Enjoy the Outdoors this Summer! Check out my nature photos taken yesterday in the NJ Pinelands #Happy4th @ConserveNJ

Enjoy the Outdoors!
 

Another great weekend to explore South Jersey and take a walk in the NJ Pinelands. And, as always we took our cameras.

Our happy place is Franklin Parker Preserve with its pristine wetlands. Below are a few of my photos taken on our walk yesterday. Harry took some photos too. He may post some of his on Fine Art America. 

Take a look; the clouds really add to the photos; what do you think? There was a lot of bird activity too, especially in the wetland grasses; even baby birds being fed.

As the sky was darkening, we made our way back to the car before another round of much needed rain.

Franklin Parker Preserve Wetlands - by Diana Wind

Preservation Mirror - by Diana Wind

Wetlands Wonder - by Diana Wind

Free as a Bird - by Diana Wind

That's all for now. Stay well. Enjoy the holiday!

Happy Fourth of July!

ps: Also, just fyi, the email blog post service will be stopping soon from Blogger. I'm not sure what other service to switch over to. Any ideas, please let me know. In the meantime, to read future posts, you may have to log on.Thanks for reading! -DW

Related Links

Franklin Parker Preserve

Photos and blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Happy Fourth of July! #GardenCuizine #IndependenceDay #July4th #4thofJuly #loveforall

Happy July 4th!

Harry got his work out this morning pushing Mom in her wheelchair to Moorestown NJ's Fourth of July Parade. She wore my wide brim blueberry festival garden hat, which worked well to keep the bright sun off her eyes.

The warm breeze felt good as we walked along the uneven brick walkway. We left the car parked on the outskirts of Main Street and walked past Trinity Episcopal Church to the parade route. We admired a few lovely gardens along the way on Main Street.

We didn't see anyone else in a wheelchair, but saw lots of baby strollers and wagons to pull small children. Many families dressed up in red, white and blue! The Muslims for Peace group got warm rounds of applause as they marched by holding a banner "love for all - hatred for none."

For those of you reading this who are worried about Mom, she is doing well since her surprising breast cancer diagnosis at age 86. She can walk without a wheelchair, but we would still be walking if we didn't use it today!

We had a good time. Hope you are enjoying your Independence Day too. Click here for a link to view more photos. Check back - I will be adding to the collection all week.

Happy July 4th!

Blog post and photos Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

@Moorestown4th of July Parade 2015 ★ Independence Day Family Fun! @MoorestownPatch

Thank you for visiting GardenCuizine
and Thanks to the Moorestown 4th of July Committee!
Related Links
More Moorestown Fourth of July Parade photos
Photographs Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Holiday weekend Today in Our Garden #GardenCuizine #July4th

4th of July 
Today in Our Garden

Bursts of Cleome and red Bee Balm blooms get my vote as the best garden flower fireworks. Blooms are everywhere, thanks to frequent rains that have kept our new rain barrel filled to the brim. I've been using Mother Nature's free water for watering potted plants. 

Tall tomato plants, gladiolus and bronze fennel surround free standing sunflowers that were planted by birds and chipmunks. I noticed our first sunny bloom today. Overall, the gardens are lush - and so are the weeds! A gardener's work is never done.

Speaking of fireworks and holiday weekend festivities, we took mom to the Moorestown NJ 4th of July parade yesterday. She loved it almost as much as the key-lime pie she had for dessert at Curtain's Marina the day before.

The spitting rain didn't damper our fun day. Hope you had a fun-filled July 4th too. 

Below are a few more blooms today in our Jersey garden. It's wonderful to see our cobalt blue hydrangea blooming again. The severe winter of 2013 left it alive, but unable to produce blooms last year. We bought the hydrangea flag last year as pretend blooms. No pretending needed this year!

And, now is the time to take notice of beautiful day lilies. Even if you don't grow them, take time to appreciate them in other yards and gardens. It's hard to believe each bloom only lasts one day.

Happy Gardening! 
Blog post and photographs Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Our Local NJ town Fourth of July Parade ★ Happy and Healthy 4th! @Moorestown4th @MoorestownPatch

Related Links
Polish American String Band
Burlington County K9 Search and Rescue Team 
Sustainable Jersey

GardenCuizine Recipe: Antioxidant-rich Blueberry Cobbler

All American Blueberry Cobbler

• Antioxidant-rich
• Berry Delicious
• Kids love it!

Berry Nutritious

A 1 cup serving of fresh blueberries is an excellent source of Manganese, vitamin C, vitamin K and a good source of dietary fiber.

Ingredients

Batter
1 cup (125g) unbleached all purpose white flour
1 teaspoon (tsp) (4.6g) baking powder
1/4 tsp (1.5g) salt
zest of 1/2 lemon

2 eggs (100g)
1/4 cup (50g) plus 2 T (25g) granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons (T) (28g) unsalted butter (or soy margarine), melted
2 T (30ml) reduced fat milk (or soymilk)

Fruit filling
6 1/2 cups (962g) blueberries
1/3 cup (73g) brown sugar, packed
1-2 Tablespoons (T) (12.5-25g) granulated sugar (optional)*
1 T (15ml) lemon juice
zest of 1/2 lemon
1/3 cup (79ml) orange juice
1/2 tsp (1.3g) ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2.5ml) vanilla extract

Decoration
American Flag toothpick

Putting it all together 
Preheat oven to 350° F (177° C) 

Prepare a 7x11 (2L) baking dish with a light non-stick spray or thin coating of butter, set aside.

• Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, set aside  

• Rinse the fruit, drain in colander and pick off any stems
• In a large bowl toss fruit with the brown sugar (reserve the 1-2 Tablespoons granulated sugar), juice, zest, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 15 minutes. While the fruit is cooking, make the cobbler batter.

• In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs and sugar, add the butter and milk - mix well to combine; then add the flour mixture, mixing just to combine.

* After taking the baking dish with blueberries out of the oven and before topping it with the cobbler batter, I like to sprinkle an additional Tablespoon or two of granulated sugar over the berries and gently stir it in

• Using a small cookie scoop or spoon, place scoops of batter over the hot fruit leaving spaces for some fruit to show  
• Bake 20-25 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. Cool on a cake rack
• Add a flag to decorate for Memorial Day or Fourth of July  
• Delicious served with a scoop of frozen vanilla yogurt or low-fat ice cream

Eat a Rainbow of Fruits and Vegetables every day!

GardenCuizine Nutrition Analysis: Calculated from USDA Nutrient values
1 cup raw blueberries: Total Fat: 0.49g (0.7%DV), Sodium 1mg (0%DV), total dietary Fiber: 4g (14%DV), total Sugars 15g, Vitamin C: 14mg (24%DV), Vitamin K: 29mcg (36%DV), Manganese 0.50mg (25%DV)
Percent Daily Value (%DV) is based on a 2000 calorie diet
Related Links: 
Fruits and Veggies, More Matters
History of Memorial Day
Jersey Blues by Diana Wind
Copyright © 2010 Wind. All rights reserved.