CLOUDS and SUNSHINE PIE

The herbs in the garden are springing forth anew and a fat juicy Meyer Lemon ripened on my little tree and that nailed it. It was time to make CLOUDS and SUNSHINE pie. This is not your grandmother's Lemon meringue pie. It is made with an infusion of lavender, bergamot, and lemon balm and features not only lemons but a lime and a grapefruit as well.

 CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE PIE

 

Ingredients:

 

Pie Filling

 

2 cups herbed water

(see instructions)

 

1 cup white sugar

4 TBS all purpose flour

4 TBS cornstarch

¼ tsp. salt

 

6 egg yolks beaten  

 

Zest from 1 lemon, 1 grapefruit and 1 lime

Juice from  same lemon,  grapefruit and lime

3 TBS butter

 

Meringue

 

6 egg whites

½ tsp cream of tartar

½ tsp vanilla

¾ cup sugar

 

1.  Make herbed water.   Gather 3 six-inch sprigs of lemon balm, 3 of lavender and

3 of bergamot (bee balm).  Rinse and pat dry.  Bring 2 ¼ cups water to boil.  Turn off heat and add the herbs.  Cover and allow to steep for at least 4 hours or overnight.   Strain liquid and reserve liquid.  Discard herbs.

 

2. Prepare and roll out  single crust pastry for 9” pie.  Bake in 450 degree F oven for 10-12 minutes or till golden.  Cool on rack.

 

3.  For filling.  Separate egg yolks from whites; reserve whites for meringue.  In medium bowl wisk together egg yolks. 

 

4. In medium saucepan combine sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt.  Gradullay stir in the herbed water and mix well.

 

5.  Cook stirring constantly over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.  Reduce heat.  Cook and stir 2 minutes more and remove from heat.  

 

6.  Add about ½ cup of the hot filling to the egg yolks and whisk to mix.  Immediately return to saucepan and mix into the rest of the filling and cook 2 minutes stirring constantly.  Remove from heat. 

 

7.  Add the butter, zest and juice to the hot mixture in the saucepan, stirring thoroughly to combine.

 

8.  Turn the hot filling into the baked pastry shell.  Place in a 350degree F oven for 10 minutes to evenly warm the pie.

 

9.  Meanwhile, whisk sugar and cream of tartar into the egg whites in a metal bowl. Place over simmering water and gently warm the mixture unitl sugar  is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch.  Add vanilla and beat hard for 4 minutes until mixture is thick and satiny smooth.

 

10.  Remove pie from oven and immediately spread the meringue from the edges to the center of the pie.  Bake in the 350 degree F oven for 10-15 minutes or until meringue is golden.  Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving.

 

 

 

REVERSE MOSAIC TABLETOP

 Reverse Mosaic Tabletop  

This is a fun easy project that gives pleasing results and helps to give new life to discarded items. My neighbor gave me a triangular rebar stand he was going to throw out.  As he was handing it to me over the fence, I thought that it would make a great stand for a small garden table, but what to use for the decorative tabletop?  Answer:  A cast reverse mosaic slab of concrete!

 What You Need:

2-inch insulation foam 

Hand saw

3-inch box nails

marker

Assorted colored glass, shells, marbles…anything you want to use for your tabletop mosaic as long as it is reasonably flat.

Vegetable oil and a brush

Bag of sand topping concrete mix

Cement trowel and plastic mixing bowl

Urethane glue, if necessary

Natural colored sanded grout, if necessary

 

What You Do:

 

1.    To make a slab of any shape, make a mold using a sheet of pink or blue insulation foam from the home improvement store. It cuts easily with a hand saw and goes together with simple long nails.

 

2.    Decide what shape you would like for your tabletop; circle, square, free form, etc. Draw the shape on the sheet of insulation foam using the marker. Draw the same shape 2 inches larger all around.  Cut out the outside shape first using the hand saw and then cut out the inside shape, so you have a 2-inch-thick frame.  Use nails to attach to a base piece of foam.  This is the mold for your tabletop.  Brush it with vegetable oil as if you were oiling a cake pan. 

     

3.    This technique is called “reverse mosaic” because the mosaic elements are placed into the mold first and facedown, so you see the bottom sides. Cover the bottom surface of the mold with mosaic elements, staying at least ¼” from every edge. 

4.    Mix a manageable volume of sand mix with water to a consistency of thick frosting using the trowel and plastic mixing bowl.

 

5.    Be careful to add water sparingly, it is easy to add too much.

 

6.    Gently scoop mixed concrete over the surface of your mosaic pieces making certain to completely cover them.  Use the trowel to press the concrete over everything until the surface is smooth.   You can tap or bounce the mold to settle the concrete. 

7.     Mix up more concrete until the mold is completely full.  Smooth off the top with the trowel.

 

8.    Usually, you can wait for the mold to set overnight and take out the casting, BUT…don’t do that.  Because we want to be certain the mosaic pieces are firmly embedded in the surface of the tabletop, let the mold sit untouched for three days.  The cast concrete will be significantly stronger, and then you can easily remove the tabletop from the mol with less chance of losing pieces. Use gloved hands to smooth the edges.

 

9.    If some mosaic pieces come free, replace them using urethane glue.

             (Goop or E6000).  

 

10. If there are gaps around some of the mosaic pieces because the concrete did not make it around them, you can mix a small amount of sanded grout and fill the gaps.

 

11. Position whatever you are using for your base and then add your new tabletop!

 

MEMORY KEEPING COLLAGE STEPPING STONE

 MEMORY KEEPING COLLAGE STEPPING STONE

 Here’s a fun activity for mixed ages that will help to preserve memories of any significant event. In this case, a recent trip to the beach.  A pretty much-given activity when you are visiting a beach is to walk along the shore collecting shells, bits of coral, sea glass- anything of interest.   On my recent visit, I made a point to search and discover something I could add to my stash each day.  

By the time I headed home, I had a pretty good collection of stuff including leftover coins and beer caps from the local beers I had the pleasure of sampling.  Anything permanent and “outdoorable” should work.  

PHOTO 1

 

What You Need

-Cool stuff you’ve gathered to feature in our stepping stone  

-Two 2-inch thick slabs of foam sheeting.  You can buy this in the form of foam insulation at the home improvement store but it is much less expensive to recycle blocks of shipping foam you may have received when opening a package.

-Sheets of newspaper, a Sharpie, and a pair of scissors

-Keyhole saw

-3-inch nails

-brush and vegetable oil

-plastic bowl for mixing concrete

-bag of sand topping concrete mix

-mixing trowel

-mud gloves and a plastic-covered work surface

 

What You Do

1.  Design a simple shape for your stone using the Sharpie and sheets of newspaper.  Remember that your designs need s to be smaller than your sheets of foam.

 

2.  Keep your shape simple with no thin portions that stick out.  These will break off in no time.  Cut out the shape with scissors.  It will serve as your pattern and the base to plan your design. 

 

3. Trace the pattern in the center of one of the sheets of foam with the Sharpie and cut out carefully.  Try to cut the shape out of the foam in one piece,  Remember, it is the negative or outside portion that will become your mold, not the shape itself. 

4.  Cut the outside shape into two pieces.  This makes it much easier to remove the casting after the concrete has hardened.

 

5.  Use the nails to stick the mold sections onto the second piece of foam, which will become the base of the mold. Use them as if they were giant pins.

Then use the brush to coat the bottom and sides of the mold with vegetable oil.

 

6. Lay out your found objects on top of the pattern piece. This will guide you when it comes time to insert them into the wet concrete.  You do not have a great deal of working time before the concrete begins to set.  Having a layout plan ahead of time will ensure you get it all safely inserted before this happens.

7.  Scoop about 1/3 of a bag of Sand Topping Mix into a plastic mixing bowl.  Add water and mix to a thick, smooth paste using the trowel.  Stir at least 25 times to ensure it is smooth and homogenous. Pour immediately into the mold up to ¼” from the top edge.  Lift an edge of the mold and gently tap several times to remove air bubbles.  The top surface should be completely smooth.

 

8.  Gently insert your objects according to your layout plan, pushing them into the concrete.  Remember, you will be walking on this stone, so make sure nothing is sticking up too far to cause you to trip!  If something decides to sink, no worries; fish it out, wash it off, and try again. 

 

9.  Allow your completed design to set and harden overnight.

10.  The next day, carefully remove the nails to preserve the mold.  You can use it several times if you wish. Gently wiggle and remove the two side sections of the mold.  Invert on your work surface and left off the base piece of foam.  Smooth edges with gloved hands and clean off your objects with a toothbrush.

 

11.  Let the stone cure for a couple days and it will be ready to place in your garden.

 

 

 

 

10  GARDEN INSPIRED COCKTAILS THAT WILL SURPRISE AND DELIGHT YOUR GUESTS 

Artisan cocktails are one of the hottest trends in home entertaining. What will be your special new drink at your next gathering?  You can turn to your own garden for the answer!  You may already have plants growing in your garden that can be used to create a unique, refreshing cocktail.  Here are 10 exciting new cocktails I have made from fruits and herbs from my garden.

Here is the link to the GARDEN ARTISAN COCKTAILS presentation with recipes and photos:

https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:bc72659a-26ac-331a-b79f-1695711ed05f

If you love pasta using fresh produce from your garden, this one features bell peppers instead of tomatoes. Also onion, and fresh herbs: rosemary, oregano and basil  I left out the habanero, too hot for me!

Peruvian-Style Pasta with Creamy Pepper Sauce

 1 pound linguine

salt and ground pepper

¼ cup olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium red, yellow, or orange bell peppers,

   Stemmed, seeded, and chopped

1 habanero chili, stemmed, seeded, and chopped

1 cup shredded Italian cheese

½ cup half-and-half

½ cup milk

1 Tablespoons fresh rosemary chopped

2 TBS fresh Oregano chopped

1 TBS lime juice

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped

Fresh basil, chopped and shredded parmesan for garnish

 

1.    Bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a large pot.  Stir in pasta and 1 TBS salt.  Cook to just shy of al dente. Drain and reserve cooking water.

2.    In a sauté pan, heat the oil and add onions, peppers, and a pinch of salt.  Cook on medium-low, stirring occasionally until the onion is softened and beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.

3.    Transfer the onion-pepper mixture to a food processor along with the cheese, milk, half-and-half, lime juice, and ¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Puree until smooth.

4.    Pour the puree into the sauté pan.  Add the fresh rosemary and oregano, the drained pasta, and ½ cup of the cooking water and cook on medium until the thickening sauced begins to coat the pasta, about 5-7 minutes.

5.    Serve sprinkled with chopped olives, fresh basil, and parmesan cheese.

Cast Hypertufa Birdhouse

 Amazon Prime Cast Birdhouse 

 

Here is a project that uses some of the many boxes one begins to accumulate when shopping on Amazon.  You can already recycle the boxes conventionally, but they just happen to make great re-purposed molds for this bird house project.  It is not the type you hang in a tree, but mount on a fence or a post instead, since it is cast using a mold made from a reconstructed Amazon shipping box and of course has a bit more weight.

 

What You Need:

 

Plastic covered worksurface

Mud gloves

i-3 assorted Amazon shipping boxes

Box knife

Scissors

Hot melt glue gun and plenty of extra glue sticks

Sharpie

Masking or duct tape

One or two 1” lengths of 5/8” PVC pipe

Pile of straight twigs

Any color latex paint

Mixing bucket

Trowel

Brick

Hypertufa recipe ( Here’s mine: http://fromthesummersgarden.blogspot.com/p/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-ja-x_10.html)

 

What You Do:

Select a shipping box that is a good size for the birdhouse you’d like to make and carefully take it apart where it is glued or stapled together.

 

If there are staples, remove and discard them.  Use the box as is if you want a flat roof. If you’d like your roof slanted, cut two opposite sides on a slant. Reassemble the box inside out using a hot glue gun 

 

Glue the flaps down on the outside of the box to serve as reinforcements.  The inside should be completely smooth with no flaps. Use masking tape to cover all seams on the inside. 

Glue the PVC pipe section(s) onto the inside of the box where you’d like the hole to be.

 

I used two to make two holes, one on either side. Use pieces cut from another box to make relief designs on each of the four sides.  I used arches inspired by gothic architecture for mine.  

 TIP: Whatever you decide to do design-wise, keep it simple and repeat your shapes. Glue the pieces onto the inside surfaces of your mold using the hot glue gun. Finally, run a border of masking or duct tape around the perimeter of the box mold at the bottom and again at the top.  This will prevent the box from sagging out of shape as you construct the birdhouse. 

Cut and glue together a cardboard tray with a bottom and one-inch sides.  This will serve as the mold for the roof.  It should be 1-inch larger both ways than the dimension of your box mold. This will ensure that the roof overhangs the birdhouse.

 

When both the birdhouse and roof molds have been constructed, paint them inside and out with a coat of latex paint and allow to dry. Coat the inside of both molds liberally using a paintbrush and vegetable oil. Mix up a batch of your favorite hypertufa to a clay-like consistency. Pack the mold by handfuls, firmly pressing the material against the side of the mold and forming a smooth inner surface.  Be sure to apply ample material across the top edge, smoothing to create a firm, durable edge.

When the birdhouse mold is cast, move to the cardboard tray and fill it with hypertufa using a brick to evenly tamp the surface smooth.  Lay twigs into the soft hypertufa and tamp into the mold using the brick.  

TIP:  Cut twigs the same size as your roof mold and have them ready to add when casting the roof.   They lend a nice natural look as a surface texture for the roof. 

Allow both molds to cure and harden.  This may take two to three days.  Remove the mold and

allow the birdhouse and roof to cure further for one week out of the sun.  Because the roof is heavy, it may simply rest on top of the birdhouse, making it simple to lift off for cleanout at the end of the season.  

 

TIP: To ensure the roof stays in place, apply hot glue to the top edge of the birdhouse at each corner, immediately place the roof on top and hold until the glue hardens.  This will keep the roof in place for the summer.  To remove the roof for cleaning, simply pry the corners gently with a screwdriver.  The hot glue will give easily.

 

Leave your birdhouse natural or add accents with exterior latex paint and mount on a wooden platform on a post or fence.  Use the hot glue technique here also to hold the house in place for the season.

TREE STUMP WATER BASIN

 

These days it’s wise to be creative in using what we have and “turning a sow’s ear into a silk purse” as my mom used to say.  I just had a large, messy silver maple taken down in my front yard.   Having spent plenty just to get it down and hauled away, I wasn’t about to spend another fortune to have the stump removed. Instead, the tree guys cut the stump a bit higher than usual and with as flat a cut as they could manage to result in a perfect pedestal for a large shallow water basin for the birds. At the same time, a load of topsoil was delivered to fill in all of the pits and ruts in the lawn from the tree removal.

The mound of topsoil made a perfect hump mold for a hypertufa water basin.  Here’s a very simple method for making a water basin in your garden.

 

What You Need

 An open space in your garden where you can build a mound of earth to the desired size of your water basin.

 

Your favorite hypertufa recipe.  Here’s mine:

http://fromthesummersgarden.blogspot.com/p/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-ja-x_10.html

 

large mixing tub

 

shovel and garden rake

 

plastic tarp or heavy dropcloth

 

nail, string, and a sharpie

 

paintbrush and can of paint

 

mud gloves

 

a brick, a trowel, and a length of rebar

 

bag of sand topping mix and a large paintbrush

 

What You Do

 

1. Using your garden shovel, build a mound in an open area of your garden larger than the desired size of your water basin.  Use the rake to shape the mound and to get a nice smooth surface.

 

2.  Spread out the tarp over a flat area.  Tie the end of the string to the nail and push it into the center of the tarp.  Measure out the desired radius of your basin and tie the other end of the string to the sharpie.  Keeping the string taut, draw a circle around the nail. Using the brush and paint, go over the sharpie line to make it easily noticeable.

 

3.  When the paint has dried, center the tarp over the mound of soil.  Weight the corners to keep the tarp in place. 

4.  Put on a pair of mud gloves and mix up the hypertufa, increasing the Portland cement by 1/3.  This will fortify the mix and make it stronger.  Mix a normal batch and if you run out, make more.

 

5. Scoop the hypertufa into the center of the circle, the top of the hump.  Lightly spread out the material so that it is thicker at the top of the mound, about 2 inches, and gradually thins to 1 inch at the edges.  

 6. Use the brick to firmly tamp the entire surface of hypertufa, melding the mass into a single large disk. Then use your hand to polish and smooth the surface.  Use the trowel to press in the outer edges of the basin so they are firm and not crumbly.  Remember the edge is where you will be lifting the basin and you do not want it to be weak and break.

7.  Finally, press the length of rebar into the hypertufa creating flutes all the way around the disk.  These add strength as well as a nice decorative touch. 

8.  Cover the basin with plastic and allow it to cure slowly for a week. 

 

9.  When completely dry, invert the basin and transfer it to its desired spot in your garden.

 

10.   Mix sand mix concrete mix and use the large paintbrush to skim coat the inside surface of the basin. This will ensure it will hold water.  Let the concrete dry completely and then you can leave it as and fill it with water or mosaic a decorative pattern with glass and tile on the inside. For this example, we used pieces of mirror, glass and marbles creating a dramatic focal point.