The Many Faces of Spring

In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours. Mark Twain

As I watch the effects of snow storms, nor’easters and bomb cyclones in other parts of the country, I am grateful to live in an area with a more mild winter. Though I do miss the stillness and peace a new fallen snow brings, I remember not liking the variations in weather between winter and spring.

Here at Bella Terra, we are just now noticing the changes that spring brings. Our morning temperatures are out of the 30s and into the 40s. Duck dating has arrived at our pool.

Last week there were 6 gorgeous mallards vying for the lone female’s attention. She appears to have settled on the last two. Who will be the lucky guy? Her suitor will stay by her side for the next few months. Soon she will bring her little ones, teaching them how to swim here.

When I walked into our living room yesterday morning, I noticed how the eastern light has changed. Bathed in softness, the subtle difference is a reminder that spring is on its way.

There is evidence of spring in the yard. Stretching along the eastern side of our property, we planted Lady Banks Roses, R. Banksiae Lutea. These roses can vigorously grow to a height of 25 feet and produces pale to deep yellow flowers. It is not strongly perfumed and the wood is almost thornless. This makes the perfect privacy fence.

Just this week, we are seeing the very first of its blossoms. These roses only bloom once a year, but shortly will provide a stunning wall of yellow.

In the orchard, it is nearly time to glean all the citrus fruit from the tree. We are prodded to do so when we start seeing the early blossoms for the next cycle of fruit.

The apple and apricot trees are budding and even though I am tempted to cut these gorgeous branches to display inside, I leave them alone and let nature takes its course.

Due to our extreme summer heat, I have only had success in growing Anna apples, which will be ready to pick in June.

The apricot tree is in its 3rd year of production, so I am hoping for a great yield this year. Look at how delicate these blooms are!

One of our peach trees is just starting to show spring growth, due to its “less sun” placement in the yard.

Even the chickens are sensing the change in season. Our Araucanas have started laying their blue-green eggs again. Chickens need 14 hours of daylight in order to have egg production. Some chicken breeds lay more than eggs others.

In front of the guest cottage, the first jonquil has shown its beautiful trumpet. A member of the daffodil family, the jonquil has six outer petals and slender, hollow foliage.

The flower beds in the front of the house are just starting to come to life. Here the lavender flowers are showing off.

March 20th is the official start of Spring, only 2 weeks away. I am looking forward to a spring of hope and renewal, and more time to enjoy the great outdoors.

Lemon Pots de Creme

After cleaning out the butler’s pantry, I was inspired to use one of the many sets of pots de creme that I have collected.

Pot de crème, plural pots de crème, (pronounced “poe da krem”) is a loose French dessert custard dating to the 17th century. The name means “pot of custard” or “pot of cream”, which also refers to the porcelain cups in which the dessert is served.

The place of origin is France and the main ingredients are eggs, cream, milk, vanilla, chocolate or other flavors.

I was hankering for something lemony so I picked fresh lemons from the orchard.

After searching the internet and finding most recipes with heavy cream, I stumbled upon one from Epicurious using 2% milk. I love heavy cream, but my hips don’t.

This particular vintage set of pots de creme was made in Japan by JSC in the 1970s. There are 6 white porcelain pots with gold trim and a tiny gold acorn on the lid. It also came with it own tray. You can find different kinds of pots de creme on eBay at varying price points.

The custard was very easy to make. I poured the hot custard into the pots and then refrigerated the set. Even though the recipe makes 8, I was able to fully fill these 6 pots. Some recipes call for baking in a hot water bath in the oven, which was more labor intensive. I wanted a quick, easy, light dessert and this one was the most simple.

After the custard cooled down and chilled, I added a fresh blackberry, some lemon zest and a sprig of mint. A dollop of whipped cream would be delicious too.

This light, refreshing lemon custard felt especially elegant in the pretty pots de creme.

Here is the Recipe for Lemon Pots De Creme from Epicurious.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:16]

Now we wait for my friend, Sam to send me the calorie count!

Enjoy!

It’s Been A Year!

A year ago today, I sent my first blog post of Life at Bella Terra. It was an intimidating moment, because I thought “who would ever want to read this?” I don’t consider myself a very good writer and I’m really trying to improve upon that. But your words of encouragement have brought me back to the computer to post again and again. If it wasn’t for your kindness and support, it would have been easy to just quit. Thank you for your loyalty and feedback and comments. Truly. From the bottom of my heart.

Each time I send out an email letting you know I’ve created a new post, I am praying you find it interesting, enlightening or even motivating. I try to share a small piece of loveliness in hopes that I can brighten your day. As I look out into the world, I believe we each need to find sources of joy and create our own beauty. Whether it be feeling the warmth from a freshly picked tomato, or the scent of a homegrown flower, these moments of perfection can only help feed the soul.

Blogging for me, is a chance to stop and capture a sliver of time, an exquisite photo or a recipe that bursts with flavor. Plus it is forcing me to attack those cluttered corners of the house or undone projects while showing you my progress. But I can honestly say, I am still a long way from feeling confident about creatively illustrating that to you. But I will keep trying.

So here is a look back at the year and some of my favorite photos and posts.

My very first blog post was about the New York Times Bestselling author, Rhys Bowen and the fundraising English tea we had here at Bella Terra.

And other events we happily hosted here…..

Recipes shared…..

My Renovations and Restorations….

Travel and leisure…..

Decorating and Design…

The holidays….

Cleaning, Organizing, and Updating…

Sharing our home and yard….

My attempt at art….

Flower arranging..

Our pets…

And a few DIYs….

My online store….

There is still so much to learn, especially better photography, writing and getting my watermarks the same size on every photo. So thank you again for following me and sharing my blog with others.

PLEASE send in your comments~~What area of interest would you like for me to expand? What are your favorite topics? How often should I post (trying to do a maximum of twice per week)? What can I do to be better for you? My goals for the next year are to do a contest or giveaway and conduct a real survey into your likes and interests.

Here’s to one year and onto the next!! I couldn’t have done it without you.

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Spring is in the Air!

With the coming of spring, I am calm again.

Gustav Mahler

This weekend, I made a cup of my favorite coffee and enjoyed a stroll around the property. You can definitely feel a difference in the air~~spring has sprung!

Our pool has become a love pond for a female and two male ducks. Last week she had 3 suitors, but now the final two seem to be competing for her attention. Lots of quacking and flapping of wings from the males as the female seems rather bored!

It’s also the time of year where the air is heady with the fragrance of orange blossoms (and grapefruit, lemon and all citrus) from our orchard. What an intoxicating smell!

The Lady Banks roses which we planted years ago to hide an original chain link fence, has since turned into a thick, lush wall of green. The pale yellow roses are just starting to bloom and soon will be a long blanket of yellow.

The scented geranium has lovely delicate purple flowers that stands out amid the fragrant leaves.

The grapevine is just beginning to show some foliage. I will need to keep an eye out for those creepy bugs that destroyed all the leaves last year (see my post here about the Western Grape Skeletonizer).

Lavender does very well in our Phoenix climate.

We have a few succulents in our planting beds and the Cape Aloe, which is native to South Africa, produces the most gorgeous orange-red spikes in the spring which attract hummingbirds.

The fruit trees are blooming-especially the apricots!

The peaches have already bloomed and are producing fruit!

We’ve had a strange hollyhock year. Typically this is what you see growing in our yard in early spring, the seedlings sprouting from the earth.

But last year, my chiropractor, Dr. Diane, gave me some hollyhock seeds and I scattered them in various locations around the yard. These plants have taken off and grown throughout the winter months. They are huge and I feel a bit like Jack in the Beanstalk as these are over 8 feet tall. Here is one plant that has taken over the well tower window.

They have such beautiful brilliant clusters of showy flowers.

The property is full of new spring colors. The nasturtium adds a bit of bright yellow and various shades of green to the garden.

My father’s memorial garden (Pop Pop’s favorite spot) is showing fullness and growth with all the rain we received this winter.

And of course, here’s my trusty companion, Cooper, who follows me wherever I go!

For those of you who are hunkering down in the big snow storm, I hope you enjoyed a bit of spring at Bella Terra!

When Life Gives you Lemons

The orchard is full of fruit and flower buds are starting to appear! We will need to glean the trees so the new buds have enough energy to produce a hearty crop next year. So the harvesting begins! So when life gives you lemons, bake!

The lemon tree, well, is not really a tree or a bush. It is sort of a sprawling blob of green. I am sure it is decades old but it keeps producing wonderful fruit. Not sure of its variety but year after year, this bush/tree gives up plenty of beautiful, fresh lemons.

Years ago, my friend, Joann Augur (who also now happens to be my art teacher), made a lemon cake for one of our Garden Hoes gatherings. Yes, we were part of a group of gardeners called the Hoes and our husbands were the Hoses. Garden humor.:)

Joann’s cake was so delicious I quickly asked for her recipe. And even though it sat in my recipe book for years, I clearly remembered this incredibly tasty cake. So in art class this week, I asked Joann’s permission to share her recipe. After years of mentally tasting this cake, I finally made it with the abundance of lemons from our orchard.

First, cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time.

I LOVE my microplane/zester. We received it as a gift and I can’t believe I’ve never had one before. Making lemon zest is so easy with this tool.

Add the zest to the sugar/butter/egg mixture.

Sift the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, combine lemon juice, buttermilk, and vanilla. I didn’t have buttermilk and didn’t feel like making a special trip to the grocery store, so I made my own, using Emeril Laggasse’s homemade recipe. You simply put vinegar or lemon juice (4 1/2 teaspoons) into one cup of milk and let it stand 15 minutes. I decided to use lemon juice vs. vinegar since this is a lemon cake recipe.

Add the buttermilk combo and flour mixture alternatively to the sugar batter, beginning and ending with the flour.

Divide the batter into 2 loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour (mine were done in 45 minutes in a convection oven). While the cakes are baking, make the lemon syrup.

Cool the cakes for 10 minutes, remove from pans and place on a rack over a tray (cookie sheet). Spoon the syrup over the cakes. I also took a wooden skewer and added holes to the cake to help the syrup absorb even more.

Make the glaze and drizzle over the cakes.

This cake is SO yummy! According to Joann, this cake freezes well too. Many thanks to Joann for allowing me to share this on my blog.

Lemon Cake

My sweet friend and art teacher shared her delicious lemon cake recipe with me.

1/2 lb. unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar (divided)
4 Xtra large eggs (room temperature)
1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6-8 lemons)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (divided)
3/4 cup buttermilk (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Glaze

2 cups confectioners' sugar (sifted)
3 1/2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease, flour and line bottom of two 8 1/2 x 4/1/4 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pans in parchment paper.
Cream butter and 2 cups sugar in bowl of electric mixer with paddle attachment for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. With mixer on medium speed, add eggs one at a time, and lemon zest.
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, buttermilk and vanilla. Add flour/buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between pans, smooth tops and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour until done.
Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a saucepan, cook low until sugar dissolves.
When cakes are done, cool 10 minutes. Invert them on a rack and set over a tray. Spoon syrup over cakes.
For the Glaze: combine confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in a bowl; mix with wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the tops of the cakes and allow glaze to drizzle down the sides.

A Bit of Sunshine

Typically, we enjoy sunny, sweater weather during the winter in Phoenix. I can’t recall a winter season being so gloomy and rainy~~don’t get me wrong, we love and need the rain, but it’s rare having several days of heavy, gray, overcast skies. The weather for the next 5 days will continue this pattern so I thought I’d share some sunshine pictures of the yard I took last week. Unlike other parts of the United States, winter is our “green time”. Some of the trees have lost their leaves, but for the most part, our landscape is colorful this time of year.

The orchard is abundant with citrus. The tangerine tree is so heavy with fruit this year and each piece is delicious.

We have lemons and grapefruits and a wide variety of oranges.

The previous owners planted a kumquat tree to celebrate a wedding anniversary. Now we get the benefit of this sweet/tart little fruit. A few years ago I made kumquat marmalade. It was a complete hassle trying to get all the numerous seeds out. I’m not sure I’ll admit it was worth the effort, but I’m certainly willing to try again! Or if anyone has a good recipe involving kumquats, let me know.

The garden is filled with lettuces, endive, cauliflower and broccoli. Tomatoes are still green but hopefully we will be picking those once the weather warms up.

Next to the vegetable garden is the flower garden and a perfect place to sit in the late afternoons.

My husband built this obelisk for me. It’s painted a French blue and has its place in the garden. Look at that cobalt sky!!!

The geraniums (which we brought down from the mountains a few months ago), are loving the cooler, damp weather.

And of course, here’s Cooper. He’s my constant companion following me around the yard on this gorgeous day.

Wherever you are, I am sending some sunshine to brighten your day!

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