Ham

I like ham.

There are four more days of school.

I am happy.

Weekend Wine Reviews ~Cloud Break Chardonnay

Cloud Break, Chardonnay, 2011, California, total wine, $7.99.  They say:  a gorgeous wine with ripe concentrated fruit flavors, a rich texture, a great length.  We say:  sweet citrus fruit, nice long buttery finish.  Buy again:  yes!

Patchouli for Saturday Pet Blog Hop

Patchouli trying to hide from the birdies (I don’t think it’s working).

This will be my entry for The Saturday Pet Blogger Hop! 

Edamame and Mint Salad

Every spring, I look forward to mint.  It’s one of my favorite herbs and necessary for the Vietnamese and Thai cooking that I love so much.   I have such a struggle keeping my mint bed growing (weird – I know!).  The bed is right next to the house and several years ago we had someone come pressure wash our siding.  They used gallons upon gallons of bleach.  It was horrible.  It created a virtual wasteland in about a 3 foot radius from our house.  The ground was left practically sterile.  My mint bed was left lifeless.  Slowly but surely it is picking up.

I’m always looking for ways to use my mint, so that I can keep it trimmed back and encourage spreading.  When I saw this salad in the April issue of Everyday Foods, it sounded so simple.  At first I thought the addition of butter was kind of weird, but it totally works.  The only thing is that, you really need to serve it at room temperature, because taken straight from the fridge, the butter solidifies a bit.   The flavors in this salad simply sing spring.  You can find it online Edamame and Mint Salad, and I’ve also included it below. 

Edamame and Mint Salad

• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen edamame
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 cups (5 ounces) baby spinach
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

Cook edamame according to package instructions. Drain and toss with butter and spinach; season with salt and pepper. Let cool slightly and add mint.

4 Servings

 

 

This will be my entry for Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum!

 

 

This will be my entry for Souper Sundays (Soup, Salad, or Sammie) hosted by Deb at Kahakai Kitchen.

The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Bushanan

I have seen Degas ballerina paintings before and never thought about the story surrounding them.  Who were these ballerinas?  Why did Degas find them so fascinating.   And just like Degas found the ballerinas fascinating, I found this book fascinating. 

I had no idea of how the ballet and opera worked in Paris in the 1870's.  How it was really the only chance some girls had to rise out of poverty, out of a life of servitude and drudgery.  This is a historical fiction account of three sister's the van Goethem sisters. 

The book truly captures the mood and times.  The girl's mother owns a bath house and without the ballet, they would be forced to follow in her footsteps.  

"My lot, the lots of those around me, were cast the moment we were born into the gutter to parents who never managed to step outside the gutter themselves."

At the ballet, they see glimpses of the life they could have, if only they were good enough.

"Tonight is the opening of Monsieur Merante's new ballet, La Korrigane, and in the first act I appear as Breton peasant, wearing a costume more fine - I am sure - than any worn in all the countryside of Brittany.  Two gold band mark the hem of my skirt and cuffs of my blouse, and the prettiest of laces edges my apron, collar, and cap, all of it far too white for any girl who ever tugged the teat of a cow or snatched an egg out from underneath a hen."

But just making it in that ballet is not enough, the girls frequently must find a man who will support them.  Help them with the costs of their costumes and help provide a living.

"I want to put my face in my hands, to howl, for me, for Antoinette, for all the women of Paris, for the burden of having what men desire, for the heaviness of knowing it is ours to give, that with our flesh we make our way in the world."

I truly could not put this book down.  Loved it.

Wordless Wednesday ~Iris at sunset~

 

P.S.  Happy Birthday to me!  Mr. Sidewalk Shoes (whose birthday was last Wednesday) and I are getting each other bicycles for our birthday.  I’ve already named mine, and you can expect to see photos of her shortly!

Garden Tuesday ~Berries and flowers~

 

Blueberries waiting for some warm sunshine!

Blackberries waiting for some busy bees!

Keys of heaven waiting for some hummingbirds!

Solomon’s seal waiting for it’s delicate white flowers to spring open.

What’s everything waiting for in your garden?

Please join me for Garden Tuesday.