Gardenia bushes typically thrive in USDA Growing Zones 8–11,
requiring warm, humid climates, though some cold-hardy varieties like
'Frostproof' and 'Kleim's Hardy' can withstand Zone 7 winters. They
prefer full sun to partial shade, acidic soil, and consistent moisture.
In zones 6 or lower, they must be grown in containers and brought
indoors.
The gardenia bush in the garden in the center of my condo building has been blooming for the last five days. It is so wonderful to open my front door and step out on the 2nd floor walkway with a view of flowers. It really makes your day.
Today I’m trying a fun food for all your spring and Easter
get-togethers, a Spring Vegetable Garden using hummus and fresh baby
carrots, radishes, asparagus, celery, peppers, and sugar snap peas. You
can vary the vegetables according to your preference and availability.
Use the smallest part of your celery bunch with the green attached. I’m
currently able to get local baby carrots with greens attached. There is
so much greens I must remove half or it fills the dish. If you can’t get those, use small carrots and even cut them smaller and shorter. Watch for spring crops of asparagus and the fresh little peas. You can cut half off so it fits the dish. (For my far north readers, pin this recipe for your spring crops later.)
I’m using my basic hummus recipe, but feel free to use your favorite.
Double the basic hummus recipe using 2 drained cans of chickpeas. If
buying commercial hummus, use 2 10-oz. hummus containers. This is the
base for your garden and should be at least one inch deep in your dish.
You may substitute your favorite dip if it is thick enough to support
your little veggies in a vertical position.
Classic Hummus
Use organic when available. It's great with veggies or pita chips as an appetizer or snack.
Servings 4
Ingredients
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained, liquid reserved
1tbsplemon juice
1tbspolive oil
1clove garlic, crushed
1/2tspground cumin
1/2tspsalt
2dropssesame oil, or to taste (optional)
baby veggies or cut veggies like carrots, celery, spring peas, radishes, asparagus, peppers
Instructions
Place all ingredients in food processor
Blend until smooth
Stream reserved bean liquid into the mixture as it blends until desired consistency is achieved but keep it thick for appetizer garden
Double recipe for hummus
Instructions for Spring Garden Appetizer
Double recipe for hummus or use your favorite dip
Fill bottom of serving dish with 1 to 2 inches of hummus
Place baby veggies in the hummus vertically
Serve with pita chips or veggies
Enjoy!
Spring Hummus Vegetable Garden Appetizer
Use organic when available, serves 6
Ingredients
20ozor more of hummus or dip
6small carrots with green attached
6celery heart stalks with green attached
6asparagus
6radishes with greens attached
6sugar snap peas or snow peas
6small peppers
optional fresh parsley or other herb for garnish
Instructions
Spread hummus to fill bottom of a deep baking dish 2 to 3 inch
If desired, blanch asparagus (I like them raw, but it's an option)
Cut asparagus in half
Cut radishes in half
Cut any celery, carrots, or peas that are too tall
Arrange a row of carrots like a garden
Repeat with celery, radishes, sugar snap peas, peppers, and asparagus
You should now have 6 rows of veggies
Optional garnish with fresh herbs
Serve with whole grain crackers and a tray of more spring veggies
Enjoy!
This dish was shared on St. Pete’s Channel 10, Good to Know Segment:
This wonderful southwest bowl contains everything you need for a very
healthy one-dish meal. It makes a great lunch to take to school or
work. Quinoa, brown rice, beans, corn, fresh cilantro, and red bell
pepper with a southwest dressing makes a yummy bowl. I like to add fresh tomatoes and avocado on top, and it's perfect. The longer it marinates
with the dressing, the better it is. Make a batch of this on Sunday and
then eat it for lunches during the week. This is a forgiving recipe
that can be made with changes to fit your pantry or taste.
Quinoa Brown Rice Southwest Bowl
Use organic when available. Serves 4
Ingredients
Bowl
2cupscooked quinoa
1cupcooked brown rice
115 oz can pinto beans, drained & rinsed (or black beans)
115 oz can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1can corn drained or cooked fresh corn removed from cob
1red bell pepper chopped
optional sliced avocado topping
optional halved cherry tomatoes topping
Dressing
1/4cupchopped fresh cilantro or parsley
1/4cupolive oil or avocado oil
juice of 2 limes
1garlic clove minced
1/4tspchili powder
1/4tspcumin
1/4tsponion powder
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Mix
quinoa, beans, corn, red onion, brown rice, red bell pepper, & cilantro together in a glass or plastic container with a lid
Whisk dressing ingredients in a small bowl
Pour dressing over quinoa and rice mixture
Toss to coat
Cover bowl with the lid and refrigerate until flavors blend, at least 2 hours
Top individual bowls with sliced avocado and halved cherry tomatoes Optional
Today I'm sharing more photos of the Golden Trumpet Tree (Tabebuia). Close to my home are several golden trumpets but no pink ones.
The azaleas at the condo have finished blooming. Here is a shot from the balcony taken last week.
Although most people think they normally bloom in the winter, the red amaryllis bulbs at Christmas are forced bulbs. Amaryllis are tropical plants that
will flower in late winter or spring when planted in the ground. We plant them in Florida and they flower in April, May.
For those of you who visited last year, you may remember I bought two amaryllis bulbs to pot and grow here at the condo. I had them by my front door until they had finished blooming last spring and went dormant. I kept the two pots on my balcony until the beginning of March. I moved them back by the front door for part full sun exposure. They like bright sunlight. One pot has had glorious blooms for the last week. The 2nd one is just waking up (so to speak), and I expect buds and flowers in another month. I hope you enjoy the mostly white flowers.
It will be the first day of spring in a couple of weeks, and then Easter is April 5th this year. Today I’m trying another cute
food presentation that I pinned years ago, Deviled Easter Chick Eggs.
Use your favorite deviled egg recipe or mine below and decorate the
little eggs to look like chicks. It’s not hard to do, and it looks adorable for holiday get-togethers.
Start
with week old eggs, as fresh eggs are hard to shell. To prevent
cracking, remove eggs from refrigeration about 30 minutes prior to
boiling. Place eggs in cold water, bring to boil, turn off burner, and
cover. Let sit for 15 minutes. Let cool, and refrigerate at least two
hours before cutting for best results. Serve using an egg holder, a
saucer, bowl, or a platter To use on a flat platter, with a sharp
knife, slice off a very thin layer from the base of the egg to make it
flat. You have the option to make feet but it’s not necessary. Then cut
1/3 of the egg off the top. I cut straight across but later you can
make ragged edges if desired.
Deviled Easter Chick Eggs
Use organic when available, makes 12 Easter chicks
A cute food art for spring & Easter using deviled eggs decorated to look like little chicks.
Great as an Appetizer or Snack
Ingredients
12hard-boiled eggs peeled
2tbspmayonnaise
1 1/2tbspyellow mustard
Optional make w/o mustard
1dill pickle finely diced
1tsppickle juice
salt and pepper to taste
1carrot cut into rounds
12slices of pickle or black olives
Instructions
Refrigerate hard-boiled eggs for at least two hours or overnight
With a sharp knife, slice off a very thin layer from the base of the egg to make it flat if you're using a platter
Slice top 1/3 of eggs leaving a little yolk with the skin
Use a spoon to remove bottom yolk to a bowl
Mash yolks with a fork
Add mayonnaise, pickle, pickle juice, mustard, salt, and pepper, and mix well
Fill a piping bag or plastic bag with a corner snipped with the egg yolk mixture
Pipe yolk mixture into bottom of egg whites to create chick
Cut small wedge from carrot rounds to make a beak for each chick
Cut pickle or olive slices into small squares to use for eyes
Add 2 olive eyes to each chick
Add egg white top to each chick
Adjust so it looks like chick peeking out of egg
Serve on deviled egg tray as centerpiece or in egg holders or on platter
Optional, add a dab of deviled egg filling as glue to stick them to the platter
Optional, make 3 cuts in carrot round for a foot, 2 per chick
Optional, decorate platter with herbs like parsley or dill
Optional, serve on saucer or bowl with salad greens as first course of meal – you've made a free-range chickEnjoy!
This dish was shared on St. Pete’s Channel 10, Good to Know Segment:
This
15-minute recipe is great for a weeknight meal. My seasonings are simple: salt, pepper,
basil, garlic, and lemon juice. If you like a little spice, try adding a pinch of paprika or
crushed red pepper flakes. Serve with simple side dishes for your fast meal, like a simple green salad with frozen corn.
An
Italian pasta classic,
Linguine with Red Clam Sauce is a fast and filling meal. Delicious clams in a savory tomato sauce
make an easy meal that is on the table in 30 minutes. I’m using canned
clams, which can be a staple pantry item, for a quick meal.
The Recipe Critic has a recipe for The Easiest Vegetable Stir Fry. Like always, modify as necessary. What makes this an amazing recipe? The great sauce you make.
Mac
and cheese is another fantastically simple delicious meal that the
whole family can enjoy. It takes no time at all to prepare and it is one
of those meals that can be prepared in the morning and then reheated in
the evening. Take a look at an easy mac and cheese recipe at Sweet C’s Design if
you are unsure how to make it. If you are wanting a low-fat healthier
alternative then you can even accomplish this also. Switch out the pasta
for whole wheat pasta and the cheese and milk for low fat versions. You
will get the same end result and then pair it with some veggies for a
filling meal.
If you’re looking for a healthy meal that’s fast and easy to prepare,
then you might want to try broccoli pasta shells. Broccoli is a great
addition to your diet and will certainly offer fantastic health
benefits. There are several recipes online, but I like the one by RecipeTinEats.
The recipe uses olive oil which I love to use and a little lemon juice,
one of my favorite flavors. One of the best emergency quick dinner
ideas with broccoli, pasta and not much else; it’s a little bit lemony, a
little bit cheesy and a whole lot of yum.
If you’re a fan of your noodles in a packet that you can throw in the microwave, then it’s time for the real thing. I promise you, the ones
that you prepare yourself taste even better, and they won’t take up that
much of your time at all. One point to consider with noodles is what
you’re going to put with them. Similar to stir fry, you have countless
options that are worth considering here. For instance, you can create
some chicken noodles
in about twenty minutes. Or, if you want a great vegetarian dish, just
add some peppers and herbs for a delicious meal that you can easily get
ready when you come in from work. Insanely Good has 27 Easy Noodle Recipes to consider.
If you are looking for a healthy meal choice, then you can try mixing
some ingredients with egg fried rice. This can be as healthy as most
meals in this list, if you avoid MSG and packets of ingredients with
lots sodium or chemicals. The main consideration will be choosing and
preparing the right protein. Fish can be a great choice here as well as
chicken. They pair quite well together. Gimme Some Oven has a great basic recipe that takes 5 minute preparation and 10 minutes to cook it. Check it out at Fried Rice.
I hope this inspires you to create some fantastic meals that are easy
to prepare when you only have a little time to spare. Keep a few
ingredients in the pantry for an unexpected busy work day and you won’t
be spending an age in the kitchen preparing the family meal.
Tabebuia, commonly known as trumpet trees, are spectacular tropical flowering trees known for their explosive, often leafless, spring blooms in shades of pink, yellow, or white. Primarily native to Central/South America, these trees reach 20–50 feet tall and thrive in full sun and well-drained soil.
It's spring in central Florida with pink and yellow tabebuia or trumpet trees in blooms. For a brief time, the blossoms appear like magic. I can never get enough of blossoming trees. I just want to drive and hunt for them.
Here at the condo, the garden in the center of our wrapped condo building has azaleas in bloom.
I hope you are enjoying spring in all its new life wherever you are.
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