This week I'm working on Orange for my Exploring Rainbows class and my asparagus cheddar pie turned out to be more orange than expected so I thought I'd share. More orange will follow on my Lost in a Rainbow section after next Tuesday's class. Here's the recipe - very easy.
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Heat oven to 375 F

Partially baked 10" home made pie crust - I baked mine for 5 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

Brush the bottom of the baked pie crust with 1 T dijon mustard, optional

I pound asparagus,, cooked
4 eggs
3/4 cup light cream
salt
pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T fresh dill, optional
2 cups grated cheddar cheese separated into 1 1/2 cups and 1/2 cup for topping. 
Hot Hungarian paprika

Cut the asparagus stalks in half and reserve the top halves. Cut the bottom halves into smaller pieces - about one inch - and place in pie shell. 

Combine eggs, cream, garlic, spices and 1 1/2 cup cheese and pour over asparagus. 
Arrange the top pieces of asparagus with the spear heads facing in towards the middle. 
Top with remaining half cup of cheese.
Sprinkle with paprika.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes (until the eggs are set and knife inserted in the center comes out clean).

It's unsettling that there are such contrasting perceptions about Baltimore, a city I've grown to love. Yesterday I read a disturbing article detailing the police corruption through the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF). The article ended by saying "Baltimore can't run a school, a  police department or even a zoo". 

Admittedly, there is truth in that statement, and yet it disturbs me to see only one side of multifaceted city, so rich with warm and wonderful people, history, inventions, gardens and parks music and the arts . . . . It reminds me of a fable I read years ago. 
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It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all six of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

The First approached the Elephant, 
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
God bless me, but the Elephant
Is very like a wall.

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, "Ho! What have we here?
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As much as I love roses, I've probably painted ten times more iris over the years. They symbolize wisdom, hope and faith, and are perfect for celebrating friendships, providing comfort and instilling a sense of peace. 

Just walked Zippy and the neighborhood is ablaze with Orange. Almost game time!

​I'll ask the participants in the exploring rainbows course!

When I was on the farm in Indiana, my grandmother had me gather eggs from the hen house, but my favorites were the smaller eggs the "baney" hens would hide under the maple tree, lilac bush, hollyhocks and the four o'clock bush by my grandmother's water pump. I never knew where I'd find them so every day was an Easter egg hunt.
Technically they are Bantams, a smaller version of poultry, The miniatures are usually one fifth to one quarter the size of the larger breeds. Plymouth Rocks, with their black and white stripes, were the other chickens she raised. It wasn't until years later that I expanded my knowledge through some very unusual circumstances, and ended up with a large variety of poultry, including the gorgeous naturally pink, green and blue Araucana eggs. In addition to being beautiful, they are lower in cholesterol.
But we aren't all fortunate to have a place for chickens and to run free. Now that I'm living within the city limits, and I'm fairly certain my neighbors would be unhappy if I began collecting chickens to roam the property, I've turned to nature's next best natural Easter egg dyes - herbs! 
Over the next few days, in celebration of Easter, I'll be posting more on the miraculous egg. The symbolism, significance in history, religion and art, 
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