Making the Most of Monday

Good news is that my sore throat and earaches are gone.  Bad news is that I now have a full fledged cold with sniffling, coughing, sneezing.....all those things that pass my germs onto others.  So in an effort to save our friends from this misery, Kim has canceled yoga class for this evening.

We are expecting sunshine all day so I think I will do my coughing and sneezing in the garden since that never happened on Saturday as planned.  And I think I will take you with me because, as I may have mentioned once or twice before, I LOVE Spring....I love when plants start peeking out of the ground and flowers start blooming.  I love when the trees are flowering and the grass is green.  I love listening to the birds chirp, the frogs croak and the bees buzz.  I don't love Springtime chores but if I drag you along perhaps that will help change my attitude or at least share my misery with someone LOL.

So I put on my farming finest and, after taking care of the chickens, got to work!!

I started with the garden adjacent to the side entry door into our house.

This is the first garden you would see walking up to the house.

It is also the worst for cleaning out because it houses the crab apple tree.

That means it was still full of all the fall leaves that I never cleaned out.

This garden also wraps around the front porch to the northeast side of the house.

In addition to the crab apple tree it houses daisy bushes, vinca vines and hostas.

The pot will be filled with impatiens or petunias for color.

The vinca vines should cover most of the ground but I will also mulch it.

That one little area, filled up this basket four times.

It took a little over an hour before my back started screaming at me.

End Round 1.

Round 2 was spent cleaning off the front porch.

I had to clean around Bella girl.

She was busy sunning herself.

And I cleaned out the garden to the front of the porch across the sidewalk.

It wasn't too bad since cousin David had already done the Spring Cleaning in this garden before he left me finally got a job.

Just a few weeds sprouting up in between the Daylilies, Hostas, 

and the Tulips that are finishing up.

My Mums are starting to sprout up also and, as you can see,

 Princess Fiona prefers the shade.

End Round 2

After lunch I tackled the garden to the south side of the porch.

Again, it wasn't too bad.

Thank you, Thank you Cousin David!!

That's our bedroom window behind that Japanese Maple.

I made it up to the edge of the house on the south side.

This was the 3rd and final round for today because I had to get to the grocery store before Nancy left.

It looks pretty nice, if I do say so myself!

Tonight, for Meatless Monday,we are having a Tabbouleh Salad and Grilled Pitas.  I will be using recipes that I found in the latest Cuisine at Home, Issue 105.  I already like this recipe because it calls for bulgur.  Bulgur is not a staple in this household so it gave me an excuse to quit gardening and run up to the store to get some.

A bright, colorful and lemony salad that was not only delicious for Meatless Monday but will also be delicious as a side salad the next time we are having Kabobs.

Tabbouleh Salad

slightly adapted from Cuisine at Home, Issue 105

1 lemon

1/2 c. olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Remove zest from half the lemon and mince it and place it in a small bowl.  Squeeze juice from lemon over zest, add olive oil and minced garlic.  Season with salt and pepper and whisk until combined.  Set aside.

1 c. quick-cooking bulger

1 pkg, cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cucumber, seeded and chopped

1 (15 oz.) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed

1 bunch parsley, chopped

4 scallions, sliced

1/2 c. chopped mint leaves

4 Portobello Mushrooms, stemmed and gilled

1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese

Cook bulger per package directions, spread onto a baking sheet and allow to cool.    Combine remaining vegetables except for Mushrooms in a large bowl.  Brush Mushrooms with some of the vinaigrette and season with additional salt and pepper. Pour remaining vinaigrette over the vegetable mixture and chill until ready to serve.  Grill mushrooms over med high heat until softened and grill marks have appeared.  Approx. 2 minutes per side.  Slice mushrooms into 1/2" thick strips.  Place chilled vegetable salad on a platter, top with sliced mushrooms and sprinkle with cheese.  Print Recipe

The whole family agreed that we could have sat there and made an entire meal of the bread and dip. Pita brushed with Olive Oil, grilled and rubbed with garlic.  How could you go wrong!!

Grilled Pitas with Feta-Yogurt Dip

slightly adapted from Cuisine at Home, Issue 105

1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt

1/4 c. crumbled feta cheese

2 t. olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Pita bread

Olive oil

Garlic Clove, halved

Chopped Parsley for garnish

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.

Brush Pitas on both sides with Olive oil.  Grill over med high heat until grill marks appear, approx 2 min. per side.  Rub surface of pitas with Garlic half and cut into quarters.  Place on plate with dip and sprinkle with parsley.  Print Recipe

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