Time for an oil change!

I found these lovely bottles at Ross for $2.50 each. My plan is to make basil olive oil. When local tomatoes arrive, just picked from the vine, bursting with sunshine flavor, juicy and sweet, I want to be ready with scented oil, fresh mozzarella and grilled crostini.

Have you tried making your own flavored oils and vinegars? I have a few recipes but tips from friends will be appreciated. Thanks.

Getting a little rusty

The cutest miniature buildings now available at SuzAnna's ~ rusty roofs and vintage wood.

Dictionary: rust n.

1. Any of various powdery or scaly reddish-brown or reddish-yellow hydrated ferric oxides formed on iron and iron-containing materials by low-temperature oxidation in the presence of water.

2. Deterioration, as of ability, resulting from inactivity or neglect.

Saturday at Suzanna's ~ a 'still life' designed from rusty wheel barrows and old iron pieces.

Lovely vintage garden chairs.

Even I was feeling 'rusty' after so much time at home fighting a bug. I was dying to get over here to SuzAnna's to see what was happening at the shop. Everything inside and out had been reorganized by those clever gals - tons of new treasures to view. I loved the mix of colors created by rust.

One of the local kitties ~ caught by my camera on another visit.

More rust at another place I visited. The rusty look certainly seems popular.

Today............................

What are you doing this morning?
I was thinking of spending an hour here in the gazebo..........

.........reading a good book while enjoying my morning coffee and watching the birds.

Instead I think I'll get myself together, head out to the farmers' market and perhaps even do a little antiques/vintage browsing at some favorite places.

It feels good to feel good again! I have banished the beastly bug from my lungs.......I want fresh air. I want to see my friends........I've missed taking pictures to share with you.


The angels await new gardens. Treasures are waiting in little shops...calling out "take me home with you".


Enjoy your weekend, whatever you decide to do..............but please do something you love, it's good for your soul.

"Boozy" cherries

My new Portmerion spoons from the UK.

They're everywhere! Coming into a market near you. New crop of cherries......shiny, gleaming, rich dark red. If you tried the French clafoutis and want another quick dessert, what can you do differently with cherries this season?

How about a really simple yet elegant dessert popular in Tuscany, Italy. Leftovers can be used wrapped into thick Greek yogurt for breakfast. They can even be tossed with fresh cut strawberries, a few red raspberries, a handful of blackberries, and a fistful of blueberries for a beautiful red and purple-hued fruit bowl.

Cherries Simmered in Red Wine

(Ciliege Al Vino Rosso)

6 servings

2 lbs. ripe cherries, stemmed and pitted

4 cups (1 bottle) dry red wine

1-1/2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange peel

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Using a heavy large saucepan, add wine and sugar and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add the cherries and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to stand 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer cherries to a medium bowl and set aside.

Gently boil down the liquid until until reduced to 2 cups, about 25 minutes. Mix in orange peel, almond extract and nutmeg. Cool. Pour syrup over cherries, cover and chill until cold. (Can be made a day ahead). Spoon cherries into small bowls - perhaps top with whipped cream or sweetened mascarpone for special occasions.

Note: I used a bottle of Charles Shaw Shiraz (Trader Joe's great bargain wine - $2.99 here in the East). Recipe doesn't require expensive wine and of course the alcohol is boiled away during cooking!

FYI - If you wanted the scone recipe I omitted in the last post, I've now added it to that post.

Serving scones in a special way......

Isn't this the loveliest cake stand ever? Can you believe it recently came back across the pond in a carry on bag!

Isn't it super to have a very special cousin like my dear cousin Sue who, when she knew I was disappointed that the cute little kitchen shop in her seaside town was closed the day I visited, went back another day and bought me this lovely present to "tuck into a corner" of one of my already bursting bags! The secret to successful packing.......the cake stand unscrews into two sections and the glass plate is separate......thank goodness.

The cake stand in McGregor's window ~ the tiniest shop with the most amazing amount of merchandise piled up to the ceiling.

Here's an easy but good plain English tea scone recipe. Remember, always eat scones on the day they are baked, nothing worse than a stale, dried up scone.

Edited: OOPS - sorry, recipe not here - will post later!!!

Basic English Afternoon Tea Scones

10-12 count

2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

8 Tbsp. (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 Tbsp. sugar

2/3 cup milk

Heat oven to 425F. Put flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl; mix well.

Add cold butter and cut in with pastry blender or rub in with your fingers until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Add sugar, toss to mix. Add milk and stir with fork until a soft dough results, add a few more drops of milk if too dry. Form dough into a ball, put on lightly floured board and knead 4-6 times - do not over-handle dough. Roll dough out to about 3/4 inch thickness, cut out rounds with a 2-1/2 fluted cutter, reroll and cut scraps. Brush tops with egg wash for golden tops. Bake 12 minutes. Move to a linen towel on a wire rack, cover loosely with the cloth and cool completely. Serve with butter and preserves.

Spring on the Front Porch

I was late, too late, for that very important date! Rhondi's Porch Party 2009 which was held on June 1st. You can still stop over for links to some beautiful porches.

Getting settled in again after the trip to England, then being hit by a miserable bronchial infection (hate breathing that recycled cabin air) lasting over two weeks, has put me behind big time. Then, tons of work required around the garden before I dared take new photos of Spring blooms, and the porch in question needed some major cleanup...........as did the entire cottage.

You will agree, I'm sure, that the Endless Summer hydrangeas are blooming with a vengeance again this Spring. These two plants are just amazing. I trimmed them back quite a bit after the last frost, threw down some aluminum sulphate to keep them blue, then some slow release fertilizer, and the blooms are overwhelming. We are now having hot days and because they get afternoon sun they droop and look quite sad, but the following morning sees them perky and refreshed. I look out the dining room window and feel really happy when I see such stunning flowers.
Hope you enjoy a quick visit to the porch.......yes, still trying to 'simplify', still having a bit of a problem with that!

Still have the potting table, a treasure from SuzAnna's Antiques from a few years back, love how the chartreuse paint is chipping and showing the most beautiful blue underneath ~ always changing things around but love the birds and birdhouses displayed, they just seem right for this corner.

Sweet perfumed Jasmine climbs up the porch pillars.

I will have bunches of hydrangeas for drying come Winter - I love the colors when later they change to dusty green, lilac mauve and even taupe.These pics were taken a week ago.

This morning, after drenching rain from a severe thunderstorm last night, the hydrangeas are beaten down, the garden looks bedraggled..................hopefully the sun will shine again soon.

Cherry ripe, cherry ripe......

You are perhaps familiar with the English folk song

set to words by poet Robert Herrick (1561-1674)

The first cherries of the season are appearing, ripe, red and juicy..........so sweet and healthy.

Handed granddaughter the stoner/pitter (OXO Good Grips with splatter shield - $11.99 at BB&B - is a great one and can be used for olives too), and she enjoyed preparing them for the first clafoutis of the season - which we baked and gobbled up before I even got the camera turned on!

Traditional French clafoutis aux cerises originated in the Limousin region of central France where batters play an important role in the hearty cuisine. Similar fruit and custard desserts are found in Alsace. Very easy to make - very tasty to eat. For my favorite recipe check here on my 'cherry post' of last year.

Cherry ripe, cherry ripe,

Ripe I cry.

Full and fair ones,

Come and buy.