I am the biggest baking geek I know of. Anything having to do with baking totally makes me drool. I just ran across this cake pan in the shape of a flower basket and I got so excited!

The pan is actually a ring with three bottom's of the basket and three tops of the basket. So you get three whole baskets after joining the tops and bottoms. You can decorate the flowers any way you want. Buttercream or fondant would be my two top choices.

This would be great for an Easter gathering, ooh, or Mother's Day. Yes, this would be perfect for celebrating Mother's Day. Really, the possibilities are endless. There are any number of occasions this cake would be great for. Any time you want to make a simple, pretty cake would be the perfect occasion!

[Via BakingBites.com]

Asparagus is a vegetable, which is actually a member of the Lily family, and one that has been grown for more than 2,000 years. It is very high in antioxidants and was valued for its perceived medicinal purposes in ancient Rome, where it was used to treat everything from cuts to toothaches. They also thought of it as a aphrodisiac.

It takes about 3 years after a "crown" is planted that an asparagus plant will begin to produce stalks. Once they get started, the plants grow fast - very fast. Under optimal conditions, such as mild, warm weather, the spears may have to be harvested every 24 hours during their season, which begins in late spring and lasts for about three months. White asparagus comes from the same plant as green, but is grown underground. Lack of exposure to the light prevents chlorophyll from developing and keeps the stalks white. Almost 80% of the country's asparagus is grown in California, and while many states have small crops, the balance of the commercial product is grown in Washington and Michigan.

 

 

Artichokes have been a favorite food for over 2000 years, first appearing as a popular aphrodisiac in Ancient Greece and Rome. They grew natively around Italy, but by the year 800, they were being cultivated in Spain and gradually spread to other areas of Europe. Today, nearly all commercial artichokes grown in the US come from California, where they are harvested year-round. There are more than 50 varieties of artichokes, but only a few are commercially grown. The ones in the United States are likely to be round and green Globe artichokes, but some varieties have brown or purple leaves. The small artichokes sold as "baby artichokes" are not a variety of their own, but merely an immature version of larger artichokes.