this week’s reading challenge…

Tags

blogging, home, life, reading list, Virginia, winter

Ok dear followers. I have a reading list for you…simply type these three words into my search bar in the left hand column…ready? Type the thing about and press GO. Voila, numerous posts will appear and when you reach the bottom of each page, click “older posts” as there are about a dozen posts in this series.
Older posts are long-lost in this world of immediate and short attention spans…yet they still hold much fodder. Good fodder, not the kind that is chewed up and spat out. One can ponder these things…

Are you ready? This is the perfect reading assignment, especially if your weather continues to be a beast in your part of the world. Simply type the three words, click GO and gently scroll down (and click “older posts” when you reach the bottom.) Soon a rhythm will glide your finger and eyes…

I put a lot of effort into these the thing about posts and think that they need revisiting by readers, both old and new. Good as Silver & Gold, like friends.

So please, go find a sunny window, settle in, read and please comment. After all it is still winter in the US, and being a couch potato is fully permitted as long as we feed the brain, dream a bit, and sip warm beverages.

I await your comments. There will be a quiz next Thursday. 😉 Cheers, Diane

Posted on a sunny, cold winter day in central Virginia 2017.

mid summer delight ~ peach rosemary jam

Tags

artisan jams and chutneys, Blue Chair Jam Cookbook, harvest, harvest season, herb, jam, peaches, preserves, soulful experience, summer, yellow peaches

mid summer yellow peaches beg to be blanched and preserved

the peeling process after a quick blanch

squeeze lovely juice from peels

six pounds of prepared peaches ready for preserving

simmer, simmer, boil and bubble

resting peaches present foam that is skimmed off then remaining pulp is mashed and simmered again to set point or 220 F, adding six sprigs of fresh rosemary during the last five minutes

rosemary removed, jars filled and ready for lids and time in the oven to seal. This jam is pure heaven on just about anything!

This harvest season I give a nod to the Blue Chair Jam Cookbook for shifting my preserve process.
Most recipes are fruit, sugar, lemon, and time allowing simple ingredients to marry.
Rosemary was my addition here, as this herb kisses this fruit with a goodness we remember.

Have you tried your hand at preserves?
I promise it is a rewarding, soulful experience.
Currently on the prowl for figs—my concord grapes will soon ripen and they too will be transformed.

Update on fig prowl: My fruit prince surprised me with 15# of brown turkeys Saturday—he has connections.  So last Sunday I prepared the most elegant fig jam with fennel/gin infusion. Need I say more? Yes, for lunch today I had French Roquefort with fresh figs! She is dead and in heaven….

Copyright © 2013 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

FYI ~ going to arkansas

Tags

Arkansas, blog award, Garden Home Challenge, Garden2Blog2013, Moss Mountain Farm, P Allen Smith

winter in Albemarle

It is official. I would like to share some lovely news with my followers. P Allen Smith, TV host, author, brilliant garden designer, and lifestyle expert selected my blog home, garden, life as one of his Garden2Blog 2013 guests. I am invited by his wonderful staff for an all expense paid trip to Arkansas where I will have the marvelous opportunity to see both his city and farm residences the early part of May. There, during a two-day intensive, I will meet former selects of this honor and newbies like myself. This will be garden blogger heaven!

Invited this year to join P Allen Smith and his talented group of garden bloggers!

We will lunch at the Governor’s Mansion then tour Allen’s fabulous two homes—his city dwelling reclaimed and moved to its current site, Moss Mountain Farm, a sustainable Greek Revival home built by Allen on a six-hundred acre parcel above the Arkansas River, as well as the newly completed Moss Mountain cottage project featured in one-hundred fifty segments on YouTube this past summer.

Over the years Allen has inspired me in numerous ways. I so look forward to the intensive workshops scheduled for day two and I am confidant I will learn so much from the blogger forum. In advance I send thanks to all his people who are making this happen. Allen is a true steward in a multitude of ways, and it will be a pleasure to meet him in person.

Stay tuned as I will take a gazillion photographs to share when I return. In the meantime, check out P Allen Smith on the web at http://pallensmith.com or on Facebook.

Happy weekend to you all! And remember I told you first! 😉

Diane

a glitch at wordpress

Tags

blogging, followers, glitch at WordPress, notifications

Are you there?

Dear Followers of my blog,

I wondered why I rarely hear back from my many of you and finally inquired at WordPress—this is their response this morning:

I checked your account, and it had gotten flagged automatically (which prevents it from showing up in the Reader, to help protect our other users), but now that I’ve reviewed the site, I can see that this was a false positive. I’ve set your blog so that it won’t be accidentally flagged again. Your posts will now show up in the Reader!

Your viewers will need to visit their Blogs I Follow page and make sure to set their alerts for your blog to their preferences; they can choose to not receive any notifications, or to receive daily, weekly, or however else they would like.

Therefore, my dear followers, you may need to re-visit my site to catch up on all the missed posts!

Best to you all,

Diane LaSauce

Author of home, garden, life

Awards from sister bloggers

Tags

awards, beautiful blogger award, bloggers, Blogging Awards, myriad, sunshine award, the importance of feedback, women

as the roots of this tree thrive—

held steadfast through a myriad

of intricacies

we writers thrive through the comments of others

and the gifts they bestow upon us.

thank you sister bloggers for the following awards—

as scribed before, without the input of others

blogging would be a lonely place.

Sunshine Award bestowed upon me by:

http://wildinthepryors.wordpress.com

Bestowed upon me by Sharon at

http://aleafinspringtime.wordpress.com

Bestowed upon me by Miranti at http://highheelgourmet.wordpress.com

Please visit their magnificent blogs and always remember to leave a comment…;-)

Copyright © 2012 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

READ THIS FIRST

Tags

Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Explorer

I recently discovered that both Microsoft Explorer (IE) AND Google Chrome distort all my photographs in this blog. My recommendation is to view my blog using Mozilla Firefox browser (firefox.org) which is a free download.

OR if you only wish to use IE, please click “tools” and click the compatibility view and that should correct droopy/distorted photo images. Many thanks!

As hard as I work to produce an impressive blog, I cringe at the thought that Explorer and Chrome ruin my presentations.

Thanks for using Firefox as your browser, and no I do not work for Firefox!