Monarchs, Milkweed and Pizza

~ milkweed, food of monarchs ~

When we first moved to the farm, a well meaning neighbor urged us to "git rid o'tha weeds" which, to his way of thinking, was everything other than what could be fed to cattle, horses and other livestock. 

 ~ Bouguereau's L'Innocense ~

We, babes of innocence, obeyed and have rued our decision since! The most commonly accepted definition of a "weed" is, "a plant where you don't want it", so, according to that rather loose definition, a rose could be a weed (and is in our yard!) or burdock could be a weed. According to one source, burdock may be used to treat staph infections, gout, skin ulcerations and so much more. The rose? Well, the rose is pretty, but pretty is as pretty does as the old saying goes (smile).

It's my firmly held position there are no weeds; there are, simply, plants for which we've not yet discovered their use, or, perhaps have lost knowledge of their use.So it is with milkweed, the food of monarchs; The King of Butterflies, the Monarch, adore milkweed and, in fact, it's their only food source. Fortunately, there are many varieties of milkweed and all of them, to my mind, beautiful. Now, we're encouraging milkweed to grow all over the farm and I'm planning a butterfly garden and hope to have humming birds and butterflies from April until Autumn. If you're interested in planting seeds, this site will send you free seeds especially for your area, if you send them an SASE, but they suggest a $3 donation. This site charges and offers many different varieties. I'm not recommending either but am simply letting you know of a couple of places on the web that can help. I'm digging up side of the road milkweed and re-planting on the farm and in the garden for the sheer joy and beauty of Monarch Butterflies. Oh, and the beauty of the milkweed as well; it's not a weed, it's a beautiful, and needed, plant! 

~ pizza makings ~

Do you find meal planning and preparation to, sometimes, be simply w.o.r.k.? I do better when, at the beginning of the week, I plan meals and keep the list handy on the refrigerator. It does make meals simpler, easier, less expensive and, generally, tastier but some weeks I just can't finish all the work and meal planning goes by the wayside. We're getting ready for house guests, arriving tomorrow afternoon, and I've been in a tizzy cleaning the house and all the porches, doing laundry, barn and farm chores and totally forgot to meal plan. Today, at lunch time, I was standing, looking into the refrigerator (and greatly enjoying the coolness!) and waiting for inspiration to light.

~ fresh off the grill ~

Too frequently, so much of what I prepare is based on what's available. Today it was thin, whole grain tortillas spread with some bits of Hunt's diced tomatoes flavored with garlic. A block of cheese of unknown origin was grated over the tortilla, topped off with some Parmesan cheese and then pepperoni laid atop.  To finish, fresh mozzarella balls flavored in oil and with herbs were placed on each pepperoni slice; the pizzas were grilled for maybe 6 or 7 minutes on a low heat. Everything melted perfectly, the tortilla browned just right and the flavors were fabulous! This was so good, I could see making it for our Saturday Dinner and a Movie afternoons. Seriously good eating, as someone said.

I'm playing with The Shabby Cottage again and putting off getting ready for company; it may not be the right thing to do but it sure feels good to take a break! 

Blessings ~ pizza ~ milkweed ~ monarch ~ sunshine ~ clean house ~