Foodie Friday -- April 4th

 Welcome to Foodie Friday, where great cooks share their recipes.

This morning, when I was walking the Yorkies, I was lost in my thoughts. Then I noticed that my pansies had bounced back after the bitter winter, and I couldn't resist picking a few blossoms. I stepped inside and made a salad. Pansies are my favorite edible flower. Their velvety texture melts on the tongue, and the taste is fresh and subtle, almost oniony, but not quite. They will never overpower a recipe. 

 William Shakespeare probably wasn't handy in the kitchen, but he had the lowdown on edible flowers. Tucked away in Hamlet, you'll find this quote: 

"Pray you, love, remember. And there is pansies, that's for thoughts."

 Pansy-Pistachio Salad with a Raspberry Vinaigrette

Fresh greens
Raspberries (or your favorite berry)

Organic pansies

Chopped chives

Chopped green onions

Chopped pistachios

Bottled or homemade raspberry vinaigrette

Assemble, drizzle the vinaigrette over everything, and enjoy. This salad pairs well with a roasted spring chicken or grilled salmon; but it's delicious by itself for a light lunch.
Printable Recipe

Let's take a look at Last Week's Most-Viewed Recipes.

#1 Easy Braided Breakfast Pastry

If you are looking for a flaky, easy breakfast pastry, you'll love this recipe by Will Cook for Smiles.

Will Cook for Smiles

#2 Recipes with Bob's Red Mill 
Cathy has made some divine recipes with Bob's Red Mill products--almond lace wafers; pear frangipani galette, and PB and J macaroons. 

Wives with Knives

#3  Three Ingredient Scones
Who can resist a scone recipe that calls for three ingredients? Don't the scones
look delicious?

Life in My Empty Nest

Note: You are cordially invited to join the Novel Bakers for Beatrix Potter Week. It kicks off Monday, April 7th at Home Is Where the Boat Is and ...a quiet life. Jain, Mary Mc, and I will
share recipes and Many Bunniful Things. Hope you'll stop by for a visit.
. . .
If you are contributing a recipe to this week's Foodie Friday, locate the blue Inlinkz icon in the lower, left-hand portion of this post. Click on the icon and follow the directions. After you complete the process, you will see a red "x" beside your name. This allows you to delete your link if you made an error; the red "x" is visible to you only.

You can read a complete guide to this linky party HERE.  It's pretty simple. You don't need to "like" our Facebook page or be a follower of this blog to participate. Nor do you need to include a backlink or Foodie Friday button in your post. Add as many recipes as you wish, old or new. If you love food, we love you.

Pretty please do not pin images from the FF thumbnails. Visit the source blogs.

   

If you'd like to share your food photos--or photos of other FF participants on Pinterest, join the Pinterest foodie board, Consuming Passions. Leave a message on the most recent "pin" if you'd like your name added to the list.

Every Friday, we are joined at this big, virtual table--thank you for stopping by today. I'm grateful to all of you who spend your days cooking. I'm grateful to old and new friends who contribute recipes every week. I'm grateful to friends who leave a comment. I'm grateful for the silent folks, because you are brought here by your love of all things culinary. We are food people. And that's a marvelous thing. 

Until next time,

Have a great day!

Social Bookmarking

Foodie Friday -- July 26th

 Welcome to the July 26th Foodie Friday,

where good food is always on the menu.

 

I've been playing with The Novel Bakers every day, celebrating Lavender Week.

 

 

 

 

 

We read The Lavender Cookbook by Sharon Shipley,
looking up enticing recipes, dreaming of festivals and gardens, 
inventing a few dishes along the way.

 

You can catch up with all of the Novel Bakers' lavender marvelous, magical posts
by clicking on the links. Everything is in one place for your convenience.

 

home is where the boat is
once upon a plate
rattlebridge farm
sidewalk shoes
a quiet life

Look for more NB lavender posts on Saturday and Sunday!

 

Here's a quick recap of Lavender Week at Rattlebridge. Just click on the links for the recipes.

 

Day 1: Baby Spinach-Peach-Blueberry-Walnut Salad with Lavender-Ginger-Lemon Vinaigrette

Day 2: Lavender Granola

 

 

Day 3: Lavender Honey Crab Cakes

 

Day 4: Tablescape and Dessert



 

 

Day 5 (Foodie Friday) : Pickled Lavender Carrots and Lavender Vinegar
 

Pickled Lavender Carrots are sweet and savory. They are perfect for

appetizers--even more perfect as "nibbles" with a salty margarita.

 

 Also, they were quite easy. I parboiled the carrots so I

didn't have to dust off my pressure cooker!

I love easy!

 

These carrots are swoon-worthy, if you like that sort of thing.

Pickled Lavender Carrots

                   

Carrots

fresh lavender sprigs or dry culinary buds

2 cups white wine vinegar

1 cup white sugar

 

Prepare your Ball jars, lids, and seals. Boil lids/seals.

Run the jars through the dishwasher.

 

Cut carrots to fit Ball jars. Then place carrots in a

deep pan and fill with salted water. Cook until tender, about 15 minutes.

Drain and set aside.

 

In a separate saucepan, boil vinegar and sugar, adding a pinch of sea salt.

 

Lay jar on its side and add carrots, one at a time. Tuck in lavender sprigs.

Pour hot vinegar/sugar mixture into each jar, leaving 1" headroom.

Seal jars. Chill. Discard after 14 days.

(Adapted from a recipe in Discover Cooking with Lavender by Kathy Gehrt.)

 

 

The next recipe, lavender vinegar, has many uses, from culinary (vinaigrette; marinades) to

homekeeping (cleaning floors).  It makes a beautiful gift for your favorite cook, too.

 

Note: test a sample on your flooring before

applying diluted vinegar water.



Lavender Vinegar

 

White wine vinegar

lavender sprigs

decorative jar

 

This isn't a recipe, just a hand-me-down procedure. I used white wine/lemon vinegar. My lavender sprigs were past their prime, so I steeped culinary buds in the vinegar, then strained it before adding

the liquid to the sterilized jar.

 

Click HERE for a simple guide to making herbal vinegars.

Would you like to see a luscious, profusion of lavender?

You'll have fun visiting Mary (Home Is Where the Boat Is), Mari (Once Upon a Plate), Jain (A Quiet Life), and special guest baker Pam (Sidewalk Shoes). 

home is where the boat is

once upon a plate

rattlebridge farm

sidewalk shoes

a quiet life

Lavender Week
July 22 - July 28 

 Several Bakers will have posts for you on Saturday and Sunday.

 

Thanks for sharing in our joy this week!

 

 

If you are participating in Foodie Friday,

please take a moment to read the guidelines.

To participate in Foodie Friday, locate the blue Inlinkz icon and follow the directions. The red "x"
will allow you to delete your link if you made an error; the "x" is visible to you only.

For a complete guide to this linky party, click HERE. If you have still have questions, click HERE
for a detailed Foodie Friday tutorial.

** By adding your link to Foodie Friday, you are granting us permission to include a photo of your FF recipe in a feature story.

** Would you like to add your recipes to the "Consuming Passions" group board at Pinterest?
It can be found HERE. We're a small, sociable group; Foodie Friday folks are always welcome to "pin" with us and chat about food. Just leave a comment on one of my recent"pins," so I'll be sure to see it, and I will send you an invitation. Or you can email me.

**I would like to ask pretty please if Pinners will visit the host blogs to pin photographs.

 

Social Bookmarking

Foodie Friday

I spend my days writing, dog tending, cooking, gardening, and puttering.

Homemaking is a joy, something that feeds my soul.  I am a not a fancy cook,

but that doesn't mean that I'm not food obsessed.

I am.

  I come from a family of homebodies and self-taught cooks. Some of us are full time homemakers and others have full-time jobs, but in our souls, we're always in the kitchen. We have a tradition of photographing desserts, side dishes, and entrees.

We love everything about cooking: the soothing rituals of measuring,

stirring, and kneading. Even dishwashing is fun.

Like most cooks, the women in my clan are into nurturing.

Today, when my husband asked for a low-carb/low-cal side dish, I sprang into action (cooks love special requests) and made a tomato-cucumber salad.

   
                 I love this salad.
            Not only is it delicious (and low calorie), it's versatile--perfect for a picnic or a  formal meal.

 Best of all, it takes five minutes to make.

Time-saving Tip:

When you're cooking for a crowd, the recipes can run together in your mind. To reduce the stress of preparing several side-dishes and desserts, print or write down each recipe. Assemble ingredients for each recipe and place in a box or plastic tub.  

 

 

Farmhouse Tomato-Cucumber Salad

 Print This Recipe

Simple and festive, this salad can be assembled in minutes. What You Need: 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced 4- 6 ripe tomatoes 1 hothouse cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced cherry tomatoes 1 teaspoon minced garlic 2 teaspoons fresh oregano 1 tablespoon fresh basil rice vinegar extra virgin olive oil First, make a vinaigrette. Add two parts olive oil to one part vinegar. Whisk. Add garlic. Salt and pepper to taste and whisk. Place onions in the bowl and stir. Peel and slice the cucumber. Slice tomatoes. Arrange cucumbers and tomatoes on a serving platter. Garnish with cherry tomatoes. Remove onions from oil/vinegar mixture and arrange over tomatoes and cucumbers. Pour vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add basil and oregano. Salt and pepper again (to taste). Serves: 6

Thanks for stopping by!

To add your recipe to the Foodie Friday linky party, look below for the blue Inlinkz frog (below). Add your permalink and select an image. It may take a few seconds for the entry to process. A red X on your photo allows you to delete your entry if you make an error. The Foodie Friday badge (or button--look for a picture of white cupcakes) is located on the right sidebar if you wish to add it to your FF post. If this is your first time to participate in Foodie Friday, a tutorial is available.

Foodie Friday: Summer Lunch

Welcome to Foodie Friday!

I'm so happy to see you.

Lunch is ready, simple, summery fare on the lawn.

Won't you join me?

I love to assemble picnic items. I began with a yellow-and-gray vintage tablecloth, a black tole tray, and a wire beverage caddy. I used a lidded jar for the salad--a great way to transport food (and it will keep the bugs away). I mixed French glassware with paper plates, napkins, and plastic cutlery.

 

A peek at the caddy--love the swirls and loops.

 

I made an apple-walnut salad and a raspberry vinaigrette.

These jars can be found in all sizes. Aren't they just perfect for potato salad, lemon bars, muffins, relish, and even fried chicken?

 

Ham and cheese croissants are easy,

and they taste so fresh on a warm June day.

When I think of picnics, I imagine the outdoor teas in English novels--huge baskets, a wash of green lawn and shrubs, and Wedgwood-blue sky . Here in Tennessee, the sky is just the same but with with different botanica:
a purple butterfly bush, red roses, shrubs.

 

Are you ready to eat?

  

 Happy recipe hunting!

 To add your recipe to the Foodie Friday linky party, look below for the blue Inlinkz frog. Add your permalink and select an image. It may take a few seconds for the entry to process. A red X on your photo allows you to delete your entry if you make an error. The Foodie Friday badge (or button) is located on the right sidebar (see below), and you can add the code to your FF post. If this is your first time to participate in Foodie Friday, a tutorial is available.

Social Bookmarking