Over the past five months or so, I’ve watched the angle of the summer sun flatten and slowly lose its dimension until the earth lay silent and still under the graceful shadow of winter light.  It’s an expected, anticipated cycle that comes with the passage of seasons.  A time to move slowly finding comfort and renewal indoors instead of out.

But in the garden, especially for the roses, these are the days when I move with intent.  Taming the prickly canes that have stretched to seek sunlight amidst the blur of winter’s shadow, removing the weathered, brittle leaves that barely cling from summer past, tending to the damp blanket of leaves that has accumulated beneath the rose bushes most sheltered from the whipping winter wind.  It’s a lot of work to restore order to 40 rose bushes, but it’s part of the cycle that continually circulates like a wheel bringing about growth, change and renewal with great certainty and predictability.  I enjoy the hope that it brings.

The garden, now pruned and formal, remains dark and quiet.  But ready.  Ready to receive the emerging spring sun.  Ready to become light and full of possibility.

The cycle is repeating, dictating every change with its movement.  Each hour, each minute different than the one before.  And waiting for the next is often the hardest part.  But there is no way to rush or cut into the cycle, to pick one part over another and leave the rest.  No.

You must savor each slice and enjoy each part of the sequence.

From the moment I start cooking something for a blog post, I begin to think about how I want to style it, often sketching out something onto the recipe itself or on a separate piece of paper if room doesn’t permit.  And while I’m making pictures along the way, words and snippets of thought to be included in the post freely move about in my head like internal dialogue in a comic strip.  I’m so in the moment, trying to achieve the shots I want, that I don’t take time to jot down my thoughts.  Multi-tasking while in my creative mode isn’t something I’m particularly interested in.  I’ve come to realize this isn’t the best way to roll because days may go by before I’m able to sit down and actually write the post.  It’s often hard to get that word mojo back while trying to connect the thoughts that linger in my memory.  Of course this is with the assumption that the words and snippets are still there and haven’t been replaced by a million and one other parcels of life that have been grouped under the heading of “distractions.”

Quite often I wish to be the kind of person capable of keeping the spigot at an even flow, accruing things in a manner of degrees rather than all at once.  But I’m not that kind of person.  And I’m not so naive to think that I really have all that much control over the majority of what is often perceived as being thrust upon me – that which makes me choose between this blog and my family. There really is no choice as far as I’m concerned, just a commitment to act as quickly as possible and get back to where I left off.

So I look to my photos for inspiration and try to recover my misplaced direction.  It also really helps to step outside on a winter day and be greeted with near 80-degree temps.  Typically this kind of summer-in-winter weather pattern disappoints me but some days it appears as a gift, especially when I need to be reminded of the warm, distraction-free days of last October when all that stood between me and relaxation was paradise and a small bag of Hawaiian coconut candy.

I’d love to say that our unseasonably warm weather along with the photos brought all of my thoughts right back where I’d left them, but they didn’t.  Too much time has passed and too many life circumstances have directed me elsewhere.  All I am left with is the memory of sweetened, caramelized, crunchy coconut shavings  – any remaining bits of which have also disappeared with the passage of time.

So rather than fight time I’m going to surrender to it, accepting that it is better to pick up the other coconut that sits on my kitchen counter and get back to where I left off .

I consider it the sweetest of all distractions.

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe, California

I have been unsuccessful with roasted cauliflower.  And I don’t know why.  Maybe I skimped on the olive oil needed during roasting.  Maybe I didn’t roast it long enough or at a high-enough heat to get that characteristic roasted nuttiness.  Maybe I didn’t break up the florets to the right size so they’d roast evenly.  Who knows.  But I’ve never been able to achieve that same roasted flavor or texture I experienced when I roasted asparagus, broccoli or green beans.   Cauliflower is definitely different than those other vegetables and it doesn’t have much flavor on its own, but it didn’t seem impossible.  Yet after a few mediocre results (even when I added Parmesan cheese to it), I gave up on it for awhile thinking my expectations may be a bit lofty for this vegetable.

But on a recent trip to the farmers market, I came across purple, green and orange cauliflower all stacked together, and I couldn’t resist.  The bright colors leaped out at me, and I knew I needed to get to the bottom of this desire for roasted cauliflower once and for all.  I was envisioning nutty, roasted cauliflower with crispy bacon and little bits of Gorgonzola cheese to serve alongside beef or chicken.  So I set out to give the cauliflower a head start with a flavor boost from a quick trip into a pot of chicken stock.  I let it boil for a few minutes before I quickly broke it into florets, tossed it with olive oil and put it under the broiler to get as much color on it as possible without turning it to mush.

I put the cauliflower into a bowl and used a knife to cut the florets into bite-sized pieces, added some crumbled bacon and Gorgonzola, and some thinly sliced shallots.  From the outset I had my doubts thinking the step to add flavor may have made the cauliflower softer than I would have normally enjoyed.  But I went with it and added a some seasoning.

It was just okay and I was somewhat uninspired at that point.  I resigned myself to thinking it wasn’t going to be the way I had hoped and I had other things to get to, so I put the cauliflower into a smaller container, drizzled some olive oil, red wine vinegar and a squirt of lemon over the top, covered it up and stuck it in the refrigerator until the next day when I would have more time to figure out what I was going to do with it.

But when I tasted it the next day, it tasted just like potato salad.  I was actually kind of surprised that it tasted as good as it did considering my lackluster impression the day before.  After a quick Google search, I saw that I was not the first one to make this low-carb discovery. There are many variations on cauliflower faux potato salad, and I was obviously late to the party.  But that didn’t stop me from wanting to share my colorful version, which I think really helps to make it more appealing.

You could add some of the more typical additions like mayonnaise and hard-boiled eggs, but I left it as it was to keep the flavors intact and the calories manageable. And honestly, I didn’t miss the mayo at all.  Think of it like a colored cauliflower chopped salad with all the flavors of potato salad minus the hefty calorie count.  I know this will be a definite make again salad especially in the summer when warm days call for lighter fare.

I know we’re all supposed to be starting the New Year off right with a renewed sense of mindful eating and physical fitness, and here I am showing up with an ice cream post.  In January no less.

But I have a pulse and feel it’s more important to not deprive oneself of the little joys in life.

So when someone in my household, who shall remain nameless,  leaves the cookie jar open and turns the last remaining box of my beloved Trader Joe’s Peppermint Jo-Jo’s (a slightly better – and by that I mean I can pronounce the ingredients on the label – holiday version of and Oreo)  into a slightly stale and less-than-appealing snack for a mint-chocolate lover such as myself,  I am left with no other choice than take matters into my own hands.

Since I couldn’t let the last of these seasonal triumphs go to waste, I did what needed to be done without any regard for those who may actually follow the New Year’s rule:  I made ice cream.  Glorious, homemade creamy peppermint cookies and cream ice cream.  Studded with crushed candy canes.  Candy canes, I might add, that I may have borrowed without asking from a certain nameless member of my household.

So turn away if you must;  I’ll completely understand.  But moderation is definitely where it’s at.

A straight-out-of-the-camera shot taken just outside of Independence, California along Highway 395

© 2010-2012 Lemons and Lavender

I have always been a very cookbook-dependent cook.  And like so many others, I too have spent countless hours reading cookbooks like novels, familiarizing myself with recipes to the extent that there are no questions when I set out to make them.  I enjoy it and have been doing so since I was a kid.  My mom had a series of thin kitchen encyclopedias that I would periodically grab and thumb though before going to bed.  That pattern hasn’t really changed much today and my bedside is like a mini library that is continually rotated between the cookbooks I move down to the kitchen and those that I take up to bed (when I can actually stay awake long enough to read).

I enjoy the challenge of being able to recreate a recipe I’ve had at a restaurant or heard about without seeing a recipe.  It builds up my kitchen confidence a bit, and I’ve been doing it more and more.  It’s also a really good exercise in paying attention to the flavors that cross your palate, picking up on the subtleties of certain components and using your kitchen know-how to bring it together.

It’s liberating to cook without a recipe, and a struggle at times to remember to stop and write it down as I go.  I don’ t always do that when I’m throwing dinner together.  And wouldn’t you know, when I go back and recreate one of my own creations, I can’t get it to be as good as it was the first time I made it.

That wasn’t the case with this dish.  And in all honesty, I had a bit of a leg up on this one.  A friend of mine had something similar at a restaurant, recreated it and made it for me last Superbowl Sunday right after I created a  Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Lemon, Walnuts and Shaved Parmesan salad.  Wanting to make it right away, I held off until Brussels sprouts came back into season.  Whether it be an appetizer, a light lunch or a side dish with dinner, this Charred Brussels Sprout Leaves and Almonds recipe has been getting a lot of play at my house lately.

It’s a healthy recipe that hits all the right buttons in the flavor department.

The key is to peel off the leaves of the Brussels sprouts – you won’t be able to get them all, so focus on the outer leaves and stop when you’ve reached the yellow center of the sprout – and then saute the heck out of the leaves until they’re charred in spots.  (I prefer mine to be charred more than the images show.) Add in garlic and slivered almonds along the way, but don’t burn them because that would turn the beautiful nuttiness you’re achieving into a bitter disappointment.  The addition of lemon zest and juice at the end brightens everything up and really rounds out all of the flavors in the way that lemon always does.  I added the pomegranate arils more for visual effect and to pretty-up the darkness of the dish, but I admit that I kind of liked the pop of their sweet-tartness.

Have fun with this one.  And try it out on those who say they don’t like Brussels sprouts.  It’ll take some creative talk on your part, but I bet they’ll change their mind after trying this.

I hope you all had a wonderful  holiday season filled with the warmth, love and laughter of family and friends.

With the New Year having a full week under her belt, it feels like we’re off to a good start.  I’m refreshed after the hustle and bustle of the holidays.  The slate is clean and a relatively empty calendar lay before me with many ideas, hopes and goals to fill each day.  I have to be careful though.  I am notorious for taking on more than I should and convincing myself that I can get it all done.  Once I start having to juggle one thing around to accommodate another, I’m in trouble.  It seems to spiral from there, so I have quite a bit of weekly “housekeeping” to do to make sure I keep everything on track.  I’ve definitely got my work cut out for me.

When it comes right down to it, I have a hard time pacing myself.  I have so many interests and want to try so many things, but there isn’t enough time to do it all.  Sometimes it feels like I am back at work, running from one thing to the next and putting out fires, but I don’t have the luxury of an assistant like I did then.  And frankly, I quit working to get away from that frenetic pace.  So when my life takes on that dimension, I have to stop, reevaluate and begin to look for ways to either shed the baggage or completely refocus my priorities.

So in between the holiday chaos I did just that.  I spent some time considering what I needed to do to get back to those days when I was more consistent with my blog posts.  Admittedly, it takes me quite a bit of time to style a shot, shoot it, edit it, compose my thoughts, and carve out segments of time to write in between tossing in loads of laundry or running errands.  That doesn’t even take to into account the time needed to visit and comment on other blogs, manage email accounts, Facebook pages, a Twitter account, an Instagram account, and a Pinterest account.  In between all of that I’m supposed to be a mother, a wife, a cook, and maintain a home and a healthy, active lifestyle (read: exercise).  Toss in holidays, vacations, seasonal gardening, amongst other things, and this blog often gets pushed to “tomorrow.”

But tomorrow is a thief; one that is very comfortable stealing today.

I’ve had to take a realistic look at what ultimately brings me the greatest happiness.  Aside from my family and friends, it is this creative process that I share with you.  This blog is the puzzle piece that completes the creative fulfillment quotient I so desperately wanted when I quit working years ago.  My heart and soul are on these pages and it means so much to me to be able to express myself creatively with those who visit and take the time to comment.  As a result, my focus has to be here, on these pages, more so than on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.

I guess you could say I’m getting back to the basics.

And I know that’s why I fell hard for this Steamed Cranberry Pudding with Vanilla-Orange Sauce when I first saw it in one of my older cookbooks over a year ago.  But I missed the opportunity to try the recipe last year and wasn’t about to let another cranberry season slip through my fingers.  I know I’m pushing it as it is, but I’m hopeful you’ve stashed a few bags of cranberries in your freezer like I do every year because this is one worth making over and over again.

Steamed puddings are new to me and this one couldn’t have been easier to prepare.  With a short ingredient list and a no-fuss, no-fancy-gadgets-kind-of-thing going on, it’s about as basic as you can get even though it sounds and looks fancy.  I love that you don’t need an oven to cook it in – you only need a large pot and a spot on the stove – which makes a steamed pudding perfect for those times when oven space is at a premium (or when your oven is broken and awaiting a replacement part as mine recently was).  On its own, the steamed pudding wasn’t much to speak of outside of its characteristic stickiness and quite honestly the color of the batter was visually unappealing.  But when the buttery sweetness of the warm vanilla-orange sauce soaked into the crevices of the steamed cranberry pudding, the ugly duckling transformed into a beautiful swan.

This is meant to be shared with good friends.  It doesn’t really get any more basic than that, does it?

Buying information for pudding molds: I have Mason Cash pudding basins in size 48 (approximately 2 cup capacity per bowl).  They were given to me by a friend but Pacific Merchants sells a slightly smaller size (42) that should work but you may have to decrease the cooking time as a result.  There are additional sources that sell 48′s but most are located in the UK.

By December 1st , I’m in full-blown holiday mode.  Aside from holiday decorating, shopping lists and wondering how I’m going to get two camera-avoiding adolescents to pose for a family picture, I begin to narrow down the selections for my holiday baking and plan out my goodie baskets to be shared with neighbors, friends and teachers.

I’ve got my work cut out for me.  So as you might imagine, I’m looking for ways to get the most out of my holiday baking without having to painstakingly hover around the oven shifting cookie sheets every 11 to 13 minutes.  It kind of goes without saying that there will be some of that, because how can you not make cookies over the holidays?  But my biggest asset and time saver will come by way of quick breads; they are sure to fill up a good portion of my goodie baskets.

And do I have a great recipe to share with you!  But I need a favor from you first.  Here’s what I need you to do:

• Please head over to the Facebook pages of Bob’s Red Mill and California Olive Ranch and “like” them.
• While you’re on the California Olive Ranch page, please scroll down until you see the post from Lemons and Lavender on their wall.  (As the contest progresses, you may have to scroll through all of their daily updates to find mine.  Sorry about that.)
• I would love it if you would click “like” where you see my post for Iced Sweet Potato and Orange-Spice Loaf.  I might win some prizes if I get a lot of likes.
• Feel free to share this contest with your own Facebook friends, but asking them to like my recipe would be up to you.
• The contest closes at the end of the day on December 8th, so hurry over.  Thank you!

Back in October, the wonderful people at Bob’s Red Mill and California Olive Ranch reached out to me about using their products in a Facebook recipe contest to show how we can “Bake A Better Holiday” by using whole grain or gluten-free flours and olive oil instead of butter.  Even though I have been approached by other brands previously, I have turned them all down because I am really picky about the products I use.  So when two companies who share my passion for knowing where your food comes from reach out to me, I am enthusiastically on board.  And it has been a pleasure to work with them.  I personally consider their products to be top-notch and they are easily found at most grocery stores.   You can read more about each company and where to find their products by clicking here and here.

I am not unfamiliar with Bob’s Red Mill as I have been recipe testing with their flours in my kitchen since I made contact with them at the BlogHer Conference last May.  Their variety and commitment to quality is something that brings me back to them over and over again.  California Olive Ranch was new to me before this process, and they have won me over with their mild and buttery extra virgin olive oil.  When I tasted the olive oil for the first time, I was assembling all of my ingredients for the first recipe testing.  The aroma of freshly zested orange was in the air and I was immediately impressed with the mild and velvety flavor that seemed to pick up on the scent of citrus wafting around the room.  When I tasted the olive oil another time, I was quickly reminded of that velvety, smooth flavor but this time I picked up on the characteristic hint of banana.  What I’m getting at here is this olive oil will easily adapt to the sweet or savory flavors we find ourselves drawn to in baking, and it will not overpower them.

Bob’s Red Mill gave me full range of their product line to choose from and I selected their whole wheat pastry flour for this recipe.  California Olive Ranch also gave me two of their products to choose from and their mild and buttery extra virgin olive oil from olives grown at Artois Ranch in California was a natural choice.

When I was deciding on a recipe, I knew I wanted to use sweet potatoes and orange zest  to make a loaf cake (or quick bread, if you will) that was flavorful without being too greasy, too crumbly or too dry.  After about four attempts, I had the recipe just where I wanted it.  I focused on three crucial ingredients and methods for bringing them together to produce a loaf cake I would be happy with: choosing baked and mashed sweet potatoes over peeled and grated, raw sweet potatoes, choosing a 50/50 combination of BRM’s whole wheat pastry flour and unbleached all purpose flour over whole wheat pastry flour alone (whole grain flours tend to be more absorbent and my initial results were good but resulted in a loaf that was a bit too crumbly) and choosing to slowly stream the COR olive oil into the eggs in my mixer (in much the same way one would do when making vinaigrette-type salad dressings) over pouring the olive oil in all at once.  Perhaps I didn’t need to be so picky about the process to incorporate the the olive oil, but I wanted to it to be fully combined with the eggs rather than have pockets of oil rising to the batter’s surface.

I have to say, this Sweet Potato and Orange-Spice Loaf has passed the test with some very discriminating taste testers namely me and my family and close friends.  Believe me, they never fail to tell me if something isn’t good.  And by the way this files off my kitchen counter,  I’m convinced that it has universal appeal with children and adults.  I know I’ve created something that has the indulgence of a holiday sweet loaf but with a healthier twist.  Friends, I really think you’re going to love this one as much as I do.  I can’t wait to include it in my holiday gift baskets, and I hope you do too.

Please don’t forget to head over to California Olive Ranch’s Facebook page and like my recipe!

Disclosure: I was neither compensated for nor asked to provide this review, but I was provided with complementary flour and olive oil to use for the purpose of this contest.  My thoughts expressed herein are completely my own.