Wish List Wednesdays: Bird Sugar and Creamer Set

I seem to have birds on the brain lately when it comes to home goods -- this week I'm coveting a lovely Bird Sugar and Creamer Set by whitneysmith available on Etsy.  While not inexpensive at $86 for the set, these ceramics are generously proportioned and well made -- definitely worth the investment.  And check out the rest of her collection for these items in other colors, other items with the bird design, and other pieces with different designs.  They are all beautiful!

          

Weekend Wonders: Super Moon!

Photo by Shari Neluka Atukorala

Did you get to see the "super moon" last night?  I saw it early this morning while taking our dogs for their pre-dawn walk -- quite spectacular!  You would think the sight would have reminded me of this song, but instead the tune that came to mind was an old Glen Campbell hit called "Southern Nights".  This great video pairs his version with beautiful images of Georgia (surprisingly, though, there are no moon photos!):

Although at its peak last night, I am sure the moon will be almost as impressive tonight, just in case you missed it -- the sight really is worth the effort, so get out there and look!

        

On the Homefront: A Profusion of Flowers!

It has been way too long since I have posted pictures of our yard in bloom, and it has been flowering profusely!  The beautiful iris above absolutely glows in the garden, and it was followed almost immediately by another beauty:

The stunning Japanese maple in the background with the lacy burgundy leaves is the perfect background for our irises:

I just wish I had never planted the pesky English ivy (Hedera helix) in pots -- of course I couldn't keep up with it and it escaped into the garden (be forewarned by my bad experience with this plant)!  It is considered a highly invasive noxious weed and I hope to eliminate it from my garden this winter when it is not actively spreading.

Blue flowers were well represented in the garden by my potted sage plant (top) and and two pots of catmint (bottom):

Sage (Salvia officinalis) flower spike

Catmint (Nepeta cataria) flower spikes

Our Carolina sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus), also known as Carolina allspice, had blossoms as well:

On the deck, two potted vines were flowering -- a very pale pink, almost white, shrub honeysuckle (top) and the colorful crossvine (bottom):

Potted shrub honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.)

Potted crossvine (Bignonia capreolata)

While I enjoy having honeysuckle in pots, and there is even a native species, Lonicera sempervirens, that I plan to add to our yard one of these days, the species known as Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is a very aggressive invasive vine in the United States.  It grows all through the woods around here, and has covered many portions of our fence:

Japanese honeysuckle covering our pasture fence!

And then there is this prolific white-flowered shrub:

Lovely though it may be, Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense) is yet another extremely aggressive invasive plant species, especially here in Georgia.

White flowers seem to be dominating the garden scene right now in our yard.  The Confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) growing up one side of our deck has created a veritable wall of flowers so sweetly fragrant they are almost overwhelming:

This vine is a very popular ornamental in our state, but to me it is very aggressive to the point of being invasive, and I am slightly allergic to the milky sap it releases when pruned back.  I much prefer Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) as a fast-growing flowering vine, although it is not fragrant.

The tiny white blossoms of heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica) are just about ready to open:

My husband's favorite oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) is also flowering now:

Our magnolias have just started to bloom, and I wish everyone could inhale their lightly citrus-scented fragrance -- it is just marvelous!

Cascades of catkins can be seen on the young pecan trees in our pasture:

We even have some fruits coming along -- the blueberries (top) are almost ripe, and the figs (bottom) are progressing nicely:

I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- when it comes to gardens, Georgia in the spring is hard to beat!
   

Foodie Fridays: Cinnamon Slaw

From What vegetarians eat

Yesterday's post about my very first cookbooks got me browsing through those oldies but goodies, so I decided to post a recipe from each for the next three Foodie Fridays.  Choosing one from each book will not be easy since I have not used them in a while.  It is especially hard from my first book, Granddaughter's Inglenook Cookbook, because I rarely used it even when I first "inherited" it.  However, it was fun to browse through back then, and even more fun now.  Some of the recipes caught my eye because techniques and/or ingredients are obsolete or out of favor these days (although I did read recently that lard is making a comeback!).  Others were popular dishes when I was young but are pretty much forgotten now (when was the last time you had pear and lime jello salad?).  And then there was this one for Cinnamon Slaw.  It is very simple and straightforward, but I had never heard of it before, and could not find any similar recipes on the internet.  In fact, the picture above is only what I imagine it must look like (pink!) because of the cinnamon candies used.  I have posted the recipe as it appears in the cookbook, and then added notes at the end to clarify anything that might be unfamiliar to a present-day cook.  Will I actually attempt to create this unique side dish myself?  I am trying to psych myself up to do just that -- the hardest part for me is buying the cinnamon candies (red hots), since I have never liked them (and I'm not even sure I can find them at this time of year).  Let's hope they taste much better when cooked and combined with other ingredients!

Cinnamon Slaw

3 apples
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. cinnamon candies
3 C. cabbage
1/2 C. mayonnaise

Cook diced apples, cinnamon candies, and sugar together, covered, for 5 minutes and allow to get cold without lifting lid.  When ready to serve, add mayonnaise to shredded cabbage, then apples.  Makes a beautiful salad.

Notes:  The recipe does not specify if the apples should be peeled, but you are basically making applesauce so it doesn't really matter -- some people leave the peel on and some remove it.  As mentioned above, cinnamon candies are also known as red hots, those hard little heart-shaped candies so popular at Valentine's Day.  Number of servings is not given, but I would guess about four to six.  I am so grateful the recipe mentions that the salad is beautiful, as this description intrigues me enough to make me want to make this slaw!

From Desiccated Coconut

This 'n That Thursdays: My First Cookbooks

From the BookMine

Recently I read an article on the NPR website about overnight breakfast foods by T. Susan Chang.  I followed a link to her blog, Eat Your Cookbooks, and ended up reading a post about "First-love cookbooks", those very first cookbooks purchased by budding cooks.  At the end of the post, Ms. Chang asks, "What cookbooks first led you down the primrose path?  And do you have them still?"  What a great question!  My first cookbook was an oldie from 1942 called Granddaughter's Inglenook Cookbook that I "inherited" from my mother, i.e., she never used it so I took it to college with me and it has been mine ever since!  Although I rarely used the recipes, I still enjoy leafing through it (I never get rid of cookbooks).  My first cookbook purchase was as a freshman in college, and the book was the hardcover version of Betty Crocker's Cookbook (1974).  It became my go-to source for recipes, especially when I cooked for others.  The recipes are easy to follow and I love the retro-look photos (which were the height of fashion at the time).  After my freshman year I moved into a studio apartment, and since I was on my own I decided to buy a cookbook called The Singles' First Menu Cookbook (1975).  The recipes made single servings and sounded pretty tasty as well.  Apparently the dog I owned at the time thought so too, as she chewed the corners of the book one day when I was on campus.  Those dog-eared corners now remind me of youthful times, and my beloved first dog.  I have purchased an embarrassing number of cookbooks since then, and have kept almost all of them, but these first three will always be special for the memories they evoke.

Wish List Wednesdays: Sparrow Kitchen Accessories

Add some cheer to your kitchen with this whimsical Sparrow Serving Set.  Four little bird utensils perched in a tree rack, ready to help you with your meal preparation chores -- who could resist such practical cuteness?  And as if these avian assistants weren't enough, there is also the Sparrow Salad Bowl and Serving Spoons:

For about $100 you can bring these sweet birds home to roost -- worth every penny, if you ask me!
       

Terrifying Tuesdays: Dracula (1931)

From Wikipedia

"Dracula" (1931) starring Bela Lugosi is widely regarded as the classic movie version of Bram Stoker's vampire novel.  This film was a major force in bringing the idea of vampire stories and horror movies in general into popular culture.  Lugosi's portrayal of the title character is the most widely recognized and imitated, and was the first to present the character as a suave and handsome nobleman rather than the repulsive creature described in Stoker's book.  Produced by Universal Studios and directed by Tod Browning, who would later go on to direct the controversial 1932 movie "Freaks" (which is now a cult classic), "Dracula" was the first true Hollywood horror film.  Its resounding success at the box office would lead to the production of even more classic horror films by Universal Studios, such as "Frankenstein" (1931), "The Mummy" (1932), and "The Wolfman" (1941).

In a tale familiar to most by now, a British solicitor named Renfield (Dwight Frye) makes a harrowing trip through the Carpathian Mountains at the request of Count Dracula (Lugosi) to finalize the latter's lease of Carfax Abbey in London.  Unbeknownst to Renfield, Dracula is a vampire, and once their transaction is complete the count puts Renfield under his spell, using him to get safe passage to London.  Their ship barely makes it to England, and Renfield is discovered to be the only person left alive on the ship.  He is by now a raving madman, and is sent to a sanitarium headed by Dr. Seward (Herbert Bunston), which happens to adjoin Carfax Abbey.

A few days later, Dracula meets Dr. Seward at the theater in London, along with Seward's daughter, Mina (Helen Chandler), her fiancé John Harker (David Manners), and her friend Lucy Weston (Frances Dade).  Lucy in particular is fascinated by the count, and becomes one of his first victims.  Mina is attacked next, and her concerned father asks old friend Dr. Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) to investigate his daughter's mysterious illness.  Van Helsing and Dracula meet at the Seward home, and become adversaries almost immediately when Van Helsing notices that Dracula has no reflection in a mirror and deduces that the count is a vampire.  A struggle of wills then ensues, with Mina's life and soul as the ultimate goal.  Ultimately, Van Helsing is victorious and Mina, released from Dracula's hold, is free to marry Harker.

In 2000, this movie was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.  While it may seem dated and overly melodramatic now, it is without doubt the most influential version of the Dracula story ever filmed, and is a must-see for any horror movie afficionado.  You can watch the movie on YouTube.

Interesting Facts: This movie is the first authorized version of the Bram Stoker novel to be filmed.  An unauthorized 1922 version called "Nosferatu" was made in Germany, but Bram Stoker's widow sued and won.  All copies of this movie were supposed to be destroyed, but at least one copy remained and the movie, another cult classic, is still available today.

Gore Guide (0=none to 5=extreme): 0

Bela Lugosi as the title character in "Dracula"
(from Medill Reports)