Collecting: Shell Jewelry

As it always seems to happen with me, my collections start out with a couple of items.  Before I know it, those two or three items have multiplied into twenty or thirty, or, um, maybe fifty or sixty.  Once I have an item in my brain, I seem to be preternaturally drawn to every other one in the world (or at least in my immediate circle).  Call it obsessive-compulsive. Call it having finely honed gathering skills. Call it fun.

Jewelry, as you have seen here before, is one such collection.  Shell jewelry is a sub-category of this collection.  I could probably break that down into sub categories of the sub category, but I'll spare you that.  Can you tell that it's been a busy week?  I'm getting a little loopy.

Yes. So. Back to shell jewelry.....
Some of these pieces are quite gaudy, and some are intricate examples of beautiful handiwork.  They are all lovely and wearable, and especially well-suited to the colors and fabrics and feel of summer.

By the way-I picked up this hanging pocket thing at a thrift store, and I have been looking for more ever since.  It's perfect for letting me store this collection neatly, while still being able to see it all the time.  If you ever see one, send it my way.  Although, I have a feeling that you might hang on to it and stash your own goodies in it........

It's the little things.....

I don't have any great recipes or information packed posts today.  Just a couple of tiny little things that are making me happy this week.  My mother recently gave me a whole box of my childhood toys and such, and I've been sorting through them.

This wee set of flower power pans were one of my favorite toys. Hmmmm.....apparently cooking has always been a thing with me.  I'm so happy that my mom thought to save them, and now I can have them on display in  my studio.  Looking at them every day makes me smile. 

These tiny glass-yes glass! bowls-a salad set?-are so ridiculously cute and teeny

 that it sort of boggles my mind. 

Candied Citrus Peel

Last week I made candied citrus peel for a top secret project (you'll find out at some point, I promise!).  Usually, this is something that I only think to make around holiday time (a clue to the top secret project), but it has struck me now that this is a tasty treat any time of the year. Dipped in chocolate, it makes a super cocktail nibble or dessert buffet extra.  Pop a piece of candied lemon peel on top of a lemon cupcake, and you've got summer dessert nirvana. Or, how about a piece of candied orange peel dropped into a little tequila on ice? Yum, yum, yum! The possiblities are endless.

The process is relatively simple, but it takes some time.  This is best to do when you have a day at home so you can do each step between other activities. 

Candied Citrus Peel

5 medium oranges or 6 lemons, or a mixture!
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup water

-wash the fruit and dry thoroughly
-slice the end of each fruit, then make vertical cuts through the peel, about 1 inch apart

-carefully peel off the sections, then trim away as much white pith as you can

-cut these peels into narrow strips

-cover the peels with water in a small saucepan
-bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes
-drain

-in saucepan, stir together 1 1/2 cups sugar and the water
-cook over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved
-add the peels and simmer about 40 minutes, until translucent
-place a cooling rack over a cookie sheet and transfer peels to the rack
-let cool for 1 hour

-roll the peels in 1/2 cup sugar in bowl
-lay in single layer on wax paper

-let dry completely, about 4 hours

These can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for one month.

My top 5 perennial picks

Gardening season is in full swing, and I keep adding a few plants here and there to my garden.
I try new plants every year, but I have my favorite perennials that I use over and over again.
Here is a beginning list of my top 5 picks. These are based on performance over the years in my own gardens. They are all low fuss, low maintenance plants that add interest to the garden for an extended amount of time. 

Autumn Joy Sedum

This has become one of the most popular perennials in recent years, and with good reason.

It is extremely forgiving, drought tolerant, and grows well in most any soil.  It does the best in full sun, but is very tolerant of partial shade.  Autumn Joy comes out early in the season and grows rapidly, creating pleasing mounds of succulent green leaves by June.  It flourishes all summer long, then begins to deepen in color during the fall, adding wonderful color to the Autumn garden.  This is one of the few plants that I do not cut back in the fall, because the tall bare stalks add interest to the Winter garden.  It's really a 4 season charmer.  Once this plant is established, it can (and should) be divided regularly.  It's easy to do and will allow you to add more plants to your garden or share with friends and neighbors.

Lady's Mantle

Lady's Mantle is one of my very favorite plants.  Although a staple in English cottage gardens, it does not seem to enjoy the same popularity in the States.  This is another easy to grow plant that does best in full sun, but will tolerate partial shade.  I love this plant because it forms a lovely compact mound of frilly leaves that hold droplets of water when it rains.  In late May to early June it sends out frilly yellow blooms on long stalks, adding even more interest to this sweet plant.  Once the blooms are spent, clip them off, and you will enjoy the foliage late into the fall, when it yellows.  Your plants will send out little offspring that are easy to move and are quick to develop into new plants.These are a wonderful choice for a cottage garden, border, or even a more manicured garden bed.

Mountain Bluets

These plants are also know as perennial Bachelor Buttons.  I can't believe how fantastic these are.  Their elongated leaves come out in early spring and quickly grow to 12-14".  Mine are already blooming profusely this year, which is amazingly early.  The flowers are rather delicate and a very brilliant blue, and look great in cut arrangments.  The really fabulous thing is that, with regular deadheading, these plants will flower from June until September!  Yup, you heard me right.

Penstemon-"Husker Red"

Another early riser, Penstemon's green and red foliage will look great in the Spring.  By mid-summer, they have tall white to light pink flowers that last through early fall.  Cut the flowers back when they are spent, and the foliage will deepen in color and stay lively in the Fall garden.  These grow about 2 feet tall, so are wonderful for a back border plant or as a tall accent plant in your beds.

Creeping Sedums

I cannot get enough of these, and it seems like I find a new variety every time I turn around.  Green, red, chartreuse, silver-add one wherever you need a little fill in, low mound or bit of color and texture.  They really go crazy in rock gardens, creeping and crawling and mixing to create a lush carpet among the rocks. 

They are also fabulous for planters, adding texture and spilling over the sides of your pots.  They are totally forgiving (if they creep over to a spot you don't want them in-just pluck them out) and easy, easy, easy to grow.  Get some now.

As I said, these favorites are based on performance in my own gardens-they've really become tried and trues for me.  If you have questions about use in your own gardens, or about details that I may have missed, please e-mail me and I will try to help you out!

Friday is PIE DAY!

This week's pie was inspired by 3 things.  First of all, I had about a cup of dates left over from last week's baking.  Not that I can't eat a date all on it's lonesome, but they just seemed to be whispering their desire to make it into a pie.  Secondly, I recalled a date and orange pie recipe that I had seen in a church cookbook. My recollection was of this pie being a custard like filling, and I wanted to switch that up a bit, and add some coconut (is it coconut or cocoa-nut?). My third inspiration was a method used in the mini cakes that I made last week.  I liked the idea of mixing the egg yolks in with the main stuff, then beating the egg whites and folding them into the filling.  This creates a sponge-y, or cloud-like, layer on top of the pie.

Date Coconut Cloud Pie

1 9 inch pie crust
1/2 c butter
1/ 1/4 c sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 c chopped dates
1 c coconut
1 T orange zest
2 T orange juice concentrate

-cream butter and sugar
-add egg yolks and blend thoroughly
-stir in dates, coconut and orange
-beat egg whites in separate bowl until stiff peaks form
-fold egg whites into date mixture
-pour into prepared pie shell
-bake at 300 degrees for 50-55 minutes

I LOVE it when a pie surprises me, and this one certainly has.  Honestly, I wasn't sure if this one would pan out.  It seemed like it might be a pie that was good enough, but nothing great.  Wrong.  I love this pie.

Make one for your mother this weekend, and she'll know that you love her.

Cran-Walnut Chocolate Cookies

Another cookie recipe!  There's no stopping me now-the cookie monster has been unleashed.
I used to make these cookies a lot, but the recipe somehow got pushed to the back of the recipe box.
It seemed like it was time to dust it off and give them a whirl again.  As I was stirring up the dough, I kept thinking "Oh yeah-these cookies-now I remember."  When S tasted the first one, he said, "Oh yeah-these cookies."  All good memories, of course.  Stir up a batch and add them to your own memory.

Cran-Walnut Chocolate Cookies

3 c flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t soda
1 t baking powder
3/4 c butter
1 c brown sugar
1 c sugar
1 egg
1 cup fresh cranberries
1 c white 'chocolate' chips
1/2 c chopped walnuts

-mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl
-cream butter, egg and sugars together in separate bowl
-add the wet mix to the dry mix and combine well
-stir in cranberries, walnuts and chips
-form dough into balls (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter)
-bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until lightly browned
-cool on wire rack

Ok-I am telling you now that this dough will seem a bit weird and dry.  Trust me.  It will all work out.
You have to form the cookie balls in your hands by really squishing it together.  The dry to wet ratio is strange in this recipe. Combined with the baking powder, this gives them a unique puffy and crunchy, yet soft in the middle texture.  I think the moisture in the cranberry juice is what tips the scale to perfection.

Dessert Tapas

As I mentioned in my PIE DAY post, we were lucky enough to attend a wine-tasting party on Friday night.
The wine of the night was Tempranillo, a Spanish red, and the food was a wonderful spread of Spanish influenced Tapas.

It may not surprise you that I am often asked to bring dessert to parties, and this time I stretched my usual repertoire to try my hand at creating some dessert Tapas. I love being inspired to try new genres and recipes.  Fussy appetizers and bite size dishes are really not my thing-I'm not going to spend hours stuffing or piping complicated fillings into something tiny, then rolling that in something else and tying it all together with a chive bundle.  No way. Simple and tasty-that's my style.

Almond and orange immediately came to mind for complimentary tastes to the theme, and mini cakes seemed like a good vehicle for these two ingredients.  Remember, I wanted to keep this simple, so I decided to go flourless-fewer ingredients and dense cakes that deliver a punch in a couple of bites.

(I have NO idea why there is a blank spot in that pan:)

Here is my version, which was super tasty, but may need a bit more tinkering.
Try it and let me know what you think.

Flourless Orange Almond Cakes

1 c blanched slivered almonds
6 eggs, separated
1 c + 2 T extra fine sugar
2 thin strips of orange peel, blanched

-pulse almonds in food processor
-add orange peel, and process until finely ground
-add egg yolks and sugar
-pulse and scrape as needed until well combined
-transfer mixture to a bowl
-beat egg whites in a bowl until they form stiff peaks
-fold egg whites into almond mixture
-spoon batter into mini cake tins with paper liners
(you can also make one big cake in a 9 x 13 pan, greased and floured)
-place in preheated 400 degree oven, then lower heat to 350 degrees when cakes go in
-bake mini cakes for about 15-18 minutes, and large cake for about 30 minutes
-cakes should be brown and toothpick inserted in center should come out clean
-dust cakes with powdered sugar or serve with whipped cream

I also wanted a dessert with a little bit of spice or smoke, so I turned to one of my favorite candy books.
Brittles, Barks and BonBons by Charity Ferreira provided the perfect recipe.

Spanish Almond Brittle
from Brittles, Barks and BonBons by Charity Ferreira

Butter, for pan
2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika (pimenton dulce)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups sugar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 cups blanched slivered almonds, lightly toasted

-lightly butter a 10 by 15 inch jelly roll pan. 
-in a small bowl, stir together the paprika and salt, set aside.
-in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together the sugar, water, and corn syrup until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes.  Increase the heat to high and boil without stirring until the syrup is golden brown (about 335 degrees on candy thermometer), 5 to 10 minutes.  When the sugar begins to brown aroung the edges of the pan, swirl the pan gently so that it carmelizes evenly.
-remove from the heat and carefully stir in the nuts and paprika mixture.  Immediately pour into the prepared pan.  Let stand at room temperature until cool and hard, about 1 hour.
-chop or break the brittle into pieces.

This brittle was a wonderful combination of sweet, crunchy, smoky and a bit salty. It is the perfect sweet bite to finish off an evening of rich food and red wine.

To finish off my dessert Tapas assortment, I stuffed a few dates with some marzipan.  I mixed a bit of orange zest into the marzipan for a little extra zing.  (Ok-I know this involves stuffing tiny things, but it is still low on the fussy scale)  These three, served on vintage metal serving plates, made for a beautiful, richly toned dessert selection.