FLOUR
      I have been incorporating olive oil into my cooking for about 10 to 15 years.  Olive oil is known for its potential to improve a person's health, particularly extra virgin olive oil.  The possibility of lowering the risk of heart disease and lowering a person's total cholesterol level were two characteristics that first impressed me.  I am, like many other people, battling my genetic background.  Even though I continue to manage my cholesterol level through diet, a challenge to be sure, I believe my total cholesterol has benefited from my olive oil consumption.
     I use olive oil to saute meats and vegetables.  I also drizzle it on anything I intend to roast, like potatoes, asparagus, mushrooms, and zucchini.  Then naturally, it does help to make an excellent salad dressing.  But never, until recently, did I decide to bake with it.  I had seen a few recipes regarding an olive oil cake and became especially curious of the outcome.  The photo below is a slice from such a cake that I made courtesy of Melissa d'Arabian's Orange Olive Oil Cake recipe at www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/orange-olive-oil-cake-recipe.html.
      I appreciate the use of Ms. d'Arabian's recipe, but as one often finds when cooking, I did not have an orange at the time and decided to substitute a lemon instead.  I also added about a cup of blueberries.  As one can see, my cake baked to a light brown.  The texture was soft with a delicate crumb.  There is absolutely no dryness and, in case one wonders, no oiliness.  I am sure the orange intended for the original recipe would be delicious.  However, I was very pleased with the lemon substitution and the blueberries, as well.
      So I believe a popular expression today is, "Who knew?"  I certainly didn't know how well olive oil would carry over into a dessert, but I do now.    
    

& FLOWER 

     I grew up calling this plant an "Easter" Lily because that is the time of year when I knew one could be purchased.  Then some years ago I decided to plant one in an open space of one of my beds after it lost its trumpet-like flowers.  I weeded around it until fall and really kind of forgot it was there until the following spring.  I normally walk around my planting beds to see how everything seems after winter has passed.  I saw the lily emerging, but Easter came and went before I ever viewed developing blooms. This photo at left was my lily just in the last week, which is actually the normal blooming time for this plant.  I continue to be amazed at what I learn by just trying things.

     This is a Southern Magnolia bloom photographed from a tree in Southeast Missouri.  These pristine white flowers open with a delicate feminine fragrance.  In their fleeting lifespan of just a couple of days, this scent matures into an earthy cologne that I have never forgotten.  The state flower of Mississippi, the Magnolia has always been a special spring bloom, not to be ignored.  If you have never smelled one and live near such a tree, please stop and enjoy.

     I have already shared something about the lacecap hydrangea.  This one is planted in my backyard on the west side.  I really like all hydrangeas even though their flowers do not last long and sometimes suffer in summer's higher temperatures, even in early spring.  I especially like the delicate and graceful flowers of this variety. 

     This is a mophead hydrangea shrub planted in my backyard on the east side.   A mophead tends to have large blooms.  I have seen some even eight inches or more in diameter.
     Now here is the interesting part about these hydrangea shrubs.  They are both in my backyard, but each has different colored blooms.  One might think they would be the same color since they are in the same general area.  There is a difference because the pink lacecap on the west side is growing in alkaline soil.  The blue mophead planted on the east side is growing in acid soil.  The color of a hydrangea is determined by the pH of the soil in which it is planted.  Both shrubs are far enough apart for these flowers to differ.  Actually this mophead is not a true blue, but is somewhat lavender in color, meaning its soil is not truly acidic.  I understand that pH soil differences do not effect a white hydrangea.