Victorian bridal bouquet

This is a bridal bouquet I am working on, very Victorian in feel. It has blue-green hydrangeas, ivory hydrangeas, freesia in several shades, lizianthis in shades of pale pink, ivory and ivory-green, scented stock in buttercream yellow and pale pink. Its very fragrant and is a nosegay style bound with ivory organza ribbon

cold season

Tis the cold season. We held off as long as we could. But now both Jeff and I are fighting a cold, his is more sinus related, mine deep in my chest. Definitely makes for a challenging time, last night I even scared Nike with my coughing! I don't even feel like cooking. We are both doing the warm tea, lots of liquids, trying to get enough rest, but spring cannot get here fast enough.

Soupe au Pistou - recipe

The first time I made this soup was in January, what a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon, chopping vegetables and simmering soup. Since then we have changed it in different ways, sometimes adding ingredients like cubed cooked chicken, subtracting ingredients, but no matter which way you make it, it is an awesome soup. It is from the southern region of France, which kind of explains the"pistou" pesto garnish.

Soupe au Pistou
1 1/4 cup dried white beans (cannellini, navy or flageleot) or 2 cups canned cannellini)
2 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 celery stalk, chopped
3-4 carrots, chopped
bouquet garni (thyme, parsley, bay leaves tied in cheesecloth)
4 potatoes, diced
1/4 pound small green beans, chopped
2 cups chicken stock - if canned, use low sodium
3 tomatoes
2 zucchini, diced
1 1/2 cup vermicelli, broken into small pieces
1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)

Pistou
6 garlic cloves
1 1/3 cup basil leaves
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup olive oil

If you are using dried beans : Soak dried beans overnight, drain, put in a sauce pan, cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 1 hour till beans are tender. Drain.
If you are using canned beans, they do not need to be soaked, rinsed and cooked.

To make the pistou
Put garlic, basil and parmesan in blender, process till finely mashed. Slowly add olive oil, mix thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Heat olive oil in large dutch oven or soup pot, add garlic and shallots and cook over low heat just a few minutes so they are soft but not browned. Add celery, carrots, and bouquet garni, cook 10 minutes, stir occasionally. Add potatoes, green beans, chicken stock and 7 cups of water, simmer 10 minutes.

Peel tomatoes by plunging first into boiling water then cold water, the peels will just come off so easily. Chop the tomatoes, add to soup. Add zucchini, white beans, vermicelli, and peas (if you are using frozen, then wait till right before to add so they just heat through.

Season, serve with a dollop of pistou on top.

Forensics - state meet this Saturday.

This Saturday Jenessa, Jeff's daughter, is competing in the state Forensics meet. She is playing the part of a dragon, working hard at convincing the knight not to slay the dragon. I can't wait to watch and root for her team to win!

Possum tracks

One of the coolest things about fresh snow is you can see animal tracks. Usually we see all sorts of rabbits, squirrels etc. Jeff and I were out Sunday morning, cleaning up the fresh 4-5 inches from the day before and we found these possum tracks going down the sidewalk. It was easy to see as the snow had been removed earlier so just a light dusting remained. Jeff showed me how the possum walks like a waddle and moves his right front paw at the same time as his back right paw, then his left front and left back, so its right - right, left - left. How cool!