Spring?

"Why is it still so cold around here?!"  

It's a complaint that has become a conversation starter in Chicago....  

"Can you believe it's still 15 degrees below normal?!"  

I have lived here long enough to know 

that it doesn't really warm up until mid June 

and some years it stays cool all summer, too.  

It's really a rude characteristic of the Upper Midwest.....  

I am so longing to get outside and try to breathe life 

into the Beirut that is my yard... 

Two years of harsh construction erased years of careful cultivation... 

Piles of gravel, rusty nails and bits of wood 

replaced the clouds of impatiens, 

hydrangea bushes and bursts of petunias...  

My rutted yard has more hills than the Mississippi River Valley 

and Death Valley has more grass... 

I wanna get out there with rakes, rototillers, shovels and compost, but it's either cold or raining... 

So, to curb my gardenly cravings, I have set up Operation Green Thumb in the kitchen.  

Armed with seed starters, water and lots of hope, Kate and I planted radishes, carrots, broccoli, nasturtiums, echinacea, cosmos, thyme, Italian parsley, oregano and basil.  

They are spindly little adolescents now, but here's hoping by mid May, they will be ready to hit the dirt.  

Meanwhile, I am still cooking winter food... 

Dinner was meatloaf, mashed spuds, corn on the cob and carrots...  

Paul Deen makes a mean meatloaf, and here is her recipe:  

Old-Fashioned Meat Loaf- A.K.A 'Basic' Meat Loaf

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 8 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juice
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

Topping:

• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon prepared mustard

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix all meatloaf ingredients well and place in a baking dish. Shape into a loaf.

Topping:

Mix ingredients for topping and spread on loaf. Bake for 1 hour.