Daylily Season and Recipes

 The Daylily season is upon us. They provide lots of bang for the buck and are quite dependable up here. I have heard that in some mid-Atlantic states they are considered invasive! Count our lucky stars that they are well behaved stalwarts up here.

There were several lilies on this property when I moved in. Some of them are scented and produce the most heady and chic parfum for the yard. It smells like a high-end counter at some posh department store when I stroll down the alley towards the car in the early evening, when the scent is most pronounced.

I have also planted several hybrids since moving here. A good handful of them are my own creation, so to speak, in a vicarious way. I hand pollinated a plant several years ago and several offspring was the result.

The old Clematis has also blossomed in the past week and the Hollyhocks have started their show as well.

I'm trying to decide whether I should enclose the above area with a picket fence to make it look really cottage-y. I'm rather fond of the idea; it would surround the beds which contain vegetables in addition to some perennial flowers. The only hurdle I have to clear in my mind is whether or not it would chop up the space too much. I'm trying to visualize.

I binged watched this video the other night and it was, despite the difficult subject, very inspiring. Well worth the watch. I don't want to be pessimistic, but it can't hurt to have some fore sight if the world suddenly decides to turn upside down. Everything seems so unstable at the moment. You'll have to click where it says, "Watch on Youtube" because the owner of the video has not allowed remote viewing. The video is "The Wartime Kitchen and Garden"; really interesting and honestly, quite inspiring.

This Sangria recipe is quite good. Worth keeping around...

1/2 bottle of red wine (I use Cabernet Sauvignon)

1/2 cup sugar (next time I will reduce this to 1/3 cup and see how that is)

1/2 cup brandy

1 lemon, sliced

1 orange, sliced

Club soda

I make it by mixing everything together except the club soda and leaving it in the fridge. When I want a glass, I fill my glass half full with the wine then top it off to full with Club soda, a 50/50 ratio, but of course, you can adjust the proportions to suit your taste.

I made Grilled Polynesian Shrimp for dinner this evening and it was absolutely delicious. I left out the Papaya because I was cooking for myself only and didn't want to buy such a large fruit and not use it all. But I have a mind now to hold a dinner party for the neighbors and I'll make this, with the Papaya. Honestly, it was so good without it, I can hardly imagine how much better it will be when included. I found an old game of Password (based on the '60s television show) at the thrift shop a few months ago, it will be fun to host dinner and an evening of Password.

The recipe comes from a book entitled, "Cooking At The Academy" (1991) (The California Cooking Academy) which was apparently based on a PBS series. I never saw it.

Grilled Polynesian Shrimp with Fruit Kebabs

Skewers

20 large shrimp (for 4 servings)

1 medium Papaya

For the Marinade:

1 small pineapple
1 large green bell pepper
1/2 small onion, peeled
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons tomato sauce*

The book suggests serving with cellophane noodles, but I went for rice.

Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving tail (I used frozen and this was already done.)

For the marinade, cut the pineapple into chunks and put half of them in a food processor, set the other half aside. Cut the green pepper into chunks and put half of them in the food processor with the pineapple and set the other half aside. Chop the onion into chunks and add to the food processor. Process for 1 minute until coarsely chopped but not completely liquified.

Mix the vinegar, brown sugar, and tomato sauce*, add the pureed fruit/veg and blend well. Marinade the shrimp for no more than 1 hour.

Thread the shrimp on skewers. (You can also thread the shrimp before marinadeing.) Thread the reserved pineapple chunks, papaya, and pepper onto separate skewers.

Grill or broil the shrimp for 3-4 minutes. Turn the shrimp and add the fruit kebabs to the grill (or broiler) and cook everything another 3-4 minutes. (I removed the shrimp at this point but left the fruit kebabs under the broiler a while longer so they grilled well.)

* I didn't want to open a whole can of tomato sauce just for 2 tablespoons so I used ketchup. It worked.

A small bouquet of flowers from the garden last month: