It’s about time to dust off old the keyboard again and way past time for a new look. I wonder what will crawl out of my head this year?

Spring is a very short season here. It seems as if within a month we go from winter to summer. I am so glad that I took the time to go out and visit my lilacs every day because they’re already starting to die off for the season. This picture was taken on Saturday.

We’ve been trying to get the rest of the yard in shape, which means I’m still cleaning out the garden beds. I should be ready to plant (finally!) this weekend. We will also be moving the two surviving Arbor Day trees away from the house. In the meantime, a friend of mine gave me some rhubarb from her garden which I am right this minute baking into a deep dish rhubarb-strawberry “pie” that smells divine. The ingredients differ a bit from the directions because that’s what I had in the house. I made a little tart shell with the leftover pastry which I will fill with ice cream and blueberries. Go me!

Deep-Dish Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie

Pastry:
1 1/2 c flour, sifted
1 ts salt
1/4 c unsalted butter
1/4 c salted butter
4 Tbsp cold water
Filling:
3/4 c sugar
1/3 c flour, sifted
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
8 c fresh rhubarb
3 c strawberries
2 Tbsp butter
milk
sugar

Directions:
Sift flour and salt into a medium bowl; cut in vegetable shortening with a fork or pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle cold water over mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time; mix lightly with a fork just until pastry holds together and leaves sides of bowl clean. Make a ball; flatten it. Wrap dough in plastic and store in refrigerator until ready for use.

Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, and cloves in a bowl.

Wash rhubarb; trim ends; cut into 1-inch pieces (You should have 6 cups). Wash strawberries; hull and halve (you should have 4 cups). Place both in a large bowl. Sprinkle with sugar mixture; toss lightly to mix. Let stand 15 minutes. Toss again.

Spoon rhubarb-strawberry filling into an 8 x 8 x 2-inch baking dish; dot with butter.

Prepare pastry. Roll out to a 10-inch square on a lightly floured surface. Cut in 1/2-inch strips with a pastry wheel or knife. Weave strips into a lattice. Cover filling. Turn ends under just enough so that strips touch sides of baking dish. Brush lattice top with milk or cream; sprinkle with sugar.

Bake in hot oven (425 F) for 40 minutes, or until pastry is golden and juices bubble up. Cool. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, if you wish.

The world is shrinking again. I just had a video conference with a peer in Italy. From a laptop in my house. In my pajamas (though I did throw a sweater over the top so you couldn’t tell). For free. All hail the mighty interwebz!

Also, I cooked last night. With only a minimum of carrot prepping assistance from Mym, I made an entire meal, from appetizer to dessert. As if that weren’t miracle enough, the meal was vegetarian, largely organic, and the appetizers included stuffed crimini mushrooms, of which Mym ate at least three. (Mym doesn’t generally like mushrooms if he can taste them.) I made at least one mistake following the instructions per dish, but nobody went hungry and nobody died (or wanted to). Win!

Appetizers: green seedless grapes, stuffed and baked mushroom caps

Main Fare: roasted cumin carrots, baked artichokes, couscous with apricot vinaigrette, edamame, french bread

Dessert: brandied peaches with whipped cream

Baked Artichokes (from my sister)
3-4 large globe artichokes
½ c. olive oil
8-12 sprigs of fresh thyme
salt and pepper
¼ c. balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp honey mustard (or Dijon mustard and honey)

Preheat oven to 350°F
Wash and cut the artichokes into 4-8 pieces each and place in a baking dish. Combine all other ingredients and coat artichokes. Bake covered for 45 minutes, turning the artichokes once about halfway through.

Edamame
1 package frozen edamame

Open package and dump contents into a microwave safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and nuke for 4 minutes.

Brandied Peaches and Cream (from my mother)
1 jar of Mom’s homemade brandied peaches
½ pt heavy cream
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Whip cream with mixer. When it begins to thicken, add sugar and vanilla; stir. Spoon over peaches.