Decadence!

sel de rose caramels

~sel de rose caramels~ Well, it’s not quite time for the roses to bloom yet and I am a tiny bit impatient to make my rose miel (honey) for scones. In the mean time, I decided to cook up a little something with this beautiful rose salt, sel de rose, that my friend Jana gave…

maple iced tea

~maple iced tea~ serves 6 A refreshing, slightly sweet tea with the surprising flavor of maple. A yummy tea to serve at picnics and garden parties. I have doubled, tripled and quadrupled this recipe for big family gatherings. I just pour everything into my big Robinson Ransbottom stoneware crock cooler and it keeps the tea…

mushroom risotto with fried egg

~mushroom risotto with fried egg~ A wonderful brunch entree that’s actually easy to put together thanks to this fantastic boxed risotto, Lundberg Risotto (porcini,) that Jeff picked up at The Wedge the last time he was there. There are instructions on the box for making risotto in the microwave! It works! And it tastes good.…

honey lavender chicken provence

~honey lavender chicken provence~ “Throughout the hillsides of Provence, especially in the departement called called the Drome, lavender grows in purple swatches, popping into vision between green valleys to emulate a patchwork quilt. Mostly used in beauty products and cleaning aids–washing the floor with lavender water keeps the scorpions away–it also appears as a seasoning.…

crumpets

~crumpets~ The crumpet. Quintessentially English. Part English muffin, part pancake. The perfect accompaniment to tea and the perfect vehicle for butter and preserves. Crumpets are usually baked in metal flan rings on a hot griddle. I personally think the rings are unnecessary, and like to free-form my crumpets. It may take a few batches to…

Tearoom Rose Geranium Chocolate Cake

“The mere chink of cups and saucers tunes the mind to happy repose. ” ~George Gissing, The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft ~Tearoom Rose Geranium Cake~ My friend Bonnie grows rose geraniums in her kitchen garden and made this cake when she was running the Tale of Two Sister’s Tearoom here in Red Wing Minnesota.…

amish meatloaf

Tonight I’m making Swiss meatloaf for dinner.  It’s a recipe loosely adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, Cooking From Quilt Country by Marcia Adams. I purchased a copy of the book while on a little road trip to Harmony Minnesota with my grandma Darling. That was over 20 years ago while I was pregnant…

cinnamon raisin bagels

I’ve been having so much fun using the recipes from “Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.” To make the bagels shown in this post, you’ll need to read the basics outlined in the book and make the master batch of dough…and then follow the instructions for making the Cinnamon Raisin Bagels on pages 74-76.…

mussels in white wine

photographs by Melissa Placzek ~mussels in white wine~ We made these yesterday afternoon and sipped vino while we did a photo shoot out on the deck. It was sunny and warm while we took pictures, and we were finally able to enjoy the fresh air without wearing jackets. I’m having so much fun learning about…

Celebrating the Royal Wedding ~ A tea party with friends and Princess Diana’s Wedding Cake

“Capturing the imagination of an era, Princess Diana’s wedding cake was a masterpiece of English tradition. Standing over five feet tall, the cake was wrapped with royal icing and decorated with the Windsor royal coat of arms made from marzipan. English wedding cakes are traditionally fruit cakes containing nuts, raisins, dried fruit and brandy. Made…