Corydalis

This little corydalis plant has found a home in a small rock wall on our front walkway.  I don't know if you've ever planted corydalis, but they are prolific reseeders.  We planted blue and yellow corydalis plants about 15 years ago.  The blue never came back but these little yellow ones fill in so many spaces in the front of the house. The leaves are very dainty and light, they fill in between other plants so beautifully.  And, they are easy to pull out if you think they're a bit out of control. 

Here's a Google image of blue corydalis - aren't they pretty?

We're winding down after a full weekend of shopping for perenniels and annuals at some wonderful nurseries in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.  Yesterday was the shopping day (after we had the rug people out to measure the office area for a new rug) - today was the planting day.

This is the front garden at Frog Hollow Farm.  It's mostly shade due to a very old and beautiful maple tree so I add flowers that do well in partial sun. 

FHFB has designed some wonderful borders around the inside of his vegetable garden and he's filling them with bee balm, roses, lambs ears, peonies and daisies.  I'll be sure to feature them on my blog soon. We have a problem with the one end of our garden because of the huge walnut trees that are on the edge of the woods - they're roots and nuts leech into our garden and many plants do not do well  - the walnut trees make the soil toxic for them. 

Hope your weekend was wonderful.  I'm looking forward to dinner with two wonderful friends in the middle of the week...Ciao, bella!

Conservatory Make-Over

My decorating skills are not well developed, nor are they necessarily defined.  I love collecting things from places we visit  and love both primitives and elegant items.  One problem that I have, although a friend of mine said that it's my creativity, is that I move things around in many of the rooms on Frog Hollow Farm.  This is really almost therapeutic for me as I work to discover the 'perfect' arrangement of the furniture and decorative items that we own. 

Tea Table in the Kitchen

Sometimes there are just too many things on my kitchen counters, and I need to clear them a bit in order to clear my mind, if you know what I mean.  This little table came from the family room foyer in my parent's house.  It's a little rectangle-shaped table with a little cutting board that pulls out from the front - you can see the little knob pull in this picture.  I decided to try to fit it at the end of our kitchen counter and turn it into a little tea table - this would then make it possible to remove all of the 'tea things' from the other counter and place them in one location.  There's also an outlet here that can be used for the coffeepot when necessary -we still use the old-fashioned Farberware percolator - we think it makes the best coffee, and keeps the coffee hot as well.  My daughter hated the table at the end of the counter and thought that we'd constantly

be bumping into it.  I was a little worried about that as well but so far, so good. 

I don't love the look of the table, the wood is kind of like an oak and our cabinets and floors are all pine. So, I covered the table with an old embroidered tablecloth that belonged to my mom as well, and I think it looks pretty cute.

The wooden box with the rooster painted on it holds my regular Lipton teabags.  My sister Laurie gave it to me a long time ago.  The little off-white teapot in the center is an antique Salada teapot (that's a big S on the top of the pot) - and I have organic raw sugar inside.  The little red covered bowl holds regular white sugar and the cylinder shaped canister is an old ceramic peice with green painted trim - that holds our coffee (Dunkin' Donuts of course!)  The ceramic rooster is a little decorative piece that I had in my kitchen - right now it doesn't function as anything on the table except looking cute.

I added a little vase with daffodils (this was taken in April) and my antique glass pitcher of milk fits nicely in the front. 

Here's a view from the side - it was hard for me to take photos of this because there isn't much light directly in front of the table. 

  I just love embroidered pieces like this. 

Here's a close up of the embroidery on the side of the tablecloth.

I'm linked into Metamorphosis Monday.

Ciao, bella!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful mothers out there.

And Mom, I think of you every single day and wish you were here!

Ciao, bella!

Dinner on the Porch with FHFB

FHFB invited two very old, dear friends over for dinner on Friday night.  Now, I'm not sure I've told you that FHFB is a meterologist, and our dinner guests were meteorologists as well.  So, these three guys were in heaven, talking about weather like they were chronicling a new global resource guide for climate and forecasting.  Not really, but they do love to talk about anything and everything to do with weather, and they have uncanny memories with regards to dates of storms, the type of weather, how much it rained, how long it rained, snow, wind, hail, sleet and so on and so on.  It's so much fun to sit and listen to them when they get started.  They are truly passionate about what they do. 

Columbine

We have an old wooden barrel in front of our garage that seems to have become the annual home of a beautiful columbine plant for several years now..

Here's a close-up of the flowers, a little past their prime maybe but still dainty and pretty.  The plant just keeps getting bigger every year!

It always takes me a minute or so to remember the name of this flower for some reason.  I love it when volunteers  find a favorite place to make their appearance and bloom year after year.

Ciao, bella!

Frog Hollow Farm Frog Clock

Here's our newest addition to the Frog Hollow Farm conservatory.  I don't know why, but I seem to be putting cute little decorative clocks in many of our rooms on the farm.  This fellow looks like he's got a lot on his mind. 

Here's a close-up of the Frog Hollow frog clock. He looks a little friendlier from this angle, don't you think?  I think I see a little smile on that froggy face!

Sometimes I see a little something in a store that I would normally just pass by.  This little fellow caught my eye in Pier One the other day, and he was on the clearance shelf.  How could I leave him there?

He looks like he's ready to take a walk, maybe down to the vegetable garden or maybe over to the pond.  Wonder what he's got in that little barrel?

I hope you all had a fun Cinco de Mayo. FHFB and I had a friend over for some late Frog Hollow Farm Margaritas on the porch and delicious fish tacos.    The tacos were so simple to make and very delicious.  FHFB said he preferred having beef or chicken in his tacos, but he ate every bite of the fish taco! 

My photo is a little blurry - and I hadn't even had a margarita when I took it!

Since there wasn't much time to food shop this week, we used whatever we had in the house to make the tacos.  I blackened some pieces of Chilian Sea Bass from Whole Foods on the stovetop and crisped several small corn tortillas in the oven. 

To assemble our fish tacos, we first put a teaspoon of Marie's Creamy Chipotle Ranch dressing on the tortilla, then a small bed of chopped fresh organic spinach with a tablespoon of homemade guacamole.  After that we added a few small pieces of blackened Chilean Sea Bass, fresh tomato salsa made with chopped red onions, and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese. 

We are all looking forward to a wonderful Mother's Day here on the farm. 

We're having overnight guests on Friday night, an old friend of FHFB's - we love visiting his summer house on South Hero Island on Lake Champlain!. 

South Hero, Vermont

My daughter will be home for the weekend - I would love it if my son could make it up from North Carolina, but I don't think that's possible - we spent three great days with him in Asheville a few weeks ago!  The second best thing after having Katie (my daughter) here is that we don't have a thing planned - the weekend is ours to do with what we please. I love those kinds of weekends!

Ciao, bella!

Frog Hollow Farm Margarita recipe

Okay, maybe I do have time to post about Cinco de Mayo.  Here's our very simple Frog Hollow Farm Margarita recipe.  I learned how to make this drink in Wellfleet Massachusetts many years ago from our friends Steve and Liz.

Here goes: 

Use 6 oz of a 12 oz frozen drink mix for each blender full.  Place 6 oz 9half) of frozen drink mix in a blender. Add the following to the blender:  6 oz tequila  and 2 oz triple sec - I use the empty frozen drink can to measure each of those ingredients.  Fill the blender with ice and go for it!  You can rim your glass with salt if you like, I love using salt!  Add a slice of lime and enjoy!
Ciao, bella!

Mixing Things Up...

I don't think I'm going to have time to put a Cinco de Mayo tablescape together anytime soon - lots of outside gardening this weekend, a sweet baby shower tomorrow and then back to work consulting and testing some elementary students for 2 days. 

So, instead of a colorful tablescape I thought I'd post a colorful salad!

Getting some of the fresh ingredients together for the salad....

Let's see, it looks like we have bright yellow peppers, crisp English cucumbers, sweet grape tomatoes, crunchy carrots and celery, julienned prosciutto, chopped leaf lettuce, sliced endive and a sprinkle of blue cheese in the middle. 

I mixed everything together with a light whole grain mustard viniagrette made with first press virgin olive oil and a white balsamic vinegar, whole grain mustard, salt and pepper - very simple.

Guess FHFB really enjoyed it!

Hope all is well with all of you and that you're having a great weekend!

Ciao, bella!

The Beautiful Sarah P.Duke Gardens, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

According to the Duke Gardens website, the 'Sarah P. Duke Gardens provides a place where people of all backgrounds and ages come for beauty, education, horticulture, solitude, discovery, study, renewal and inspiration.' 

One part of our recent road trip was to see Duke University and the Duke Gardens.  FHFB and I have a thing about visiting many different kinds of gardens to see how the experts have chosen the plants, landscape and trees that all work together to form spectacular visual settings.  The Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Chapel Hill, North Carolina is a beautiful place where one can't help but become inspired, rejuvenated and motivated. 

Of course, if you are FHFB, you have to find the snack bar wherever we go.  This little building was a former gardening shed.  Inside they serve ice cream and small sandwiches.  The room has very deep-set windows with simple, elegant green toile curtains.

Let's take a walk through the gardens together....

Sweet and sunshine yellow....

A burst of spiky pink...

A lovely combination of California poppies and pansies....

Here they are again, I love the color of this flower....

Pure white rhododendrons....

Candy cane pink rhododendrons...

Beautiful, elegant columbine...

Hope you enjoyed this brief tour of the Sarah P. Duke gardens!

Tonight's Menu:

Aperitivo

Green Cerignola Olives

Toasted Semolina Bread with Tomato and Cucumber Bruschetta

Dinner

Pan Roasted Herb and Bread Crusted Halibut

Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Steamed Green Beans

Ciao, bella!

The Frog Hollow Farm Bear

Good morning.  I was so excited (crazy, I know) to look out my kitchen window this morning and see a fuzzy black bear grazing behind our pond. 

Bears are common here during April, but I haven't seen any in the past couple of years. 

One time, many years ago, we had a bear in our back yard. When FHFB went out to shoo it away (his strategy was clapping at the bear, but that's another story), the huge bear hid behind this skinny little maple tree, thinking that FHFB couldn't see him. It was a riot, but the bear did finally lumber back into the woods, which is where we wanted him to go. Although beautiful animals, they can be dangerous so one can't be too careful around one.

Here's one last shot of the bear - he's looking at this crazy woman on the back porch in her pjs, wondering what the heck she's doing!

********Tonight********

Aperitivo

Caprese salad with fresh mozzarella, organic tomatoes and chopped chives

grilled garlic and olive oil semolina bruschetta

roasted organic cabbage wedges

Dinner

fresh, organic spinach salad

baked leftover whole grain pasta pie with Frog Hollow Farm marinara sauce

 oven-roasted chicken/turkey meatballs

PS:  Emeril's Chicken-Patty Pockets that I made the other day from Martha Stewart's April issue of Everyday Food were out of this world.  The combination of all of the spices used with the ground chicken gave the little burgers a phenomenal flavor, give them a try!  I can send you the recipe if you can't find it!

Ciao, bella! 

Back to Basics and Aperitivo

Tonight's Menu!

*******************************************************

Aperitivo

Green Olives

Pan Roasted Cauliflower and Kale with Toasted Breadcrumbs

Oven Roasted Frog Hollow Farm Asparagus

*******************************************************

Dinner

Oven Roasted Chicken/Turkey Meatballs

Homemade Frog Hollow Farm Marinara Sauce

Whole Grain Pasta

Ciao, bella!!

Cupcakes...who knew?

While FHFB and I were traveling through Virginia and Washington DC we came across two wonderful cupcake bakeries!  Now, you need to know that FHFB is a dessert fanatic - he loves sweets.  I am usually satisfied with a bite or two of his desserts, except maybe for a delicious chocolate lava cake or strawberry shortcake.  Anyway, for better or for worse I've become enlightened to the simple pleasure of biting into and finishing the perfect serving of dessert - the cupcake - most specifically, the coconut cupcake.

In the little historic town of Abingdon, Virginia we stumbled upon a little cupcake bakery (located inside of a larger home with a cafe and bookstore) called Babycakes Cupcakery.  Babycakes Cupcakery is owned by Natalie Shortridge and the store was full of little ones with their moms stopping off for a delicious cupcake after a long day at school. The service was friendly and very relaxed.   Natalie told me that she was inspired by the gals at Georgetown Cupcake (below) and that they inspired her to start her own business - isn't that unbelieveable?  She is very excited about being featured in my little blog and is delightful to correspond with.  You can contact her through her website - she is currently looking into the possibility of shipping her cupcakes in the future.

My choice of cupcake at Babycakes Cupcakery was a strawberry cake with light fresh strawberry icing.  It was out of this world!  I ate the whole thing while FHFB and I walked back to our car.  FHFB had the tiramisu cupcake topped with a light coffee icing and a dark chocolate covered espresso bean.  He was in heaven!

Here's their website:

http://www.babycakescupcakery.vpweb.com/default.html

Our second find was Georgetown Cupcake in, of course, the Georgetown section of Washington, DC.

  This little business is well developed and has had lots of exposure through newspapers, television, and the web.  Georgetown Cupcake is owned by two sisters, Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne.  A visit to this store reminded me of our many visits to the Magnolia Bakery in Manhattan - there is always a long line of people waiting for cupcakes.  What was different here is that people were ordering 1-2 dozen cupcakes at at time, and at the door there were bags and bags of pink cupcake boxes ready for pick-up or delivery.  FHFB and I each ordered a coconut cupcake to go and a half-dozen to take home with us. 

I was able to take some photos before FHFB (and I) began taste-testing the cupcakes!

Our selection included coconut, chocolate lava, chocolate cake/vanilla icing and hazelnut/chocolate.

My favorite kind of cupcake with my favorite flower!!

This is the cute pink box they packed our cupcakes in.

Here's the website for Georgetown Cupcake:

http://www.georgetowncupcake.com/

I hope you enjoyed my little tale of our cupcake adventures!

Ciao, bella!

What's Happening at Frog Hollow Farm

Well, FHFB and I are back from our 9 day road trip through Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland!  I don't know about you, but I am always anxious to get home, no matter how wonderful a trip has been.  We both missed our home, and really missed planning and cooking our own healthy, delicious meals.  Driving back to the farmhouse was so wonderful the other evening - the lilac bushes and dogwood trees in our field were all in full bloom, the bluebirds had nested again in our bluebird house, one of our Christmas cactuses had blossomed unexpectedly, the asparagus was up in the garden, the vegetable seedlings were doing well, and our two cats Olive and Finn were milling around the back porch waiting for someone to let them in.  Even while we were away, Frog Hollow Farm was busy getting ready for spring!