Bloomin Tuesday- Blooming Promises

What is blooming in my garden this week?
Lots of plants are promising blooms.........
Black Elderberry

Milky Way Dogwood

Fringe Tree

Baptista   with a hint of colour

Lady's Mantle

Abraham Darby Rose






Elsa Spath Clematis  is loads with huge buds

Hydrangea , will it be blue or pink this year?

Where oh where  are any blooms?

Finally , Lilac, a new addition to the garden  is putting on  a  lovely show...... 

Asparagus Soup and Crustless Asparagus Pie

I am lucky to live in an area that has premiere asparagus farms.
When  asparagus is  on we eat  it every day in one guise or another  .
This weekend  soup and a crust less casserole.

This soup is my version of one from Epicurious.

4 cups  green asparagus chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons butter
5 to 6 cups vegetable  broth
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste

Cook onion in 2 tablespoons butter in a 4-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Add asparagus pieces and salt and pepper to taste, then cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add 5 cups broth and simmer, covered, until asparagus is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Puree soup in batches in a blender until smooth,  and return to pan. Stir in milk then add more broth to thin soup to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil and whisk in remaining tablespoon butter. Add lemon juice and garnish with asparagus tips if you  want to  decorate  soup..

Serves 4-6 
Recipe can be halved .



The pie recipe is  based on one  from Zehrs Grocery store. I added the cheese to give more flavour.
With no crust the calories in this dish  is low  .....Approx. 250 per serving.

Crust less Asparagus Pie
1 tsp  Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4  Eggs - Large
1 cup  asparagus, trimmed and cut in 1/2-inch
1 onion, chopped
1/2  sweet red pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 cup 2% Evaporated Milk
1/2 tsp each: salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 cup  grated Parmesan Cheese or mix of cheddar / mozzarella .
Preheat oven to 375°F, Spray  pan.

In large pot of boiling salted water, cook asparagus until tender-crisp, about 1 minute. Drain. Plunge into cold water. Drain again.
In nonstick frying pan, heat oil over medium heat; cook onions and red peppers until soft, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
In bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Stir in asparagus and onion mixture. Pour into prepared baking dish. I used  my new Fiesta ware  individual baking dishes. These bright coloured dishes   are  a new favourite to use with just the 2 of us..

Top with cheese , used Parmesan this time.

Bake about 30 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before cutting.

Overall loved the soup. The crust less pies needed  a bit more seasoning . Next time I would add  more asparagus and   some  thyme also   use  cheddar as the topper..

Grandson Brock - Prom

Brock my oldest grandson went to his secondary school prom with his group of friends.......
                                                Congrats on graduating! Brock!




Limo Hummer in the background....  oh these youngsters!
 

Brock has a style all his own.. Love the hat.

Dapper Brock! 

Tree Peony

My tree peony is only  2 years old   . When I bought it only about 6 inches high. I have pampered it every winter with a burlap blanket ... this year I have been rewarded with  4 giant blossoms and the plant is now   1 and 1/2 feet tall.....

Bud




Slightly open




Fully open 

See the rain drops....  a wicked  thunderstorm went thru last night,  we had a deluge of water, yet again .
I did save the name of this  peony but can I find it right now?   No.

Bloomin Tuesday- Alliums and Bleeding Heart

 In the garden today;
We have bright sunshine today..

Alliums just coming into  full bloom.

Frilly Bleeding Heart.

LRW Challenge-Trees

Little Red Wagon's challenge this week is trees....
Here is  my creation.. very simple .

This card is embossed with gold , silver and black....  which is hard to  photograph...  

End of the World May 21st?

Doomsday soothsayer 89-year-old minister,President of Family Radio , Harold Camping insists that the world will end in a few hours from now, with a destructive earthquake pulverizing each region of the world . He says Armageddon will start in New Zealand on May 21, at 6.P.M. local time and claims that the rapture is coming Saturday, May 21, 2011 and that the world will officially end Oct. 21, 2011. Camping’s basing this on a complex ("made up") mathematical formula.


What am I doing to prepare for this momentous occasion?
Planting flowers in my garden!  After all my hard work maybe  sip  a glass of wine to enjoy the sun that is promised..
Perhaps I should take this more seriously  by stocking up on water, toilet tissue and food......  stock up on ammunition.... 
Naw!   I'll take my chances.....
What about you?

Editorial comment:  why is the media giving this kook any credence? Oh heck I am !

Donn Zver Pottery tour Troy Ontario

It was my turn to organize the Red Hats outing for this month.Chose the Donn Zver Pottery with the Cafe Troy beside..

  My daughters and I had visited some years ago and it was  a delightful spot....
Of our 21 members 16 were able to attend.

Arriving at pottery.

Greeted by the owner.

Here he is   demonstrating  throwing a  vase.

From the   lump  ,

to the shaping,

adding decoration.
He was  quite the  raconteur with many stories about becoming  a potter .... as well as so informative on the making of pottery.

Flagons waiting to be fired.








In the restaurant  many wonderful windows looking out onto pretty gardens.

The pottery is used to set the tables   in the dining room....

Same style   flagons on the tables that I showed about to be fired .
Lunch was very good and the desserts to die;everyone  loved  their lunch; for myself I enjoyed leek  potato soup,  red pepper  and feta quiche and dessert a  maple creme brulee.....

Did I buy anything? Of course ,  I have been wanting a  garlic keeper for sometime and this one is  happily at home on my kitchen counter.

In the afternoon    one of our group went to the well known quilt shop in St George, one group toured the shops along the streets in Paris and   my group   browsed   antique shops in St George and then  a brief visit to Mary Maxim in Paris...
When  planning an outing  for a group  find it is  a bit stressful one wants everyone to enjoy it.
It was a fun successful  excursion.

Sweet 16

Happy Sweet 16 Brittany!

How quickly  they grow up!

Bloomin Tuesday-Is It?

Ah, was it just last week we were  experiencing our first warm week of weather?
 Lots of sunshine   , spring had finally arrived ....... One moment put that   on hold!
Cold, rainy , grey, windy , not just a day but   all week long.  Not spring like  rain either  torrential rain, November  winds,   dark low  clouds not a glimpse of brightness,   temperatures   half of what they should be...
Planting is on hold...... Porch sitting is on hold...... dining al fresco on hold..   
So what is flowering in my garden you say?
Well the pansies shown before are very happy... but I wanted to show you something new ...... so  here are the orange patriot  geraniums waiting for planting.

Yes,I said orange ,haven't used orange in my garden plans for years  but one way or
the other I will get  sunshine  into the garden......

Purple and pink wave petunias.They too  are waiting.

A ranunculus   purchased from the Heritage Club
garden sale on Sat.-waiting!

 Nicotiana white and purple, yes,they too wait..

Zinnias  orange and red ,waiting..


Are you waiting too?

Rhubarb Coffee Cake with Crunchy Maple Oatmeal Topping

With  the spring comes rhubarb.

All the rain  has  brought an abundant crop. Besides making rhubarb sauce  and freezing several bags   for mid winter use...... I made this cake from a recipe  found at Foodland Ontario.
This flavourful moist coffee cake I served with  rhubarb sauce , one could use  ice cream,yogourt or even plain..This bundt cake serves 12 easily.

Ingredients:
Topping:
•1/2 cup (125 mL) regular large flake rolled oats
•1/4 cup (50 mL) lightly packed brown sugar
•1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped walnuts or pecans
•2 tbsp (25 mL) all-purpose flour
•2 tbsp (25 mL) maple syrup
•1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon\
•1/4 cup (50 mL) cold butter





Cake:
•1 cup (250 mL) lightly packed brown sugar
•1/2 cup (125 mL) butter, softened
•1 egg
•1 cup (250 mL) sour cream
•2 tsp (10 mL) maple syrup
•2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
•1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
•1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
•2-1/2 cups (625 mL) chopped Ontario Rhubarb (5 to 6 stalks)
•Icing sugar

Topping: In bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, walnuts, flour, maple syrup and cinnamon. Cut in cold butter until crumbly. Evenly press onto bottom of well greased 9-inch (23 cm) Bundt pan.

Cake: In large bowl, cream together brown sugar and butter. Mix in egg, sour cream and maple syrup. In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; stir into butter mixture until just combined. Stir in rhubarb, being careful not to over mix. Drop evenly over topping. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven for 45 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

Run knife around outside edge of cake to invert onto cake platter. Dust with icing sugar