week in snapshots

1. turtle, 2. yellow water flower, 3. smiles, 4. swing, 5. round moss, 6. strawberries and lavender, 7. orchid, 8. swing and chimes, 9. whoa, 10. wild strawberries, 11. black swallowtail, 12. dad's father's day card

1. A turtle we discovered on the path to John's shop.
2. We kayaked today but the water was so swift I got few pictures. I got this one because I was on a side shoot of the main branch, but I got attacked by stinging nettle in the process! The flowers were lovely even though I don't know what they are.
3. Jude and John have a routine called hugs, noses, smile. This is smile...looking intently into each others eyes.
4. Jude and I hung out for a while at a client's house on the creek while John installed that corner desk. They have a really lovely spot.
5. I love moss.
6. See recipe for strawberry lavender sorbet posted earlier this week. YUM!
7. This was a gift I received at a retreat I went to last weekend. The orchid was so exotic compared to everything else that I am surround by, but I loved seeing every day on our kitchen table. It was "a gift".
8. I wish you could hear this shot.
9. Jude wasn't crazy about the rope swing.
10. We discovered a nice patch of wild strawberries. I hope the slugs leave a few for us. We are just about to begin the season of fruit foraging around here. Mulberries are just about ready.
11. This butterfly was hanging out at our house all day today. And it just didn't fly away when you approached. I couldn't help but think of Bennett and took this shot for John.
12. This was a shot from our nature walk earlier in the week that I fancied up with picnik.

homemade...strawberry lavender sorbet

I finally gorged myself with enough fresh strawberries that I decided I could spare a few for a recipe. I decided it would be fun to make a sorbet with lavender that I have in the garden. Since I don’t use a lot of sugar, I decided to experiment with honey. There are only 6 ingredients in this recipe and it is so simple and a bit magical. Just wait until you see how these 6 ingredients transform themselves into a smooth, creamy palate cleansing delicacy. The result of the alchemy is not overly sweet and the honey and lavender come through as subtly floral. This is just perfect for an evening eating alfresco with family and friends…so lovely. Everything seems lovely to me lately, but strawberry lavender sorbet is especially lovely.

Strawberry Lavender Sorbet

What you need:

1 quart of strawberries

2 cups of water

1 cup of honey

12 springs of fresh lavender (or 1 tablespoon of dried lavender blossoms)

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 egg yolk

What you need to do:

1. Bring water and honey to a gentle boil in a medium saucepan. Continue to boil for 5 minutes.

2. Add lavender and remove from heat. Let the syrup infuse for 1 hour.

3. Strain syrup to remove lavender blossoms.

3. Remove stems from strawberries and puree them in a food processor.

4. Add lemon juice and cooled syrup and blend completely until the mixture is smooth.

5. Place into a shallow dish with lid.

6. Freeze overnight or for a few hours.

7. Scrap mixture back into food processor add egg yolk and blend until smooth and creamy.

8. Replace mixture to dish and freeze for another few hours until frozen completely.

Enjoy!