Loose Change..

To put..this and that~

 But not this and that..

Loose change sometimes becomes lost change..(more often than not..or spent on things that don't matter much in the long run..if one waits too long..)..before I lose this change..I'll just do a little recap of pics saved..

I finished my stitching project..  and left the house blank as she did..I started stitching it in pale yellow like our home..but thought..less is best in this case..It would be nice to make one's own little stitchery kit too with one's own handwriting etc..more personal..
But this one was fun...already all done up for me..It can be found  here  at   Stitching Cow..
I had bought a fabric covered sketch/art book at Michael's ..but the paper is really not great for watercolors..and.. I couldn't bring myself to paint the cover....I will have to look at it a long time..

So I started filling in the pages with Paris Breakfasts tutorials..and my own little watercolors..on watercolor paper..then glued on the pages..
It's a hefty book:)

Anyways I finished the stitching and added it to the cover of this latest art book..in a very basic way~
Too basic..
But at least twice..(it's on a small table in our sunroom) . ..
my husband has said.."this is so you"..
And although I would like to act surprised..he knows me well...as he is right.
So now I know that's where the stitchery belongs.
With downloadable patterns you can do them over and over again.
The birds are plentiful ..We have bird songs all day when it is just Jacques and I..they are shy..er when others are around..
I took a little video..
However..  warning..you may yawn:-)  No..you will:)  Or fall asleep..
I just love them..Real gourmands at the feeder:-)Niger seeds are their menu of choice..Hang them..and they will come..our feeders need to be on long wires so the squirrels don't steal their banquet~
Tried the above  cookies..  Deep Dish Smores.. for   our little family across the street..since I have the muffin top molds..
Little ones liked..They are pretty I would have liked them even deeper..Recipe is here~

Made a few Cornish hens..2 recipes.. both very good.1 has a lemon stuffing.. w/ maple syrup..and baked to juicy perfection the oven...from Isa's book~the other is broiled.. split in 2..and delicious also.. where I took the lovely cooking class..Maria Loggia ,and ..whose 2 books I am happy to have here~
We really enjoy them and 1 is enough for the two of us..(1 cornish hen:) )

In the garden.. a little video of one of my bird restos.in our garden...My birds are  singing in French:)
They also go next door and sing in English:) .. from Britain:) bilingual finches~

What sweet voices~ And good appetites~
If every moment could carry this calm.
I am enthralled with these tiny birds..The big ones are gorgeous..Cardinals, Blue Jays ,Orioles ,etc..
but these are sooo many ..and darling.

"Pan,who and what art though?"he cried huskily.
"I'm youth,I'm joy" Peter answered at a venture "I'm a little bird that has broken out of the egg"~
J.M.Barrie~ Peter Pan

Yogurt~Lemon~ Raspberry Cakelets~ from the book Citron~

A marvelous..fully loaded Lemon cookbook from Isabelle Lambert~ CITRON
There are many recipes I want to try in this book..But as I mentioned.. we were having company Wedensday and I just could not wait..so... after all the preps for dinner which consisted of lemons even in the main dish and rice...and carrots..I decided to add a small dessert to the orange cinnamon pinwheels~
Isabelle had  a lovely loaf shaped cake..I decided to make individual cakelets just because..
I also brought my new  cutie pie  ME cut out in the kitchen with me..

So on we went   my imaginary friend and I :) having a lovely day of creating in the kitchen..My DSIL had gifted me with a tiny lemon..which added to the pleasure..he grew it..here in QC..Green thumb he has..

  You can make it loaf size..or make smaller versions..just adjust your baking time.. Mine popped out of my vintage J-E-L-L-O molds.. very well.I had sprayed and floured them slightly.
I think the first molds like this I saw were at Sol's home..Memories In The Baking.. I loved them on the spot.(lust..you could call it lust..)

I had just bought sunflower oil and the recipe called for it..apart from calling my name..


La Recette~
Courtesy of Isabelle Lambert and her book CITRON~

1 Cup Flour
1/2 cup almond flour
2 tsps baking powder
a pinch of salt
 1 1/3 cups fresh raspberries
1 cup sugar
The zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup plain yogurt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sunflower oil


For the icing~

1/2 cup lemon jelly
Sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350.Generously grease a loaf pan.
In a bowl mix flour,almond flour,baking powder and the salt.
Add the raspberries and mix delicately to coat..this way the raspberries will not sink to the bottom of the cake while baking.
In a bowl with an electric mixer place sugar,lemon zest,yogurt eggs and oil and beat well.
Pour this mixture into the dry ing. mixture and combine delicately.
Pour your mixture into your prepared pan and bake 50-55 mins
Let rest 5 minutes before unmolding and then put the cake on a rack to cool.
Warm your lemon jelly and baste the cake .. add your sliced almonds and top with taspberries if you wish~

My notes..
I used the small pans..I used a simple lemon syrup as I thought I had a small jar of lemon jeely and it was ginger..
It is a perfect cake.
First try no fail..no adjustments..nothing.
Just right.

You can never have too many lemons or too much yellow to raise your spirits.Or paper dolls,art supplies and blue skies:-) 

Have a great weekend..

Lovely ,lingering hazy days of summer~

Today ..Thursday is raining..a much needed rain for the lingering late summer gardens..It will be a quiet stitching day..hoping to finish the little piece I am working on..maybe a small pillow..or I will cover a watercolor journal..
Planted a new hydrangea Pinky Winky.. will be different from the Pink Diamonds above(They turn pink..) and the Annabelles and Kyushus..
My son-in-law disvcovered them.
They sound and look promisimg..heads up for  my fellow gardeners..

Have a new cookbook that is Delightful..The Title?

Citron..By Isabelle Lambert.

Isabelle is a fellow blogger.I have made so many things that I gleaned from her blog..
She is French..  and has been in QC for ap 12 years..
She is very successful and this is her 3 rd book..
~Les Gourmadises D'Isa
~Pomme
!and now Citron..
We were having friends for dinner last night and my menu was planned.. but I added a second dessert after perusing her beautiful book..
I will post next time..
Maybe even have a recipe to add...there are so many tempting ones..
I am a lover of lemons..and I know many of you are..
The recipe I chose yesterday..  is a sweet.. made with SUNFLOWER OIL:)
Be back sometime soon..:)
Take care~

Sunflowers~Oil~ Oli~Tapenade~

Didn't I just say I wish everything I made was pink and turquoise?:)
Hard to do when tapenade is involved.
But the oil and the sunflowers added glorious color~
When my family came for one of my daughter's birthdays..I decided that the adults would have their individual breads and chose Olive-Rosemary.
Something went wrong.. I went back to the recipe after I made them thinking my little pans are too big..I used my medium ones..
Sure enough I had the right size..but they hardly rose..
Couldn't serve them so I made tried and trues and they puffed up like magic..
I wasn't about to throw these out..as the taste was good..and I had hand pitted every  single black Kalamata olive.

So I saved them..
A friend had recently been to a lovely resto in NYC and mentioned  bites that had tapenade on olive bread sticks,and I had cut out a new tapenade recipe a few weeks ago.
So I kept the breads..sliced lengthwise..made the tapenade..(really good) ..and we had that for lunch one day.
Slightly toasted the olive bread sticks are even better ..the oil of the tapenade seeps into the warm bread.
A little delight!
Even if it's not pink and turquoise..

:)

Les  Recettes

For the breads..enter at your own risk..mine did not rise as they should have..but I am keeping this recipe as they work perfectly for this dish..It made 6.

You can find the recipe right here~It's a LOVELY post..and I bet yours will rise..:)
I made the dough in my bread machine which never lets me down..it did.


For The Tapenade..
It is a courtesy of La Presse newspaper.Saturday August 3rd 2013
Here is a translation..

La Tapenade au Pastis Du Massilia

~300 grams pitted black olives(good quality..the better the tatse the better the tapenade)

~ 1-2 tablespoons of Olive Oil..Sunflower Oil is just as good..adds a little nuttiness which is fine..:)

~2 Garlic Cloves

~A Shot of Pastis..( between 20-40 ml)This is the ing.that got me to try this tapenade..and the oil:)

~2 - 3  marinated anchovy filets (I used anchovy paste)

~ 5-6  Capers..optional..I did

~ 1 tsp. Lemon juice optional..I did

Mix all with a hand processor or a food processor....until the mixture becomes homogenous...refrigerate if desired~  My notes.. Delicioso.

The sunflower oil was purchased at a beautiful farm about 20 minutes from here that I just discovered..my daughter  last year went to a farm.. a few kms up the road for her organic basket veggies once a week..I had never been..but recently found out about the Sunflower farm and Oil.
The gentleman that greeted us at their lovely home on the water could not have been nicer..
We bought a liter and am sure we will go back..it is DELICIOUS..slightly nutty..light..lovely.
The sunflowers are a few kms away down another road..and it had poured ...the fields were muddy..it looked as if it was about to rain.. so I scrambled down the path..  along the outer field.. and snapped a few shots..
Jacques stayed on the highway in the car..so I was in a bit of a rush..  the car did not have easy access to the fields..
Ain't no sunshine..  but to me there was~♥♥♥♥♥
5 heart place:)
When we went to Italy..they were finished..so this is my Little Italy:)

Many were open.. some about to open..and some spent already~

and of course..Oli~

 My youngest sunflower above ♥:)~And yes he is as sweet as his smile..and kind eyes:)

Almost in our own backyard ..not quite..20 minutes away..but not as far as Italy.
We also bought avocado oil recently and let me just say there is no comparison..I don't know if it is because this oil is so delicious..but the others are paling in comparison.
Larger than life sunflowers are magnificent to me..

Petit gâteau d'amour~

Very very simple..I have made this cake before..gleaned from Best Recipes magazine on the internet,no real instructions..time of cooking etc..but recently saw a pound  cake adorned w/ strawberry hearts..so I decided to add them to this cake..

I made one regular loaf size and a mini ..

The minis are.. 2 bites.. 2 bite minis:)

The center stays moist because the berry cooks in the cake..

I wish  everything I baked and cooked was pink and turquoise:)

Like the tapenade I made recently.. it  would be much more photogenic:)

Every dish would be:)

I could not resist sharing this cute ringleted back ...I was with..this pretty sweet girl  at Lucas' 8th birthday party:)

Her baby sister is just as delicious.. but I didn't get a back shot of her..

20 children were there..and parents.. we painted faces.. 

I did the boys..Super Mario and Luigis..

our  other daughter did the girls..Butterflies:)

And I got my face painted with flowers by a little girl named Ava..

She did a better job than I did~

Getting back to the cake..

It's lovely with a cup of tea..

La Recette~

 1 1/4 cups of sugar
1 free range egg  I am sure mine wasn't
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
2/3 cup of milk..I used buttermilk
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp cinnamon
8 tbsps melted butter..I didn't

So  no instructions..I creamed my very soft butter and sugar..added the egg..extact..buttermilk..and mixed in the flour that I mixed with the baking powder.
Put in my molds..and pressed strawberrie..you make a v in a whole strawberry..then slice in half and press.
I bake mine in a 350 degree oven.. at least 30 mins for the wee one..longer for the other..you will have to do the cake test..my larger one took about 40 minutes..and I teneted with foil towards the end as I did not want the top too brown.
You can dust with icing sugar..:)

Very good~ You can serve alone..or with ice cream..crème fraiche.etc...I recently made cf at home thanks to Sue at The View From Great Island..~ Nice to be able to make it~

 I am amazed at all the pinks in the garden right now..Mostly..The Anemones.. the beautifuul swaying japanese anemones... Phlox..Zero maintenance.. 100% payback in  just cutting back in the fall..the rudbeckias..  lilies..roses.. geraniums of course..are still going strong..
But there is a difference to our air here~
It's almost...fall.
My neighbor's Maple across the street.. has southern exposure in the AM..that tree is always the first to show ..rouge..(Sob)..
I found one on our lawn out back  too..
Too too soon.
Stand back Autumn....please:)?
I need more time~

La Relish De Josée~

When I saw Josée's relish..here..go see..I knew it was going to be on my list of things to try..
One of our favorite condiments here is her red pepper jelly:)
We always have a jar on hand..
My daughter makes it all the time now too:) the recipe is here~

It is a keeper recipe..that is easy and fun to do..I prefer making it when peppers are in season..but you can make it all year long~

Back to her relish..I don't eat sweets..everyone else does..but I eat sweets ..in dishes..like BBQ's..Asian..condiments on meats..This relish is sweet..
My relish did not turn out ..her color:) Because I had yellow zucchinis and 1 green one:)
I made half her recipe..It is  so good!!
It made a large Canning jar..with a bit more for that night's dinner with Artisnal sausages..

You have to like sweet on your hot dogs or burgers..and mine looks more like that mixed relish:)

She uses green zucchinis and a touch of food coloring.

I think both would taste as good:)

La Recette~

.


3 lbs zucchinis..if you are using large ones.. seed them..
3 onions..cut in chunks
2 red peppers seeded and finely chopped
1/4 cup pickling salt
4 1/2 cups of sugar
2 1/2 cups vinegar
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp of celery seeds or celery salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp water
2 tsps corn starch..

1.In a food processor   chop zucchinis ,onions and peppers.
Transfer to a large bowl.
Sprinkle coarse salt and mix well..

Let sit 1 hr stirring occasionally.
Rinse well  in cold water and drain in  a colander..

I used my jelly bag:)  to wring out the moisture.. she uses layers of cheesecloth..it is important to get most of the moistture out~By forming a bag w/ the cheesecloth or the jelly bag..:)

In a heavy bottomed pot stir the sugar ,vinegar,mustard,pepper,celery seeds or salt..turmeric.. bring to a boil..
Add the veggies and bring to a boil once again..stirring frequently.
Lower your heat and continue cooking about 15 minutes until it thickens..
Mix the cornstarch with the water..add..
Continue cooking ap 5 minutes..

Gives 4 pots of 500 ml..
To preserve... hot water bathe in boiling water  (le spa)10 minutes..

Above jar..watercolor, trying watercolor pencils..  need to blend in the lines much more..but very handy for writing.:)
PS..I found a replacement camera..Sony DSC-H50..just right for the need I had  (kids pictures ..point and shoot.)
Thanks Arlene~:)(We met through Gardenbuddies 100 yrs ago..:) )
Thanks for all your inputs..I will one day upgrade..but wanted time to see what I like..this I knew I would like..and no learning curve really:)

                                                                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have a wonderful week.
Thanks for all the inspiration with all your beautiful blogs~
I love trying your recipes~

Green Apple~Vanilla Bean Jelly~ CF.

Lovely little green apples..  I was intrigued by Christine Ferber's Apple Jelly..It was used in a few of her recipes..as the pectin..so I decided to make some..but when I saw the Vanilla Green Apple Jelly..it stole my heart~
I thought I had let it cook perhaps one breath too long..but no..it's a real jelly and not rock hard..I love the look and color the split vanilla beans give to it..and the bonus is adding little pieces of cut up vanilla..The result?
An apple~y..vanilla~y  sparkle~y  pretty little jelly:)
I practiced   painting my 2 bowls of mini apples..and know leaves are a huge failure with me..I can't seem to develop a 3 dimensional look to anything..
Also ..I bought Bright White watercolor paper for the second one(forgive the pencil lines..I had not erased them yet..)..and see no difference..It's Fabriano..Bright White..
Side by side..the same in person..Picked up a color wheel as I lost the one I had many many yrs ago..and also picked up this retractable eraser.. Ilike it.. it has it's own little case.
I love art stores:)~
Anyone use Bright White watercolor papers and see a difference?

La Recette~  Green Apple Jelly with Vanilla~
Courtesy C Ferber~

3 1/3 lbs green apples
6 1/3 cups water
4 2/3 cups granulated sugar
Juice of 1 small lemon
5 vanilla beans

Rinse the aplles in cold water.Stem them and cut them in quaters w/out peeling them.Simmer for 30 mins on low heat.The apples will be soft.
Collect the juice by pouring the mixture into a fine chinois sieve,pressing the apples lightly with the back of a skimmer.
Filter it a second time  by pouring it through cheesecloth you have  soaked  and wrung out..Let the juice run freely.It is best to let it rest refrigerated overnight.
Next day measure  4 1/4 cups of the juice collected,leaving in the bowl any  sediment that has formed overnight.
You will have clearer jelly this way.Pour the juice into a preserving pan with the sugar and lemon juice and bring to a simmer.Skim carefully abd add the vanilla beans split lengthwise.
Continue cooking oh high heat for 5 -10 mins stirring gently,check the set and then remove the vanilla beaans.Cut them into sticks and distribute evenly into jars.Return the mixture to a boil and put it in jars immediately and seal..
I made a lesser quantity..I have 3 small jars.. 2 slightly bigger than the one shown.
The jelly was so clear..I had no sediment the next morning.
My apples are organic..my  daughter's neighbour's~♥We live in a pesticide free community..  and she is totally Zen~:)

She suggest this jelly would be  equally lovely flavored with thyme ,lemongrass or rosemary.
I agree and feel it would be great on a cracker with cheese or pâté:)
This vanilla one..
Good on toast..bagels..and I will dream up something else..