Tomatoes in December and a Primrose Bonanza

Through thorough insulation and the use of a small propane heater on nights that go below 30 degrees, we have been successful in maintaining growth in our mint, parsley and tomato beds, as well as some of the strawberry plants. As I worked in the greenhouse this evening I harvested a handful of cherry tomatoes from the somewhat struggling vines. Today we went shopping for some nitrogen absorbers. In other words, our fish are outstripping our vegetation. I have become familiar with the cold hardiness of primroses, mostly as I enter and leave the Provo LDS Temple where the winter plants of choice are the hardy little plants that almost seem overcome by a sharp frost or deep layer of snow, but which bounce back as soon as warmth returns, providing a green ground cover in the winter and giving a lovely floral display in early spring. Although so far I have avoided floral plants in favor of fruits, vegetables and herbs, our trout are growing and as they grow, they eat more and provide more plant food. Without an adequate amount of vegetation, they will end up with too much nitrogen in their water. Cooks nursery in Orem, west of the 1600 North interchange had mostly indoor plants and poinsettias for sale, however we found some flourishing primrose plants in a cool corner of a heated greenhouse. We placed them in the rain gutters that I used for float trays in the summer. I was pleasantly surprised to pay only a little over a dollar a plant for 18 plants.

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Pancakes two ingredients

This recipe has been making the rounds of the Internet, enjoyed by those who are gluten-free, paleo, and/or interested in trying unusual things.

Its one of the easiest things youll ever make from scratch. All you need are 2 bananas and 4 eggs. If you feel you want to add a little poof to the final product, throw in 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.

I could stop right there, but Ill add a few tips to save you having to figure it out yourself.

First, its best to have very ripe bananas, the brown ones that you might use for banana bread. Ive used kinda green ones, but the riper they are the less lumps youll have. Not that the lumps cause any problem at all -- indeed, they disappear during cooking -- but they can turn brown while waiting to be cooked.

Speaking of lumps, a hand-held mixer or even a blender is the best tool for these. The bananas are slimy, the eggs are slimy, and believe me, an electric appliance will easily blend these to perfection.

The batter will be thin, but dont worry. Magic happens in the pan.

I used a 1/4-cup scoop to measure each pancake, placing the batter in a nonstick skillet. I also used a bit of oil to crisp up the edges. I like crisp edges to my pancakes.

Dont wait for bubbles to appear as you do with regular pancakes. These will simply sit there looking frothy. I learned to wait for the edges to get not only crispy but dark brown before turning. The pancake in the photo is ready to turn.

These are very delicate pancakes, which is why I recommend a nonstick surface. Before turning, I carefully scoot the spatula around the edges to make sure the pancake is sliding on the surface and not sticking. Then I scoop it up and turn. This might take practise, but even the wrecks are tasty.

Now the difference between using baking powder and leaving it out is somewhat significant. Either way youll get a very delicious treat.

Without baking powder, the pancakes are dense. If youve made Polish pancakes -- these go by several names, but are basically 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk, and 1 egg -- youll have a good idea of the texture. Id call it eggy. In this case, the banana flavor comes through strongly, and theyll be quite sweet. No syrup needed.

With baking powder, the pancakes rise up (see top photo). They have the texture of regular pancakes and even taste like them. You can kind of distinguish the banana if you concentrate, but the chemical transformation is truly amazing. I call these fluffy.

One warning: since bananas do turn brown, after about 15 minutes the banana bits in the batter will start darkening. Of course this only looks bad before you cook the batter since the pancakes will be an appetizing color when they leave the pan.

This is truly a remarkable recipe, one that is good to know when it is -20 (as it was here in south-central Montana for a week recently) and you just dont want to go to the store for flour.

To sum up:

Two-ingredient Pancakes

2 ripe bananas

4 eggs

1/4 teaspoon baking powder (optional)

Mix all ingredients together until well blended. Pour into nonstick skillet (1/4-cup scoop recommended). Cook till brown on both sides.

Top with butter, honey, or syrup, or eat as is.

Makes about 10 4-inch pancakes.

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Two Weeks and Fish are Thriving In Spite of Some Problems

When I was dealing with 20 cent feeder gold fish I didnt feel the economic pinch too much if a bunch of them floated to the top of the tank a day or so after I brought them home. I feared at first that I was responsible but a reliable source told me that feeder fish are notoriously infected with various things that make them short lived. The survival of two of the original gold fish through last winter, living on algae apparently, surprised me when I noticed them at last. The trout represent a greater investment. I paid for them by the inch as well as paying for delivery. Fortunately the delivery cost was split between me and another aquaponist in the area who ordered larger fish from the same trout farm. In addition, the man who delivered the fish threw in a few extra. Actually he threw in more than ten extra. But he didnt want to carry a load of water and a few small fish all the way back to his trout farm. Following his recommendations, based on the number of fish, I fed them about a cup of fish pellets from Intermountain Farm Association where I purchased 50 pounds for just a little over $35. Even though any remaining pellets should be discarded after 3 months, this still beat the price of fish food from the pet store. Then I discovered that my three hens are crazy about fish pellets. I had read somewhere that hens fed on fish meal produced eggs with higher levels of omega fatty acids, so I consider it a win/win situation. The fish pellets are twice the cost of layer pellets for the chickens, but with no need to worry about wasting the pellets after ninety days have passed, I figure all is good. At any rate, feeding the fish at the rate of a cup a day didnt work out well. The fish let a lot of the pellets sink to the bottom of the fish tank where they became food for algae. Suddenly my pumps seized up from algal clogging and the water in the system turned nearly opaque. After cleaning the pumps and getting them started again I put a piece of polyester upholstery foam in a rectangular plastic colander and set it beneath the outlet from the fish tank into the sump. The following day, Thursday, we didnt feed the fish. On Friday the filter was filthy, the water in the fish tank was crystal clear and the fish eagerly ate the handful and a half of pellets fed to them. No casualties were detected. I was happy to learn that even commercial aquaponists use chelated iron as a supplement. I have used it with good effect. My tomato plants had turned a sickly yellow green earlier this month but an application of chelated iron brought them back to a lovely green. Ill wait until the greenhouse gets too cold to support them before pulling them out and replacing them with cold weather crops.

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