mysterious world

"the moment one gives close attention to anything...

even a blade of grass...

it becomes a mysterious...

awesome...

indescribably magnificent...

world...

in

itself...."

~henry miller

a hand greater than mine....

a hand greater than mine churned this field of butter....... i stopped on the side of the road and drank in this wonderful sight..... who knew weeds could be so pretty.......

quiche and wine jelly.......

i am still enjoying fresh asparagus from my garden...i must say it's been worth the wait these last couple of years to harvest! today i had a bacon...leek...and asparagus quiche with grapes in wine jelly for dessert. i don't know what i enjoyed more....the quiche or the dessert..... here's the recipe i used for the quiche:

1 pie shell

a bundle of asparagus

2 leeks (washed and trimmed)

3 strips bacon (cooked and crumbled)

3 eggs

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup grated gruyere

salt & pepper

Place pie crust in greased tart pan..cover edges with foil..lay parchment in bottom with dried beans to weight and cook for 12 minutes at 375F. Remove foil...beans...and parchment and set aside.

Cut tips off asparagus and set aside to add to top of quiche. Cut remainder of asparagus into one inch pieces and steam for three minutes (be sure to discard any woody parts) Place asparagus and leeks in skillet with olive oil and saute on medium heat for about five minutes. Spoon softened vegetables into pie shell.

Whisk eggs with cream...add grated cheese..cooked & crumbled bacon...salt & pepper. Pour custard over asparagus & leeks. Place asparagus tips on top...set on baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until starting to brown and puff up at 375F.

For the grapes in wine jelly:

seedless grapes (nice with green & red mixed)

1 tablespoon gelatin 1 cup sugar

2 cups white wine

Dissolve one tablespoon of gelatin in two tablespoons of water and set aside. Place wine in sauce pan with sugar and heat just enough to dissolve sugar. Stir in gelatin and stir to make sure everything is well dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Place grapes in medium size ramekins and pour wine mixture to cover grapes. Place ramekins in a pan and set in refrigerator for several hours to set. After set run a knife around the edge of the ramekin...place saucer on top and flip jellied grapes onto saucer to serve.....enjoy!

a shrieking in the night...

"everything is blooming most recklessly...

if it were voices instead of colors...

there would be an unbelievable shrieking

into the heart of the night."

~rainer maria rilke

this clematis was supposed to be 'betty corning'....but i think she's played a trick on me...but a beautiful one.

today i planted basil..fern leaf dill..german thyme..flat leaf parsley..brocolli..red and green peppers..and the small striped fairy eggplants. tomorrow i hope to plant my artichokes and tomatoes. the tomatoes are mostly heirloom..brandywine..cherokee purple..red and yellow striped germans..some romas..a betterboy..and as always.. the sweet 100s. i'll have to wait until next weekend to put in the pole beans...and the 17th to plant my carrots..leeks and potatoes...according to the almanac. i've missed getting my root crops in early this year since i spent so much time setting up the potager...but it will be worth the wait!

pears and peaches and cherries....oh my

my fruit trees are looking wonderful this spring.....

i planted this pear tree last spring and it produced pears

right away....i picked them all off so the roots would get a

good start...so this year i hope to enjoy pears!

this peach tree is very close to 100 years old....so says

my neighbor who has since passed away. he said it was

planted when he was a small boy.... it loses a few more

limbs each season...i really need to try grafting a piece

before i lose the whole tree....it's those peaches that are

blood red in the center.......yum!

the cherry tree is full of cherries this year....and really most

years. they're always ready around mother's day....

i hope to try making conserves this year with all the

fruit i've got ....there's also apples and plums....

my lady banks rose is happy again this year.

she's completely covered the section of metal fencing

that was supposed to be a back drop....and my bottle trees!

so soft and buttery looking.....

reminds me of charleston, sc......

Are you pretty?

Language alert........

reaping my rewards........

fresh asparagus from my garden..........doesn't get much better than that.....asparagus soup with a nice 'glug' of olive oil infused with basil and sundried tomato....a cotswold onion/chive cheese....multigrain bread....and orange fig spread.....my reward for a hard days work in the garden yesterday helping my "outdoor chillrens" wake up.

this is a simple soup to make.....not heavy like some of the cream based soups....quick and easy. give it a try.... you'll need a 'bunch' of asparagus...1 large leek cut in half and cleaned (you can substitute onion)....two medium potatoes chopped....four cups chicken stock...and a teaspoon of sea salt.

cut the woody ends off the asparagus....chop into pieces....place in chicken stock with leek...potatoes...and salt. bring stock to a boil....cover....and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. if desired remove some of the veggies and set aside..... then puree the remaining mixture with a hand blender or food processor... add the reserved veggies back to the soup and garnish with olive oil....a dab of creme fraiche....scallions....whatever!

i use this same recipe to make brocolli soup...throwing in a clove of garlic instead of leek....

this soup freezes well....i put it up in single servings.

enjoy!

the end of the day.....

"in the spring... at the end of the day.... you should smell like dirt."

~margaret atwood

Guess What.........