Tomorrow is the Day

For the Artist Studio Tour and Plein Air Competition

Our town is celebrating.  More than a hundred artists have come from near and far to participate in the Plein Air Competition.  

They have been painting for 3 days.  
Winners and prizes will be announced this evening. 


My Studio will be open

  
There will be familiar faces and, as always, there will be new faces. 

Wish you could drop by.

Gina 

My Salsa recipe

                    

My Salsa gathered from my garden.

I never know how hot they are.  Two jalapenos was all I needed to make this Salsa very hot. 

A major ingredient in Salsa,  soon to become coriander, will be saved for next year. 

As I was pulling an onion for my Salsa I remembered an evening in France.

Driving along a country road, we decided that it was time to find a place to spend the night.  It was late and we were tired.  We stopped at the first available spot.

It looked a little rough but we knew that it would do.  We were very tired. We decided to have dinner and Mr G, after having driven for most of the afternoon, wanted a martini.

A martini of sorts.  A Gibson to be exact.  He explained to the waiter that it was similar to a martini but instead of an olive he wanted a small cocktail onion. 

Our waiter indicated that he understood. 

The Gibson arrived and so did a large garden onion on a plate, with garden soil still attached to the roots. 

We used every ounce of willpower not to burst out laughing.  Our rough looking waiter wore a very large and a very ugly red scar on the right side of his face.  In his limited English he had mentioned something about the French Foreign Legion.

My Salsa recipe is very simple.  It has only a few ingredients:

Tomatoes, Jalapenos, onions, cilantro and small amounts of olive oil, sugar, salt and balsamic vinegar. 

I can't give you the exact amounts because it depends on how many tomatoes I use and how hot the peppers are. 

Cilantro in bloom from my garden. The small leaves are still strong enough to give the salsa that particular flavor that gives it the South- of - the - Border character.  

While I was in the garden I picked a Zinnia bouquet.  

Did you know that Zinnias are native to Mexico?  

Wishing you a wonderful remainder of the week.  

Gina

https://betweennapsontheporch.net/

The Humble and the Splendid

When interviewed for a thirteen page spread in 
Utah Homes and Garden Magazine, I was asked what my design philosophy was in building our new Country House.

That's easy,  The Humble with the Splendid.

Utah Homes and  Garden

Utah Homes and Garden

Utah Homes and  Garden

Utah Homes and Garden

Some People like Silver, I LOVE Gold

I also Love my French and Italian Chandeliers

This is the other gold mirror, this time without the base.  I can't believe that we transported both mirrors in our old truck.  They arrived without a scratch.

Wishing you nothing but the splendid

Gina

All Utah Homes and Garden photography by Mikel Covey
Partial repost
https://betweennapsontheporch.net/

The Guest cottage revisited

What was not allowed into the house went across the courtyard...to our Guest Cottage

Old and new, repaired or left as is

From the Thrift Store,  a King Louis the XVI bed or is it King Louis the XIV?

Guests must have a full length mirror, we dress for cocktails

Flowers, Stripes, Plaids, just the way I like them

Gene built and carved this fine bench

And Gene carved this fine  table

There should be lots of books

It's nice if there is a small kitchen so guests can fix their morning coffee (and the host can sleep in)

You can hide things from your guests, such as the refridgerator behind curtains

A bathroom is a swell idea

It's all right to practice new color combinations on walls

Guest may not want to stay too long

And always Do remember the flowers

Gina

My garden is growing...all by itself.

My garden

Nasturtiums for salads

Onions are almost fully grown.

Our favorite squash, Lakota, is doing well in the new patch.

Foxglove and State Fair Zinnias provide lots of color.

The Italians only grow one kale.

Lacinato Nero de Toscana.

There is a reason.  It is delicious, nutritious and easy to grow and handle.  

These peppers where planted by mistake.  They are quite large.  

Do you know what they are? And do you have a recipe?  Could one stuff them? 

My tuberous begonias never disappoint.  I can't remember how old they are.  

They go into a dark corner in my greenhouse and I don't see them until April of the following year.  

Everything is maturing all at once...there is not enough time in the day to get it all harvested. 

There will be lots of vegetables and fruits to share with friends and neighbors 

There will be lots of apples this year for the pig farmer.

This turned out to be the best mixed lettuce seed packet. 

I'm heading for Italy soon.  Will look for another.

This is one of the last hollyhocks, a reminder to gather their seeds. 

My old rose bushes surprise me with a few blooms now and then.  

Wishing you a great week ahead.

Gina 

https://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Enjoy your flowers in the cold of winter

You have asked. 

Dried in sand Hollyhocks and Roses.

Place 2 to 3  inches of dry builder's sand 

(from the hardware store) into container.  

Carefully push fresh flowers into sand.

Keep pouring sand slowly over fresh flowers until they are completely covered. 

Be sure to "support" hollyhocks from underneath by carefully pouring sand from the side and again, cover with sand completely. 

Place in dry area and cover with light cloth.

After 3 to 4 days pour sand slowly from container.  

Flowers will emerge.  

This is an old wreath I made from many different flowers which I dried in sand.   

I'm always asked why my dried flowers have such bright colors.  

Here is the secret: your sand and your flower heads must be very dry.

(leave the sand in the sun for a few hours before placing flowers into it if you think it has taken up moisture) 

Pick your flowers in the middle of the day when they have used up most of their moisture. 

These were growing in my garden only 3 days ago.  

They will be placed on top of a bowl of dried lavender.

You might like to try drying other flowers.  

Have fun, 

Gina 

https://betweennapsontheporch.net/