Monday Randomness

Since finding the pomegranate in a bush last year, I have had my eyes out for pomegranate trees and bushes. There is one on the path of my daily walk, and I noticed the other day that it has both flowers and little pomegranate buds. Aren’t they cute? I will be interested to see how many large pomegranates the tree gets. I don’t know whether the people whose yard it is eat them, or if people take them, or perhaps squirrels and birds. We shall see what happens.

I’ve lived here for almost 23 years, and this is the first year I’ve really paid attention to pomegranates in the area. I toyed with the idea of buying a small plant and putting it in my yard, in a pot. But I did some research, and they need a lot of sun, which we do not have in our yard. So I refrained myself. Happily, Ted’s sister gave his mom a pomegranate tree for Mother’s Day, so perhaps there will be fruit in my future from that.

In other news, my fuchsia not only survived through last summer, it has also survived the winter. I love it. Thanks go to my cousin, who is a Master Gardener, and who gave me the advice to water often, and also to feed it often. Who know, food and water could keep a plant alive? Not I. Sometimes I’m pretty stupid for someone with an advanced degree.

In similar news, this little orchid that Maya received for her graduation last May is blooming. Again, food and water. It’s shocking.

Ted’s birthday was a couple of weeks ago (Oh! Nance, I forgot your birthday! You share the day with Ted….Happy Belated Birthday!). We all took the day off from work, and we drove up Mt. Diablo to have a picnic lunch at a spot where Ted used to go as a boy with his family. It was a perfect day, neither hot nor cold, and the hills were only just starting to dry out for summer, so still plenty of green to be seen. One eerie moment, we were sitting at the picnic table, eating our KFC (chicken and biscuits only, because though we bought mashed potatoes and cole slaw at the drive through, they forgot to give us any utensils, so they went to waste) we heard a strange buzzing sound…as though a swarm of bees were in the vicinity. Which of course they were. They buzzed on by, looking for a new place to build a hive. Crazy.

Lastly, I recently found a new way to cook artichokes, which is roasted. Growing up, we only steamed them, which is indeed delicious. But roasting them gives them a delicious crispy edge and allows the garlic and herb flavor to really get in there. I found the recipe here, and full credit for the photo goes to Ali at her blog, ‘gimme some oven’ as well. We had a dinner party with some friends to celebrate Ted’s birthday, and I grilled rib eye steaks, and roasted artichokes and asparagus. It was really good. The artichokes are perhaps even better cold the next day, if you’re into such things. Which I am. I brushed them with butter, and did not serve a dip. They didn’t need it.