Today's Backyard Garden

These are the Scarlet Sweet and Neat from HPS Seeds

I spent a couple of hours yesterday moving all the tomato seedling peat pellets into coffee cups. The soil is Veggie Hero Potting Mix from American Soil and Stone in Richmond, California.

 

From the catalog:

An ultra-compact, dwarf variety that is bred to thrive on windowsills, decks and in patio containers. Strongly branched plants produce masses of sweet fruits over a long season for continuous harvests. Petite, 1 inch round fruits weigh less than an ounce, with a memorable flavor that sparkles with sweetness. Vines will reach 12 to 14 inches if staked.

Tomorrow's Baked Good

Dried Cranberry Cookies

1/2 cup Crisco
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon extract
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cup oatmeal
1 package dried cranberries, pomegranate-infused

Tomorrow's Baked Good

Peach - Apricot Muffins

 

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon extract

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup corn oil

1 cup diced canned peaches

scant quarter cup apricot preserves

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Drain peaches. Dice with two paring knives in colander. Heat the apricot preserves in the microwave and empty onto peaches. Let drain some more.

The Backyard Garden

Ever-so-slight a color shift

The Botanical Gem

The Pansy changed color

The Backyard Garden

Another Pansy Surprise

Tomorrow's Baked Good

Lots of room for frosting on these puffy cupcakes

The Backyard Garden

The Pansies are Back!

 

The Sage Slips are Rooting - Gel2Root is good stuff!

Mystery Geranium is perking up!

 

The Backyard Garden

I have visions of how these images could be cropped attractively, but these versions will have to do.

The Backyard Garden

The Backyard Garden

This is a “Sweet N Neat” tomato seedling. The vendor of the seeds is HPS (www.hpsseed.com). HPS says in their catalog  that this is “an ultra-compact, dwarf variety that is bred to thrive on windowsills, decks and in patio containers.”

Jiffy peat pellets have worked well for me. Last year I bought a sleeve of plastic cups typically used in restaurants, for such things as salsa and salad dressing. That small plastic cup size is good for keeping an individual peat pellet moist.

Yet Another Savory Muffin
1/2 cup tomato pesto
3 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
dash red pepper
dash black pepper

I did not add salt because the pesto seemed salty enough. Yesterday's basil pesto was unusually salty.

Tomorrow's Baked Good

Yet another savory muffin

These have cottage cheese and basil pesto.
I intended to use sun-dried tomato pesto, but I could not get the jar open

Tomorrow's Baked Good

Cookbook of Irreproducible Recipes
Savory Artichoke and Salami muffins
1 1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup olive oil
3 eggs
3/4 cup finely chopped drained artichoke hearts
1/8 cup finely chopped salami
packet of spice and cheese from a fancy pasta package we don't remember much about

These resemble biscuits more than muffins

Tomorrow's Baked Good

Savory Spinach Muffins

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 eggs

1 cup soy milk

1 cup canola oil

1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1/2 cup pesto sauce

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

3 cloves garlic

The original recipe called for a quarter of a cup of garlic. To maintain harmony in my home, I used much less garlic.

I don’t have a particular preference for soy milk, except that it lasts longer than regular milk. I intend to try some variations of both the milk and the cheese variety.

This batch was made with store-bought pesto. I still have some hommade pesto from last summer in the freezer. That will be another factor to test.

A Bouquet of Chard

Red Oak Leaf Lettuce Harvest

 Chard

Nasturtium

 

Tomorrow's Baked Good

Savory Muffins

1 cup cottage cheese

6 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup sun-dried tomato pesto

1/4 cup flour

1 cup pecan meal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup water

4 eggs, lightly beaten

The ones cooked in metallic cupcake liners were better than the ones cooked in paper liners. The texture was more appealing and the batter did not adhere to the liner.

Easter Egg Radish

Bak Choi is a Joy

The details of a pansy are amazing

These Pansies have been a daily delight.