Fresh Kale Pear Simple Salad

I have a few kale recipes saved up to share, but had quite a bit going on to prevent their being posted. Here is the most recent from a couple days ago. I found that the kale I planted in the fall (yes, the fall!) finally did something. I harvested leaves and got about 3/4 cup.

Build salad as follows:

3/4 cup Kale, ripped into bite size pieces

1 roma tomato, seeded and chopped up, sprinkle the pieces on the kale bed

1 red pear, cored, chopped up. Place the pieces on top of the kale and tomato

1-2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil dressing (Safeway Select)

2 tsp of toasted sesame seeds on top

Rated a 4.5 on the kale scale.

Finally, Roses!

This spring has been hard on the roses all over. This week is the first appearance my roses - usually they are all a blossom around Mother's Day. So this is a month late!

Today, a bit of rain. Topped out at 60 F.

Newport Tulips

I bought some special bulbs in September when we went camping at Beverly Beach, and came upon the Newport Farmer's Market. The local gardening group had a special sale on various tulip and daffodil bulbs. I bought these, but don't remember their name.

Winter Survivors

It's spring. Really. The weather has been wet, cold, and at long last a day of sunshine. In the dead of winter, I was tempted to clean out the pots. But, thought maybe something would pull through. These winter survivors have been struggling to blossom, and once they do, slugs devour them. At long last, I think they are making headway.

Tulips

Tulips have been around for about 3 weeks now. They've had a tough start with all the rain and cold. They are looking kind of ragged. But they like it when the sun shines.

Some of them have "fat lips" - they curl funny.

Weather yesterday was upper 60s for the first time this year. Today mid-50s and showery again.

A moment of sunshine between the April showers.

Before

It's getting about time to pick up some plants at garden centers and begin the process of developing 2011 container garden. So, I thought I'd show what "before" looks like. Pretty rough, end of winter, rain continues to get in the way. Today, more rain, and about 55 F.

Here are some of the daffodils that have finally appeared.