Tea Party and some other favorite photos from this week!

The egg hunt:




Alex set the table and decided to invite her poodle friend to sit in Gregorie's place:
And just where am I supposed to sleep?
Hot tubbing with Aunt Julia!
A hug to feel better:

Taming the lower garden beds

Before heading out, be sure to dress appropriately -- head gear is a must.

Once in the garden, declare, "I am the queen.  Ye shall yield!"
Then be sure to water your sister well.
And head out for more victories!
Smile at your successes.
Ah, but behold, older sister may know some truths!
The majesty of the oak, for one.
Or the power of a shovel, photographed really close.
Or even, really really really close:
Or, yes, the Mama!  Who surveys the garden space!
teAnd tends to what needs tending.
And tells us we actually have neighbors down there.
But, Mama is proud of the beds, and the helpers!

So, I jump for joy!

Let's talk about food, baby

Let's talk about all the good things that may be...

So, I LOVE food.   Good, wholesome, natural, mostly organic, unprocessed, whole, rich wonderful food.  Food is a celebration and no celebration goes right if good food is not involved.  Food satisfies the senses.  Of course, taste -- remember the vibrant sweetness of a ruby red grapefruit or the deep earthy power of a truffle.  And smell -- imagine the rich pungency of Chatelain camembert or garlic sweating in a saute pan.  Texture - consider the voluptuous silk of seared foie gras or the crisp crunch of a perfect Autumn apple.  And sound -- think for a moment of the rhythm of celery and carrots being chopped on a board or the sizzle of chicken frying.   These sounds may be only a cook's pleasure -- but cooking is half the pleasure!   

And of course, there is sight.  I love beautiful food.  The interplay of colors on a plate, artful stacks at a fancy restaurant, carefully placed garnishes (all the better if they have flavor too!).  A well laid table.  

But pretty food is simpler, or can be.  For example, my weekly trip to the farmer's market always yields something like this:

This is/was Easter week -- holiday time; a time when many people focus on food.  Alex told her grandmother, "We missed Easter."  Well, not really true.  No, we didn't do baskets and we'll do the egg hunt Wednesday when Gam and Julia are here, and being heathens/pagans/atheists/whatevers there was certainly no chanting of "He is Risen."  But we did dye eggs.  Brown eggs with natural dyes.  Not your traditional pastel basketfillers but I like them.

In fact, I like them so much that I think, that since we eat a fair amount of hard boiled eggs, why not save that half cup of cold coffee, the water from the boiled beets, the onion skins, the glass of red wine your guest didn't finish...

We didn't have an "Easter Dinner" here but we did have a dinner guest the Saturday before.  I thought dinner was a great success featuring a lavender and rosemary roasted chicken with fingerling potatoes and whole garlic cloves, beet and spinach salad, and steamed snap peas.   The appetizers, however, stole the show.  I made a simple bruschetta with oregano from the garden and fried squash blossoms.   I got these beautiful male blossoms at the farmer's market (for a dollar)

Then I stuffed them with an herb/ricotta mixture:

Then I dipped them in a Sierra Nevada beer batter and fried them in canola/olive oil. The after shot does not do the sense of sight justice -- taste and texture were pleased though.

I personally really enjoyed last night's dinner. The sight-and-taste sensation that is a tomato/mozzarella/basil salad and pan fried wild sole with lemon sauce. Oh, and steamed spring asparagus.


Today for lunch we had a family favorite -- chicken potstickers. I have pictures from another day somewhere -- I'll post a link if I can find it - but no pictures from today.

ETA:  potstickers

Dinner was a glazed pork tenderloin and some damn good soba stir fry!  Before and after:

NO GOOSE OR DUCK WAS HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS BLOG  POST.

When it all crashes down, smell the flowers!

The shower wall may have come down in a million shards of glass, but who cares -- I've got ALL THIS!

A perfect princess!
Self-propagating peas:
Gorgeous spring flowers:




A freshly clean kid:
Maple madness:

Flowering trees and shrubs:

A fabulous fig tree:
Blackberry blossoms:
And apple blossoms:
And an extravaganza of oregano:
And pear blossoms:
And baby peaches:
Onions from last year's planting:
A tomato still growing on the vine!
Color!
And a Topanga sunset.