Thursday, July 23, 2009

Boursin, Boating and Best Buddies

Ahhh...summer. I love it...but there are days when I wish I could hit the "pause" button. The garden is growing like crazy, I made a few batches of raspberry jam, the peas are about done for...pretty soon we should have beans coming out of our ears.
There is more than enough work here on the farm to keep me busy every day, oh yeah...and then there is that j.o.b.! Hokey pokeys kids my head's a-spinnin!
Lest you think it's all work and no play around here I must confess that I had an incredible 7 hour lunch with dear old friends on Monday aboard my friend Sheryl's boat. We didn't go anywhere, which was just fine with the girls.
Tami
posted this week all about the day so if you want to see a few more fun pics pop on on over to visit her... but right now I think I had better get this recipe posted..pronto!

Tami and I...at the end of a really fun day.

Now for the recipe that I promised Tam I would post...

For my contribution to the luncheon I made a trio of spreads, a Boursin...a Shrimp Paste/Pate, and Red Onion Marmalade.
I really like the Boursin that you can get in the cheese section of the grocery store, although it's rather expensive. This tastes almost exactly the same and I think I prefer the consistency of this one.
This one's for you Tam!

Boursin Cheese Spread

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon pressed garlic
1/4 teaspoon dried dillweed
1/8 teaspoon thyme
Cracked black pepper

Whip the cream cheese and the butter with an electric mixer until it's fluffy, add the remaining ingredients and whip until blended. Chill, covered, until ready to use.
I made it the night before to give the flavors a chance to blend. I served it with rice crackers and a loaf of crusty garlic sourdough bread.
Yum.




Monday, July 13, 2009

Berry Breath

The mystery has been solved.
There isn't a fence around the garden so we have to share.
The bunnies got all the basil...I was cranky but got over it.
I've been stalking slugs so that they don't cut down my beans again, I had to replant because of those slimy creatures.
The raspberries aren't netted so we lose quite a few of them to birds, but birds don't usually go for berries at the lower end of the bush...we just couldn't figure it out.
Bunnies?
Raccoons?
Possums?
Possibly.
But then we caught this little dear out in the raspberries, snacking away.
Yup...my sweet little Bergie has berry breath, guess I should offer her a bowl and some ice cream.