Valentine's Day Dinner for Two

Sometimes, when I'm not feeling inspired, I rely on the flowers to speak to me.  This year my husband came home with a couple of mixed bundles that were so beautiful and looked so fresh, especially the mini-carnations, that I just knew this would be the starting point.

The whorls continued with the ruffles in these soft pink napkins.  They really did remind me of the pedals of a flower.  

I pulled out the lace placemats from Horchow, which I've had for a while.  I first used them here when my husband and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary.  Unfortunately, they are no longer available.  The flatware is Jefferson by Reed and Barton, for Monticello.  I've also had it for a while, and have used them here and here, among many other tables.  I love the gentle heart-shaped curve of the handle, perfect for the day of Love!

The goblet and wine glasses are part of my wedding crystal collection — Chartres, by Atlantis.  After all these years I still love them!

The rose gold chargers were a lovely complement to the pink . . . 

So, I decided to pull out the copper tube napkin rings . . .

And the copper hobnail votive holders.

The salad plates are part of the Williams-Sonoma Citrus Salad Plates.  This one is supposed to represent a pink grapefruit.  The set of four comes with a lime, lemon, orange, and grapefruit plate.  It seemed to go so well with the copper that they just fell into place.

And, voilà the table is set!

Time to start thinking about the food, my least favorite part.

To start, a Grapefruit Avocado Salad on a bed of Romaine, with Goat Cheese Crumbles, and a simple vinaigrette with Dijon mustard.  I should call this the Costco salad since all the ingredients were picked up there.  The grapefruits may be the sweetest and juiciest I've ever had, so if you live near Costco, run and pick up a bag!  

The salad was followed by Pan-fried Garlic Shrimp, served with Quinoa Fiesta — a quinoa salad with corn, red bell pepper, jalapeño, scallions, dressed with lemon and olive oil.  

The dinner was delicious and it left us filling satisfied, but not stuffed so that then we could indulge in some sinful desserts!

Dark-chocolate covered strawberries . . .

My vanilla custard (Natilla), decorated with a powdered cinnamon heart in the center.  This is one of my husband's favorite desserts.  Actually, my entire family loves it.  I make it all the time, so to dress it up and make it seem special, I created my own stencil in the computer, cut it out, and used it to create the heart.  

The sugar cookies came from our supermarket, but balanced out the plate, and my husband loves cookies!

And once dinner was finished, the flowers remained, to delight and make me feel loved.

Joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.

A Very Berry Breakfast

Some days are just special.  It's nice to indulge in a totally unexpected, middle-of-the-week breakfast as a treat for someone you love.

The food doesn't have to be fancy.  In my humble opinion, an ordinary breakfast, or any meal, actually, can be elevated with the proper setting and mood.  Mornings start early at our house, so I did most of the prep work the night before.

For a change of pace, I am using a pair of delightful Berries Kitchen Towels that we received recently as a gift.  That was the starting point for the rest of the table.  

Pairing bees with berries seemed like a no-brainer, so the La Rochère Bee glasses came out to play.

The cream tot was filled the night before, then covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated so it would be ready to go right away.  Mr. & Mrs. Red volunteered to help out.  They usually come out for patriotic tables, and occasionally for other holidays.  It's fun having them around.

The Blue Calico sugar bowl withdrew in a snit when it realized that neither my husband or I adds sugar to our tea.  Very temperamental, that Blue Calico.

We like berries and eat a lot of them at our house.  They are high in polyphenols, those magic antioxidants that do so many great things for the human body, and it's wonderful that something that is good for us, is also so darn delicious!

Won't you have a croissant . . . or a scone . . . ? 

The jam came along with the dish towels, and I couldn't wait to try it.  Oh, my!  If you have a chance, please don't pass the opportunity to buy a jar.  It is so delicious.  Most of the berries remain whole.  I wish I had taken a picture, but I was too busy licking my fingers!

And, since we were serving Blueberry Jam, the Blueberry spoon came out.  This was part of the gift package.  I'm going to remember to do this for someone else.  Everything was a delight from beginning to end!

Don't you love the Mason Woven table runner from Pottery Barn?  It adds so much to the textural mix on this table!

Even a few simple daisies can brighten your day.  The miniature vases are part of a set of three that my son, David, gave me for Christmas a few years ago.

I've gotten into the habit of always taking a rim shot, to see how my plate stack looks to any tiny bug that might wonder to the top of the table.

The Napoleon Bee flatware did not want to be left out.  I say, the more the merrier!

Breakfast in heaven includes a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.  Did you know that?

The mini vase on this side has a different shape.  There's a lot of texture and color on this table, but the white Wedgwood Nantucket Basket dishes calm everything down.

Hard-boiled eggs, with extra ones to snack on later in the morning, or tomorrow.

Another low-carb offering:  Prosciutto wrapped in Mozzarella, and Emmentaler cheese slices.  I prefer Gouda, but he likes Emmentaler, and it's a special day, so he gets his Emmentaler with a pretty tomato rose to fancy up the plate.  Everything had to be pretty today.  You see, today my husband and I celebrate our 36th wedding anniversary.  

“Come grow old with me.  The best is yet to be.” 

—William Wordsworth

Shrub

Sometimes, all it takes is a bowl of luscious strawberries . . .

Ever since our visit to Philadelphia three years ago, I've been intrigued by shrub - a refreshing beverage with which our 18th century founding fathers quenched their thirst . . .

We first tried a shrub at City Tavern, an establishment known to the likes of George Washington, Paul Revere, and many other notables of the period.  Click here to read more about our visit to this delightful restaurant.  Also, here's the link to their website:   http://www.citytavern.com/

Are you a history buff?  I am, and really, haven't you ever wondered what people drank when it was hot out, with no refrigeration available?  I've always had a hard time drinking plain water, and lemon water is delightful, but sometimes you want something different . . . When all these strawberries came my way, it seemed like the perfect time to learn how to make shrub, and, naturally, the internet made it very easy!

First, a concentrated syrup is made using fruit, sugar and apple cider vinegar.  There are as many different ways of making it as there are bartenders.  But I found this website that explained the Cold Method, and, since I really didn't want to heat up my kitchen, I decided to give it a try.

The website gives an exhaustive explanation of the process, and I urge you to go to it if you decide to make shrub.  Roughly, I added sugar to some hulled and quartered strawberries . . .

Then I refrigerated it, covered, for a couple of days, and ended up with a great deal of syrup. 

I strained it, added vinegar and refrigerated it for a few more days . . .

That's it!  The syrup was done!  Now it could be mixed with Pellegrino, like I did, or ginger ale, or rum . . . or champagne, as George Washington preferred . . .

The taste is a bit unusual and not something to which we are accustomed in the 21st century.  If you like vinegar, especially apple cider vinegar, then you'll really enjoy it.  I found it light, a bit tart and very refreshing . . .  Give it a try.  If you don't care to drink it, you can use the remaining syrup as a marinade for chicken!

Somehow, I feel a little bit closer to Ben Franklin today . . .

Marriage is a Bowl of Strawberries

“I'll eat the strawberries after you finish installing the bathroom sink,” I said to my husband when he asked me for the third time when I was going to eat the pint of strawberries I bought a couple of days ago.  Lee abhors throwing away food.  I mean, it really, really bugs him.  I smiled to myself after I said that.  Gotcha!  You won't be nagging me about the strawberries any more, I thought, not unless you want to open up the can of worms that is our bathroom remodel.  But Lee laughed - this guy is so on to me.  If I thought to manipulate him into finishing the sink on a weeknight, I'd have to do better than this pitiful tactic . . .

Then, as I sat down to dinner the next day, a bowl of strawberries appeared by my plate - washed, hulled and cut into bite-size pieces . . . and when I looked up, there was my husband, with a smug smile on his face . . . yup . . . he'd installed the sink . . . I looked at the strawberries, then at him again . . . so now I'm supposed to eat the strawberries, I guess . . . I'm mulling this over looking for the catch . . . I have a working sink . . . that's good . . . I have a bowl of delicious strawberries that I don't even have to wash . . . that's good, too . . . nope, I can't see the catch . . . either he is the sweetest man that ever was, doing this because it'll make me happy and also because he is just as anxious to be done with this project as I am . . . or he really hates the idea of watching the strawberries go bad . . . I'm pretty sure it's the former . . .

But we still need baseboard trim installed, so I'm not taking any chances . . . I'm going to the store tomorrow and buying another pint of strawberries . . . just in case . . .

Tea Bread Tuesday: Hazelnut Muffins with Strawberry Jam

Simple and uncomplicated goodness . . . yum!

I didn't wait long enough to take the muffins out of the tins and some of the strawberry jam oozed out on the kitchen counter . . .

So I refilled some of the centers with a little more jam . . .

There was a lot of finger licking going on this time around . . . A tough job . . .

Here's the link for the recipe: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/hazelnut-muffins-with-strawberry-jam.html