ll still taste and smell like mint but they’ll be black instead of green. I snipped for 20 minutes and then retired back inside for coffee.

Looking at that bag of fresh mint reminds me of my mother. She was always so eager to make everything into a celebration. I remember growing up she’d take a deep breath of air on a particularly beautiful day and say, “We should be sipping mint juleps on a porch somewhere.” So after Jan and I were married, one day when my Mom and Dad had helped us all day painting and working around the house, we told them to have a seat out on the porch, that we’d be out in a minute. Jan and I had researched the recipe for authentic mint juleps – which are basically sugar, mint… and bourbon! – and we made some for Mom and Dad. One sip and Mom’s eyes nearly popped from her head. She was a life-long teetotaler and had NO idea what actually went into a mint julep. They appreciated the gesture, I think, but Mom never spoke about mint juleps again.

Mint Julep
for each serving…

4 sprigs of mint
1 teaspoon
finely crushed ice
1-1/2 jiggers

1. In a 12-ounce highball glass or tankard (perferably silver or aluminum), place 3 sprigs of mint and sugar. Crush mint with muddler or handle of wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
2. Fill glass to brim with ice; pour in bourbon; don’t stir. Add more ice to fill glass. Set in freezer.
3. Just before serving: Garnish with mint sprig. Serve with long straw.

(20 Minute Jim) As part of my mid-life crisis, I’m taking a class in motorcycle repair. It’s been a great chance to go back and learn things I missed earlier in life. When other kids were monkeying around under the hood of cars, I probably felt more comfortable on my knees weeding a row of carrots. The class is starting with the basics of tools and measurements and how to fill out a time card.

Which brings me to the piece of wisdom that I want to share. The instructor said something to the effect of “you don’t have to work at some break-neck crazy speed. Just keep doing something all the time and you’ll likely be the most efficient worker in the shop.” So simple. So clear. This week, I’ve really adopted that mantra of “just keep doing something.”

It’s easy to let myself sit down and take a break when I’ve finished some portion of a larger project. I deserve it, right? For instance, the other day when I was planting the tomatoes, it took far less time than I’d imagined. I was going to call it quits but since I still had time left in my “20 minute” allotment, I kept plodding ahead and I also got some squash and some more broccoli planted. Even if I’d banked the unused time, I suspect the effort to overcome the psychic inertia of getting started again would have eaten up most of the time savings. Instead, I just kept working and ended up planting all the seedlings.

I admit that this advice seems a little bit obvious. But so far, it’s working for me, not just around the garden and not just around the motorcycle shop.

(20-Minute Jim) I hadn’t planned on brewing today mostly because the forecast I had seen called for temps in the 40′s and precipitation in various formats. I was pleasantly surprised by a nearly sunny morning, but by the time I really started to believe the weather and not the weatherman, it was already 1:00 PM. Not too late too brew.

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(20 Minute Jim) “Wholesome” is the word I’d use if I had to sum up the Lenten Fish Fry at St. Sebastian’s in Dearborn, MI. And if I was describing just the operation, I might even say “efficient.” St. Sebastian, I learned, is the patron saint of athletes so it seemed particularly fitting that the meal was served in the gymnasium/lunchroom of the parish school. Near the ceiling, the room was ringed with home-made banners featuring, presumably of the other Catholic schools that St. Sebastian plays.

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I grew up in the Detroit area and heard much made of Stroh’s “fire-brewed” beer. Now that I make my own beer, I realize that this claim was far less exotic than it seemed, but ever since I got the woodstove, I’ve wanted to attempt a batch of beer on it. Last Sunday afternoon the weather was beautiful, and brewing seemed like the perfect excuse to stay outside. I had *most* of the ingredients for this recipe, but I figured since this was an experimental batch anyway a bit of careful variation would be tolerated.

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