Time to make Cheese Puffs

 Elaine is making good progress with her recovery. Yesterday she said she was starting to feel like herself and she had her first good nights sleep since the surgery. Her appetite is coming back and she is much more alert. There is no reason to rush it or push too hard. She just needs time to heal, and I aim to see that she gets the time she needs.
 Yesterday I beat the rain and got my sweet potatoes planted. I have never grown sweet potatoes before so I'm learning as I go. If I do right by the plants, they will do right by me. Everything else is growing fast and fine. Our strawberries are blossoming and if it stops raining long enough for things to get dry, I have greens to pick and lettuce to transplant. I started more herbs and some more flowers in the house today. I also started some asparagus from seed. These will take 2 years too grow before harvest, but it will be fun to try to get them to harvest. I need a little challenge once in a while. The first sunny day, I will take more pictures of the garden and the trellises that I made. I think it all came out looking pretty neat.
 Now it's off to the kitchen to make some cheese puff snacks. We keep these on hand for a quick snack. These are real simple to make. All you do is melt 1/2 stick of butter over low heat, add 1 diced onion and 3-4 cloves of garlic, diced. While the vegetables are cooking, dice a loaf of crusty bread into 1/2 inch cubes, and set aside.After the onions have softened, add 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard and stir. Now add an 8 oz pack of cream cheese and stir until melted. Next add ! and 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese and again, stir until melted. Now add ground black pepper to taste and turn off heat. Fold in 2 beaten egg whites, then dip the bread cubes until coated, and place on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the cheese puffs from the baking sheet to a zip-loc bag and put back in freezer. When you want a cheesy snack, place as many as you want on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees until brown and bubbly, then just set back and enjoy. I got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman on the Food Network.