June has been a crazy roller coaster of weather for us here in the Bay Area. We had temperatures in the 90s and 100s and I think we even broke a few records with temps up to 105! Then the temperatures went back down to our pleasant 70s and 80s. Basically we were all over the place weather wise in June. Despite these fluctuations in temps the garden faired really well. Continue reading June in the Garden
Category Archives: Flower Power
Lemon Tart with Fresh Berries
Lemon tart. How hard is it to make this delicious dessert? Getting the egg yolks to cook with the cream without curdling, then add the lemon juice and hope that it all sets into a beautiful custard. It’s a lot of work and tricky to get it just right. That’s why when one of my twins wanted to make a lemon tart – all I could think of is how hard it is to make. But when Rani informed me that this recipe actually doesn’t require eggs, and for that matter you don’t even bake the tart, but instead you just make the lemon cream and cool it in the refrigerator, it really got me interested. Continue reading Lemon Tart with Fresh Berries
April and May in the Garden
Happy Saturday!
We are having glorious weather this week with warm sunny daytime temperatures in the 70s and morning temperatures in the cool 50s! Just perfect for our gardens to thrive. However it hasn’t been so predictably pleasant around here this spring. Back in April we had a strange heat wave with temperatures in the 90s! The garden didn’t know what was going on especially my roses, which had beautiful buds ready to open slowly and elegantly, but instead they all just burst into bloom almost overnight. Then a week later we had May showers, lots of it. What this meant for the roses is that the blooms got thrashed and soaked. Between the heat and the rain I had a very short spring rose season this year. Though the roses didn’t fair so well, other plants in the garden thrived and put on a spectacular bloom show. Here is a look at how my garden faired in April and May of this year. Continue reading April and May in the Garden
A Peek Inside the Garden Gate. A Mother’s Day Patio Mini Makeover
Last weekend I worked on a great project, it was a mini garden makeover as a Mother’s Day present for my dear friend Rose. I thought I would share a few pictures from this garden project and give you a peek inside the garden gate of Rose’s kitchen patio makeover. Continue reading A Peek Inside the Garden Gate. A Mother’s Day Patio Mini Makeover
Rose Drop Cocktail
A cocktail with the dreamy fragrance and color of roses? All made with roses from the garden? This is one gorgeous cocktail that looks as beautiful as it tastes. I found this rose infused cocktail recipe in one of last year’s Sunset Magazine’s western edition but couldn’t make the cocktail then as by the time I read the recipe my roses were winding down for the season, however I did save it to make this year when my roses are in full bloom again. Continue reading Rose Drop Cocktail
Pistachio Cake with Rose Petal Confetti
It’s rose season in our area, all I see are roses, roses everywhere in full bloom. Besides making rose bouquets I am also looking for creative ways to use rose petals in edibles. I especially favor my fragrant pink David Austin roses for cakes and ice creams. A pistachio cake maybe? I figured a beautiful backdrop of pale green would look lovely for these rose petals. And so began my hunt for a really good pistachio cake recipe; an all-natural kind, the type of recipe that uses actual pistachios as one of the cake ingredients. Continue reading Pistachio Cake with Rose Petal Confetti
Spring Tea in the Garden
Happy May Everyone!
What a great way to start the month, our weather has cooled down drastically from hot temperatures in the 80s and even 90 degrees last week, to this week down to pleasant 60s and 70s. This was a welcome cool-down for me and my friends as we were hosting a big Spring Tea in the Garden this past Monday, as you can imagine it’s not much fun sitting outside in the scorching heat sipping hot tea. Lucky for us Mother Nature gifted us with the most perfect day ever on Monday! Temperatures were in the mild 70s and the garden burst into bloom from the heat wave we had earlier, all this made our Monday a gorgeous backdrop for our Spring Tea in the Garden. Continue reading Spring Tea in the Garden
Homemade Corsages and the Twins Junior Prom
Last Saturday was the twins Junior prom and what a day it was! Gowns were chosen, nails were done, hair styled, makeup on, jewelry worn, shoes on, only thing left was to eat, which they quickly grabbed a snack, just in time to take pictures at sun down. Hectic, crazy, exhausting though it was, the day ended up with a fun-filled evening of girls, gowns and guys all ready for a night out to celebrate being Juniors and Seniors in High School. Continue reading Homemade Corsages and the Twins Junior Prom
Flourless Chocolate Torte with Spring Edible Flowers
A chocolate torte so easy that all you do is combine the ingredients in one bowl and bake. This is my kind of recipe! I had this delicious flourless chocolate torte a while back when we had hosted a Father’s Day Brunch and our friends Tracy and Carl had brought a decadent flourless chocolate cake for the party. It was so good that everyone devoured it! I’d been meaning to ask them for that recipe but just forgot until a couple of weeks ago when we met them for dinner at their new home and I recalled that chocolate cake. Continue reading Flourless Chocolate Torte with Spring Edible Flowers
Orange and Avocado Spring Green Salad
It’s April and juicy sweet oranges are still available at the markets, and here in our Bay Area I can even pick them up at street corners where vendors sell seasonal fruits such as oranges in March and apricots, strawberries and peaches in the summer. Last week I bought from a vendor on the corner of our local park a bag of over 20 oranges for $5!! What a deal! These were delicious sweet oranges that the family has been enjoying every day and I’ve been adding an orange to my Greek yogurt and granola routine in the mornings too.
With all these oranges in abundance I made an orange salad to take to my good friend Rose’s place for a low-key springtime lunch last week. Continue reading Orange and Avocado Spring Green Salad
