The Auberge of the Flowering Hearth

One of my favorite cookbooks is "The Auberge of the Flowering Hearth" by Roy Andries de Groot. I heard it was one of Alice Waters favorites...so I had to check it out. On the front cover it reads " This cookbook is a whole way of life. What care, love and work have gone into it. I find it fascinating. I think people would just love it, as it is not like anything else around." - Julia Child

Inside in Chapter 3 it reads" On the floor of the valley,in the ring of the arena, rich green pastures surrounded the now-quiet river, with miniature herds of cattle and sheep. And, in the very center of the ring, with wisps of bluish wood smoke rising from its cottage chimneys, was the tiny village of Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse.From the wooden gate, the flagstone path led through the roadside front garden, with lilac and rose bushes, geraniuims and hydrangea. We were met at the front door by two ladies who own and run the auberge. There was a small hand lettered sign above the door: Auberge De L'Atre Fleuri."

In the book there is a chapter called "The Glory of the Potato."

Tonight for supper I am going to cook a piece of ham and I am serving these potatoes.

Casserole Of Potatoes In Cream
(Gratin Dauphinois)

New potatoes, boiled with the skins left on and sliced about 1/2 inch thick
Sweet Butter
Cream
Sea Salt
Black cracked pepper
Gruyere Cheese

Layer the potatoes in a buttered casserole dish
Add a splash of cream, a dollop of butter,some salt and pepper and the Gruyere cheese
Make one more layer and top it off with grated Gruyere
Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 to 35 minutes or till hot and bubbly

I am serving these with the sauteed ham, pocketbook rolls and mandarin oranges

Good Bye February...Hello March

Good Bye February.....Hello March.... hey everybody..February is almost gone...and you know what that means.....SPRING ! I have a little daffodil update for you today. Remember those daffodils I got the other day..well, look what greeted me this morning as I walked downstairs to make tea. THESE beauties. They opened overnight in my kitchen window. While we were all asleep under a full moon...the daffodils opened.The white ones are from my garden. We had a pretty good thunderstorm yesterday morning and it knocked the life out of these outside, so I clipped them and brought them in to add to my daffodils. The little cardboard easter chickie is old, i have a collection of them across my piano, but i put this one up in the window...she just looks so Springy... the little spun wool rabbit is old too..i also collect those.Can you see the row of clay pots through the screen? I just hung that windowsill container on the fence the other day. It is very shady there but I am going to plant some impatiens in the pots. I saw some in the Burpee catalog called Candy Box. I have ordered them before and the colors really do like they are out of a candy box.The vine is a morning glory..I can't wait till is starts to bloom.... how many days till Spring?

Daffodils and Lemon Chicken

My mom used to make a turkey breast from julia that she roasted under a piece of parchment paper. And it was good. So I have taken this idea and re-arranged it. I love the lemon chicken out of my Rao's cookbook, but he uses pieces of chicken. I like roasting a chicken that has had the backbone removed and has been flattened out. And right here is where i wonder if i should take a pass on getting the backyard brown hens this spring and naming them. do you know where i am going on this? i think you do. anyway, i went and got a good kosher chicken this morning and while i was at the market i scored and got some Meyer lemons. i have a ton of italian flat leaf parsely coming up all over my garden from where it reseeded itself from last summer.so i thought about getting the chicken and doing the rao's marinade, flattening it like i like, and roasting it on the parchment paper. The marinade is simple. just the Meyer lemon juice, the good olive oil from my friends ellis and susie bassetti, it is from their olive trees up in paso robles, the variety of olive is called "taggiasca". it was a gift from them at christmas and it truely is pedestal worthy. along with the lemon juice and olive oil i just add some chopped italian parsley and some pink sea salt. i am hooked on this sea salt. you can get it at trader jo's. my real favorite salt is the flaked one from wiliams-sonoma called Maldons..but at 16 bucks for a tiny box...well,that stuff is reserved for special occassions.so i came home and worked over that chicken and have it marinating right now. at supper i will turn the oven on to a pretty high heat..400 degrees i think and let it roast till it's brown and done..about 45 to 50 minutes. bbqing it would be even better...but we are waiting for rain...so no bbq . not tonight anyway.... and the daffodils are in my kitchen window...still in the bud. the little cream bottle says 'morning,noon and night'...how much do you love that?

I Never Left

We never left home. I really don't know what to say...I just hope that most of my dear friends have pets...cause the reason we never left was Buddy. Problem number 1. As some of you know back in December he was diagnosed with a collapsed trachea.And most of the time he is just fine. But he started coughing...and to be perfectly honest with you, I couldn't leave him.My brother Mark and his wife Julie were coming to stay..they have done it before and they do a great job, but this was different. I just would have been too worried. Problem number 2 was our destination. We had decided on Lake Tahoe...but a huge storm is due to blow in the day we were due to leave and to make it home it would mean driving on Interstate 5...known as The Grapevine in California and it is no fun. It runs up and down the center of the state and it is a very dangerous road even in good weather....so now I am laying awake at 3 in the morning wondering what would happen to Buddy and Whiskey and Dande and Pixie and Mumbie, not to mention my hummingbirds, doves,goldfinches,Tony the blue jay and all the other assorted critters that depend on me. What if we crashed...oh, I have to tell you I was making myself crazy. So we skipped the trip. We'll wait for another time.It just didn't feel right. I did not want to go. So instead, I went to the yarn shop here in downtown San Luis and am taking a knitting class. I am so excited about it. The lady, Anne got me started yesterday afternoon, but the class is tomorrow at 10. It is for making a pair of pretty fingerless gloves. You use 4 needles, number 2, very tiny... Anne got me going ...and I think I am getting it. Buddy is fine, it was just a scare,but I couldn't leave him behind. There was no way. So we're home, knitting, waiting for rain and holding Buddy close.
I am gonna say it.....I really did miss all of you and our visits and am I glad to be HOME.

Time Off

Hello my sweets....we are taking a few days off and hitting the road. Not really sure where we're headed.Wherever the wind blows, I guess...I'll be back towards the end of February ...I'll bring the camera and take pictures for sharing when I get back...I'll miss you all and I look forward to being back with all of you soon.....sending love, Kary

Rainy Night In Little Italy

It is raining here today in San Luis Obispo. But my heart is in Little Italy....San Francisco.

i want to be right downtown..... with the sound of cablecars clackity clacking along the tracks...pigeons cooing from the rooftops,rain soflty falling, and the sweet scent of pastry wafting from the italian bakeries....

after i posted about that bakery, all thoughts went to being there. in The City as we call it out here in california. today i am pretending that i am in little italy in a small upastairs tiny apartment. i have just made my way home from the molinaris deli down on columbus avenue and have bought a couple of cans of San Marzano tomatoes and a nice big piece of parmesano reggiano cheese. for the sauce i will simply saute up some yellow onions and celery in olive oil, add the tomatoes, a little chicken stock,some thyme,parsely and oregano that is coming up all over in the garden and let the whole thing simmer gently on my stovetop. just before serving it I will add a nice big dollop of soft organic butter from petuluma..just up the coast..making sure it barely melts and top off the pasta with the parmesan...and to go with it....focaccia. but this time i am making it from my Rao's cookbook. it is the one i always make. it has 1/2 cup instant mashed potatoes in it.i have no idea why. it is a great recipe that i am happy to share. so the sauce is simmering, Buddy is snoozing, the rain is falling gently in the garden and the focaccia is rising on the drainboard.We will open a bottle of red wine, build a fire and eat...in our little apartment..in little italy tonight. ciao, my friends

Farmers Market Saturday

our farmers market was this morning and i really didn't need produce, but it was such a beautiful morning i just felt like getting out and smelling the air. and look what i found. pink tulips and white hydrangeas. the little bare branches are apricot branches leftover from when john pruned our bleinheim apricot trees last saturday. the room is where i blog.if you look closely on the left hand side, on the stack of books...you'll see a black and yellow book...it's a copy of blogger for dummies. i need all the help i can get.