Amy's Place ... Poetry and Potpourri ... April, 2008

JustAmy; St.Louie1; MamaBear; Billie

[Cardhu]

[JustAmy]

"he has become the quintessential American traitor, after Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Arthur Sulzberger. Hence, we celebrate Legs Benedict Day."

LOLOL ..... Thank you for the history lesson, OESY.

Thank you for bringing us the American Traitor list.
Did you forget Murtha and Kerry? :^ )

[JustAmy]

LOL ..... Thanks, LadyJ.

[JustAmy]

"And that’s how all the kids and teachers wound up in detention."

LOL

Great poem and accompaning pictures.

[OESY]

I’m down to 7, JustPoco. LOL!

[OESY]

I’m beginning to see a pattern.

[JustAmy]

Let me try again. : )

April is National Garden Month!

Happy Gardening.

[JustAmy]

I never had to restrain a dog or cat but I was told not to let kittens jump for 7 - 10 days.

Seems the dogs did not feel like being very active for a few days.

It has been a while since I went thru this with a dog.

[OESY]

Nobody doesn't like tomatoes.

Tomato, Tomato, burning bright,
In my garden of the night;
What horrid squirrel or skunk
Is nibbling out little chunks?

-- Bill Blake

.

[Lady Jag]

Now that I'm covered with tomatoes I'm going hunting for skunks!

[Cardhu]

Goodnight everyone I will see you all on Saturday.

[JustAmy]

Pictures are lousy but here is one of our Finch families.
Mama resting while Papa feed the babies.



More! More! More!

Happy Wednesday!

[JustAmy]

Have a great time, Cardhu.

See you Saturday.

[JustAmy]

I’m off again ....... Time to get Marissa and head to the park for an hour or so.

See you when I get back.

Have a Happy Eggs Benedict Day!

Enjoy Garden Month.

I’m celebrating Wilbur Wright’s Birthday by taking flight. : )

[GodBlessUSA]

Hi Amy
This is fantastic to have them nesting in view like this for you to see and you got pictures of them! I saw a couple House Finches taking nesting material a few days ago. We call them the Bickerson’s because they are so chatty and always seem to be arguing about something. LOL Thanks for sharing these pictures with me. :)

[La Enchiladita]

Amy, is this in honor of the Pope’s visit to America...lol?
Yum, I love Eggs Benedict but Eggs Florentine even more!!

[MeekOneGOP]

LOLOL!

Daz right!

Born in ‘54, I AM 54 today.

And the Pope turned 81 (??) today I heard this morning. :)

It was a LOVELY (but WINDY) day for a b’day.

[MeekOneGOP]

Oh, thank you so much!

And all my good friends in that photo, too!

I love the canine critters, they are always so happy. :)

As Jack Benny used to say, I am “39” today! :^D

[JustAmy]

EGGS FLORENTINE

8 thin bacon rashers
20g butter
2 bunches English spinach, trimmed, washed, dried
Dash of white vinegar
4 fresh eggs, at room temperature
4 slices ciabatta, sourdough or English muffins, toasted

Hollandaise sauce:
1/4 cup (60ml) white wine vinegar
6 black peppercorns
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 egg yolks
200g unsalted butter, melted 2 tsp lemon juice

To make the hollandaise sauce, combine the vinegar, peppercorns and shallot in a small saucepan over low heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 3-5 minutes or until mixture reduces to 2 tsp. Remove from heat and strain through a fine sieve.

Place the vinegar reduction and egg yolks in a medium heatproof bowl over a saucepan that is half-filled with simmering water. Use a balloon whisk to whisk, while very gradually adding the melted butter in a thin, steady stream. Whisk until thick and creamy. Remove from heat. Season to taste with salt and ground white pepper. Add the lemon juice and stir to combine. Cover with foil and set aside.

Heat a large frying pan over high heat. Add the bacon rashers and cook for 2 minutes each side or until crisp. Transfer to a plate. Melt the butter in the pan until foaming. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until spinach wilts. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add vinegar to a deep frying pan filled with water and bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and bring to a gentle simmer. Crack 1 egg into a small cup. Use a large spoon to stir the water to create a whirlpool. Gently slide the egg into the water and poach for 1-2 minutes for a soft egg, or until cooked to your liking. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate. Cover loosely with aluminium foil to keep warm and repeat with the remaining eggs.

Place the toast on the serving plates. Spoon the spinach and bacon over the toast slices. Top with the poached eggs and drizzle with hollandaise sauce. Season with freshly ground black pepper and serve immediately.

Tip: Adding vinegar to the cooking water when you are poaching eggs will immediately set the eggwhite as it cooks, giving the final poached egg a better shape.

[JustAmy]

* Grin *

Happy 39th.