A drink with jam and bread

We picked our first round of strawberries today. They are lovely and very delicious.

besides just eating them, putting them on our salads, and making strawberry salsa (yum!), we had immediate plans to make jam. Here I am crushing the fruit:

and within moments, we had jam! It will be ready to eat once it has set for 24 hours.

Making jam really makes you think about what goes into your food. These 5 little jam jars are the result of mixing 2 cups of strawberries and 4 cups of sugar. No wonder it is so good.

And, within the time it took to make the jam, this:

turned into this:

well, not really, since it sat all night rising, but it only took a 1/2 hour or so to bake.

Now it is happy hour, so we must go find the drink to go with the jam and bread.

Plants and food...what more could you want?

Everything is very spring-like here; the weather is very changeable, trees are in bloom, and Zyrtec stock is rising. The days are getting longer and we are spending more time outside. It feels good to play in the dirt, but not so good on the back. Here are a few signs of spring from our yard:

Our redbud was spectacular this year.

Apple blossoms!

We decided not to start our seeds indoors like we have done in years past (see our post here), and I think we agree that was a good call. It is fun to see them grow, but it is also fun to give the local garden center $11 to do the planting and growing for you:

We got purple basil, beets, yellow pear tomatoes, cherokee purple tomatoes, bell peppers, lettuce, and eggplants. We did start a few seeds, but everything is out on the deck, and no craziness with lights and cords in the mudroom. Now I can't figure out how we ever had the time to care for all those little seedlings...

And finally, peas!! The spring has been so warm that our peas have been producing like crazy already, a few weeks ahead of schedule. These are our first to be harvested, on March 24:

Vivian loves her peas:

Now for the food. I know we've mentioned Lisa's naan before, but it is so good it deserves to be mentioned again. Here is my favorite meal, Dal and naan (dal looks like baby food, but I guarantee you nothing but absolute deliciousness). I can't get enough of this stuff.

Fried plantains...yum:

Yummy cranberry and orange scones (this is them before baking):

We were lucky to spend time with my parents on Hilton Head Island a few weekends ago for my birthday -- it was a beautiful weekend and great to spend time together.