Signs of Spring and a Birthday

Mr. F turned 4 this weekend. With all the family and friends, he's having 3 birthday get-togethers. The first was Saturday night - breakfast for dinner, with fruit, puffy baked pancake, sausage, and of course, a cake. 

The big hit of the evening was a Lego loading dock, complete with M & Ms to load, unload, and share, designed and built by Uncle Gerry (wearing glasses). The big and little boys were equally enthralled. 

Our boat normally lives on a trailer on our second driveway. It looks awfully big there and draws some attention when driving down the street. On Saturday morning we launched it for a short trip to a marine shop where a new engine will be installed. The old one (40 years) still works well, but for how long? We're planning longer trips and to more remote areas and want the extra security of a reliable engine. As a bonus, this new engine will be quieter!

The weather wasn't the greatest on Saturday morning, but soon cleared up. 

Sunday afternoon skies shone blue and clear. How I love these brighter, longer days. I have more energy to plan and do things. A wander around the garden with my camera revealed lots and lots of life springing up in the garden. Rhubarb, hydrangea, peony, lilac, and rose bushes unfurl in response to the season. White Candy Tuft begins to bloom. 
"Welcome, welcome," I say.

This winter has been extremely mild, as evidenced by the parsley plant that hasn't died down. I've been able to clip from it all winter. Now the chives are poking up, and soon oregano will show new growth. The garlic I planted last fall is 3 inches tall. Kale plants are yielding a wealth of leafy greens. 

It could still get cold, and possibly snow, but as the days pass, the likelihood lessens. Are there any signs of spring in your corner?

Linking with Mosaic Monday, hosted by Maggie of Normandy Life. 

Bringing the Outdoors In

Do you find, as I do, that flowers or greenery adds life to a room? A pot of ivy on the mantel, a fern in the hallway, and a ficus tree behind the sofa add the energy of growing things in my home. But I want more. These days my garden is bursting with life. The first blooms of spring have passed and I'm awaiting the hydrangeas and roses. 

I found these metal containers at Ikea in December. I put small glass candle holders with tea lights in them and admired the light flickering through the open pattern. The other day I looked at them and thought they'd make pretty vases as well. A small jar holds water and into the water I plunked variegated sage, lemon balm, and oregano, all clipped from my garden. The herbs are at their best just now and it's time to begin harvesting for the winter. There are more than enough herbs to enjoy as greenery as well as to dry for later.

What's in your herb garden? Do you dry herbs for the winter? What do you clip from your garden when flowers are scarce?

Tasty Tuesday: Rosemary Parmesan Coins

When we have guests, I like to serve a drink and some nibbles while I finish the dinner preparations. I shared this recipe last summer on my recipe blog. It's one I've made many times. These little crispy bites are full of buttery, cheesy, herby flavor with a hint of lemon. Not difficult at all to prepare, the rolls of unbaked dough can be well wrapped and frozen, then pulled out when needed and baked. Beware - these are addictive.

Rosemary Parmesan Coins

1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup lightly packed grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 Tablespoon finely minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, chilled
1 large egg yolk
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a food processor. (See note below if you don't have a food processor.) Pulse until blended. Add the butter and pulse until the dough resembles coarse crumbs. Stir together the egg yolk and lemon juice. Drizzle over the flour mixture. Pulse until small moist crumbs begin to form. 

Turn the mixture out onto an unfloured work surface. Work the dough (it will look like a pile of crumbs), smearing onto the counter and mashing it together until it forms a cohesive dough. Shape into a 1 to 1 1/2 inch diameter log. Wrap in plastic. Chill for an hour or more. Slice 1/4 inch thick and place on parchment lined baking sheets. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes. Watch carefully for the last few minutes as they can burn quickly.

After wrapping in plastic, the dough can be frozen. Thaw slightly at room temperature to slice and bake.

Linking to Tasty Tuesday, hosted by Penny of The Comforts of Home.

edited to add: Several readers have asked if this could be made without a food processor. Certainly. I would suggest adding the butter with your fingers, or a pastry cutter, then adding the remaining ingredients. The mixture is crumbly anyway and needs hand kneading to make it come together.  

From My Herb Garden: Lemon Balm

 One of my preferred sections of my garden is my herb patch. I planted it fairly close to the house so I can dash out and clip herbs as I cook. Lemon Balm (melissa officinalis) grows there, but it also seeds itself all over the yard. I yank it out regularly. Still, it's a pretty plant, and its tendency to wander is likely because of its family connections - related to mint. 

It's a useful plant as well. I dry leaves during the summer and in the winter, I throw a handful into a teapot, pour boiling water over, let steep and enjoy a lemony mint tea. The plant is said to have a calming effect. 

It can also be used in many of the same recipes as mint. We're enjoying warm days here - unusual for so early in the summer. I'm not complaining in the least, in fact, I'm soaking up the heat. But that doesn't mean that I want to spend much time in the kitchen. This Avocado Soup is one I've made for several years. It's creamy, refreshing, and takes about 5 minutes to pull together. And it uses lemon balm - or mint, if you prefer. 

A pitcher of cold water, with lemon slices and a few sprigs of lemon balm is a refreshing item to have in the refrigerator.

Does Lemon Balm grow in your garden? What do you use it for? I'd love to discover some new recipes.

A Personal Photo Challenge

Each month, Donna from Cottage Days and Journeys posts a personal photo challenge. Since one of my goals for 2013 has been to improve my photography skills, I've joined in. 

For this first photo, I crouched down and took a photo of my herb garden. It's odd how the black water pipe crossing the path is so much more visible in a photo. In real life, I hardly notice it. 
 

This photo was taken looking down at the chive blossoms. There were so many bees - a very good sign for gardeners - but they move quickly and getting a clear shot was difficult.
 

For this last shot, I got below the level of the blossom to shoot it with some blue sky background.

All shots were taken with my Nikon Coolpix P7100, basically a point and shoot digital. I used the Scene mode, with the first two photos on Landscape and the last one on Closeup. Post shooting processing was a simple matter of deepening the shadows and adding a touch of highlight.

I'm looking forward to seeing more composition variations at Donna's A Personal Photochallenge site.

Rhubarb Season

Although there was frost on the roofs this morning, the day was filled with sunshine. This afternoon I harvested the first rhubarb, some rainbow chard and chives. I'm drying chives for next winter - they are good to sprinkle in salads or egg dishes. I use them fresh for as long as I can, then use the dried ones.

The chard I cut up and sauteed for dinner, adding a dash of balsamic vinegar at the last minute. With roast beef, cauliflower and quinoa, we had a delicious dinner. 
 

On Friday, at the grocery store, I saw California strawberries, organic ones, on sale. I thought I'd try them - surely the organic ones would be sweet. Alas, they were white inside, crunchy and not sweet at all. You'd think I'd learn my lesson. I usually buy one box of the traveling strawberries per year and then vow to never purchase them again. I'll wait for the real strawberries, the ones that grow locally and are juicy and full of sun ripened sweetness.

Since the oven was on already for the beef, I cut up the rhubarb and the strawberries, placed them into a 9 x 13 pan, sprinkled them with brown sugar and drizzled them with honey and baked them at 350 for about 45 minutes. The result: a lovely cooked rhubarb sauce to eat over ice cream, cake or with yogurt. My husband loves it. 

This evening I planted carrots and mesclun lettuce, and set out my leek starters in their trenches. Then we went for our evening walk and watched the stars come out and the sky darken. A satellite sailed across the moon. Will we see any meteor showers tonight? We'll go outside again before bed.

Did you have internet troubles today? Google and its services were down for at least the afternoon. I could still access Pinterest and Facebook, and a couple of other websites, but not Feedly. Now Google is back, but Feedly is still not loading. It seems to have been a widespread problem in our area. Weird. 

 

Summer Evening

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from Brenda of It's a Beautiful Life asking if I would be interested in the cover of an out-of-date planner. The William Morris design was just too pretty to toss. Of course I said yes, and so she mailed it off to me. It arrived a week or so ago - in the midst of travelers and baby arriving, and I've just had time to photograph it now. The design is so rich - I'll look forward to creating a journal worthy of it. And the tags she included are so pretty. Brenda's blog points the reader to find the beauty in every day life and it's one that often gives me thoughts to chew upon. Thank you, Brenda, for the parcel, and for inspiring your readers.

I've been dragging with a cold for the past few days. I've managed to go to work, drinking copious amounts of lemon-and-honey-laced tea all the while, but the evenings have mostly been spent doing nothing. Today, I feel like I'll survive. I've stayed away from the baby but today after school I zipped over there for a little cuddle. What a darling.

After dinner I watered my plants, did some rearranging on the deck, and lettered signs for my herb garden.
 

Tim made the signs a few weeks ago and this is the first chance I've had to do something with them. I used a Sharpie and lettered them free-hand. If they fade too quickly, I'll go over them with acrylic paints. But I wanted something finished NOW! After pounding the stakes into the ground I took a few pictures. The light was fading and long shadows testify to the lateness of the evening. 

I'm using fresh herbs almost every day now - enjoying the luxury of stepping out my door and snipping off fragrant fresh leaves to flavour marinades, teas, salads and dips.

Do you have a garden? How's it doing? What are you currently enjoying from it?

Tastes of Summer

Summer is so short here that I feel the need to make the most of every possible minute. One way to do that is with the food we eat. Meals on the deck using the grill for cooking, picnics by the sea or in the woods, casual get togethers with family and friends - I love summertime. Cooking needs to be easy - and what's easier than compiling the fresh tastes of the season.

Herbed Cottage Cheese Spread makes the most of the fresh herbs that are flourishing in my garden just now. It's easy to put together and yummy with toasted or fresh baguette slices, crackers from a box, or fresh vegetables. I put the recipe on my other blog, you can find it by clicking here, or the recipe name above.
 

The fresh taste of water can hardly be improved upon, but I like adding just a hint of flavour with fresh herbs like mint or lemon balm. Pick a handful, rinse them, and place them in a large jug of water. Let sit in the fridge for a few hours and the herbs will gently flavour the water. 

This afternoon my husband asked me what the undersea garden in the fridge was for. It took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about.
 

For a mildly sweet treat on a hot afternoon, popsicles are just the thing. I have some old Tupperware molds and fill them with blended fruits, yogurt, or in this case, coconut milk. I call them Almost Piña Colada Popsicles and the recipe is easy-peasy. Click on the name to go to the recipe.

Last Sunday our Little Miss devoured almost an entire popsicle - her father finished it off. 

As I write this, on Wednesday evening, the sky is heavy and rain drips down. It doesn't feel very summery around here. But I'm hopeful. Are you thinking about summer? What summer tastes do you enjoy?