Monday, March 7, 2011

Flowers and a Recipe

Good afternoon & Happy Monday.

After several days of wind, today it's quiet. We also got some much needed rain the past couple of days which was really nice and this morning it was chilly when we woke up.

I got an email from my boss and I'll be working Wed-Sat this week, so I wanted to get a post done while I have time. I've got some homecaring to do tomorrow, dinners to think about for the week, laundry needs to be folded and put away, etc., etc.

Speaking of dinner, my boss gave me more avocados and last night I made a meatloaf using avocado slices. I found the recipe online, here. I used ground beef, about 1 lb., sprinkled in a liberal dose of Italian seasoning, sprinkled in liberal doses of dried minced garlic, and onion powder too, in place of the herbs, garlic and onion called for in the recipe. This was delicious!!!

Italian Meatloaf with avocado

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 75 minutes

Serves: 4

Yield 1 loaf

Ingredients

19 1/5 oz Ground Turkey
1/2 cup Plain Bread Crumbs
1 Large Egg
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Parsley, Dried
1/2 tsp Basil (dried)
1/2 tsp Oregano, Dried
1/4 cup Onions
1/2 cup Milk-1%
1/2 cup Shredded Mozzerella Cheese
1 medium Generic Haas Avocado

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix turkey, milk, bread crumbs, egg, onion and all spices together in medium sized bowl.

3. Spread 1/2 of the turkey mixture in bottom of cooking sprayed loaf pan

4. Sprinkle mozzerella cheese on top of turkey mixture and layer avocado slices on top of the cheese.

5. Spread remaining half of turkey mixture on top of avocado.

6. Bake for 1- 1 1/4 hours or until internal temperature measures 170 degrees.

7. Drain grease from loaf plan once removed from the oven. Serves 4.


Hibiscus

Little orchids

Now, here is the aloe plant DH found discarded in a trash pile last April. He figured I would like it, and I do. It's back in my 'not much care needed' garden. Was I ever surprised to see blooms last week and a 'pup' growing a little way from it. Hurray. This aloe is Barbadensis Miller, very medicinal and I just found some good info on it so will be reading up on it. The blooms when open are yellow.


I talked DH into this picture below. We got to talking about our old lapidary set up last night, and I brought out these hearts that he had done from sea shells found on the beach many, many years ago. I love them.


Here is my climbing Maman Cochet.

Here she is with I think, Old Blush, growing up and over my sheds awning.

I cannot remember what this lily is. I know someone out there will be able to tell me. I think I've heard people refer to it as the 'ditch lily'. I'll groan when I hear the real name, because I know I've heard it and it's lodged in my brain somewhere. :-)



That's it from Plum Cottage at this time.

I do hope you all have a great week.

Thank you for visiting and your comments.

***

It's spring fever.

That is what the name of it is.

And when you've got it,

you want - oh, you don't quite know

what it is you do want,

but it just fairly makes your heart ache,

you want it so!

Mark Twain



Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL

23 comments:

Lona said...

Glad you got some needed rain for your garden and rain barrel. I just love that Hibiscus. What a beauty. Those little heart from seashells are just beautiful.I would have never even guessed they were made from shells. How pretty they are.

Gayle said...

Hard to believe someone tossed out that plant, but lucky for you! Your flowers are beautiful. I can't wait to have my gardens full. I have two Impatiens blooms in the house. A little bit of hope.

Darla said...

Wish I lived closer, that meal looks great! Love your Jane Cowell Hibiscus...dug mine up and put it in the greenhouse, it's leafing out now. Cute hearts out of those seashells...don't give up on me, I haven't forgotten your snail mail stuf...have been a little miserable the last 6 or so days....should be on the mend now with the steroid pills I got from the dr.

gld said...

Glad you got the rain. I saw a drought map on a national weather report and was surprised to see how much of Florida is dry.

We are just on the borderline of "watch" for drought.

I do envy you the surplus of avocados. They sell for $1 up here almost all year. I do love them and splurge now and then just for fresh eating. Your dinner looks delicious. I just bought frozen green limas. We both enjoy them.

The flowers are lovely as usual. Here we call those orange daylilies that spread so rampantly ditch lilies I will be interested in what yours is. I think it looks like an amaryllis of some sort.

Have a good week.

Floridagirl said...

Hey, FL. Your avocado-meatloaf dish looks quite interesting...and yummy. That aloe looks like a great find. They are tough in the Florida clime. Your lily is certainly in the Hippeastrum family, probably the St. Joseph's lily, also known as Hardy Amaryllis. It's an old-time Florida pass-along.

sherryocala said...

DH loves meatloaf but dislikes avocado no matter how many times I tell him how delicious it is. Yours looks wonderful. Your hearts are quite amazing. Yeah, when the temps go up, the color of many teas (and others) will lighten. I have more than once denied that a photo is the same rose as I grow since I so seldom see them in their "cool" state. I don't know what your lily is called, but it's beautiful. Lovely post, FlowerLady.

Nell Jean said...

My mama would have said, "Well, avocados are good and meatloaf is good, it must be good!"

Love the heart shapes. Isn't that some kind of Amaryllis -- St. Somebody's Lily?

Morning's Minion said...

I love avacados, never had them in cooked form before.
I do envy your roses and hope my several rugosas will perform better this season. Last summer was very hot and humid for any plants that were trying to establish.
What pretty hearts--I didn't realize shell could be shaped. I often learn some new fact from your posts.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

I love avocado and would eat them everyday. We had guacamole with our tacos tonight. I've never seen it cooked in something, it sounds very good. I love seeing your pretty flowers blooming! I think the lily looks a lot like an Amaryllis. Have a good week :)

Rainy Day Gardener said...

Oh, I love that orchid! Such vibrant colors :) What a world you live in where your roses are still blooming and aloe and orchids grow. Sounds like paradise! It's fun to see what fun creations come from plum cottage ~ The hearts are beautiful! Cheers, Jenni

Jillayne said...

I love those little hearts - they are so sweet!
It is so hard to imagine rain right now - we have had so much snow lately and it feels like a record year for it - I am not yet having Spring Fever - I am in the thick of Cabin Fever!
Your meatloaf sounds interesting and looks delicious; what an interesting combination!

Annie said...

They look like Hippiastrums to me.

Skeeter said...

Being sick, I have not had much of an appetite lately but your meatloaf makes my mouth water! We recently had a sub sandwich with avocado on it and it was so yummy. We said that we must add fresh avocado to our menu more often! Thanks to you, I have a new one to try!

The shell hearts are awesome! You should make a necklace out of them…

Ami said...

That is a great rescue of that aloe plant. Having flowers is even an added bonus. I only have one aloe plant in my garden, lots of pups, but never see flowers. Your lily does look like Amaryllis to me. My Epidendrum Orchid has not bloomed yet, and I think probably because it did not get enough sun through the year. I just moved it to a sunny location, and hope it helps.

As always, envy your roses!

shadesofidaho said...

OH Shell hearts are so pretty. As usual your yard makes my heart sing. Snowing really hard here,today.

Was eating my meat loaf sandwich as I was reading your notes today. Will for sure try it your way next time. I always make extra for left over sandwiches.

That is wonderful you have extra days at the shop this week. Hope you have some wonderful sales.

Chris

Amrita said...

Hi Lady,

The meatloaf sounds delicious.

An d Oh my your garden is ravishing, I also have an aloe plant and its doing well.

The heat is coming on, soon the flowers will die.But others will take their place the heat resistant ones.

Kimberly said...

Hey, FL! I've never heard of avacado meatloaf...will give this a shot. Your dinner looks delicious! So do your blooms! My aloe has bloom shoots as well. Your epidendrom is gorgeous and the shell hearts are GORGEOUS...I LOVE THEM!!!!!

Kimberly said...

BTW...I'm loving your header photo!!! Positively stunning!

Susan said...

What a very pretty hibiscus. My plants are just starting to sprout leaves, so it will be awhile before I see any flowers. I love that aloe, and look forward to seeing the yellow blooms. And, like Kimberly...I like your header, too...all that pretty blue glass. Have a great week!

Masha said...

What gorgeous blooms! Your hibiscus is wonderful, and your roses seem to be in full bloom already.
It is a great idea to have hearts made out of shells. They look very pretty.

Karen said...

Your orchids and roses and ALL the flowers are so beautiful. How wonderful the aloe came back to full health in your care. The shell hearts are so gorgeous too, how talented you are.

I hope you have a great week!

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Your meatloaf meal looked so pretty on the plate. Larry doesn't like lima beans, but that made me hungry for some. I do fix things I like sometimes, and something else for him.

I'm glad you got those pretty flowers identified. That aloe is cool! Our son went to Orlando for a Papa John's pizza gathering of some kind. He went with 3 other people, one, who owns several of the franchises in Nebraska. He had a great time. They did not make it to the ocean, but he had fun looking for critters. The first day there, he emailed me to say how cool it was to see different plants growing in the ground that he knows as pot bound houseplants in Nebraska. He especially liked the aloes and agaves.

sweetbay said...

Those hearts are exquisite, and I love those little fiery orange orchids.