Easter's On Its Way

Walking up to my favorite garden enter, the excitement quickly comes over me.

We are here to finish the herb garden I planted and shared yesterday,

but just walking through here will delight all of your senses.

There were colorful Bunnies and Easter Eggs everywhere.

These were small, adorable packages of seeds for keeping, gifting or just saying thank-you.

Cyclamen

Orchids ~ they were really beautiful.

Pussy Willows ~ I have not thought about these in years.

Calla-Lilies

Bunnies ~ Carrots ~ Butterflies...Spring is on it's way!

Planting New Herbs

 I almost always have fresh herbs growing inside the house, 

but for one reason or another some have died off.

I saw this on Amazon and fell in love with it....

It came with 3 pots, a tray to put them in and labels for the front of each pot and some extras.

But, I did not read the entire description, I thought it came with soil and seeds but alas, it did not.

That's o.k., in a way, that was awesome, as it gave me an excuse to visit my local Garden Center

Barlow Flower Farm

I bought a new bag of potting soil, some Basil and Dill, my 2 favorites...

I rolled up my sleeves and got to work!

We don't get any more news papers, or shopping bags here in New Jersey,

 so I used aluminum foil to protect the counter.

I felt like it was wasteful but I needed something and I was happy I laid it down.

The hubs made this "cage" for the Scallions with the chopsticks we usually bring home from a

Chinese Restaurant.

I have had Scallions growing inside for years.

They were so tall, even though I clip them and use them all the time.

When I have too many or they get too tall, I clip them and freeze them.

Dill - Scallions - Basil

My favorite part were the leather handles on the side.

Placed by a sunny window, I know these will do very well.

And speaking of Chinese Restaurants, we have a good one, 

that also serves sushi and Thai food.

We stopped there after Barlows and had a yummy dinner.

The hubs had Sesame Chicken and brought half home.

I had Sushi

Shrimp Tempura and a Sweet Potato Roll

I don't eat uncooked Sushi and I too brought home half of mine.

The food was really good!

Wise Words On Sunday

 

Saturday Critters #586

On this day in Spring Lake I saw a lot of  

Red Breasted Mergansers

A slim diving duck, it looks a bit like the Common Merganser but is smaller.

Both sexes have shaggy, spikey crests rather than a sleek head.

dives frequently looking for fish.

I only see the Mergansers during the winter.

I think this is a female with a female Hooded Merganser nearby.

These are both female, I don't know if I saw or photographed any males.

The males heads are dark green and they have a very distinctive white ring around their necks.

Did all of the girls desert the boys?

These are diving ducks...more often than not, I get this!

Sharing today's images with Eileen at 

Viewing Nature With Eileen 

for Saturday Critters

Creamy Tuscan Sausage

 This may be the best pasta dish I have ever created.

The recipe can be found here,  I pretty much followed the recipe,

but I used sausage instead of chicken and added 1/2 of a diced sweet onion in the beginning.

This was super simple, get your pasta water going right away,

because after you brown your sausage, this is pretty much a dump...

dump it all in with the sausage and let the flavors "marry" until your pasta is done.

The ingredient line-up...

Brown sausage, add 1/2 diced onion if you like, I always like some sweet onion to start.

Water is boiling...

I use DeCecco Pasta, the best of the brands.

I used bow-tie pasta and that needs a little extra cooking time.

Once the sausage and onion are cooked, everything else goes in.

The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of chicken broth, I used pasta water instead.

Use a deep saucepan so everything fits...

including the pasta!

It was so good and super easy.

Here's what you will need, but also click on the recipe link I provided here and above...

If you use sausage, you will need 8 ozs, the recipe called for 2 pounds of chicken breasts

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 cup of heavy cream

1/2 cup chicken broth, I used pasta water

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

1/4 cup of parmesan cheese

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced 

1/4 teaspoon salt

I have made this twice in the last few weeks...it is sooooo good and so easy to make.

When The Sun Sets

 I am almost always home during sunset at this time of year 

and the sunsets this winter have been stunning.

I have shared so many here, 

they all look similar because I am always standing in the same spot by my the front door.

When it gets a little bit warmer, I am going to head to the marina, the view there is spectacular,

and it is the perfect spot to take pictures of the sunset.

Here are a few more I recently photographed from home.

Have a great day!

This & That and A Whole Lot of Nothing

I finished my latest knitting project the

 "Simple Yet Effective Cowl" 

Knit with 100% Alpaca Yarn hand dyed by Liz, the color is Paisley.

I generally only knit at night, but because I have not been out, 

I am sneaking in a little daytime knitting, and finished this quickly.

I started another "Colorblock Party Scarf" for the hubs,

but the gray yarn I wanted to use next was frayed every 3 or 4 feet,

so I will have to purchase some new gray yarn to continue on this.

So I started another "Simple Yet Effective Cowl"

Knit with 100% Alpaca Yarn hand dyed by Liz, the color is Dawn's Early Light.

I had this yarn in my stash and this cowl only takes a few days to knit.

I am going to try to make a trip to the farm on saturday, I am sure they will have gray yarn.

I am growing celery from the ends of the last bunch of celery I used.

Cut the 2" off the bottom of the celery bunch, 

place in a small dish of water, and keep in a sunny spot.

After a few days, you should see small leaves start to form.

Once roots start to form, you can transfer it to a pot with soil.

So far, so good!

I always have green onions growing in the house and I can't tell you how many times I reach for them.

Cut off the root end of the green onion, leaving 1" of the white bulb attached.

Make sure the root is buried in a well drained pot filled with potting soil.

Keep soil moist and place in a sunny spot.

You can harvest new leaves as needed and they will continue to grow.

I have had this plant for years, at times, I have to cut them because the are so tall and I freeze them.

I have been longing for purple tulips for a long time and looking everywhere for them.

The hubs finally found them in our food store and brought home a bouquet.

I changed the water, cut off any leaves that would fall below the water line, 

gave them each a fresh cut at the bottom of the stem, 

and pushed a straight pin though the stem, right at the base of the flower.

This is what I always do and the flowers stand up straight, but not this time.

I "googled" it and it says to also add a penny, that I did not do, I think it may be too late.

- next time -

I am starting to prepare for spring.

I washed and put away all of my winter scarves, 

and washed and hung my spring scarves and sweaters by the front door.

Rain today and I am actually excited to have a lazy rain day!