6 years ago
Monday, August 22, 2005
Chasing Butterflies
I spend a lot of time chasing butterflies and humming birds. Every now and then I am rewarded with some nice shots (any time I get a full wingspan I am pretty excited)
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Best Ever Chocolate Brownies
We went to a family picnic today. I made lemon bars and "the best ever cocoa brownies", which were indeed the best I have made, if not ever, at least in a long time. They were fudgy moist and just yummy. I got the recipe someplace on the net, but can't remember where. If anyone is in the mood for brownies, I think you will love these. The lemon bars were also very good, but next time I will double the filling as I like more filling.
Cocoa brownies have the softest center and chewiest candylike top "crust" of all because all of the fat in the recipe (except for a small amount of cocoa butter in the cocoa) is butter, and all of the sugar is granulated sugar rather than the finely milled sugar used in chocolate. Use the best cocoa you know for these fabulous brownies.
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter (I used salted)
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cold large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional) (I used a mixture of walnuts and pecans plus I threw in about a cup of white chocolate chips)
Special equipment: An 8-inch square baking pan
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot. (I just put it in the microwave and heated 20 seconds then stirred, then repeated another 20 sec., etc. until it was melted)
Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.
Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. (I baked for 30 minutes) Let cool completely on a rack.
Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.
Lemon Bars
Crust
2 cups flour
2 sticks margarine or butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Filling
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups granulated sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup flour
6 Tbsp lemon juice – (I used 1 ½ fresh lemons – also used the zest) I also added a few drops of yellow food coloring
Topping
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
Combine the 3 crust ingredients and press into a 9 X 13 pan. (mixture will look very dry, but just pat down and bake. The butter will melt when baking) I also used a little larger pan, whatever size a lasagna pan is.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes;
remove from oven. Combine the filling ingredients and pour over top of the baked crust. Return to oven and bake for an additional 25 minutes at 350. Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cool and cut into squares.
Cocoa brownies have the softest center and chewiest candylike top "crust" of all because all of the fat in the recipe (except for a small amount of cocoa butter in the cocoa) is butter, and all of the sugar is granulated sugar rather than the finely milled sugar used in chocolate. Use the best cocoa you know for these fabulous brownies.
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter (I used salted)
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cold large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional) (I used a mixture of walnuts and pecans plus I threw in about a cup of white chocolate chips)
Special equipment: An 8-inch square baking pan
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot. (I just put it in the microwave and heated 20 seconds then stirred, then repeated another 20 sec., etc. until it was melted)
Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.
Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. (I baked for 30 minutes) Let cool completely on a rack.
Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.
Lemon Bars
Crust
2 cups flour
2 sticks margarine or butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Filling
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups granulated sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup flour
6 Tbsp lemon juice – (I used 1 ½ fresh lemons – also used the zest) I also added a few drops of yellow food coloring
Topping
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
Combine the 3 crust ingredients and press into a 9 X 13 pan. (mixture will look very dry, but just pat down and bake. The butter will melt when baking) I also used a little larger pan, whatever size a lasagna pan is.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes;
remove from oven. Combine the filling ingredients and pour over top of the baked crust. Return to oven and bake for an additional 25 minutes at 350. Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cool and cut into squares.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Now I Pay The Price
for the beautiful apple blossums in May.
What a daily mess!
Those blooms lasted about three days. I will be picking up apples for about 6 weeks.
What a daily mess!
Those blooms lasted about three days. I will be picking up apples for about 6 weeks.
Obedient Plant
To me this plant is a "plain Jane" perennial. It has few pests or diseases and is a reliable bloomer, but it has no WOW factor. The flowers are attractive, but very tiny. The plant gets 3 - 4 feet tall. It does bloom late in the season which is a plus for those who need late summer/early fall interest. It spreads readily so you want to plant it in a large area where this feature would be a plus. Below is a large patch not yet blooming (just to show you what the full plant looks like). Does anyone else grow this? What do you think of it?
Raindrops Keep Falling
In between downpours I snuck out to the deck and snapped a few shots.
osteospermum
osteospermum
Friday, August 19, 2005
Where is Everyone in Blogland?
I have been out of town for most of the week (it was nice to hear that a few of you missed me!).
Today I was looking forward to reading all the new posts in my favorite garden blogs. But it seems to have been a slow week in the blog world – like me, very few were posting this week. There were not enough new posts to finish my first cup of coffee. I had to resort to checking out the food/recipe blogs (which I do enjoy, but this time of the year the gardening blogs come first). Since I had not read the foodies in a while, there were many new posts I had not seen.
It has been raining here for the past two days with no relief in sight until Monday. My grass has gone from burned out to green and lush in the past few weeks. It looks almost as green as Sandy’s!
The deck, on the other hand, looks a bit shabby. All that water & wind has played havoc. Flowers have been pelted with rain, whipped around by the high winds and are an all around mess. At least I have not had to water. They have survived with very little assistance from me for most of the week. Well, I am off again to see if there are any blog updates since this morning.
Today I was looking forward to reading all the new posts in my favorite garden blogs. But it seems to have been a slow week in the blog world – like me, very few were posting this week. There were not enough new posts to finish my first cup of coffee. I had to resort to checking out the food/recipe blogs (which I do enjoy, but this time of the year the gardening blogs come first). Since I had not read the foodies in a while, there were many new posts I had not seen.
It has been raining here for the past two days with no relief in sight until Monday. My grass has gone from burned out to green and lush in the past few weeks. It looks almost as green as Sandy’s!
The deck, on the other hand, looks a bit shabby. All that water & wind has played havoc. Flowers have been pelted with rain, whipped around by the high winds and are an all around mess. At least I have not had to water. They have survived with very little assistance from me for most of the week. Well, I am off again to see if there are any blog updates since this morning.
Disappointing Dahlia
I eagerly awaited the bloom on this new dahlia "Peaches and Cream'. I am a little disappointed. I expected more vibrant colors. The colors are actually quite muddy and dull.
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Hibiscus with Morning Glories
Look at the morning glories that grew up into the hibiscus. (They reseeded themselves from last year). Just look at how much this barrel has grown from when I planted it in late May.
Echinops
The Globe thistle is blooming.
I love round flowers..
Echinops likes full sun and will do quite well in poor soil. It does not require much water. The foliage is not particularly attractive - has quite a "weedy" look. It has spiney picky leaves that tend to turn brown at the bottom well before the plant blooms.I think it looks best if you can hide it in the middle of other plants.
A Different Combo
This bed caught my eye today when we were leaving the farmer's market. It is just geraniums with 4 clumps of purple fountain grass in the center. Very bright, but I like it.
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