Lima bean dip. Lima What?! Yeah I know, sounds crazy but I just ate it and it was pretty good.

 Cook Lima beans in 1/2 cup of water for 10 minutes. Cool then blend with enough water to not get stuck in the blender. If a few aren't totally blended no big deal. season with salt,  pepper, garlic powder, to taste.

  Drain can of diced tomatoes with green chilies.

 Spread a layer of Lima bean paste in a glass dish.

layer the yogurt,

   tomatoes,

  parsley,

   and cheese.

 Top with a little more parsley.

Time to see if it's ok.

It looks good,

Oh it looks real good, of course I like any excuse to eat corn chips.

Yeah I like it and I'll just have one more...

I have no idea how THAT happened! I ate a lot of the edge doesn't that count for something?

I might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb. I'll have another.

Sharing the love one lima bean at a time,
Goodnight

Lima Bean dip
Ingredients

• 12 oz frozen baby lima beans
• 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 3/4 cup plain whole milk greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
•   4 oz shredded cheese

Cook lima beans in 1/2 cup of water for 10 minutes. cool then blend with enough water to not get stuck in the blender. season with salt,  pepper, garlic powder, to taste.
Drain can of diced tomatoes with green chilies.
Spread a layer of lima bean paste in a glass dish.  layer the yogurt, tomatoes, parsley, and cheese. Then top with a little more parsley.
Serve with blue corn chips

  Red buds are what I remember most about moving to Tennessee.  


They are planted in gardens, lawns and landscapes.

  And they grow wild along the edges of the road.


The flowers are pollinated by long-tongued bees such as blueberry bees and carpenter bees.
 I'm happy to know that carpenter bees are good for something other than drilling holes in the side of the house when I didn't ask them to!

Nobody cooks anything until I get my camera!  

As promised, here are the strawberry mini cakes.

 Butter cupcake tins and sprinkle in about a teaspoon of brown sugar.

 Place a few strawberry slices in the bottom of each muffin cup.

Like that

Cream butter and sugar, then add eggs, vanilla and milk.

Then add the flour

 and baking soda. I know, you like my teaspoon it's easy to find I don't have to look for it.  Mix well.

 Divide batter equally between cupcake wells.

 Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center is clean.  Peak in the oven part way through and admire them.

 Let cool for 5 minutes or so.

Cut the rounded tops off the cakes so each cake can sit flat. Then offer those tops to the peasants.

Dig them out and carefully replace any strawberries that didn’t stick to the cakes.

While cakes are baking, cook the reserved berries and brown sugar over medium-low heat, until thick and jam-like.

Add a spoonful of the cooked berries to the top of each cake and serve.


Strawberry Upside-Down Cakes
adapted from stetted.com
makes 20 mini cakes

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
•  ¾ cups raw sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1-2 cups strawberries, sliced vertically

Preheat oven to 350. Grease cupcake tins. Sprinkle a teaspoon of brown sugar into the bottom of each cup, then arrange 4-5 strawberry slices on top. Reserve extra berries and sugar.
In a large bowl, cream butter and raw sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add milk and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking powder, and salt.

Divide batter equally between cupcake wells. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center is clean. Cool for 5-10 minutes, then invert onto a cookie sheet. Carefully replace any strawberries that didn’t stick to the cakes.
While cakes are baking, cook the reserved berries and brown sugar over medium-low heat, until thick and jam-like.
Cut the rounded tops off the cakes so each cake can sit flat. Add a spoonful of the cooked berries to the top of each cake and serve.

The weeping cherry tree is so pretty.

It's blooming in my neighbor's yard.

I want a tree like that but for now I'll enjoy looking at it.

 Asparagus with lemon and fresh parsley sauce.
Adapted from a recipe I saw in a reader's digest cookbook. Their photo looked good.

 There's is plenty of fresh parsley in the garden right now.

I think this is all I need to get started. 

 Anchovies?! Is that what they look like? No, I have never opened a can of anchovies before. They smell kinda fishy too.
Excuse me, while I fish (no pun intended)  6 of the 8 anchovies back out of the blender. I forgot it was only 2 and dumped the whole can in. Reading directions is over rated.

 What ARE capers? I thought that was something Jack and Jill did after he fell down the hill.these pickled things look sorta like pickled peas or something.

 anyway put in the chicken stock, parsley and lemon juice.

 Blend for about 1 minute.

Add olive oil and blend 30 seconds more. 

 Cook asparagus

 Spread out to dry and cool.

Pour the bright green sauce over the asparagus. 

 Maybe you'll make less of a mess than I did when I "tossed" the asparagus in the sauce.

 I had my doubts about making something with ingredients I'd never eaten before. It was really a very strong parsley flavor and I liked it.

 Asparagus with Lemon parsley sauce

• 1/3 cup minced parsley
• 2 canned anchovies
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons Chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound asparagus trimmed

in a blender, blend the parsley, anchovies, lemon juice, stock, and capers for about 1 minute or until pureed. Add the oil and blend 30 seconds longer. Set aside

Cook asparagus until crisp-tender. Let cool and dry. Transfer to serving dish, toss with parsley dressing and let marinate for 1-2 hours.