leadership
2024 Garden Club Board
activities
Dates to Remember
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| December 16 | Garden Club Meeting and Christmas Luncheon |
| June 8 2025 | Garden Tour & Faire!! |
| Fridays at 8:am | Chamber of Commerce Greeters. Click for their Calendar of upcoming Events |
Annual Christmas Luncheon | November 18 | Elaine Pollak
In December and June after the business meeting instead of a speaker we have a luncheon and enjoy one another’s company.
This month Biscuits and Pickles will be catering. The menu is a winter salad, mesquite turkey breast, mashed potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts. The club is providing beverages and gourmet cookies for dessert.
Cost is $22. The caterers need to know by December 9 how many are attending.
Make your checks out to McMinnville Garden Club. Our address is P O Box 386 McMinnville. You can also pay at the meeting but let Charlene know by the 9th that you will be attending.
The tables will be decorated and we hope to see you there.
Presidents Corner
Elaine Pollak
McMinnville Garden Club PresidentIf November is the month that we count our blessings, December is the giving month when we share with friends and family, and those less fortunate than ourselves.
At our December meeting, we forgo a speaker and have a catered luncheon where we get to enjoy each other‘s company. We also take up collections for local charities.
We collect money for YCAP; the Yamhill Community Action Partnership. YCAP runs the local food bank, but also helps with energy assistance, rental assistance, housing stabilization, and services for youth.
We collect money for Henderson House. Henderson House helps victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human sex trafficking. They provide crisis intervention, an emergency 90-day shelter and service referrals for help with beginning a new safe life.
We collect money for Juliette’s House. Their goal is a world free from child abuse. They provide assessment, treatment, and support for children and families affected by abuse.
We collect money for A Family Place; run by the Lutheran Community Services. They assist young families who have little support and are facing multiple stressors. They provide a relief nursery, home visits, parent education, and give out diapers.
Finally, the First Presbyterian Church, where we meet, gives a Saturday night dinner for all who are hungry. The weather has turned colder. They need donations of socks, coats, gloves, and hats to give to those having to endure the elements.
Thanks to the efforts of our creative scarecrow assemblers, our club has earned third place last year and this year. Third place wins a $50 MAC Bucks gift card. At our November meeting, we decided to donate a card each to Henderson House and Juliette’s House.
As a club, we make several charitable contributions. The money to continue doing so is raised at our annual Tour and Faire. Our largest contribution is through scholarships to deserving students. We also make yearly donations to the Community Garden, Zero Waste, and the Yamhill County Fair to assist 4-H members.
We give our time and monies when necessary to maintain green spaces within our community. We maintain the Post Office and the West End Garden. We care for the indoor library plants. We clean up the ivy in the tree wells on Third Street. We have created the Serenity Garden. Our Garden Tour and Faire will on June 8th in 2025. Let’s work together to have another successful outcome!!
But for now, take care of those last-minute tasks in the garden when the weather permits and have a glorious holiday season with friends and family.
happy happy
Birthdays!
congratulations!
Members celebrating this December are:: Mark, Katelyn, Beryl, Cozette, and Charlene.
Good Eats!
Makes a dozen sticky dark cakes which are good frosted with your favorite chocolate or cream cheese frosting. Decorated with a tiny gingerbread man or candied ginger.
- 10 T butter 1 t cinnamon
- 1 C dark brown sugar 1 t ginger
- ½ C dark molasses ½ t nutmeg
- Zest of an orange ¼ t allspice
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin pan. Put the ingredients above in a saucepan, stir until sugar dissolves. Pour mixture into mixing bowl and let cool 10 minutes.
- 3 eggs
- ½ C applesauce
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add applesauce. Then add dry ingredients on low speed until combined.
- 1 ¼ C flour ½ t baking soda
- ½ t baking powder ¼ t salt
Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners. Bake 20 minutes. Cool in muffin pan 10 minutes, then place on wire rack and cool completely. Frost with your choice of frosting.
Good Eats!
- 1 ½ cups fresh mint leaves, tightly packed
- 1 t fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup raw walnut halves
- 1 large garlic clove
- salt & pepper to taste
Place mint leaves, lemon juice and walnuts into a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the garlic clove and pulse a few more times. Turn the food processor on medium speed and slowly drizzle the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is running. After adding the oil turn the processor off and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and salt & pepper to taste, pulsing again until well blended.
Store in a mason jar in the fridge for up to one week or top the jar with extra olive oil and freeze for up to 3 months.
Good Eats!
Toss with any pasta dish, add to salads, grilled sandwiches, spoon over roasted vegetables or meats, drizzle onto pizza, or even add to soups for extra depth of flavor.
The possibilities are endless!
- 1 1/2 cups flatleaf parsley, tightly packed
- 4 sliced scallions (both green and white parts)
- 1t fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 1 large garlic clove
- Salt & pepper to taste
Place parsley, scallions, lemon juice and pine nuts into a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the garlic clove and pulse a few more times. Turn the food processor on medium speed and slowly drizzle the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is running. After adding the oil turn the processor off and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and salt & pepper to taste, pulsing again until well blended.
Store in a mason jar in the fridge for up to one week or top the jar with extra olive oil and freeze for up to 3 months.
Newsletter News
Christine Pitts is our editor!!
Please send your articles to her from her profile page HERE by the 25th of each month.
Welcome New Members
- Robin Stern
Club News
Dear members, one of our members has found a person who does fancy embroidery so we have an opportunity to get a version of our club logo in a patch. Look at the top corner of the newsletter for our logo. The patch will be of the flowers only. The cost is $8 for either an iron-on or a sew-on patch. This would be a nice addition to our club aprons, etc. We will take requests up to and through the December luncheon meeting before putting in the order and collecting monies. You can sign up at the meeting or Contact Charlene Drake to place your order if you can’t make the meeting.
Conservation and Sustainability Committee
Hopefully everyone had a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving! Remember to bring your clean and sorted plastic to each meeting, even the December luncheon meeting!
In January, we will have some additional information for the club to hopefully make it easier to know what to put in your recycling barrel at home, take to Recology, or to bring to the Garden Club meetings. We know it is a bit challenging to know and remember some of these details; the committee sometimes has difficulty with them also!
If you need some ideas for holiday gifts for family members, maybe some net drawstring produce bags (so they don’t use the plastic bags in the produce section), or glass storage containers instead of plastic. Plus, you can heat up food in the microwave in glass containers much more safely. Reusable grocery bags are helpful also, especially ones that are easy to clean.
Over the next few months, we will have some additional ideas for using less plastic. In the meantime, thank you for participating in the collection of plastic for the Zero Waste McMinnville’s collection events. The next event will be in February. Let us know if you have any questions, the committee is happy to help!
Horticulture
“Every gardener knows under the cloak of winter lies a miracle – a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to light, a bud straining to unfurl. And the anticipation nurtures our dream.” ~ Barbara Winkler, American author and editor
If you have questions about how the best ways winterize your garden and position it for a successful growing season, our local OSU Extension Service comes to the rescue with lots advice on winterizing, including the answer to this nagging question, “Can I leave my garden hoses outside this winter?” Check out this website: Winterize Your Garden
Resources
Quotable
Softly falls the light Of Autumn's mellowing sun Across fields and hills.
