Flower Power – Monday April 5, 2010

I bought some flowers to use on the tables for Sunday Easter Brunch. I decided to have some fun with them and well, I did stay up real late on Friday night doing some editing. The wisteria just started blooming recently and is so fragrant. Too bad it is also so pesky.

We had a sunrise service at a nearby lake and it was beautiful outside, watching the mist on the lake and the sun occasionally peaking through the fog. The mosquitoes were out in full force but thankfully they must’ve been about ready to head to bed as they didn’t bother us much.

We had a lovely service of special singing, a short message by Joel, sharing time and more special singing and then we headed to our dining hall for a breakfast of pancakes, breakfast casserole, fruit slush and cut fruit, and pastries.

I had a vicious sore throat which Advil helped to keep manageable until I could finish my food committee duties and the go home and collapse into bed. Slept 4 hours, I did, but I still managed to come down with a full-blown flu.

Anyway, I was pretty tickled with these and after my Gerber daisies mature, I can try some with different colors. The flowers were actually orange but they look more like red here.

Gerber

Pansies

Pansies 2

pansies 3

tulips 3

wysteria

wysteria 2

Have a great day!

Monday April 5, 2010

Spring keeps springing and today I’m home with the flu. Yuck. I’d actually rather be working. Somehow I managed to miss the bugs coming around over the winter but not now.

spring 2010 12

spring 2010 11

The other evening we went to a “plant farm” as their names says. They have millions of plants that they ship out to retailers, plus you can go through their greenhouses and handpick you own plants.

This is a picture I took last year we were there:

day 27a

This time we went earlier in the spring than last year. So we hope we got the color flowers we wanted. And we only had a little over an hour to shop. Not enough time for that place.

After we left we decided to take the dirt roads home. It was supposed to be a 30 minute drive home but it ended being a bit longer than that. We apparently turned the wrong way once and took the scenic route home. And no, we don’t have GPS. We are so twentieth century.

But we did pass this place which we found to be quite interesting. Way out in the country, by a big field.

scenic route 1

Seems the tables are turned on the cows of Chik-fil-A. The chickens are getting their revenge.

scenic route 2

And I have no idea what this means.

 scenic route 3

We did find out way home before the sun set and we lost east from west. No really, we weren’t that lost, just out a slightly different direction that we thought we were headed.

Yesterday we spent the day outside. I got the outside of the windows cleaned which was neglected last fall and even maybe last spring. It was amazing how much cleaner they were this time vs. before our grass came in and the dirt didn’t get blown around. I still had the dilemna of how to get the windows clean that are surrounded by flower beds and wouldn’t be safe for a ladder.

I checked at our local hardwares stores for a squeegee window washer but could only find a squeegee. So I bought a deck brush and safety pinned a rag to it. And I found a squeegee for the shower and taped it to a broom handle. It looked, well, like a red-necked contraption but it worked. Very well, in fact.

redneck window wash

Plus I needed the deck brush to wash our pollinated carport.

Lois got her butterfly garden started. And I have a tiered planter that I want to try.

spring 2010 16

And we planted more vegetables. Our broccoli plants are pretty much history. The cabbage is hopefully developing heads.

Spring 2010 14

The brussel sprouts, a new venture for us, are getting small “buds” on them.

spring 2010 13

The kale and kohlrabi are coming along well. The lettuce is at it’s prime. The garlic and onions are beginning to mature. We planted tomatoes, squash, and 3 kinds of peppers. We also started an asparagus bed, another new thing. Hopefully it will work, if not, we’ll know in a few years.

Our garden is looking better than last year, probably in thanks to adding lots of lime, a must for this area, and an all-natural bovine by-product thoroughly mixed in last fall.  We also used some mushroom mulch, a tip we learned from Clarita who had absolutely gorgeous plants last summer.

Now if we could find a really effective way to get rid of the bugs and weeds.

Sunday April 4, 2010

Spring keeps springing.

 

The other evening we went to a “plant farm” as their names says. They have millions of plants that they ship out to retailers, plus you can go through their greenhouses and handpick you own plants.

This is a picture I took last year we were there:

day 27a

This time we went earlier in the spring than last year. And we only had a little over an hour to shop. Not enough time for that place.

After we left we decided to take the dirt roads home. It was supposed to be a 30 minute drive home but it ended being a bit longer than that. We apparently turned the wrong way once and took the scenic route home. And no, we don’t have GPS. We are so twentieth century.

But we did pass this place which we found to be quite interesting. Way out in the country, by a big field.

scenic route 1

Seems the tables are turned on the cows of Chik-fil-A. The chickens are getting their revenge.

scenic route 2  

And I really don’t know what the sign on the left means.

scenic route 3

We did find out way home before the sun set and we lost east from west. No really, we weren’t that lost, just out a slightly different direction that we thought we were headed.

Yesterday we spent the day outside. I got the outside of the windows cleaned which was neglected last fall and even maybe last spring. It was amazing how much cleaner they were this time vs. before our grass came in and the dirt didn’t get blown around. I still had the dilemna of how to get the windows clean that are surrounded by flower beds and wouldn’t be safe for a ladder.

I checked at our local hardwares stores for a squeegee window washer but could only find a squeegee. So I bought a deck brush and safety pinned a rag to it. And I found a squeegee for the shower and taped it to a broom handle. It looked, well, like a red-necked contraption but it worked. Very well, in fact. That tip for improvisation is free.

Plus I needed the deck brush to wash our pollinated carport.

redneck window wash

For some reason the pinned rag reminded me of occasions long ago when we would babysit and ran out of disposable diapers and my mom would pin towels on the the babies. Hey, it worked and the kiddos still had a good time.

Lois got her butterfly garden started. And we planted more vegetables. Our broccoli plants are pretty much history. The cabbage is hopefully developing heads.

 

The brussel sprouts, a new are getting small “buds” on them.

 

The kale and kohlrabi are coming along well. The lettuce is at it’s prime. The garlic and onions are beginning to mature. We planted tomatoes, squash, and 3 kinds of peppers. We also started an asparagus bed, another new thing. Hopefully it will work, if not, we’ll know in a few years.

Our garden is looking better than last year, probably in thanks to adding lots of lime, a must for this area, and an all-natural bovine by-product thoroughly mixed in last fall.

 

Salad by Caesar

 

 

 

More likely named after Caesar Cardini than by Julius Caesar, so say online sources. Google it if you want.

Anyway, I’ve been on a Caesar salad kick recently and I couldn’t always find a dressing that I really liked. I’m the creamy Caesar dressing fan so I did a google search for recipes and found one that I love. I’ll share it with you if you send me a $20 bill with the request “Send me the Caesar Salad Dressing recipe, please” written on it in small letters.

Just kidding.

You know this is a No Purchase Necessary site. So here it is:

Creamy Caesar Dressing

2 garlic cloves
1 c. mayo (hellmans)
1/4 c. half & half
1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese
2 T. lemon juice
1 T. dijon mustard
salt & fresh ground pepper
2 tsp. Worcestershire
anchovy paste, if desired
more half & half for thinning if needed

Process in blender or food processor. Refrigerate 3 hours before using.

I really did use Hellmans since I was able to get it at CVS for $1.25 a quart after a B1G1 and coupon deal. Not bad considering their original price was $6 a quart. Honestly, WHO pays $6 a quart for Hellmans????

The first time I made it I made it without the anchovy paste since I couldn’t find it locally in our “huge” selection of grocery stores (Wally W and Harveys) and I was not about to mash up anchovy filets as the recipe suggested for a replacement.

I did finally find the paste at Kroger.

ceasar salad 4

If you can read that you did much better than me. Unfortunately I’m the epitome of the American unilingual (unless you count the 50% Pennsylvania Dutch that I attempt to speak). I wanted to say unilingualist because that sounded more grammatically correct by the dictionaries did not like it.

ceasar salad 5

There’s the translation for you other unilingualists.

ceasar salad 6

It comes in a tube and I think I used a rounded teaspoon or so. Try not to think about it being pulverized little fishies in olive oil and seasonings. It’s probably high in Vitamins D and Q and Omega 3s. Or something.

I also used milk instead of half and half since I didn’t have said half and half in the fridge at the time. Actually, we almost never have half and half in our fridge. We have 2% milk because it’s a compromise between whole milk and tinted water (skim milk, which I refuse to drink).

I also didn’t process it in the blender. Wonder what difference that would make in its consistency. I use the nifty dressing maker that Pampered Chef sells.

This is what my salad typically looks like:

ceasar salad 2

More precisely:

ceasar salad 3

I sometimes slice celery to toss with it as well and some feta cheese. The croutons are homemade, which I love to make. Here’s what I do:

crouton 1

I like the Boule bread the best because it’s a lot of bread with a little crust. And I like to keep my eye on it at Wally World where they mark it down eventually and it works great for croutons.

crouton 2

 

Crouton 3

An electric bread knife is essential in getting them sliced evenly. I believe every modern kitchen needs a bread knife. (Did you hear that Ginny?  I know, next time it can be a hostess gift.)

Slice the bread into 1/3 to 1/2 inch slices. You don’t have to be OCD about this but if you get them too big and they end up too crunchy, it can be an embarrassing mouthful of crunch.

crouton 4

crouton 5

crouton 6

 

Throw some olive oil in a container (in this case the Mix and Pour) along with your choice of seasonings.

crouton 7

 

 

I like to use Natures Seasoning, garlic salt, regular salt and Parmesan cheese.

Put the bread cubes into a gallon zipped bag or a sealable container.

crouton 8

crouton 9

 

 

Pour the seasoned oil over it and toss to get everything as evenly coated as possible.

Lay them on a baking pan. This is one loaf of bread. If you do more than that, you probably should use another pan. They get crunchy quicker if they’re not piled too thick.

crouton 10

 

Bake at 350* and turn them every 10 minutes, checking them each time for crunchiness. You can still add seasonings if needed.

crouton 11

 

Once they’re golden brown and crunchy, they’re finished. I really cannot remember how long this takes. 30 minutes, maybe?? I do know that once they start turning brown they can get away from you quickly and then you end up with a brain-jarring crunch.

Did you want to see what I had on my plate ^ with my Caesar Salad?

ceasar salad 1

 

That’s angel hair pasta and alfredo sauce with grilled chicken. As I mentioned in a post in the far distant past, I occasionally buy chicken breasts on sale, marinate a bunch, grill it, slice it, freeze it by serving size and pull it out later. Very convenient, especially in small households like ours.