What does the Fox say?

What does the Fox say?

The Fox say " I miss you Elephant and Mouse. I know you will enjoy living in the Forest living with lovely Sophie. She loves you already. Share her secrets, make her laugh, wipe away her tears. She will introduce you to Poopsie and Plum and their lively gang- Gary the Hog, Mung the Bird, Zin the Bear and the Pole brothers. What a glorious time you'll have. Cannot wait to hear about your adventures when we meet in Imagination Forest! Love you"

Pear Cornmeal Cake with Rosemary Syrup

Too many pears. Not enough time to eat. Actually, too many fruits. The tray of Jonagold apples from Costco was placed on top of the Bosc pear, which was bruised, which required that they be made into something. I have been incorporating cornmeal into my baking dishes recently, ever since I bought a box of cornmeal to make cornbread for my cornbread stuffing. A google search later, I came across this Pear Cornmeal Cake with Rosemary Syrup from the Real Simple magazine. Finally, I get to use the square Springform  pan I had bought awhile back.

The cake is in the oven. It is dark outside... I am debating going into the garden for those sprigs of rosemary. Ha, ha. Who am I kidding, I will be making the rosemary syrup and brushing the cake with it.

NB So this cake is a keeper. Daughter asked if I used the batter from my Blueberry Peach Cobbler, another favorite of hers/ ours. Totally different method of making the batter but a flavor reminiscent of the Cobbler. Delicious warm with a dollop of whip cream. A hot cup of tea is the perfect complement. 

Poppy Seed Dinner Rolls

It has been awhile since I made this Poppy Seed dinner roll. This buttery rolls are delicious and fun to eat. Layers are peeled apart to mop up gravy. The important thing to remember when making these dinner rolls is to prepare the dough the night before. I made some this Thanksgiving weekend to accompany a rack of lamb dinner.

Cornbread Stuffing with Chestnuts, Leeks and Chanterelles

Cornbread Stuffing is a constant staple on our Thanksgiving menu even if the turkey is not!! This year I perused a number of cookbooks and magazine for ideas to make it even tastier. I was challenged by the fact Thanksgiving dinner would be not be hosted at my house. I wanted to break it down to a number of make ahead components especially since I like to make everything from scratch including roasting those chestnuts! 

Summer's Fresh Tomato Sauce

This is my favorite thing to make at this time of year. Nothing could be simpler...well, maybe if you omitted the sausage. It is a joyous celebration of my summer garden. With a smile, I head out to the garden. The garden is heady with the scent of all the fragrant herbs like basil, oregano and thyme. Plump tomatoes weigh down the tomato branches seeming to need tying up each time I get out there. A quick harvest of sun ripened tomatoes, some basil and oregano and I head back to the kitchen to make the Fresh Tomato Sauce.

From Garden to Table

Went to Costco, bought some lamb loin chops. Searched Food Network for recipes and finally settled on Cat Cora's Lamb Chop and Bobby Flay's Rosted brussel sprouts, pancetta and potatoes. Why those recipes you ask? Yesterday I spied in among the weeds in my garden the making of such a dinner- a garden to table adventure.

Broken Treasures

In my garden, broken flower pots are never thrown away. I use the shards to cover drainage holes in flower pots to prevent soil from washing out. They are incorporated in the  planting medium I use for repotting orchids. Most of all, I have a fondness for succulents displayed in broken pots. I like the organic and rustic feel of succuelnts spilling over and out of pots.

I woke up with that thought in my mind and excitedly headed into my garden to do just that. Luckily for me, I found two small pots that were broken when they were either toppled over by strong winds or knocked over by my dog, Frasier or the landscapers. Strange how one can regard finding broken pot as lucky! No precious plants were damaged when those pots were broken.... In fact, the plants that were originally in the pots, spilled out and rooted themself in the ground, leaving me with the perfect containers for my succulent garden.

The fun part is deciding which succulents to include in the display. I made use of smaller specimens that I started a few months ago together with bigger cuttings from existing display plants. I chose a balance of sizes and colors for each of the two pots. The pot at the back was intact enough to be planted vertically with aloes "Red Riding Hood" and Oscularia Deltoids drapping over the sides. The pot in front had to be laid on its side to be planted. It was planted with Sempervinum Arachnoidem (cobweb in center) and Echeveria "Doris Taylor" (red tip with fine white hair)  of various sizes. The trick is to fill the pots enough plants of the right size to be attractive but leave enough space for the specimens to grow. The plants will grow larger and have pups, filling in the broken pots until the broken edges are conceal.

Continously propogate the succulents so that you will always have specimens to use when an inspiration strikes you as it did that morning. Check out post on my spring time propogating.