Did you spot the “snow storms” that we had recently? At times did you feel you were at a wedding with petals laying all over the ground? Then you saw all the loaded flowering trees giving up some of their flowers to the wind. It was a sight to see at times as it appears every tree was trying to outdo its neighbor with flowers this year. The cooler weather helped keep them on the trees for a much longer period of time than usual so we got an extended viewing time this year.

It’s that time of year to be almost totally wrapped up in gardening and flower planting. The garden sales sites are packed full of goodies. The flowers all seem to be in bloom so we begin to think that we want every one them. The veggies are a bit different as they seem to tell us to take them home and promise to grow big and give you lots of produce. Of course, if you do not want to wait as long and are willing to pay, you can get tomatoes that are already blooming! Margaret F. and I did our annual trip up to the Minneapolis Farmers Market in the early Saturday hours. We both got special flower treasures and mine included yellow shrimp plants that will go in place by the She Shed in the new/old Norwegian stove that will be my planter for them. It was a perfect weather day and we did our brunch treat at the Finnish Bistro in St. Paul and had the lefse scramble. We will not mention what the calorie count must have been in the 2 amazing treats we picked out and inhaled. (We really do not know)!

The Hastings Farm Market will be opening around the middle of June and that will be a great time for old and new customers to get together and start off the market season. You can get some of the goodies right now if you are a cheese lover as the Legacy Cheese Store is open. You may recall they were forever at the Mall of America but closed due to the Covid 19 event and Hastings got picked as the place they wanted to move to. They have opened at brick and mortar store in the Westview Shopping Center and they also plan on being at a market site once the market opens. I just had to stock up on some garlic cheese curds, rosemary Gouda, baby Swiss, and cranberry summer sausage. Last year their pickle summer sausage was the the trending item of the area. If you are a fan of Sprecher beverages, you will be in heaven at the cheese shop as they carry the entire line of beverages. My treat for myself this time was the blueberry, cream soda and orange dream sodas.

I am getting out a little more and trying not to go wild but it might be hard to do once I got a taste of The Smokin’ Oak Express Southern brisket sandwich. They have great fries and I gently washed it down with a spiked Arnold Palmer. Life is improving for sure. They have started indoor dining so it is no longer just order and take out. I was nosy and asked the people next to us what they were having and they said the chicken was some of the best they ever had so I will put that on my menu for next time. I bet Arnold Palmer would work with that also.

Cottage Grove people…. You probably will be glad to know that I did not buy out the bakery at HyVee. I did leave some for others but its really hard when all those beautiful cakes and muffins are saying “take me home, I am soooo good”. Let me know some of your other Cottage Grove eating favorites for me to try.

It’s Rhubarb Season!!!! I will try to hunt down a recipe or two for different ways to use it. There is totally nothing wrong with the standard rhubarb strawberry pie or upside down rhubarb cake but I like looking around for a new or a bit different way to use our first “fruit” of the Minnesota season. Pucker up and enjoy!