around reykjavik

having a great time - forgot to bring my camera today - shot with my phone. bless camera bag. found botanic garden. word to the wise, it's not anywhere near where the guidebook says it is.
miss nea and my mooks already. leaving for the northwest fjords tomorrow morning. if there's internet there i'll post again tomorrow night.

A new vetiver soap coming soon, and my own arrangement from our Wildflowers class yesterday at Little Flower School. I am leaving you with these two things while I ship off to Iceland...It's been crazy right till the end getting ready for this trip. Nicolette and I are holed up at Logan Airport still writing estimates while we wait to board.
I wonder what it will be like there! I will certainly try to keep you posted..

prepare...

i just experienced 15 distinct emotions looking at these photos. and most of you know by now that emotion in't my style. I'm going to start a group called Friends Don't Let Friends Look At Photo's of Monkey's Nurturing Baby Kittens. 17 Beats (the party responsible for this morning's tearful excerpt) is the first member.

Saturday, after a pit stop at Casa de Mozzarella near Arthur Avenue, Nicolette and I got ran up to the Berkshires for a end of summer party at Ariella's. Feasting and flower arranging ensued..followed by a lovely rainy garden tromp in the morning. Some girls have all the luck.

exit through the bonsai room

Just another week. I found some figs - thanks to you readers...I'm starting my day slowly, shopping for a bathing suit on line. Hating on jcrew. Baubles.. are these still really happening? Been reading about Zarathustra and trying to get through my camera manual. Eric has been traveling a lot and I miss him. Last night I watched an episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. I made myself a Croque Monsieur with turnip pickles (Platter of Figs - do you have it? It's my favorite cookbook and the little turnip pickles are good) and tarragon mustard. I opened a bottle of Paumanok Cabernet Franc since the weather has turned chilly in New York. I got a hair cut that makes me look like a Muppet, so there's that too. My girlfriend tried to tell me it looks very "french," and referenced Chanel. So that's my new look...French Muppet.

looking for figs in brooklyn, flowers, cat

Yes, I made corn fritters this morning with mint and figs (fresh from my friends backyard. because apparently that happens, fig trees in NYC back yards - it's not just a myth) and it turns out that this is not the best combination - or that the mint will be omitted next time, perhaps substituted for another herb - or maybe i'll just leave it alone. Although corn fritters could go in the other direction - sour cream and chives. We'll see..

Anyway this is partially about a pretty breakfast that turned out to be sort of "meh" and partially about the fact that these figs in Jen's backyard are exactly what I NEED for an event next week - 100 of them to be exact. SO! Here's where you come in...if you have a fig tree in your backyard that's an overproducer lets trade flowers and or soap for those puppies. These fresh figs are lighter in color - more dusty grape than the inky purple - the later of which are found in food stores shipped from Califonia this time of year.

Also this is Shapesh, or "Poppers" who was staying with us last week. A little puddle of cat.

no one wants to see a dead koala bear.

At the BBG last weekend for Rachael's wedding I encountered this plum tree.

A tree so laden with fruit, it was almost unforgivable. No one can pick this fruit! Like a fruit tree behind thick plexiglass with a koala bear up it or something, except even the koala bear would have to adhear to the no-picking-the-fruit policy, and so it would be starved.

Did I ever tell you the time I tried to coax a gardener into letting me have a fallen magnolia branch bound for the wood chipper? There were most beautiful buds on this branch...torn off the tree by a thunderstorm...destined for mulch. Torture!

I digress..I've been oogling these photo's ever since, and thought if I had the time I'd make plum oatmeal bread. This is best with dark skinned Italian prune plums. [I'm not sure why I said that or if it's even true. You really can use whatever plums you have.]

Plum Oatmeal Bread adapted from the files of Susan Ryhanen*

preheat oven to 350 degrees

sift (as if!) 2 cups of flower;
3/4 cups of sugar
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom

Add:
1 cup of whole oats
1 cup of diced fresh plums plus a little more

Combine the following wet ingredients together, then stir into the dry/plum mix...
2 well beaten eggs
1 cup of milk
1/4 cup of canola oil

Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour.
Cool 10 minutes at least before inverting.

* "adapting" aka 1/4 teaspoon difference of cinnamon. aka adding cardamom or allspice to a banana bread recipe. aka changing 1 cup of half and half to 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup milk. I'm onto all your adapting food bloggers out there...I got you.