Gentlemen Prefer… Strawberry Blondes!

So strawberry season is upon us. These sweet treats have been zipping up I-75 from Florida for a while now and Middle Georgia’s very own crop is coming! Places such as Lane’s  has a strawberry patch and, well, if by chance one finds themselves pickin’ in the patch, one might as well stay for ice cream!

Sip and Savor is out ya’ll!!  Book signings and some touring is about to commence so I wanted to combine my favorite spring berry and spring berry drink with an excerpt from the book. Some of these photos are in the book but there were just so many lovely shots we couldn’t include them all. My sister Maggie photographed this book and we had a ball! Working with siblings can be quite fun and she has photographed my wreath book due out this fall!

Here’s my Strawberry Blonde recipe and whipped cream too. Since spring is upon us, let us enjoy the fruits of the season!

Strawberry Blonde

What a perfect name for a lovely drink! Taking the fiery redness of strawberries and blending it with the calming color of cream, one will find the most beautiful pink drink to serve your friends and family. When strawberry season is at its peak, this drink is fabulously delicious. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and you have strawberries and cream in a drink!

They say gentlemen prefer blondes… well, this gentlemen will take this Strawberry Blonde any day!

2 cups of strawberries, tops removed
1 cup of milk (I use 2%)
3 cups of heavy whipping cream (for drink and garnish respectively)
¼ cup of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of good vanilla

Blend strawberries, milk, 1 ½ cups of cream, sugar, and vanilla together until fluffy and smooth. Add ice to the blender for slush.

The Farmer’s Whipped Vanilla Bean Crème Fraiche… Whipped Cream, Ya’ll

So whipping cream is delicious. It, like butter, just amazes me how many things can come from milk. It’s life’s first beverage. It’s a must on every trip to the grocery store. It’s milk! If you haven’t hooked onto organic milk and cream yet, you are missing out! The lactose free milk is about the best glass of anything you’ll ever drink! I digress…

Whipped cream is simply divine. The science of physically changing a liquid into a solid is astounding, but what is so amazing to me is the taste. With a scant bit of sugar, some good vanilla, and the inside of a vanilla bean pod, you can have the best of dessert toppings in a matter of minutes.

I inherited my great, great Aunt Irene’s “whipper,” a wiry paddle that takes the strongest of arms a long time to whip up a batch of this heavenly topping. Want a workout? Trust me, you’ll burn off the calories you’ll consume by whipping cream by hand. Use an electric mixer for time and bicep’s sake. It’s a fun tool to have though and I treasure it and my memories of her. I can only imagine how many times Aunt Irene or her cook Ida Mae whipped cream with that “whipper.” They deserve sainthood for such a feat… Ida Mae more so I’m sure!!!

There is a bit of art to whipping cream. Here are a few of this Farmer’s tips and my recipe… master this and you’ll have so many friends and family wanting a finger licking taste, you’ll have to give out numbers!

• ALWAYS use a metal (copper or stainless steel) or glass bowl. Ceramic is fine too. Plastic won’t cut it.
• ALWAYS use cold cream and GOOD vanilla beans and vanilla extract. This is one delicacy you’ll truly taste the vanilla and you want the best.
• I use my vanilla sugar (vanilla bean pod infused sugar) for that added richness and depth of flavor.
• Whip, mix, whisk until the cream forms soft peaks and just looks right… It shouldn’t be runny in the least after mixing and can be stored in the fridge for a few days. It will get runny on a hot piece of pie, but that’s perfectly apropos!

The Farmer’s Whipped Vanilla Bean Crème Fraiche

• 2 cups of heavy whipping cream or crème fraiche… Whipping cream is more of a liquid and crème fraiche can be more solid. Use more sugar if using crème fraiche and a scant less for whipping cream since it is slightly sweeter.
• Tablespoon of good vanilla
• Scant teaspoon of scraped vanilla bean pod’s inside. We eat with our eyes first, so seeing those vanilla bean specks is a visual appetizer of the glory divine to come.
• Scant tablespoon of vanilla sugar. Cook’s note – I don’t like heavily sweetened whipped cream. I love the taste of whipped cream by itself…the sugar just sweetens the pot, literally! Add more sugar if you prefer, but, trust me, the actual taste of whipped cream on its own is delicious!
• Beat until it begins to form soft peaks that can stand on their own and no longer runny!
• Serve with just about anything and it will be delicious I’m sure! Enjoy!

It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Easter!

With Easter right around the corner, this Farmer could hardly resist paring some grocery grandeur with garden glam and set this table. I had a writer for of our local newspapers coming for a lunch interview, so I wanted to set a springy tableaux – it can’t get much springier than Easter! 

 

What is so amazing about Easter for my corner of Dixie is this: for me, and many a farmer and gardener alike, the very essence of spring is this benchmark planting date – Easter weekend. It is now safe to plant tomatoes – all veggies for that matter. I always sow my first zinnia seeds on Good Friday.  Geraniums can now cascade down the porch steps. Ferns may regain their lofty airs hanging from porches. This is the first Sunday after the first full moon of the vernal equinox – translated into “winter is gone and it is safe to plant.” A time to plant… if you will… a time for renewal, growth and new life.

 

I use Easter as my safety net for all my spring planting. Nature’s cadence churns its rhythm, designating this time of year as winter’s last call and spring’s major crescendo. With an Easter theme chiming, I thought about a spring picnic, but did not want to force my reporter friend into a pollen clad garden. I chose to bring the garden in – have a picnic luncheon al fresc… al indoors-o. And you know, the mosquitoes and gnats were not a problem at all inside! (Mind you they have emerged here in my Middle/South Georgia neck of the woods – no real winter to speak of, thus we’ll be hauled away by the bugs come summertime.)

 

Red check linens – quintessential picnic. Well, not exactly red – more raspberry – or as Mama says, “Carl,” yes, like a man’s name. Others know the color as coral, but my deep corally red/pink runner was just ready to contrast against my kitchen table and serve as the cornerstone for my tableaux.  “Carl” it is in our family. When the interview commenced, I had to tell the reporter first off about the table, for I have the kitchen table that we grew up with.

 

It is an antique Jacobean, dark English oak ordeal with thick barley twist legs and chairs that weigh at least a ton each. Trust me, I move them daily and have nearly all my life, setting another place setting, etc. I had to tell the newspaper writer that this is where we had big weekend breakfasts, did our homework, where our lunches were lined up in brown paper sacks, made sugar cube igloos for fifth grade projects – this is where my sisters, my parents, and I ate. The dark ring is from a prize begonia I overwintered one year. Ya’ll know how vital a kitchen table is. It is the true heart of the home. I wanted to start the interview with this table, at this table – thus giving provenance to my story and in turn, the story she was writing.

For this picnic, I served one of this Farmer’s staple luncheons – a salmon Nicoise platter – and akin to picnic food since everything served cold. I love this platter. Cold potato salad, the firmness of the cool salmon, the snappy textures of the asparagus, snow peas, cucumbers and baby corn – and the divine capered dill sour cream dolloped on it all. The colors too are springy and fresh and I just adore serving this dish.

 

Aunt Kathy’s heirloom pressed glass strawberry goblets for the tea set the tone for the dessert – a strawberry shortcake.  Her lavender dinnerware juxtaposed with the “carl” checks is just too fun. Pops of yellow tulips cut short in bubbled glass tumblers gave sunny tones to this tablescape and ruffled edged leaves of huechera or coral bells daintily laced the bouquets. The contrast of the chartreuse and the plum leaves is yummy! This spring-time fare is fine enough, but I was ready for some true Easter delights! 

 

Shades of grapey plum, turquoisey aqua, jaded green, salmon hued orange, and rose tinted red eggs set in lavender bowls served as the understory elements to the tulip sprays. I must confess: I truly relish in dying Easter eggs. I love it! Yet, I found these at Publix. Yes, in the grocery store! Besides being gorgeous right out of the carton, they are hardboiled! Egg salad anyone? Yessirree! There is something so luxurious about convenience and these eggs proved that mantra true.

 

So my table is set for Easter – a tad early but set and ready. I can only pray that my heart is set for Easter. Nature’s often bizarre tempo is unfathomable and baffling, yet it always gets jam up and jelly tight for Easter. That is my sincere Easter wish – in the midst of the seasons’ sway and life’s as well, may we be geared up, lined up, and set for Easter. It is beginning to look a lot like Easter and that makes one very happy Farmer!

Hydrangeas

It's time to start thinking about my favorite summer flower: the hydrangea. In the past, I've done a lot of writing about hydrangeas, and so I decided to jump into hydrangea plantin' time with a few short videos. Have a look and tell us what you're doing with YOUR hydrangeas this year!


Hydrangea Blue: This Farmer's Favorite Spring Hue from James Farmer on Vimeo.




Hydrangeas: From Pot to Plot from James Farmer on Vimeo.


As always, thanks to Room Eleven Media for producing this videos!

Costa Farms Social Summit 2012

Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being invited to the Costa Farms Social Summit put on by Costa Farms and the dynamic and lovely gals over at Garden Media Group. 

Over the last six years, people have become maxed out and root bound when it comes to buying plants. People tend to buy the same plants year after year, season after season: the same fern, the same pansies, the same begonias, herbs and veggies. We need to mix it up and diversify what we're putting in our gardens, y'all, and Costa Farms is here to help! Costa Farms is a company concerned with helping to grow gardeners. Plants are easy to maintain and they are life-enriching--learning how to grow and care for a plant you've never had in your garden before can be such a satisfying and rewarding experience and Costa is just the place to help you branch out of your gardening rut. A recent trip to their amazing farm down in sunny Miami has inspired this Farmer to get his hands in the dirt and get to planting!

One thing to consider in all of this is sustainability. Plants can be a major part of a sustainable, well lived life. Take the very air we breathe: we as consumers spend billions of dollars on figuring out how to make our air purer and cleaner, when all it really takes is a plant--one for every 100 sq feet to be exact. Wouldn't you rather spend our money and resources on a beautiful, living thing than another machine? I’d much rather have a gorgeous bromeliad, orchid or ZZ Plant than another buzzing, humming thing, et tu? We are too plugged in, y'all – it's time to dig in! On that note…

What better way to "dig in" than family gardening? I am a product of family gardening – Mama and I planted dozens of daylilies and daffodils (a great combo mind you, for the daylilies hide the daffodils when they’re through blooming – companion planting at its best!) and my Daddy is keen on organic gardening and knowing where his food is from. Granddaddy taught me so much about roses and tomatoes too, so a bit of family gardening can be a great endowment to the next generation. Gardening can be something that brings us together since everyone can be a part of this activity. That kid who has a knack for cooking? Get him in the garden working with herbs! I have a hard time disconnecting the table from the garden, the garden from the table. What we're eating and decorating with is first   grown somewhere–why not in our backyards? Like I always say: Whether you have a pot or a plot, whatever you GOT, you can grow a garden!

I was invited by the Garden Media Group to spend a few days in Miami to tour Costa Farms and learn about some great plants they have growing. I was like ol Brer’ Rabbit and the Brian Patch – please don’t make me go to Miami, be fed well, learn about plants, tour acres of greenhouses chock full of every plant you can imagine! Ha! Brer’ Rabbit wanted to be in that Briar Patch and I was itching to get to Miami! I cannot dream of a better way to start off the growing than touring THE SOURCE for so much of what we are growing. After traveling down to sunny south FLA and having an amazing meal at Whisk – Southern meets Latin  and truly delicious – our day on the farm could not have been any more amazing. The Costa family, literally, the Costas hosted us as did their farm family. Coming from a tight knit fam myself, I felt right at home with this group. After a brief meeting and touching film on the history of the family and farm, we were out and about!

We kicked off the morning with succulents. I’ve blogged about succulents and absolutely love them. Now, let me introduce you to Alfredo Bergolla. Born and raised in Cuba, he was given his passage to the States because Castro wanted his succulent collection. So he traded his plants for his freedom–talk about the American Dream! Here is another reason why talking to this man about succulents was such a delight.

 

Mimi has always told me about how her Grandmother. They had a close relationship as we do. Her Grandmother, Sarah Ann (as is Mimi’s “other” name since Mimi is more so the norm once you have grandchildren), always had huge jade plants in planters on her porch. They were the stalwarts on either side of the steps leading up to the porch and greeted everyone that passed by her home in Bainbridge. The jades relished the South Georgia climate and the deeper recesses of the porch allowed for spots to grow aloes too. Practical and pretty, these plants looked great on the porch but were a soothing salve to the scraped knees, bumps or burns that grand kids and grand folks alike endure. We too chatted about another Southern garden staple – Hens and Chicks. A succulent for the South if ever there were, these sedums grow in the nature a hen and her chicks do – Mama hen may squat and babies will pop out around! How many times have we seen such delightful combos in old Southern homesteads, clustering around corners or popping out of pots?! Connecting my stories of succulents with Alfredo was such a treat.

One thing Costa Farms offers (beyond gorgeous varieties of succulents you won't find anywhere else) is individually packaged succulents and cacti. And what a beautiful and original idea for a host's gift! I love for folks to leave my home or garden with something tactile that grows into a memory. And, with friends who are often clamoring that they have “black thumbs,” I think succulents are a perfect gift. Since succulents thrive on neglect, they are thus a great gift idea for that friend who thinks s/he can't garden! I guarantee you that you will kill a succulent by over-watering than under-watering! Try some this summer on your porch and in your garden – you too will become a sucker for succulents!

Another fun part of this trip was Project Houseplants. Now, my group had a cluster of common plants to pot up and make a centerpiece. Since I DO that for a living pretty much, I thought this would be too easy and a breeze. Well, there were other designers and plant peeps there too so we had great competitive fun! Give me some little plants, moss and a tablescape any day! On another note, I was completely enthralled that the little bitty plants I was potting were huge in the Miami climate! Miami – where houseplants are hedges!

Lunch in the TRIAL GARDENS … a little slice of heaven!

Ever been to the Garden of Eden? Well I got a glimpse here! After a yummy lunch, more fun started here. You like petunias? Okay. You like purple petunias? Well, which of the 15 purple varieties of petunias do we like best? This bodes true for just about any bedding plant you can think of! In the Trial Gardens, these kinds of questions are answered by professionals in the industry from all over the country. The Trial Gardens are just what their name says –TRIAL (by fire, or in this case, by greenhouse, sun, and garden exposure!)--what grows? Before you even plant that flower in your garden, that variety has been tested and tried for years of seasons to get it to be the hot new flower for your garden this year – these gardens not only help to inform what's happening in the market, but they also help us know more about how to best care for our plants. Read the tag, y'all!

Y'all, we need a whole epistle on the Tropic Escape Hibiscus! How do I even begin… Not everyone can go on a true tropical escape. When we think "tropics," we think hibiscus. The hibiscus is the quintessential tropical flower. So here's an easy, gorgeous way to bring that tropical escape to your porch or patio. Besides being beautiful elements in the garden and the staples of Tom Selleck’s Magnum PI shirt motifs, hibiscus are edible! Great elements for salads, garnishes galore for summertime meals, and of course, this Farmer is going to find a use for them with tea!  Hibiscus is a fabulous accouterment to tea or as a part to my favorite beverage. (In fact, I am fueled by Zoe’s Hibiscus Green Tea – my suburban just automatically stops for a refill! The floral notes are carried on the tamer tones of green tea – as a hot tea or on ice – I simply relish a hibiscus tea!

As for growing your very own Tropic Escape hibiscus, remember where they grow in the tropics… they love FULL SUN, they like water, but they don't want to be over-watered -- well watered, but well drained. Give them some fertilization love as well. Remove any spent blossoms to encourage new ones. A happy hibiscus will make a happy gardener. Some presidents want a chicken in every pot, Costa Farms wants a hibiscus on every patio. And now, there's no reason we shouldn't all have hibiscus outside our front doors.

And here is something so “right on” that Costa is doing – they are making plants like these luscious colored hibiscus readily available on the market. It's incredible the variety of plants that Costa Farms is making available to EVERYONE, not just this hibiscus. If you grab an orchid at the grocery store, I bet Costa Farms grew it. If your porch is bedecked in ferns, they probably had a hand there too. If your trip to the garden center is always capped with the question, “Do you need some plastic for your car?” then yes, you have probably bought a cart full of Costa Farms gems.

Jump into the garden this spring. Get your hands dirty and your brow sweaty – this Farmer surely is and is quite thankful that a big deal like Costa Farms is thinking about home gardeners like me and gardeners like you too! Happy planting!

And a big, warm, Farmer Style hug to the Garden Media Group for bringing together amazing professionals in the garden community to get our plant on in sunny Miami, FL!

A Vintage Affair…Definitely one to Remember

Here is a snippet of the write up for the local presses in Montgomery on a dinner I did for clients to benefit the American Cancer society. This was too much and a true delight! I had a ball setting the tables, orchestrating the flowers and music, and working with a fabulous chef and amazing sommelier.

“In the true finery that comes to be expected with The Vintage Affair, guests were literally wined and dined for the Caldwell Wine Dinner, Friday, February 3, 2012, at a lovely home in Montgomery, Alabama. Benefitting the American Cancer Society, this particular dinner featured the celebrated wines of Napa grower John Caldwell.

From start to finish, guests’  palettes were appeased with perfectly paired culinary delights, created by Chef Rob McDaniel of Spring House Restaurant, and Mayor Todd Strange blessed the meal. From hor d’oeurves of crab and endive salad to scrumptious salads of heirloom beets, preserved kumquat, smoked pecans and Alabama’s own belle chevre, guests began the meal with a delicious manner.

Succulent scallops, fork tender short ribs, puree of apple and sunchoke and various winter crops all rounded out the dishes in fabulous farm to table fashion. A Caldwell Vineyards Syrah Port accompanied a sticky toffee pudding dotted with pistachios and dates for the magnificent ending to the meal.

Author and event coordinator James Farmer set the tone for the evening with boughs of budding white quince, dozens of ‘Mint Ice’ cymbidium orchids perfuming the air, roses in shades of the various wines, hydrangeas, White Parrot tulips, and lemon leaf garlands festooned around the entrance and on the mantle. Tables were set with vintage hotel silver, custom linens, and dinner donned in shades of gold and champagne to continue the theme of the event.

Tunes from “Stars Fell on Alabama” to “Georgia on my Mind” wafted from the grand piano and saxophone accompaniment. Guests slowly danced to such classics after the meal and then joined Dr. and Mrs. Davidson in after dinner drinks and further vintages of Caldwell Vineyard’s best.

Truly an affair to remember – and all for grand cause – The Caldwell Wine Dinner benefitting the American Cancer Society shall linger in the minds of those in attendance. The best food, the best flowers, the best wine and some of Montgomery’s best folks all toasted to a fabulous night.”