The onions have been delivered to Wal-mart and probably other nurseries if you live in Texas. If you didn’t plant from seeds, it’s time to put the starters in the ground–1015Y is a favorite as always and there was also a red onion (it wasn’t named, but probably a southern belle–the point being for Texas you want a short day onion). The white onions (usually a granex or white bemuda for Texas) weren’t in yet. If you want to order onions, try this site: Dixondale.

Get planting! Mine will probably go in Thursday when temps will be near 70 and clouds are expected.

Last week I also started cucumbers and zucchini in peat pots (they don’t like their roots moved during transplanting).

If you haven’t already put in your beans and peas, you’re late! (Specifically any cool peas like snap peas and snow peas should be put in early in Texas and then covered during any light freezes.)

Update: 1/10/07: Onions are in the ground! Yes, I probably could have waited for tomorrow when it’s supposed to be cloudy, but I’m pretty impatient. We’ll have three nice days in the 70’s followed by gloomy 40’s with light freezes for three or four days. The onions won’t mind. If all goes well, I should have a few “testers” in late March (these are about the size of green onions) and full sized beauties at the end of May!

Update: 1/14/07: Cold. Rainy. Sleet and snow predicted. High 20’s for the lows. The snow peas, which had already come up, are burried under a light mulch as is the lettuce. The onions will probably be fine, but I put a plastic tarp over them (lightly so air gets under) in case of freezing rain. I don’t think the freezing rain will bother them, but I was out there mulching under the other things. It’s gross out there, folks. Find a good book and settle in for a read.

Update: 1/18/07: Yes, I know it froze. 28 for four nights in a row…the onions are probably okay. I’ve removed the ice and the plastic sheet that held the ice. As for the peas…I checked under the mulch. They look like they might have made it, but I covered them again, lightly. We have another freeze coming Monday or Tues with rain expected most days until then. This could be a year that requires replanting!

Meanwhile, the cucumber and squash are coming up indoors in the peat pots!

Update: 1/21/07: The snow peas were fine after I undercovered them from the mulch. A bit of freeze damage on the tips of some leaves and I broke off a couple of leaves/branches accidently from brushing too hard. Lettuce and cilantro was also fine after I undercovered them. The lettuce will need serious washing when it comes time to eat it as the “mulch” I used was peat moss and that stuff is all over the place now. The onions look just fine also; they probably didn’t even need the cover, but I figured getting the ice off sooner rather than later was a good idea.

The garden is going to need some cleaning up after things dry out. We’ve got one day of sun and then more rain on the way…

I’m putting these suggestions out here because I keep getting visitors based on searches for bear meat recipes. My mother has cooked bear meat and recommends the following:

Cook the meat in a pressure cooker with a cup and a half of water and a half tsp of salt. (The length of time depends on the size of the pressure cooker and the meat–your pressure cooker should give some guidelines.) In general a two-three pound roast takes an hour to an hour and a half.

The pressure cooker method is good because it will keep the meat tender and not allow it to dry out. You can use beef or chicken broth in place of the water and salt.

You can also cook bear meat in a crockpot–this will take much longer, more in the neighborhood of 6 to 8 hours.

If you are worried about bear meat being “gamey” soak the meat overnight in milk, although mom says it was quite mild in flavor and not fatty. You can also cook the bear roast for a few hours in the crockpot and then dump off the liquid and start with fresh liquid in the crockpot. This cooks off a lot of the gamey flavor.

If you want to try herbs in the mix, I’d recommend sage with thyme. If you aren’t partial to those two, try rosemary, but remember it can be strong so go easy with it. In both cases a few onions will also be a nice addition.

Once the meat is cooked, you can serve it a variety of ways–if it is strong in taste, consider making it into a curry. If it is mild, use it in stew or chile. You can probably use the meat in burritos as well–but always pre-cook the bear roast before putting the beans and chiles into the mix. This will allow you to determine if the meat is tender enough and mild enough for your dish.

For non-fatty cuts of meat, you might try jerky.

For ground bear meat, I recommend a nice pot of chile.