MY FAVORITE SWEETS & SWEET SALVAGE

Like many of you, we've been "junkin'" since first moving into a Craftsman duplex in college.  Mothers went antiquing, they could afford it.  We college students dug around at the Good Will and Salvation Army stores and the rare "junk" store.  We have fond memories and any number of treasures, like a toaster from the 40's,  but the current favorite, Sweetest Salvage, is this working wind mill.  

This dear treasure came from the March Sweet Salvage tour.  That, when this wind mill was set up and untethered, it actually starting spinning in the wind, elicited squeals of delight!  In the first photo you can almost see it whirling.

A small reminder of roots in the midwest, growing up in the city but making many treks to the country.  Now if we could just dig a well, hook up a pump…

In the meantime we're dreaming of next month's tour of Sweet Salvage.  http://sweetsalvage.net 
If you love to have items with a past, with a history be sure to set aside time May 21-24 to root around for your own treasures.

They are open the third weekend of each month:  Thursday 10-9 and Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10-6

And the bonus is that they have some of the best food trucks around.  If that wasn't enough then you must succumb to the fresh baked goods by Karen Biscotti - as good as baked goods get.  Her biscotti, lemon bars chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies are scattered throughout Sweet Salvage and are simply the best.   Ok it is true I have been known to make a meal out of one of her cookies, or maybe two.  Shh!  Don't tell. http://www.karenbiscotti.com/Biscotti.html

AMERICAN GROWN FIELD TO VASE DINNER TOUR: THE FLOWER FIELDS in CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, APRIL 2015

April in Paris.


Well how about April in Cali?!

Picture this...dinner in a field of ranunculus... at sunset… overlooking the Pacific Ocean ?!  And it was at least every bit as magical as you can imagine.   These photos just don't portray the beauty and scope let alone that lovely sea salt air!  This was actually "only" 5 acres of this farm with another 15 acres at another site.

The evening was a group effort by the California Cut Flower Association, Slow Flowers and others to raise awareness of American Grown flower farmers and connect them with the florists who love buying these farmer's flowers.  We were among a select group to be invited for an evening at flower farmer Michael A. Mellano's ranunculus farm, The Flower Fields.


Floral designer Bess Wyrick of Celadon and  Celery, NYC and Los Angeles was responsible for the simply elegant table decor.  Bess, like us, was smitten with this bouquet of Austin roses wrapped in a Cardoon leaf.  She has a bit of Chaquita Banana in her and decided it made a fine fascinator and took a selfie!

She selected slender cylinders of single colored ranunculus and arranged them down the center of the one long table.  One end began with the deepest darkest orange/brown ranunculus and moved through the rainbow to the whites at the opposite end.  For photos of the tables, food, chef, florists, farmers please take a look at their album on Flicker  https://www.flickr.com/photos/californiagrownflowers/sets/72157652027358305

Did we not say that this was a dinner?  Why yes!   And it was as delicious as the flowers were beautiful.  Chef Marissa Gerlach of the Vista Valley Country Club was responsible for assembling, preparing and serving the locally sourced appetizers and three course meal with wines.  Golden and purple Beets were pickled and were in canning jars on the tables.  We loved the look and for the first time loved pickle beets!

 As the sun set and darkness slipped over us some of the cylinders glistened with tiny lights in their bases.  Hmm.  An idea for your next dinning event? 

Like we said you really should go look at the photos.  For ideas for your table, your menu, your garden, and lighting in your garden go to Flicker to see their 2 albums of the evening.  Over 500 photos of food, flowers, fun!

We can't wait to go back to Carlsbad to the Flowers Fields and enjoy that unbeatable moist air of the Pacific Ocean on Southern West Coast that our American farmers find so hospitable to their efforts.

Our thanks to Mayesh, our local flower wholesaler, who graciously invited us to this amazing opportunity to meet authors and artists we'd only read about.

ART IN THE GARDEN AT BERRIDGE NURSERY, APRIL 11, 2015

From the moment it opened we were too busy to take a break or take a photo.  Jill to the rescue.  She brought us water when she brought her "home grown" eggs to sell with our roses.  Now she has sent us photos that she took at the event.  If you really want to see beautiful photos that she has taken of her gardens then go to 

http://www.sweetlifegarden.com  The photos of her beautiful urban farm show what an artist she is in the dirt as well as on the page.

Berridge had this beautiful cart that I saw as the perfect "container" from which to display the roses.

We were located down the sidewalk from the entrance.  As the day warmed up the roses released their oils to cool themselves down.  Lucky folks entering the event would catch whiffs of rose perfume as they entered and would just have to seek and find to meet the "girls".

We met so many lovely people that day and had many interesting garden chats.  Some of our customers have called us for garden consults or are are now enjoying shopping at our Front Door Honor Market.

Taking hundreds of roses to a market is hard physical work but after three years of not being in the markets we wanted the challenge.  Thank you Berridge Family for inviting us to your 17th annual Art in the Garden event.  It was a challenge we're glad we took on.

P.S. YES! WE STILL HAVE A FEW OF OUR FRAGRANT ROSES LEFT FOR MOTHER'S DAY BUT...

LESS IS MORE

WE BELIEVE PEACE,  LOVE AND JOY SHOULD BE SPREAD ALL DAY EVERY DAY

TO EVERYONE.

CAN YOU TELL WE CAME OF AGE IN THE LATE 1960'S?

MOTHER'S DAY STARTED AS A PEACE MOVEMENT BY MOTHERS

IN THE LATE 1860'S

TO US IT IS NOT A HALLMARK OR FTD HOLIDAY

(though we do cry at Hallmark movies and commercials)

WE THINK WE CAN'T TREAT EACH OTHER WELL ENOUGH, OFTEN ENOUGH SO GO AHEAD CELEBRATE HER EVERY DAY BUT 

ADD A LITTLE EXTRA ON MAY 10

SHE'S NOT PERFECT AND YOU MAY NOT BE EITHER 

BUT 

SHE PROBABLY HELPED YOU FIND YOUR WAY 

AND 

WILL ALWAYS WANT TO BE THERE FOR YOU

SO LET HER KNOW WITH

A WARM HUG

A WARM CUP

A K.I.S.S. NOTE

(Keep It Short & Sweet)

"Dear Mom,

xoxo

Love, Me"  

SOME THOUGHTFUL DEEDS

TWO LISTENING EARS

THAT IS WHAT TELLS ANYONE THAT 

YOU CARE

YOU PAID ATTENTION

YOU KNOW THEM

AND

IF YOU THINK THE PERSON YOU WANT TO CELEBRATE ON MOTHERS DAY WOULD ENJOY FRAGRANT ROSES CUT JUST FOR HER THEN YOU KNOW 

WHERE TO GET THEM

~

THE GARDENS AT TRE SOLI 

~

WE WILL HELP YOU BY DOING A CUSTOM ORDER 

YOU TELL US ABOUT HER AND WHAT YOU HAVE IN MIND

WE'LL CUT AND CHILL THEM FOR YOU TO PRESENT

AND MAY WE ADD THAT PEACHES, WHICH ALREADY SMELL DELICIOUS,

 HAVE EVEN MORE INTENSE FRAGRANCE 

 WHEN PRESENTED WITH ROSES

                                                                            +        

=

Mmmm!  "You're So Sweet!"

SO 

PANCAKES TOPPED WITH PEACHES FOR BREAKFAST?

MACERATED PEACHES ON LEMON SORBET FOR BRUNCH DESERT?

HOT PEACH COBLER WITH VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM AFTER DINNER

OR A SIMPLE FRAGRANT PEACH BY THE BEDSIDE? 

WHAT WILL YOU DO  FOR HER?

RIPE & READY

What we did this morning…

We picked this for you

…and that….

And these...

And those

 And these!

So Come and Get 'em... our juicy sweet first peaches of the season.

Front Door Honor Market will be open today from 9-6  

It's a beautiful morning so get out and enjoy the cool weather and get ready for perfect grilling.

See past post for lists and photos of all of the rest that we have ready to harvest for you.  

Call ahead to give us your custom order if you want more that the zucchini and peaches.

LOVE NOTE FROM A PEACH TREE

WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN YOU DON'T THIN MY FRUIT, LUCY!

What a disappointment this morning when we came out to pick more peaches.  This branch is not from the tree we are picking right now, it is a later variety  The fruit is still small.   But these peaches will be ready in a couple of weeks, though minus several  dozen  

BTW then tiny plants you see in the background are some new lavenders.  While up picking in the peach tree we can smell the mature lavender as well as the peaches.  Mmm!  

A conscientious orcharder would have given the branches of the tree a gentle love shake after the huge bloom to drop some of the pollinated fruits.  That way the tree has more energy to put into fewer fruits and branches are not as like to break.  Then as the fruit developes while it is still tiny you can gently knock more of the tiny fruits off.  Not only will the fruits be larger, but less likely to be deformed by squeezing in a small area with too many other fruits.

Big sigh.  This has happened to this tree before.  We're beginning to realize that this tree's branches cannot support as much fruit weight as the variety that we are picking from now.  Our bad.  This branch will be cut back to the trunk with a clean sharp saw so as not to introduce any disease into the tree.

What could have been if only we had "thinned the fruit".

Is this liven' and learnin'.  Guess it is and it never stops.

PEACHES

THEY'RE HERE!  

We picked 'til sundown and we'll go back out tomorrow morning before sunrise...the only way we know to get our fair share from our fellow winged farmers, the birds. 

 So come to the Front Door Honor Market any time after 7 a.m. tomorrow, May 1...until 85*

  Some of the peaches will be ripe and ready to eat others will be ripe in a day or two.

View from the top of the tree

We'll also have some petite roses, golden zucchini and all the rest you've been hearing about.  Let us know by email if you want us to pick ahead.  

GREEK HORTOPITA, GREENS IN PHYLLO

Hortopita
Makes 3 to 4 servings; Prep time 30 minutes; Baking time 30-60 minutes

        This is a versatile hand held meal in light pastry dough.  While backpacking in Greece it, and its sister spanakapita ( spinach) was often our breakfast, lunch and or dinner.  Inexpensive, nourishing and totally mobile.  An old recipe for a new century.  Adjust any of the greens, garlic, onions or savories to suit your taste.  Ricotta can also be added or substituted.

Ingredients

2-3 bunches of spring onions or scallions or one yellow onion, chopped

       Spring onions have a larger bulb that scallions and a more concentrated flavor.

2 cloves garlic, minced 

1/2 Cup extra virgin olive oil or melted butter

1/2 lemon, juiced

2 lb of various greens, chopped 

       arugula, chards, collards, fennel, kales, sorrel, spinach, 

       leeks – only the white part 

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

2 T fresh chopped dill

     You can use the ribs of the chards, collards and kales if they are not too large and tough.         If using the ribs just cut them smaller so that they soften with the wilting leaves

1 package phyllo dough -preferably "country style" which is a thicker more flexible phyllo.  Phyllo also know as filo, is a thin unleavened dough used for sweet and savory pastries in Mediteranean, Balkan and Middle Eastern cuisines.  If you've eaten baklava you've eaten phyllo.

2-3 eggs whisked together

4 oz feta cheese

Nutmeg 1/2 nut, freshly grated (yes! really!  don't leave this out)

Salt  

Ground pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Rinse and spin dry all of the greens.  Too much moisture will prevent the phyllo from crisping, instead it will be soggy.   If using thawed frozen spinach place the spinach between two plates, hold them vertically and press over a sink until the juice stops running. 

In a large skillet heat 3 Tablespoons of the olive oil and sauté the onions till they are tender.

Add the greens stirring continuously till they are wilted, about 4-6 minutes.  You want them to  turn a deeper green but not begin to loose their color and become too soft.

Remove from the heat, stir with the egg, feta cheese nutmeg and ground pepper.  Use salt sparingly since the feta is a salty cheese.  Allow the mixture to cool.

Evenly spread 1 Tbs olive oil in an 8" x 8"  baking pan, then lay a sheet of the phyllo dough in the pan and brush lightly with olive oil.  Repeat with three more sheets of dough.  Spread the mixture on the fourth layer.  Cover with the other four sheets of phyllo, one layer at a time, brushing lightly with the olive oil.  Finally carefully close the edges and score the surface slightly (the steam from the cooking of the mixture needs to escape).

Brush water and some olive oil on the surface of the dough and bake for 1 to1/2 hour in the lower position of the oven till the phyllo takes on a golden color.  Remove the pan from the oven and let set up for about 15 minutes before slicing and serving.  Serve warm or room temperature or cold.  Freezes well before or after baking.  If frozen unbaked add ~ 20-30 minutes to the baking time.


        

MAY 9, 2015 ! ART JAM AT SEEDS 4 AUTISM

Remember our February 9 post "With a Library and a Garden You Have EveryThing"?  We told you about our Little Free Library "Grand Opening" that we held with Seeds 4 Autism.  Well here's a reminder about your next opportunity to meet them, learn more about their program And find unique gifts for the garden, home kitchen and your favorite mom. 

 Help us support this outstanding organization and join them on Saturday, May 9.  Family friendly, kid friendly, diva friendly, gardener friendly and you'll even find practical art to attract feathered friends and care for four legged family members.

APRIL AT TRE SOLI, THE GARDENS WITH HEART, WHERE DREAMS GROW

OK so we are "Garden Proud".  Boy are we "Garden Proud"  and this isn't even our best year, yet.  But the colors this year are just knocking us out.  From the 

Golden Zucchini

 To the 

Old Garden Roses

To the                                                           

  Sunflowers

                                                         

                    

And did we mention the 

Golden Zucchini

And the 

Garden Roses

And more
                                                                                                                                           

Sunflowers

And more

Garden Roses

And!

Cactus Flowers

And more 

Garden Roses

But wait there's more!

And more,

And more,

And more

And more,

And yes more! 

Ah Yes!  Spring has Sprung!