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janvier 08, 2007

an eerie wintry nightfall

Nightfall on an eerie wintry day....
Somebody revealed to Scarlette Mauve , she recalled, that he had encountered a probably metaphysical experience whilst sleeping at an unknown castle in France during military service... As if reading memories of a geographical spot, une nuit blanche but only seeing nurses tending the sick...he discovered afterwards it was a sanatorium in world war time...
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Scarlette Mauve read that a certain Frère Gxxxxxx tended this place... Apparaîtrait-t'il ??!
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The soliloquy of a homeheading student talking on the phone broke the silence of the uncanny Nazareth... now that i know it was Nazareth, it is nazareth
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(@ Béthanie et Nazareth)

décembre 12, 2006

the fragrant kitchen (lavender harvest part 2 finale)

Scarlette Lavender was inspired by the aroma of the ramparting lavender embracing her and her senses. She called on her sisters to bring her the utensils and simple ingredients - flours, cream, milk, butter, sugar etc.
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In a moment an open kitchen was set up, a fragrant one... today's recipe was mousse a la lavande
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The vista and scents of the lavender made her kitchen all the more inspiring and loving
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a fig of lavender blossom from the immediate harvest
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also made use of the distiller of the farm for some first pressed lavender essential oil
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busy whipping cream...
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her cordon bleu trained sister Constance asked her afterwards why she used her strawberry oven mittens to make a mousse!
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ok that's the bottle of first pressed lavender oil that she promised her sister from the Provence, Anais
not rivaling the high altitude lavender or even lavandin from the Provence, but fresh and loving
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the relaxing scent and the fragrant cuisine made her feel like the liberty of a jumping bunny!
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^^Scarlette's 2 traditional provençal recipes with lavender (designed in collaboration of her cordon bleu trained sister, Constance, and her sister from the Provence, Anais, nice gestures to welcome Scarlette Lavender to the family ^^
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Lavender Mousse with Blueberry Soup, recipe by Constance
(photo not served with blueberry sauce here due to constraints of the outdoor kitchen)
INGREDIENTS
Mousse:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 large egg, plus 4 large egg yolks
1 Tbsp. dried or fresh lavender blossoms
3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped

Blueberry soup:
2 cups fresh (or frozen, unthawed) blueberries, plus additional fresh blueberries for garnish
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. grated fresh lemon zest
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick

To make mousse: In a heatproof mixing bowl, combine sugar, lemon juice, butter, egg, egg yolks and lavender. Place over a pot of simmering water and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain into a bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water and stir until cold and thickened. Fold in whipped cream. Pour mixture into each of eight 5-ounce paper cups. Freeze until firm, about 4 hours.
To make soup: In a medium saucepan, combine blueberries, sugar, 1/4 cup room temperature water, lemon zest, lemon juice and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes. Let mixture cool 10 minutes. Remove and discard cinnamon stick. Puree blueberry mixture in blender until smooth. Strain through a sieve set over a bowl. Discard solids; cover soup and refrigerate.
To serve, peel paper cups off mousse and place mousse in shallow bowls. Pour soup around mousse and garnish with blueberries.

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Glace à la lavande (Lavender ice cream), recipe by Anais (so sorry only en français...)
Ingrédients (pour 8 personnes) :
- 2 tasses à café de fleurs lavande fraîche si possible détachées du brin
- 25 cl de vin blanc doux (Monbazillac , Muscat)
- 100 cl de crème fraîche
- 1 tasse sucre poudre
- 4 blancs d'oeufs
Préparation : 10 minutes - Il conviendra de faire tout d’abord une « infusion à froid » des graines de fleurs de lavande avec le vin blanc : Mélanger 2 cuillères à soupe de fleurs de lavande avec le vin légèrement chauffé et laisser reposer 25 min dans un endroit chaud mais non ventilé . Dans un plat en grès Fouetter ensuite la crème en mousse- chantilly. Laisser reproser au froid mois de 5 minutes pendant ce temps filtrer la préparation de vin aux fleurs de lavande à l’aide d’un tout petit chinois et l'ajouter à la crème très lentement, ajouter votre sucre le plus fin (mais gardez-en une bonne moitié) tout en en continuant de battre la crème ; à défaut réservez un peu de crème fraîche afin de re-épaissir si la préparation devient trop liquide.
Dans un bol à part, commencez à Fouetter les blancs d'oeufs en neige molle avec le reste du sucre puis les rajouter lentement tout en la fouettant à la crème. Il vous reste encore des graines de fleur de lavande émiettées … saupoudrez en la surface et agitez le fouet une dernière fois … un petit truc en plus : un tout peit filet de parfum de vanille liquide (un soupçon) et ce sera un vrai délice mais attention au geste qui peut tout gâcher
Il vous suffira ensuite de laisser cet « appareil prendre » tout seul au fond de votre congélateur durant plus de 4 heures..Mais il conviendra de regarder par 2 fois le « durcissement » de votre crème glacée et ne pas hésiter à battre à nouveau à même le « congel » et ce sera fait .. à servir , au frais avec des languettes au beurre doux et un peu de miel de lavande des Alpes de Hautes Provence

lavender fields at Grasse, Provence, South of France, from Anais' photo album
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récolte de la lavande (lavender harvest part 1)

o air is so fresh here, o the scents of lavender and lace.
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This is Lavendula angustifolia, or French Lavender, a shrub like flowering perennial that originally grew in the mountains near the Mediterranean Sea.
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See a lavender distiller
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here is a soap workshop
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Years ago in faculty's era, the books The Fragrant Pharmacy and The Fragrant Mind by Valerie Ann Worwood have sparkled my little pastime research into aromatics and aromathology. A simple visualization exercise of lighting up a match to explore every part of the brain, cross the border of the left and the right and merge them, had opened up my mind, then initiated my reading of metaphysics literature, into various realms, the universal symbols and mind power of the tarot, then research of its history, origin as game or divination etc etc. Since then I cannot live one day without scents and fragrances, flowers & plants, herbs in cuisine, perfumes and essential oils....
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novembre 21, 2006

berry fairy

Scarlette at breakfast, she hurried to put on her snorkleberry helmet, arrived yesterday all the way from Finland! (thanks Ruth!), to combat this drizzy, cold reluctant morning
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novembre 20, 2006

i drink purple

my daily breakfast is a purple juice, either a smoothie named "berry burst" or "stress buster", both made from fresh berries. My other fav drinks include the fabulous Hong Kong Ribena, hot Taro Pearl Milk tea, the Sangria and if it comes to a dinner wine it''s rouge or rosée.
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Scarlette wears dollsville's purple paisley"Peace and Love" retro dress (i forgot the headdress this morning)

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