ArcaMax

Who’s News in the Garden

Last night I stopped, took a moment out of my activity, and gazed down from the top floor deck to look at the front gate area, and the hanging baskets. Soon, I saw darting. I focused on the motion and realized a hummingbird moth was feeding from my verbena. This, in my humble garden, was the equivalent of “The British are Coming! The British are Here!” I immediately got on the phone extension to announce the good news to my husband who was working four levels down and could look directly out the window to see what I was so excited about.

The arrival of the hummingbird moths is a big deal to me; especially in the front yard. This is our first summer living in this home, and since the building was built, there are haven’t been any flowers planted out front. I’m the first to do this, so it’s the first opportunity for the hummingbird moths to grace us.

I’m so excited!

It doesn’t take a lot to excite this big city gardener. I take nothing for granted.

Last week I was watering a planter on the garage-level deck and got another big surprise. As my hose dispensed a stream of water, out jumped a creature; a creature I had lost hope of seeing this year. Our first praying mantis showed himself in our garden. He had hopped up onto the garden wall and was precariously perched on top. One inch long. Lime green. He’s really just a sprite.

I had lost hope of seeing mantid because we had already had two birthing pods stolen by squirrels and the next two didn’t seem to “hatch”. I thought they were dead, and that we would not be having mantid in our garden this year.

My husband was nearby, and he came over to greet our new, little, green fellow. He decided to name him Shower. That was because the bug was reluctant to take one. As I watered, Shower interpreted that as a disturbance and thence jumped on the garden wall in an effort to get out of the way of the water. I laughed and figured if the late Michael Jackson could name a son Blanket, then my husband could name a bug Shower.

Now, onto who’s missing from the garden.

Many readers have been wondering what happened to the raccoon. --The mean raccoon who raided my little fish pond TWICE; stealing all the fish for his sushi supper. Many offered suggestions of how to capture the critter, or other nasty ways to dispense of him and send him to his raccoon maker. I decided there was no fighting something so clever as a raccoon who has managed to live, and thrive, in Chicago. He was going to raid my fishpond one way or another. The pond was small enough that I didn’t have a huge investment in it, so the pond was removed, emptied and replaced by a hibiscus bush. It’s one of those twisted, grafted kinds that looks more like a small tree than a bush. It’s thriving, and no creatures are bothering it. The bees are loving it, and I’m waiting for the hummingbirds to discover it. I saw one hummingbird pass over my head earlier in the Spring. Now I’m waiting for my garden to become their favorite feeding spot. If I could put up a hummingbird-sized billboard that says “Hummingbirds EAT FREE HERE, Turn Right” I would. I’m hoping I’ve planted enough red attractions for them in that rooftop garden so they will show up soon.

Remember the pilfered pods? The ones the praying mantid came in? The ones the squirrels stole? Well, I had so many squirrels out on the back garage deck that I had to move the bird feeders to another location. The squirrels had become a real problem. They had so many nests in the roof of the ancient house next door that they came and went like cars on the expressway at rush hour.

Suddenly they are gone! I inquired of the owner next door if he had hired an exterminator to get rid of the squirrels and he said “No”. The neighbors are beginning renovations on the beautiful old building (at least it will be beautiful when done) next door, so I figured it was time to get rid of the squirrels before the new roof went on. Now, I’m stumped. I haven’t seen more than one squirrel in over two weeks. I wonder if the raccoons chased them out. Speaking again of the raccoons, I also found out, in my conversation with the neighbor, that last year, the baby raccoons used to sit on top of the roof of the house next door and stare into my neighbor’s house. I guess it was quite a fright for his sister one day, when she came out of the shower. Four curious eyes, staring at her from less than three feet away.

That might make even the mightiest jump; at least at that moment.

And that’s the news from the garden….

Chinese Peanut Noodle Dish with Grilled Chicken
Serves 2. Can be doubled or expanded

1 package of chicken tenders. Approximately 8 to 10 for 2 people
Olive oil
9 oz of Naysoya Chinese Style Noodles (If you can’t get these regular spaghetti will do just fine)
1 handful of snowpeas, trimmed
1 cup of diced red bell pepper bits
1/2 cup of diced green onions
1 small cucumber peeled and chopped. (I use an English cucumber so I don’t have to work around seeds)

For the sauce:
2/3 to 3/4 cup of warm water
1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1/4 cup of rice wine
3 tsp. of sesame oil
2 tsp. of vegetable oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced (jar garlic will do)
2 tsp of sugar
1/8th tsp. of cayenne (or to taste if you like your noodle dish spicier)

Instructions:

Get water boiling for the pasta

Spray the chicken tenders with oil and in a grill pan (or on the grill) cook the tenders until no pink remains inside the chicken. Cut a fatter one open to check before you decide they are done. The grill marks are pretty in this dish.

While the chicken is cooking, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook it according to package instructions. (This can also be done after the chicken cooks if you are cooking alone or don’t want to be cooking three things at once)

While the pasta is cooking and the chicken is grilling, you can make the simple sauce. In a sauté pan, add the water, peanut butter, soy sauce, rice wine, oils, garlic, sugar and cayenne. Heat and stir until all mixed. You can add a bit of extra water if you think it’s too gloppy for you. That’s a matter of taste. Check the sauce for how spicy you want it and add more cayenne if you want it spicier. This is intended to be rather spicy, but a mild version is just as good for those who can’t handle spice.

When the pasta is finished and drained, and the chicken is cooked, you are ready to assemble.

In a large pasta bowl, add your pasta. Then add the sauce and the veggies. The veggies are all raw. They work nicely this way to give it crunch, and they will heat when you put the peanut butter sauce on them. This is a perfect dish for summer because you get sort of a hot/cold mixture of tastes. You also have the option of not mixing in the veggies, but rather laying them on top of the pasta. Sometimes I do this so I have the color on top. If you mix them into the peanut butter sauce they get coated in the brown sauce. Then I add the chicken on top and serve.

A couple of other hints: If you don’t want to have to cut the chicken while you are eating, you can cut it up when the grilling is complete and mix it in with the pasta and sauce. I just think it looks more modern scattered on top of the veggies.

When you mix the sauce into the pasta, if you decide then, that you’d like it a bit runnier, you can still add a bit more hot water and just stir the noodles and sauce around to loosen it up. Again, it’s a matter of taste so I wanted to give you options in case it will make the meal more enjoyable for you.

This is a one dish meal. I serve it in medium-sized bowls so it feels more Chinese. A few fortune cookies for dessert and you have a perfect meal for the deck, or serve it while you and your guests for family watch a movie.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola

Send email to Zola at dinnerwithzola@hotmail.com.