Orchid Mania

Did you know that orchids belong to the most diverse family of plants known to man? There are over 880 genera, 28,000 species and well over 300,000 registered cultivars currently documented. They grow all over the world, up in trees, down in the ground, on rocks and just about anywhere except on the oceans.

The above plant is a Cymbidium and I am very excited about it because I have never been able to get one to flower. They do not like heat so in my sub-tropical climate, I had to find a species that was more heat-tolerant. I purchased this little plant in Santa Barbara, California at a magnificent orchid nursery. I went there with Harry's dad, Sidney, not too long before his health failed and he passed away. He loved gardening and we shared that passion. So I call this Sidney's orchid and I sure wish he could see it.

I potted, and fussed over this plant for a long time before giving up on it. I eventually stuck it on the side of the house in practically full sun (pretty much an orchid no-no for most species) and ignored it. The sprinkler gave it a drink every few days so I didn't have to water it. One day I was checking my lemon tree for new fruit, and sitting next to it was this rather beat up looking plant with a three foot long flower stalk. Yippee!!

Orchid growing is an addiction. I got my first orchid years ago in Cleveland. I don't know where it came from (probably Home Depot) and I jumped in to learning how to care for it. It sat in a hall near an indoor pool, and apparently the light and humidity were just right, because I didn't know what I was doing and one day, it bloomed the most magnificent purple huge corsage type flower that people used to get from Woolworth's in clear plastic boxes to give their mother's for Mother's Day. I later learned it was a Cattleya.

I was hooked. Since then I have expanded my collection and one of the joys of living in the Keys it that it is perfect for growing. I have them glued to trees with Liquid Nails. I have them in pots, baskets, on bark slabs and even have a bamboo "great wall of orchids." I have joined an Orchid Club. I have met many wonderful, albeit sometimes strange, people that share my love of this plant. I have had successes and failures. And, I have definitely learned how little I know!!

But one thing is for sure. After waiting, sometimes years, it is very exciting seeing the first bit of a flower stalk peeking out among the leaves. Then there is a wait while it matures. And of course, the dénouement - day the sexy orchid flower bursts out makes all the fussing, all the spraying for fungus, all the moving about finding the perfect light and all the worry when the weather is too cold, too rainy, or a hurricane is forecast, all worth while.

Swedish Pancakes

Growing up, Sundays meant going to church, followed by dinner (usually roast beef or roast chicken or some other rather formal food item with all the accompaniments and often homemade dessert) and supper was the last meal of the day. Supper was often leftovers but occasionally, it was made by my father in the heavy black cast iron skillet. Both of my father's parents came to the U.S. from Sweden, and my father made Swedish pancakes. Traditionally, in Sweden, they would be served with lingonberries, but we ate ours with either powdered sugar or syrup. There is still some controversy over whether they should be rolled or folded in quarters but I have gone over to my sister's method of folding.

My childhood friends loved to stay for dinner on pancake nights. I cannot imagine how many of these I have created for my own family. And now, my son makes them for his children.

The reason I was thinking about them today was because Harry made them this morning and I realized that I probably had not had more than one pancake per seating in 30 years. Standing at the stove cranking them out for Harry, Matt, Tom, Sam and all of their sleepover friends growing up, by the time they had eaten their fill, there was usually no more batter left!

The recipe is simple and takes a few seconds to swirl in the blender. Try them and I expect hear some raves. The recipe was immortalized in a Jr. League cookbook in Cleveland years ago - tested and made the cut. It is no fail.

3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. milk

4 eggs

1 t. salt

1 T. sugar

Melt about a teaspoon of butter in a non-stick omelet size pan and let melt and start to brown. Pour in enough batter to swirl and coat the bottom of pan. When lightly browned, flip and brown and fold and serve.

Just wait until next Christmas when I share the Urich family Christmas Eve Bacardi Cocktail recipe. I will probably be loopy when I write the blog...

My Fishing Buddy

Matt came down for the long New Year's weekend for our Second Annual Sailfish Event. Look at the smile on my handsome son. Look at the terror in the eyes of that sailfish (and note the ramora on its side). The top photo is the first fish of the marathon, caught by Matt's brother-in-law Ryan Fitzpatrick who joined us with his girlfriend Julie Wise for three of the four fishing days. You can also see that the weather went from glorious to grueling. After Matt caught his fish, he and I were very happy to come in and sit in our favorite restaurant for a cup of hot she-crab soup. It was COLD out there.

Matt is one incredible fisherman. From the time he was 2 years old and held a fishing pole, he has loved the sport. By the time he was 5, he knew everything about sharks. He has his Captain's license, and that is not easy to obtain. It requires a great deal of study and many, many hours on the water. We call him Capt. Ahab (lovingly) because when the fishing gets hot, he changes from his usually laid back demeanor into a man with a mission - ordering and directing the occupants of the boat. Lines need reeled in, spaces need cleared, the boat needs driven. As he says, fishing is hours of quiet contemplation time interrupted by madness. But his barking orders helps us catch fish. Like the fictional character, he has a quest for whatever fish species he is targeting. He likes bonefish on the flats, dolphin in the summer and sailfish in the winter. All require a hunt. I credit my father who instilled the love of fishing in me and my brother, Tom and was passed on to Matt. I am so proud at how he has grown up into such a great, competent, smart, fun, and wonderful loving son, husband and father. I love going fishing with him.

Sail fishing is two fold. First you have to catch the live bait. We are out on the coral reef early, throw out a chum bag and wait for the ballyhoo to show up. Then, we try to fill the bait well with three or four dozen, all caught on tiny hair hooks. Being out on the crystal clear aqua water and seeing all the sea life on the reef is a treat in itself. Sometimes Matt will throw a cast net if we are getting impatient but he is a purist and feels the ballyhoo are too stressed that way. There is often a bit of anxiety involved about making bait. Sometimes we have to move to several spots due to currents. Or the bait is skittish if a barracuda is lurking nearby, or they can be just not hungry. But, usually we fill the well, untie from the buoy and away we go - not too far on the outside of the reef and troll those live baits slowly behind the boat so they swim along.

The first sail we caught was within minutes of hitting the deeper water. We opened the bait well and the pump had failed causing half of the bait fish to die. We quickly decided to run back to the reef and try and catch some more when Matt yelled that a sail fish was free jumping alongside of the boat, perhaps 50 feet off. We hustled a few of the remaining live baits on and chucked some dead ones over for chum and within 5 minutes had the above beauty on and a nice 45 minute fight to get it to the boat, photo taken, back in the water to revive and on its way to create chaos for another fisherman. Ryan did a great job and Matt ran the boat. Julie and I just stood around enjoying the splendid show. It's not a matter of just reeling a sail in. It requires the use of the boat to chase the fish because he swims, pulls out all the line, does aerobatics on top of the water and generally gets your heart pumping. You reel in and he takes the line out. Can be exhausting, exhilarating, and maddening if you lose him after a long battle.

Unfortunately we had to end such a promising day early because the bait well did croak. Back to the dock for repairs and back at it the next day. Of course we did manage to relive the story over and over while enjoying the Rose Bowl. Although the weather deteriorated over the course of the weekend, our spirits did not and even when not catching fish, we saw sea turtles, a porpoise and today, a large shark. And, we enjoyed the company of our new fishing buddies, Ryan and Julie. As they say, there are no bad days of fishing.