Deadheading Roses

I love to visit the Memphis Botanic Gardens.  It is so beautiful and peaceful and there is such a variety of plants and gardens to experience.  However, the Rose Garden is one place that creates mixed emotions.  When I was about 13, my Mom enrolled my older sister and me in the Green Teen (I think that was the name) volunteer program.

As part of this volunteer program, my sister and I would get dropped off at the garden for about four hours, during which time we were assigned various jobs.  The task that stands out in my memory, more than any other, was deadheading the roses.

No-Knead Bread

My sister, Kelli, suggested that I try this recipe from the blog, Steamy Kitchen.  It was pretty easy and the end result was quite tasty.  To start out, I pulled together the ingredients.  It always surprises me that you can make something as substantial, enjoyable and comforting with so few ingredients.

My New Neighbors

Not too long ago, I noticed a pair of House Finches who were very active around my front porch.  I thought they were just trying to get nectar from the Hummingbird feeder I recently hung on the porch (house finches are known to like sugar water), until I noticed the nest.  When I first found it, it was just a flimsy looking cup, but over the days she reinforced it and it became a beautiful nest.

Mothers Day Birds

Last year on Mother’s Day, we spent the day at “The Woods”, AKA my parents’ house. We saw so many exciting birds that day.

Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers, Goldfinch, Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds…

One of the more exciting finds of the day was a Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher nest. These pictures aren’t very good at all, but I still want to share them because it was such a thrilling discovery. The nest was covered with lichens, almost like it was growing out of the tree.

During the walk, I also got a picture of a Veery, perched on a branch with a White-Throated Sparrow in the background.

Back at the house, we put mealworms out on the deck railing and enjoyed watching the Tufted Titmouse gobble them up. She must have had a lot of hungry mouths to feed, because she sure did cram a lot of worms in all at once.

A Ruby-Throated Hummingbird perched just long enough for me to snap a photo.

The striking Red-Breasted Grosbeak is hard to miss.

The Tufted Titmouse is back, this time for a little dip in the bird bath.

This female Red-Bellied Woodpecker takes a look in my direction before moving on to the suet feeder.

Then, to all of our joyous surprise, a Prothonotary Warbler appeared on the deck. He flitted all around the house in front of the windows (probably checking out his handsome reflection). He even visited a nearby birdhouse. He hung around all day, but we didn’t see him again after that day.

UNTIL, this year on Mother’s Day, the Prothonotary Warbler showed up on the deck again, showing off his brilliant color. In my mind, it must be the same bird, right? I mean, he must have came by to say Happy Mother’s Day – it’s a tradition.

Eclairs for Mom

Last week when I made cream cheese danishes, Mom said she was hungry for eclairs.  Since this is Mother's Day and she made the request, I decided to try my hand at making some.  I chose this Eclair Recipe from allrecipes.com.  The only changes I made were to double the pastry dough - 2 c water, 2 sticks butter, 2 c flour.

First, you mix the water and butter in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.  Then reduce the heat and dump in all the flour.  The recipe said to stir vigorously until the mixture becomes a stiff ball....I stirred and stirred, but it didn't become a ball.  By the time I got a blister, I decided I should stop.  Later, I glanced at a few other eclair recipes and found I really only needed to stir for a few minutes (not long enough to get a blister).

Then, transfer it to a stand mixer and mix it for a minute or two so it can cool a bit before adding the eggs.  It changes into a pretty yellow color from all the egg yolks.

Next, I used a gallon zip top bag as a makeshift pastry bag to pipe the eclairs onto parchment paper.

Then into the oven they go.  The instructions said not to open the oven during baking.  I didn't open it once, but some of my eclairs still fell flat by the end of the baking time.  I'll have to figure that one out the next time I make these.

After they were cool, I made the filling. I whipped heavy cream and folded it into vanilla pudding. (It was instant pudding, shhh, don't tell anyone.)

I decided to just spoon the filling into the eclairs.  I cut the eclairs open on the side, like a hot dog bun, filled them with the pudding and closed them back up.

Then they went into the fridge to chill.  To make the chocolate glaze, heat heavy cream just until boiling and then add the chocolate.  Spoon the chocolate over the top of the eclairs and then put back into the refrigerator until ready to eat.  That is, of course, after you have the obligatory first eclair.  Hey, someone has to try them out. 

Flowers after the Storm

On Sunday the sun broke through the clouds.  It was a welcomed site after hearing tornado sirens for two days.  Although it rained in the morning, it turned into a beautiful afternoon.  Here are a few pictures of flowers from my parents' house.

Cream Cheese Danish

Stormy Saturdays are great days for baking, and this Saturday was VERY stormy.  We were fortunate not to have any damage from the storms.  And, we didn't lose power, so I was able to make these yummy Cream Cheese Snails from thefreshloaf.com.

Actually, I was anticipating the storms and Jonathan was working security at Music Fest on Friday and Saturday, so I planned to spend my time doing a little baking.

I recently remembered that I have a stand mixer and should probably use it every once in a while, so I pulled it out and whipped up the dough the night before and then popped it into the oven to rise slowly until the morning.

The next day I rolled out the dough.

And rolled up the snails.

The snails got a coat of egg wash before the cream cheese mixture.

 A quick look at the weather while the snails puff up a bit before going into the oven.  Looks messy out there. 

Back to the snails.  I also made some with blueberry jelly.  Yum.

Here are the snails baking up nicely.

Mmmm, my favorites.

Now it's time to sit down and listen to the rain while enjoying a danish and a good cup of coffee.  Ah...