can you top these? High Season - Tulips Many years ago I read Ruth Reichl's memoir, Comfort Me With Apples. I get that, I do. Perhaps, my version, even though I am just as in love with cooking, would be Comfort Me With Beauty - and Flowers would be the number one source, i.e. Comfort Me With Flowers - but in a totally uplifting way (not ANY of those funeral varieties - they'd all have to be out-of-doors in their own habitats and bees … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2016
An Extraordinary Day in the Bronx – My Vote for THE New York Flower Show
I spent the day in the Bronx today - probably a place that most people I know don't go out of their way to visit unless it's to go to see the Yankees or are driving home from the Hamptons. But today I went on purpose - to visit the New York Botanical Garden on the eve of their Daffodil Weekend. What a major league (no pun intended) treat! No other words are really necessary here except to say that if you have the opportunity to go this weekend … [Read more...]
Ode to Joy – Anatomy of a Symphony in a Time of Enchantment
Today's performance: Ode to Joy I am a person who is entirely in awe of anyone who can sit down and compose a symphony. And yet, there is one composed and playing right under my nose every single morning……….. I suppose the most handily available and vivid image I have comes from the movie Amadeus, where we see a man sit and work to place down onto paper the music that is playing in his head. The composer must harness, with incredible … [Read more...]
Emergency Kit: Flourless Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Swirl
Everyone needs a back-pocket recipe for when an unexpected guest pops in for dinner. Next time, you're caught unprepared and can't run to the store, give this a try. I bet you have all the ingredients in the house and this can be done in about 45 minutes. If you don't have raspberry jam, use another flavor - i.e.orange, red currant will work. FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH RASPBERRY SWIRL - adapted from Epicurious.com 4 oz … [Read more...]
Say It With Flowers – Fresh Mango Loaf Cake with Pistachios and Rose Petals
organic rose petals It seems like a loaf cake kind of week and I'm off today to visit with my dear friend who has breast cancer. In times of need, I need to bake. It isn't often when one can combine their passions into one single endeavor. Sometimes it's challenging to do so. On my page, it'd be flowers, baking and travel. In the mornings I like to step out the door early on, usually before dawn with the dog, to deeply inhale the … [Read more...]
It May Be Cold Outside But, It’s Springtime in My Kitchen! – The Blood Orange-Lavender Loaf Cake with Coconut
Edible Flowers - Violas Today it's back to Winter Weather! Grrrr! My ranunculus are taking a hit and I'm discouraged about them. I just paid a visit to Somerset Feed and Grain and the man there informed me it's going down to 18F tonight. Jeez! I thought we were done with this. Even with my puffy coat today it was cold walking the dog. Oh well - I had an idea from yesterday that I had to distract me from the cold outside. On the way … [Read more...]
Four Years of Kitchen-Inspirational – My List of 12: “Who Would You Most Like to Invite to Dinner”
What have I learned? Wow, I can hardly believe that the very first post I wrote for this blog was on 3/26/12. 576 posts published and 587 drafts in hold. Jeepers, that sure went by quickly - and illustrates just how very quickly time flies by, seemingly exponentially when you're in this particular "time of your life." It's the equivalent of one's college years for goodness sake! And, we all remember how quickly that went … [Read more...]