Can't Blog This Week

Sorry, I haven't been posting anything.  I've been laid up for a number of days. Basically I over-stretched my "sitting" the tendons/ligaments/muscles in my left hip, which effected my whole left thigh with muscling tightening. Therefore, I haven't been able to do "sitting" things, like blog posting.
I've only just reached a point where I can sit for a few minutes, long enough to check emails.

Hopefully, I'll be able to resume my weekly blog posts next Monday, May 27.

 

Enjoy your week!

Garden Pic Wednesday: Calendula!

Today's photo topic is a herb called Calendula:

Calendula

It's common names include Pot Marigold, Butterwort, Cowbloom, Marsh Marigold, Mary Flower and Bull Flower, among others.

The Calendula flower is both edible and a medicinal herb known for it's anti-inflammatory effects when it is used topically and it is also a potent antioxidant. It can be soothing for the gastrointestinal tract when ingested as tea. Because of its antiviral and antibacterial qualities, it is also useful in treating minor wounds and abrasions.  

The petals of Calendula are often added to salads as well. Their bright orange color is an attractive contrast to salad green and their slightly bitter flavor compliments the other vegetables. When cooked, the flavor mellows.

Calendula can be used much like saffron by adding it to rice and pasta dishes.  

The photo above is actually last year's lone Calendula.

I saved 2 heads of seed from it and this year have 10 plants coming into flower right now. I plan on snipping and drying flower heads for making an oil and some soap--hopefully.

And I may try cooking with some fresh petals and might try it as a tea, though I'm not much of a tea drinker.

(1 tsp dried petals in cup with hot water = tea.) 

I don't have allergies to this sort of thing, but those who do, shouldn't use a herb-based oil or soap, such as this, on their skin.

Here's a link with more info on Calendula:

http://herbgardens.about.com/od/medicinalherbs/a/Calendula.htm

And also a link on "Edible Garden Flowers."

There's a wealth of deliciousness growing right in your flower bed!

http://whatscookingamerica.net/EdibleFlowers/EdibleFlowersMain.htm

Polyvore Tuesday: Cheesecake Themed Contest

  

I watched the season finale of Once Upon a Time yesterday at abc.com and---Wow! What a great storyline transition.
They've been exploring "Never Land" in recent episodes, but it appears the Peter Pan story has is a darker place in Once Upon a Time and he's no Mr. Nice Guy!
I also watched the season finale of "Castle." I watch the show because it's fluff. My husband stays in the computer room and can hear it and he'll often call out, "What does she (Kate) see in that guy (Castle) anyway?"

I respond, "Castle is the comic relief."
He does border on buffoonery sometimes. (That's what makes the show fluff.)  And, since Kate & Castle have given in to being in love, I keep wondering how long the writers will have to keep figuring out ways to threaten their relationship every week so the audience will stay tuned in?
I haven't always kept up with the show, but kept thinking Nathan Fillion, who plays Castle, sure is looking overweight this season. season. Then they ran an episode of clips from previous episodes and it showed.
He's only 42. I realize he has a stout build and I don't know what's going on in his life, but, while he's still young enough to be able to do at least a light to moderate fitness program and make eating lifestyle changes, I think the studio really ought to encourage it.

 

Here's my newest Polyvore set: it's for a dessert orientated member group I recently joined that required using a large cheesecake picture along with some modest fashion.
I tried to give it a dreamy quality and

call it "Orange Meringue."
I really love the colors in this dress---those are my colors!

 

Come back tomorrow for Wednesday's Garden Pic!

Orange Meringue by madamdreamweaver

Good Eating Monday: Sweet-Sour Slaw

Welcome back to another gorgeous week of May! The cool weather is lasting a long time this year!

And, here's a interior view of the new garage door! Treated wood forms the frame, which is bolted at top and bottom into the frame of the house. It's designed to withstand intense wind, but really, we just needed a door that would stay shut securely. The old one had a tendency to randomly pop open about 5 inches, so I was having to keep it tied with a rope to prevent that. That is a biggest reason for getting a new door!
I liked the installers, too. Very proficient and very knowledge. He explained to me exactly how to care for both the hinges and outside appearance, which is a briefing we didn't get on the last one!

 

Anyway today's Good Eating recipe is for Sweet-Sour Slaw!
This is a vinegar based slaw recipe given to me by a Jewish lady I met in swim aerobics at the Y, who enjoys sharing her family recipes.
It's actually a terrific tasting slaw with extra touches like oregano, which is great for me, since I grow tons of oregano!

 

I'm going to give you the easy version she suggested that starts a bagged slaw mix you can buy that has both colors of cabbage and carrots rather then having to start from scratch.
After having tried it a couple times, I've determined the dressing quantity is enough for 2 bags of slaw mix, so that's what I'm going to suggest.
I happened to use a Sweet Vadalia onion in my last batch of slaw and that was really delicious! And I prefer to use English Cuks.
 

Ingredients
2 Bags Slaw Mix
1 green bell pepper 

2 Kirby cucumbers (unwaxed pickling cucumbers) or 1 English Cucumber (usually come wrapped in plastic and are less seedy.)

1 medium onion, any type.
 

Dressing:

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup olive or canola oil.
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup to 1/2 cup sugar or Splenda. (I prefer using 1/2 cup!)

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp oregano (start with 1/2 tsp, then increase oregano to taste.)

 

Directions:

All the veggies are to be shredded, grated or sliced super thin and fine.
Green pepper: slice into very thin strips, then mince.
Cucumber: peel outer skin, then grate on largest hole side of box grater or slice side for paper thin slices.
Onion: Grate on largest hole side of box grater.
Combine bagged slaw, minced peppers & grated cucumber & onion in large bowl and toss together until well combined.

Make dressing, pour over slaw and toss together. Chill, then toss again before serving, since dressing accumulates heavily to bottom.

Note: the original directions suggested making this slaw the night before or, if not overnight, at least 6 - 8 hours in advance of serving.

You can do that, but I notice the dressing gets juicier the longer it sits, so I prefer to chill it for less time, maybe an hour or two before serving.

For a shorter chill time, stronger seasoning with oregano might be appropriate.
********
I don't have a food processor, but if you do, you could use that on your peppers, cucumbers & onions instead of grating by hand.
The main thing is the make all 3 very fine and thin.

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Eat up, me hearties, yo-ho!

Mama Kat Thursday: The Family Talent

        You might be wondering how the door install is going, since that was to happen today? Well, they're hard at it. There was a lot of hammering going on for awhile as they put up a new frame of treated wood around the door opening, but it's quieter now, so I imagine they're working on assembly.    

The Mama Kat Prompt for today is:

  "Describe a talent that seems to be in your genes."

That's easy enough. There's an artistic-creative gene that travels through my family like the Force of Star Wars.
Our Mother had a specific talent for drawing. I remember she used to hand-draw paper dolls and clothes for them to wear when I was little, but she was also very creative when it came to crafts and sewing. Our Dad's creative genes found expression in wood-working.
So, my sisters and I inherited a culmination of artistic, crafty, resourceful, hands-on sort of creativity that expresses itself in a board range of ways.
All 3 of us have certainly taken various art courses in college.
My youngest sister, Pat, has this huge, fabulous painting she did of a Perrier bottle that literally looks "wet."  I can never take my eyes off it when we're there.

My middle sister, Jane, when she was in her teens, went out into Dad's work shop, sat down and created gifts for us all out of scrap wood. I still have the "Letter Box," she made me all those years ago.

I enjoy doing realistic pencil drawings of faces, though of late I've been concentrating on learning how to "draw" on computer. (The coffee cup place mat below is an example.) 

Eclectic Coffee Cup Place Mat

I'm pretty sure this artistic-creative Force has made it's way to my various nephews and certainly my niece and is right now seeking new and innovative ways to show itself!

\

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Garden Pic Wednesday: Pink Petunias

The garage door people called yesterday to schedule a time to install the new garage door---which caught me completely off-guard! I wasn't expecting to hear from them for a couple weeks and thought that because the guy who inspected the garage opening said it might be 4 to 6 weeks.

The good news is, "Yay, we get the door tomorrow!"

The bad news is, "Oh goodie, now I have to clean up the garage!"
 

So, that's how I spent the last 3 hours. I needed to clear the area near the door opening and under both slide rails, so the installers can get to everything. My cluttered metal shelf of garden tools and all my various bags of garden soil, lime and weed & feed were sitting right up front, right under a slide rail, so all that mess had to be moved!
I don't know about you, but moving things around to give the garage floor a good sweeping just doesn't happen often and I figured if I'm doing a little, I might as well do it all.
(Single car size garage--so not huge.)

 

Today's Garden Pic is of my pink Petunias.

What's interesting about these petunias is I planted them late last spring. They didn't really do well last year, but managed to winter over as a diminutive clump of green in this pot, then started to flourish this year!
When I came back from Indiana, I found them spilling over the pot!

 

 

 

I find petunias perform better in a pot and they're certainly easier to maintain that way, since you need to pinch off old blossoms. I also selectively nip their growth tips, where the little future buds are, to encourage more mounding, so they won't get long and leggy.

They also benefit from mildrew treatment--at least here, where it's so rainy & humid. They tend to get sick from mildew.

All reasons why I only have a few petunia's in just a few select pots.

They can make a good spiller or filler in a pot garden!

 

Come back tomorrow for Mama Kat Thursday!