Rose and Herb Posy

When I find myself inundated with roses and my herbs are growing faster than I can cook with, I love to make posies. Not only are the colors beautiful, but the scent is divine. Placed in a sunny window, these sweet little nosegays will fill a room with a luscious floral/herbal aroma, making it an eco-friendly air freshener. For this arrangement, I used my sweet little yellow roses, tarragon, rosemary, lavender mint, and lavender sage. Many of these herbs are also natural bug repellents, which come in handy during the muggy, bug infested summers of Florida.

Easy Provençal Pork Ragoût

This is one of my favorite week night treats. Pork makes a lighter summer alternative to the heavier taste of beef. You could also make a vegetarian version by substituting the pork with lentils ~ very French, or meat substitute. You will see that I'm using a jarred Italian Sausage Sauce, but the flavoring of Herbes de Provence and the use of a Rosé wine give it a Provençal twist. Using a jarred sauce is what makes this dish so forgiving: you're adding other flavors, but since the base had a head start, if you don't have the time, you don't have to simmer the sauce all day.

• 1 pound ground pork


• 1 small onion, chopped


• 1 rib celery, chopped


• 1 medium carrot, chopped


• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped


• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped


• 1 jar of Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce


• 1 6 oz can of tomato paste


• 3 oz Rosé wine


• 1/2 tablespoon Herbes de Provence


• 1 spring rosemary


• 3 springs of thyme


• 1 bay leaf


• sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

Start off by sautéing pork in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. As the pork slowly browns, chop vegetables and garlic, placing in a bowl.

Once pork is half cooked, add the garlic and vegetable mixture, stirring well.Next add the Herbes de Provence, rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, and a pinch of sea salt. Cook over medium heat until pork is cooked and vegetables have started to soften. Next add in the Sausage flavored sauce. I'm not loyal to any one brand, most likely choosing whatever is on sale, or better yet ~ buy one get one free!
Then add the can of tomato paste and wine. For this recipe, you'll need to use a proper dry Rosé, not White Zinfandel or the like which are way too sweet.Stir meat, vegetables, and sauce to mix well. Once mixed, cover and simmer. It really doesn't take long to make. If you're pressed for time, follow the instructions above for the sauce. Once the sauce is mixed, start to prepare your pasta. While the water is heating up and then the pasta is cooking, simmer the sauce on medium heat. Once your pasta is cooked, the sauce will be ready to eat. If you have a little longer, turn the heat down to medium-low and let simmer. While it simmers away, you can read a chapter or two of your book, look through a new magazine, call your mother, or do the laundry. Once you have relaxed or caught up on your chores, boil some pasta and you have a sauce that has slowly simmered, letting the flavors develop a little more.Taste before serving. I almost always have to add some more sea salt at this point. Season with freshly ground pepper.

Makes 4 generous servings.

Enjoy! x

Gardening: Valentine's Weekend Plantings

I apologize in advance. This is by no means my most interesting post. But it is that time again, the time of year when I don my garden gloves, grab the secateurs, slap on the SPF and go at it like a mad woman. I LOVE to garden, and while I have a very small yard, I make the most of the area that I have. So again, I apologize for this post, but it is a good way of my keeping track of things I've done.

James bought a box for me last year to grow herbs in on the lania. We've had a few things come and go, but it is still very enjoyable and I like the seasonal change. As my Lemon Thyme was dropping too many leaves, we decided to transplant it outside to a container that has Rosemary. This created the opportunity to bring in something new, and I was happy to find a Nasturtium at the Farmer's Market. Not only do they remind me of my recent trip to France, I love adding them to salads and using them as a garnish. The pretty, delicate flowers have an unexpectedly peppery flavor that goes nicely with other herbs and a simple vinaigrette.
When I first brought the plant home, James asked why I paid for Dollar Weed when we had it growning for free in our lawn.Alfie and Archie are still holding court in the box. James suggested their names be changed to Charlie and Tipsy. The jury isn't in on that one yet...
The biggest surprise in my herb box this year was the arrival of Cilantro. Last summer I had bought a bunch of Cilantro that still had the roots attached from Jessica's Market. When finished, I planted the roots. It has been about six months since I planted them, and am very excited that they decided to sprout.As we were on a roll, we decided to transplant our other Rosemary outside between my roses. For whatever reason, I am not able to keep a rose alive in this spot. I'm hoping that not only will the Rosemary thrive, but that the smell might deter some of the pests that are attracted to the roses. As it was Valentine's Day, I had to give my Curry Plant a little TLC. One of the branches was partially snapped off. I didn't want to remove it as that would create a large gap, so I took a bamboo skewer to hold it back up in place. So far it seems to be working as none of the green leaves have started to turn brown. Ok, apart from the ones that are already brown in this photo. While reveling in the success of my Cilantro, I decided to try it again with some Dill roots from a recent purchase. I chopped the tops off...and divided the roots between two planters. Fingers crossed I will have Dill shoots sprouting up in no time.

The last and least exciting transplant of the weekend was a Gardenia that I've had in a pot. This is purely for my memory's (or lack there of) sake. I am hoping now that it is planted in the ground that it will start grow a little stronger. It was doing really well until recently when it turned a little yellow from the drop in temperature. As it responds well when I sprinkle it with brewed coffee grounds, I'm confident that it will be green and healthy once again in no time.

Thanks again for letting me indulge in this post. I'm sure it will be useful for me in a few months to hopefully confirm my botanical success instead of leaving more spaces that need to be filled.

Drinks I Love: Rosemary Gin and Tonic

Being a huge fan of the Gin and Tonic, I like trying different variations of the classic drink. Two summers ago in Oxford, my sister-in-law and I made some delectable Rosemary G&T's. They are super easy to make and so refreshing on a hot summer day (or even on a cold day when you're dreaming of the sun). You need a glass, gin, tonic, rosemary, ice, and a muddler. Add your preferred measurement of gin to the glass, then muddle the rosemary to release the flavor. Next add ice, then fill with tonic water. ~ Enjoy!
* If you do want to garnish this, I would suggest using lemon instead of lime as I think lemon is more complimentary to rosemary. You could also use cucumber.

Bombay Sapphire is my favorite gin to use with rosemary.

Gratuitous Cat Post, With Some Gardening Thrown In

Here it is, it was bound to happen sooner or later: the gratuitous shot of Harry. When I'm not in the kitchen and the weather is nice, I love nothing more than to sit out by the pool, reading a book with a glass of wine, accompanied by my faithful companion. My curry plant is doing really well. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually looking forward to some of our humidity coming back, as when it's humid it carries the smell of the curry plant farther. James bought a huge rosemary for me in November. I'm keeping it in the lanai for the time being as we're still getting the odd burst of freezing cold weather, but once we get passed that, it will have a permanent place with my roses.

Budget Gourmet: Our Inauguration Dinner

We wanted to have a nice dinner to celebrate the Inauguration of our new president. We were looking for a menu that would be worthy of serving to the new president, but keeping to the penny pinching budget of the current economy, and considering I worked late, we wanted to keep it fast. The weekend before I had purchased a celeriac from my local Farmer's Market and the night before made Celeri Remoulade. As I had just tried this for the first time in France, I was very keen on recreating the recipe. When in season, this makes a very economical, but posh side dish.

After work we made a quick trip to Fresh Market, which is next to my office. We picked up a rotisserie chicken - which came with a complimentary loaf of Rosemary/Sea Salt bread. The chicken and bread were very tasty and also very economical as we had it the following night, and then made soup with the left over chicken on Thursday, which went well the the rest of the bread.

Once we got home, I also made a simple green salad, chopped a Cherokee Purple Tomato, chilled a bottle of Australian fizz and were ready to watch a ball fit for a new President and First Lady.
Now, I'm sure it was nowhere near as posh as what the Obamas ate that night, but it is something that I could have confidently served them as a makeshift meal.

Provençal Lunch in Avignon ~ Restaurant le Lutrin (10/06)

We had a lovely lunch in the center of Avignon at the Restaurant le Lutrin, just around the corner from the Palais des Papes. It was a lovely restaurant, part of the Hôtel du Palais des Papes, and had a lovely outside seating area that sheltered you from the sunshine.
The perimeter was surrounded by large planters containing Bay Laurels, Lavender, Thyme, and Rosemary plants.
Surrounding the area was a small market of local artists, which provided a lovely backdrop to our heavenly meal.
This was one of my favorite meals of the trip: it was my ideal Provençal lunch. As it was a warm afternoon and we had been eating non-stop for a week and a half, I was in the mood for something light. My main course did not fail to please...
Roasted Aubergines with a simple Provençal Sauce. The flavors were so fresh and bold. I was in heaven. This was obviously washed down with a nice bottle of Provençal Rosé.

The only thing that could have completed this would have been lavender crème brûlée, and I was in luck: on the desert menu was a trilogy of crème brûlée. The flavors were Lavender, Thyme, and Vervain (Verbena). This is my ideal desert, right down to the fact that I have this thing about the number 3. It was the perfect way to finish the meal, even if the Thyme brûlée was actually Rosemary. Lucky for them, Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs too. Actually, in Provence, you really can't go wrong when it comes to my taste buds.

Hôtel du Palais des Papes ~

Restaurant le Lutrin

3, Place du Palais 84000 AVIGNON

E-mail: contact@hotel-avignon.com
By phone: (+33)490 860 413
By fax: (+33) 490 279 117

Market Day at Coustellet (10/05)

Sunday was market day in Coustellet, a town not far from Roussillon, so we decided to go and explore. I have to admit we were slightly disappointed when we first got there. Parking was insane - so we expected an amazing market, only to find what looked like a flea market with a few food stalls. Don't get me wrong, a French flea market is a shopping dream come true, but at that point of the trip I was limited in packing space and we wanted produce, cheese, and bread. There was a good olive stand, spice stall, and baker whom was nearly sold out. We decided to split up - so J and I had a good wonder around. My in-laws quickly found us as they had just discovered that the main part of the market was across the street, hidden behind the buildings on the main road. This all made sense: all of those cars, there had to be some place for everyone to go! The market didn't disappoint. By the time we got there some of the vendors were packing up. There were still loads of stands with autumnal produce: root vegetables, pumpkins & gourds, apples, squash, potatoes... you get the idea (sadly, I didn't take any photos). There were also stands with home made jams, honey, local wine producers, and my favorite: the nursery stand. It was really hard for me to walk around knowing that I couldn't buy an olive or fig tree to take home. They were so healthy looking and were really reasonably priced.
It was also hard for me to pass up some more of my favorites: rosemary, lavender, and violas. I was in absolute heaven, and if there is one place on earth that has all of my favorite things: it is truly Provence.
To make matters worse, I spotted this Citroën HY. Now I was in seventh heaven. Ever since I first spotted the Citroën 2CV in "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown"; many, many years ago - I have had a fetish for Citroëns.
It was hard to tear myself away, but lunch was calling. As I walked away with images of owning a vineyard (complete with olive and fig trees, of course, oh... and obviously tons of lavender and rosemary) and driving to the market in my Citroën HY to sell my wine - and probably jams, chutneys, etc... we were off to find somewhere for lunch. The first thing we spotted was this pizza van...
Now if you didn't know (and I didn't), the French LOVE pizza! I have never in my life seen as many pizza establishments as I did in France. Annecy was over run with them. Literally 4 on every corner. Even small villages that we had driven through had several pizza places. Where the UK have fish and chip vans (that you don't actually see all that often, in comparison), France has pizza vans. We even spotted on outside of Roussillon called "Pizza Chris". Bizarre. Anyway, as curious as I was to know what sort of pizza would come out of one of these vans, we had been walking all morning so obviously deserved a sit down meal. And a glass of wine. Obviously. We were in Provence after all! We found a cafe with tables out front, and chose a nice sunny spot for lunch. My first course was a bacon, leek, and goat cheese tart. Wash down with a nicely chilled glass of Provençal rosé.
This was followed by tagliatelle with roasted chicken, tomatoes, and aubergine. Ah, what a way to spend a Sunday.