Ted’s Tip No. 396
May 23, 2022
The start of a collection can be very exciting. The thrill of the hunt often exhilarating. Finding one or many, and you are off and running.
Ted Kennedy Watson
A Sunday Thought
May 22, 2022
A Saturday Thought
May 21, 2022
Wooly Thyme
May 20, 2022
Flower Friday all about some sweet blooms I did not even know we had, Wooly thyme. TPS brought in this handful for me the other day, a bunch he had pulled from the grass before the lawn was to be moved. I had seen herbs as a ground cover, but they were not on my visual radar right out our front door. Loving the little flowers they produce. Looking forward to setting a table with bunches of glasses filled with this abundant thyme set here & there. My father was a big believer in learning something new each day. I now want to learn more and more about all the different herbs that can be used for ground covering. Be well all. Happy Friday. Have a stellar May week-end. X, T
Asparagus Tartine
May 19, 2022
Well, that definition of a tartine pretty much sums up the one I enjoyed last night as my first course when we were having a date night out at our favorite local eatery, Local 111. It is about a 5 minute drive from Hawthorne, which is pretty amazing to have such a fine eatery so close to us in the country. Believe me, we thank our lucky stars often. Tartines are very French, but can absolutely be adapted to include just about anything you would like to put on them. They are hearty enough that they certainly could be a meal in and of itself. Asparagus is so fresh right now, it was the star of this tartine, as well as the farm fresh soft egg and mound of herbs. It was one of the better culinary things I have enjoyed in quite some time. My mind is racing with possibilities for other tartines. They can be especially lovely cut into smaller pieces and served with cocktails at gatherings, large or small.
Little Pots Of Basil
May 18, 2022
Did a quick grocery shop yesterday which included this bundle of basil. I am crazy for those little cups of basil that come in the long thin clear plastic sleeve in the produce section. They are the handiest thing as the basil lasts a good while as the bunch is still rooted. Just keep that submerged in water and all will be good and you will have lots of basil to use while you cook. Last night was our first Caprese salad of the season. I just snipped a few leaves and we were off and running. The little paper cups are not the most attractive things, so slip it into a cool looking vessel. We have these little green buckets that work perfectly. It gets placed by the kitchen window. The breeze blows the basil about, giving off its divine scent!
The Calm Before The Storm
May 17, 2022
It is funny because many people who do not live in the Pacific Northwest think it rains there all the time. While indeed it does rain, it is not all the time, it generally is a super light rain, and it is what keeps everything so beautifully green. In New York, much like when I was growing up in the Midwest, when it rains, it reaaaallllly rains. Both TPS and I love a heavy rainstorm. We sit on the back porch at Hawthorne and treat it almost like watching live theater. Then the thunder comes. An extra added bonus. I love thunder! When I was little it used to scare me terribly. Then my mom told me it was people in heaven bowling. Being quite vulnerable at the time, it worked, as I pretty much have adored thunder ever since. The upside to Bailey hearing very little in her advanced age is she no longer reacts negatively to thunder. Oh my, for years, it was terrible. She would just shake and shake. Now she just sleeps in my lap and snores as the thunder crashes away. Yesterday afternoon we were treated to such a New York storm. Mister Sive was coming back from visiting his brother in Troy. He got soaking wet getting from the car to the garage, which is about 15 steps. It rained buckets. Once he got in the house and dried off, we were treated to one heck of a storm. No tickets necessary.
