Friday, September 22, 2006

Clematis in the Triangle Bed


My, oh my how this bed has grown! From left to right: June 30th, August 30th, and today (September 21).

I love it. My plants are doing a good job covering the ugly vent pipe! The Purple Heart is gorgeous. It does so well in my yard that I'm thinking of using it a few more places in the garden. The Desert Petunia attracts hummingbirds, and I love hummingbirds. I think it has gotten a bit too big for this area. The size was better suited for the bed on Aug 30th. Time for a trim.

And... the clematis!! My first bloom.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Paula Deen's Granite Steps Country Blueberry Coffee Cake


This week on Paula's Home Cooking, Paula Deen made a delicious blueberry coffee cake. My husband adores blueberries, so I thought I'd give the recipe a try. Boy, was it good! This has to be my favorite Paula Deen recipe so far. We ate it for breakfast all week. I tweaked the recipe just a bit to cut down on the butter (a must for most of Paula's recipes).

Country Blueberry Coffee Cake

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (12-ounce) can buttermilk biscuits
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Generously grease a 9-inch square baking dish. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon and mix well with a fork. Separate biscuit dough into 10 biscuits. Cut each biscuit into quarters, and dip each piece in melted butter and coat with brown sugar mixture. Arrange in a single layer in baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the oats. Combine blueberries and sugar in a bowl and toss to coat. Spoon over oats and biscuits and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup oats. Bake for 20 minutes or until cake is golden brown and center is done. Cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm.