Author: suzielinn

Lover of nature and gardening, good food and fresh air.
bibliophile, vintage

Once Upon An Autumn Day

suzielinn

Aren’t these saucers the perfect addition to a fall tea party?

fall dish 2

I will be reviewing Vintage Tea Party by Carolyn Caldicott later this week. (Sneak preview: Neat book! Loved the vintage dishes and photography.)

Tea time is a nice pause in the middle of a hectic day, a chance to settle in, relax, enjoy a quiet moment, reflect for a bit. Once a little boy, now a young man, my son still sits down to tea. The draw? Food. He comes to the table for a snack, stays for the tea and a poem or two. The best part of a vintage tea party is that one can mix and match the dishes, cut a few early fall flowers for a small bouquet. It need not be fancy (or the food homemade) to a perfect tea party.

fall dish 1

Once upon an autumn day,
Colorful leaves began to fade
In the midst of a chilly, frosty air
As multitude of trees grew steadily bare.

Once upon an autumn day,
The whispering breeze was here to stay
Moving aimlessly through the countless trees
Scattering leaves with the greatest of ease.

Once upon an autumn day,
The leaves whirled freely in every way,
Until at last they came to rest
Finding a haven in which to nest.

Once upon an autumn day,
The trees were dormant, and the leaves lay
Waiting for the winter snow to fall
To quickly obscure them one and all.

~~~ Joseph T. Renald

ihand with fan

 

 

 

 

bibliophile

Miss Rumphius

suzielinn

A good picture book is timeless….it appeals as much to the adult reader as it does to the child.

Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney, is one such picture book. I read this book many many times to my son when he was young. It touched my heart and sang to my soul. I long to be Miss Rumphius when I am old and gray.

miss 1

Little Alice Rumphius lives by the sea and helps her grandfather paint pictures and listens to his stories of faraway places. She longs to grow up and travel the world, then settle down by the sea. Her grandfather tells her she must do one more thing: find something to make the world more beautiful.

Little Alice Rumphius does grow up and works – where else but with books? “…dusting books and keeping them from getting mixed up, and helping people find the ones they wanted.”

And she travels the world and settles down by the sea. But what will she do to make the world more beautiful? After a hard winter, she realizes what she must do. She scatters lupine seeds “along the highways and down the country lane …around the schoolhouse and back of the church.” People now call her That Crazy Old Lady. But come spring, the flowers emerge and she is called The Lupine Lady ever after.

Now, years later, children come to her garden gate and she invites them in and tells them tales of faraway places and urges them to find something to make the world a more beautiful place.

miss 4

I think most gardeners have a touch of Miss Rumphius in them – that intrinsic desire to make the world more beautiful.

My husband and I had recently bought our first home when I attended a garden club’s plant sale in a neighboring town. I still vividly recall the ladies handing me a glass of lemonade and inviting me to sit and chat about gardening. It is hard to believe that 22 years have now passed. I joined that garden club a few years after that plant sale and am still a member today. Several garden club members that I remember fondly from those early days have now passed on. But their legacies live on.  And their gardens live, too, as they scattered seeds and dug and shared plants with garden club members over the years. And they made the world a more beautiful place.

miss 5

(I recently bought these beautiful flower shears at the estate sale of a garden club member that passed away last year.)

miss 6

 

bibliophile

October

suzielinn

hibiscus flowers

Bending above the spicy woods which blaze,
Arch skies so blue they flash, and hold the sun
Immeasurably far; the waters run
Too slow, so freighted are the river-ways
With gold of elms and birches from the maze
Of forests. Chestnuts, clicking one by one,
Escape from satin burs; her fringes done,
The gentian spreads them out in sunny days,
And, like late revelers at dawn, the chance
Of one sweet, mad, last hour, all things assail,
And conquering, flush and spin; while, to enhance
The spell, by sunset door, wrapped in a veil
Of red and purple mists, the summer, pale,
Steals back alone for one more song and dance.

~  ~ ~ Helen Hunt Jackson

herbal fare

Rosemary – The dessert herb?

suzielinn

It is easy to get in a cooking rut.
Making a savory dish? Reach for parsley, rosemary, thyme or basil.
Making dessert? Go for mint or lemon verbena.
There are a few notable crossovers, such as mint in Greek dishes. But what about rosemary? In a cake?
As unorthodox as it may sound, this recipe will have you swooning. And looking at rosemary in a whole new light.

orange and rosemary

Rosemary Orange Bundt Cake with Rum Glaze

1 (2-layer) package yellow cake mix
1 small package vanilla instant pudding mix
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 orange, zested
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup rum
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup pecans (optional)

Glaze (recipe follows)

Combine cake mix, pudding mix, rosemary and orange zest in a large bowl. Add water, oil and rum. Mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well with each addition. Stir in pecans. Pour into a bundt baking pan that has been sprayed with non-stick baking spray. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour or until baked through.

Pour glaze over cake while still in pan, allowing glaze to soak in before removing cake from pan. Invert cake onto serving plate so that the glazed top is facing up.

cake2

Rum glaze

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 water or orange juice
1/4 cup rum

Bring the four ingredients to soft-boil stage in a saucepan. (235 degrees on candy thermometer.)

cake3

Recipe adapted from Along The Garden Path by Fredericksburg Herb Farm
Allergy information:
I have made this using both regular cake mix and gluten-free cake mix. I have not made this egg or dairy free. Pecans are optional. I do prefer the added texture of the pecans, but my spouse hates pecans and my son is allergic to them. Photos on the blog are gluten and pecan free.

herbal fare

Rosemary + Cranberry = Match made in herbal heaven

suzielinn

Rosemary and cranberries are a match made in heaven. I first made these biscuits for Christmas 2003 and still make them whenever I roast a ham. They are great alone or as a base for a ham sandwich. The smell, fresh from the oven, is Mmmm…

cranberry and rosemary

Biscuits with cranberries and rosemary
2 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup dried cranberries<
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a food processor, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and process until the mixture is well combined.

Place the mixture in a large bowl. Stir in cranberries, rosemary and buttermilk. Mix well. Mixture will be sticky. Transfer to a floured work surface. Dust hands with flour and knead dough about ten times or until smooth. Pat out until about 1/2 thick. Using a 2 inch biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits and place on prepared pan. Gather the scraps and repeat until all dough is used. Brush the top with beaten egg. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Makes about 14 biscuits.

(Recipe from the cookbook Very Cranberry by Jennifer Trainer Thompson)

rosemary and cranberry biscuits

I have made these dairy and egg free in the past, when those food allergies were an issue.
I have not yet tried to make these with gluten free flour.

 

Rosemary is beautiful in floral arrangements. Here, rosemary is paired with coneflowers, esperanza (Tacoma stans) and an ornamental pepper.

flower arrangement with rosemary

herbal fare

Lemon verbena peach cobbler

suzielinn

As promised earlier, here is my recipe for Lemon Verbena Peach Cobbler, compliments of Fredericksburg Herb Garden. Yummy goodness! 

peach cobbler

Lemon Verbena Peach Cobbler

4-6 cups peeled and sliced peaches
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon verbena leaves
Zest of one lemon
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
Cinnamon to taste

Mix peaches with 1 cup sugar and set aside. 

Melt butter in glass 9×13 inch glass baking pan. 

Mix 1/4 cup sugar, lemon verbena and lemon zest in food processor. 

Combine flour, remaining 3/4 cup sugar, milk, salt and baking powder in a bowl and mix well. Stir in lemon verbena mixture. Pour over melted butter in baking pan. Spoon peaches over the batter and sprinkle with cinnamon. (Do not mix together!)

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until peach mixture is bubbly and crust is lightly brown. 

Notes:
I have previously made this recipe dairy free when needed.
I have also made it gluten free using King Arthur’s all purpose gluten free flour mixture.
I generally cut back on the sugar in most recipes, this one included.

gardening

The first day of fall…

suzielinn

The first day of fall in North Texas is never reflected in the thermometer, no matter how much we hope it will be. But hang on. The temperatures will start inching downward in a week or two. And rain will once again bless our gardens. 

black bowl

Now is a great time to start making a list of your fall garden chores and deciding what bulbs to plant later this year for spring flowers. Our fall garden list this year includes finally building a new fence between us and the neighbor slightly uphill. Take advantage of our mild fall and winter weather for any hardscaping projects – such as new garden paths, constructing raised beds, building or repairing fences and gates. If you don’t have to rake a lot of leaves, now is a great time to add a fresh layer of mulch to your flower beds. If you are blessed (cursed?) with an abundance of leaves to rake, like we are, it is best to wait until the leaves fall and are raked up before adding new mulch.

Bulbs that return year after year in this area are daffodils, crocus, species tulips, Dutch iris, Luecojum and hyacinths. Buy them early for the best selection, but hold off planting until late November to early December. 

trioofdaffodils

Fall is a great time to plant shrubs, trees and perennials as it gives them time to get established before the heat of summer. 

doubleorange

If you have perennials that need divided, now is a great time to do so. Hostas, daylilies and irises all benefit from periodically being divided. My preferred method for digging and dividing is to use a pitchfork to dig, then soak the plant and root ball in diluted seaweed water for a bit to loosen the roots. The roots should be able to be gently torn apart. If you are dividing iris rhizomes, cut back the blades to 2-3 inches before replanting. 

jesse'ssong

Iris rhizomes can be found at the nurseries in the fall and online suppliers ship this time of year. Soak the rhizomes in diluted seaweed water for about 15 minutes before planting. Irises need to sit high in the soil to bloom best, so be sure not to bury them deep or cover them with mulch. 

fantastic blue

This is also a great time to mail order daylilies. Oakes Daylilies continues to be my favorite online supplier. They always send amazingly large plants, plus take requests for a bonus plant. If you are unable to buy and plant daylilies now, never fear. Oakes ships in the spring, as well.

frivfrills2

Don’t forget that we can grow a variety of vegetables through the winter here in North Texas, including beets, lettuce, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, chard and carrots. Cool season annual herbs that thrive in our winter weather include cilantro, chervil and cutting celery (Apium graveolens). Independent garden centers stock vegetable plants and seeds that can be planted now.

gardening

Hibiscus schizopetalus

suzielinn

tropical hibiscus 1

Hibiscus schizopetalus: One of my favorite tropical plants to grow in North Texas.

I drag this plant into the garage each winter, right before the first forecast of below-freezing weather. Nestled in the garage for the winter, the hibiscus goes dormant and drops all of its leaves.

Come spring, I drag it outside and prune it back severely. I remove all of the mulch and fallen leaves, top-dress it with earthworm castings and organic fertilizer and add a fresh covering of cedar mulch.

Then I sit back and watch it return to life… And it rewards me with these amazingly delicate blooms all summer long.

tropical hibscus 2

Hibiscus schizopetalus:

schizopetalus literally means split petals.

 

It is winter hardy in zones 10 and 11. Alas, I garden in zone 8a. I am thankful that hibiscus overwinter very well in this area and remain disease- and pest-free.

I bought my Hibiscus schizopetalus from a local nursery about ten years ago, though they can also be ordered from online suppliers.

bibliophile, vintage

Portrait by a Neighbor

suzielinn

dog

Before she has her floor swept
0r her dishes done,
Any day you’ll find her
A-sunning in the sun!

It’s long after midnight
Her key’s in the lock,
And you never see her chimney smoke
Till past ten o’clock!

She digs in her garden
with a shovel and a spoon,
She weeds her lazy lettuce
By the light of the moon.

She walks up the walk
Like a woman in a dream,
She forgets she borrowed butter
And pays you back in cream!

Her lawn looks like a meadow,
And if she mows the place
She leaves the clover standing
And the Queen Anne’s lace!

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

herbal fare

Herbal butters

suzielinn

Homemade herbal butters are an affordable and easy way to preserve your herbs and jazz up an otherwise ordinary meal. The herbal combinations are endless, but I tend to make them by cooking style (ie: Italian) or by dried herb blends (ie: Herbs de Provence.)

herb and shallot butter

To make:

Set out butter to soften. (Use quality, unsalted butter.) One stick of butter will make one ‘log’ of herbal butter, so plan one stick of butter per blend.

Harvest and wash and pat dry your herbs and prepare any additions, such as garlic or shallots.

For an Italian blend, think about using basil, parsley and oregano.

For a Mexican blend, think about using cilantro and hot peppers of choice.

Herbs de Provence: savory, thyme, rosemary and oregano. Lavender may also be added, in small quantities. (It can be overpowering in some dishes.)

If you want to add to breakfast dishes, think about using chervil and chives.

buter

Add herbs (and peppers, garlic or shallots, if using) to a small food processor and whirl until chopped fine. Add softened butter and process until well blended.

Lay out a piece of wax paper and turn the butter mixture out onto the paper, trying to keep the butter into a small cylindrical shape. Use a spatula to scrape any butter into one central spot. Pull the wax tight around the butter mixture and roll until formed into cylindrical shape.

Store for one week in refrigerator or up to three months in the freezer.

herbal butter

To use, just cut off a section and add to your recipe.

Photo below shows herbal butter added to mushrooms, ready for grill in a cast iron skillet.

mushrooms with butter

Basil is a tender annual and will die at the slightest frost. Chervil and cilantro grow well in our North Texas winters but will bolt at the first sign of summer. Using these herbs in herbal butters is a great way to capture their flavor to enjoy throughout the year.