WHEN SOMEONE GIVES YOU LEMONS, YOU MAKE.......

lemonade, limoncello, shortbread....   It all started with a gift of three lemons from a generous friend. 

These are no ordinary lemons.  They are as big as a man's fist!

It took a little prep work!  We love the sparkling lemonade from World Market and always keep the empty bottles at both houses, mostly filled with cold water to serve at dinner parties.

I decided to try Limoncello.  I am in quarantine with time on my hands!  I used one lemon for this.  (I didn't have much vodka on hand!)

Recipe here: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/limoncello-recipe-1916618

I used the other 2 lemons for home made lemonade.  I chose to make the simple syrup.  I had to use a big stock pot to hold it all!

Recipe here: https://temeculablogs.com/fresh-squeezed-lemonade-recipe/

The lemonade was good!

Then a few weeks later, I wanted to try some recipes with rosemary in them.   I had experimented with lavender and basil.  Why not lemons and rosemary?    So I asked my generous friend for a lemon.  This is what she brought!

We have a prolific prostrate rosemary plant!  Rosemary is one of Don's favorite herbs.  So I tried some recipes with rosemary in them.

My first experiment was making lemon rosemary shortbread.  They have a subtle sweetness and are slightly savory.

Recipe here: https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/lemon-rosemary-shortbread/

Then onto Rosemary flatbread "crackers."  The recipe says to roll these out, or if you want them crispier to use a pasta roller, which is what I did.

Recipe here;  https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Crisp-Rosemary-Flatbread-Crackers-1709628

I also tried a Martha Stewart adaptation of parmesan rosemary crackers.  Don thought these were more like a savory cookie.  They needed to be much thinner, but they taste good!

Recipe here: https://alexandracooks.com/2011/12/30/glogg-parmesan-rosemary-crackers-new-years-eve-in-the-making/

I also have more lemon juice to play with.

Lemons can be fun to decorate with.  In fact I am thinking that could be a great Christmas idea in Arizona next year.  I will have to find friends with LOTS of lemons!

I might have to take the Limoncello back home and have a fancy dessert party with it!

  I could serve lemonade with fancy lemon slices.

 Or we could have a cool cocktail on a hot afternoon!

Or I could serve lemon sorbet in lemons.  I find my electric juicer makes the best lemon "bowls."

Recipe here: https://whatscookingamerica.net/SorbetLemon.htm

Perhaps I should have decorated flower arrangements with them.

 Why do we use lemons in cut flowers?  Here is an excerpt on that answer.

 "While cut flowers don't last forever, you can extend the length of time you'll enjoy them by employing a few simple tricks, including adding lemon juice and sugar to the water, or by lining a vase with lemon slices for visual interest (or, OK, to sometimes hide the stems). Here's really why you might want to put lemons in with your flowers.

Reason #1: To make your own flower food.

Often when you purchase a bouquet from the store, it comes with a little flower feeder packet. This is a combination of three substances: citric acid, sugar, and an antimicrobial agent. They work together to keep the cut blossoms going strong. (The citric acid helps open up those stems to allow water in, the sugar provides carbs, and the antimicrobial prevents fungus growth inside the vase.)

However, if you are using flowers from your own garden (or don't get the little packet of feeder), you can make your own mixture to keep those blossoms happy and looking good. Here's where you have to be careful about what you read on the internet: neither aspirin nor vinegar will help your plants.

Instead, make a mixture that duplicates the ingredients in the little packet. Mix 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (for the citric acid), 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon bleach (for the antimicrobial agent) into a quart of distilled water. The mixture both offers fertilizer for your cut flowers and opens their stems to water intake. Finally, it helps to reduce the microbes in your flower water, which slows down the decomposition of the stems.

Reason #2: For visual interest.

Lemon slices are pretty, in and of themselves, yellow and shiny with juice. Creative folk make use of their decorative qualities by placing them carefully in a large vase or pitcher. They cut the lemons into slim slices about 1/3 of an inch thick, then line the inside of the vase with them.

Do all those lemons make the water too acidic? They might if they were actually in the flower water. But here's the trick. In order to accomplish this cool look you use a slender vase inside the larger vase or pitcher.

Put cut flowers and their water (as well as cut-flower feeding mixture) into the slender vase. Then place this vase inside the larger vase or pitcher. The lemon slices get positioned between the two vases. You can see them from the outside but they are totally independent of the flowers and water."

https://www.hunker.com/13426344/why-put-lemons-in-a-vase-with-flowers

Or if you are like me, you might have some plastic lemons in an arrangement!

Ciao!

LOVING LAVENDER TIME IN ARIZONA!

My Lavender is just beginning to bloom again!  I want to take advantage of it this year.

 About 6-8 years ago, we planted a small hedge in the south side of our front porch.  It is about 5 feet tall now.  It is French Lavender that we bought at Lowe's.

We also have a English or Spanish Lavender that we purchased at Costco in St. Louis Park last spring.  We actually bought two and planted them in the planter on the front of our house (facing south.)  They didn't bloom until almost a year later, here in Arizona.  (We lost one on the trip down.)

The bees love them both.

I am partial to the French Lavender.  Five years ago, before we built a courtyard in front of the house, I held a "tea" for several friends, outside, by the hedge. I was a little worried about the bees, but everything was fine!

My menu included foods with edible Lavender flowers.

This cookie is similar to the ones that I made.  The recipe for these Lemon Lavender cookies is here: https://avirtualvegan.com/lemon-lavender-shortbread-cookies/#wprm-recipe-container-9489  

I made this French Almond Cake with Lemon Lavender Glaze.  Recipe here: https://www.daringgourmet.com/french-almond-cake-with-lavender-lemon-glaze/

I made Lavender Lemonade and used the Lavender as stir sticks!  Recipe:  https://www.thefoodlog.net/lavender-lemonade-lemonade-recipe/utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest&utm_campaign=tailwind_tribes&utm_content=tribes&utm_term=686766278_27313098_494436

Look how pretty it looks with the Spanish Lavender garnish!

This year, I think I will make Lavender Sorbet.  Recipe: https://www.sidewalkshoes.com/lavender-sorbet/

Or Lavender cocktails!  Lavendar Moscow Mule.  Recipe:  https://www.culinaryhomemade.com/2019/08/lavender-moscow-mule-drinks-classicdrink.html

Or a Lemon Lavender Martini?  Recipe: https://creative-culinary.com/lavender-lemonade-martini-cocktail-recipe/

Or a Lavender Paloma?Recipe:  http://poshlittledesigns.com/2015/07/17/lavender-paloma/

To make most of these cocktails you need Lavender simple Syrup.

Recipe: https://www.yummymummykitchen.com/2019/08/lavender-simple-syrup-lavender-latte-recipe.html

Of course, in Arizona, we must make a Lavender Margarita.  Recipe:  https://thealmondeater.com/simple-lavender-margarita/#wprm-recipe-container-16472

So, I need to harvest my lavender!

Of course, there is Lavender in the house!

And on the front door!  (Home Goods

Au Revoir!

EASTER IN THE DIGITAL AGE - A PERSONAL MEMOIR

I have a collection of Easter photos in an album in Minnesota.  But I have a lot of digital photos on my computer..

Here are some Easter memories of my past:

2009

This Easter was in our home in Redwood Falls.  I love my Mottahedeh tureen!  It was a gift from Don.

In 2009, I did an egg tree in my Redwood Falls sunroom.

Our granddaughter Audrey was two. She was excited to get a visit from the Easter bunny!

2010

Our family came to visit for Easter.

Now Audrey is three!  This is in our Redwood Falls home.  Lots of nests and baskets!  She is a happy three year old!

Bunny P j's.

Our Easter dinner table.  I had used white tulips anchored in real chicken eggs!  Those nests will appear again!

Easter decor in 2010, in my Antelope Trail kitchen!

My friend, Loree, had just been to Paris and brought me Laduree macrons in the lovely cylinder box!

2011

Someone new joined our family in 2011, Betsy Elizabeth!

For Easter 2011, our family came to visit our new house on Lasso Lane!  We had just moved in.

Audrey, now 4, dyed and decorated eggs.

My basket is from Pier One.  I have a wreath to match.

Golden eggs in a bowl and forced blossoms.

How about a few fake chocolate eggs?  The fresh flowers are from Fry's.

2012

In 2012, our family visited again and Audrey dyed more eggs!

 We celebrated at our lake home.  This was Easter breakfast.  I planted Violas in empty egg shells.  This year you could buy reproductions of this idea at Michael's.

For Easter dinner, I used my fern placemats from Pier One and my majolica plates from Target and Tuesday Morning.

The plastic "chick" eggs had treats inside.

Do you see a theme here?  I love baby chicks at Easter!

 The girls discovering their bunny surprises.

This was the year that Audrey ate all of her chocolate at once.  She was ill on the trip back to her home and stopped eating chocolate for years!  

Miss Betsy with mom, Jennifer.

2013

We went to our friends for Easter dinner.  It was a pot luck and I made these fruit skewers.

2014

These eggs were the start of  our Easter decor.  I remember buying these glitter eggs at Walmart.  They will show up again!

Our table in 2014.  We did not entertain.  I staged this for a photoshoot for an online magazine.  I had brought my sterling (another Christmas gift from Don) down from Minnesota.  It is Repousse by Kirk Stieff.

The bathroom.

 The kitchen island with the Durr basket.

 New Walmart mirrored eggs.

 Walmart glitter eggs.

 Forsythia and lemons with gold nest and bird.

2015

Some Arizona decor.

My bronze bunnies are from my days working as a designer at 509 Design in Marshall,Minnesota.  I use them frequently at Easter.

 This basket was purchased from Durr Ltd. in Edina when my daughter, Jennifer, was the manager there in the early '90s.  I remember Don really hating to pack this basket in the car and bring it to Arizona from Minnesota!

 More eggs from Walmart, this time mirrored eggs.

2016

The wreath was probably from Home Goods.  There are the pastel foil bunnies that were in the Antelope Trail kitchen.  A variety of pink eggs are in the bowl on the left (on the riser.)

 Here are the bronze bunnies again with my large "Egg" container.  It is filled with all types of gold eggs, mirrored, glitter, plastic, etc.  This large oval container was my dining room centerpiece when our home was in Phoenix Home and Garden in December 2014.

The guest bath.

My beside table with a gold nest and eggs.  The Home Goods floral arrangement was in the Antelope Trail kitchen photo.  I have also used these gold nests from Home Goods at Christmas with gold birds.

You will see these rabbits and hydrangeas are used over and over again, since most of my Easter decor is in Minneapolis.  

Below is 2016 in our new Minneapolis home.  We have not been back for Easter since this one (four years now.)  We have been fortunate to be Easter dinner guests of two different friends' homes in Arizona.  I found these egg shaped plastic plates at World Market that year and thought they were charming.  There four patterns, but I selected 8 of these.

I love photo props!

 My kitchen island.  I went straight to Trader Joe's for flowers when we arrived back in Minneapolis for the holiday.

Gold foil chocolate eggs for my granddaughters.

That green lamb box has been separated from it's lid until this past summer.  The egg box with the chick is from A J's Fine Foods.

The girl's table only seats 4-5.  A couple of years ago, we purchased a 60" round table top for this table and now we can seat 8 at this table when we entertain.  Most of the time it seats 4.

 The cute chick is from A J's Fine Foods in Arizona.  Both granddaughters got one!  The crackers were from World Market.  They match the plates.

The men's table!

 My salad

Our fancy asparagus.

Betsy with another photo prop, all from World Market.

2017

Our coffee table in Arizona.  The Herend rabbit was a Christmas gift from Don.  I would love tons more!

The old Durr Easter basket from the '90s

 Another Durr Ltd Easter basket, purchased at the same time, decorating the guest bath room.

During the season, I played with different tablescapes.  I bought these two lovely unusual orchids at Fry's.

The blue hydrangeas were joined by white tulips  and forced blossoms.  Accented with my Staffordshire bunny and my small collection of Limoges eggs.

We did not host an Easter dinner per se, but held a brunch on the Saturday before.

 I used my minaudiere.

The centerpiece was made of purchased orchids from the grocery store, the gitter eggs, the bronze rabbits and a Rose Medallion chestnut bowl.

 This was the year that I purchased my set of antique Rose Medallion dinnerware, which was made in China.  A few pieces were purchased in an antiques shop, but most from a consignment store in Surprise.  What a find!

 My monogrammed napkins are from Ballard Designs.

 I made chocolate "nests" with chow mein noodles, M & M's and Peeps.  I should have dipped the white side of the Peeps in pink sugar.

 The quiche had a hash brown crust.

Recipe: https://happilyunprocessed.com/spinach-and-gruyere-cheese-quiche-with-a-hash-brown-crust/
I also molded "bunny"butter.  It is a tradition in our family for everyone to get individual molded bunny butters!  Since my small mold is not here, I did one large one.

I also made these rolls, but only a few of mine looked this nice as this photo from Pinterest.

https://platedcravings.com/easter-bunny-dinner-breadsticks/

 How the rest of the house looked.  The candelabra  on the buffet was a find at The French Bee when they were reducing inventory before their move to their new store.

 I found an arrangement in "Flower" magazine and went to Michael's and bought materials to duplicate it in my antique Rose Medallion bowl.

These obelisks went back to Minnesota last year to use in the 2019 Christmas decorating there.

I found the Rose Medallion vase for a steal in the consignment shop in Surprise, where I got my dinnerware, because it has a chip in the rim (which is always covered by flowers or in the back!)

 It was fun to use my antique Staffordshire pottery lamb spill.

We were invited to a Easter dinner potluck.  I chose to make cake balls for dessert.

There were a few that didn't fit on my tray!

2019

These tulips are silk.  I use either pink tulips, white tulips, blue hydrangeas and forced branches in the house every spring. I keep an wardrobe of silk flowers for the house!

The coffee table has silk cabbages that I had ordered for a fall arrangement and the wreath that was on the island a year earlier.

The small gray table has a glass glitter bunny and egg from Home Goods.  I have three of these eggs, a gray, a mauve and a celedon one.  They have been in past pictures.

Here is the celedon one in my bathroom:

I played with different gold tablescapes.  I had just brought these candlesticks down from up north last fall.

There is a new gold bunny from Home Goods.  Here the pink tulips are mixed with the Peonies.

Of course, I had to have a princess chick for myself. 

 My daughter gave me this 2-piece riser set for Christmas one year.  It is usually on the kitchen island, when I use it.  It is from Wisteria.com.

See the glitter bunny pick?

Because we had been guests for Easter dinner for several years, we hosted Easter dinner this year.  I started with another fairly recent purchase.  The dinner plates and luncheon plates were from Antique Gatherings.  I had wanted dishes like these for years.  I even bought some accent pieces years ago, but it took me so long to finally buy the set that I had given all my pieces as gifts to a friend who also loves this pattern.

I started by choosing the dinnerware.  I knew that I wanted some kind of chocolate rabbit under the dome, but I couldn't decide if it should be a hollow rabbit or a solid one.  Cost won out and I chose the Russell Stover solid rabbit that I "glued" to the bottom of the pedestal with frosting.  By the way, the white pedestals were $1.00 each from the dollar spot at target and the domes were over candles that were on sale after Christmas at Fry's, for 90% off, so I bought 8 of each.

The centerpiece?  Those old glitter eggs and two of the four rose arrangements that I had bought at Home Goods.  You can see them in my Christmas dinner party blog where they were the centerpiece for that party as well!

I was given a set of gold flatware at Christmas (from one of the guests) so it was natural to use it!

I used a few serving pieces on the console.

The finished table.

A guest brought the salad but I found the palmiers at Basha's in Verrado.

And here was my asparagus this time.

 'I used thee blue hydrangeas on the island.

 And mini bundt cake "nests" for dessert.

Recipe: https://www.positivelysplendid.com/mini-bundt-cakes/

2020

This year I bought the two lambs from my wholesale ribbon company.  They were a closeout!  The tulips were a splurge from Home Goods.

I also bought two rabbits at Fry's on sale last year.  I used them on the dining room table and now in the kitchen.  You can read about the Easter luncheon that didn't happen on a previous blog.  I was an ode to my carrot plates.

I wanted to keep my Easter decorations informal this year. 

No glitter, no gilt or mirrors or overblown floral arrangements!  Here was my kitchen island a couple of days ago.  

 The pansies are also from the '90s.  Gradually my holiday decor is migrating from the north to the southwest.

 I love the iron cross.

 The santos has a crown of thorns that is made of silver.  That little crown was another gift from Don.  The wire mesh "eggs" are actually flower or grape cages to keep birds away from the flowers or fruit.  I think they were from Rustic Stuff.

The stone reminds me of the stone rolled away from the tomb.

 This is how it looks today.

 The living room.

 My bedside table now has a Staffordshire rabbit, again, a gift from Don, but my friend, Marcia, also gave me a matching one.

My desk.

Happy Easter 2020.  I wish that you are your family are social distancing and staying safe!

The reason for the season.