Flower of the Week: Cosmos

This summer I purchased packets of wildflower seeds--and cosmos was included. I have also purchased cosmos in  flats, and even gallon containers with larger plants. Here are the basic three colors, white, pink, red. and occasionally, some combinations of colors.

This blossom was a surprise one beautiful summer's morning. But it is unusual, cosmos generally has a solid color, even if a blend of red and white creating some tint of pink or purple. This white blossom looks like a child got creative with a Crayola marker.

Bees love these flowers, butterflies, too. Cosmos is often included in seed packets for Butterfly Gardens. They have long delicate stems and the flowers poke out their faces like a curious kid. They are easy to grow.


This flower is indigenous to Mexico, also called the Mexican aster.

Here is a post I put up using the name Cosmos as a play on words linking to a William Blake poem.


The Cosmos in a Cosmos
http://mzteachuh.blogspot.com/2012/06/cosmos-in-cosmos.html?spref=bl

MzTeachuh's Enjoying Cooking and Gardening: Meatless Monday: Dutch Baby Souffle

MzTeachuh's Enjoying Cooking and Gardening: Meatless Monday: Dutch Baby Souffle: A Dutch Baby In The Oven? Sounds Like Hansel and Gretel This recipe is also called German Pancake. I think it goes ...

Meatless Monday: Dutch Baby Souffle

A Dutch Baby In The Oven? Sounds Like Hansel and Gretel

This recipe is also called German Pancake. I think it goes way back to colonial America when the Germans emigrated, mainly to Pennsylvania, and were facetiously called "The Pennsylvania Dutch," because the Dutch had first come to New Amsterdam (New York.)
History lesson aside, this is quick, easy and fun. My sister-in-law gave me this recipe in the '70s, I think, probably from a Sunset Magazine. The recipe has changed somewhat over the years.

Dutch Baby
preheat oven to 400 degrees
place 10 inch frying pan with 3 tbs butter in oven to melt

Love my tiny measuring cup.

in the mean time, mix these ingredients:
3 or 4 whole eggs
3/4 c white flour
3/4 c milk
pinch salt

It poofed!

Make sure melted butter is all over the inside of the frying pan. I use our cast iron one. Pour mixture into the pan, place in center of preheated oven. Set timer for 18 minutes. We have a window in the oven, so the kids would always be excited to view the Dutch Baby 'poof' after about 12 minutes. 

With a cup of coffee.

We serve powdered sugar over it, but being made of eggs, it is versatile and cheese or mushrooms, or whatever your fancy dictates would be good over this souffle. You can put mushroom to fancy it up for dinner. Serves four.

MzTeachuh's Enjoying Cooking and Gardening: Flower of the Week: Viola 7/12/13

MzTeachuh's Enjoying Cooking and Gardening: Flower of the Week: Viola 7/12/13: Cheerful faces, like a Kindergarten class, greet you in the morning. For such a delicate looking flower, violas are very resilient. Thi...

Flower of the Week: Viola 7/12/13

Cheerful faces, like a Kindergarten class, greet you in the morning.

For such a delicate looking flower, violas are very resilient. This hanging container has been in my garden since last Fall, blooming through the snow, and freezing temperatures (granted, the flowers were semi-sheltered.) Now, in the summer with over 100 F temps., they still flourish. Keep them watered, they love life!



And violas are edible! They have a faint radishy taste.

I sprinkled Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing over this salad. We liked it quite well, and, of course, it is beautiful.

Also, Viola is the name of  Shakespeare's heroine from  Twelfth Night.

MzTeachuh's Enjoying Cooking and Gardening: Gossamer Wings On My Mint!

MzTeachuh's Enjoying Cooking and Gardening: Gossamer Wings On My Mint!: A Butterfly Garden has been one of my goals this summer--and  I was more successful then expected. This year I have been more closely obs...

Gossamer Wings On My Mint!

A Butterfly Garden has been one of my goals this summer--and  I was more successful then expected. This year I have been more closely observing what I had thought were moths (I previously hadn't paid much attention to these tiny winged critters because I didn't think they were butterflies. What an elitist I was!)

...his fairy errand like the light and glittering gossamer before the breeze.

Now that I'm looking more closely, have been finding the most interesting butterflies.

This is a Edwards' Hairstreak Satyrium edwardsii. Not supposed to be this far west. 

His backside has camouflage--a faux eye and antennae that rub together to deceive predators. 

He is considered a 'gossamer-winged' true butterfly; the caterpillar depend on eating ants, which could be why they like my yard here in the desert.

This butterfly isn't even on the flowers I specially planted for the Butterfly Garden--he's really enjoying the flowering mint which is one of the easiest plants to grow. 

He's even compared to Puck in Midsummer Night's Dream:

  "...his fairy errand like the light and glittering gossamer before the breeze."

MzTeachuh's Enjoying Cooking and Gardening: Meatless Monday: Tia Melanie's Cheesy Mexican Omel...

MzTeachuh's Enjoying Cooking and Gardening: Meatless Monday: Tia Melanie's Cheesy Mexican Omel...: Cheesy Mexican Omelot This tastes so good, you don't even notice there is no meat. Living in southern California has advantages. Not...

Meatless Monday: Tia Melanie's Cheesy Mexican Omelet

Cheesy Mexican Omelot

This tastes so good, you don't even notice there is no meat. Living in southern California has advantages. Not just mountains, deserts, beaches and Disneyland, but authentic Mexican food. This is a very basic recipe for an omelet. I tweeked it a bit to fit our tastes here at home, but I think it is representative of SoCal cooking. Although it is not spicy, I must tell. I'm pretty much a gringo when it comes to that.



 Tia Melanie's Cheesy Mexican Omelet

Cheese starts melting.

Ingredients

5 eggs, well beaten          1/2 c. picante sauce, divided
12 tsb butter                      2 tsb milk
1/8 tsp salt & pepper        2 dashes (or 4 pinches) cumin
3 tbs fresh parsley
1 or 1 1/2 c shredded Mexican cheeses
(Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla and Asadero Cheeses)

It's fluffy.

Combine eggs, milk, 3 tbs picante sauce, salt, pepper, cumin; mix well. Melt butter in ten inch omelet pan. Heat until just hot enough to sizzle a drop of water. Pour in egg mixture all at once.

As mix starts to cook, gently lift edges of omelet with a fork and tilt pan to allow uncooked egg mix to run underneath cooked part. When mix is set and no longer runs, sprinkle cheese on the omelet, cover pan and remove from heat. Fold omelet in half and place on warm platter. Top with remaining picante sauce. Serves 3 or 4.

Fairly easy to make, and muy delicioso. Lots of good protein, too.

MzTeachuh's Enjoying Cooking and Gardening: Flower of the Week: Gladiola

MzTeachuh's Enjoying Cooking and Gardening: Flower of the Week: Gladiola: Such ethereal beauty from an easy to grow flower. Gladiola are grown from bulbs planted in the autumn. By planting it forward,  we have ...

Flower of the Week: Gladiola

Such ethereal beauty from an easy to grow flower.

Gladiola are grown from bulbs planted in the autumn. By planting it forward,  we have all the expectation of summer blossoms. Gladiola come in many, many colors and are easy to raise. These would be a great kid's project of choosing, planting, anticipating and then being the proud gardener. How fun to plant a row for Grandma in her garden, or in the sideyard. And kids (and all the family) can look forward to the next summer's blooms as the bulbs will continue to produce flowers annually.

MzTeachuh's Enjoying Cooking and Gardening: Having A Peachy Morning

MzTeachuh's Enjoying Cooking and Gardening: Having A Peachy Morning: Peaches: in the jam, on Auntie Melanie's oatmeal, and in the smoothy with an orange. This had been on my 'To Do List' for a ...

Having A Peachy Morning

Peaches: in the jam, on Auntie Melanie's oatmeal, and in the smoothy with an orange.

This had been on my 'To Do List' for a very long time. Make freezer jam!

Now I have twelve little jars of various jams in my freezer lined up
like Napoleon's Army attacking Moscow.
From fresh fruit, Strawberry-Peach, Raspberry,
Blueberry-Apple with a Cinnamon Kick, and Mixed Berry (including Blackberries.)

And this morning was the first taste test!

I chose Strawberry-Peach first, which kind of leans toward peach in taste and color.

I think they are so pretty.

Continuing with a peachy theme, cut peaches on the oatmeal, and cut the rest of the peach into the smoothy with a small orange cut up (skin and membrane, too) and apple juice to blend it up.
Step outside into the morning to enjoy it with sunshine and birdsong.

The jam tasted sweet, and peachy with a hint of strawberries. Peaches to strawberries in the mix was about 3:1.

Here is the freezer jam recipe:

Recipe for Homemade Freezer Jam

Ingredients

1 2/3 c. cut fruit (mix and match fruit at you discretion)
2/3 white sugar
1 small package (or 3 1/2 tbs) Instant Pectin (some say specifically for freezer jam)
1/2 c water
2 8 oz sterilized jelly jars

Stir sugar and instant pectin together in medium size bowl. Wash fruit and dice small, you may wish to mash with potato masher. Put fruit with water in sauce pan and simmer for five minutes, pour fruit over sugar and pectin mixture stirring constantly for 5 minutes.mixture on. Ladle jam into jars, allowing 1/2 inch of space between jam and top of jar. Let stand 30 minutes. Use or freeze for later. To use later, thaw jam in the refrigerator and use within 3/4 weeks. Keep refrigerated.

MzTeachuh's Enjoying Cooking and Gardening: Red, White and Blue Flowers for the Fourth Garden

MzTeachuh's Enjoying Cooking and Gardening: Red, White and Blue Flowers for the Fourth Garden: Lobelia, red verbena, and alyssum. Summertime and the living' is gardening. Color bowls are simple but pretty.  Here are some Fo...

Red, White and Blue Flowers for the Fourth Garden

Lobelia, red verbena, and alyssum.

Summertime and the living' is gardening. Color bowls are simple but pretty. 

Here are some Fourth of July favorites. 

Red pentas lanceolata, red dianthus, white alysum, blue lobelia.

A friend said this arrangement looks like a colorful display of Fourth of July fireworks bursting in air...

Hurrah for the red, white and purple.

Hanging basket of petunia, red, white and blue. Sometimes you can find them striped. Very perky.

 Local garden shops have variety of cute containers. This for cafe ole fans. Here are lobelia (you can suspect they are my favorite for the patriotic blue), red verbena and white alyssum.

MzTeachuh's Enjoying Cooking and Gardening: Who Is This In My Garden?

MzTeachuh's Enjoying Cooking and Gardening: Who Is This In My Garden?: Can you help me identify this butterfly? He is about the size of a nickel. We live in the Mojave Desert in SoCal.

Who Is This In My Garden?

Can you help me identify this butterfly? He is about the size of a nickel. We live in the Mojave Desert in SoCal.

P.S. I figured it out. What a wonderful thing the internet is. this is a Marine Blue Butterfly.