Monday, May 12, 2014

Things are looking up..and greener~



Finally!
Porch is opened..Anemones ..fairies..leaves are starting to break through their buds..





                                                                         





And the cooking changes a bit..from warm dishes to fresher more colorful platings..

I made a terrific appetizer recipe but we ate it as lunch:)

I found it on Lexibules' blog..a charming delicately soft and inspiring blog~

It's a mediterranean hummus..
The recipe for the hummus etc is in French so I am taking the liberty of translating it~

La Recette~

1/3 cup evoo
1 red  deseeded pepper ,slivered..(I used a roasted red pepper from our 2013 reserve)
2 garlic cloves,halved
1 can drained and rinsed chickpeas
2tbsps tahini
juice of one lemon

(Lexibule adds a few dashes of Tabasco)

Salt and pepper

Topping

1/4 cup kalamata olives ..pitted and roughly chopped
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1 tomato..deseeded and chopped
1/4 cup good quality evoo

For the hummus.. heat 1 tbsp of  oil and sauté the garlic and pepper for a few minutes.
In a food processor combine with the rest of the ingredients and the rest of the oil.. and pulse until creamy and combined.
Place in a serving dish.
Mix the topping ingredients except the oil..put on top of the hummus and drizzle the oil on top.

She served it with her lovely pita crisps..
But I had Naan bread and I LOVE it warmed in the oven after being sprayed with a mist of water..
so soft..so melt-in-your-mouth.
This is a lovely app for summer and the deck!
I also made this..
and I am addicted to both now..


This was found on Pinterest which led to here..
WOW is all I can say.:)
Visit here..for gorgeous photos..
and to find the recipe for  the above salad..
Spring pasta asparagus bacon and feta salad~
I had just made a light Caesary..Ranchy dressing so used that..to me it was all the ingredients that called my name after my first 3 straight hours in the garden..mulching..attending to the fairies..etc..
Whoever said gardening is not an exercise..
well they must mean watering two windowsill plants.
When it comes to hauling mulch..transplanting..edging..
I beg to differ.
Anyways..both..I could just munch on and munch on..
Unfortunately ..something's munching on my tulip buds..and leaving me with leaves.. even munching my Iris leaves..
What's up Doc?
I wait all winter for you:(

They don't care for Allium..thank goodness..
so some green is remaining..





My first blooms with the daffodils..( and what happened to 80% of the blooms?).. Pulmonaria..I love their spotted leaves..and blue blossoms that start off pink...the anemones..soon the forget me nots..
It's all about bright life now..technicolor!
The lemon geranium comes in  and thrives..it is in Lexibules Hummus recipe..I added it..
This is a carefree plant given enough light inside and grows..HUGE..Loves water.
Now out it will go..as soon as night frost is done.

I have some chickpea shoots indoors and sunflower seeds and dahlia tubers..Fingers crossed~
Finally..Happy Spring!




43 comments:

  1. Oh, Spring here , too! My lungwort is also out, and the violets and sorrel and the pale daffodils (which bloom later than the yellow ones). New herbs planted yesterday, birds everywhere! Love the two recipes you found, time for some new ones to take to the beach. Happy Spring, Nana!

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    1. Sounds like here:-)
      I still would like a few more herbs,borage..Thai basil etc..
      Just the sound of the birds..the mini pond pump..seeing the big bees.
      Heavenly.

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  2. I am in love with the salad with the olives and feta. What a gorgeous dish. And yes, gardening is very hard work, so much so that I leave all of the heavy stuff to someone else.
    Sam

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    1. Your dishes are always packed with color and always so appetizing Sam

      We have more daylight now..everything feels different!

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  3. Ah, ces salades colorées sont vraiment appétissantes !
    Un peu de couleur dans nos assiettes ne fait jamais de mal.

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  4. Oh, that salad looks so delicious! I will make this one. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Monique.
    Your photos always awe me. They are so bright and clear. How do you do it?

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    Replies
    1. It must be your screen..:-)
      You always wear rose colored glasses also:-)
      I am in love with spring and fresh new green..
      The hummus is divine too:-)
      All gleaned.

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  5. Gardening and attending to the fairies sounds wonderful, I'm glad spring is finally arriving where you are, but it is so disappointing when the bugs and animals get to the flowers first:( I love these pics though and forget me nots and dahlias sound wonderful, they are a couple of my favorites. Looks like wonderful fresh springtime food too. Hope you had a happy Mothers Day and your daughters too :)

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    1. My daughters..one in particular is a shopper:-)
      We went to a town almost 1 hr from here..to an area called 10/30..
      We left at 10 came home at 6..
      Lunch out and walked and walked..
      It was lovely ..
      Sunday we continued the weekend at one of our daughters..the children and our son in law's parents and sister..
      He has the chickens..I am so taken with them..♥
      I hope you had a sunny weekend..
      I thought of you in seeing huge foxgloves in a special nursery I love.
      Perfect for your gardens..and your journal painting.

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  6. So happy for you things are coming up green!! :) That pasta I can devour in minutes. I love Summer pasta salads but I need to stay away from it, per doctor's orders. :( Perhaps I can just nibble on it and make it for my sister and her family when I get up to Michigan. Thanks for sharing. -Bev

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    Replies
    1. You'll be sharing this elation next Spring for sure!

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  7. Celebrating Spring à la Monique; très coloré! Bon jardinage. I always admire the hard work my gardening friends do. And the joy they get & give. Hope your plants survive the little munching folks.

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    Replies
    1. May is a celebration where we live.. so gald so glad so glad..:) Will practice plant painting now:)

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  8. Do you have deer in the area, Monique? One year, they ate all my tulips and apple leaflets.

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    Replies
    1. You know we saw some in town a month ago..but no..my garden is not really exposed to deer..
      Bunnies.. racoons and squirrels..
      Sorry for your missing pieces too:(
      Don't they get it?

      I would gladly feed them something else if they were well behaved dinner guests..

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  9. Bonjour ma chère Nana,

    Une très belle note d'optimisme avec cette dernière publication... Le printemps est arrivé chez toi...
    Tes photos avec toutes ces fleurs, ce feuillages aux verts acidulés sont un ravissement.
    Et puis des petits plats fraîcheurs pour couronner le tout !...

    Attention à ton dos avec le jardinage ! Prends soin de toi.
    Gros bisous ♡

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    Replies
    1. Tu as tellement raison..le dos..Au mois de mai.. il est toujours un peu viellot et maussade..
      Que faire si je veux des fleurs?
      Prendre soin de bien en me penchant..pour soulever..Malheureusement c'est par la suite que je me le dis..
      J'aime les fleurs comme vous!

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  10. Stunning pics Nana dear...
    Spring has sprung here...suddenly the leaves are all unfurled. I have many plants that have not returned...i will be on the hunt for some new ones...
    Bisous xo

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    Replies
    1. I was so hoping the little pokers would be up..:(

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  11. Lovely photos of your flowers & the fresh spring recipes you've shared and reminded me of.
    Although spring is here, we're still having cold nights and lots of rainy days, the plants are slow in growing & lots of the seeds I sowed haven't germinated. I'm an impatient gardener and even more so this year not being able to do all the things I would really love to be doing. Looking forward to some hot sunny days.

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    Replies
    1. I am also an impatient gardener and have housed a few too early in the cold earth..takes longer then to take off..I agree..
      May gets the best of me :)
      Both Jacques and I seem to want to get everything going to enjoy it for the few months we have it..

      Take care Barbara..

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  12. Good heavens, I had to play catch-up with you today, Monique! From those divine looking granola bars, to your beautiful watercolor (which I LOVE, no matter how you feel about it) to the delicious looking boule. And now spring. So pleased it's finally arrived for all of you in the north. It's been a long winter. I well remember from my Michigan days all those first spring blooms and the pleasure I felt discovering them.
    Your pasta salad looks wonderful and the asparagus so green and perfect in it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You get to live in perpetual gardening mode!:)
      I remember neighbours changing their plants..instead of going through a season..
      Everything always look great..haven't witnessed February..but I bet it's something else!

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  13. So happy that spring has come your way, enjoy!

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  14. Lovely! I am on my way to the nursery this morning for herbs and flowers. I answered your question re Sid Warner's on my post since it might not make sense here.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  15. I am so happy spring has found you again :) Isn't it the very best time of year? I love watching to see what is new outside every day. Right now, bleeding heart has started to bloom and some early irises. Love. We noticed the same thing with our daffodils this year - many missing blooms! The magnolia sparse. Let's hope it doesn't happen to other perennials in the garden!

    The pasta salad is something I need to make soon! Love the bits of bacon in it and feta - delicious. Pinning to my salad board :) We love hummus here too and have made a meal of it. Delicious post!

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    Replies
    1. I think we bloom too this time of year Nana2!
      I am sure we will keep each other informed on our garden happenings:)x

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  16. All the pics are beautiful. So nice to see what is going on outside the home and inside.

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  17. Your photos are beautiful as usual. I'm glad you mentioned lemon geranium, I had forgotten all about it and will soon be finding it hopefully. Sounds like things are going well your way. No planting flowers, etc her yet, not until the end of May, but things are green and lush with all the rain. Have a good rest of the week!

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  18. Yours pictures are always beautiful!

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  19. That's a clever idea to spritz the bread to make it moist, another lovely post!

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  20. And it's exactly the opposite down south! Soups, stews and lots of comfy food and fire.
    It all looks so beautiful there.
    I love that recipe for the hummus and that pasta salad.
    Going on pinterest now.
    Hope you had a great Mother's day too
    Shel x

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    Replies
    1. I am sure you did:) You and E celebrating all the good things in life.
      You have so much to look forward to!

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  21. Your blog is just wonderful, great post today! I must say, your boys are just adorable! I always love your sweet visits to my blog!
    Have a glorious day!
    Nancy

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  22. So beautiful to see your spring photos. The salads look scrumptious! You definitely deserve to eat them after carrying all of the mulch bags. Sounds like the bunnies are hungry too!

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  23. So happy that spring has sprung! Just today, my lilacs. dogwood and bleeding heart bloomed. The sweet birdies are chirping so I sip my coffee outdoors to take it all in. Love the two recipes you found. We love hummus here too. Glad you mentioned about the daffodils. I only had 10% bloom.

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  24. Oh those birds are heavenly..I love them to bits..
    You are way ahead of us Debbie!
    Lilacs..just about to leaf out..even the crabapples etc..still no show..

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  25. Scrumptious food! I wish I could eat those fabulous dishes right now...

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  26. What great looking salads, Monique - so vibrant, fresh and beautiful! It's always a pleasure to visit your blog :)!

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  27. Lovely colors Monique, and very springy salad-)))

    Have an awesome day!

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  28. Delicious salads, beautiful flowers. Hooray for Spring! I am glad your spring has arrived. It sure took it's time coming!! I am sure it will make up for lost time however and delight you completely, as you do us when you share all that you share with us. Love and hugs!
    xxoo

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