FauxPas

Oooh, I feel the joy as well! Nothing like the first fruit on a plant and a very special plant in this case, right? 🙂

And suddenly they are open! My favourite is this coral one, I just love the colour.

A short visit down to Victoria to see friends and brought back a couple of Caribbean pork rotis from Trini 2 D Bone. My friend also got chicken and goat. We had ours with a side salad and some commercial chutney. I still have mango chunks in the freezer, should get back to making some of my own!

Wow, it's always interesting to see what you are doing in your indoor garden and hope you will keep sharing how things go!

I adore all magnolias! Such a sweet gift from your daughter. 🙂 Have you decided where you will plant them?

I adore peonies! Mine have fat buds but haven't opened yet. Why are you debating about corn? Do you still have a lot frozen? Or is it maybe a carb thing? I tried starting some tomato seeds in my little countertop greenhouse but it didn't seem like they were going to germinate so bought some young plants at a local nursery. A day or two later, I checked and my seeds were germinating after all, so I will have more tomato plants than I need too! But nothing like you! I only bought seven plants and have about the same number starting up. Overnight temps are still a bit variable so bringing the plants in at night for now. I planted some snap peas because I love them so much. But I'm filling most of my pots and little raised beds with flowers this year, I want LOTS of colour on and around the deck. I started some zinnias from seed, too.

My husband had a bacon and egg craving and luckily I had leftover potatoes to make panfries.

Finally got around to cooking those beef short ribs, braised in a red wine sauce. Very tender, sauce was luscious. 🙂 I think it's the classic recipe? Browned the ribs, then a sauté of onion, celery, carrot, garlic. Added red wine and reduced. Bit of tomato paste. Beef stock, thyme and bay leaf and added meat back in, then braise for a couple of hours. Strain sauce, reduce a bit and thicken as necessary (I used a bit of cornstarch).

Beef short ribs braised in a red wine sauce.

Cool Spring evening, I decided to add the last meat from a roti chicken with some homemade stock and the usual veggies for a simple chicken noodle soup.

If it's the Campari tomatoes from Windset Farms, they are a Canadian company but they have greenhouses in both Canada and US. They grow Campari tomatoes in their Santa Maria, California greenhouses so you should be able to get those ok. Here in the Delta, BC greenhouses they grow more of the Avalantino variety which are also very good. Similar to Campari but maybe a tad bigger and labeled as Vivo tomatoes. They also have a variety of other tomatoes, plus cukes and peppers. https://windsetfarms.com/about-windset/

Reminds me of Molly Stevens' recipe for World's Best Braised Cabbage, one of my favourite ways to use cabbage. Yum. 🙂 https://tastecooking.com/recipes/worlds-best-braised-cabbage/ Or https://nomnompaleo.com/post/1356598429/worlds-best-braised-green-cabbage

This made me laugh! I was going to joke about what a frugal shopper you are, hahaahahaha

Frohe Ostern! Such delicious-looking food and lovely family traditions! Nice photo of you and your dad at the bonfire. I missed seeing a photo of your son, though! Your 'little one' who is likely becoming less little all the time, ha. 🙂 So nice to see you back here!

Wow, these last comments make me wonder: when do you folks think something from the freezer is too old to be cooked? Or is it only based on freezer burn? I admit I have thrown things out that are over a couple of years old, but maybe I am being overly careful? 🙂