Living with Lavender

There's an insidious resident in our house which seems to dwell in our drawers and linen closets.  It's not an unwelcomed guest.  In fact, it was invited into our home with open heart, or at least, open nostrils.

Lavender is that scent that makes me feel good, and  allows me to breathe freely.  It's not the only scent that I love, mind you, but this one reminds me of my paternal grandmother's armoire, from which lavender scent wafted, and where she kept a tin of cookies for her grandchildren hidden away so she could dole out the treats in secret.

It was during Spring cleaning this year, when I noticed for the first time the degree to which our house guest had made itself at home.  Well, it might be easier to show you . . .

Lavender is known for its ability to induce sleep and improve its quality.  I thought this would be a nice addition to the Guest Room for our guests who find themselves away from the comforts of their usual surroundings.  The cover is made of a really soft velour and it feels wonderful on the skin.

Have you tried ECOS laundry detergent yet?  It's earth-friendly and cleans beautifully.  There are other fragrances available, and even one without any fragrance at all, but naturally, I was drawn to the lavender scent.

There's lavender-scented soap and lotion in the Powder Room, although this changes throughout the year.  However, it seemed like a perfect scent for Spring - and Williams-Sonoma was having a sale.

Our drawers are full of sachets!  The ones above are a collection of the heart-shaped pink and red ones that I've accumulated over the years.  I wrote about them here.  But there are more . . .

Well, see for yourself . . . I've purchased the sachets here and there, as much for the looks as the scent.  These sweet sachets are proof that little luxuries don't have to cost a fortune.

Just keep an eye out and you'll spot them where you least expect them.  The poupettes (little chicks) are adorable, aren't they?  They make me smile.

Lavender candles have also found a way into the linen closet.  The Dyptique candle is exquisite.  I'm saving it for a special occasion.  The other one is HomeGoods swag.  It smells wonderful.  It's nice having a little candle inventory.

How does the saying go, “In for a penny, in for a pound?”  Why not try lavender tea?  I fixed myself a pretty tea tray using the Nantucket teapot and teacup.  The basketweave pattern puts me in mind of a country setting with buzzing bees and lavender growing wild.

Bees love lavender in bloom, and they make a delicious honey by pollinating the lavender flowers.  It seemed right to bring them out to hover over the lavender-embroidered napkins.

The napkins were an Etsy find and I adore them!  They're begging for a tea party . . .

So I baked a new tea bread:  Downton Abbey Lavender Tea Bread.  Yes, I'm still pining for Downton . . .

It wasn't bad, but I've decided I prefer my lavender as a scent throughout the house, rather than in my food.  I couldn't separate the taste from the scent in my linen closet.  Here is the recipe, if you'd like to try it.  It was . . . unusual.

There are many other scents that I love, like the smell of fresh oranges . . . cinnamon in the kitchen . . . . a fragrant Christmas tree.  We'll talk more about those another day.

What about you?  What scents run through your house?  Do you like lavender?  Do you do Spring cleaning?  Are you pining for Downton Abbey?  Tell me anything at all.  I'd love to hear from you!

Lemon Tablescape

How many of you remember the “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” story from your children's childhood?  My husband and I must have read this story - and its sequels (“If You Give a Moose a Muffin,” “If You Give a Pig a Pancake”) a hundred times!  And, ahem! we only did it for the kids, not because we enjoyed it in the least.  Oh, what fun times!

And now, I've created my own version.  It goes like this:  If you give Maria a Lemon Thyme herb plant,

the variegated Lemon Thyme that she can find locally only at Trader Joe's every other year . . .

chances are she's going to want to bake something special . . .

like the Citrus Loaf Cake from Rattlebridge Farm . . . 

When she makes the cake, she'll realize she needs to put together a table to go with it.  

She'll want to use her Botanical Citrus Salad plates from Williams-Sonoma, featuring limes . . .

blood oranges . . . 

grapefruits . . .

and, of course, lemons!

To complete the table, she'll realize she needs a nice centerpiece . . .

Some lemony yellow roses interspersed with creamy whites . . .

Set on a vase surrounded by lemon slices . . .

Once the table is set, she'll want to invite some friends for lunch . . .

  

If she invites some friends, it'll dawn on her that she's now going to have to prepare some food, because, unfortunately, it won't magically appear on the plates.  She makes a nice arugula salad with shaved Parmesan cheese and dressed with a lemon vinaigrette . . .

using her precious olive oil, bought in Italy last year while she was traveling in Tuscany.

Then, she'll prepare one of her favorite dishes:  Chicken Marbella, from the Silver Palate Cookbook.

The chicken is prepared with yummy treats like olives, capers, prunes, garlic, oregano, and, of course, more precious olive oil . . . All those good things that remind her of the Mediterranean . . .

Then it's sprinkled with brown sugar, which will caramelize during baking and flavor the chicken beautifully . . .

Once the chicken is done, she'll need to turn her attention to the beverages, and, since her mind is still taking a short trip back to Italy, Pallini Palmers seem perfect for the occasion!

Made with her favorite Arnold Palmer recipe, and adding a generous portion of Pallini Limoncello.

It's a perfect summer drink!

There are a lot of lemons in this post, but as Mae West once famously said:  “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!”

She and her guests can glance at her flowering clematis in the backyard, just to cleanse their visual palate . . .

Her friends will come and share the food, the drinks, and some lovely conversation on a beautiful summer afternoon . . .

And chances are . . . she'll have so much fun, she'll want to do it again and again!

Tea Bread Tuesday: Cherry Almond Bread

For those who don't know by now, I love tea breads.  A slice of fruity bread, paired with a cup of tea can bring a lot of joy to my day.  Then, if a rainy, summer afternoon happens to come my way, on a day when I don't have to be anywhere else, well, that's as close to ideal as life can get for me.

It so happens that I found myself at home this past weekend, with a luscious bowl of cherries, which are in season now, time on my hands, and the promise of a summer shower later in the day . . . the perfect time to do a little baking.

I've underestimated cherries most of my life.  At first, I used to know them only as the “red fruit” in a can of Libby's Fruit Cocktail, or as the nauseatingly sweet syrup in cough medicine.  Then, one day, I was introduced to “real” cherries in a freshly baked Black Forest cake, while attending a dinner-theatre performance of Cabaret.  When the Master of Ceremonies began singing “Willkomen, Bienvenue, Welcome . . . ”  I felt like it should have been me singing!  They were superb!  The show was pretty good, too.  And that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

If you are planning to experiment with fresh cherries, you'll need a cherry pitter.  It's a little tool that removes the pit from the cherry quickly and efficiently.  It was also fun to use.  I see a lot of cherry desserts in my future (cherry pie comes to mind right away, but we'll leave that for another post.)  The one in the picture above is from Williams-Sonoma.  I'm told that it's also good for pitting olives.  How about that?  I can play with olives, too!

The bread turned out delicious!  The cherry and almond flavors complement each other beautifully, and it was very moist.  This one is a keeper.  Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1½ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup sweet cherries, pitted and coarsely chopped

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 large egg

½ milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1½ teaspoons almond extract

1.  Preheat oven to 350º F.  Grease and flour a 8" x 4" loaf pan.  Set aside.

2.  In a small bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar.  Gently fold in the cherries, and mix until well coated.

3.  In a separate bowl combine the remaining ingredients and lightly beat with a fork until blended.

4.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring until just moistened.  Pour batter into pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5.  Remove from oven, let cool 5 minutes in loaf pan, then invert into serving platter and allow bread to cool completely.  Wrap in plastic wrap until ready to serve.

“Life is just a bowl of cherries, don't take it serious, it's mysterious.  Life is just a bowl of cherries, so live and laugh, and laugh at love, love a laugh, laugh and love.”  —Bob Fosse

Tea Bread Tuesday: Lemon Poppy Seed Bread with Lemon Glaze

I am devoted to Mr. Lime, I really am . . . and it seems disloyal to go flirting with his sunny cousin, Mr. Lemon, at the first sign of trouble.  Alas, Mr. Lime is making himself very dear this summer, what with the terrible crop we've had . . . bad winter!  So when life gives you lemons . . . we must make the best of it . . .  I'm such a tramp!  But a bread like this one can make you re-think your loyalties . . . It . . . is . . . DELICIOUS!  So moist, so lemony . . . and the hint of almonds doesn't hurt one bit!  You must try it!  This might be the beginning of a beautiful ménage à trois . . .

Here's the recipe:

For the bread:

1½ cup all-purpose flour

1¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

¾ cup of half and half

½ cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1½ teaspoon almond extract

2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest (1 large lemon = approx. 1 tbsp. grated lemon zest)

For the glaze:

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond extract

½ tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350º F.  Grease and flour a 9” x 5” loaf pan.  Set aside.

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and poppy seeds.  With electric mixer, add the wet ingredients, one at a time, until they have all been incorporated.  Beat for one additional minute.  Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for approximately 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, with a few crumbs clinging to the toothpick.

While bread is baking, prepare the glaze.  In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients and cook over low heat until the sugar is dissolved.  When the bread is done, let cool in the pan for a few minutes, but while still hot invert into a wire rack, and then back into a serving tray.  Brush glaze immediately over the warm bread, on top and on the sides.  Use all the glaze, the bread will absorb most of it.  For best taste, make it the night before and the bread will be ever so moist and flavorful!  Enjoy!

Tea Bread Tuesday: Sweet Potato Bourbon Bundt Cake

WARNING:  This cake could become highly addictive.  DO NOT bake unless you have a house full of willing tasters!  It's too dangerous to have this much deliciousness just sitting around your kitchen counter! 

Since this was a trial run for Thanksgiving, we savored a portion for dessert, saved a piece for my husband for breakfast, then packed up the rest and took it to work to share with my co-workers, who didn't lose any time in gobbling it up!

 

Sweet potatoes, bourbon and pecans:  Could anything be more southern?  This bundt cake is very moist to begin with, and then, on top of that, you serve it with a delicious bourbon syrup!  I'd never cooked with bourbon before.  Actually, I had never even tried it.  Wow!  This is strong stuff!  Of course, the alcohol is evaporated in the cooking process so you won't get tipsy!

 

 

Look how the cake glistens with the sugar syrup!  The syrup was brushed on after the cake came out of the oven.  And I love how the pecans show up on the surface of the cake, like little promises of what's waiting inside!  This is a Martha Stewart recipe.  Good ol' Martha, she never disappoints me!  Click here for the recipe.

Thumbs up!  I'll be making this again tomorrow night!  Calling all tasters!

L'après midi dans le jardin

Summers are so short!  Time to enjoy a little respite in our backyard!

I fell in love with the heart-shaped wrought iron chairs last year . . . the fact that they also swing and that they are red just put me over the edge.  I had to have this set! And then, it went on sale!  Who could resist?

  

For my college graduation, a dear friend gave me a picnic basket that included these charming napkins.  She understood, even before I did, that I always seemed drawn to cute little garden bugs.  When she found this fabric, she made me some napkins.  Aren't they wonderful?

The little herb patch in the backyard has really done well this summer.  Right now it's exploding with thriving plants.  So, I picked a little of this, and a little of that . . . and in no time ended up with a bundle of “herbes fines” in my hand.  And then, the little voice in my head started chanting:  “Cucumber sandwiches . . . cucumber sandwiches . . . ”

I used tarragon, parsley, lemon thyme and chives in the cream cheese spread.  Oh, my . . . this is marvelous . . . I adore cucumber sandwiches!  My idea of heaven includes cucumber sandwiches and a cup of oolong tea every afternoon . . .

I also made some ham tea sandwiches on marbled rye pumpernickel bread for my husband . . . He is not a fan of cucumber sandwiches . . . Alas, nobody is perfect . . . 

I'll be busy pretty soon drying herbs and making pesto, but for now . . .

I'll just sit in my backyard and enjoy a quiet summer tea . . .