My Berries and Cream climbing rose has to be one of my all time favorite roses. Of all the rose bushes I have in my garden (and I have a lot) Berries and Cream puts on the most spectacular and prolific floral show.
Berries and Cream pumps out non-stop blooms all season long, and what beautiful blooms these are. Shades of pink, pale yellow striped with white, this is one showstopper of a bloom. No sooner are one flush of blooms over there are already new buds on the bush ready to bloom. This goes on all season long all the way until fall. Winner of a bush she is!! I absolutely love my beautiful, fragrant, thornless, climbing rose Berries and Cream! Continue reading Berries and Cream & Berries and Cream→
Greek yogurt, vanilla and orange liqueur elevate a traditional yogurt parfait into a thick and creamy sophisticated parfait. If you have homemade granola, that also adds to the gourmet quality of this beautiful and healthy sweet treat. Continue reading Greek Yogurt, Granola & Berry Parfait→
Blossom Trail is an area in Fresno County’s farm land where thousands and thousands of stone fruit trees such as peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots are grown in addition to almond and walnut trees. I’ve wanted to check out Blossom Trail for over two years now. I finally made it out there this past President’s day weekend with the family. What makes this day trip rather unusual is that it’s not made in the summer when the fruits are ripe for the picking but rather in early spring when the fruit trees burst into spectacular blooms. These fruit and nut trees number in the thousands and are all covered in white, mauve, light pink and dark pink blossoms, rivaling any Japanese garden or Washington D.C.’s cherry blossom show. Here is a look at our day trip to Blossom Trail in Fresno County, California. Continue reading A Drive Through Blossom Trail in Fresno County, California→
It’s citrus season here. What that means is hundreds and hundreds of lemons for the picking. At this time last year my friend Elaine gave me over 200 lemons and I made bottles and bottles of lemonade syrup that lasted for month and months. The kids and I had delicious lemonade whenever we wanted without any squeezing and stirring sugar and lemon juice. All we did was pour our lemonade syrup in a glass then add water or sparkling mineral water and voila! We had sweet lemonade in an instant. Continue reading It’s Pouring Lemons→
Our friend Oliver’s butternut squash Vichyssoise style soup with apples and leeks was the inspiration for my variation of this butternut squash soup. Oliver gave me the three main ingredients that made his soup taste so good – butternut squash, apples and leeks – I improvised with the rest. Here is a recipe for a delicious creamy butternut squash soup with the tart sweetness of apples and the delicate oniony flavor of leeks. Continue reading Butternut Squash, Apple & Leek Soup→
I’ve wanted to make this carrot cake ever since I saw the recipe on a blog I follow called the dutch baker thedutchbaker. She raved about her carrot cupcake recipe describing it as “Super moist without being overly soggy or mushy with a nice fluffy texture to the cake.” Since I was making this carrot cake for a Christmas dinner gathering with my cousins I decided to make the cake in the shape of a wreath so I could have some fun decorating it. Continue reading Carrot Cake Wreath→
With so many apples and oranges in peak season right now, making sweet sangria with these fruits and winter-inspired spices is perfect for the holidays.
I make lots of salads but I would never think to combine a citrus flavor such as orange with blue cheese – it wouldn’t be a combination that would occur to me. When I think of bleu cheese I tend to use the likes of apples and pears. Surprisingly though the combination of orange and bleu cheese along with pomegranate seeds and the peppery bite of arugula tastes really good together in a salad. Continue reading Pomegranate, Orange and Arugula Salad with Bleu Cheese & White Balsamic Dressing→
This apple spice cake from all recipes.com has to be the moistest cake I have ever made. I shouldn’t be surprised given that the recipe requires 4 cups of chopped apples which makes a large apple spice cake, perfect to take to a party or for a large gathering at home. Give this recipe a try if you are craving a super moist cake chock full of walnuts and fresh apples. Apple Walnut Spice CakeContinue reading Apple Walnut Spice Cake→
