Feeding asparagus

Today is chillier than the last few days at 39F/4C, but the predicted snow is less than a 30% probability (yay!) and thunderstorms are predicted for the end of the week. It's just one of those cold, windless March days with steely gray skies. Definitely a hot tea and toast day, while wearing a cozy sweater but I'm almost obsessed with making forward project motion daily. So, I try to get at least two necessary but extraneous chores done outside the usual norm of meals & general tidying.

Looking innocent so far...

Those couple of 40lb. sacks of a cow manure/compost mix I purchased this weekend were calling my name so I decided to get outside an spread the sh*t around the asparagus bed. I pulled the leaf and grass clutter back and dumped both bags into the bed. Emma beagle loves to dig in loose dirt, so I laid some protective fencing over the top. Hopefully, she will be digging in other parts of the yard, but precautions are indicated given her previous diggings. See Emma's prior dig here http://dustoffurthinkin.blogspot.com/2013/07/beating-heat.html So far this year, she's completed an exhaustive dig under my ancient lavender bush... I'm hoping she hasn't killed it, because when I finally caught her, the hole beneath the lavender was 2x2 feet and she was yanking some of the roots out with her jaws!

On a different note, I made some delicious ratatouille yesterday from a recipe I found in Molly Wizenberg's book, A Homemade Life. I have been hooked on eggplant for some reason this year and besides thinking they look beautiful, I have been trying to find family palatable recipes. No one here has ever been an eggplant fan given that the vegetable tends to have a funky, sponge texture when we've tried it before but Ms. Wizenberg's recipe advises roasting the olive oil brushed, cut rounds of eggplant in a 400' oven before adding it to the ratatouille. Oh my gosh YUM! She also suggests serving the ratatouille over boiled Yukon Gold Potatoes, which I instead microwaved, cut in half, fork mashed and ladled on a serving of ratatouille. Simply divine! A wonderfully filling vegetarian meal with summer bright flavors, perfect for this gray time of year. You can see Molly Wizenberg's fantastic recipes here http://recipesorangette.blogspot.com/ and follow her blog as well. Tonight we will have leftover ratatouille over potatoes and some grilled sausage. I love leftovers, gives me more time to knit...