What is that yellow thing?

Why, I do believe it's something called a "sun!" Yes, yes, it looks like that thing I've read so much about. Oh joy, we have sunshine, just like in the old days!! Wow!

I'm gonna go buy some flowers to plant... quick before it rains.

40 days and 40 nights...

Okay, okay, so I exaggerate a bit, but it sure seems like it's been raining that long. This is definitely taking the April showers thing just a little too far. If it gets any wetter around here, I'll be sprouting gills! I wanna get on with the May flowers thing. I want warmth and sunshine and digging in the dirt, not icy puddles and mudpies. My trusty little desk-side heater has been working overtime this month!

On the other hand, as I gaze out my patio door and watch the squirrels scurry around in its verdant lushness, it's hard not to be reminded of my go-to response to cold and rainy weather complaints...it's good for the grass. Lew can attest to that. The sun came out long enough over the weekend so he could cut it, but with more rain today, you can almost see it grow another inch before your very eyes. And we won't even talk about all the healthy weeds that are making an appearance.

Aren't those six weeks predicted by that PA rodent waaaay over?

Tap, tap... is anyone there??

Well, I certainly didn't intend to take a blogger spring break, but that's the way it's turned out. Heck, spring's almost been here and gone since my last post!

Sorry to have been MIA for so long, just haven't had a whole lot to write about and couldn't quite bring myself to bore y'all to tears with my rather uneventful daily goings on of annual doctor visits and experimenting in the kitchen. Nothing super noteworthy about all that, but we have been eating some interesting stuff.

One of which was fresh roasted beets. I'd never even tried cooking them but read a blurb on how good they were so figured, what the hey, I'll give 'em a try. Well! Who knew? Who knew that roasted beets were absolutely delicious!! 'Course you'd have to like beets to begin with, I guess, but we do, so these were quite the treat. Greens and all (sauteed in a little olive oil and minced garlic.) How have I lived this long without ever tasting these things? We'll be having them again, because naturally, there's some in the freezer too. :)


Tried several different chicken dishes as well, some of which bear repeating, some of which were, eh, nothing to write home about. I did discover a nice marinade that was highly recommended by my message board buddies; right tasty for grilled chicken. It's an All Recipes offering:


Bessy's Zesty Grilled Garlic-Herb Chicken

1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon saffron
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1 pinch dried sage

I omitted the saffron... it's just not one of the items I keep on my lowly spice shelf, ya know? You might want to reduce the amount of oil a bit -- 1 cup is a lot, even for 4 pieces of chicken. I also reduced the amount of sugar and just plopped a couple of birdy bosoms in a Ziploc for about an hour in the fridge, then grilled. Recipe with complete directions is at the above link.

Oooo, ooo, here's another good one. Last night we had a ridiculously simple but scrumptious dessert of roasted pineapple slices with a scoop of ice cream! Decadent! Just cut a couple of slices from a fresh pineapple (I'm sure canned would work just as well,) place in a foil-lined pan, sprinkle with brown sugar, drizzle melted butter over that, and roast at 400° for about ten minutes. Then, turn the slices over, sprinkle and drizzle again and bake for another 5-10 minutes until light golden. Serve with a scoop of ice cream on top of the slice. You can drizzle the leftover sauce on top, if you like. Sooooo good!

So, that's it. Jes' sitting here cooking, eating, and trying not to get overly plump in the process, gooey pineapple slices notwithstanding.