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You gotta love Louisiana. We have winter for about three minutes. Spring is usually pretty warm and nice (except the pollen, but eh), summer’s hot, humid and lasts forever, and fall is like chilly spring in a different outfit.

This year, spring has been way too moody for me. It started off nice enough, then became a rainy mess. This has thrown off my garden plans considerably (but, I have given more thought to planning, so not a total loss). Monday afternoon I decided that Tuesday would be the big day. Then the weatherman ruined it all: we were in for a light frost Tuesday overnight. What?!?! In the middle of April? So we had record low temps Tuesday night. Great. My slothiness combined with inclement weather is throwing off my plans.

In further news, I’ve decided to add a small food garden plot to the backyard. I hope to have a small harvest of corn, peas, six kinds of tomatoes (three of them cherry!), carrots, okra (for pickles), and I want to get a couple strawberry plants. I think there are others I have (not counting “takes-forever-to-grow” artichoke), but those are the main event

So hopefully tomorrow, I will go and start planting flower seed, and then still feel like digging up my plot (by hand!). We’ll see how it goes.

Did a little bit of shopping Saturday night. I enjoy shopping for seeds. You get a lot for a little, and I like the thrill of seeing seedlings poking through dirt. I’m easy that way And, since the outer section of the garden department was closed by the time we got there, I had to stick to the seed section. Which was just as well; I’m sure I would have gone over budget throwing blooming flowers into the buggy.

Last year, I picked a nice variety of taller flowers- Lupine, Snapdragon, Columbine, Foxglove and Zinnia. This year, I picked Dahlia and Aster (I really like round, dish-y type flowers). So the backs of the beds are covered. I don’t have many shorter varieties (last year’s are California Poppies, Johnny Jump Ups and Pansies- they all pooped out last spring, no blooming at all). This time, I got more Pansies and some English daisy and Phlox. The daisies can’t be planted until August (!) and take 180-300 days to bloom, but the Phlox are just right. And just between the tall and the short, I have “Fuzzy Face” sunflowers; they are crazy cute and will look great in one of my little green planters.

Today was spent clearing space and deciding where I want things to go. I started by clearing weeds away from my rose (which is about to go into its first bloom of the year! so excited!) and tilling with a small rake. The soil in our yard is still easily workable from the rains of the last week. And I have decided what’s going in that area. (I hope to post a picture in short order.) In the rose bed, I’ve decided that gladiolus will go in the back, a mix of dahlia and sunflowers in the middle, and California poppies in the front. I had considered lavender in the back, but the majority of what I’m putting in that spot is in the warm color family, so purple will not work in that spot.

Since last spring, I thought petunias would look nice along each side of the front walk. They mound a little, they spread a lot, and who doesn’t love them? Now, I’m thinking it’s been done; you go to any garden center, and look in random carts (not that I ever have…..), and you will find at least one petunia. So, I’ve decided to mix it up a bit. Since phlox is upright but not too tall, I think it will mix well with them. Plus, they aren’t too far from each other on the color wheel. I’m also considering a few pansies in the shadier spot along the walkway. It’s not original, but it’s what I like.

The current cost of this is:

• Seed- $6.22

• Garden rake- $1.97

Bringing the grand total to- $8.19. So $11.81 left! I really think I’m going to be under budget, and that makes me want to stay under budget even more. If only I could do the same thing with groceries…

This meal was born of my love for cheesy biscuits made from Pioneer baking mix (or Wagon Wheel, as it’s known in this house), and thick, creamy potato soup. I’ll eat it any time of the year, but it’s especially great in winter. So I’m a bit late posting, but now you know for next time

Also, I don’t always use exact measurements in cooking (yeah, it’s a little Rachael Ray, but not intentionally). So these are the best measurements from all the times I’ve made this. Except for the biscuits. You can’t just throw some stuff in a bowl all willy-nilly and expect awesomeness to result. Not with baking, at least.

Soup:

• 4-6 medium sized potatoes (I’ve used Russets and red skinned new potatoes with equally great results)
• water
• Cooked bacon or real bacon bits (I like the Hormel brand, in the glass jar)
• paprika, to taste
• salt and black pepper, to taste
• heavy whipping cream and skim milk
• shredded cheddar

Peel, wash, and chop the potatoes into small chunks. Rinse the chunks, and place in a 4-quart crock pot. Add enough water to pot to cover potatoes, and add spices. Turn cooker on high, and go do something else for about 5 hours. In the beginning of hour six, add bacon bits (half the jar should do), and about a cup of cream and enough skim milk to make it soupy- whatever soupy means to you. Cover and cook one hour more. For the last 20 minutes of that hour, it’s time to make the biscuits! Here goes:

Chee Biscuits:

• 2 cups Pioneer baking mix
• 2/3 cup milk, plus a splash of heavy cream (about a tablespoon should do)
• shredded cheddar- I just throw in two handfuls. I love cheese.
• half a jar of bacon bits. They have to be the real deal. Not those dehydrated bits. It won’t be the same.

Preheat oven to 400. Put baking mix in mixing bowl, add cheese and bacon bits, and mix it a bit with your hands. Don’t be afraid to get dirty. Add milk and stir just until mixed. If the mix still looks a little dry, add the cream (and if not, do it anyway. it makes a difference!) Spoon onto a baking sheet. Non stick spray is often helpful, so use it if you like. Place in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. When done, brush them with a bit of melted butter or margarine. You don’t need the butter, and if you don’t like it, it won’t make a difference. I just prefer mine butter-basted By this time, the soup is done, the biscuits are out and still piping hot, and you’re hungry. So dig in. I also love to sprinkle a bit of cheese on top of the soup, mostly if I decided not to add any to the soup in the crock. I know this meal sounds like an artery clogging fat fest, but no one told you to eat this way every night. Once in a while though, you can misbehave, and I won’t tell if you won’t. One last note- if you like spice, red pepper goes really well in this. I especially like red pepper flakes in the biscuits. But not too much, because I like my tongue not on fire. But a little bit of heat really complements the salty bacon and cheese. Either way, they’re just awesome biscuits, and super easy.

I love winter, I really do. It has two of my favorite holidays- Christmas and my birthday- the weather doesn’t really bug me (we don’t get a lot of snow in Louisiana), and there’s nothing better on a cold winter night than a bowl of potato soup and a cheesy biscuit (and I’ll be posting those recipes shortly!). But for the last few years, winter just doesn’t do it for me. I’ve started to miss leaving the windows open all day and seeing flowers in the yard. I blame the Burpee and Park Seed catalogs.

Last year, I went a little crazy in a couple of garden centers. I bought several packs of flower seed, some bulbs (I hope peonies last a while in unopened bags!), and a couple of pink ranunculus, tulips, and purple hyacinth (that my cat peed on while in the window…) This year, I’ve decided to challenge myself. Our yard doesn’t suck at all; we have various flowering shrubs and trees, all blooming at different times. What’s missing are smaller bursts of color. Basically, I really love all sorts of flowers, and I’d fill the entire yard with them if I could. But I have decided this year, instead of spending way more on flowers than I do on a lot of other things, I am going to challenge myself to work with the rest of what I have from last year, and try to spend no more than twenty dollars on new stuff. Part one of the challenge is deciding which areas need the most work. There are four areas I want to improve: the two flowerbeds, the front walk, and the mailbox.

The flowerbeds each have specific challenges. The front one has a spot that is flooded each time it rains. I need to find plants that will stand up to run off from the roof, and I’d like to find some way to combat that problem, without giving the local mosquitoes a place to breed. The side bed is where my rose is. It’s problem is it gets a little more sun that it should, and it looks kinda lonely there all by itself. It’s a yellow hybrid tea, and last year it bloomed at the same time a wild purple iris bloomed. I loved that combo, so I think some lavender will work with it. And I’d like to add both some wood mulch and a lower growing flower, to combat the weeds and give the lower part of the rose a little break from the high sun.

I planned to put petunias on each side of the front walk, but I wound up planting most of them in hanging baskets. They died after a month or so, but they looked good while they lasted. I saw in one of the many seed catalogs I get a grouping of red, white and blue petunias, and I liked it. Not only is it cute and patriotic, it goes well with the house’s exterior and the stargazer lilies I have planted at the end of the walk.

Lastly, there’s the mailbox. I still have a good amount of gladiolus’ left, and I like the idea of them mirroring the verticalness of the mailbox. I was also thinking of some medium height sunflowers and maybe some coleus for below. I loooove coleus It comes in so many colors. And even though I won’t be getting any anytime soon, I really like the black velvet elephant ears. So dramatic and striking. They just wouldn’t look right in my yard, I hate to say. But Diana, if you’re reading this, you should look into them!

So, I have a list to make, and I’ll post it once I’ve finalized. We’ll see if I stick to it!

Everyone is entitled to a grump day. Your boss pissing you off? Happens too often, I’m sure. Significant other being pissy? Smack him (never her!) on the back of the head and say “wtf, jack?” Currently, my “looks like a chipmunk with a gland problem” tabby, Parker, is attempting to knock as many things off my desk as possible, in the search for treats- as though she actually needs MORE treats. You can’t explain to her that treats are why she looks like she has severe hypothyroidism (she is a cat, after all, and last I checked, their grasp on English? not so great.) Why am I all grump-ified today? I have a wisdom tooth giving me hell, and it’s causing my jaw and head to hurt like eff. It sucks. So today is my official grump day (at least for this week.) And here’s how it’s going down:

Cookies- Since I still have a stash of frozen chocolate chip cookie dough, my fat happy ass is going to cookie it up. I will likely still be a bit pissy after a stack of warm cookie and a glass of moo juice, but you can’t say I didn’t try.

Books and Magazines- It’s time to lay down, pretend that I have a huge, fluffy down comforter, tons of pillows, and a personal masseuse. Until then, I will lay back on my new bed (thank you, Bribles!), bust out Glamour and various cookbooks, and take my mind off my barking jaw- by planning a day after Thanksgiving and Christmas meal of some sort menus. And which cookies I’ll be making this holiday season. Seriously, people, it’s all about the cookies.

Nap time- Reading in bed makes me sleepy. That’s why I do it. Enough said.

After several hours of cookies, planning, and naps, it will be time to make dinner. Thankfully, I planned ahead, and have all the ingredients for stir fry on hand. If only I had a kick-ass recipe for crab meat and cream chee wontons. That just might make the rest of my week better, tooth pain be damned. So, for your Grump day, do what pleases you (well, as long as it’s legal; don’t beat down my door if you got snookered and drove a go-cart into a fountain b/c it makes you happy- I’d suggest drinking at home and playing Mario Cart, but that’s just me.) Eat cookies. Order too much pizza. Look at magazines and think of all those ridiculous clothes you would never wear and can’t afford, anyway. Volunteer at an animal shelter. Which brings me to my final point- I would have fewer grump days if I had a certain Dachshund/Poodle mix named Goldie from a local shelter. That dog has me written all over her. I even have her fall wardrobe picked out (lots of herringbone sweaters in red, white, black- and of course pink.) So, I’m working on getting into dog ownership, as it’s been two years since my sweetie Siobhan passed. Dogs rule. David Duchovny wouldn’t lie. And dogs are the all-time, number one fix for Grump day. If nothing else, they can provide the fuel for a little gift to leave on your boss’ doorstep.

We all experience cravings at some point. For some of us, nothing gets the job done quite like chocolate. It’s sweet and perfect on it’s own, but pairs so well with creamy, salty, toasty….almost any flavor. And when you want it, nothing else will do. I had one of these days last week. I was going through my typical daily routine of random distraction, not cleaning or doing the laundry as I should have. A favorite memory from my childhood flooded my brain- a cookie making party my mom had when I was about 5. She’d invited several of my cousins, and even let my brother (who was the family klutz at that time, not to mention, only three years old) help. I have a picture of all of us around the kitchen table in my scrapbook. It was a happy, messy day, as evidenced by all the flour covering the six of us. I think this was the first time I ever helped make Toll House cookies. And certainly the first time I had my first spoonful of chocolate chip cookie dough.

The memory sparked a craving, one that I hadn’t had since late December. I wanted fresh-from-the-oven, gooey, chocolaty cookies. Made from scratch.

I usually have all the common baking ingredients on hand- flour, sugar, eggs, etc. Even real butter. This day was no exception. All I needed were the chocolate chips. So I had to convince the Bribles that A) he wanted fresh cookies, too, and B) the only thing he needed to pick up that evening was a bag of milk chocolate chips. He happily obliged. And what he came home with was nothing short of shocking. The only request I had was they be milk chocolate. What came happily through my door was not at all what I expected. It was so much better. Ghiradelli. Not that I’m some chocolate snob- if it’s sweet, brown, sold in the candy or baking aisle, I’m all for it. My palate may not be that well refined, but I know what I like. And I can’t say I have one go-to recipe for these particular cookies. Usually, whatever’s on the back of the chip bag is good enough. They are, after all, just some combination of the same ingredients. This recipe didn’t seem like any exception. The dough tasted right. (Note: I love cookie dough…maybe more than the cookies, but raw egg strains the relationship.) I whipped out my melon baller, which I recommend for all drop cookies, and got to dropping dough. I think I actually hit the suggested yield according to the recipe, which was a first (so, if you are one who likes to bake cookies, get a melon baller!) Pop them in the oven, and eleven minutes later, they came out, the most perfectly shaped chocolate chip cookies I’d ever made. Once cooled sufficiently, about 5.8 seconds, I started the nibbling. It had the perfect chewy-crunchy texture. Of course, it was warm, and the chips just melt-y enough (they are actually larger than the chips I am used to) to make me need to sit down for a minute. Then I had another, then two more. Craving satisfied. But the best reaction of all came from Bribles, who upon first taste exclaimed “I think these are the best cookies I’ve ever tasted!” They were all gone the next night. Which was also when we decided the only logical step was to get more chips. Only this time, freeze the dough, so we can have fresh cookies when we want. Because you never know when the craving may hit.

Is not my thing. Since I was a kid, I have had either a problem or just a fascination with not doing things in exactly the manner they were “supposed” to be done. Once in kindergarten,  we were all given a leaf to color. The teacher (supposedly, I was in the bathroom at this point), told everyone to color them green. I return to my seat, see everyone around me filling theirs in with green crayon, and decide mine will be red. I have nothing against the color green. It’s a lovely color and an admirable way to live. I just thought that that sea of green could use a bit of livening up. So, after I’d chosen the perfect red (not red-violet, that shouldn’t even be a crayon, yuck), my nearest classmate goes “Ooooh, we’re s’posed to make them green!” She tells the teacher. The teacher informs me that there are only enough for everyone to have one, and next time, I’d better FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. Granted, I can’t follow directions I haven’t heard, but 23 kids with green leaves should have tipped me off. And as for tattletale, she wound up with Play-doh in her hair a few weeks later. I was caught and served one of the dreaded “frowny-face” papers to take to my parents, I guess to shame me into better behavior next time. It wound up in the trash the minute I got off the bus (so, directions be damned). And tattletale didn’t find out about the “Play-doh Incident of ‘86″ until about ‘93.

I credit my mother with my unwillingness to go with the flow. She would say “different is good, different is best, different doesn’t wind up pregnant at sixteen!” And so, I was different. Taller and chubbier than all the other kids (not that I could help most of that), wearing clothes unlike everyone elses’ (much to my “be different!” mother’s chagrin), and quieter than everyone in my family. I am different, whatever that may mean. To me it’s being myself, the self that both loves and hates getting up really early in the morning, the me that tweaks recipes until maybe they are truly “mine,” and the me that is constantly accused of grandmotherly-slow driving by anyone lucky enough to ride with my slow ass. Which is all fine and good, but not really why I’m here. I do think it is a good bit of info about myself to share with others, because it is a key part of my personality and why I do the things I do, and why I do them the way(s) I do. So now I’m off to the kitchen, to decide whether I should clean it up before I make some brown sugar cupcakes, or just add to the mess. Knowing me, I’ll opt to clean the larger mess later. Just don’t tell my mom I swept before I wiped off the counters and table. That always bugged her.