The Perfect Whipped Cream

During a recent cooking class, I learned the secret to the perfect whipped cream. While this may be obvious to some, to me the inclusion of a pinch of salt to your whipped cream recipe takes your end product from, "Oh, how nice" to, "Oh My God, I want to lick the plate". To me, the salt enhances the sweetness of the cream, even allowing you to cut down on the normal amount of sugar your recipe calls for. If you want to take your whipped cream all the way home, substitute brown sugar for powdered sugar. I like using the brown sugar because I think it gives the cream a more mellow sweet with lots of depth. Right now, I am really loving making my salted whipped cream to top fresh strawberries. 

On the gardening front, you will be happy to know that my tomatoes have started turning red faster than I can pick them. Unfortunately, because we have had such a wet spring, many of my tomatoes started cracking before I could pick them. Once a you can see the juicy part of a tomato, it really has to be thrown away. So far, I have had to toss about seven, half of my crop. Also, my plants are now infected with powdery mildew. Basically, they are in a really sad state right now, but they are still producing. I think this year I will try pulling them up mid-August and plant some fall tomatoes. Here, the fall lasts until almost December, so I should get a pretty good crop if I time it right. We'll see. 

I haven't talked about stitching in a while, but I haven't completely abandoned it either. I have now finished the pattern on one side of the fabric, and have started it again on the other side. It's going slower this time around, probably because I am slightly bored with it and busy with school work. I cannot wait to see what these look like as pillows. The only thing I am going to have to change on the finished portion is to remove the stem portion of the floral arrangement. This way, when I have two pillows siting next to one another on a bed, it will not look odd (as it would if both the pattern's stems were tilted in the same direction).

Sunflowers in my garden.

They're the mammoth variety, and are as tall as my windows!

Notice the Fibonacci Sequence?

Pretty periwinkles on the porch

Trying to stay motivated about school and my career in math. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…

Little Steps

Meet Danny. He's my latest edition to the menagerie of wildlife that have congregated around my home. I don't see him much during the week as I leave the house before the sun really hits the front porch. But, for two weekends in a row I have caught him bathing in the stifling late morning sun. I haven't quite figured out where in the yard he is living, but I look forward watching him grow.

In other news, today was not a great day in class. Everyday, we are put into groups of four and unfortunately I was placed next to the "obnoxious know-it-all". He is rather infamous, at least in my eyes, for immediately pouncing on anyone's mistake. Quickly he will point out how wrong you are. He is very socially awkward however, when he is not correcting you and I imagine this is why he decided to become a teacher. It, and the ministry, are some of the only professions where you can command a certain amount of respect even in the most insignificant of positions. Anyway, I guess he had his eye on me today, because I gave a wrong answer in my group and he made it very clear not only was I wrong, I was so wrong. To my own horror, while this was going on I could feel my whole face turning red in shame. Then I was just mad. Mad that I had let this gap-toothed oaf make me feel embarrassed. Just proof that there are awful people everywhere. The only thing you can do is take a breath and keep moving forward. Despite my own doubts about my future, I have to remember that my doubts wont help me get where I want to go.

Musings From Pershing Cottage

A retrospective. Below is a photo of my house about a year ago when I purchased it. 

This is a photo of the house today.

Notice those cute blue planters? Scroll down for a quick tutorial.

 The garden is full of activity these days. The tomatoes are still going strong, but I have yet to have one turn red yet. Also, because we have had a few days of unusually heavy rainfall lately, my some of my tomatoes are suffering from blossom end rot. Basically, the bottom of the tomato rots on the vine, while the top continues to mature. Of course, the tomato is not edible at this point. I pulled off all the effected fruit, but to be on the safe side, I'll spray them with some calcium tomorrow evening. All this rain may have effected the nutrients in the soil.

 Look at this big molly! I keep chanting, "Turn red, red, red" hoping to inspire it.

Just enough okra for one!

The okra blossom is actually very similar to the hibiscus blossom. It will open and close in the course of one day so you really have to watch your plants if you are interested in getting photos of them.

The green beans have been my favorite plant this year, by far. I love that they are constantly producing, and low maintenance, these will definitely have a permanent place in the garden.

Quick Tiered Terra Cotta Pot Tutorial

Supplies Needed:

1. Terra cotta pots in three sizes (I made 2 tiered pots so I needed 6 pots total)

**I suggest buying three pots not close in sequential size. The bigger difference between pot sizes, the more room you will have to plant.

2. Paint (Acrylic, Spray, or Professional)

**I used Valspar Ultra Paint + Primer hoping to prolong the life of the paint on the pots

3. 1 Paint brush, or 2 if you are doing two tones (None if using spray paint)

4. 2 Dowel Rods

5. Soil

6. Plants

7. Time

Beginning with your blank pots, paint the portion of the pot below the rim in the lighter of the two colors.

 You can either create a sloppy line….

 Or a neat line…

 I found it really didn't matter much in the long run. The smoothness of the lighter color line didn't help me while I was applying the darker color to the rim.

I decided to even paint the bottom, as I thought it looked more professional.

I also painted the interior of the terra cotta water trays the lighter color.

Again, a sloppy line. What can I say, it was getting HOT outside and I was about useless.

My first attempt at the dark blue rim. The edge is way less than neat. If you are a first time painter, like myself, do not despair at this point! The line painting will get easier!

 Attempt number two. See!

 The best technique I found for creating a smooth-ish line was as follows. First, using short, downward strokes, create a "sketch" of the line for the darker color.

 Then, with a small bit of color on the end of your brush, pull the paint in one smooth stroke across a section of the rim. I found I could cover a whole rim repeating these two steps three times.

Then, just fill it in. I went ahead and painted the rim of the interior too.

Let dry.

Now, we're ready to plant! 

Fill the pot with soil up to the bottom rim.

Add the second pot to the first, then push your dowel rod through both pots all the way to the bottom. Push the second pot into the soil to make an visual template for where to plant your flowers/herbs.

Once the flowers are planted, replace the second pot on top taking care to move the flowers out of the way of the pots path. (No crushed petals, please!)

Repeat.

Repeat again.

TahDah!!!

Yes, the dowel rods on my pots do still show. I will have to get a saw to cut them off. In the mean time, I am just going to stick some American flags right in front of them, being that is 4th of July time and all. 

Kitty outtakes:

Who is in my pot??

Oh! Hello sleepy Annie.

Frankie can never stand to be left out of the fun.

Ollie just wants his late night slumber in peace.

The sunflowers have started popping up in the garden, so I thought I would share a photo with you.

Final Thoughts:

I send a special thank you out to my British family for sending me such a wonderful Christmas/Easter/Summer package. It was full of the most wonderful treats, and really made me miss England. I promise I will be there next summer. If for nothing more than to enjoy the strawberries from the allotment! Wishing you love.