Friday this and that . . .

There's a banner of green in the hedgerow now,
There's a flicker of Spring in the air;
There's a chatter of birds in the tree-top bough,
And the earth's waking up everywhere!
There's a smile in the sky, as a puffball cloud
Sails by on it's platter of blue . . .
There's a promise of hope, in the green shoots proud,
And there's Spring, in the first morning dew.
~Elizabeth Gozney

Spring, spring, spring! I know now why Todd loves Spring most of all. Over in Canada, Spring is quite different. There is usually still a ton of snow on the ground when it arrives . . . all dirty and yukky, and the ground gets so muddy. Here it's a quite different feeling, and I quite like it myself.



When I was a child at school, these few weeks before the official arrival of spring we would be busy colouring in pictures of frolicking sheep and daffodils to decorate the classroom walls, even though it would be weeks and weeks before we saw the daffodils and we never saw the sheep at all . . . unless you were lucky enough to live on or near a sheep farm! Here in the UK, already now, all the verges and traffic circles are filling up with blooming daffs and I can well imagine that up near Ullswater in the Lake District it is a riot of yellow bobbing blooms . . . that is where Wordsworth penned his famous poem about Daffodils . . .



I got a lovely package in the post a few days ago. My friend Cyndy told me that she had picked me up something yonks ago that reminded her of me and she had popped it into the post. Inside I found this lovely Kitchen Angel. I think it's just beautiful and not the least because it came from a friend! That makes it even more so!

And just what would spring be without a few sniffles? Well, I even have those! Not that I am rejoicing in them . . . I'm just sayin, is all . . . my own fault really. I went to the chapel one night last week for the second part of my Temple Recommend interview and the fella who interviewed me was coughing and sneezing, and told me he was just getting over a really bad cold. I had the distinct feeling as we shook hands at the end of it that I needed to go wash my hands right away . . . I didn't . . . so now I have the sniffles. C'est la vie!



Now that I have a grand daughter I have the opportunity to make a special doll and I think I will start one soon. This one will be the most special of all as it will be going to family. I also have a few sock monkey's to make. There is such a special feeling involved when you are creating something for a grandchild I think . . . my friend Lura, has created beautiful dresses for all of her grand daughters for their Baptism's, wonderful labours of love. I won't be able to do that, but I can certainly create for each of my much loved grandchildren something quite unique for only them . . . a special legacy as it were, tangible and huggable too!



Something else that arrived in the post this week. This adorable little puppy that I bought from an Esty seller, SendSunshine. She needlefelts the most beautiful little animals. Isn't this adorable. I feel a story coming on! All of her creations are so sweet and adorable. There's just so many talented people out in this world. We all have special and unique talents you know. They might not always be as obvious as this, but they are there all the same!

Well, I am just beginning to prattle now so I'll end this with the recipe that I have for you today. Delicious Panini sandwiches for your lunch today! Mmm . . . mmm . . . good!!



*Bacon and Mozarella Panini*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

I suppose you could skip the faff of baking the dough, and cutting it into squares and just make this into a pizza by plunking all the filling ingredients on top of the crust and baking it like a pizza, but really . . . do take the effort to make the sandwiches. They are oh-so-scrummy!

a refrigerated pizza crust dough
4 tsp basil pesto
1/4 cup Caesar salad dressing
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, drained and
cut into 8 slices, or 8 slices of regular mozzarella cheese
freshly groudn black pepper
12 slices of cooked smoked streaky bacon
2 ripe plum tomatoes
8 large fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup of butter

Preheat oven to 190*C/375*F. Spray large cookie sheet with oil or cooking spray. Unroll the pizza crust dough onto cookie sheet, pressingg the dough into a 16x11-inch rectangle, pulling gently if necessary. Bake 9 to 16 minutes or until light brown. Cool about 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle.


Cut the cooled pizza crust in half lengthwise and crosswise to make 4 rectangles. Remove rectangles from cookie sheet, cutting each rectangle in half crosswise for a total of 8 squares.

On each of 4 crust squares, spread 1 teaspoon pesto and then set aside. On each of remaining 4 squares, spread 1 tablespoon Caesar dressing. Place 2 cheese slices on each, on top of the Caesar dressing. Top the cheese with a grating of pepper, 3 bacon slices, 2 tomato slices and 2 basil leaves. Top with remaining crust slices, pesto side down.

Heat 12-inch skillet over medium heat until hot. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in skillet. When the butter is foaming place 2 sandwiches in skillet. Place smaller skillet or saucepan on sandwiches to flatten slightly. Keep the weight on the sandwiches while cooking. Cook about 2 minutes on each side, or until the sandwiches are golden brown and crisp, and fillings are heated. Remove from skillet and cover with foil to keep warm while you make the remaining two sandwiches. Repeat using the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and sandwiches. Serve immediately.



Over in The English Kitchen today there's Clean Out The Fridge Soup!