Flowers and pot roast

 

John gave me flowers for Mother's Day, which is nice since we're kinda between the spring and early summer blooming season and there's nothing to cut at the moment. In another week, if this warm weather keeps up, the yard will be full of peonies, iris and roses. 

So, lovely having the very fragrant white Oriental lilies inside-- a preview of late summer, when ours bloom. 

He also bought an "Opera Cake" at Metropolitan Market. Ever had? They are amazingly good. I can resist most cakes, but not this one. 

 

"Created in the 1950s, the cake's thin layers of coffee-soaked sponge, ganache, and buttercream are designed to evoke the elegance of the levels in a Paris opera house."  (Thanks, AI.)  

For dinner, pot roast, another rare treat. Remember when chuck was just a scrappy piece of cheap meat? Now that humble cut costs more than a Porterhouse did a few years ago. 

Yes, we seniors are constantly dating ourselves exclaiming over high food prices. I told the girls I remember buying a sandwich for a quarter and a (big) candy bar for a nickel. "Really, Nana?" 

I'm not sure they even know what a "nickle" or "quarter" is. They sure as heck don't carry around loose change for penny candy, like we did. 

 

Happy Mother's Day

 

Our amazing Amanda and her beautiful girls today, camping with a group of friends at Banks Lake in Central Washington. 

This is a 17-year tradition for these families, going together in May since their kids were wee babies. Now teenagers!

 

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms in our family, including April, Julie, Marji, Irene and Janice. We are truly blessed. 
 

 

 

Iris Day

 

Today is Iris Day and this one is about to pop open. I have a love/hate relationship with that flower-- so glorious and then, frankly, a pain in the neck for the rest of the year, hogging up garden space and always needing to be divided. But, that one week of bloom makes it worthwhile. 

Happy Mother's Day weekend, hope you enjoy some time with your family flock. 

Peanut, please

 

My new friend, who shows up on the deck every afternoon at the same time. Begging the question, who trained whom?

Yes, peanuts are fattening. 

Slow down

 

 

I was at Target yesterday and everything in the garden section was already on clearance sale. Talk about rushing the seasons--if you haven't bought outdoor furniture by Memorial Day, you're out of luck at Target. Maybe they were getting the section ready for back-to-school. 

Anyway, I scored this pretty terracotta pot at 40% off. I'll try and transplant a root bound dwarf snake plant (Sansevieria Trifasciata.) 

We got spoiled by a string of bright sunny days-- the last few have been chilly and grey.  Depressing, really. The furnace is running again this morning. The marine overcast finally burned off yesterday about 5 pm when I was outside cooking dinner.

 

Whole chicken thighs on the grill are so good, if done right. If you scorch them like steak, the fat turns to unhealthy charcoal, instead of dripping "harmlessly" off into the bottom of grill. Ha. But worth the mess. Speaking of slowing down, it takes about an hour.  

Bitter greens

 

Another one of those NYT "quick and easy" recipes. 

There's always a bag of frozen potstickers in our freezer and I had some kale on hand, which I don't usually buy. Kale is bitter, and raw in salads, so tough! People often grind it up for green smoothies. Yes, yes, healthy and all that. 

 

 

I thought this turned out OK- crispy dumplings with the soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger and garlic balancing the bitterness. John, not big on any cooked greens, took one minuscule fleck of kale. The main dish was meatless Monday stir fry tofu and vegetables.