Everyday Food, a few Recipes, Flowers in Bloom

And the squirrel wars continue. They've dug up all my seeds and mangled a primrose, though there are some survivors. They even got into the catnip; little do they know my little cat, elderly as he is, is spry, deceptive, and a taker of squirrels. He did one in and laid it where I usually park my car one day to prove me wrong. I told him he'd never bag a squirrel; they were nearly as big as he was and more aggressive. Meowma was wrong that time.

I made a frittata recipe and a dessert using cornflakes, dried cherries and dark chocolate from Everyday Food publications. They were easy, and tasted good. I didn't get heartburn, either. The no bake cookies were about 1 c. dried cherries, 12 oz semisweet chocoloate chips, and 2 cups crushed cornflakes. I used Aldi brands, and saved a lot of money. Melt the chocolate, and combine with cherries and cornflakes. Mix. Drop by well-rounded spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet covered with waxed paper. Let dry two hours. Voila! Healthy, about 100 calories each, low in fat, and fantastic. Make a whole box for Mother's Day!

The fritatta was fun to do; combine 8 eggs, a cup or so of grated cheeses, about 2 tbsps milk, mushrooms, olives, fillings of your choice, two chopped green onions, and pour into an oven safe frying pan. Bake about 50 minutes, or until eggs bubble up. You can include sliced potatos, or even low fat, low sodium potato chips, but I made rosemary potatoes separately. This had sliced plum tomatoes and fresh parsley decorating the top, but you could leave them out.

A few weeks ago, I did a pasta bake from leftovers that was fun. I used bowties and spaghetti, and boiled it. I drained it and combined it with a can of Herdez diced tomato with lime, about 1/4c marinara sauce, jars are OK, fresh onions and vegetables chopped, some garlic, about 1/c grated parmesan and other cheese, cilantro, parsely, oregano, piniones and basil. I baked it till the cheese metled, about 25 mintues. It tasted great, and froze well. You could add seafood, or browned, drained meat like hamburger or ground turkey.

I'm waiting for my lilacs to bloom, and spent time raking and working in my yard. I also sat at my little table to read and to collect my thoughts yesterday. One great day can really help restore everything. Till next time, Happy planting.