22.5.13







violet season is over
but there are still some fragrant varieties in full bloom
and you don´t actually need the flowers in case you want to give this a try
the sirup does the trick
.
THE TIREDNESS OF ROSABELL
by Katherine Mansfield
.
her stories are unsettling
full of moodswings, lifes turned around in the blink of an eye
heavily scented with all kinds of flowers
slightly hysterical
they can make your heart break a little
so do watch out
.
drenched in London rain
milliner Rosabell dreams not only of delectable feasts
she also imagines a completly different life like the ones her clients lead
full of gleaming fires, maids, cozy boudoirs
completed by a dashing suitor
.
i felt so sorry for this hungry girl
wet and so exhausted she almost cried climbing up the stairs
comforting herself with beautiful stories
sleeping in this cold dull room
i wanted to bake something very luscious and extravagant for her
.
something like a four (dreadful) flights high haselnut cake
spread with hazelnut-chocolate cream
coverd in a violet and anis scented goat cream cheese frosting
.
and then i did something very unhealthy but utterly delicious
i put marshmallows and violet sirup in a cup of hot cocoa
made with chocolate, cocoa powder and goat milk
probably one of the craziest things i ever tasted
it could have come right from her dream
.
read this and almost all of Katherine Mansfield´s stories HERE
.
in case you want to bake this cake
here is the recipe for two layers only
it is really heavy and four layers are probably too much for real life
and in case you´re not intolerant to eggs
use any kind of cake batter with a bit of flour substituted with toasted ground hazelnuts
.
140 g spelt flour
50 g slightly toasted ground hazelnuts
1 tsp baking powder
75 g sugar
125 ml butter milk

mix the dried ingredients and add the milk
incoporate until you´ve got a silken runny cake batter
fill into a lined baking tin - about 22 cm diameter
bake at 175 degree celsius for about 25 min
until a tooth pick comes out clean

cream about 400g cream cheese with a few tsp of sugar
blueberry juice for colouring, crushed anis seeds and as much violet sirup as you like

when the cake is cool take it out of the tin
half it with a thin sharp knife
spread each layer with some hazelnut chocolate cream
frost it with cream cheese mixture

i used a butter knife and sometimes my fingers
since i´m not a pastry chef at all
 and if you have some on hand sprinkle with edible violets
.
thank you D for "lending" me your wonderful staircase
.
now i need some ideas to use up all that leftover violet sirup


21.5.13






it was my birthday last week
the 30th - sounds like a big deal, but i didn´t feel a thing
and it was full of such nice surprises
which made me tear up
but since i´m so very busy right now
(so busy i had to actually buy some cake instead of make one)
i´ll have to show them to you some other time
.
a sneak peak of a new PHOTO ESSAY i´m working on
i´ll probably post it tomorrow
.
a wedding necklace we made
based on the VARIOUS NECKLACE
.
green shoes - shiny green beetle
so much green outside
and so cold
planting carnations, pink sage and lots of mint varieties
.
this weekend - and a bit longer - i´m going to be in Berlin
attending THE HIVE and visiting my sister
is anyone coming, too?
also i´d love to hear some ideas on what to see there
thank you so much in advance







12.5.13



right after posting the dandelion crown last week
i found NINA´S dandelion syrup
of course i rushed out the next day
and picked 300 flowers
.
but i managed to break the tiny plate my grandmother gave to me
filled with VANILLA CRESCENTS right before she died
and chipped my favorite mixing bowl in the process
(i do have quite a few others, but this one had the perfect shape and size
and it was light blue on the outside)
also i cooked the syrup too long
so it´s more like candy now
.
the black cats took off a few months ago
but their mother is back now
got her neutered (trying to break free from the trap led to a scratched nose)
and now we do everthing together
she loves to be loved and sometimes cries when we´re not around
the oddest little creature, so haunted and so into being cuddled
one of her things is climbing into a tree and singing like a bird
.
topinambur is my new best enemy
i actually cry out in horror when i spot an other sprout
have to dug up whole beds to get rid of it
it´s not pretty
so whatever you do - do not ever not plant it in a pot
i would heve thrown it all away out of anger
but my garndmothers friend who planted it all over the garden (!!!)
loves it so much i had to pot some
.
PETALS - dear ALMA likes them, too
want to read everything on the EVENCLEVELAND BOOKCLUB tumblr
a nice post on THE SPHINX AND THE MILKY WAY about why we share our work









5.5.13











it seems Spring is all about primary and secondary colours in my garden
red, blue, green, yellow - and white
actually this is almost too much
i´ll have to damp them a bit in the future
particularly those horrifing red tulips
(last years TULIPS)
there are hundreds of them
being the pride of my grand and great grandmother
so it would be quite harsh to get rid of them
and relocating is the better option
maybe hiding behind an yew tree hedge
.
the forsythia is not mine
a stunningly huge shrub on a very busy street
.
TINY BOUQUET #34 PRIMARY COLOURS
.
had a "surprise" MRI this week
almost an hour of steady thumping and pounding
revealing a damaged spinal disc and one inflamated vertebra
which - for me - is good news
since two years ago there were three hurt vertebras
which means i´m healing and probably in a few more years
there will be just a little stiffness
due to the now unruly structure of the vertebras
yay
now i know head and back aches are not the symptoms of complicated rheumatic disease
but the side effect of a slightly slipped disc
.
made myself a dandelion crown afterwards
wearing the TRIANGLE NECKLACE
.
goat milk and yoghurt panna cotta inspired by this recipe from SMITTEN KITCHEN
with compote made of the sweetest and palest rhubarb i´ve ever seen
.
made another TINY BOUQUET #35 BLUE
apparently one of my great grandmother´s signature bouquets
were bunches of hyacinths
so i picked myself some from her still existing beds
.
tiny geraniums i cut and planted in January
yearning for Spring
a gift for my mom






2.5.13










we thought of posting a documentation on how PETAL PENDANTS are made
since there´s a very nice interview with the A-part of WSAKE in the new BRIGITTE
we couldn´t be more happy about it
.
here we go:
making PETAL PENDANTS is hard and sometimes dirty work
.
even though i´m a rather trained "sawer" now
after finishing one or two i have to take a little sawing break
since the material is so thick and hard to maneuver
W calls me the sawing master - now he has discovered one of the secrets:
i´m working standing up
and after over 50 years of experience he says it´s so much easier to do it this way
so in case there are some people out there working in the same field
give it a try:)
.
then there is rolling and forging
followed by filing
(also drilling when a silver chain should be added and brazing, too)
.
browning with foul smelling hepar sulfuris
.
finishing, lots of it 
.
we´re never working on more than three or four at once
(which is quite a big number for us)
since the process is so exhausting
but when those are done, we start over again