Passion.  Perseverance.  Practice.  Those are at the heart of this week’s Sketchbook Skool online lessons.  So this spring weekend I’ve been passionately persevering and practicing:

“Sunflower Starts”, mixed media by Kerry McFall

This year I decided to get a jump on the cutworms and slugs and plant sunflowers in cardboard egg cartons.  I put the cartons out in the driveway, where the cement reflects sunshine and collects warmth and, I thought optimistically, deters bugs.  The seeds sprouted, and are thriving, although some of the leaves are still struggling to shed the shells.  I decided that today was the day to plant them, so drawing them first would be a good exercise in perspective, shading, and recording daily life.  I brought them inside, and when I lifted them up to check for roots poking through the bottom of the carton, discovered colonies of “curly bugs” (sow bugs?) had come along for the ride, all snugged up in the dividers underneath.  Eew.  But one person’s grossout moment is a chicken’s delight, so the neighbor’s hens had a lovely Easter morning treat.

Yesterday was the first Saturday Farmer’s Market of the year, so we walked to the Riverfront (one of the true delights of living close to downtown) in a light drizzle and made the rounds of the booths for a “Farm to Table” supper.  Fresh cheddar bratwurst, cabbage raab ( new veggie for me), and BumbleBerry Pie.  Raab, it turns out, is the blossom spike (with tiny leaves) of the cabbage if you leave the plant in the ground to overwinter – it looks a lot like broccoli.  Recipes are below this sketch:

Corvallis Farmers Market 2014, mixed media by Kerry McFall

Slice Sweet Briar Farm cheddar bratwurst into bite size pieces – it’s really good, and really fresh.  Chop one onion into quarters.

Stir fry onions and bratwurst until brown in cast iron skillet in olive oil.

Add enough sauerkraut plus juice to almost cover sausage, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or longer… If you happen to have a bottle of beer open, pour some of it in, too.

At end of the 15 minutes, leave the brats simmering, and chop the raab into 3 inch sections.  Stir-fry in olive oil with one clove of chopped garlic and a little sea salt just until tender-crisp, which only takes a few minutes.  Serve with the bratwurst.  And if you’re not on a diet, some fried potatoes would be perfect to go with this.