B
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
BETWEEN
THE ROWS
WENDY SCHMIDT
Repelling
deer from
your garden
S IMPLICITY I TSELF :
S OUP & S ANDWICH
JeanMarie Brownson
In a recent article by Elena Victory of
the Missouri Botanical Garden, she had
some tips for making deer stay out of —
and stop eating — your landscape.
Recognizing that deer have come to
dine on the garden is easy. In spring and
summer the damage is characterized by
jagged, torn edges on leaves, twigs and
stems.
If every stem or twig from ground level
to 6 feet is gnawed, then the culprits are
deer (if you know the neighbor’s livestock
has been staying home). You can catch
them in the act at dawn or twilight.
The deer’s daily agenda is:
1. Do not get eaten by predators.
2. Eat at least 7 pounds of browse.
3. Rest.
All repellents and tactics to deter deer
rely on exploiting one or all of their agen-
das. There are 600-plus items on a deer’s
menu, BUT they have preferences.
In the wild, deer browse on wild grape,
green briar, oak leaves and acorns, Vir-
ginia creeper, clover, and prickly lettuce.
They will dine on crops like soybeans,
corn, wheat, alfalfa and oats.
Suburban deer love azalea, rhododen-
drons, cherry and apple trees and fruit,
yews, lilac, vegetables, berries, daylilies,
hollyhocks, viburnum, arbor vitae, tulips,
roses (deer candy), and the list goes on ...
The fi rst rule to have surviving
landscape is to avoid plants deer like and
substitute plants that deer fi nd disgust-
ing. As a rule of thumb, choose to plant
species with coarse, fuzzy, briskly, and
spiny leaves. Like children with spinach,
deer actively avoid any plant with a
strong odor (it jams their sense of smell):
artemesia, catmints, chives, garlic, onions,
sage, lavender, tansy, mint, thyme, and
yarrow as well as poisonous plants like
foxglove and monkshood can be safe
where deer browse.
Do you love roses? So do deer, so use
rugosa roses instead.
See Deer/Page 2B
Chicago Tribune
A quick look back at all the pandemic
cooking I’ve done reveals a penchant for soup
and sandwiches. Chiefl y because it’s easy
and economical to keep ingredients for those
dishes on hand. Good-quality rolls in the
freezer, sliced cheese and deli meats in the
fridge. For soups, I rely on a stock of vegeta-
bles that store well such as broccoli, parsnips
and squash. Dry and tinned beans and
tomatoes and some frozen vegetables, such as
bell peppers, add variety to my soup-making
endeavors.
Hot sandwiches prove magical. Think of
the Italian beef, the French croque monsieur,
a Rueben or patty melt, a shrimp poor boy.
Heck, even a tuna sandwich can soar when
served hot under a blanket of melted cheese.
A hot sandwich, individually wrapped
and tucked into a 400 degree oven, makes it
ideal fare to serve at our socially distanced
get-togethers. This year, we move the cars out
of the heated garage, open the big door and
gather on folding chairs to visit with friends.
Everyone brings their own cooler of bever-
ages and I pass the sandwiches and mugs of
steaming hot soup.
The hot and spicy submarine sandwich
recipe that follows reminds us of the clas-
sic New Orleans-style muffaletta we fi rst
enjoyed there at Central Grocery. Layers of
deli meats with a spicy olive relish on a crusty
round loaf. Memorable, indeed.
At home, we layer nearly all combinations
of thinly sliced cheese and fully cooked meats
on crusty small sourdough rounds or square,
chewy ciabatta buns. I usually include one
layer of peppered salami or spicy capicola for
texture and piquancy. A quick mix of chopped
olives, celery, carrots and vinaigrette re-cre-
ates the marinated olive salad that makes the
sandwich so distinctive. Use a refrigerated
bottled olive spread to save time, if desired.
Grainy mustard and hot chile oil stirred
into mayonnaise makes a zesty sandwich
spread (or, try the combination on a fi sh
fi llet destined for the broiler!). Thinly sliced
and rinsed red onion, along with a piece of
a roasted, bottled red bell pepper, add fl avor
Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune-TNS
Spicy broccoli soup with a hot sandwich, prepared and styled by Shannon Kinsella.
and texture to the warmed sandwich.
Broccoli soup does not need gobs of cream
or melting cheese to taste good. The recipe
that follows simply tastes like highly sea-
soned broccoli. The broccoli stays bright green
when cooked, uncovered, in water. That water,
which tastes beautifully of broccoli, forms
the base of the soup. For a richer soup, swap
out the water with low-sodium chicken or
vegetable broth. A puree of most of the cooked
broccoli gives the soup body; pieces of cooked
broccoli add texture.
To stick with the theme of the sandwiches,
I add a small amount of Tony Chachere’s
Original Creole Seasoning to the boiling broc-
coli. A quick look online shows us that there
are many choices for a Cajun or Creole sea-
soning blend. I also like Louisiana Fish Fry
Cajun Seasoning and McCormick’s Perfect
Pinch Cajun Seasoning. Read the labels and
purchase ones without artifi cial ingredients.
Then taste a little on a spoon so you’re heat-
aware before you sprinkle with abandon.
Tame the heat in the fi nished soup with
a drizzle of olive oil or cream and some
crumbled cheese. Or, swirl in some toasted
pistachio or walnut oil for a restaurant-qual-
ity fl ourish. Perfect, even if you are dining in
the garage!
HOT AND SPICY SUB
SANDWICHES WITH OLIVE
RELISH
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 15-20 minutes
Makes: 4 hearty sandwiches
These sandwiches taste great on sourdough
rolls, pretzel rolls or everything bagels.
1/4 cup simple red wine vinaigrette, see
recipe (or best-quality bottled)
1/4 cup thinly sliced assorted pitted
black and green olives
2 to 3 tablespoons minced celery
2 to 3 tablespoons minced carrots
See Simple/Page 2B
Tired of typical tacos?
Try some tasty tostadas
made with just one layer.
Premade tostada shells can be
When it comes to getting a dinner found in the international aisle of
everyone can agree on to the table, most larger grocery stores. They
and quickly, you simply can’t go
also can be made pretty easily from
wrong with tacos. They’re crunchy, scratch.
kid-friendly and can hold just about
Drizzle corn tortillas with a little
anything you can think of, which
oil, spread it on with your fi ngers
means you probably have all the
and then place on a cookie sheet.
goods in your fridge and pantry.
Bake in a 350-degree oven until
But lately, I’ve been getting bored crispy and golden brown, about
with the same old, same old. So this 4 minutes per side. Or fry corn
week, I decided to shake things up
tortillas in a skillet with about 1/4
and make tostadas instead.
inch of oil until they sizzle and turn
“Tostada” is Spanish for “toasted,” golden brown, about 45 seconds per
and that’s exactly what they are
side, then drain on paper towels.
— corn tortillas that are toasted in They should be super crispy.
the oven or fried in oil until they’re
To make lime crema, add the
brown and crispy and then used as juice and zest of 1 lime and a
a base for any fl avor combination
generous pinch of salt to 1 cup of
you can think of.
sour cream and whisk until well
I decided to go vegetarian, start- combined and creamy.
ing with a layer of seasoned and
smashed pinto beans followed by
ROASTED VEGETABLES
roasted sweet potato, red bell pep-
TOSTADAS
per and red onion. I also threw on
some shredded iceberg lettuce for
For roasted veggies
extra crunch and fresh-made pico
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
de gallo for color. Crumbled queso
2 red bell peppers, seeded and sliced
fresco and a tangy lime crema add
1 red onion, sliced thin
the crowning touch.
2 teaspoons chili powder
The joy of this recipe is that you
Kosher salt
can pick and choose whatever in-
gredients make you happy. Feel free 1 tablespoon oil
to also play around with seasoned
For bean layer
ground beef or chicken, chorizo,
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans,
scrambled eggs, shredded cheese,
rinsed and drained
jarred salsa and pickled jalapenos.
I stacked the tostadas in two lay- 1/2 teaspoon cumin, or
more to taste
ers for a heartier meal, but it can be
Gretchen McKay
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup minced white onion
Generous pinch of salt
For pico de gallo
1 cup diced fresh tomato
1 jalapeno, seeded and fi nely diced
1/4 small red onion, diced
1 garlic clove, fi nely diced
Juice of 1/2 lime
Chopped cilantro, to taste
Salt, to taste
For tostadas
8 packaged tostadas
Shredded iceberg lettuce
1/2 cup crumbled queso
fresco, or fi nely shredded
Monterey jack cheese
Diced avocado, optional
Chopped cilantro, optional
Lime crema, optional
Prepare vegetables: Place sweet
potatoes, peppers and red onion in a
large bowl. Season with chili powder
and a generous pinch of salt. Then
toss with oil.
Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet
and roast veggies in a preheated
450-degree oven until tender, toss-
ing halfway through, about 25 to 30
minutes.
While veggies are roasting,
prepare beans. Combine drained
pinto beans, cumin, chili powder and
onion in a small saucepan. Cook over
medium-high heat for about 10 min-
utes, until beans and onions soften.
Mash with a fork and keep warm.
Gretchen McKay/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-TNS
These vegetarian tostadas are stacked with two layers of smashed
pinto beans, lettuce, pico and roasted sweet potatoes and bell pep-
pers. Crumbled queso fresco and lime crema add the crowning touch.
Prepare pico de gallo: In a medium
bowl, combine the diced tomato,
jalapeño, onion, garlic, lime juice,
cilantro and a generous pinch of salt.
Stir to combine, adding more salt if
necessary.
Let rest for 15 minutes before serv-
ing so fl avors can mingle.
Assemble tostadas: Spread a tosta-
da shell with mashed beans. Top with
shredded lettuce, roasted vegetables,
pico de gallo, crumbled or shredded
cheese, diced avocado, and chopped
cilantro if using. Drizzle lime crema
on top, and then repeat with a second
layer. Serve immediately.
Serves 4.
— Gretchen McKay