Homemade concoctions to aid in making homemade concoctions.

A few holidays ago (I have no idea which one) Charlie started building me a drying rack as a gift. Six, maybe 8, months of starting and stopping later it's finally finished and in full use! It's basically a pine frame with slots to slide trays in. The trays are also pine and I hot glued taut screen on top of each tray.  The whole thing, though large, is lightweight and easy to move, but also slips nicely into place underneath the kitchen counter. So far I'm drying snow/snap peas and fava beans for fall planting, various herbs, and thin slices of a large beet.

The beet is an experiment. My favorite lip balm has a hint of beet powder in it to tint the balm. I'm interested in trying to make my own with fewer ingredients and perhaps a bit brighter color. Wish me luck, it may take me another 6 to 8 months to get around to making it!

miscellany


Whoa, seems I get my period more often than I post these days.

 
We've been busy with growing up (preschool graduation is about the cutest thing ever), redoing bedrooms (he may not sleep there, but F needs a room where he can keep his toys), and generally fun house projects.



I've been working on myself, it's a hard thing to stay healthy while your mind is consumed with keeping others healthy. The gym is now a regular part of my life and I'm more hell-bent on growing chem-free vegetables for our single-income family.


I have a continual and new (yes, it's possible; every 10 minutes it hits me like a new thought) sense of awe for all those stay-at-home-parents; we have 2 darling kiddos and it's entirely exhausting.


...for all of us!

A taste of Spring



A few weeks ago the wild violets were poking their pretty little faces up in the yard and I took the opportunity to try my hand at candied violets. Mabel and I brushed the delicate blooms with egg white, coated them with sugar, and set them aside to dry thoroughly.

They were so pretty I asked my baking expert friend Jude to make a special treat worthy of showing off the candied flowers. The cakes definitely upstaged the delicious violets, but not because the violets weren't amazing themselves. Other sweets were topped with sugars colored with wildflower petals. 


Candying violets will be added to our rites of spring. Interested in adding it to yours? We'll have wild violets available at our fundraising plant sale on Saturday, April 18, 2015. Come out to support Little Sugar Creek Community Garden (Charlotte), leave with a gorgeous array of interesting plants ready to inspire tasty treats!

Wildflowers in the kitchen


When I heard the slightest whisper from spring the inspiration to play came on full force. The violets peeked their pretty little faces toward the sunshine and I gathered a cupful for kitchen experiments.

 
Violet petals in sugar with a hint of lemon zest made the prettiest lavender sugar!


Egg white wash over whole violets, sprinkled with sugar makes for candied violets. I'm dreaming of cupcakes fit for a fairy party!

 
And because  the violet sugar was so fun, I tried the same with dandelions. I don't know if the color will keep, but I'm already thinking of what other flowers I can try!