time to garden...

After a week of stormy weather, the sun is  here to stay, hopefully.. We took the chance and went to the garden center to get some newbies... 

A few pink geraniums were repotted to clay pots which by now have gotten the nice patina after a long winter.... oh gosh, it has been really a long endless winter!

The daffodils bloomed and opened -up its buds despite the cold weather. Actually, almost all were destroyed by the slugs last year.

Our top terrace has been converted into what I call my "oasis", it´s where all my container plants are placed.. I´m avoiding to plant anything edible in my backyard as cats (5 of them) of my neighbours sometimes visit us .. and then, there are the slugs which are really causing a big problem because they destroy all the flowering plants that I have in the backyard... I intend to hang all my flowering pots so the slugs won´t reach those, hmmmmm!

There were vegetable newbies included in our buying plan.. especially the sweet bell pepper, the eggplant and zucchini as well as the salad greens  and I still have seeds that my brother sent me...

I would have to put my salad greens in my cracker containers, they are so practical to use... I used them so often and the greens grew in there wonderfully.

The tulips were planted last Autumn, they are of one variety and one color,I think pink...am excited to see the flowers coming out. Their stems are a bit sensible and they easily break, to date I already had 10 broken ones!

I decided to buy a fence so the cats wouldn´t go in between the stems and break them... My neighbour on our left has a black cat named Geisha(age 3) and her opponent is Luna (age 10) whose owners are on the right house... My backyard is the place where each of them claims to have their territory and they always fight for supremacy.

The fence is low,  but it fits perfectly to protect the tulips.

Last year, when we had our vacation and left for Spain... I was unhappy to have left Ako´s yellow roses before they bloomed... There were clusters of  around a hundred buds and I was sure they bloomed beautifully. When I came back, they have dried already.. So this photo of the rose bush above , would hopefully carry so much buds! Cross your fingers for me!

I planted this peony last year and it´s now coming out...the second one is planted upstairs in a container and am wishng to see a flower soon.

We cut the forsythia too short last year and we have expected that they won´t have flowers this season. Well, there´s still hope for next season, right?

This bird´s feeder is practical as the contents are protected from the weather...

I guess, this ball is not that good! We didn´t see any of our friends enjoying its content.

A new life !!!

This rose arch was put together by hubby yesterday... Of course I helped but  it´s again those bendings that make the DIY job more difficult...oh well, the age , the age!!!

And finally, remember the spanish amaryllis from Spain? Look (!), it´s blooming again...

Hope your weekend is as sunny as mine... Happy Saturday, see you around!

xoxo,

Mercy

Pork Skewers with Braised Vegetables

This was actually a spontaneous decision to cook my leftover pork filet today... so the meat wouldn´t get spoiled. For me, the easiest way to get rid of it was to make skewers... so here´s how I made them... Remember, this dish is so delicious aside from the fact that it is easy and quick to prepare and cook... I hope you´d try this one..

 Pork Skewers with Braised Vegetables

Ingredients

(makes 2 servings)

300 grams Pork filet cut into thin elongated strips

 of around 6-7cm long

1 red bell pepper, cut into bite pieces, around 2x3 cm 

10 cherry tomatoes, cut into halves  

1 medium size onion, diced

2 cloves crushed garlic

10 medium size champignons/mushrooms (quartered)

1 zucchini cut into bite pieces

1 teaspoons lemon juice (optional)

soy sauce

olive oil

salt & pepper

wooden skewers

 Preparations: 

1. Set aside a cup of the cut vegetables to be used for the skewers. 

Heat 2 tbsps. olive oil in a casserole and fry the crushed garlic til the pieces become golden brown. Add the onions and fry for 1 minute. 

2. Add all rest of vegetable ingredients to the casserole and stir-fry til all pieces become medium soft. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon soy sauce to randomly cover the  vegetable pieces,  cook for about 5 minutes. 

Add 2 spoons of vegetable broth or water. Cover the casserole and braise the vegetable for 8 minutes under low fire. 

Season with salt & pepper. Set aside, keep warm for later use as by-dish for the skewers.

For the skewers:

Slide the pork strips into the skewer alternately with the cut vegetables. Brush all sides of the meat with soy sauce. Season with salt & pepper. Let stand for about ten minutes.

In a hot frying pan with 3 table spoons of olive oil, fry each skewer until all sides are golden brown and crispy. Arrange the skewers and the braised vegetables on a platter. Serve hot with couscous or rice or white bread. Can go with white wine or beer...

Guten Appetit!

Stir-fry Rucola - Mung Bean Sprouts

Mung bean sprouts are the most popular and most recognized of all sprouts. You can find them mostly in asian dishes. They are very healthy and rich in vitamins, protein and minerals. In this recipe, you can also use Soy bean sprouts.

                                               Fresh Mung Sprouts image: source here

  Soy Bean sprout image : source here

Rucola below as what they call it here in Europe, or wild rocket (Arugula) also offers many health benefits and if you wish to find more , you can read it here. They can also be costly if bought fresh from supermarkets... This season, I may want to try sowing some in containers.

                                                       Rucola image : source here.



And now,  here is the recipe: 

Stir Fry Rucola - Soy/ Mung Bean Sprouts 

Ingredients:

100 grams ground beef or ground pork filet or mixed of  both (50-50)
100 grams Mung bean Sprouts or Soy Bean Sprouts, washed
2 cups Rucola leaves , washed
1 Medium size onion, diced
2 cloves crushed garlic
salt 
ground pepper
Olive oil

Preparations:

In a frying pan, heat 2 tablespoon olive oil and fry the crushed garlic til golden brown in color.. add the diced onions and fry til the pieces get glassy, add the ground meat... fry til the meat becomes pale in color ( about 3 minutes).. add the sprouts and rucola. continue mixing til the rucola becomes a bit soft (but not too soft). 

Add a 1/2 cup of water and let the liquid boil , turn off the fire and season with salt & pepper.. Serve with baguette or white bread.                                                  

                                                           

Enjoy cooking this simple but delicious dish!

Happy Easter Monday!

Linked to : Savvy Southern Style

Easter ... a celebration

Happy Easter to you all!

In my home country, the Philippines, the Holy Week is a big event  for all of us Christians. We would church hop and do the station of the cross, hear  the holy mass, watch passion play or see road processions. 

Easter Sunday is the last event of the Holy Week and that would mean either one attends the holy mass or the whole family and friends go to the beach celebrate the ascencion of Jesus to Heaven, rejoicing His return to the heavenly glory.

Ahhhhh.... how I miss those traditions! 

I haven´t really done much of decorating for Easter this year...but I´ve taken out my easter eggs to decorate our young willow tree in the garden.

I also have this ceramic easter eggs a la Fabergé and  used them for my photos here.

I found these ceramic eggs in the flea market and I have 5 pieces at the moment.

Today had been sunny and I woke up early to do shopping.

I also got some colorful carnations from the fresh market as sort of my day inspiration...and while I was hanging the eggs on the tree, I was enjoying my afternoon coffee ...

Some of the easter eggs are vintage made by hubby´s grandma, I made some myself and some were bought locally.

We surely had a great day today cleaning the garden. The sun was shining and the first daffodils opened up the days before greeting and meaning to us that Spring is really here after a gray in gray and wet weather the last days!

Enjoy celebrating !

This blog is linked to: 

Savvy Southern Style

blue & white tureen

If there is one versatile food container in my household, it´s this tureen.. I have two, the other one is a bone china with gold trimming from Oscar de la Renta that  I got with main dish and soup plates. I got those at a fraction of a cost, probably because the design had been  discontinued.

 This one here is my favorite. I´ve been using this  for more than a decade now, sometimes as a serving dish, a bowl for fresh berries in season, as soup tureen and mind you it keeps the soup hot and warm during the meal when served on the table. I used it once as a base for my Advent decorating below.

I just love it because I can put it directly into the microwave to heat food and then serve right away on the table..

Here, I used it as a serving dish.

The blue and white ceramic design gave a nice contrast to the colorful vegetables and meat. The Stir-Fried Rice looked wonderful in it, don´t you think so?

Btw, you can get the recipe of my Stir-Fried Rice here . I omitted the spinach.

Hope you have a good start of the week!!! 

This blog is linked to : French Country Cottage
                                 The Charm of Home