Monday, June 2, 2014

Catching up

Just a few highlights ...

arranging
{arranging}

arrangements
{mother's day arrangements}

scones
{raspberry scones}

tasting
{tasting at noble aleworks}

circe perch
{circe perch}

planting
{planting}

sunday coffee
{sunday coffee}

:: We did our usual mothers' day bouquets - I love the soft pink, lilac and white color scheme we went with. Might have been our best arrangements ever. The raspberry scones were for mothers' day brunch. Just my favorite easy scone recipe but with chopped raspberries.

:: We had some time to kill in Anaheim so we stopped at Noble Aleworks for a tasting. If you love sweet creamy stouts, they do a great job with them. Even I was halfway convinced and I do not love sweet stouts. My non-stout favorites were the Big Whig IPA and the Pistola (brewed with Serrano chilies!). Such a good afternoon.

:: Circe on a Hudson Bay-esque blanket that we picked up in Palm Springs last Christmas. She's the ultimate hipster, right? I am mildly terrified that she might jump out the window but she's barely willing to jump on the bed so I think we're safe. If we leave her at home alone she stays in the bedroom, because I'm not taking any chances. We get more obsessed with her every day. I can't even tell you about it without sounding like a slobbering idiot.

:: We finally got some plants going in here! Details soon. All planting credit to D. Herbs are as far as I'm willing to extend myself. We're trying to figure out a way to make that happen without any outdoor space (window boxes? but then we can't have screens?).

:: It's peony season, which you know unless you've been kept in an internet free zone for the last three weeks. I like them even when they're dying. I'm still mostly off caffeine of all kinds, but I can't resist a cup of coffee on a weekend morning.

6 comments:

  1. i'm sure there must be window boxes that work with screens. i've had window boxes on the inside window ledge. and i've had window boxes outside the window, on a fire escape or security cage. it is annoying to have to open the windows and screens around the window boxes, but doable.

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  2. uh oh... becoming obsessed with your dog is the step that comes before the step where you have a baby. I should know! :) Gorgeous Mother's Day bouquets!

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  3. Well, the little cypress tree that I picked up around Christmas died recently, and the basil is on its way out too. So maybe my master plan to plant herbs into adorable used tea tins (see http://www.mireiodesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tinherbs2.jpg) isn't such a good one. If the plant is dying, then at least the cute planter will distract from the decay. Right? right?

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  4. always look forward to your posts, and am really looking forward to another book round up, whenever that should happen. just finished Life After Life on your rec from months back, and loved it.

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  5. When adapting the recipe for raspberry scones, do you omit the currants and orange zest? And, when do you mix in the raspberries to prevent them from becoming utterly pulverized? I have been dreaming of making raspberry scones and would love to know! Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Yep, I left out the currants. Also left out the orange zest because I didn't have any, but orange + raspberry or lemon + raspberry would be awesome, so there's no need to leave it out.

      I was playing it by ear, so I tossed the frozen raspberries in while I was pulsing in the butter. They were pulverized, but that's kind of what I was going for. If you wanted them more whole, I'd wait until after you cut in the butter but before you add the liquid, and then fold the liquid in gently with a spatula instead of using the food processor.

      I'll also note that raspberries are more tart than sweet, so you might want to add some sugar. The original scone recipe is just barely sweet, and a lot of that comes from the currants or dates. I didn't add more than a couple spoonfuls of sugar to the raspberry scones and they were not really sweet at all. Still good, but if you're looking for a sweeter pastry, I'd recommend maybe 1/4 - 1/3 cup sugar. This still wouldn't be very sweet, I don't think. Sorry - I know it's annoying to get sketchy recipes. I'd have to play with this a little more to really have a solid adaptation.

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