Pocket Mouse

Salad!

As promised, here are some pictures of my very first homegrown meal:

It had dried cranberries, dried cherries, granny smith apples, sliced toffee-flavored almonds, and creamy maple dressing.  Here's the recipe I used for the dressing:

Creamy Maple Dressing

1/4 cup regular or reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Whisk together all of the ingredients in a small bowl until well combined.  Let stand 15 minutes before using.

Paula Deen, you are an evil woman.

A co-worker brought this in today:

Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding 
(Recipe courtesy Paula Deen)

2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies
6 to 8 bananas, sliced
2 cups milk
1 (5-ounce) box instant French vanilla pudding
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping thawed, or equal amount sweetened whipped cream

Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.  In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

white chocolate cocoa

Can anyone recommend a good white chocolate cocoa?  I am going to try the one above, a Belgian white cocoa, from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.  It sounds yummy, but it's the only one I can find and I'd like to try other kinds too.  I've had Vosges' Bianca Couture Cocoa; it's very good but a bit too lemony for me. There are some recipes online, including this one from the Food Network, but I'm lazy.

Also, completely unrelated, but this picture of a walrus (?) smooching a beluga whale on Cute Overload is adorable.  I want to hug that beluga guy.

summer skies

I didn't know that Moon & Stars Watermelon existed...but it's beautiful, like constellations.

Violet Jelly

I've wanted to make this ever since Marie posted it as a Sampler how-to a long time ago, but I still haven't done it yet.  The recipe is from Prairieland Herbs.  It looks beautiful and it would be a great Spring-y activity.  Prairieland Herbs also has a recipe for Dandelion Jelly as well as some other yummy-sounding recipes like Lavender Rhubarb Lemonade and Tangerine Rosemary Marmalade.

I'm really interested in learning more about cooking and baking with wild foods like flowers, roots and leaves.  We carry a book called Wild Foods For Every Table (published by The Essential Herbal) in the Sleepy Records shop and I had to buy one for myself because everything sounds so yummy.  I'm eager to try out those recipes and the Prairieland ones too.