Summer Hair: The Braided Crown

I’m so into updo’s for beating the heat this summer. I love how playful and feminine they are, perfect for dressing up or just hanging around the pool. Right now I’m really loving this braided hair tutorial from the Nasty Gal blog. I’ve also been pinning tons of great updo’s on my pinterest which you can check out here at the Braided Hair page. But this how to has definitely been the best one I’ve seen so far, the tutorial makes it really easy to do!

On My Workbench: Silver Apple Branch Rings and Leaf Pendants

I’ve been working hard this past week on some new pieces, both custom and for my ready to wear line. I’ll have some pictures of the custom piece for you next week, it’s coming along great, and it’ll really show you more about the process of how I make silver leaves. But this week I’ve been working on finishing up my new style of Apple Tree rings. They’re cast in fine silver, and come in both a high polish silver and in a black oxidized finish. I love the way these bands came out, there really comfy, and on the thinner side of the twig rings that I cast, only 3-5 mm wide. The textures are really well defined in the apple bark, much more so then the maple tree rings.

The other piece that I finished this week is a luxurious Art Deco style leaf pendant, that’s set with a 5mm faceted White Topaz. The pendant’s hanging from a really incredible matching Art Deco style chain. Like my other leaves, I cast this Sage leaf after growing it in the garden. I hand carved the setting for the stone and set in the hand-made bail. This is a really special looking piece, the veining of the sage leaf sparkles and so does the stone, the entire piece is just so amazingly reflective.

 

Recipe Summer Drinks: Pineapple Tequila Cocktails

This delicious light and fruity summer drink is sure to be a crowd pleaser. I made it for our Memorial Day bar-b-cue and I couldn’t keep up with the demand for refills. The best part is that the drink is so easy to make, and the pineapple becomes even better tasting then usual after sitting in the alcohol of your drink!

Tequila Cocktails
adapted from Bobby Flay’s recipe

10 ounces white tequila
12 ounces fresh pineapple juice
12 ounces lemon-lime soda
crushed ice
2 cups chopped fresh pineapple
1/4 cup pineapple sage

Directions:
Combine tequila, pineapple juice, soda, 1 cup pineapple and ice in a blender. Mix until smooth. Serve over crushed ice and garnish with pineapple chunks, and pineapple sage.

Recipe: Southern Strawberry Peach Pie

This incredible fruit pie has a delicate crust that has that perfect crunch from its light egg wash, a thick layer of fresh picked spring fruit, and a rich custard like middle. The thick batter that you spread on top, bakes together with the fruit to become this beautiful pink, cream, and orange custard. It’s sweet, slightly tart and has hints of caramel. The top becomes golden brown and crisp. Mixing the strawberries and peaches, together with the cinnamon and batter really makes for something special. Especially with home-made whipped cream and fresh mint.

I made it yesterday and couldn’t help myself, I had a piece today for breakfast. It’s that good!

Garlic Harvest

This weekend I finally got to harvesting the garlic in our raised beds. I’ve been impatiently waiting for this for months. I planted the little baby bulbs all the way back in the very early fall and watched them grow all through the year; their green tips getting taller and taller over the hay that kept them warm under our light snow this winter.

This was definitely a long wait for me, and most of the gardening web sites left me feeling confused as to how to know when to harvest. Most advising to dig up the bulbs and check, to see how they are growing to know when they are ready. But still didn’t really tell you how you would know, when you dug them up. But then I stumbled on a tip somewhere in the interweb world, that said that the leaves start to streak yellow when the bulbs are getting ready to be harvested. Yes, this! And my plants had started doing this just the week before. The leaves streaking came at the perfect time, since I have to get my summer plants in and I just ran out of time.

I decided to dig up everything, but the two Elephant Garlic bulbs I planted, since they still have no yellow streaks on the leaves, I’ll update you when they come in. Because our garden is so small just right outside our townhouse I planted the garlic patch really tight and compact. Just two squares, each 1×1 ft. In the tray pictured you can see the garlic bulbs from just one of the squares. I thought it was pretty impressive for such a small space!

I managed to braid three long garlic braids and one baby braid, not to shabby for my first time braiding garlic. Which I learned thanks to one of my favorite blogs Thy Hand Hath Provided, you can learn how right here.  Now I’m drying the garlic until the outer layers are papery and its hanging from the drying rack in my dining room, along with catnip, some oregano, sage, and spearmint it smells delightful. All we have to wait for is the Elephant Garlic. Check back soon I’ll be cooking the Elephant Garlic Scapes.

Pesto Grilled Cheese with Peppercorn Mayo Crust

Our basil plants have been growing like crazy this spring and I’ve been using fresh Pesto in more and more recipes. After I made this Pesto Grilled Cheese the other night for a quick dinner, I knew I had to share the recipe. It’s definitely one of my new favorites.

I combined thick layers of the licorice flavored pesto with the milder bite of Swiss and just a hint of Parmesan cheese, but what really set’s of the flavor of the sandwich is the tangy crust made with the peppercorn olive oil mayonnaise crust. I’ve always made my grilled cheese sandwiches with mayo, it gives the sandwich a nice dry crust, unlike butter that can leave the bread soggy. And the tangy flavor with the spicy peppercorns added a wonderful element to this exceptional and easy sandwich.

In The Garden: The Karina Pea

I’ve been testing out a few different varieties of pea plants this year for taste, ability to resist heat, and to see which plants produce the most in the smallest space, since that’s always the biggest key with our small patio garden. So far this year the Karina Bush Pea has done the best of the three varieties I’ve tried out in our potted patio garden. The other two are a Snow Peas and Dark Seeded Peas.

The Karina Peas have super long pods that can grow up to 5 and even 7 inches long and are filled with super plump sweet tasting peas. Just one gallon sized pot filled with three plants is putting off a few handfuls of pea pods a week; perfect for using in stir-fry’s, salads, and the peas are delicious accompanied with the fresh mint grown in our herb garden. These particular peas make for an excellent shelling variety and the pods actually sometimes pop open when I am picking them, so be careful that you don’t lose your peas while picking. You still have time to sow these great plants outdoors, they can go into the ground as late as June!

Spring Treat: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Every year I wait for the beginning of spring for strawberry season so I can make my Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. It’s become quite the tradition, with the pies disappearing faster and faster each time I bake them. I love the sweet tartness of the berries and rhubarb paired with the crisp crust, and put that together with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and it just taste’s like home and spring in the South.

I’m lucky enough to live right up the road from a beautiful strawberry farm, so this basket of strawberries was picked the same day that I bought it. It’s one of the perks of living in the middle of farm country.

Here’s the recipe for my Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

How To: Dye With Natural Elements

Color Wheel Dyed on Wool with Acid Dye

One of the biggest problems with textiles is obviously the pollution that comes from the growing, weaving, and dying process associated with creating fabrics. There are many ways to cut back on the huge amount of waste created. Using organically grown or raised fibers is a huge step, especially with cotton. The large amounts of nitrogen based fertilizer used in regular cotton production is well-known to be a big contributing factor to the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico. At home choose organic or natural dyes is a big step in the right direction. It is definitely possible to get beautiful rich colors using minerals, plants, and even insects as dyeing material.

Featured Artist: Marion Bolognesi

I have always found the water-color paintings of Marion Bolognesi to be intensely, emotionally evocative. There is so much power in each choice of color, and form to help tell the story and enhance the overall mood of the piece. Whether the painting is light and airy and fairy like or intensely deep and moody the overall piece tells a rich and full story, in a refined and strong hand.