By now everyone, regardless of whether they follow horse racing or not, knows what happened at the Derby on Saturday. A filly with more heart than leg strength ran herself out trying to beat Big Brown, and had to be put down just moments afterward. I can say it has cast a pall over Louisville, […]
READ ONThe weathermen are saying there’s a decent chance of rain tomorrow, which might change things for you last-minute wagerers out there. Sloppy tracks mean fortune favors the “mudders”, i.e. horses that run well on wet ground. This year Visionaire is being touted as a mudder to contend with. Take it for what it’s worth.
READ ONIt’s 70, the sun is out, the flowers are in bloom and the mint juleps are pouring. Oh, and the horses are running, that too. Today is Oaks day, that being the day of the all-fillies “Oaks” race over at Churchill Downs. Oaks day was once upon a time ladies’ day at the track, however […]
READ ONThis morning was our annual crack-of-dawn family pilgrimage to Churchill Downs to inspect the entrants for this year’s Kentucky Derby. Everyone who knows me knows what an astute judge of horse flesh I am, so I can only hope you waited to call your bookie in anticipation of this late breaking baker-on-the-scene report. Actually I […]
READ ONLongtime reader a frequent commenter Sally C. remarks: I have to assume if one has a fruit tree in their yard that they know if they pick off the bloom to make an infusion, they will have no fruit there. Excellent point.
READ ONYou can make infusions. Which is to say you can extract the flavor and aroma of flowers using boiling water or steam. The result can be used as a component of a sorbet, a “fruit soup”, juice, jelly or sauce. An infusion, if it’s concentrated enough, can also be used in custard. The milder variety […]
READ ON…was the sort of fellow who wore a jacket to dinner every night in his own house. Not always a tie, but when he didn’t wear a tie his shirt was always buttoned right up to the top under a herringbone or houndstooth coat. He was a serious man, never lacking for a purpose, which […]
READ ONQuite a few, but by no means all. Some are actually poisonous, so it’s important to take care when selecting your blooms. Happily, quite a number of common varieties can be eaten, among them lilacs (one of my personal favorites), pansies, petunias, daisies (English), hollyhocks, nasturtiums, roses, tulips, honeysuckles, violets, hibiscus, orange and apple blossoms. […]
READ ONIt all boils down to water. Sugar is what’s known as a hygroscopic substance, which means it draws water molecules from the surrounding environment by absorption. Microbes like bacteria and fungi need water to metabolize, grow and reproduce, and sugar denies them that. Thus, even though a few microbes might be present on a candied […]
READ ONIf you want a dessert garnish that’s sure to knock your guests’ socks off this spring or summer, nothing does it better than candied flowers. Not only do they taste amazing (like flowers, only candy), they give anything they’re applied to a kind of elegant, homey, fussed-over touch. They take a little time of course, […]
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