Inspiration Friday

I saw this on the Room Service website last evening. This would be a great little "bar" set up on the back porch. The price is prohibitive, but it's so cute! I'll have to come up with a "look-a-like" set up with things I already have around the house. The sagey paint makes this look so fresh.

Relax...

Without a doubt, this has been the most productive/relaxing week in recent memory. I've accomplished a lot...a sewing project, some painting, a little cooking and baking, gardening, reading, knitting...and I've done it all without being pressured. It's the first time in a long time that I've cleaned just for me; no company coming or guests expected. Usually that's the case...non-stop harried cleaning (and moving stuff into my room to "hide") and working to the point of exhaustion. This has been fairly pleasant. I've only left the house twice since last Friday...to grocery shop, and a quick stop at Lowe's for black gloss paint...and I've been perfectly content. The beginnings of agoraphobia?

4th of July

While the cake on the left doesn't look too patriotic, picture it topped with strawberries, blueberries, and of course, whipped cream. This is my most favorite cake recipe, Cream Cheese Pound Cake. It's good with fruit, great with ice cream and hot fudge topping, and just about anything else! Very versatile. Here's the recipe:

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

1 1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until combined.
Combine flour and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch Bundt pan.
Bake at 300° for 1 hour and 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan, and let cool completely on wire rack.

Rainy Sunday Ramblings

After a huge downpour yesterday afternoon that continued through the evening, today's weather forecast looks like a repeat of yesterday. Good, good, good...my plants look so much better after water from the sky than water from my garden hose! The basil is flourishing, the tomatoes are growing, and the weeds...WOW. I need to find a little time in my day to pull some of those! I gazed through magazines last night...old Country Home issues...pulling out pages to put in my inspiration file. A few new ideas culled, and a few recipes to add to the rotation. Reminder: do not make the cold Southwestern Corn soup from Everyday Food again, now matter how delicious it looks. It rates a 10 for presentation, but a low 3 for taste.

Garden Planning...very early for 2008

Yesterday at work I found a really gorgeous book entitled Pots in the Garden: Expert Design and Planting Techniques by Ray Rogers. He had a wonderful picture of Oxalis deppei a/k/a Iron Cross Clover. The photo shows a huge pot of this in tandem with a pot of lobelia. I did a search for the oxalis, and found a garden shop that sells 50 bulbs for $12.00/ with 15% off if ordered by July 1. Sounds like a bargain. I can envision a border of potted oxalis around the perimeter of my fence...alas, it will have to wait until next year. Too late to plant for this year.

Fairy Gardens

One of the special events in our Summer reading Program at the library was a Fairy Garden project in the children's room. Mulberry Jean's, a Newburgh shop featuring all matter of fairy garden materials put on the program. Everyone brought in a pot of soil, and they handed out a fairy garden kit. They were all so different...and very cute! The photo shown is from a google search for Fairy Gardens. More labor intensive, but very, very cool!

Serene Sunday

My little "field" of lavender...soothing and gently scenting the air. A little tinkering in the garden, a little light housekeeping, and then...a book, a large iced tea, and a chair under the umbrella. Music wafting through the air. Sounds heavenly.

Lazy Daisy Saturday

What a lazy day...so hot...temps hovering around 96. I truly thought I'd expire after getting groceries carried into the house. The livingroom was a cool oasis...Mango Smoothie in hand, I recovered. No gardening today, so I thought I'd share a photo of Marguerite Daisies taken a few days ago.

Fancy Pantry

Lemon Curd

A cousin to jams and jellies, this versatile preserve has an elegant simplicity that'll please your palate.
Written by Christina Simone

5 large eggs
1¾ cups sugar
1¼ cups lemon juice, about 4 large lemons
¼ cup lemon zest, about 3 lemons
1¼ cups unsalted butter (2½ sticks), cut into small pieces
Whisk all the ingredients, except the butter, together in a large heat-proof bowl. Stir in the butter and set the bowl over a pot of simmering water (creating a double boiler). Maintain a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Occasionally stir with a whisk and be certain to scrape down the side of the bowl, using a rubber spatula, until the mixture thickens and reaches 160°F--45 to 60 minutes. Strain the lemon curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl and stir occasionally to cool completely. To cool quickly, set the bowl of curd over an ice bath and cold water and stir occasionally. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Serving suggestions: Try any of these for an easy treat; fill a tart shell with cold lemon curd and sprinkle with fresh berries. For breakfast, spread lemon curd on scones, toast, or warm muffins. Make a light lemon cream by folding ½ cup whipped cream into ½ cup lemon curd and serve atop fruit or cake. Makes 2 1/2 cups

This recipe is from the Country Living website http://www.countryliving.com/

Lemon curd--although a rather odd name for a wonderful treat--is such a refreshing summertime pantry food. Handy to have on had for quick desserts, and as an alternative to jam on toast. Try it...

Fabulous Friday

Early morning...fixed a breakfast tray to take out to the garden...Sumatra Black Satin coffee prepared in a French Press, yogurt with fresh strawberries and blueberries, and a mini bagel. Dining by the roses with birds chirping...priceless!

A bit of re-arranging is in order. That awkward area above my kitchen cabinets...moved two empty wine crates up there. Cookbooks now reside in them, with some vintagey items sitting on top. Moved the plate rack that I was going to paint up there and now have the Fiestaware displayed in the rack. A wine rack...holding two lovely bottles of 'two-buck Chuck' Merlot and Shiraz. A new view, and a little color splash for the ho-hum renter's kitchen.

After mopping the floor (where does all of this dirt come from?), I've moved a small kitchen bar set to the center of the room. Next "TO DO": clear out the refrigerator and make a grocery list for shopping at Sam's Club tomorrow morning.

Got my hands on a little electrical "thing" for the sunporch. It screws into the light socket and provides 2 electrical outlets AND a socket for a lightbulb. That solves my ~~no electricity on the porch~~problem.

Dream Cottage

This is my dream cottage...something small, cute, and maintainable. I saw these first in Cottage Living; the house is called a Katrina Cottage--quick to build cottages to replace the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The layout is simple and clean; with the addition of a little deck or sunporch it would be perfect.