Author: suzielinn

Lover of nature and gardening, good food and fresh air.
herbal fare

Cheddar Dill Puffs

suzielinn

If at first you don’t succeed – try, try again. So it goes with dill and me.

I can grow fennel, which is botanically related to dill though miles apart in flavor. I try, try again with dill, which is how it sometimes goes with gardening. As with real estate, gardening is all about location location, location. Until I find dill’s perfect location, I will resort to buying fresh dill at the grocery store.

Fennel growing in my southern Denton county garden in January, despite the record cold:

fennel

Cheddar Dill Puffs

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur’s gluten free flour)
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, cook the water, butter and salt until the butter melts. Stir to combine. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously about two minutes. The mixture will start to come together and pull away from the sides of the saucepan. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter will separate, then smooth out after each egg is added to the mixture.

Stir in cheese and dill.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop the batter on prepared baking sheets by spoonfuls, about one inch apart. Bake about 25-30 minutes or until the cheddar puffs are golden brown.

Makes around 22 cheddar puffs.

dill cheddar puffs

gardening

A Red, Red Rose

suzielinn

Valentine’s Day is exactly a week away. If you are a gardener in North Texas, that can mean only one thing: It is time to prune the roses! That is, assuming you have roses left after Rose Rosette Virus spread throughout the land… Myself, I have just a handful left, down from the 100+ antique roses I had just a few short years ago. RRV was brutal in my Denton county garden.

One of the few roses I have remaining is Thomas Affleck, an intense pink rose with abundant hips. This rose was bred at The Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, Texas, and named after a Texas nurseryman. I have no idea why this rose was spared when all the roses in the same flower bed were hit with RRV. It was the newest rose, not two years in the ground. Perhaps it was protected by the larger plantings around it.  Perhaps it will prove to be hardier than the norm. Time will tell as RRV is still abundant in the area.

One long-time rose gardener in North Texas says that he will continue to grow roses, even if he has to treat them as annuals. I admire his perspective and tenacity, as I miss my roses. But I am not yet ready to dive back into roses. Time marches on and so does the garden. I am expanding my herbs, adding in more Texas natives and planting more for the bees and butterflies.

If you are in North Texas and surrounded by RRV, it is wise to practice safe pruning. Don’t prune on an overly windy day. Disinfect your pruners between roses. Immediately bag all rose clippings. Clean up any rose debris around the base of your plants before adding fresh mulch. Remove any affected roses immediately. Do not listen to false reports that RRV can be treated. As much as I wish it could, there is no proven method at this time for saving roses once they are affected.

If you have a gardener and they prune your roses, please do us all a favor: Make them bag the pruned rose clippings! Do not let them drive off your property with the clippings tied down in a trailer bed, where the wind can further spread the mites that carry RRV.

If you are adding roses to your garden this season, please shop wisely. Skip over Knockout roses, which were mass bred and over planted. Shop your local independent nurseries that carry roses from reputable growers. Space your roses a few feet apart so the mites cannot travel from one plant to another.

——

A midwinter arrangement of greenery, including rose hips from Thomas Affleck and yaupon holly berries:

valentines greenery

A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns

O my Luve is like a red, red rose
   That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
   That’s sweetly played in tune.
So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
   So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
   Till a’ the seas gang dry.
Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
   And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;
I will love thee still, my dear,
   While the sands o’ life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only luve!
   And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my luve,
   Though it were ten thousand mile.

 

herbal fare

Lavender lemonade

suzielinn

While I have long cooked with a variety of herbs, I am relatively new to utilizing lavender. It wasn’t until I tasted a lavender cheddar cheese last year that I became intrigued with cooking and baking with lavender. This recipe is one of my new favorite drinks.

Lavender lemonade
Lavender mixture:
Bring 2 cups water with 1/2 cup sugar to a low boil, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Add 1/4 cup honey and 3 tablespoons dried culinary lavender. Cover and let steep 15 minutes.
Strain lavender mixture, pressing down on the lavender to release more of its essence.
In a large pitcher, combine lavender water with 2 cups lemon juice and 4 cups water.

lemons

Chill at least two hours and serve over ice. Garnish with lemon slices, if desired.

Serves eight. (This lemonade goes wonderfully with lavender macarons, pictured above.)
This recipe can easily be cut in half.

herbal fare

Cranberry Mint Green Tea

suzielinn

lime and mint picture

Cranberry Mint Green Tea, iced

Bring 2 cups water to a low boil. Add 2 green tea bags and let steep ten minutes. Remove tea bags and chill tea, at least one hour.

Meanwhile, place 1/4 cup frozen cranberries in a bowl with 2 chopped mint springs and juice from two limes. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.

When ready to serve, mash cranberry mixture until berries are popped and mint leaves well crushed. Strain mixture into cold tea.

Serve over ice and garnish with mint leaves and lime slices.

Serves two.

cranberry green tea

gardening

Early Spring

suzielinn

Harshness vanished. A sudden softness
has replaced the meadows’ wintry grey.
Little rivulets of water changed
their singing accents. Tendernesses,

hesitantly, reach toward the earth
from space, and country lanes are showing
these unexpected subtle risings
that find expression in the empty trees.

By Rainer Maria Rilke

 

Winter was brutal in North Texas this year, with some of the coldest and driest weather we have experienced in years. But signs of spring are now popping up – subtle risings of warmer weather. The winter’s harshness has vanished. For now at least. The wintery grey is turning a lush green. Oh, we will have more winter to come. Our average last freeze date is March 12 and Mother Nature can be rough on us gardeners. An early spring often means one last late cold snap, a freeze so late it reminds gardeners of how mathematical averages are calculated. It is not unheard of for North Texas to have snow on Easter, after all. But – for today – I am enjoying the bright blue sky and the soft greens of an early spring.

Spring bulbs emerging

bulbs

Fennel putting on new growth

fennel

Salad burnet, a wonderful evergreen herb

salad burnet

Hellebores, or Lenten Rose, will be blooming soon

hellebores

Rosemary, blooming

rosemary blooming

An evergreen fern, nestled away in a shady spot

fern

 

vintage

A Good Mystery

suzielinn

Who doesn’t love a good mystery?

While some may want nothing more than to curl up with an Agatha Christie novel, I prefer my mysteries a bit more real. As in: What is this object I just bought?!

Such was the case last week when I happened to buy… A German Pretzel Holder?

pretzel holder1

Who even knew there was such a thing as a pretzel holder? Certainly not I. But thanks to a lovely group of ladies on a Facebook junkin’ site, I was able to find out exactly what it was that I had purchased. Eighty posts and many fascinating ideas later, the mystery was solved.

I adore estate sales, second hand stores, antique markets, flea markets, anywhere that I might find oddities and curiosities.

I spied this item at an estate sale in Grapevine, Texas, last week and knew I had to have it.

Whatever “it” was.

The home was filled with items brought back from Germany and Africa – and a whole wall of German books in German! (In addition to the pretzel holder, I bought a wooden clothes hanger that is stamped with “clean clothes properly” in German.)

The mystery item, which I think would make an adorable flower vase, turns out to be… An Ilkra Edel Keramik pretzel holder, designed by Ernst Werner in 1958. Such a fun mystery!

bibliophile

Cranberry Thanksgiving

suzielinn

Every Thanksgiving, we visit old friends.

Maggie. Her grandmother. And Mr. Whiskers.

Mr. Whiskers has too many whiskers and not enough soap, grandmother says. But that doesn’t bother us.

You see, they are literary friends. We met them over a decade ago when we were introduced to Wende and Harry Devlin’s Cranberry series for children.

cranberry thanksgiving 1

Every Thanksgiving, we pull out Cranberry Thanksgiving. I re-read the book, and we make Grandmother’s Famous Cranberry Bread.

cranberry thanksgiving 2

It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without grandma’s cranberry bread. Or Mr. Whiskers.

herbal fare

Strawberry Basil Doughnuts (baked and gluten-free)

suzielinn

On my continued quest to use herbs in unusual ways in the kitchen, I have cobbled together a recipe for strawberry basil doughnuts. Baked. And gluten-free.

Not your typical cardboard gluten-free snack.

Nor are they your grandma’s homemade doughnuts.

strawberry doughnuts2

1 2/3 cup gluten free baking mix (I used King Arthur, as it is my favorite gluten-free product)
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup strawberries
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease doughnut pan and set aside.
Mix all ingredients together in blender until strawberries and basil are well chopped and incorporated.
Carefully pour the batter into the doughnut pan. (I used a canning ladle for this, but a small measuring cup with spout would work as well.)

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Let set on cooling rack for 5-10 minutes.

If desired, dip the doughnuts first in melted butter then sugar.

(I had extra batter so I made mini muffin with the remaining batter. Same baking time.)

bibliophile, herbal fare, vintage

Vintage Tea Party, a book reviewed

suzielinn

Vintage Tea Party by Carolyn Caldicott is one of those books that need repeated readings to be fully absorbed.

Once through just for the photographs, which are simply stunning. From the double page spreads of English landscapes to the smaller photographs of tea cups, finger sandwiches and beautiful tablescapes, the photographs draw you in and make you want to linger a bit.

Another trip through the book and you glean the history and importance of tea, the rise of afternoon tea, the difference between low and high tea, the joy of a fireside tea and the petite adventures of a nursery tea.

The book draws you back again for the recipes, which require another – now deeper – study of the photographs. The recipes are written in English measurements, but can be easily converted.

From beginning to end, this book is charming. To quote, Vintage Tea Party tells “how afternoon tea developed from its modest beginnings to become a much-loved celebration of indulgent pleasures.” A century and a half may have passed, but I am absolutely in love with Anna, the Duchess of Bedford’s idea of “a tea and a walk in the fields.”

How to get that vintage tea party look?

Step one: Check your attic or Grandma’s china hutch for cups, silver and linens. Antique markets always offer an abundant selection of tea party essentials. One need not have matching dishes. Mix and match and coordinate to please your tastes and style.

tea 2

Step two: The food… When homemade treats are not possible, shop at a local bakery or pastry shop for tiny morsels. A baguette sliced and topped with butter and fresh jam and a few bits of fine cheese are simple enough yet pleasing. I adore Ms. Caldicott’s advice: “You don’t need to be a domestic goddess to have a tea party. As long as the tea ingredients look home-made and are served with vintage style, there are ways to cheat and make life easier.”

tea 3

Step three: The tea… Ah. The tea. So many possibilities and so many personal favorites. The British Emporium in Grapevine is one of my favorite places to shop for tea, but most groceries now carry a variety of options.

Now, about that tea and a walk in the fields. Brisk fall days such as today are the perfect pairing!

tea 1

 

herbal fare

Go Texan!

suzielinn

One of my favorite things to do at the Texas State Fair is cruise through the Go Texan Pavilion and check out all of the Texas-made products.

This year, I tried out a new (to me) jam – Jammit! Jam. I was drawn in by the herbal combinations… peach and thyme… papaya rosemary… lemon dill…

I ended up buying the Peach Thyme Prosecco and the Cherry Clove Cabernet.  The guys enjoyed the peach thyme jam tonight on a fresh baguette. I am saving the cherry jam for closer to the holidays. It tastes like Christmas in a jar! I can’t wait to try it as a cheesecake topping.

jam

While standing in line to pay for the jams, I spotted a soap combination I had not seen previously – lavender sage. It smells heavenly. I haven’t bathed with it yet, but am looking forward to it.

soap

soap 2