Candied Violets~Violas~

I bought the Jardin sign for my friend who single handedly is creating a verger..and a potager~ I am beyond impressed:)

I liked the little sign so much I took photos before offering it to her.. I added more of my favorite things~ Violas~ My Mother's Favorite Books~ And My Maman. Not in order of importance:) AS the last would be first.. I sugared some violets..in hopes of adorning a light dessert for my husband~ It is easy to candy violets~ Look them up on Google:) You can make a mix of egg white and water..and brush on..then simply scatter fine granulated sugar on top.. I lay mine on wax paper and turn over occasionally..until dry.. If you fear egg whites..you can..simply follow step 2.. Old fashioned egg-white version: Violet flowers, at least 20 in excellent condition with stems still attached, untreated with chemicals 1 egg white Caster/fine sugar Sugar and water version (no egg-white): Violet flowers, at least 20 in excellent condition with stems still attached, untreated with chemicals 1/2 cup water 1 cup granulated sugar 1/4 tsp almond extract or 1 tsp rosewater (optional) Caster/fine sugar (to sprinkle) I have a pesticide free garden..so I have no worries re my flowers.I grow a lot of edible blooms because I find them beautiful.Topping a salad..decorating a dish.. in ice cubes.. the possibilities are endless~ Calendula,roses,lavender,nasturtiums..etc... The complete instructions can be found HERE~ I think end of May..June is the most glorious time in the garden..

Everything amazes me..Every Day~ Because it changes every single day~ What a great gift from nature gardens are.

We lived in the city when I was little and there were a few of these Bridal Wreath Spireas around,my chubby little hands would gather several clusters tightly to make a bouquet for my mom..I still remember and had to have some here..They are flowering abundantly right now and with the rain we had..they are bowing to the sun~ In appreciation I am sure~For me. In an early Spring garden I like to have; Tulips, Daffodils, Hyacinths Forget-Me -Nots Violas Ajuga Lily -Of TheValley Bleeding Hearts Columbines Ferns Hostas Johnson's Blue Geraniums Flowering trees such as Lilacs,Crabapples,Serviceberries. Vinca Muscari Scilla Anemone Magnolia. I am certain I am forgetting some..but these have bloomed here so far.. At the moment my favorites are The Korean Lilacs..Beautiful..lush ,full.Not like regular lilac trees.

~The Fairy Hobmother~

Scilla and Cornflower are whispering a little secret in their compound~

The secret ..is all about the Fairy Hobmother~ I had heard of The Fairy..but The Fairy Hobmother had never visited me..I guess The Fairy Hobmother never knew how fond I am of Fairies~:)

I am:) The Fairy Hobmother.. visits you on your blog..and offers you a hostess gift of a gift certificate at Amazon. I think that's quite gracious and nice..and I accepted.. If you would like to have the Fairy Hobmother visit you..all you need do is leave a comment and maybe the Fairy will pick you..you just never know!

I am spending much more time gardening..

Than baking these days..so will be sharing more gardens and crafts than food perhaps.. So keep your fingers crossed..and you too may get a visit from The Fairy Hobmother..The visit will bring a smile to your face:)

Makes you feel like a child:) The Fairy Hobmother~ Thanks Again~

Cookies that little boys say: "These are so good"~

 

If there's a puddle..Ollie will find it..Love this Goodie One Shoe shot.It was once a nickname of mine..but ..I find it suits Poodle so much more~x All the little boys we have really really liked these so I thought I would share~

I had first spotted them..a variation thereof..in my daughter's Food Network Magazine.. Monster cookies they were called.. I knew Lucas hates nuts..and always asks if my baking has nuts..so I omitted them..and omitted the glaze . I just used melted milk chocolate chips as the glaze. Winners here with little boys~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ La Recette: Ingredients For the Cookies: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup packed light brown sugar 2 large eggs, at room temperature 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 2 cups quick-cooking oats 1 1/4 cups crispy rice cereal 1 cup milk chocolate chips 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans(I omitted) 1 cup miniature marshmallows For the Topping: (I just melted milk chocolate chips) 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows 2 1/2 teaspoons half-and-half Pinch of cayenne pepper 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans Directions Make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and both sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time on medium speed, then beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Stir the oats, cereal, chocolate chips, pecans and marshmallows into the dough with a wooden spoon. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 3 inches apart. Bake the cookies in batches until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cookies rest on sheet pans to cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool. Make the topping: Combine the chocolate chips, marshmallows, half-and-half and cayenne pepper in a saucepan over medium heat; cook, stirring, until the mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the pecans. Drizzle the mixture over the cookies and let set, about 4 hours. Remembering the Cape this time of year~ And all the little boys are going with their families this year~

The cookies would be great in a Cape picnic:)

Gardening~ Enchantment~

This time of year the seas of Forget-Me-Nots wave through our gardens..I miss them so when they disappear~ They are so harmonious with the prevalent whites of May~ The lilac tree that was here when we moved here..as well as the masses of Lily-Of- The Valley,and delicate violas.. The latter 2 are invasive,but I would not appreciate May as much without them. The other white I favor in May is the Amélanchier~ Serviceberry~ It was given to us as a toddler tree when our daughter was expecting our first grandchild ..The kids got together and offered the serviceberry to me for Mother's Day..It's grown to be a sight for sore eyes..where does that expression come from? Because that tree..makes my eyes happy,as well as my soul.. I made some hearts recently..I'll share..and the tree will be there too:) Enchantment..can be so many things.. even whites in a May Garden~

Soul Food #130~For the long weekend here~

On my tabletop Mary E calendar May 17th had this: "Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful~ For beauty is God's handwriting~"

Linda's Biscuits~And Marie's Tea Party Cookbook~

My friend Linda at How to Cook A Wolf blogspot..has shared so many great great recipes with all of us..The last recipe I tried of hers were her biscuits..I made them for Mother's Day..twice..my daughters said I hope this recipe is on your blog:) I said it was just on Linda's but I will post it.. Can you believe we went in and made another batch for one daughter to take home and bake because she was having her DMIL for dinner?They take minutes:) I love being in the kitchen with my girls. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can visit Linda here: But I will jot her recipe here so my girls won't have to go too far~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Southern Biscuits recipe courtesy Alton Brown 2 cups flour 4 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons shortening 1 cup chilled buttermilk Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky. Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. (Biscuits from the second pass will not be quite as light as those from the first, but hey, that's life.) Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes. Enjoy warm from the oven with butter and jam...yum. Go see Linda's beautiful photos..your mouths will surely water~! Thank you Linda~Bisous. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How can I make paragraphs? Why does this happen now? :( ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On another note.. Speaking of gleaning wonderful recipes from blogging friends.. You have heard me mention Marie's name so often. If you have been following my blog for a while..you have seen the finished products.. She recently prepared an online Tea Party Cookbook..PDF file.. I just could not resist..it is very reasonably priced and you can pay with Paypal.. She has included a Royal Tea Party invitation she made..you can print them up..as she is a very talented artist..her art work is adorable..

Go to her blog..and you will see the cute invitation and the way to buy her book on the top right corner~ Marie's Blog The finished book has 23 pages..has art..photos.. lovely recipes..and ..well I just feel I KNOW the author:) I am tickled pink to have it. Have a great day~

Soul Food #129~

The so much..:)I love so much. Our yellow house with so much personality..my little car in the garage.. Best..Max and I and a flower...he said we are gardening..We did that the Sunday before last~He's at that special age..they all are..but 4 is sweet..innocent..kind..He's pretty darn cute with his splattering of tiny freckles across the bridge of his tiny nose:)

These are a few of my favorite things~ The apple blossoms in bloom~ Jacques' birdhouses he made for me~ My friend's hat on the gate of her arbour as she prepares her new Potager~ Our tulips~ And more:)

Trying to copy a watercolor from an ancient Victoria Magazine~ Pasteling:) Lucas from an old photo on the beach~ Painting Noah in one of his costumes before he left for a trip.. All our alphabet boys love dressing up~ Trying pastels on new paper..This little nest and one egg..was left abandoned after the mommy left with the other two~ Had to capture it in a way..even though I found it sad~:( I love sitting for just a few moments in peace and quiet w/ painting toys..and TRYING~ So yes..these are a few of my favorite things~If you haven't tried picking up pastels,or watercolors,or crayons,and have some time on your hands,try..you can feel different in a few peaceful moments..it happens.

Delicious Make ahead buns~ and their bags~

I found this recipe recently..and I have no clue where..I tried Googling.. to no avail So forgive me..I think the original source is Cooking Light..but I am almost certain Pinterest was my inspiration..somewhere~

You make the dough the day before..and the next day you just assemble and bake..they are soft soft soft. So good really. I had seen bread bags on the internet using dishtowels..I wasn't ready to part with my new ones.. so used fabric instead..

You can add ephemera..such as the one above I bought at Etsy..And you can add vintage lace..on one I added some crochet from a tablecloth from my grandmother's home~The tablecloth was worn..had holes..I salvaged the parts that were still usable..I love vintage handiwork~ You simply sew a hem at the top sew both sides and bottom together..whilst tucking seam binding or ribbon to the interior..to form the ties~

I liked using this Macarons/French fabric and covering a button w/ the cake.The fabric is also from Etsy..Taiwan:) Shopping from home is such an extravagance I enjoy.In moderation of course.:)

Here is the recipe for the small breads~ No Knead Overnight Parmesan And Thyme Rolls Ingredients 1/2 teaspoon dry yeast 2 tablespoons warm water (100° to 110°) 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1/3 cup 2% reduced-fat milk $ 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided 1 tablespoon sugar $ 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 large egg, lightly beaten 1 1/10 ounces whole-wheat white flour (about 1/4 cup) 5 3/5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups), divided Cooking spray 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper Preparation 1. Dissolve yeast in 2 tablespoons warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly. 2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add thyme to pan; cook 1 minute or until bubbly and fragrant. Add thyme mixture and milk to yeast mixture, stirring with a whisk; add 1/4 cup cheese, sugar, salt, and egg, stirring well. 3. Weigh or lightly spoon whole-wheat white flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Using a wooden spoon, stir whole-wheat white flour into yeast mixture. Weigh or lightly spoon 4.5 ounces (about 1 cup) all-purpose flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add all-purpose flour to yeast mixture, stirring well. Add enough of remaining all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to form a smooth but very sticky dough. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. (Dough will not double in size.) 4. Remove dough from refrigerator. Do not punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a floured surface; sprinkle dough lightly with flour. Roll dough into a 12 x 7–inch rectangle. Brush dough with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup cheese evenly over dough; sprinkle with pepper. Beginning with a long side, roll up dough jelly-roll fashion. Pinch seam to seal (do not seal ends of roll). Cut roll into 8 (1 1/2-inch) slices. Place slices, cut sides up, on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until rolls have risen slightly. 5. Preheat oven to 400°. 6. Place pan in oven, and immediately reduce heat to 375°. Bake rolls at 375° for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Enjoy~ P.S.I would love to know how to chose the right size photo for our blogs~ These seem so tiny on my Netbook..and frightfully large on the family computer..I sound like Goldilocks who wants to find the right size.. I am linking to Picasa.. and pick the 600x400 or vice versa.. Or I use medium on the size asked for on the new Blogger? What am I doing incorrectly. These are too big for me said she:)

Soul Food #128

These are a few of my favorite things~

White Tulips
White Furniture
White Bedding
White Teapot and dishes
Harney's Paris Tea and my mom's teacups
Trisha Romance's Art
Sentimental Jewelry
Master's Busts
Older Checkerboard Games
Nat King Cole and my last LP

BZZZ~

It's the month of May~ I would love to say that my Lily Of The Valley are blooming like Carol's in Paris..At Paris Breakfasts..(le beau beau blog...) Go see...but they are just poking our QC ground in my little town right now.. May....represents Forget-Me-Nots and Wood Anemones..

I love them..I love Peonies~Iris~ Foxglove~Lily Of The Valley~ Lilacs~Anemones~Clematis~ Roses~ Hostas(yes..even hostas)..Some Ferns..Herbs~Sunflowers~etc..ad infinitum:) Tout ce qui est beau dans mon jardin.

Sugar cookies with tea.. Could not resist making these in February when I received this beautiful teacup w/ integrated tea infuser/strainer.. Had the cookie cut out.. and a delicious David's Tea to go with.. This cup has served me well during the chilly months of Feb~March and April.. Un coup de coeur~ Like the Forget Me Not's~

And feelings from the heart~ I wish you a wonderful May~