It's Hip to be (Jam) Square

Things are growing so quickly around here that it's hard to keep up. Recently, my amaryllis put up a nice healthy stalk.

The flower head at the top of the stalk split open, revealing the tightly-furled flowers within.

They pushed up...

...and started to open.

Before long, they were all in glorious bloom. And the smell was amazing!

The columbines, too, followed a similar path. The soft green flower heads thickened and pinked up...

Then, having obtained the right shape, nodded over...

...and started to open.

Beautiful!

I just love seeing the columbines en masse. I grew them all from the same small batch of seeds, but the backyard columbines are mainly pink.

However, I started a line of columbines along the front of the house, and they're purple with a pansy-like face...completely different from the backyard columbines.

They can even be grown in containers. I've got them mixed in with some lilies here.

It's been warm, and then cool, and then warm again, but fairly dry. Finally, we had a really good rain.

Just what my parched garden needed.

These are the last of the early-blooming lilacs. It's perfect. Just as they're dying off...

...the late-blooming lilacs burst onto the scene.

I almost prefer these for bouquets, because the flowers are a bit smaller and remind me of heather...and the colors are a lot deeper.

Here's a side-by-side comparison...you can really see the difference between the two types!

I bought this tiny glass vase at Goodwill for .50. Perfect for this type of lilac with shorter stems.

Of course, I put them in bigger vases, too!

All sorts of things are budding out. I discover new things every day. My sage is getting ready to bloom. I should pinch off these buds and cut back the new growth to encourage a bushier, more compact plant, but I love to see it growing wild and sprawling over our walkway.

Salvia is getting ready to open up...

...and my low-growing geranium plants are blooming beautifully!

I have a tall mystery plant ready to bloom. I think it's a weed...but I'm going to wait and see what the flowers look like!

I also saw some tiny acrobats out in the hydrangea bushes. Teeny tiny spiders balancing on silken threads. They were completely immobile...

...except for one little spider, who was shakily making his way from leaf to leaf.

I saw a black stripe on their abdomens. Oh, how wonderful if they are garden spiders! I'll have to wait and see. Meanwhile, I saw this crab spider nestled in the tightly-coiled buds of one of my hydrangea bushes.

I was really gratified to see those buds on my smallest bush. I bought it at least 7 years ago, just a small hydrangea start. Each year it leafs out, but no blooms. I can't wait to see what color it is!

I haven't just been in the garden. I've done an extraordinary amount of baking lately, but I just haven't had time or space to post a recipe. This recipe, though, is exceptional. It's one of the best non-chocolate desserts I think I've ever had...and it's so easy! I mainly chose it to try because I wanted to use up some ingredients in my kitchen...that forgotten jar of jam in the back of the refrigerator, those slivered almonds left over from Halloween's witch fingers, the last of the oatmeal. I didn't expect those leftovers to create such a tasty treat!

Almond Jam Squares
modified from Farm Girl Fare

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups sliced or slivered almonds
1 1/2 cups jam
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cream your butter and sugars well, and then beat in your eggs, one at a time. Beat in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, almonds, and oatmeal. Gradually add to the butter mixture and mix until just combined.

Split your mixture in half. Press half into the bottom of a greased 9 x 12" pan. Heat the jam of your choice in the microwave until it's nicely spreadable. Pour on top of pressed mixture and spread evenly, and then sprinkle the remaining mixture on top. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes, until top is golden.

It's easy to "lighten up" this recipe. I cut it in half and used much less sugar than the recipe called for. I also used whole wheat flour (note: recipe, cut in half, baked for about 20 minutes).

The possibilities are endless here. If you don't like jam, consider using cherry pie filling. Or saute apple slices in cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla until soft, and then layer in between crumble layers.

These are healthy, gooey, soft, and delicious. I highly recommend them! I hope you can bake them this week!

Enjoy!

Purple Reign

It has occurred to me, belatedly, that I've got an awful lot of purple in my garden.

My dwarf lilac bushes have bloomed and it's a pretty dazzling display, even though the bloom time of these flowers is much shorter than that of my full-size lilacs.

I love the light purple undertones on the creamy-white blossoms.

My yellow irises haven't bloomed yet, but the purple ones are up all over the yard!

The columbines are still going strong...

...and while my white phlox isn't quite ready to bloom, the purple phlox is glorious.

There are still a few purple flowers on my creeping thyme, too.

The sage has bloomed, with open-throated flowers that bees love to visit...

...and my salvia is open for business, too!

I don't mind having so much purple in the garden. To me it's a great restful color, and perfect for spring. I save the pops of color for summer!

Still, to break things up a little, I've put in a little color here and there. These geraniums brighten up the corners of our back walkway, and draw attention away from our too-long grass. Yes, we're mowing this week! :)

I am absolutely entranced by the velvety wonderful-ness of celosia. A neighbor has full-size celosia in a dramatic maroon color with a flower head as big as a dinner plate. I am in love! I spread several of these around...they look nice with purple and provide a little burst of color in unexpected places...which I love.

No vegetables this year. I'm slowly filling our containers with colorful annuals, in case we do put our house on the market soon. I'm not a big fan of these types of plants, but they'll be fine here for now.

I'm preparing to move some succulents outside. I got a big bunch of hens and chicks at church on Sunday and am scouting around for a good place to put them!

Seedlings are popping up everywhere. Zinnias, of course, are nearly guaranteed to grow...

...and I'm pleased with the sheer volume of cosmos coming up, too. I've got light pink and cream cosmos in some parts of the garden, and more dramatic orange in other parts.

I have a few more patches of seeds to plant but I'm waiting for this cold patch to pass.

This little squirrel is waiting, too...waiting for a nice meal.

He scouts around for a good location...

...and begins to dig.

Success! I love watching our backyard wildlife, even if we've just got squirrels right now.

I've been so busy in the yard and with our business that I haven't had much time for other projects. I've carved out a little time for knitting, and have completed a surprise gift for a friend...which can't yet be posted. I'm working on a new project now, which is also...a surprise. I will try to squeeze in some not-so-secretive things soon, though!

I've still been baking, but not nearly as much as before. Still, I had time to try out a new recipe recently. Chocolate cookies, with a little surprise inside! Basic, tasty, and quick...just what I needed.

Chocolate Surprise Cookies
From Sweet Pea's Kitchen

Cookies
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg

Filling
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. To make cookies, mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together and set aside. Using your mixer, beat together brown and white sugars, butter and 1/4 cup of creamy peanut butter for 1 - 2 minutes, until fluffy. Add the vanilla, beat well, and then the egg. Once well mixed, fold in flour mixture and mix until just combined.

In a separate bowl, mix together filling ingredients until well-combined.

Now you're ready to combine the two! I'll warn you...this isn't pretty. First, pull off a hunk of your chocolate dough and flatten it in your hand, like this.

Next, take a spoonful of your peanut butter mixture and add it to the middle of your cookie.

Fold it over like a taco, seal the edges, and then roll it around in your hand until a ball is formed.

Then, smash it flat and toss it on your cookie sheet. You can make these as large or as small as you'd like. I think I got about 15 fairly large cookies from this recipe.

Bake for 5 - 7 minutes, until the bottoms are barely crisped. You don't want to overcook, because that will make your cookies hard. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on a wire rack.

The finished cookies are never going to win a beauty contest...

...but they taste awfully good. The peanut butter filling is a nice sweet surprise.

I hope you'll give them a try this week.

Enjoy!