Memorial Day Weekend Work Out

An exhausting but productive weekend.  We planted 7 new shrubs, 4 new large perennials, transferred 3 medium sized dwarf spruce bushes, added more herbs and weeded the entire yard and perennial garden. We put out aqua spikes, started unloading water from the storage tanks into gallon size water jugs for watering the garden.  We put out the grill and started to cut down saplings to make fences for the vegetable beds but had to quit because it just got to be too hot on Saturday.

The yard is looking great, everything survived the weak winter - the scotch thistle plants are going to be beautiful.  They are about 3 feet high at the moment but will get to be 6 feet by the time they mature and bloom.

We have a long summer and our biggest concern is that we get enough rain this year as it has been so warm.

Sunday morning, we woke up sore and tired - lots of Aleve - my lower back is killing me.  The pond and center yard berm are the focus this year and we made a big start but plenty of work to do.

Apricot and Blueberry Cobbler

• Of course,  Memorial Day weekend always requires some type of desert - this is what we made this weekend - really good.
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• APRICOT BLUEBERRY COBBLER
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch 
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
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• 12 apricots cut into 1/2 inch wedges
• 1 1/4 cups blueberries
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour ( spooned and leveled)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
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• 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup cold heavy cream, plus more for brushing
• sanding sugar ( optional )
• 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees with racks in middle and lower thirds. In a large bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1/2 cup granulated sugar.  Stir in apricots and and blueberries.  Spread mixture into a 10 inch cast-iron skillet.
• 2. In a food processor pulse remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt until combined.  Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.  Add heavy cream and pulse 2 or 3 times until combined.
• 3. Spoon batter in 8 mounds on fruit mixture.  Press lightly on tops to flatten, brush with heavy cream, and sprinkle with sanding sugar if desired.
• 4. Bake on middle rack, with a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet on lower rack to catch drips, until biscuits are golden and juices bubble in center, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  (Cover and keep at room temperature, up to 2 days.)

New Chicken Wings Recipe

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• A couple other recipes we tried this weekend - great new wings recipe, with grilled asparagus and ginger/mint tea - delicious.
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• STICKY ORANGE-GLAZED CHICKEN THIGHS
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• 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
• Coarse salt and pepper
• 1 cup thawed orange juice concentrate
• 1 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons white-wine vinegar
• 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce
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• 1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees with rack in upper third.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and arrange, skin side down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until deep golden brown and cooked through, 45 to 50 minutes, flipping halfway through.
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• 2. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine 1 teaspoon salt, juice concentrate, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.  Bring to a simmer and cook until mixture has thickened, 18 to 20 minutes.
• 3. Heat broiler, Transfer chicken to a large bowl, add glaze, and toss to coat.  Drain off fat from sheet.  Return chicken to sheet and broil until sauce is bubbling and chicken is dark brown in spots, 1 to 2 minutes.  
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• MINT GINGER ICED TEA
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• In a large pot combine 6 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and smashed with a meat mallet, 4 bags mint tea, and 8 cups boiling water.  Let steep 8 minutes.  Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a large container; discard solids.   Stir in 2 tablespoons honey.  Let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.  Serve over ice with mint springs. 
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Grilled London Broil with Cilantro Buttermilk Marinade

What a nice Memorial Day weekend.  Tons of yard work - lots of Aleve but also lots of great new recipes to try - Love grilling outside - it was such a hot weekend!

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 bunch cilantro roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon coriander seed
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 3 scallions roughly chopped
• 1 pound london broil , cut into 4 pieces
• vegetable oil, for grilling
• salt and pepper
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• 1. In a blender, combine buttermilk, cilantro, coriander seed, curry powder, and scallions and puree.  Reserve 1/2 cup marinade for serving.  Pour half the remaining marinade into a shallow dish, arrange steak in a  single layer, and cover with rest of marinade ; let sit 30 to 45 minutes.
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• 2. Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high.  Clean and lightly oil hot grill.  Remove steak from marinade, shaking off excess, and season with salt and pepper.  Grill steak until browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare.  Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes before thinly slicing against the grain.  Season reserved marinade with salt and pepper and serve with sliced steak.

Birthday Celebrations Are Over

Well after a Surprise Birthday 3 weeks ago and a trip to Rio to celebrate , the final celebration happened this weekend at our neighbor's home.  It was a gorgeous day and dinner happened out on the patio under the stars. It was  a great dinner and amazing birthday cake with my favorite people.

Rio Blues

We just got back from a week in Rio de Janeiro to celebrate my birthday.  What an amazing city!  I had to be dragged kicking and screaming from the beach on the last day.  We had a great time.