February 4th

 

Today is World Cancer Day.

It's aim is to inform, enlighten and encourage.

Early detection is the key, but sometimes

it's simply a hit or miss proposition

whether or not cancer is detected.

So, the World Cancer Day seeks to

advance medical research and treatments

while heading towards the

eradication of cancer around the world.

All cancers have their own colored ribbons,

but the lime green one is specifically for

Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

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This is a giant Mustard Green plant.

We grow it for the hens to munch on.

They love it!

And...

Speaking of hens..

That's Nugget digging in the Spearmint.

Ethel waiting for a treat.

Hazel with her head behind the Cuban oregano

pot looking for bugs, while Lucy patrols close by.

Pepper was in the coop.

Now back to the garden.....

This is Green Broccoli.

Purple Broccoli

We also have yellow broccoli, but

they haven't started to "fruit" yet.

The CEO pulled up the straggly Bell Pepper

plants to amend the soil before he plants

something different in that spot.

We were able to harvest a few peppers

before the plants died off.

This is Broccoli, Peppers and

2 Tomatoes.

He has a few new herbs for my

herb garden.

Here's a few.

Those are German Thyme and English Thyme.

(It's actually 5 and 6 hours ahead of us!)

😁

They taste similar, but the German

one is a tad stronger taste.

My preference was French Thyme,

a subtle aroma and taste,

but that plant didn't make it past

last summer.

We did get enough to dry for my herb blend.

Cilantro.

I use this in all kinds of dishes.

Great taste combo with celery.

This is a new addition to our

herb garden.

It's Pineapple Sage.

It has a typical sage-y taste but with

a pineapple undertone!

Amazing flavor!

The seedling starter area.

There's all kinds of small plants,

from veggies and herbs to ornamentals.

Asparagus.

One lonely shoot. 

They need to be harvested soon after

they shoot up because this plant wants

to make fern-like leaves if left alone.

(I ate this one!)

This is the potato patch.

There's Russets, Yukon Gold's and Purple ones.

This is Celery in the foreground

and

Brussels Sprouts in the background

The Begonias are blooming like crazy!

Scarlet Geranium

Both the Begonia and the Geranium

are edible plants.

The Begonia flowers have a sharp citrus

like flavor and  are very tasty in a garden salad.

The Geranium flowers have a lemony flavor

and their petals are a great additive in

herbal teas, like jasmine or chamomile.

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This is a simple to make pound cake.

It starts with a pre-packaged cake mix.....

In this version, I used Pillsbury Lemon Cake Mix.

Then, I substituted the oil with the same amount of

mascarpone cheese. 

Baked as per box directions.

( I had to check on the done-ness in the middle

 twice, but all came out well! )

This cake is dense but great with berries as a dessert.

My grandkids ate it with a scoop of ice cream!

Delicious!

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When life's hills become too steep,

I'll take my sister's hand to remind her

that she'll never go through anything

without me by her side.

💚