corner view

corner view :: what makes you happy

The fact that we have a mere 23 days until summer break...that makes me a very happy woman. That my sister and her family will be here in a little over a month brings nothing but HAPPINESS. The spring in Italy, the tent we just bought, the fact that my daughter has her last geography test of the school year today, the local cherries, the exciting future of my beloved students who are soon to be graduates, the card that arrived from my parents yesterday, finally beginning Flora and Ulysses with Young One last night...happy, Happy, HAPPY.

 

But this little garden patch that we started in April and that is currently thriving...that is undoubtedly topping my happiness charts! 

Corner View is a weekly appointment shared by people around the globe, an appointment started in the spring of 2009 by Jane in Spain and currently hosted by Francesca over at Fuori Borgo. We welcome you to join us.

corner view

corner view :: flowers

This simple bouquet of roses, mint and rosemary from my garden is at the center of our table in rural Northern Italy this week. Don't you want to come over for a coffee? I promise I'll change the candles.

For more Corner Views or to link up with a view of your corner, visit Francesca.

PS. The hand-painted candlesticks are from Deruta, Italy, my favorite place for Italian ceramics.

Late August

Finally faced the neglected and (mostly) dead garden this morning.

Found these there, too.

breaking my cardinal rule

When I told Richard that I would be making this pesto to serve our visiting friends Friday evening, he responded with eyebrow-raised doubt:  "You know, I've never made pesto before, Dana," with a grand emphasis on "I."  Besides breaking my cardinal rule of entertaining, which is that one should never try a new recipe for the first time with guests at the table, I was also breaking his unspoken rule of entertaining:  "I do the cooking.  You set the table.  Make a salad if you like."  Hey, don't judge, it works (well) for us, usually.  But, alas, summer has arrived & during summer I sometimes feel a renewed sense of domesticity & get the urge to do things like clean closets, hang laundry, and prepare meals.

I wish you could have seen his face when he noticed the dusty Krups food processor on the kitchen counter:  "Where's the mortar and pestle?  It's pesto you're making after all.  What do you intend to do with this pesto?"  I assured him that I had permission from an Italian, an Italian in Genova -- the Italian city known for pesto -- permission to use the food processor.  To his credit, he did not put up much of a fight with me.  Clearly not convinced, he escaped out back and shared a long, tall spritz with a neighbor. Maybe they had two.

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With three thriving basil plants and a plethora of leaves calling to be harvested, I set about making my first-ever pesto.  Though the recipe is a bit ambiguous with amounts like "handful" and "a little," & thus frightening for a novice pesto-maker like me, I quickly realized that it's because it just doesn't matter.  Add as much or as little as you like & all will be well at the end.  I substituted a 20 month grana padano, a locally-made hard cheese, for the parmesan, and did add a bit of pecorino, as suggested;  both of these are things we generally have on hand in our fridge.  Oh,  for the love of pecorino!

The end result was just scrumptous. I'm quite certain that I could have simply served it straight up on a toasted rustic bread of some sort; instead, I went for pasta. This is when Richard took over in the kitchen. He mixed some of the pesto with still-warm penne and then followed with mozzarella and cherry tomatoes (from my garden). The mozzarella melted just a bit, and we later served the pasta at room temperature. It would be just as good, maybe even better, served chilled.

We ate the entire bowl. My friend Mark declared that this is his new favorite pasta dish; trust me, the man has eaten his fair share of pasta in his life. It is definitely a great choice for a warm summer evening.

My basil plants are looking better each day; boy, does that make me happy.
My husband has a renewed belief in my talents in the kitchen; that makes me even happier.



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WOW! Check it out:

mary, mary quite contrary

Roses and Lavender Cut from My Garden Today

I've been quite hesitant to claim it, to name it, but I think the time has arrived, my friends.
Yes, I am a gardener.
I have moved from "she who enjoys buying plants and, occasionally, seeds" to "she who successfully nurtures those plants and seeds into something special."
Yes, I am a gardener.
I have the green thumb . . . . maybe even two.

Thank you, thank you very much.

PS.  I am very well aware that this likely could not be possible without the watchful eye of my Italian neighbor Ferruccio, who sets me straight the moment I err and who likely sprays my roses with pesticides when I am not looking.

easy party food

Simple.

Fresh.

Tasty.

Colorful.

Tomatoes, Basil, Mozzarella, & Olive Oil

I made these last week to bring to one of the many end-of-year parties.  I was amazed how something so simple caused such excitement among the guests.  One even asked for a recipe -- huh?!  Maybe it was the Margarita talking, I don't know.  Another inquired about the amount of time it must have taken me.  I assembled them pretty quickly actually -- picking out the red toothpicks from the box of multicolored ones took the most time. The rainbow look wasn't working for  me at the moment.  I didn't share that, though.

My basil plants are looking beautiful right about now, and I'm convinced that these were sooo tasty because of the absolutely fresh basil from my garden.  I have plans for this pesto, too, with a bit of that basilico. 

corner view

corner view :: my garden

"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may . . ."

Really can't wait to see these little beauties in bloom.
Won't be long.  Won't be long, at all.
And, yep, that's in my garden.

Do you remember Robert Herrick's poem:  "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time"?  I'm sure you've studied it at one time or another as it's included in most anthologies or text books in use across America.  I was a senior in a Catholic high school in Lousiana when I first heard it;  needless to say, the title caused a bit of snickering and giggling among the students.  We liked it, though; the "carpe diem" theme continues to  appeal to students today.

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For more corner views and to get next week's theme, visit Joyce.

tiny irises

Last year was the first time I ever planted a bulb:  yellow tulips.  I was quite proud of myself concerning those tulips.  Those have sprouted again this year, and I'm anxious to see what the flowers will be like.  Meanwhile, in November we filled a section of our little plot of land out back with a mixture of bulbs.

The first to flower are these tiny irises.

I am eager to see what comes up next; I simply can't recall what types of bulbs I put in the ground in November.   The Young One and I check the plot each morning -- it won't be long before we see the next flowers.