A Couple Nice Days

MY BIRTHDAY WAS MONDAY, the day after Father’s Day. I combined both days for my celebration. Why not!

I picked up a couple of plants from Pleasanton Nursery during my Sunday morning outing. My seed germination was poor on my cucumbers, so I’ll look for a four-plant cucumber pack (Kerby-type) to plant below my tubular bird feeder. My Coleus patio pot lost all but one of my early May transplants to crown rot. Those, too, will be replaced. I’m hoping that warmer weather will cure these earlier setbacks.

My dive into a patio peony (photo above) occurred last week when I was out searching for a hollyhock. I came across this dwarf Rome® peony at Crystal Gardens in Frankfort and decided to treat myself to it for a present. I’m still looking for a dark purple hollyhock and hope to stumble upon one soon.

Other treats for my birthday celebration were made in my kitchen during the morning hours of Monday. I made a ½ recipe of Jenn Segal’s Rhubarb-Strawberry Crisp, knowing I’d have small servings over a day or two. https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/strawberry-rhubarb-crisp.html. It was delicious, even when choosing a dollop of cottage cheese instead of ice cream to top off the servings.

I made a 3-egg Frittata with broccoli, asparagus, and three cheeses, and yes, more cottage cheese. I prepared it in a 6.5” Lodge iron skillet on my stovetop; after lightly sautéing the veggies in olive oil, I then poured in the mixture of eggs, cottage cheese, and 3 cheeses, and allowed it to a soft set (2-3 minutes). The skillet was then placed in my oven for 15 minutes at 350°F to complete the custard set. I let it cool for ten minutes on my cutting board and then gently removed a small triangular slice. What a great breakfast treat with coffee, homemade toast, and OJ.

After my kitchen preparations were in good order, I hit a medium bucket of balls at my golf course. I focused on keeping my arms closer to my chest on my downswing. Every week, I have new swing thoughts that I collect on my iPhone, which I try to evaluate. My game has not been the best this spring, but hope springs eternal, as they say. I’m close to a breakthrough round of golf.

My selection for my birthday dinner was good old spaghetti. This was a bit of nostalgia, as that was my birthday meal my mom used to prepare when I was younger. I remember celebrating with siblings and friends as we all crammed into our long kitchen table to enjoy Mom's spaghetti for birthday meals.

My marinara is Rao’s, but I add sliced sautéed fresh mushrooms and three pork meatballs I made and froze for just this type of dinner. I add fennel seeds to my meatballs these days - they add a unique licorice flavor that I enjoy. I finish off the plate of steaming pasta, sauce, and meatballs with shavings of Pecorino-Romano. Wow, how good is that!

I’m thankful that I’m doing quite well in my celebration centered around my 76th birthday.

Tempus fugit.