It's been a while since I have posted in this site, although it seems like it was yesterday when I was writing here about having taken a break, etc. I am glad now that I did take a break then because the second half of May was quite a busy time for me. Which I am glad about, I do not like to complain.
The second half of May arrived with some unexpected surprises. First of all a very old and not to special cacti plant in the garden started to grow three flower buds. It was amazing to see how quickly and big they grew in just a week and a half and of course I was very curious to see the type of flowers that were going to open up. The first one did in a very chilly evening, it was beautiful and when the next morning I went out to the garden to see it close it was already dead, this was dissapointing. Then a few days later the same happened to bud number two. By the third one I realized that these little miracles had only a few hours of life during the night. So this time, when it started to open up in the evening I waited until really dark and went out with my camera (just in case I need to wait for 8 more years to see this cacti bloom again) and click! (picture above) I captured the third and last flower at full bloom. Isn't this amazing? It was so beautiful and yes, such beauty faded quickly at dusk. This reminded me that many beautiful things in life last for brief periods.......I have one question though, how come a mexican cacti that is under the sun 24/ 7 blooms when there is no light what so ever?
So then came the next surprise: the weather changed drastically. After enjoying (and not so much anymore) really hot days, Mexico City became a very gray city. It has not stopped raining for the past two weeks, from morning to evening and so I started getting cold. I thought I needed asap something to carry on in case of another change of weather. I found at a webpage what seemed to be a very easy and fast shawl project. Because it was my first shawl I thought of giving it a try.
I named it "Tiger's Eye Shawl" and here is a picture of it:
The next surprise is that whilst knitting it, it became huge. This does not bother me because it is quite snug and comfy, it can be used also like a blanket, but it is not anymore something you can put inside your bag. Ooops!
Check out it's size, I love the color too.............the grass is huge thanks to the rain!
And then the last unexpected surprise: My annual flu, and I call it "annual" because I never get sick but when I do it is a nightmare. I am almost out of it but what a pain. Of course this was bound to happen because some stores have yet not realized that there is pouring rain out on the streets instead of scorching sun so they have not changed the air conditioning inside.
The good part of it is that when you ask yourself "What to do when in bed with a flu?" the answer comes right away: KNIT! so yes, because I was cold I tossed away my summer knitting and decided to knit myself a cap. This one, by the way, will be a perfect thing to carry on in case I feel to cold in a store. By the way, have you noticed how ridiculously cold some stores, particularly grocery stores can get? I mean, is anybody here worried about global warming?
My "Wavy Cap", knitted in "spring":
And that one was my last surprise, what comes next is me posting another recipe for you guys. It is easy, fast, includes easy to find ingredients and if you like spinach then I hope you like it:
"Spinach and Cheese Puff" /Food Everyday Magazine
Serves 8 / Prep Time: 10 mins / Total time: 40 mins.
Ingredients:
-butter, for baking dish.
- 3 packages (10 ounces each) of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry or 6 1/2 cups of washed fresh chopped and squeezed dry spinach.
- 1 1/2 cups of half and half cream.
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten.
- 1 1/2 cups coarsley Gruyere cheese (6 ounces) or your favorite melting cheese.
- coarse salt and ground pepper.
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg.
1.- Preheat oven to 350 oF, Butter a shallow 1-quart baking dish.
2.- In a large bowl, combine spinach, cream, eggs, 1 cup Gruyere, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1/8 teaspoons of pepper, nutmeg; stir to combine. Spread evenly in prepared baking dish, and top with remaining 1/2 cup Gruyere. Bake until set and top is golden brown, 30 to 35 mins.
Enjoy and see you soon!
