Spring Pinks

I was out taking photos of my flowering plum tree

for Pink Saturday - when I looked across the street

and all I saw was pink!  

"Wait girls!  I have to get a photo of 

your fun boots!"  I called.

"Will we get to be in your book?" one asked.

"Do you mean my blog?"  I responded.

"Oh yeah, " they replied.

"Of course!"  I said as we took photos of their

fun boots.

Here is my spectacular flowering plum in the

front yard.

We lost almost a third of it last year with a late snow.

(We were out of town and came home to broken branches.)

The blossoms held the snow and it broke so many branches

off.  We had a snow emergency this spring too and I

quickly sent hubby out to shake the branches off.

Just like pink cotton candy!  The nursery kids sing a song

called "Popcorn Popping On The Apricot Tree".  This 

would have to be  changed to "cotton candy"  

on the plum tree.

Then they told me they wanted another picture

for the blog, not just their feet!

The oldest one is one of my Young Women at church.

 The little

girls are the ones who love to come and visit

my fairy garden.  The fairies should be returning

soon if the weather gets warm!

One last photo!

I just had to include this one; it made me laugh. 

I kept finding these around the house.  I am sure this was caused

not by a fairy, but little boys who prefer ears.

Ok, so I didn't plan on getting up

for the Royal Wedding,

maybe it was two posts this week that did it.  I woke up at

4:15 Mountain time and decided to flip the TV on and 

ended up watching the whole thing.  Loved it, loved

Catherine's dress and Pippa's - loved

the modest dresses - some of the hats were a little

too much but entertaining, 

loved the carriage, loved the choir and

especially the clergy's message on marriage.  I have

to say, I don't know how anyone caught a picture of

that quick peck we waited an extra hour for!  Katie

Couric was demanding a repeat and I agreed. 

 Congratulations

to them!  I hope they have a long and happy marriage

like I have had - 32 years in 

two weeks (of course we haven't been in any spotlight!)

Most of you said no way

 to having a chance at being

a Royal.  I agree, I value my privacy!!!

I will be posting this on

Favorite Things Saturday

Pink Saturday

Seasonal Sunday

Outdoor Wednesday

Key Lime Pie - A Southern Comfort Food

Is there anything more mouthwatering than the

perfect

Key Lime Pie?

That luscious southern favorite, key lime pie,

is featured several times in Michael Lee West's

new book, Gone With A Handsomer Man.

Miss Dora bails Teeny Templeton, our heroine,

out of jail, finds her a place to live, and gives her

some money to survive.

When Teeny complains that she has done too

much, Miss Dora says, "Bake me a

 key lime pie 

and we'll call it even."

Truly, I had a hard time deciding whether to make 

Key Lime Pie 

or

"I Didn't Kill My Boyfriend Cake 

with

I'm a Suspect Icing".  

The truth is, I had the recipe for the

Key Lime Pie and I didn't think a Google

search would get me recipes for the Templeton

Family Receipts for that particular cake or icing.

Key limes are tiny little devils, so be prepared

to do some squeezing as you are going

to need one full cup of fresh juice for this

recipe. (I got my handy lime squeezer at Target.)

I have to say, the smell of the key limes just in the

bag from the store was so heady!

Key Lime Pie Recipe

1 1/4 C. graham cracker crumbs (measure

after you run them through the food processor)

1/4 C. firmly packed brown sugar

1/3 C. melted butter

Mix the above and press into the bottom and up

the sides of a 9 inch spring form pan.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.  Let cool

While the crust is cooling, begin juicing your key limes.

35-40 key limes, juiced to make 1 C. juice

2 - 14 oz. cans sweetened condensed milk

4 egg yolks

Place the juice, milk and egg yolks into a large bowl

and blend with a whisk until smooth.

Pour into the cooled crust.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Let cool and then refrigerate.  You want

it chilled before you try to cut it.

Serve with whipped cream and garnish with

a sugared piece of lime.

There are many versions of key lime pie out there,

some unbaked, some frozen, but this is my favorite one.

(It cuts and serves like a dream too!)

Slice yourself a piece and enjoy!

I don't know if I would give Miss Dora a slice though.

I have to warn you, this book has some "spice" in it.

I had to do a couple of quick page turns on the racy parts.

(Yes, I really did eat this while taking photos!!

I had another piece for dinner too - shhh, don't tell!)

Not that hubby hasn't had this key lime pie before,

but he was oohing and aahing, saying, "The texture

ranks right up there with the flavor!"  

Wow honey, thanks.

I will be posting this with

Foodie Fridays

Sweet Tooth Friday

Sweets for a Saturday

Favorite Things

Tasty Tuesday

Themed Baker's Sunday - Citrus

A Royal's Tablescape - Something to Nosh on the Day After The Wedding

I have imagined a table for a very late rising 

newlywed couple,

 Prince William and Princess Catherine.

I was expecting my first child when Princess Diana

was married.  I remember how fun it was watching

that media event.  Now that daughter is 29 years old.

Diana's first son will be getting married on April 29, 2011.

I thought it would be fun to create an imaginary "Royal"

table for them.

I have stacked my square scalloped plates

(some of my favorites and I wish I had more!)

and placed her on one end of our stone topped table

and him on the other.  (Don't worry, the table isn't too long.)

I love the little raised crown on the plates.

If we turned them the other way, it could be a W

for William (or for my last name too.)

Just a hint of the underglazing shows through giving

these a lovely texture.

Their meal is placed on a white satin runner with 

pearl detailing.

All of the details come together here in this corner view.

Even the ends of the silver look like little crowns.

The Ralph Lauren napkin is placed

on the plates and this particular fold is called

The Crown.

Their food will be placed on this lovely wooden tray

with classic urns.

A little posy with some of the wedding flowers graces

the tray.

The posy is placed in a silver plated flower cone with

a Nottingham lace doily.

The food consists of fresh strawberries dusted 

with confectioners sugar, miniature cakes filled

with Devonshire cream and topped with blackberries,

and Treacle and Ginger scones.

I love the crown detail on this cream colored stone

pitcher too.  It fits right in.

The Devonshire or clotted cream is served 

with a small sterling spoon with a rose

pattern.

I posted the recipe for a "Mock" Devonshire Cream

yesterday.  Click here for instructions.

Of course we have to include some tea.  I 

chose a Lemon Ginger tea.

More royal touches on the small stoppered

 bottles and the iron crown.

They also will be noshing on Treacle and Ginger

Scones.  I posted that recipe yesterday.

You can find that by clicking here.

Oh, the cook let me have one of

these angel food cakes filled with clotted

cream and they were just heavenly.

She starts with a split scone topped with 

the clotted cream and some fabulous blackberries.

A small Nottingham lace doily is also used

under the silver goblet.

I also had a bite of these scones.  Yes, they are

royally good.

Just a quick paparazzi type question for you before

you go.  If you had the opportunity,

would you want to become a royal

like Kate Middleton, if so why and if not, why not?

I will be posting this with

Tablescapes Thursday

Feathered Nest Friday

Decor to Adore's Royal Wedding Party

Favorite Things

Royal Scones and Devonshire Cream

(Photo courtesy of Photobucket)

With England's big Royal Wedding at the end of

the week, I thought I would do a tablescape 

fit for royals.  

You don't get to see that until tomorrow, but here

is a sneak peek.

What you do get today is a recipe for 

Treacle and Ginger Scones

and 

Mock Devonshire Cream

Kate Middleton's favorite dessert is

Sticky Toffee Pudding

(which I will post later).  So I decided

scones with similar flavors would be something that 

she would love on the day after her royal wedding.

Anyone who has been to England knows that one

of England's best culinary delights is

 their clotted cream or Devonshire Cream.  

Those of us stateside have to

go without this lovely luxury.  I have purchased jars

of "Devonshire cream" and found it to be very lacking.

So I decided to try and  search out the best recipe for

a mock Devonshire cream.  I KNOW this one isn't

perfect but it tastes great.

Treacle is a sweetener similar to molasses, so just

substitute dark molasses in the recipe.

Treacle and Ginger Scones

2 C. flour

3 T. brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. soda

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

Place the above ingredients in a large bowl and

whisk together to blend.

Cut in 1/4 C. butter until the butter is in coarse

pieces.

In a small bowl mix:

1 egg yolk

1/4 C. treacle or dark molasses

1/3 C. milk

Make a well in the center of the flour mix

and pour the liquids in.  Mix together with a fork

just until blended then remove from bowl and 

knead together on your counter about 10-12 turns.

Flour counter and then roll out about 3/8-1/2 inch thick.

Cut into wedges or cut with a floured cookie cutter.

Place scones on ungreased cookie sheet or parchment

paper and bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes depending 

on the size.

Mock Devonshire Cream

Bring 3 oz. cream cheese to room temperature

 (don't use the reduced fat or

fat free as it will give it too sharp of a taste).  Or place it

on a microwave safe plate and warm it up about 12 seconds.

Check to make sure you don't get it hot.

Place in a small mixing bowl with 1 1/2 - 2 T. powdered sugar,

a pinch of salt, and 1 C. heavy whipping cream. 

 Beat it together with your

wire whip attachment until mixed then turn it on high and

whip it until it forms stiff peaks.  (If you don't have the 

cream cheese at room temperature, it will have curds in it.)

When you whip it you will almost take it 

to the butter stage.  Don't stop too soon or it will be runny.

The real clotted cream tastes like a cross between sweetened

butter and lightly sweetened whipped cream.  The texture is

a cross between the two also.

One recipe I tried used sour cream and it left it way too

sour.

Split the scones and serve with the "clotted" cream.

(I also read a recipe that placed pasteurized heavy

cream (not ultra-pasteurized) in a crockpot and heated

it on low for 12 hours, then scooped the clotted cream

off the top and chilled it.  I have that in the crockpot

right now, but this one suits my tastebuds and time schedule.)

Yum!  (Truly, you could just eat this without

the scones!!!)

Come back tomorrow to see my

 Royals Tablescape.

I will be posting this on

Wow Us Wednesday

Decor to Adore's Royal Wedding Party

Sweets For a Saturday

Foodie Fridays.

April's Parade of Photos

 I wanted to try a 
slideshow (my first)
with some highlights from this month!
 What a fun month. 
(I also had some fun experimenting
with my camera thanks to Aly -
 you can see her blog  by
                        clicking here.)
Aly is a professional photographer and a brand
new mom to gorgeous Isla Claire who looks
just like mommy but she made time to help me
 learn more about my fancy camera that
I have had for years
(and despite classes, I am not that good at using it!)

To do the slide show I just uploaded some of my photos into
an album on www.photobucket.com and then created a slideshow
(just a click of a button). 
Then I copied the html code for the flash code, created a new post
and pasted it in.
That was easy!  Photobucket is a great, free photosharing website.

It is so fun to keep learning new things.

Hope you had a wonderful Easter Weekend.
I will post this with
Tabletop Tuesday
Wow Us Wednesday