In The Kitchen/ Domestic Bliss

My favorite thing is my kitchen is my collection of cobalt blue dishes. I have been collecting cobalt glass for a few years now. I need more cabinet space before I buy much more of it! I am very quickly running out of room in my kitchen.

This is my wallpaper border in the kitchen. It was here when we moved in, but I really like it, so I haven't changed it. The walls are sage green with darker green sponged over the top. Off the kitchen is my pantry and my computer space. The wallpaper in here is very pretty too.

My pantry no longer has food in it- it's where I keep my dishes. The reason for this being the fact that we couldn't keep the mice out of anything. We put the food in higher-up cabinets, and we haven't had the mice get into it since. I don't think they were too happy finding dishes in their own personal grocery store. They continue to get into food that gets left on the counter, so we have to be careful. That's one of the few bad things about living in the country-mice!

Last fall I dried and canned tons of herbs for teas, seasonings, and sachets. I have a pretty big area for my herb garden and want to expand it even more this year. Mint is one of my favorites, and I try to plant every variety I can get my hands on. Some varieties I have tried are: peppermint, spearmint, candy mint, chocolate mint, variegated mint, apple mint, and orange mint. My herb garden is located just off the kitchen, through a gate in the backyard, so it's nice and close for cooking and baking.

This year I have started a bunch of lavender seedlings for the herb garden. Lavender can be used in so many ways- I don't think I could ever grow enough! Here is an excellent recipe for lavender tea bread, courtesy of Shikairi at allrecipes.com:

Lavender Tea Bread

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh
lavender
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. Combine the milk and lavender in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat to a simmer, then remove from heat, and allow to cool slightly.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg until the mixture is light and fluffy. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk and lavender until just blended. Pour into the prepared pan.
4. Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a wooden pick inserted into the crown of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

To share with other farm girls and to learn about the Farm Girl way of life visit: http://www.maryjanesfarm.org