In My Kitchen- May 2013

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Happy May day!

In my family, flowers play a large part of

every season and holiday.

I grew up in the greenhouse business-

and my mother was a florist ( a floral arranger)

so most of my memories are interlaced with

flowers.

My sister Robin and I added to the tradition

by including may baskets or bouquets- and

Allyson and her son Aiden carry on the tradition for me

every May 1st.

So… In my kitchen…

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are flowers!  Bleeding heart, epimidium , flowering quince, tulips, daffodils,

mint, brunera and grape hyacinth.

And-

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violets that Jordan picked for me!

In my kitchen…

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are kid sized snacks.

In my kitchen…

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are cow embroidered hot pads-  I love cows.

In my kitchen…

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is a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and pecans.

In my kitchen…

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is a fig and almond loaf.

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and more bread.

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In my kitchen…

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is this homemade Dilly Ranch Dressing – a gift from a blog

friend for Christmas.  I made a dip for the vegetable plate at

the top of this post with this mixture and it is so yummy!

One of the secret ingredients- or should I say, unexpected ingredients,

in the mix is saltine crackers!  They add thickening to the dip or dressing

and an extra base flavor.  I will find out the proportions and share the

recipe if you are interested.

That is my kitchen this month- join the other IMK posters at Celia’s blog ,

Fig Jam and Lime Cordial!

20 thoughts on “In My Kitchen- May 2013

  1. Thanks Glenda- this really is a good cake! I made it to commemorate my grandson’s 5th birthday and then showed it to him on SKYPE while we were singing Happy Birthday.
    My son thinks I’m crazy- but he’s the one who moved so far away and I’m not giving up on birthdays – sending packages and making cakes!
    Spring has been quite nice- now that it has finally arrived!

      • His little brother was really more impressed, Brydie! Kieran is only two and when we lit the candle and sang, his eyes lit right up! And then he blew out the candle on his end (with a little help from grandpa on this end!)
        😀

    • Can you tell he is holding a play Star Trek phaser and shooting me whilst holding the flowers? I love 5 year old boys- they truly are the sweetest rascals around!

  2. Such beautiful flowers, but especially the violets Heidi. We also have done skyped birthday cakes and candles for our grandchildren. It’s such enormous fun for them and for us – just as well they don’t know that the ‘icing’ is actually yogurt! Fig and almond bread sounds fabulous.

    • Skype really is a grandparents best friend.
      I have read countless books, sung songs, done finger plays, talked and laughed and listened, watched them play, and actually done some babysitting while my son got dinner on the table or took care of some business on email- although my oldest grandson told me he really likes me better in person.
      I’m going to crystalize those violets and use them on lemon curd tarts.

    • I go through hot pads pretty quickly- I have burnt or scorched more than I want to admit to- and some get thrown away or lost- but I’m keeping a close eye on these- they make me smile, too!
      Flowers in any room make me smile- but the kitchen is where I am the most- so I get to see them most often!

  3. I love all those flowers — a real May day! You can always count on boys to “cut the treacle” (to quote Bart Simpson) — I think all bouquets ought to have a phaser beam compliment (set to stun, of course).

    • And I’m pretty sure it was set to stun- we have a Klingon disruptor somewhere in the toy box in the basement and they are always very careful to keep that one on stun. My family is filled with Star Trek, Star Wars, Star Gate geeks!

  4. Such beautiful flowers, Heidi! It sounds like May has started out happy for you – I’m so glad. And how grown up is Aiden! As always, your breads are superlative, and I’m very taken with your cow hotmat – too cute! xxx

    • Hi Celia!
      I am approaching each day with hope and gladness- and allowing the beauty of the season and the joy of family to strengthen my resolve to live within the sunshine. I love bread, really love it. I love the making and baking and breaking of it- the buttering and dipping and filling of it- I love the tasting and the texture and the smell- I love that bread is such a part of my life!

    • I will! I can get really sucked into pinterest- but that doesn’t keep me from looking once in a while!
      How do I find you there?

    • Thanks,Anne!
      The best part is that it TASTES good, too!
      Really I make bread for myself first of all.
      If it looks really good others will want it,too.
      But I want it to be a little salty and chewy and crusty- and I want it to have a little yeasty or sourdough flavor- I want it to taste like bread.
      And mostly, it does!

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