BLOOMS

 By the looks of things around my neighborhood, Spring is truly making an effort to arrive.

A couple of ornamental plum trees.

A little closer . . .

And *really* close.

The ornamental pear trees are also blooming.

I'll try to post some pictures of them tomorrow.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Well, what a week it's been, eh?

Rain, sunshine, cool days, warm days.

Springtime in the Rock....well, not quite the Rockies, but fairly close.

Some baking, then a mention of Rumpole brought my housemate to prominence and the adoration came from all over.

So it's been a somewhat satisfying week.

Now let's bring it to a resounding finish with . . . well, you know.

I think I'm beginning to understand why that gang never made it back to Earth.

They weren't *allowed* to return!

Well, since you Gentle Readers are already here, let me teleport you into an excruciatingly wonderful weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

HER ROYAL HIGHNESS

 When I asked SWMBO what she'd thought of my blog post yesterday she had a fitting comment.

And since I *always* let her have the last word . . . here it is.

"And I've got the mug to prove it!"

THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMIN'

 My wife, the all-knowing SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed), keeps telling me "Oh. give it a break, willya, your readers don't need to know about all the food that gets eaten in our house!"

But, although I usually obey her orders, on my food-blogging I tend to go my own way.

However, you can echo her if you like and tell me to stop.

But until you (all) do, here's the latest from the Taylor Family Bakery.

The recipe, from Genevieve Ko in the New York Times, says they're called Chunky Chocolate Cookies and incorporate chocolate chips and mini pretzels into an already rich chocolate dough.

I didn't have any mini pretzels so I chopped up some walnuts and substituted them.

And SWMBO can't keep her hands off of them.

They're rich, they're sweet, they're good.

Now to skew things slightly, I'm not sure I've ever explained where I came up with the name She Who Must Be Obeyed for my lovely wife.

It dates back a number of decades when we became fans of a British television series that was aired on our local PBS station in Arizona.

It was "Rumpole of the Bailey" and it featured the late actor Leo McKern as a blustering British barrister (attorney) named Horace Rumpole.

But at home, he was ruled by his wife, Hilda, played by the late actress Marion Mathie.

When she would get after him about one thing or another, Rumpole would mutter under his breath "She who must be obeyed."

We would both laugh but Judy never suspected that one day in the future I would brand her with that sobriquet.

So now you know where it came from and know also that it's used with loving kindness and a twinkle in my eye.

Sort of like Rumpole.

PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE

 

This is NOT a cow pie!

It's actually a loaf of Brown Irish Soda Bread I made the other day to go with Judy's Corned Beef Hash and Cabbage.

It WAS St. Patrick's Day, you know.

TO THE IRISH EVERYWHERE

 

SPICE BUNDT CAKE

 I tried a new recipe yesterday and it was only a partial success.

It's a Spice Bundt Cake.

I didn't do a good job of preparing my bundt pan so I had a dickens of a time getting it out, even after it was completely cool.

Some of the top and sides came off but the glaze would cover that , right?

Except that I didn't get the glaze thin enough and instead of running artfully down the sides of the cake, it just kind of glopped onto the top.

I took this next picture with the flash on my camera so you could better see the consistency of the interior of the cake.

'Course then you can see the glaze (more like frosting) piled on the top.

As you can see, artful it ain't.

But it tastes pretty darned good, especially this morning after resting and mellowing a bit during the night.

Every time I do something in the kitchen I learn a little bit more.

Now if I can just live to 150!