Easy, Delicious and Heart Healthy Mediterranean Pasta dish with sardines, capers, and a light lemon olive sauce. From toriavey.com Serves: 4 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time for sauce: 10 minutes Ingredients 8 oz angel hair (capellini) or spaghetti pasta6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil1/4 cup shallots minced2 tsp lemon zest1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes spicy – use more or less to taste1/2 tsp salt or more to taste1 package Sardines drained 4.375 oz3 tbsp capers rinsed5 tbsp lemon juice or more …

Salvia ‘Amistad’ (Sage) is a bushy, upright perennial with large, rich royal purple flowers adorned with nearly black calyces. Blooming constantly from early summer until frost, the flowers are a magnet for butterflies and hummingbirds. They rise well above the aromatic foliage of glossy, bright green, slender leaves, which remain evergreen in frost free locations. Recipient of the Award of …

Expand your geranium horizons with the cool-season member of the family: Martha Washington geranium (Pelargonium x domesticum). Also known as regal geraniums, this group of geraniums features richly colored blooms with petals that resemble velvet. Petals have a lovely ruffled effect that enhances the plants’ luxurious feel. The edges are often toothed, and leaves release a citrus fragrance when crushed. The …

Rich and wonderful persimmon pudding cake, made with hachiya persimmon pulp, eggs, butter, milk, vanilla, sugar, spices, chopped nuts, and raisons. Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 50 minutes Yield: Serves 8 INGREDIENTS 2 cups of ripe Hachiya persimmon pulp1/2 cup sugar4 eggs1/2 cup butter (1 stick) melted3/4 cup milk1 teaspoon vanilla1 1/2 cups flour1 teaspoon baking powder1 teaspoon baking …

Celosias, also known as cockscomb, feathered amaranth, woolflower and red fox, are warm-weather flowering plants that thrive in hot, humid Mediterranean areas. They are commonly grown as annuals but can survive winters in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 and 11. Plant height is generally between 6 inches and 3 feet. Celosias in the “Childsii” and “Cristata” groups …

New for 2019 in our Sunnyvale garden: Sugar Baby melons. They are round “picnic” or “icebox” watermelons perfect for small families and as the name suggests, small enough to fit into the icebox. They weigh in at between 7 to 10 pounds and are 7-8 inches across. They have either a dark green with slight dark veins or medium green …

Stokesia laevis, commonly known as Stokes’ aster, is native to wetlands, bottomlands, wet pinewoods, savannas and ditches in the southeastern US. It is an evergreen perennial. This flower is new to our Sunnyvale garden for 2019. Purchased from the Annie’s Annual collection at Yamagami Garden Nursery in Cupertino. This particular cultivar, ‘Omega Skyrocket’, features fluffy, cornflower-like, violet blue flowers (3-4 …

New for 2019 in our Sunnyvale garden, Zinnia ‘Benary’s Giant Wine’ features rounded, fully double flowers packed with wine-red petals and opening up to 6 inches across. As the flower matures, a circle of small golden stars surrounds its center disk. Resembling dahlias, they are borne on very long sturdy stems. Blooms early summer to frost. We purchased our seedling …

New to our Sunnyvale garden in 2019: Liriope muscari ‘Royal Purple’, commonly called lilyturf or blue lily turf, a tufted, tuberous-rooted, grass-like perennial which typically grows 12-18″ tall and features clumps of strap-like, arching, glossy, dark green leaves (to 1″ wide). ‘Royal Purple’ is most noted for its attractive grass-like foliage and deep purple flowers. I plan to integrate it …

New to our Sunnyvale garden in 2019 is Clerodendrum ugandense (aka Butterfly Bush). Note: There are over a dozen different plants with the common name of Butterfly Bush. Clerodendrum is an open, evergreen shrub reaching 6 to 10 feet tall by 6 feet wide with 4 inch long dark green glossy leaves. From spring through fall appear the delicate and …