April 1st, 2009
· 1 (16 ounce) package confectioners’ sugar
· 1 cup creamy peanut butter
· 1/4 cup butter
· 1 tablespoon milk
· 8 (1 ounce) squares semi-sweet chocolate
· 1 tablespoon shortening
DIRECTIONS
1. In a mixing bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter and milk (if needed for moisture) until blended. Shape mixture into two 1/2 pound eggs or make a bunch of smaller eggs. Freeze eggs for 1 hour.
2. While the eggs are freezing, cut semi-sweet chocolate into small pieces and place in top of double boiler with shortening. Melt over medium heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Stick a long-tined fork in top of each peanut butter egg, dip it in melted chocolate to cover then drain on waxed paper. When the eggs are cooled and set, decorate the eggs to suit your fancy.
Tags: peanut butter easter eggs
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April 1st, 2009
April’s birth flower is the daisy.
The daisy represents implicity and modesty. The Gerbera Daisy is a favorite because of the variety of colors and size of the blooms.
The gerbera plant blooms repeatedly and attracts bees, butterflies and birds.
Tags: Daisy, Flower of the Month
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March 1st, 2009
Irish Stew
serve with mashed potatoes – 6 servings
· 2 pounds lean beef stew meat
· 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
· 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
· freshly ground black pepper to taste
· 1 pinch cayenne pepper
· 2 large onions, chopped
· 1 clove garlic, crushed
· 2 tablespoons tomato paste
· 1 1/2 cups Irish stout beer (e.g., Guinness)
· 2 cups chopped carrot
· 1 sprig fresh thyme
· 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley for garnish
DIRECTIONS
1. Toss the beef cubes with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Dredge the beef in this to coat.
2. Heat the remaining oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef, and brown on all sides. Add the onions, and garlic. Stir the tomato paste into a small amount of water to dilute; pour into the pan and stir to blend. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Pour 1/2 cup of the beer into the pan, and as it begins to boil, scrape any bits of food from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. This adds a lot of flavor to the broth. Pour in the rest of the beer, and add the carrots and thyme. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley
Tags: irish stew
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March 1st, 2009
Butterflies don’t need anything fancy or expensive. Just a large, open, sun-filled area; some flowers, for adults; some food sources, for caterpillars; shelter; puddles; and rocks.
You might consider planting an herb garden if you enjoy herbs - many butterflies do too! Reserving a section of your yard for native flowering plants and for weeds like dandelion, nettle, and milkweed should also help guarantee a good variety of butterflies. It’s best to avoid using any pesticides at all.
Provide some shelter from wind, like a wall or hedges. Butterflies don’t drink from open water sources like a birdbath, so give them containers with damp sand. Butterflies like bright, dense blossoms like marigolds, verbena, asters, butterfly bush, zinnias, mums,etc.
Tags: butterfly garden
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March 1st, 2009
The daffodil is March’s birth flower.
Daffodils have the flower meaning of rebirth, respect, regard and unrequited love. The daffodil is one of the first flowers of spring, therefore it is a symbol of rebirth and hope.
It grows from a bulb to a height of two feet producing a long-lasting, colorful, fragrant flower.
Tags: Daffodil, Flower of the Month
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February 1st, 2009
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Tags: chocolate cookies
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February 1st, 2009
Some flowers work better than others for drying. Flowers with a high water content don’t air dry well. Always cut more flowers than you will need, because you will probably lose some in the drying process. The best time to harvest your flowers is late morning, just after the dew has evaporated from the leaves. Often fully open flowers will drop their petals as they dry. Air drying is the simplest way to preserve your cut flowers.
Steps for Air Drying Flowers
- Gather the flower stems into small bunches, about a ½ inch in diameter, and wrap them tightly with a rubber band. The stems will shrink slightly, so make sure the band is tight.
- Hook a paper clip through the rubber band and hang the bunches, upside down, from the ceiling, with a hook or string. Keep them upside down so that the stem don’t bend from being top heavy. If you are only drying the flower heads, lay them out individually on a screen.
- The bunches will need to be out of direct sunlight, preferably in darkness. The more sun the flowers are exposed to, the more the color will fade.
- Don’t group the bunches too close to one another. Good air circulation and low humidity are also important factors in drying flowers.
Good choices for drying include:
- African Marigold (Tagetes erecta)
- Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
- Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus)
- Delphinium, Larkspur (Consolida ambigua)
- Globe Thistle (Echinops ritro)
- Globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa)
- Globe amaranth (Gomphrena)
- Larkspur (Consolida ambigua)
- Lavender (Lavandula Augustifolia)
- Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) seed heads
- Marjoram (Origanum vulgare)
- Pompon Dahlias (Dahlia hortensis)
- Poppy seed heads (Papaver somniferum)
- Roses (Rosa)
- Starflower (Scabiosa stellata)
- Statice (Limonium sinuatum)
- Strawflower (Helichrysum bracteatum)
- Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Tags: air drying flowers, dried flowers
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February 1st, 2009
The violet is the flower for the month of February. The African Violet, Cape Primrose and the Common Violet are favorites.
The African Violet isn’t actually a true violet. It is one of the most common house plants today. They bloom year round, with single or double flowers. They produce pink, purple, blue, violet, rose or white flowers.
Common Violets are very hardy and are easily started from seed. It spreads very fast by dropping seeds and it produces pretty little flowers.
Violets prefer filtered shade, but in milder climates, with lots of water, they can survive in full sun.
Tags: african violets, common violets, Flower of the Month, violets
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January 15th, 2009
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons margarine
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 8 cups broccoli florets
- 3 tablespoons margarine
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium sized stock pot, and saute onion and celery until tender.
- Add broccoli and broth, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Puree soup and return to heat.
- In small saucepan, over medium-heat melt 3 tablespoons butter, stir in flour and add milk. Stir until thick and bubbly, and add to soup.
- Season with pepper and serve.
Makes 6 servings
Tags: broccoli soup recipe, cream of broccoli soup
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January 15th, 2009
January is a great month to begin planning and planting your spring vegetable and flower gardens. The weather is dry and daytime temperatures rarely go above 85°F. The nights get cool, but rarely below freezing.
Because this month tends to be so dry, supplemental applications of water are required by your lawn and plants.
Best bets for starting a garden in January are:
Vegetables: almost any fruit or vegetable can be started.
Flowers: amaryllis, aster, baby’s breath, daisies, dianthus, lilies, marigolds, nasturtiums, statice, sweetpea and many more
Tags: january gardening
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