made it outside for a little while

March 25, 2009 – 10:25 pm

Another beautiful day, though I wore a light jacket. The driveway is lined with daffodils and the redbud trees are busting out all over the yard. There are more than 20 of them in bloom.

redbuds along the driveway

Looking north from the veggie garden toward the front yard.

west of the house

We (OK…DH) planted 13 broccoli plants, 2 Brussels sprout plants, three kinds of lettuce, a clematis, a daylily, and two Asiatic lilies. The radishes and spinach are looking great. Maybe we’ll get the second round of those planted Saturday. The mustard or chard is coming up, too, but we forgot which we planted where…

planting broccoli

Funny Zak. He had his nose buried in the fresh sprigs of catnip.

diving head first into the catnip

The daffodils just get better every year. These have a wonderful, almost fruity, scent. We need to dig and transplant some of them after they’ve gone dormant. Spread the wealth around the yard a bit more.

lovely daffodils

I was out longer than I had planned. DD is still feeling under the weather. We left her with a cell phone so she could call us if she needed us…did get one call. “May I have the chocolate bar in the fridge?” She may not be feeling well, but she’s feeling a lot better. 🙂

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in spring | Tagged , | Comments (1)

flower pasta

March 25, 2009 – 4:21 pm

I’ve had these cute little pasta shapes sitting in the pantry for several months. Today, I visited Nummy Mummy’s site and she had made them as mac and cheese and even served them in cute little flower pots. You gotta go see. Very cute! And give her recipe a try. It sounds so good!

I made some for DD today, but I used our own recipe. She thought mac and cheese sounded good. All she’s had to eat for the past few days are raw potatoes and a little chocolate chip mint ice cream. I know…raw potatoes. She loves ’em, but they don’t seem like a good food when you’re sick, do they? She’s had one peeled and sliced raw potato every day since Sunday. Not eating much else, besides a couple of servings of said ice cream.

easy mac and cheese

We (read “my kids”) like our mac and cheese a little on the “soft” side. Soft as in not-so-much-cheese, and we use American cheese instead of cheddar. Personally, I’d prefer some killer, baked, four cheese, gourmet mac and cheese, but this is a kid’s dish at our house so I make it the way the kids like it. Which they learned at Grandma’s house, as her mac and cheese was always on the creamier rather than cheesy side of life. Though I think she used Velveeta… Anyhoo…here’s how we make it.

2 c. macaroni [Today I used the flower shaped pasta.]
1/4 c. milk [I don’t really measure this…just slurp some in.]
1 T. margarine
6 slices American cheese, torn into pieces

Cook the pasta according to package directions. I like to add a teaspoon of salt to the water. Drain the macaroni. I don’t rinse it. Return it to the pot and place it over low to medium heat. Add the next three ingredients and stir until the cheese is melted. Like it cheesier? Add more cheese to taste.

flowery mac and cheese

It’s even better with real butter, freshly ground black pepper and freshly granted Parmesan cheese on top. But just try to serve it that way to my kids. Not gonna work. BTW, she must be feeling better. She asked for seconds. 🙂

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Recipes | Tagged , | Comments (4)

blueberry crumb cake

March 24, 2009 – 10:12 pm

After several days of sitting with DD as she has not been feeling well, I decided to make a cake this afternoon. Needed a change of pace! I tried Blueberry Crumb Cake from Dorie Greenspans’s book Baking: from My Home to Yours.

The recipe was easy to follow. The crumb topping, when cooked, was more of a crust than a crumbly topping, but the crisp sweetness was very good on the cake.

crumb topping

The recipe called for combining the crumb mixture in a food processor. Seemed like overkill to me. Just extra stuff to wash. Besides…I don’t have a food processor. ::sigh:: But this doomaflatchie, one of my favorite kitchen tools, cuts butter into sugar/flour very well. Also mixes and stirs well.

crumb topping

I baked the cake in a round 8″ cake pan.

Before…

blueberry crumb cake

After…

blueberry crumb cake

Wanna piece?

blueberry crumb cake

Very tasty, though not as moist as I had expected it to be.

I made a few changes due to necessity. I omitted the walnuts from the topping. I didn’t have buttermilk, so used light half and half with two teaspoons of lemon juice added to thicken it. Milk and vinegar can also be used in this substitute for buttermilk. The usual proportion is one tablespon vinegar to one cup of milk. Do let the mixture stand for five to ten minutes before using to allow it to thicken. Also, I didn’t have a fresh lemon, so omitted the lemon zest. It would have been a nice addition.

DD and DH both liked the cake. The leftovers will make a nice warmed-in-the-microwave breakfast.

~~Rhonda

PS, the cake was even better the second day. More moist than yesterday and delicious, even cold. Had a piece with a cup of coffee. Yum!

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in cooking | Tagged , | Comments (1)

saturday yard work

March 23, 2009 – 11:07 pm

We spent a lot of time outside on Saturday. One of the big jobs was burning the brush pile. With 3.5 acres to groom, we can accumulate a lot of debris over a season. Some goes to the mulch pile, but branches go to the brush pile. I wish I’d taken a picture of it before we burned it. The pile was huge and we had to get it burned before we started a new season of yard work. DD and her friend roasted hotdogs and made s’mores, then ran off for an afternoon of outdoor fun.

burn pile...after

This is what happens when the kids leave the candy bars sitting in the sun after they finish their s’mores. I snipped the corner and squeezed out melted chocolate. Still tasted great, even though DH had charred the ‘mallows a bit! 🙂

s'mores or...s'messes

In our tiny woods, the Virginia bluebells are ready to bloom.

Virginia bluebells

Bloodroot is a beautiful flower. We planted one plant some time ago and now we have a wonderful clump of bloodroot in the back corner of the woods.

Bloodroot

This is just part of the clump. Pictures do not do these flowers justice. They are pure white and glisten against the pretty browns of the fall leaves. You can click on either picture and it will take you to my flickr page where you can see more pictures of this lovely flower.

Bloodroot

In the rest of the yard, the daffodils are blooming.

Narcissus ‘Petit Four’

Narcissus Petit Four

daffodil

Daffodil ‘Replete’

daffodil 'Replete'

The little ‘Tete-a-Tete’ daffs were the first ones to bloom.

'Tete-a-Tete'

daffodil

The lilacs are still small, but looking great.

lilac 'Charles Joly'

There are a lot of other plants blooming in the yard.

Lenten Rose

Lenten Rose

Beautiful red tulips…wish we had more of these…

red tulips

The star magnolia and the redbud trees

star magnolia

The mini irises are about 3″ tall.

early iris

And one of my favorites, grape hyacinths…

grape hyacinth

The peonies grow inches a day.

peony shoots

Even the hostas are beginning to show.

‘Invincible’ is one of the first to pop out each spring.

Hosta 'Invincible'

‘Royal Standard’

Hosta 'Royal Standard'

Isn’t spring fun??

~~Rhonda 🙂

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menu plan monday ~ march 23, 2009

March 22, 2009 – 10:07 pm

We’re starting the week with a sick girl in the house, so I’m not sure how the menu will work out as the week goes on. Depends on how sick she stays for how long.

Monday
chicken and noodles
green salad
biscuits

Tuesday
sauteed sea scallops stuffed with basil
cheese tortellini
peas
spinach salad with strawberries

Wednesday
tacos

Thursday
crock pot BBQ chicken / buns
chips, veggies, dip

Friday
Chicken Caesar pitas

Saturday
fridge food

Sunday
spaghetti
garlic bread
peas
corn
green salad

You will find more menu ideas and recipes at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

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views from the east porch

March 20, 2009 – 4:59 pm

For the past few days, I have been sitting in the recliner with my leg up. I have recurring troubles with swelling. Better now. But, sad to say, I wasn’t able to get outside at all on Wednesday when the weather was wonderful. Hopefully, tomorrow. We’ll see. But on Monday, DD and I sat on the east porch and had a snack.

peanuts on the east porch

DD is in a “don’t take my picture!” stage, so I took a picture of the peanuts. She thought it was fun to shell them, then throw the shells over her shoulder and over the railing. 🙂

Isn’t that a pretty bowl? I love it!

The rustic old bench is one that my in-laws bought at a neighbor’s auction years and years ago. It sat in the machine shed for ages. Now we use it on the east porch as a sort of coffee table.

red bench on east porch

There are a lot of daffodils to see from the east porch.

front yard from the east porch

The redbud trees are beginning to bloom.

redbuds beginning to bloom

Even from inside the house, the daffodils are easily enjoyed. Here’s the view from the bathroom window, looking over the back yard. The apricot trees are visible from here, too, back behind the big oak tree. So pretty!

looking out the bathroom window

~~Rhonda 🙂

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in spring | Tagged | Comments (1)

kitchen helper

March 18, 2009 – 10:54 am

My old mixer bit the dust, so I bought a new one. Heavier duty model in a lovely cornflower blue. Love it! (Shopping amazon is so easy!)

new mixer :)

In this pic, it’s ready for the first batch of bread I made in it. I’m looking forward to trying lots of new recipes! If I just had a second bowl…

~~Rhonda 🙂

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in cooking | Tagged | Comments (3)

irish soda bread scones

March 17, 2009 – 10:55 pm

I found the recipe for Festive Irish Soda Bread Scones at Creative Loafing. That recipe was adapted from Irish Soda Scones at The Joy of Baking.

irish soda bread scones

Irish Soda Bread Scones
I cut it to make 12 scones.

3 cups unbleached flour
1/4 cup oats (I ground them in my coffee grinder.)

another use for my coffee grinder oat flour

1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used freshly grated nutmeg.)
(I also added 1/2 tsp. cinnamon.)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (I used 2% milk with 1 1/2 T. white vinegar added.)

Topping:
2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 tablespoons oats
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Stir together dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add buttermilk and stir to combine.

    freshly grated nutmeg soda bread dough

  • Mix by hand until a dough starts to form. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead into a ball. Doesn’t take much kneading…just until it makes a smoothish ball. Pat dough into a 7-8 inch circle about one inch thick. Cut into 6-12 scones.

    irish soda bread

    irish soda bread scones

  • Transfer scones to baking pan with parchment or that’s lightly floured. Brush the tops of scones with buttermilk, then sprinkle the oats and turbinado sugar over them.
  • Bake for 20 minutes or until they’re lightly brown. Let cool for a few minutes and spread with your favorite jam while they’re still warm. We used our church’s homemade apple butter, of course.

Irish Soda Bread Scones

DD enjoyed the Irish Soda Bread Scones as an after school snack, along with the apple butter which she used as a dip. And green milk. It IS St. Patrick’s Day, after all. 🙂

after school snack

These were delicious and very easy to make. They would make a good breakfast treat, as well. Best served warm from the oven. I haven’t tried reheating one in the microwave, but will try that tomorrow. I’m sure it will be just as tasty!

~~Rhonda 🙂

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Recipes | Tagged | Comments (2)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

March 17, 2009 – 2:53 pm

Here are links to a few St. Patrick’s Day treats. It’s not too late to give ’em a try.

Over at Once Upon a Dream, you will find the directions for these cute shamrocks.

shamrock-pretzels2

Creative Loafing has a recipe for Festive Irish Soda Bread Scones. An easy recipe. I am going to give it a try this afternoon.

festive-irish-soda-bread-scones

Healthy Happy Life has a Spring Green Fruit Salad that looks delicious. And very green. 🙂

spring-green-fruit-salad

~~Rhonda 🙂

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Holidays other than Christmas | Tagged | Comments (0)

goodbye winter…hello spring

March 16, 2009 – 10:11 pm

This morning, from the kitchen window, I could see that the apricot trees had burst into bloom overnight.

apricot tree

I could smell them from the back door.

apricot blossom

And just outside the back door, the row of daffodils has suddenly blossomed.

daffodils by the kitchen door

The star magnolia is another bloom with a wonderful scent.

star magnolia

Such a beautiful blossom.

star magnolia

Last year, we had to dig up the huge Lenten Rose by the mailbox and move it. Part was planted by the bench in the fenced garden and part was planted under the big oak in the back yard. Both are blooming beautifully this spring.

Lenten Rose

It always surprises me that the bleeding hearts are up and ready to bloom so early in the spring.

bleeding heart buds

Even the peonies are popping up.

peonies are up!

And in the veggie garden…the radishes are just coming up. We planted them nine days ago.

the radishes are up!

Love spring! ~~Rhonda 🙂

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in spring | Tagged , | Comments (4)