The Difference a Day or Three Makes... In my garden, again

I swear that my peonies are opening by the second, from tight little balls to big lush blooms. My irises, the few that are blooming, are doing so instantaneously. Everything is starting to pop. My hostas immediately feel like they have overgrown and are crowding out other gems, I just can't remember what is missing. It's too early for my lilies. Hmmm. I bought a poppy the other day and it's already opening. I hope it will survive its new home - a particularly dry and very sunny spot in my otherwise part sun/part shade garden. Not much has made it from year to year it this dead zone, just some thyme, penstemon (its second year), veronica (just barely), sundrops and some purple thing that blooms in the summer... oh, and of course weeds. So here are more photos, I'm amazed at how quickly everything is growing, maybe it's because I'm now outside after weeks and weeks of hiding from the cold, miserable rain.

Siberian Iris

Siberian Iris, I love them.

Before

After

Baptesia, allium, rhododendron in the background

Columbine, lambs' ear

Hydrangea, hosta, blue columbine, lady's mantle, fern...

Water droplets on Lady's Mantle

New Poppies!

Before

After

Peonies!

My Little Patch of Green

I moved to the suburbs after living in The City for 12 years. I am an urban girl at heart but we needed the room to raise little people. Besides, my husband wasn't keen on living in The City. Sure, it's a great place to play but he really wanted to live a less frenetic lifestyle... so we moved. When we found our little patch of green with a house set upon it, my mother, an avid gardener, said to me, "oh, you're going to love gardening." "Me?" I seriously doubted her. Me? Are you kidding me? I haven't played in the dirt since I was 6. I had manicured nails. Me garden? No way, no how.

Then She, my mother, found azaleas and rhododendrons on sale for something ridiculous, like $3 a plant. So we bought 12 plants. And planted them ourselves. And that was the beginning. Then Mother started dividing her day lilies and iris and gave them to me. I had to dig in order to plant! And then I got bit by the gardening bug. I loved moving things here or there. It was like painting with plants or redecorating with flowers. I went to the nursery and found what was in bloom. When that became spent, I went back and bought something else that was then blooming. In the end, my garden pretty much has something blooming from the beginning of Spring through to the end of Fall. Here are a few shots of some of my favorites that have been in bloom this week. Enjoy.

Bearded Iris, inherited with the house

Champagne Elegance Iris

The other shot of the inherited iris

So, I'm just getting used to uploading photos and adding text. Here's the Champagne Elegance again

Blue Columbine

One of those $3 rhododendrons

My Japanese Maple - a birthday present from my husband

Lungwort, a gift from a friend. She was thinning out her plants.

A shadier spot, hydrangea, hosta and other stuff

The future... My peony buds!

Dr. Rice's Brownies

Back in in 2000, my mother, a personal property liquidator (she runs estate sales and really good house sales) was working for an elderly dentist by the name of Dr. Rice. While taking a break for lunch one day, Dr. Rice offered her some of the brownies he had just made.  Taken by the perfection of these brownies, Mother asked for the recipe. Dr. Rice preached how easy they were to make... and they are.  The key is the microwave, but if you don't have a microwave, just use a double boiler.  Also, there's no need for a mixer, just a fork or spatula.  These brownies are so easy, there is no reason to ever use a mix from a box again.  

Ingredients: 

3 squares (3 ounces) bitter/unsweetened/baking chocolate 

1 1/2 sticks butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 tbs vanilla

3/4 cup flour

1 tbs. cocoa

1/2 tbs. baking powder

3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

3/4 cup chocolate chips

How To:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Microwave chocolate 1 1/2 minutes.  

3. Add butter and heat 30 seconds longer.  Stir until smooth.  

4. Stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Less stirring means more tender brownies.  

5. Add flour, cocoa, baking powder.  Stir.  

6. Add nuts and chips.  

7. Bake in a 9” x 9” greased pan for 25 minutes, but check with with a clean knife or toothpick.

Magnolia Bakery's Chocolate and Vanilla Buttercreams

Since I got these recipe's online, I'm assuming (hoping) that these really are from Magnolia Bakery's cookbook. I had read that these are not true buttercreams but that doesn't bother me. They are really easy to make and very delicious.   The chocolate buttercream is perfect for the Seriously Amazing Chocolate Cake recipe that is posted on this blog.

Magnolia Bakery's Chocolate Buttercream Icing  (from www.food.com)

Covers 2 9-inch cakes or 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 9 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled to lukewarm
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar 

Directions

1. Melt the chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for 5-10 minutes; stir occasionally until the chocolate is completely smooth and no pieces remain; remove from heat and let cool 5-15 minutes or until lukewarm.


2. To make the buttercream: In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter using an electric mixer on MEDIUM speed for about 3 minutes or until creamy.


3. Add the milk carefully and beat until smooth.


4. Add the melted chocolate and beat well for 2 minutes.


5. Add the vanilla and beat for 3 minutes.


6. Gradually add in the sugar and beat on LOW speed until creamy and of desired consistency.  Be sure to beat the icing for the amount of time called for in the recipe to achieve the desired creamy texture.

*********

For my daughter's birthday, I made cupcakes and the children decorated them. I made a batch of the vanilla buttercream and divided it out into smaller cups. Each cup was colored differently, red, pink, purple, blue, green, etc.  so everyone had their choice of frosting. They also dipped the frosted cupcakes into sprinkles. They had a blast. 


I've also used this to dirty ice cakes before applying fondant. Because my family is chocolate oriented, I don't get to make this buttercream as often. You can also substitute the vanilla for orange or lemon oil.  Go slowly and taste along the way. The oils are very strong. 


For my own birthday I made a lemon cake (I think it was, I can't remember) anyway, I made the buttercream with orange oil and a few sprinkles of ground ginger.  SO GOOD! I just had an idea, you could mince crystalized ginger and add that to orange scented buttercream.

Magnolia Bakery's Vanilla Buttercream
From More From Magnolia by Allysa Torey, online from www.recipelink.com

Makes enough for one 2-layer 9-inch cake or 2 dozen cupcakes*

·       1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

·       6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar

·       1/2 cup milk

·       2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. 
2. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. 
3. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. 
4. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. 
5. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. 
6. Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled. Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. It freezes well too!

*Note:
If you are icing a 3-layer cake, use the following recipe proportions:

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
8 to 10 cups confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract


Enjoy.

Seriously Amazing Chocolate Cake

I prefer cake made from scratch over cake from a box. Simple, real ingredients plus the I did it myself factor is very satisfying. This moist chocolate cake is a real pleaser.

Originally the recipe calls for a 9 x 13" pan but I've also made it a a layer cake using two round cake tins.  A few years ago, my mother found the recipe online @ www.donogh.com which is now www. recipesoldandnew.com and they don't have this cake listed on the site. Their loss, our gain!

Makes 1 Cake. 

Ingredients:
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter
2 1/4 cups light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 cup boiling water

Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350°F.
2 Melt chocolate, either on the stove or in the microwave and set aside.

3 Beat butter in large mixer bowl then add brown sugar and eggs, and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
4 Add vanilla and melted chocolate, and beat to combine.
5 Combine flour, baking soda, and salt and add to chocolate mixture gradually, alternating with sour cream, beating after each addition.
6 Stir boiling water into the batter - the batter will be thin.
7 Pour into two 9 inch round cake pans which have been greased and floured.
8 Bake for 35 minutes, until cake centre springs back when touched.
9 Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Allow to cool completely before applying frosting.

If I layer the cake, say if it's two rounds, or I double the batter and make two 9 x 13 cakes, I'll use blackberry preserves between the layers.  I also use Magnolia Bakery's Chocolate Buttercream (recipe is it's own blog post) to frost the cake.  Then I find the best looking berries in the market and decorate the top of the cake.  

My parents have blackberry bushes and every year my mother makes blackberry purée and gives me some. I've served the cake with the blackberry purée on the side.  It's phenomenal.  I'm not a big cake fan, believe it or not, but this cake with the purée, I can't pass up.  

Enjoy.

When going to the theater...

...even if it's your child's dance recital or some other inane theater experience, it's still the theater!  Last night, my family went to see my son's breakdancing performance. It was a dance recital for the (for the most part) upper school of a local dance school. There was everything from six year olds fumbling through "ballet" to tappers of all ages, jazz, lyrical, more lyrical, angry lyrical, ballet with former professional dancers, ballet with very non-professional (adult) dancers and a quasi-professional salsa duo, or was it tango, whatever it was, she was twice his size, at least her thighs were (not complaining about her thighs, just that the proportions of the two dancers together were way off), but they were confident and capable.

If I didn't have a dance background, it would have been pretty boring (except for my son, he was awesome, of course!).  So I can only imagine just how painful it was to watch for most of the audience. But that does not mean you can 1) send texts and/or emails 2) play Bubble Breaker on your cell phone 3) check the time on your phone 4) talk on your phone or 5) talk to your seat mate.  Do you know how bright your phone's screen is in the dark?  People, it's rude and distracting.  Also, when they announce at the top of the show that flash photography is prohibited because it's dangerous to the dancers, DON'T DO IT! IT IS A HUGE DISTRACTION TO THE PERFORMERS!!!! Also, by they way, it's annoying to the rest of the audience. Flash... Flash.... Flash.

Another tip, don't take videos during the performance. Your kid is going to look like a bright blur, whether it's on a camcorder, cell phone, or Flip camera.  The audience becomes a sea of bright screens in front of you while people were recording their kids. Not only that, but when you record, you tend to miss the actual performance. And live performance is far better than the recorded version. The magic doesn't transfer.  (Besides, the school hired a professional to take video. Spend another $25, enjoy the show, spare the rest of the audience, and get a better recorded version on DVD.)

When  you child has finished performing, don't get up and leave. It's rude to the other performers, it's rude to the rest of the audience. You might get surprised by what you'll see. Just because it's not Lincoln Center, doesn't mean there won't be something of value to see.  However, if you're with a small child who is getting restless because she is up past her bedtime but wanted to see her big brother dance, I give you permission to leave at intermission.  And that is the time to get up and walk out, at intermission (thank you, dear husband, you handled her well), not in the middle of a routine.  Don't bring a baby or a two year old or even a four year old. Get a babysitter instead.

And another thing, it's the theater. Get dressed up. I'm not suggesting black tie or even cocktail attire, but certainly not ratty jeans and a sports jersey (I haven't been talking about a rock concert here, have I?).  Make going to theater special, it's not a trip to the grocery store. Show the performers some respect (show the other audience members some respect, too). Make it special for them, even if the performer is your 5 year old.  Your child will see that you take them seriously.  Besides, how else will they learn? Children learn by their parents' example.

There, I've said it.