miss snarl face

and of course tadpoles

my sweet friend dotty rounded me up a couple of jars of tadpoles...one of my all time favorite rites of spring. i have so many fond memories of going to cheekwood in nashville every spring to see their arrival and then their mutation into teeny little adorable frogs! these little guys were headed for a sad fate, as they've been living on her pool cover and had to go.

el diablo!

sweetness

i already loved these earrings but when i sat them down on the counter last night and they magically formed a heart...well, i just couldn't help myself!

oh heinz....

so my kroger recently rearranged damn near everything and in the process, really pissed me off. you see, i have this thing with making lists. for example: when i go to kroger, i make a list in order of the aisles. i like my trips to be quick and painless. so in all this moving shit around, i suddenly can't ever find anything. i wander aimlessly, cussing under my breath and making emphatic gestures with my hands. tonight, it was "where are the fucking beans...i don't know where the beans are....fuck!" i shook my fists at the kroger gods and then right in front of me...well what do we have here?

spotted dick my friends, spotted dick.

it's a mole!

so today i planted tomatoes, kale, jalapenos, squash and zucchini. it's my yearly ritual to dump what i've been composting for the last 11 months into the garden at planting time. i always seem to find strange things in the compost bin, but this year there was an especially interesting thing crawling around in there....

for those of us consistently disappointed in the quality of plums available at the supermarket

make this as soon as possible. go to your nearest grocer, compile these ingredients and enlist a very good friend to help you eat it....i'm not joking.

plum walnut crisp

-2 lbs ripe plums (about 12) pitted and cut into sixths...i would like to note that the plums i found were crap...but the bubbling juices transformed them into well...delicious.

-1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

-1 tbs. unbleached flour

-2-4 tbs. orange juice....if you've found some really juicy plums, go for 2 tbs. however, if they're mealy or dry...go for 4 tbs.

the topping

-1/2 cup unbleached flour

-1/2 to 1 cup chopped walnuts...i found that 1/2 cup was just enough, but thought i might try it with more walnuts in the future.

-1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

-1/4 tsp. ground cloves

-4 tbs. chilled unsalted butter, cut into bits

make it!

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. place the sliced plums in a shallow 1 1/2 to 2 quart baking dish. sprinkle on the sugar, flour and orange juice, then toss lightly.

3. to make the topping, combine the flour, walnuts, sugar, and cloves in a medium sized bowl. drop in the butter buts and toss to coat with the flour. with your fingertips rub the butter into the flour mixture until evenly moist crumbs form. sprinkle all over the plums.

4. bake 35 minutes or until juices bubble and the top is brown. cool on a wire rack. serve plain or with vanilla ice cream.

we made this last night for dinner with janel....jojo made some delicious kabobs which were light, but filling. and the plum walnut crisp was totally perfect as a follow up. even if you've never had a good plum, even if you've never had plum in a dessert....you have to try this! i suppose that this is more of a fall dish, but let me tell you....i laid in bed for about an hour and a half debating on whether to eat the leftovers, right then in there out of the pan or to save them for the next day. in other words, this magical crisp actually kept me up last night!

original recipe: 'simple vegetarian pleasures' by jeanne lemlin with some changes made by me!

mothers day

i'm a lucky child...most days with my mom usually involve us laughing to the point of wetting our pants OR till i make my mom spit some sort of liquid out of her mouth and/or nose. in other words, she's a god damned riot....this little photo shoot was no different, we simply could not stop laughing long enough to get a decent picture of the both of us. i mean, why are my nostrils flared in like every one of them?

little reminders

sometimes i have dreams that you're still alive. that i'm in another town and see you there. maybe you're married, sometimes you aren't. and things are still awkward. like instead of hugging me you scratch my arm. these dreams are good. much better than the nightmares i've had before. in these you look happy and healthy. last night you were playing drums in a band.

even in sleep, i'm totally confused by running into you and have a tendency to toss and turn until i wake up, feeling relieved and sad all at once. but i still feel thankful that i can remember you so vividly. that i can recall so many things about your face, that when i visualize it, it's like you're standing in right front of me. and i am grateful for these dreams. these little reminders of you.

this is not your typical strawberry napolean

well, our weekly dinner with janel was last night and it was my turn to make dessert. i had intended to make a lemon blueberry tart, but decided against it because i had no interest in buying a fluted tart pan. i mean really, i might use that thing once a year.

soooooo, i made my own version of strawberry napolean AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

here's the recipe!

ingredients:

-1/2 of a 17.3 oz package Puff Pastry Sheet

-1 package instant pudding/pie filling...i used lemon and it was nothing short of a miracle in my mouth. however, you can use whatever flavor your little heart desires!

-1 cup milk

-1 cup heavy whipping cream OR 2 cups thawed whipped topping

-1/2 cup confectioners sugar

-2 tsp heavy whipping cream OR milk

-1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries

-1 cup blueberries

thaw pastry sheet at room temp. for 40 minutes or until easy to handle. heat oven to 400 degrees. lightly grease baking sheet or line with parchment paper.

prepare the pudding mix with 1 cup cold milk in a large bowl.

if you opted to use used heavy cream, whip and then add to pudding. if you used whipped topping, fold into pudding. cover and refrigerate.

to make icing, mix 2 tsp milk or heavy cream with 1/2 cup confectioners sugar. cover and refrigerate.

unfold pastry sheet on lightly floured surface. cut into 3 strips along fold marks. place on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until golden. remove from sheet and cool on wire rack.

once pastry has cooled, split each section into 2 layers, forming a total of 6 layers.

spread 3/4 cup pudding mixture on 1 pastry layer. top with about 1/3 cup strawberries and sprinkle with blueberries. repeat layers. drizzle top with confectioners sugar, icing and melted chocolate if desired. serve immediately or refrigerate up to 4 hours.

it will look like this prior to slicing....sort of like a big puff pastry submarine sandwich. i excercised a level of restraint yesterday that i'm pretty sure qualifies me for sainthood. oh like you don't want to take a huge bite out of that!

and then of course after slicing.....

roses are red

the columbines are blooming like crazy...the peonies are next!

i was recently reminded that roses are often named after famous people and after picking up dolly parton the other day, i'm considering planting a rose garden made up of entirely "famous" roses. do you think dolly would get along with pablo picasso?

well shit in my shoe

this bird must have had impeccable aim....i mean what are the chances???