Serendipity

Was it just luck when I tried this a few weeks ago?   

Last time I made potato salad I cooked the eggs on top of the potatoes...just long enough for hard boiled eggs.  I continued cooking the potatoes. 

I usually scoop out the eggs with a spoon.

But I like to have a few smooth eggs to decorate the top of the potato salad. 

Smooth eggs, like these.

When I peeled the eggs the shells came off in several large pieces.

We have chickens.  That means that the eggs we use for cooking are very fresh.  

Fresh eggs are supposed to be harder to peel.

It happened again?  The eggs peeled easily.  

What does the potato do to the egg? 

Maybe you know.

Gina

Tradition, The Mutton Roast

How many years before a Tradition becomes a Tradition?

Saturday Morning September 14, 2013.

It's early morning.  Slowly roasting under a blanket of metal sheeting, a Mutton roasting for 10 hours. 

See the steam rising?

23 years ago, the first Mutton Roast at our Country Farm house.
The Mutton was roasted in a hand dug pit, first wrapped in chicken wire with herbs and spices and then tightly covered with wooden planks and a layer of dirt, and left to roast for 10 hours. 

Did I tell you that it was a black tie affair?  

We had just introduced our niece Susan to our Friends' son, Johnny.
There was chemistry right from the start. 

Now, three handsome boys later.

And we celebrated our 23rd Annual Mutton Roast last Saturday, 
for many years now hosted by Johnny's Mother and Father.

The wood is already stacked up for next year's Mutton Roast.

To be roasted in a pit which Johnny's Father built. 

It's 7 o'clock in the morning.  The Mutton was uncovered and brought up to be cut into serving pieces.  

 Champagne is on ice, another tradition. 

 Mr G is still the head honcho.  He is the farm boy who knows how to cut a perfect butterfly steak.  

Celebrating Life.

While remembering a fallen friend. 

 We enjoyed each others company and the abundance of nature.


Have a wonderful week my dear 
Blogging Friends. 

Gina

What Summer looks like here

Summer at our house

A lot of work and a lot of play.

First, there was a lot of work.

Now, there is time for a little play. 

 The guesthouse is always ready.

Little niceties are waiting to please.

The garden is bursting with lots of flowers for the house and table.

Kirschwasser is ready to serve from last years' cherries.

And so is the Pfirsich Likör.

Every now and then I take time out to fill an order of my hand painted ceramics.

Cabbages are ready for making Sauerkraut.

Lavender is ready for Lavender Bottles.

There is always time for a craft project or two.

All are welcome; creatures great and small.

We make time for Picnics, this time in our Barn.

Or by the Pond.

No need to go to the Grocery in Summer.

Champagne is always on ice.

Kir Royale prepared for us by our Friend Steven.

While making plans for our trip to Europe.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with our neighborhood.

This is the time of year we can enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Home is always best.

Yet I can't get the wanderlust out of me. 

Have a great weekend my dear

Blogging Friends.

Gina  

Books in Detail

One of my charming readers, a lover of books and a book collector,  wanted a closer look
She noticed  my books on the Hall Table from an earlier post

If you love books...the world is at your feet

When we are not traveling I can pick up a book and pretend

Design and Food is always a favorite subject 

Add a few French books and more books about Italy

Italian and French Interiors

The book in the middle, by Margaret Mee, is a very special book about an amazing woman and her adventures while painting and searching the Amazon for rare orchids

French, American, Italian, English, and Swedish, no one is safe

If you would like more information about any of these books I would only be too happy to oblige

Another favorite, second from the left, about a house in Apaseo Mexico, depicting baroque architecture of the 18th century

Books that inspire

And books that give you the Wanderlust

It's a good thing that this is a very sturdy table

Have a great weekend my dear Blogging Friends

Gina

Have you heard of Granita?

An Italian dessert, so refreshing and so easy on your figure

Strawberry Granita. 1 cup sugar and 3 cups water, make simple syrup add 1 pint strawberries, 1/2 cup fresh orange juice, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, 1/4 cup Kirschwasser or other cherry liquor. Combine in blender and pour into container. Freeze and break up with fork every 2 hours until mixture reaches grainy snow texture. Serve "up" in cocktail glasses.






This amaryllis bloom showed up in my greenhouse, unexpected. It was to bloom at Christmas time. It's the same color as the strawberry granita.

Gina