Some Blessings To Cheer Me

A couple years ago my husband Harold bought me a tea rose bush for an Easter present.  It has taken a while to get going, and I haven't done much to care for the poor plant other than water it and do some occasional weeding.  One year, the mice almost ate the plant during the harsh winter.  We also never mulched it this winter.  But this year - oh my!  The tea rose bush has just burst into colorful roses!  There are almost 20 beautiful rose blossoms on the plant!  It has also doubled in size.  I picked a nice little branch and put it in a bud vase on my kitchen window sill to enjoy.   It smells wonderful and certainly cheers me up just to look at it.

A lovely bunch of tea roses in the kitchen

We are also beginning to harvest many fresh veggies from the garden and greenhouse.  Today as a vegetable for our lunch, we will have fresh carrots and snow peas.

Fresh veggies for our lunch today!

And here is my favorite way to prepare carrots and snow peas - a wonderful combination!  Here at Honey B Farm, we certainly have plenty of honey to cook with!

HONEY GLAZED SNOW PEAS AND CARROTS

2 c. sliced carrots 

1/2 lb snow peas, trimmed of stem ends

3 T. butter 

1/2 tsp. cornstarch

2 T. honey

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil.   Add carrots and cook until tender crisp, 10-12 min.   Add snow peas and cook a few minutes more until tender crisp.  Drain and set aside.  Melt butter in the same pan and stir in the cornstarch.  Stir in the honey.  Return veggies to the pan and heat and stir until glazed and hot.    Wonderful!!  

Note:  this recipe does not work very well with frozen veggies - use fresh. 

Next week we should have new potatoes from the garden, and also raspberries!  I have tried for many years to get a good raspberry patch going.  It seems like either the bugs or the bears eat all the fruit.  But this year the raspberries seem to be especially abundant!  I am hoping nothing destroys them between now and next week because I DO love fresh raspberries!  I have fond memories of my sister and I picking raspberries with my grandfather at his place in northern Indiana.   My sister and I still love to pick and eat raspberries!

During these difficult and sometimes depressing times we are currently living in, it is so nice to have fresh flowers and vegetables and fruit to enjoy.   It is the little things in life that can add so much joy!