Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Sublime Time with Rose Crostinis and Tea!

OK People! :D
this is a spontaneous post I just had to share with my friends,.....all of whom seem to be in cyber space since all my local ones have moved away......so even though I did not plan on being on the computer I am giggly with this one and so here it is.



Inspired by the word "Rose"......how words can do that huh? amazing what a single word can do to the entire mind and body....imaginings of exotic places filled with scents that caress the Spirit. Or a vase filled with blooms so beautiful all the words in our world cannot describe it.
Its all in the feelings.

And so it is with this one LOL........ with a little help from a few other accoutrements.
Years ago when I lived in New York I had a little Greek friend who loved me so much, she was much younger and her innocent adoration was precious. She and her family allowed me into their sacred sanctum....their home! What an honor from them....who were very choosey. And while I was there and the girls were all talking at the same time in their excitement for a visitor that was there just for them, they presented me with various tastes and tidbits of their own foods, Greek Foods and delicacacies and they laughed to see how I responded to each. One of those delicacies in particular had a profound effect upon me as I tasted it and they waited in the deepest of silence as they stared at me unblinking.....all three of them.....and watched every nuance of my expressions...I said ''well, this is familiar, but I cannot place it!" I was good with recognizing foods and flavors, they could not fool me until this moment. And so they laughed with glee and a great self satisfiaction that they had ''finally got me''. LOL.....and so when I finally gave up, they paused, took a deep breath to let out the great mystery on the spoon..........and it was.....drum roll..............Rose Petal Jelly.
I ate flowers?? They laughed with such satisfaction and glee that I enjoyed something that was unique to their culture, had never had before and was so delighted with!
I will never forget that flavor.

Fast forward 30 years later to now. I am somehow bitten by a bug that demanded I acquire some Rose Petal Jelly. I found one online that spoke of it in reverent holiness, and indeed it was made by monks in a special way, a long held secret to utter to no living being, ever, and into their graves that secret goes.

So I will have to settle for something a little less holy LOL. Googling the net voraciously into other languages even to find the perfect recipe or souce I gave up. Eyes would not allow time spent in this manner. I do remember seeing some in the Greek market some months ago and so I decided to make a trip there. I did so yesterday and acquired the last jar they had. In pouring rain, I get into my car satisfied that in the morning I will start my day experiencing this sublime delicacy whose floral essence will be the mood for the way I spend the day.


s'cuse me, I just finished the last bite of the crostini and have to make more otherwise I cannot sit here and finish this.

ok, I can breathe again. LOL !

This morning I woke up early sleeping deeply with the pouring rains all night. The house was still dark except for the chandelier which I keep on a dimmer switch on low to look like candlelight. I lit a few more candles so I can work with some light. I put on my pretty pink ruffle dress then ''put the kettle on''! I've always wanted to say that like the Brits do "shall I put the kettle on?" LOL.....
Tea is Paris Tea thanks to Anita!...and Anita I implore you try this and after you awaken from your swooning, do feel free to send me the love LOLOLOL !

What you will need:

Paris Tea or some tea you absolutely love and adore and use ''only for special times''. 
A beautiful tea pot 




A gorgeous glass ...I found of picture of mine.....:D  Wait a minute, did that description say "Parisian" ???? it sure did....there's that Paris thing again that keeps finding its way into my world lol.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41iP9DRyyZL._SY355_.jpg
source


Some good quality local Honey              

Some Organic ALMOND Extract  and organic Almond Milk  

Some good quality butter, I like Irish Butter....   





Some Italian fresh bread to slice thin into 1/2 inch slices 


and the point of it all......some Rose Petal Jelly   









Plus! because I cannot simply leave well enough alone, it must be sublime! LOL.....you will need....or not.....depending on you......some cardamon seeds in a grinder for that dash of the mysterious and exotic.
    and a grinder and I like this one     



How to have fun:
After you put your kettle on and  it begins to whistle, pour the water into your beautiful teapot with two bags of the tea of choice. It will sit for a few minutes as you get the rest ready. Slice your bread into half inch slices and lightly toast in a dry pan but do not brown unless of course you like it that way....its all about pleasure! As this is developing texture LOL add some Almond Extract to your pot of tea and some honey, lots....more pleasure :D and mix well. Turn your bread over to the other side. Get your butter and rose petal jelly ready, and when the toast is texturized put onto a board and give a generous helping of butter, and don't forget the edges! Add a thin layer of the rose petal jelly on top including the edges too because you will want every bite to have these flavors. This next part is where you do this with a bit of flair, maybe do a ballerina spin or something like that LOL...... and grab your spice grinder with the cardamon seeds in it and position your hands up high above the rose crostini and give it one twist, you only need a few specks of these magical seeds!
My pink embossed goblet is my tea glass of choice :D and into that goes a bit of Organic Almond Milk, then I pour some of the amended tea into the goblet, get a slice of my Rose Crostini and turn around, gaze into the candlelit room and take a bite.
This is where I'm at a loss for words, people, and why I'm taking the time on this insipid computer because I want to share the ineffable with you! So do please give this a try!

I actually took the moment to grab another mechanical device, a camera to take one blurry picture of this and you are lucky because I simply did NOT want to do anything that was not of the sublime pleasures and photo taking is NOT one of them, but here you are!

Please do, if you try this, let me know how you fare! LOL







3 glasses of tea and a half! loaf of bread later....and I'm done.
Going off to spend a peaceful bucolic sort of day in the kitchen being domestic since we've had a rainy season since April, and as John is home on medical leave, to do some magic with foods in the kitchen....we DO eat very well!

This morning I will make an omelet with mushrooms sauteed with onions, a dash of balsamic vinegar, some cubanelle pepper and herbs from the garden.....for first breakfast. LOL  We do as the Hobbits do....have first then second breakfast LOL......which is actually lunch, but I like to have fun whenever possible! Then later I will make a pasta dish previously written about here which I AM SO GLAD I wrote about because I forgot what I did and I have to refer to this post to know and make it again...lol.

Later I will have my Famous Grilled Salmon with organic garden herb salad. oh boy!

blessings to you all!

I'm sharing this post with A Delightsome Life: A Return to Loveliness





25 comments:

  1. The jelly sounds quite tasty and those roses are gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The jelly is more sweet than anything and the rose is subtle. I will look for a better one in the future. My pink roses were the best ever, the ones in the picture, and were the most fragrant ones I've ever had, and I've had many thousands over all these years as a florist and lover of flowers! They are called "Orlando" if you can find them.
      Thanks for visiting.
      blessings
      lady

      Delete
  2. I so enjoy your writing! What a wonderful story. Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I hope you are doing well. You too have a great day!
      blessings, lady

      Delete
  3. OH MY GOODNESS what a delicious thought of ROSE PETAL JELLY!! Dearest Lady, I am having a cup of very relaxing ROOBOIS tea from South Africa...what a healing tea, for so many ailments! HOW ARE YOU TODAY?

    Thank you for coming to visit my post....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will always visit your posts Anita, as long as I'm online. Thank YOU for visiting me too. I will comment via email. warmest hugs, lady

      Delete
  4. I knew I needed to pop in today and read your post. Thank you so much ~ I needed to be sweep away in your magical moment. Sounds absolutely divine. Oh yes, Paris Tea from Harney and Sons! Have you tried Jane's Garden? That's a lovely rose petal tea. Next on my list is SoHo!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Then I'm so glad, Rosebud LOL....that I decided to do it against what I felt like, which is NOT being on a computer, but I'm glad now I did it. Paris Tea, yes I learned to love it despite my initial dislike of the obvious, for me, artificial vanilla flavor. But I mask it with almond extract, and lots of honey and I love it now. I have not tried Jane's Garden but did look into it of course, and it seems to be only two ingredients which I think I can combine myself.....the base tea with rose? Still, the tins are beautiful yes?
      Can't wait to find some "Marine Antoinette" from Laduree!~
      blessings
      lady

      Delete
  5. Thank you for your visit to my blog and kind comment! What a beautiful dot of cyberspace you have here.... just gorgeous and loved the story... I am very much a tea lover and also enjy Rooibos tea our local tea here.

    Love your blog header!!

    Veronica

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. My ''dot'' ....lol....that's a good way of putting it..there is sooooo much out there! Another one enjoying Rooibos tea today! I must try it again, I have lots. blessings, lady

      Delete
  6. Rose Petal Jelly! Yum! :) I wonder if I could find a recipe for that? Paris Tea is my favorite from Harney & Sons. LOVE it! :)

    Thank you for the little tea break. :)

    ~Liz

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Liz, there ARE recipes and videos online if you have a source for fragrant rose petals that are free of chemicals. I can't wait to try it myself when I find such a rare thing. enjoy.

      Delete
  7. This is beautiful page that I found! I love green, i love garden around the house, I love your lace work, I love lace dress or anything related with lace... :) and I love every picture and some post on this blog..
    'd love to see it..

    Blessing,

    Delvalina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL
      I love that you love all those things that I love too! LOL
      enjoy!
      lady

      Delete
  8. Oh my, you truly inspired me today! I could almost taste that wonderful rose petal jelly with you... and as always, enjoyed the story a lot too. I love the way you transform ordinary to sacred moments, and all the small details that make allowance. I really NEEDED something like this, specially on a grey rainy morning! Just running to the kitchen to make some tea (unfortunately we don´t have a variety of selected teas in our local stores -and where I do find them, they´re completely out of my budget), but I´ll choose my favorite local strawberry tea and Sara Ban Breathnach´s recipe of toasts with butter, sugar and cinnamon, to put some practical magic in the beggining of my day too... Thanks (again) for being such a delightful source of joy and beauty everyday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad I posted it even though I didn't want to be in front of any electrical gadgets! It makes me happy it was helpful to someone in another part of the world. How magical is that! Butter sugar and cinnamon is one of the most wonderful things there is! Doesn't get much better. Rose jelly is something that is an extra bit of magic. If you cannot find some I will send you some. Let me know. many hugs, lady

      Delete
    2. Of course I don´t think there is something like that here in my country... but -so much on your style- I´m searching for a RECIPE so I can try to make it myself! LOL

      Delete
  9. Hi sweet Lady....I have really missed coming by here and seeing all the beauty that you share. Rose jelly....ah ambrosia for the soul....and your little breakfast looked so divine. If I lived closer, since you stated all your friends have moved away.....i would be over in a heartbeat to break bread and drink tea......We are still traveling and stopping by all the blogs I love is very difficult at times...but I am so very glad I was able to download yours.

    xo

    jo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Jo for your sweet response and for visiting me again....I love that. I wish you lived closer too, I think we'd have lots of lovely teas ala Fairy Cafe!~
      I've been trying to handle life these past weeks and most days I'm not doing well. I posted this one as it brought me such pleasure in a special hour of need and I wanted to share that. I only post nice things as you well understand. I'm only now able to respond to more email from a few people. I wish you many sweet blessings...and if they don't come, then go out and steal them! :D
      hugs
      lady

      Delete
  10. Rose petal jam - I will have to keep my eyes wide open for that one - sounds enchanting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it IS enchanting! I tried it last night on my chocolate ice cream not that chocolate needs improving by any means, but it sure did move up to Heavenly status with the rose jelly!

      Delete
  11. What a lovely story Lady. You are one of the few bloggers who make dining truly an art form. I would like to try the rose petal jelly someday, but for now I will have to settle for honey and a pot of tea!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh my! This sounds so amazing - I'll have to list these ingredients and try to find them...sublime! Love the story - I am sure it was great fun for them watching you taste this delight! I appreciate you sharing with A Return to Loveliness,
    Kathy

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh wow oh WOW!
    Heaven in the kitchen!!! My dear Lady, I DO know what this sublime jelly tastes like! My childhood in Odessa on the Black Sea...we were blessed to have Rose Jam from Bulgaria...it was Divine!
    So I know exactly how happy your mouth must have been on that day with your Greek friends! :)))
    I was extolling the magic of Rose Jam to Anita just a few weeks ago...I must track it down now.
    I LOVE how you describe the ritual, down to your ballerina twirl in that lovely pink dress :)))!
    You are wonderful! What a happy post (and gorgeous roses)...
    Bubbly blessings, dear friend...
    - Irina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh thank you Irina, how sweet and joyful you are to appreciate it. Coincidence you were speaking of this Rose Jam too...Bulgaria must be the best because the best rose oil comes from there! If only I can get my hands on some! I'm out of rose oil, a ''never'' in my book, but alas....!
      I do love it on yogurt and ice cream too. LOL
      hugs
      lady

      Delete

Your thoughts and comments are always appreciated and responded to when possible.