No matter the trials, 2016 also has had many moments of beauty. Just a few days ago, I had the good fortune to be asked to house sit for friends who live in a sweet, big old farm house out in the country. This heart display, among many other things welcomed me. Remember to stop…
Category: Tea Time
Banana Muffins with Lavender and Fresh Ginger reading The Tijuana Book of the Dead
I began this post months ago, yet … banana muffins with lavender and fresh ginger sounded excellent on this slightly cooler, rainy-ish summer day. It’s the 4th anniversary of Pachamama’s Beautiful Food today, so why not celebrate with a second post. I have loved the gardens I shared with you in these past four years,…
Dark Chocolate and Date Oat Flour Muffins
I had gone long weeks without any sweets – other than apples, bananas and carrots – and that was grand. But I was ready to bite into a cakey, muffiny pleasure. I must confess, in all my gluten free days, I had never baked with oat flour. To be sure, unless the oats be gluten…
The April Fool’s Day Banana, along with a tasty recipe for Banana Jam
Long ago, in the cavern of time, when I was a young mom and my son was 8 or 9, there was the celebrating of every holiday together, and particular fun come April 1st. According to the scholarly words of Wikipedia: “April Fools’ Day (sometimes called All Fools’ Day) is an informal holiday celebrated every year on…
I Lit a Candle This Morning for Yesterday – and ended up Baking Cookies
Originally posted on One Heart World ~ with Margaret Gilfoyle:
As I lit a candle this morning, it felt I was lighting it for yesterday. For a realization that came. Where my heart floated graciously in acceptance of what was right before me, and I let go of what was not. I quietly rejoiced in that…
Lemon Verbena Shortbread
Doesn’t the smell of lemon verbena make you just swoon with delight?! This summer our plant in the garden grew by leaps and bounds, and I would literally stick my face in it, rub my fingers in the leaves and breathe in the scent in deep, luxurious breaths. When I traveled to Ecuador in the…
The Revelation of Home-made Oat Milk
A few days ago, I ran out of my customary carton of almond milk, early in the morning. A gray, blustery fall day. My breakfast appetite was yearning for oatmeal and honey, but without milk, hmmm! What to do? My answer to this question has created a revelation in my kitchen. Home made oat milk….
April Sun, Snowflakes and a Cup of Sweet Rose Tea
Not many words are needed for this spectacular morning on Earth. Just look, and click to enlarge – the sun shown at an angle through the delicate mounds of snow, and in several photos, captured the exquisite singular snowflakes themselves… This next is definitely a photo to enlarge – and the next two after this — please…
Spring Crepes with Fresh Goat’s Milk Yogurt and Maple Sugared Violets
A sweet dessert to stun your loved ones with the fantastic fact that it is Spring… …started out like this, here’s the Girls giving some smooches… (take a visit to Rain Crow Farm in my herbed goat cheese au poivre post): …and then into the kitchen to make a batch of tangy, luscious goat’s milk yogurt….
Pumpkin Cake Exotica with Dark Chocolate, Chili and Dried Plum Filling
Rain and snow were all mixed up in the weather report today, making my morning walk full of drips and slips. I was in a fine mood even so, running into a friend or two along my route. The melting snow revealed bits of green beneath, and my steps were light. Then I had the inspiration…
Lemon Curd and Other Love Stories
I walked into my bedroom after a busy day today and realized I hadn’t had time to make the bed this morning – a typical daily ritual before heading downstairs. It triggered the memory of the lines of a poem. I wrote it years ago, the day after the man I eventually married left my…
Two Lovely Shortbread Cookies: Glazed Lavender + Toasted Hazelnut Clementine
One holiday tradition I always look forward to is baking. Yesterday it was my recipe for the absolutely delectable, intriguing – and beguiling! – glazed lavender shortbread, first notably served at a winter solstice party (2007, the year the tradition began) to raves and immediate requests for the recipe. The shortbread is buttery and offers the mellow, unexpected…
Buckwheat Elderberry Muffins with Lemon and Ginger ~ November Tea Time
November remembers…..ahhhh….. June in the garden: ….and the months flew by…. right into the last elderberries of the season. I first created this recipe last year, and wanted to pull it out again. If you don’t have access to elderberries, try dried currants, or chopped dried cranberries. Actually, these muffins would be great with a mix…
Pachamama's Beautiful Food 