A little of everything twice

Since I won't be here tomorrow to do What's in that...Friday, I thought I'd shock myself and do it now instead. But for once, let's do things in order...get up off the floor...yes, an early post and in order. Some days are like that, yes they are.

The early morning was beautiful...a shift in the seasonal parade. Coolish but not cold, not much of a sunrise but some nice sun. It seems like the little bit of rain we've had just set something off in the gardens - I think some plants grew about 3 inches overnight. Some sort of glory. Usually spring here is not quite Spring but sort of a Fall/Spring. But as I walked around and looked closely, it reminded me of Spring in America that I'd seen a long time ago. I don't know what that means but it is certainly a gently gorgeous way to begin the day.

This is one of my brother's mystery plants...do you know what it is?

Chives & tarragon &...other stuff

Aji caballero - there are some great stories about this pepper but it is basically known as the hot hot hot pepper of Puerto Rico. Rather than growing downward, as most peppers do, it stands upright...you figure it out. There is a site I love that I found when I moved here. This guy is so nice and helpful. If you want to grow some of your own Puerto Rican type plants, click on the link.

Someone gave me this a couple of years ago and it just sort of kept living. Then I moved it and it tossed out all of these curly things. It's another mystery plant. I feel awful that I can't remember who gave it to me. Did you? And do you remember what it is?

This poor mint has been through hell. I stole the clipping from Stephanie and Evan and it flourished for awhile. Then it almost all died. Then it just sort of kept trying. Finally it found a happy place in the yard and it's going crazy. Yes, Ann, you may have some more for mojitos.

So you get the mood. I was garden happy. I was water & sky beauty happy. It was going to carry over into the day. I was happy, ok?

I wore some really BRIGHT and silly clothing (following the happy theme), for one particular reason. We've all been a little stressed because of all the construction going on. The noise, the dirt, the lost business. Just the noise alone is enough to keep a body rattled long beyond acceptable limits. So I thought I'd be a bit of a distraction to myself and maybe some others. Not even close. I got out of the car I'd gotten a ride in and was told to go to my cart immediately. Zip detour from my intended destionation, the Post Office, but it was walk don't run. Inside I was running but I figured if something bad was going on it had either already happened or I'd deal with it when I got there in two minutes. This is what I saw.

Poor umbrella stand getting mooshed...it was rescued later by one of the guys

Yikes! T's truck is awfully darn close to the hole! After numerous phone calls, we got the keys and the truck got moved. Twice.

Glad the people who own this home weren't on island...it might have been louder than the machines...and fun to watch!

Houston, we have a problem. Yep...there's a leak. Yep, we just made it. Hmmm. I've never seen a guy jump backward out of a hole this deep in one jump except on television where they run the film backward...well, I'd never seen it until today.

Nice pile of dirt here...is it lunch time yet?

After about two hours of hither to and fro finding out phone numbers and getting call backs and moving the truck, I figured I was done. It was absolutely time for a Bloody Mary. I was explaining to Bob that here I'd come in in these *fun* clothes and then I was ticked off and who is going to take someone dressed like a clown seriously? NO ONE!!! I tried the mind thing of "I'm dressed in a suit, respond accordingly!" but it wasn't happening. So I tried to pass out banana chocolate chip muffins. No takers but it did start the conversation...

(Just so you don't think I'm TOTALLY all about me, the other construction is going on in the very center of town affecting many, and down by the public dock where a car was smashed by a big machine... Everyone has their stories; this is just mine)

Somehow I kept busy until mid-afternoon and then all the zing ran out. It was time to go home and make my planned upon soup. Tomorrow being Friday, it's also veggie man day. But I won't be here as I'm heading out on the ferry dawn thirty and won't be back until Saturday morning. And that's not a bad thing. I still had leftover veg from LAST Friday! So soup was on the agenda.

This is what I made...and you can make it too. It's simple, it's delicious, it's inexpensive and it's healthy. Go for it.

MJ's Cauliflower/Leek/Potato/Chicken soup

1 medium sized head of cauliflower (mine was HUGE, but I'd only eaten from huge to medium)
2 good sized red potatoes
3 leeks, white parts and only a little bit of the green (split not quite all the way through and rinse well - leeks like to hide dirt just like fresh spinach)
1 1/2 cups chicken breast (optional - I had two leftover grilled chicken breasts and it seemed like the right thing to do)
2 shallots - I love the veggie man!!
2 T. Butter
6 cups water
1 cup milk/cream/half & half
One hot pepper or pinch of dried pepper or dash of hot pepper sauce
Dash of cumin
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Make all ingrediants into bite sized pieces - I'd say cut but cauliflower can be pulled apart into florets pretty easily and they look better that way. Potatoes well scrubbed do not need to be peeled, in my opinion (my Daddy said so, it's the law. I'm conditioned). I'm a non- peeler, do as you like.

Put all ingrediants except milk, salt, and pepper into a good sized pot. Bring to a boil, lower to simmer, cover and cook until cauliflower is almost tender (remember: food continues to cook after you turn off the heat). Add milk. Put 3/4 of mixture through the blender (a little at a time, mind you!) until liquified. Pour back into pot and stir to blend. Salt & pepper to taste. I had fresh chives and tarragon so I tossed that on top (that sounds so Martha Stewarty, but it's true, I DO have those. And trust me, if I can have them, so can you. Container, dirt, seeds, water. Do it) The bit of green from the leeks give this soup a really delicate green color so it looks like a much lighter soup rather than the fairly hearty soup that it actually is. Tomorrow night I'll find out how it is cold.