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Rose Geranium Cake

By Allison

rose geranium cakeThe Kentucky Derby has come and gone, and today is Mother’s Day.  What plans do you have for your garden this year?  The harvest of my beloved yet modest patio garden makes its way to bright, summer dishes and iced tea garnishes.  The last few years I have made a spot for a gracious, yet spindly rose geranium.  Scented geraniums are simultaneously old-fashioned and trendy.  My favorite greenhouse sells not only rose geraniums, but chocolate mint geraniums, lime geraniums, and cinnamon geraniums.  How to choose?

I usually settle for my standard rose geranium.  When I am on my patio, I unfailingly rub a leaf between my thumb and forefinger, releasing a sweet and subtle rose scent.  I love my rose geranium for this kinetic and olfactory interaction, and I also love to make rose geranium cake.  This generous cake is dense and moist. Thin ribbons of geranium leaves lend texture and a gentle floral flavor, deepened by rose water.  I serve this cake with Ceylon teas, which are not too assertive and allow the cake to shine.

Rose Geranium Cake

Created by on May 12, 2019

rose geranium cake This refreshingly old-fashioned recipe comes from Shelley and Bruce Richardson’s A Tea for All Seasons.  I have made small modifications.  I have found that different brands of rose water vary in strength, so tread lightly, especially when making your glaze.  The 1/4 tsp rose water I use in the glaze is conservative.  Add more if...

Ingredients

Cake

  • 5 rose geranium leaves, chopped in chiffonade
  • 1/4 tsp. mace
  • 2 tbsp. rose water
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 c sour cream
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. fine-grained salt
  • 3 c all-purpose flour
  • 6 eggs, beaten
  • 2 1/2 c sugar
  • 1 c butter, room temperature plus extra for greasing pan

Glaze

  • 1 c confectioners' sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. rose water

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Grease tube pan with butter.
  3. Mix dry ingredients with a whisk in medium-sized bowl. Set aside.
  4. Using electric beaters or stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add beaten eggs and mix until incorporated.
  5. Add about 1/3 of dry ingredients to batter, alternating with sour cream, until all dry ingredients and sour cream are incorporated.
  6. Add vanilla and rose water. Mix well.
  7. Fold in rose geranium leaves.
  8. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Do not over bake. Cool in pan for 30 minutes, then remove.
  9. To ice cooled cake, combine confectioners' sugar and rose water and spread over top of cake.

What lasts from generation to generation?

By Allison

;ink roses oil paintingThis week’s flames at Notre-Dame de Paris sunk us into collective grief and then unified us in hope, as we learned that much of the structure and most of the art had been saved.  Many Gothic cathedrals have been lost to flames, but in their grace we forget their fragility.

Notre-Dame has stood on Paris’ Île de la Cité for the better part of 1,000 years.  Having almost lost her, it is both sobering and gratifying to consider the cultural artifacts that last from generation to generation.  So little survives:  works of literature (many of them fragments), examples of religious sculpture, a little music, sacred buildings in varying states of disrepair.  We hold on to these traces of western cultures, but to what end?  Might it be better for us to loosen our grip on these tangible bits of our heritage?

Like many other French cathedrals, Notre-Dame de Paris honors the Virgin Mary.  The most venerated feminine figure in the Christian tradition, she symbolizes a compassionate feminine power.  Divine figures of other traditions represent this same quality—Guanyin and Tara in Buddhism and the goddess Kali in Hinduism, to name but a few.  The sacred spaces we erect in their honor frame and focus the universal energy that we attribute to the divine, feminine figures.  Sacred spaces help us to access these figures and the invisible power we’ve given to them.

Their energy is eternal though intangible.  Do we even need to honor Mary, Kali, Guanyin, and other feminine figures with special spaces?  Of course we do.  But let us embrace the constantly changing nature of scared spaces.  Cathedrals will crumble or burn.  The generative emptiness they leave will make way for new or altered sacred structures.

And let’s remember that although places like Notre-Dame de Paris can change the course of our spiritual lives, the protective power of the Virgin Mary is by no means contained within a building. The knowledge that moves from generation to generation is indiscernible to the eye and revealed in the soul.  Having grown up Catholic, I have always felt connected to Mary, but not because of a church.  The rose is my most personal, profound reminder of Mary.  Her flower is recalled in cathedrals’ rose windows, but for me the rose is entwined with family, with a Catholic upbringing, and with womanhood.  I see roses everywhere, and Mary’s flower is always sure to unlock the healing, compassionate energy she embodies.

Inspirations

Another magnificent cathedral:  Notre-Dame de Chartres

Clearing Space and evening walks

Rewriting a Symphony in Stone, by Summer Brennan

Buy Vintage, Save Money

By Allison

limoges stacked teacupsDuring a recent visit to a Central Kentucky flea market, I overheard a mother instructing her children:  “These are antiques, so they are three times as expensive.  Don’t touch anything.”  Her words have been rolling around in my mind for a few days, and I must admit that I find antique and vintage pieces to be very reasonably priced.  Why?  For most people, “old” things are not desirable.

I am dazzled by my recent haul of “old” stuff.  I brought home four vintage Limoges teacups—delicate, floral, and elegant.  There are no chips, and the saucers are intact.  I paid $9 each.  I haven’t tried to date them or research the pattern, but I’m guessing that my teacups are from the 70s or 80s.  I am tickled by the idea of sipping my morning tea from the delicate porcelain cups.painted limoges plate yellow

When I can get my act together to find a vintage or antique plate rack, maybe I’ll display them with the four hand-painted Limoges plates that I scored in the same booth ($6 each).  These floral plates are a delight, each featuring a different flower.  When I turned one over and saw that it was signed by “Maude”, that sealed the deal.  Knowing the name of the artist who painted my plates makes them all the more special for me.violet limoges dish

 

In another booth, I found a charming soap dish painted with violets, also made in Limoges ($7).  I’m guessing that this piece was painted in the 50s or 60s.  It somehow feels older than my cups, saucers, and plates, due to its patina.  I’ll place it in my guest bathroom with a pretty little soap.  I finished my great buying day by scooping up a set of eight embroidered napkins.  They must be several decades old.  I’ll bring them to the dry cleaner for a good cleaning and starching.  They’ll be so beautiful during tea time!

embroidered napkin

Did I need any more cups, saucers, plates, and linens?  Absolutely not.  Though had I not been wandering around the flea market with my friend Shelley on that Saturday afternoon, I probably would have been spending money in other ways.  All of the items I purchased would be more expensive new, and it’s unrealistic for me to expect to find the beautiful craftsmanship and handwork that are not valued as they once were.  Bringing vintage and antique items into my home gives new life to pieces that people have left behind.  Placed next to the newer items in my home, they create a unique style for a small price.

Inspirations

More flea market inspo

Hand-painted beauty

Decorating on a small budget, NYT

 

Le Petit Trianon, Marie-Antoinette’s Château

By Allison

petit trianon

When Louis XVI presented le Petit Trianon Château to his wife Marie-Antoinette in 1774, he gave her a master key encrusted in diamonds.[1] Although she was the first resident of the Château, it had been commissioned by her father-in-law Louis XV for his mistress Madame du Barry.  After his death, Madame du Barry was banished from the court, never having inhabited her Petit Trianon.  The Château has always been a space dominated by women.  After Madame du Barry and Marie-Antoinette were forced to abandon the estate, other remarkable women followed.  Napoleon I’s sister Princess Pauline Borghèse spent time there, and after a major restoration, le Petit Trianon was later presented to his second wife Marie-Louise (who happened to be Marie-Antoinette’s great-niece).  In 1867, Napoleon III’s wife the Empress Eugénie transformed the Château into a museum honoring Marie-Antoinette.

Conceived as a refuge for happiness, le Petit Trianon offered Marie-Antoinette respite from the demands of the court.  Although sumptuous and extravagant, her château feels cozy next to its neighbor le Grand Trianon and to the even grander Château de Versailles.  Its smaller scale makes it inviting, and the bright floral fabrics infuse the space with a femininity that is absent in other areas of the Domain.

The gardens of le Petit Trianon are extensive and varied.  The French Garden and French Pavilion are right outside the Château.  The garden is orderly and symmetrical, and its seasonal flowers are glorious.  Beyond the French Garden is the Queen’s Garden.  Inspired by English gardens, it has meandering pathways, lakes, a belvedere, a Greek style Temple of Love, and a grotto.  After the rambling Queen’s Garden lies The Queen’s Hamlet, a rustic-looking reproduction of a Norman village whose recent restoration was sponsored by Dior.  Visits of the interiors of the buildings are by reservation only, in French, and all visitors are required to wear special slippers!

With limited time in Versailles, should you even venture to Marie Antoinette’s château?  Without a doubt, yes.  In fact, you should spend an extra half-day in Versailles so that you can have a leisurely visit of Marie Antoinette’s château and gardens.  Louis XIV’s golden palace draws people to Versailles, but Marie Antoinette’s estate is slightly less crowded and therefore much calmer.  If you visit France with daughters, nieces, or granddaughters, le Petit Trianon gives them a glimpse of a world in which women had a degree of agency and power.  In addition, the stunning gardens and Queen’s Hamlet alone are worth an afternoon visit.

If you are on the fence about carving out time for a visit of Marie Antionette’s estate or if you want to treat yourself to a visual feast, check out Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antionette (2006).  The film contains a number of historical inaccuracies, but the scenes shot at le Petit Trianon depict the Château as the refuge of happiness intended by its most famous mistress.

Allison’s Tips

Access: Le Petit Trianon is 30 minutes on foot from the Château de Versailles or 20 minutes on the Petit Train.  Visitors can also access le Petit Trianon from the Boulevard de la Reine.

Hours:  12:00-5:30, Tuesday-Sunday

Tickets:  Visit of the Trianon Estates is included in the Passeport tickets (20-27€) .  Otherwise, tickets cost 12€. Children under 18 are free.  Visit of the gardens is included with admission.

For a detailed introduction to Le Petit Trianon, read Jérémie Benoît’s guide The Petit Trianon:  Marie-Antionette’s Château

[1] The Petit Trianon: Marie Antionette’s Château, by Jérémie Benoît

Recent Reads

By Allison

winter readsThese days, I’m living my best book life.  I have short, precarious stacks of books all over the house:  travel guides, novels, poetry, cookbooks. I love my books, but I am hard on them.  I make copious notations, I stash them in my bag when I’m on the go, and if I sense someone needs my book more than I do, I give it away.

Our winter wasn’t as cold and snowy as some, but it was grey and damp.  I spent those months dabbling, skipping from book to book, and rereading a few favorites.  If I begin reading a book and I’m not hooked after a few chapters, I set it aside.  I spent ten years as a student of literature, and I always read what I was instructed to read.  Now I’m more reckless.  Sometimes I purchase a book simply because it has a pretty cover.  I read more in English.  Unfinished books linger.  It’s glorious to flit between subjects and genres and to touch so many different books in one sitting.

For this post, I gathered a selection of some recent and favorite reads that might lead you to your next book.  Dainin Katagiri’s The Light That Shines Through Infinity has been a steady, insightful spiritual companion that I have already gifted to a friend and that I will reread multiple times.  Michelin’s guide to Brittany has had me dreaming about France’s rugged coasts, and Alexandre Maral’s Versailles: côté ville, côté jardin has furthered my research on the Royal City.  My cookbook collection is unmanageable, but Emeril Lagasse’s review of Bottom of the Pot made Naz Deravian’s new book on Persian cuisine irresistible.

A few months ago, I embarked on a poetry project with a friend.  Each month, we read one poem by Irish poet Eavan Boland.  We stay with that poem for a whole month, and then we each compose our own poem that is inspired by and seems to grow from the month’s poem.  Writing and sharing poetry terrifies me, but our Eavan Boland project has helped me to go deeper with poetry and to feel brave enough to write my own poems.

If English is my first and most comfortable language, French is my chosen and beloved language.  My French winter reads were delightful.  I’ve been enjoying random selections of François Cheng’s De l’âme (About the Soul).  He unfailingly brings me beauty as he bridges philosophies of the East and the West.  In Le camélia de ma mère (My Mother’s Camellia), Alain Baraton, the head gardener at the Château de Versailles, sings the beauty of his mother’s favorite flower.  And after teaching L’Elégance du hérisson (The Elegance of the Hedgehog), last spring, I am treating myself to a third or fourth reading of Muriel Barbery’s novel on the beauty of friendship.

Inspirations

Discovering Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca

Thoughts on beauty and grief

More reads on Creative Sanctuary

Creative Spirits: Bourbon Hot Chocolate

By Allison

bourbon hot chocolateOn the rare occasion that someone tells me they are not fond of chocolate, I wonder what is wrong with them.  How could someone not love rich, decadent chocolate desserts?  A chewy brownie, a slab of homemade chocolate cake, or a square of dark chocolate as an afternoon pick-me-up…

Of course, high-quality chocolate can be rich, dense, and overwhelming.  I can’t count the number of times I have given myself terrible stomachaches by overindulging in chocolate.  As an adult, though, I’ve learned to be more measured in my chocolate consumption.  I’ve never been a daily consumer of chocolate.  I just needed to learn not to overdo it on the rare occasion that I bake a cake or a pan of brownies.  If I bake and give it away, there won’t be any chocolate to tempt me back into the kitchen in the evening.  If I freeze squares of brownies, I’ll forget that they’re in the freezer.

Another way to moderate my chocolate passion is through bourbon hot chocolate.  My recipe makes two espresso-sized servings.  One serving satisfies my craving, I serve the other to a friend, and since there are no leftovers, there is no risk of a tummy ache.  Serving this treat in vintage demitasse cups makes the occasion and the dessert feel special.

This is an old-fashioned hot chocolate that comes together in about five minutes.  With only three ingredients, it makes a quick, impromptu late afternoon treat or an elegant, unctuous dessert.  Use the best bittersweet chocolate you can find.  When I used Vietnamese chocolate from Eritaj, my hot chocolate was earthy and nuanced.  My favorite grocery store chocolate is Green and Black’s 70% Organic Dark Chocolate Bar. Don’t shy away from whole milk, as it makes the hot chocolate deliciously creamy.  But if you have none, use 2% or skim milk.  The bourbon adds a honeyed sweetness that helps marry the chocolate and the milk.  Skipping the bourbon is no problem if you prefer to keep your hot chocolate alcohol-free.

If, God forbid, you do happen to be one of those people who just isn’t into chocolate, you may want to try my Maple Pecan Tea Toddy.  It is warm, sweet, and comforting without the richness of bourbon hot chocolate.

Bourbon Hot Chocolate

Created by on February 24, 2019

bourbon hot chocolate

Ingredients

  • 1 c whole milk
  • 2 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1/4 tsp. bourbon, optional

Instructions

  1. Heat the milk in a small saucepan, without bringing to a boil.
  2. When the milk is hot, remove from heat and whisk in the chocolate. When the chocolate is melted, return to heat and cook at a very low boil for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Do not step away during this time.
  3. Remove from heat. Stir in optional bourbon.
  4. Serve warm in demitasse cups.

Love Musings

By Allison

rose tea heart

Photo courtesy of Shelley Richardson

Those who love use their imagination to discover solutions where others see only problems.  Those who love help others according to their needs and with creativity, not according to preconceived ideas or common conceptions.
–Pope Francis

Valentine’s Day can be fraught.  Although I see the holiday as a sweet reminder to celebrate all kinds of love, I understand the loneliness that can accompany this overwhelming greeting card day.  It is difficult to be alone on Valentine’s Day when you feel like everyone you know is sharing a cozy dinner with their sweetheart.  I have been in that sad emotional space, but several years ago, I released those feelings of inadequate solitude because they were holding me back.

Love is so much more than chocolate, flowers, and candle-lit meals!  We have a responsibility to inhabit love—to be love—each day.  Love is a powerfully creative act:  “Those who love help others according to their needs and with creativity.”  It is a dynamic, ever-evolving energy that moves us through our days.  Love involves interplay, cooperation, and patience.  It is neither formulaic nor superficial.  It is practical, messy, and beautiful.  As I have written before, love is our duty and our pleasure.

Love is too abundant, too expansive to be contained in one grey February day.  Maybe it is a bit silly to dedicate one day of the year to a concept that is so vast yet so vague, but I am content to embrace Valentine’s Day as a moment to celebrate love and to reevaluate my thoughts on love.  This year, I recommit to allowing the energy of love, whatever unexpected or unconventional form it may take.

Tiny Tea Set, Lively Energy of Life

By Allison

children's tea setIn the realm of space, your life is nothing but the lively energy of life, interconnecting with everything.
–Dainin Katagiri

Every so often, I spread the pieces of my childhood tea set on my bed.  It’s in pitiful shape—broken, glued, re-broken, re-glued.  I love that I played so hard with these tiny, clumsy cups and plates.  I almost remember my gracious, chubby fingers pouring imaginary tea as I brushed wisps of long, brown hair out of my eyes.  I can almost see myself breaking piece after piece in my basement playroom.

No one in my family drank tea, so I must have created my own imaginary tea stories.  I don’t recall my solo tea parties, yet when I lay my hands on the shards, I access the lively energy of life that children incarnate.  This cherished energy still resides deep inside me.  Light, open, and expansive, this part of me responds to people who are patient and curious.  Sometimes I forget the connections that defy time and geography, but the energy of this homely wabi-sabi children’s tea set transcends place, space, and culture.  Through it, I recall that it was a gift from Grandma Rose Mary.  She couldn’t have known that tea would become my language and my passion.  In this sense, her gift of imaginary tea was prophetic.  Grandma’s gift allowed me to create my first tea rituals and to explore what it might mean to share tea with others. My tea rituals have evolved, but I embrace the awkwardness of human connection as it plays out over shared tea moments.

In the realm of space, my life is nothing but the lively energy of life, interconnecting with everything.

La rue des Deux Portes

By Allison

la rue des deux portes versaillesWhile the grandeur of Versailles resides in its Château, its charm is surely in its diminutive streets, passages, and courtyards.  Lying in the shadow of the Château, la rue des Deux Portes (The Street with Two Doors) has mixed residental and business since the 17th and 18th centuries.  Connecting the rue Carnot to the Place du Marché, boutiques and restaurants saturate this short pedestrian way.  La rue des Deux Portes is lively, local, and picturesque, well worth a quick visit after your market trip or Château visit.  Alternatively, make an afternoon of shopping on this street and in the antique district, le Quartier des Antiquaires, also located close to the Place du Marché.

Allison’s Tips
Access
Leaving the Château, take the tree-lined avenue de Saint-Cloud to the avenue de l’Europe.  Take a sharp left on the rue Carnot, where you immediately see the south entrance to the rue des Deux Portes.

Coming from the Place du Marché, the north entrance to the rue des Deux Portes branches off the rue Ducis, on the west side of the Place.

Boutiques
Coffee and Tea Merchant—La Finca 15, rue des Deux Portes

Kitchen Store–Culinarion 13, rue des Deux Portes

Hat and Glove Shop–Falbalas Saint Junien 10, rue des Deux Portes

Toy Store–La Palette de Jeux 12, rue des Deux Portes

Cuisine
Maison Sephaire 17, rue des Deux Portes
Traditional French butcher and caterer that provides high end, traditional French food to go: artisanal charcuterie, pâté, roast chicken, and various sides such as carrot salad

Les Biscuits de Madame Georges 7, rue des Deux Portes
British inspired afternoon tea featuring homemade Bundt cakes

Eléphant d’Argent 6, rue des Deux Portes (Thai restaurant)

Crêperie des Deux Portes 12, rue des Deux Portes

Nightlife
BiBoViNo Versailles 15, rue des Deux Portes
Wine shop and bar featuring high quality « bag in box » wines.  BiBoViNo’s liquor license requires that food be served with alcohol, so patrons must also order charcuterie and/or cheese boards to accompany their wine.

L’Equilibre 8, rue des Deux Portes
Trendy tapas bar with more than thirty wines by the glass.  Happy hours from 5-8 p.m.      Arrive early to grab a table!

Creative Spirits: Maple Pecan Tea Toddy

By Allison

maple pecan tea toddy

Do you have a few neglected bottles of liquor gathering dust in a cabinet?  Since I like the idea of spirits more than I actually like to sip them, my tiny selection of whiskeys and liqueurs is neglected most of the time.  This winter, I’ve decided to get creative with the spirits languishing on my bar cart, and I’m inviting you along for the ride! In the next few months, my Creative Spirits series will provide straightforward beverage recipes made with accessible ingredients.  For those of us who aren’t likely to serve stronger alcohols, I will develop recipes that incorporate modest amounts of whiskeys and liqueurs to complement other ingredients in the drinks.  This is not a time to pull out your finest bourbons.  Aim for reliable middle-of-the road spirits that are appropriate for mixing, rather than your expensive bottles that should be saved for tasting.

Let’s begin with my Maple Pecan Tea Toddy.  I suggest serving this as a soothing dessert on a chilly night.  I begin by preparing Southern Pecan Black Tea and adding maple syrup, a little bourbon, and finishing it off with a cinnamon stick.  Easy as pie.  Happy Holidays!

Maple Pecan Tea Toddy

Created by on December 24, 2018

maple pecan tea toddy Tiny white chocolate chips add a creamy sweetness to Elmwood Inn’s Southern Pecan Black Tea.  I add a touch of maple syrup to this Tea Toddy, which pairs well with the caramel notes of Kentucky Bourbon.

Ingredients

  • 4 fl oz brewed Elmwood Inn Southern Pecan Black Tea
  • 1/2 fl oz wheated bourbon, such as Maker's Mark
  • 1 tsp. maple syrup, or to taste
  • 1 cinnamon stick, optional

Instructions

  1. Add bourbon to hot tea, then add maple syrup, stirring to dissolve. Serve with cinnamon stick, if desired.

Inspirations

Having fun with iced tea garnishes

Sparkling Apple Spice Tea Cocktail