Asparagus won't be even starting for at least a month, although the rhubarb is starting, I can see those first little red buds of leaves. Garlic is about 6 inches tall, though!

PM, tomorrow's project is to finish repotting, cabbages, broccoli, romanesco and brussels sprouts need to go into bigger pots and join the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.

Annie

Sorry, forgot to add that. I'm in SW Michigan :) Some of my harvesting now is that I'm in a micropocket and I also know how to use the micropockets in my yard specific. I've worked on closing the hungry gap for years now.

beesneeds, that's really cool. I have a microclimate under my bay windows and overhangs, but so far I've only used it for ornamental plantings.. I should rethink that! :)

Lacey, it seems like I fight a new pest every year, keeps me on my toes, LOL.

My garlic is growing nicely, thankfully, all 250 heads of Music. It's always something, though. Brown rot on the grapes, scab on the potatoes, tomato horn worms in droves, cut worms, coddling moths. (sigh) I also use no chemical fertilizers or "cides", but have a nice big pile of composted cow manure and my garden likes it a lot, although I do have to hoe a lot of weeds.

The thing(s) I"ve given up growing are parsnips, rutabaga, radish, the root maggots love them but leave the carrots and beets alone. So I grow lots of carrots and beets.

Annie

Interesting that people are recommending specific pesticides to control allium borers (leaf miners), and quoting respectable sources. As I noted a few days ago, it has also been claimed that no residential pesticides are available that will work. See https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/allium-leaf-miner. So I guess there is some disagreement in the community. Though it is true that spinosad, for example, is banned in several states and some countries. Permethrin is also mentioned here, but that is not approved for residential use.

daninthedirt, that was also my understanding. An exceedlingly difficult pest to deal with.

Perhaps if I were younger I'd try some of the suggestions. But at nearly 80, I can't take on more garden set ups than I've already got. So, probably gilroy garlic from now on.

FOAS, I"m sorry about your Mom.

Plllog, there are plenty of bad versions of strawberry shortcake. I had a secretary who would split a Twinkie lengthwise, spoon the macerated berries over top and swore it was better than anyone could make, plus the "whipped cream" was already in the middle of the cakes. THat was definitely not my choice, but to each their own.

My oldest daughter had THAT STrawberry Shortcake, as well as Blueberry Muffin, Lemon Meringue and Raspberry Tart. THere were others, but I sure don't remember them, LOL.

Annie

I'd eat all of it LOL

My understanding is that it made with short fats such as butter or lard and that is why it is called a short cake. Butter is usually cut into the flour such as is done when making a biscuit, thus, it is basically a biscuit, but usually sweeter than a biscuit.

Strawberries and cake can be any kind of cake that you want, but it may not be shortcake. People call anything with berries and cream a short cake, whether it really is, or not.

I dont much care for the real short cake version of it.

My grand daughter helped me make the frozen Apriums from last year. We processed 11 jars, which was a learning something new for her.

Bragu, I have threatened to can hamburger, but haven't found a way that doesn't make it kind of "mushy". No one else seems to mind, just me, so maybe it's just me. I'm thinking of trying to can a chili sauce with ground beef, to top chili dogs.

Kate, it's always better to can when you have help, and a lot more fun!

Nothing much being canned here, but asparagus should be coming up in the next month or so and then it'll start.

Annie

THat is very clever and at first glance I thought that pasta was purple snap beans, I was going to ask how you kept them purple, LOL.

Annie

Again...your photos are BEAUTIFUL! Love seeing what your making! Your a food magician. Yum! 🍒

Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments. We all agree that food can be fun.

If you think this 2024 Eggclipse dish is creative, my next one for the next eclipse will be unbelievable. Come back here in 2079 I will show you. LOL!

dcarch

I also enjoyed the story, and Elery's Dad and my Mother both had Hospice care at the end of their lives, as did my daughter's father in law and grand mother in law. Hospice is a wonderful gift for people who need them.

As for the blackberries, they grow wild here too. I remember as a child, standing in the National Forest with my bucket, picking blackberries about the size of my little fingernail. Grandma would make blackberry dumplings and jam and if I kept picking she'd can them in quart jars for dumplings in the winter. I just had to remember to sing or talk, so the bears would hear me and stay away, they liked the berries too.

I picked several years ago and got enough for a batch of jam, it was a lot more work than I remembered, LOL.

Annie

Olychick, I had seen the piece on Eric's Heros a year or so ago, and when this came up again this week I was afraid it meant we had lost her. What a lovely, gracious lady and generous in every sense.

Sadly, that did prove to be the case and her services this week. At 98, all who loved her will be saying their final goodbyes tomorrow. I wish I could have known her.

Elma Elizabeth Johnson, The Pie Lady

Oh, Morz8, that's sad to hear. I wonder if that's why her story showed up on my FB page? She was a gem.

My Mother used to make cookies using a cake mix, they were very "cakey", and she made sandwiches with mint frosting middles at Christmas. I see some of the food blogs do the same thing with gluten free cake mixes. Just mix a 12 ounce box of cake mix, 2 eggs and half a cup of oil. Refrigerate for at least half an hour. Scoop out to the desired size and bake at 350F. Start with 10 minutes, bigger cookies take more time. As gluten free cake mixes go, I like King Arthur the best, they actually taste like a "normal" cake mix, although they are still a cake mix with that texture I dislike. They are also 18 ounces, so I think the egg/oil ratio would have to be adjusted.

I don't know if they would be hard when frozen.

Now you mention this, though, it would make a nice summer time treat for Amanda, maybe chocolate filled with a fresh cherry sorbet.

Good luck, I'll be interested to know what you decide on.

Fortunately gluten free flour mixes and other things are getting better. I remember when Amanda was first diagnosed as celiac many/most bread or baked type recipes were terrible and not many options were available.

Good luck!

Annie

Ditto. I've had good luck with 1:1 GF mixes if they're not too high percentage rice, as well as buckwheat flour and starches.

I have a friend with free range chickens who gives me eggs- I give her cake :-) The eggs are random sizes as she has bantams as well as chickens and often I get a duck egg or two. I just use my judgement as to how many eggs to use- I've been baking for well over 50 years- and it all works out.

sleevendog, the only "peewee" sized eggs I"ve ever encountered have been from the Bantam sized chickens or when I get new laying hens. They lay "beginner" eggs that are sometimes pretty tiny.

I'm thinking that with flocks being destroyed due to bird flu, maybe there are some young birds just starting to lay, and those are the ones providing the peewee eggs. Or not, some people like the little Bantam chickens as pets and they still lay eggs, even if that's not why the people have them.

Annie

FOAS, I think I see that can peeking out from the drawer, LOL. Kind of like "find Waldo", but it's "find the dough boy"!

Lars, those look just fine to me, we should have baked cinnamon rolls while you were here to give me tips!

Annie

Squished rolls. I have seen instructions to avoid squished rolls. You cut them with sewing thread. Using about 12 inches of thread, slide the thread under the rolled up dough where you want to cut,.Then just cross the thread across the top of the roll, pulling the ends across the top of the roll by switching the end from your right hand into your left hand, and the left hand thread into your right hand. Slowly pull the ends until the loop you have formed has cut through the rolled up dough.

I know the same trick using dental floss, which is slicker. I haven't mastered it, and still get squished, just multidirectional squished. So, I got an oversized cheese harp wire cutter for the purpose, but haven't had a chance to try it out.

Holy smokes, floral, those are truly HOT!

Mother used to make them with Grandma's recipe, hers had candied fruit and raisins. I spent all my time picking the candied fruit out of them, I don't like it, but I kept the raisins. IT was tedious, though.

I haven't made them because Mother always did. Now that Mother is gone, it didn't enter my mind to make them. I'll have to add them to next year's Easter menu, but they won't be the sam because I refuse to add that blasted candied fruit!

Annie

Ours isn't made with corn syrup as corn syrup is not much available or used here.Candied citrus peel is generally pretty dry with the individual pieces easily separated.

I’d imagine there are better options here, too. I was just comparing it to the type typically found in our grocery stores. Stuff like Paradise brand. Don't taste much like the peel at all.