“A weed is a plant that has mastered
every survival skill except for
learning how to grow in rows.”
~ Doug Larson
Mastering Survival
flowers
Come In: We’re Open
“Love is flower-like;
Friendship is like a
sheltering tree.”
~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Seeds of Humanity
“By cultivating the beautiful,
we scatter the seeds of
heavenly flowers; as by
doing good, we cultivate
those that belong to humanity.”
~ Robert A. Heinlein
Eating My Way Through the Alphabet; Letter V
What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? All the Buzz: Violet Crostini! Edible flowers are kind of a new thing for me this year. Everywhere I look, nature has exploded with beauty and color. Because I take special care in avoiding chemicals and pesticides in my herb garden and on the grounds, I can reap the benefits of sweet edible flowers high in vitamins. This recipe for Violet Crostini is one step up from an ordinary salad of mixed greens. By toasting a sesame artisan bread and slathering it with Norwegian Jarlsberg Cheese Spread, the salad greens and fresh violet petals create an open face sandwich or crostini. Top it off with a pretty, light purple edible chive blossom for a light onion taste. Doesn’t it look delicious?
VIOLET CROSTINI
Ingredients:
2-4 slices sesame bread, toasted
4 tablespoons Norwegian Jarlsberg Cheese Spread*
1 cup mixed salad greens
2 tablespoons violet petals
2 chive blossoms, stems removed
2 tablespoons lemon olive oil
2-4 sprigs lemon thyme
Instructions:
Toast sesame seed artisan bread. Spoon two tablespoons of Norwegian Jarlsberg Cheese Spread on each piece. Divide salad greens between the crostini. Top with violet petals and chive blossom. Drizzle lemon olive oil over all. Garnish with lemon thyme.
* Follow the link for the Norwegian Jarlsberg Cheese Spread recipe.
Laughter is Everywhere
“The Earth laughs in flowers.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Color of Romance
“Ah…romance to me
is spontaneity.
It’s not diamond earrings;
it’s a bunch of daffodils
that’s freshly picked
from the field.”
~ Kate Winslet
The Season of Singing Has Come
“See! The Winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the Earth;
the season of singing has come…”
~ Song of Solomon 2:11-12
Fairy Dust, Diamonds, and Damask Roses
Azure waves swept ashore in a wall of magic bubbles playing leap tag with energetic surfers. In the blink of an eye, bubbles dissolved into foam as if transformed into fairy dust leaving the beach to sparkle like a cluster of diamonds. With the grace of a dancer, footprints in the sand were completely erased before swishing back out to sea. Just beyond the crashing waves at the lava mound, appeared a trail of delicate pink blossoms scattered in the sand. Each flower emitted a super-fragrance and looked as though it had been gingerly plucked from a heavenly lush rose bush. Hardly touched in unblemished beauty, their perfect state conjured images of sea nymphs frolicking on the beach serenading humpback whales into choosing a mate. How romantic! I later learned this breathtakingly beautiful ancient flower is called the Maui Pink Lokelani. It is native to Asia, but was brought to Hawaii in the 1800s by the Spanish. Now grown on Maui, the damask rose is popular for stringing leis as the Heavenly Rose of the Hawaiian Islands.
Pay a Visit to Sunny San Diego, California
Pay a Visit to Sunny San Diego, California! Just off the coast of Southern California sits a city that is high in adventure and easy in the eyes. Whether you’re captivated by the flurry of activity along the marina with the fishermen returning from their catch-of-the-day or the military jets soaring high overhead, it’s exciting to absorb the sights and sounds in every direction. The bordering exotic Bird-of-Paradise flower showcases its colorful foliage as though it had feathery plumes. From cloud-bursting sunrise to breathtaking sunset, all one can do is marvel at the beauty of this city known as San Diego.
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