Spring is always a delightful time at our home. The tulips that we labored to plant in the fall are popping up all around. And the daffodils are competing for the first bloom!
When we had our ranch (it came with Neal when I married him!), I got this bright idea that we would plant daffodils all over the meadows and as years passed, they would spread and it would be a floral spectacle.
I got my flower catalogs out and proceeded to order hundreds of bulbs. When they arrived, the look on Neal’s face was one of shock and horror. I told him relax….it would only take a little while to plant these!
It was at the moment he informed me that the soil in the meadows was like concrete and it would take a jack-hammer to get a hole large enough!
I began thinking through my self-made dilemma and came up with the brilliant idea that he could get out the tractor with the back-hoe and we would use that. As he rode through the meadows, digging mammoth holes for the bulbs, he constantly reminded me that he had never seen flowers planted with a full-size tractor!
Finally it was over and the hundreds were planted. Mission accomplished. Fast forward to the following spring, it was a beautiful sight. Daffodils were scattered across the fields and I thought—well done! Now mind you, every time a flower catalogue comes in, Neal just rolls his eyes.
We sold the ranch several years ago and every now and then I think about those daffodils. This year I will take a trip out and see if they have multiplied. I just get so excited when flowers start blooming!
I also wanted to share one of my new favorite recipes with you that I love in the spring: Lemon Pound Cake with Limoncello Cream. It is from Southern Lady Cakes & Pies and was developed in our test kitchens here at our office. You will love it!
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 4 teaspoons lemon zest
- 5 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 recipe Limoncello Cream (recipe follows)
- Fresh blueberries
- Fresh strawberries
- Fresh blackberries
- Garnish: lemon zest
- Preheat oven to 300°. Spray a 10-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray; line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine sugar, shortening, butter, and lemon zest; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- In a small bowl, sift together flour and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternately with milk, beating to mix well. Beat in vanilla. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove to wire rack, and cool completely. Spread Limoncello Cream on top of cake. Top with fresh berries. Garnish with lemon zest, if desired.
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup Limoncello
- In a medium bowl, beat cream at high speed with an electric mixer, until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Beat in Limoncello. Cover, and chill until ready to serve.
