Refreshing....

I can't believe it's been a month since I wrote something. I really do have a lot to say... We have been extremely busy here in our own wee (and we) little world. It seems that we are outside until after dark most days just trying to keep up with all of the tasks here at home. Lots of herbs, veggies, and fruits needing tending to. Not to mention the critters and their needs/demands/wants.. Then when I am inside, it's time on the sewing machine (which I must confess I love) and all of the other little chores before bedtime.

Today we're going to my mom's to have a bbq. I'm in the experimenting mood (sometimes good, sometimes sorta scary) so I am going to take some of my herbs that I harvested this morning and try to create something yummy. I'm thinking my theme is going to be "Refreshing". One of things I'm trying is the following recipe for Lavender Lemonade. I've had something similar at a bridal shower & have wanted to try my hand at it for a while:

Lavender Lemonade

• 1/3 cup dried lavender ( be sure it's food grade)
• 1/13 cup sugar
• 14 lemons
• 4 cups boiling water
• 2 trays of ice cubes
• 10 cups cold water or to taste

Put ice cubes into a large pitcher. Place dried lavender in a bowl and add the boiling water over the top of it. After about 10-15 minutes, strain the lavender out (with a strainer or a coffee filter will work). Discard the lavender. Add the sugar into the hot lavender water. When the sugar is dissolved, pour over the ice cubes in the pitcher. Squeeze as much juice as possible from the lemons into the pitcher. Add the cold water to the pitcher. Taste and adjust lemon juice or sugar as desired.

To continue along the "Refreshing" theme, I am going to make an Avocado-Cilantro soup. I love chilled soups and this one just sounds wonderful. (I am sorry that I don't know where these recipes originally came from so I can give credit. I have a habit of copying great ones down & not always getting their origins documented.)

Avocado-Cilantro Soup

• 4 avocados, diced
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth, cold
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• 1 tsp hot pepper sauce
• 1 tablespoon tequila (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
  
  Combine avocado, shallot, chicken broth, tomato paste, hot pepper sauce, lime juice and tequila in a large food processor. Add about 1/2 of the cilantro, saving some for garnishing. Process until mixture is smooth. Add salt and pepper. Pour mixture into a large bowl and refrigerate at least 2 hours, covered.
  When ready to serve, place the mixture into four chilled soup bowls. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and the remaining cilantro.

And lastly, on my creative front, I will make this lovely Pesto Butter/Dip. YUMMY! It doesn't necessarily go along with the Refreshing bit, but it's awesome and I picked the herbs specifically for this so here it goes.. (Now I just need to con Mom into making her Rosemary Bread..)

Pesto Butter/Dip

• 2 tbsp ground black pepper
• 2tbsp fresh oregano
• 2 tbsp fresh rosemary
• 2 tbsp fresh basil
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp dried garlic powder
• 2 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  
  Grind together all ingredients except for the olive oil. Place the herb mixture onto a small plate and cover with a very thin layer of olive oil. Serve with warm bread or breadsticks.

Mom just called to tell me that she did make fresh bread so great minds are definitely on the same wavelength!!! Now just to fill in the rest of the meal. I'm thinking some grilled chicken breasts and strawberries for dessert......I'm hungry!

Lovely Lavender!

These beauties are living the good life. I had originally planted them (temporarily) in a gladiola bed just until we had finished the larger herb garden where I had planned to do a hedge of lavender as an outline for my working garden. BUT, they decided on their own that they wanted to stay put and take over the glads' home. I can't argue with them since they are so extremely happy and prolific.

Even though I am very allergic to bees (and any other bugs for that matter), I am really happy to see so many more out and about this year than over the last few. The crisis with the honeybees and the Colony Collapse Syndrome hit our area in a big way. The almond growers were really hurting as they depend on these tireless little workers to pollinate thousands of acres of almonds in our valley. On a much smaller front, our little gardens benefit greatly from the attention and wouldn't be able to survive without them. Somehow it seems that all is starting to right itself in our corner of the world when Spring finally arrives and you hear the unmistakable buzzing from your posies!
I will be harvesting some of the lavender this weekend, especially the English variety which is a little behind these beauties. I am playing with some different recipes and concotions based on the use of both fresh and dried lavender. By the end of the weekend, I will have projects strung all over the house in various stages of drying and curing. I am getting the feeling that Michael thinks I'm a mad scientist sometimes..poor guy really didn't know what he was getting into!

Spring Surprise

When I finally decided to get with it and pull the monster weeds & bermuda grass out of my extremely overgrown lavender bed, this little blast of beauty met me! I planted these two years ago and didn't see them last year at all, thought the gophers (or Chandler - you'll meet him in a day or so) had eaten them.

This is one of those fun things that I love about gardening, the little happy surprises that greet you when you aren't expecting it. We've had some strange weather with the heavy rain, then sunshine and warmth, and then more water. It's really making our little plantings grow like crazy (as well as the out of control weeds.) The hubby has been spending most of the day outside trying to get the grass mowed while I'm trying to get all of the plantings lined out and moved from the makeshift greenhouse/room. I've also worked a lot the last few days on several new products that I am hoping to introduce to our line in the next few weeks. Lots of experimenting going on!

My patient & good-natured other half has started making me some great new planters by recycling shipping pallets we get for free from a good friend. I found this project (along with quite a few others) on a great website: http://www.instructables.com I keep printing out new things that catch my fancy & he's been a good sport about trying most of them! Anyway, I have some new mints that are going directly into one of the new planters - we had a catnip rebellion a few years ago so I'm a little over-cautious about these little invaders and keeping them confined. (One note about these planters - if you decide to try it, be sure you get either untreated or heat-treated pallets, the chemically-treated wood could leach nasty toxins into your plants..)

With my next post, I'm going to start introducing the inhabitants of MoonCat Farms - starting with the afore-mentioned "Chandler" (Bing). He's a doozy!

HAPPY SPRING.........

Giveaway Update

WOW! I can't believe the response this has been getting. I was afraid that since I jumped on board reallllllly late in the game that I wouldn't get but a few comments. We're now over 100 and more appear to be coming.

Because of this.....I am adding a 2nd giveaway and winner. The 2nd drawing will be for another thing of bath salts and misc goodies just like the first! Everyone seems to be in favor of surprises so we'll just leave it at that. Sorry about no photos yet, the camera is malfunctioning again. Sorta adds to the mystery aspect though, doesn't it? Who knows what will go into the box.... I still don't yet, but I do have a couple of ideas whirling about my head.

Thanks so much to all of you for being so encouraging, offering support, and for letting me know that I'm not alone in this great blogging wilderness. I'm learning so much from some of my new blogging friends out there. This event has kickstarted new blogs and new friendships. Thank you Lisa!