Having an English grandmother means having memories of superb and peculiar summer desserts. Considered quite unusual by North American standards, these desserts rely heavily on molds and gelatin tins, pound cakes soaked in fruit juices and swirls of heavy cream whipped with well-cooked berries, rhubarb and apples - mashed and chilled and arranged in a semi-formal presentation that is best given outdoors. With strange names like Whim-Whams, Syllabubs and Fruit Fools, the array of English summer desserts are as lively to the palette as they sound.
In the June, 2000, issue of Martha Stewart Living there is a wonderful and nostalgic look at these grandmotherly, English 'puddings' and how to prepare them yourself.
The classic summer pudding terrine takes center stage in front of an arrangement of fragrant roses in Martha's back yard. The dessert consists of white bread soaked in berry juices molded around a melange of cooked, sweetened and chilled berries and fruits. Towards the back of the table is the blancmange, a molded jelly dessert made of almond-steeped milk. Each place setting offers a healthy helping of red gooseberry fools - a mixture of whipped cream and sweetened berry preserve.
Plate cakes are an English tradition that date back decades. Black currants, raspberries, gooseberries and apples are mixed inside a flaky dome of pastry crust. They are baked on oven-proof plates and can be served either warm or cool.
Fools are made with crushed, sweetened, soft fruit that is folded into whipped heavy cream. Green and red gooseberries are used to make two of the fools above. Blueberries flavour the third.
Whether you pronounce the word Martha's way (with a firm and definite 'h' sound) or the British way (silent 'h' all the way) there is no denying the importance of herbs to any edible garden. This is why the New York Botanical Garden is presenting a summer-long exhibition called 'The Edible Garden' at its facilities in the Bronx, including a highlight called "Martha Stewart's Culinary Herb Garden." This will be a collection of the finest culinary herbs, personally selected by Martha Stewart. The living spice rack will include 50 different types of herbs from around the world, including French tarragon and sorrel, English thyme, Italian parsley, Mexican cilantro and Greek oregano. The show begins on June 27th and runs until September 13th. I'm still waiting for confirmation, but there is speculation that Martha will be giving a lecture at the event later this summer. The special exhibit will also feature sections on growing tropical fruits and children's vegetable gardens.
This is a plan of the Nancy Ryan Luce Garden, which Martha was asked to redesign for her herb exhibit. To explore the garden further, visit http://www.marthastewart.com/garden.
Suzy Bales knows I love her books. Ever since I first read her amazing book "The Garden in Winter," I've been collecting her extraordinary books on the simple but entirely consuming art of gardening: "A Garden of Fragrance," "Garden Parties" and my personal favourite, "The Down-to-Earth Gardener," which is the subject of this particular post.
Suzy was gracious enough to send me two review copies of her books, including "The Down-to-Earth Gardener" when she read my glowing review of "The Garden in Winter." Always thankful for such random acts of kindness, I sent her a thank-you card and since then I've been scouring her books for all the tips and insight needed for the outdoor cultivator. (I should point out here that I do not have a garden of my own and could easily write a book entitled "The Eventual Gardener" since much of my existence in the spring and summer months is spent pining restlessly after flowers and plants that do not grow on my premises.)
Suzy Bales and a fluffy companion in her garden, pictured on the cover of the book. Many fans of Martha's publications will relate to the well-written and personal perspective of Suzy's advice.
I've always loved good gardening books, and I've collected my share. Suzy's books find venerated spaces on my bookshelves amid my gardening-tome collection. It's precisely this 'down-to-earth' perspective she has mastered that first hooked me on her writing in her book about understanding and loving the garden in the cold, foreboding season of death. Even the concept of such a book intrigued me. In "The Down-to-Earth Gardener" we see Suzy at her best, tending and loving and exploring her property in the Hamptons with the wisdom and fearlessness of a gardener with focus.
What makes her books unique is their conversational tone. You feel, sometimes, that you are sitting on her patio, gazing out at the landscape, listening to her speak about this section of the garden or that one. Or perhaps you're strolling with her through her lilac and peony walkway, inhaling the incredible fragrance as she directs your eye to a particular cultivar the average visitor may not notice.
The book is filled with 'vignettes' - little moments of wisdom that will prove to be invaluable to you as you plan your own garden. Though the advice stems from her personal experience in her personal garden, it is applicable to any northeast garden and to any gardener.
Below are some photographs from the book. I highly recommend it!
A breathtaking scene along Suzy's driveway. An ornamental crabapple tree and a linden are dressed with skirts of early blooms, including tulips and forget-me-nots.
Climbing roses and Boston ivy grow profusely along the walls of the carriage house on the property. Suzy explains in detail some of the successes and hardships she has had with climbing roses.
The entrance to the lilac and peony walk on Suzy's property begs the explorer to linger a little on a quaint iron bench.
A walk along the lilac and peony walk in spring must be a fragrant delight!
A large pond at the base of a hill on Suzy's property is filled with perennial water lilies, lotus and fish. The pond adds a light, reflective element to the property. Hydrangeas bloom along the shore.
I read Martha's magazines for all kinds of reasons. There are the usual lures: great recipes, creative craft ideas, beautiful decorating projects, all kinds of information on the domestic arts and, of course, those momentary glimpses into Martha's homes and gardens. I also read them to study their aesthetic: layout, font, photography, page design and graphics. Each of Martha's magazines has won awards in design categories and these publications are truly leaders in the magazine publishing industry. When I got the July/August issue of Everyday Food recently, I was so pleasantly surprised by the beautiful new look of the magazine. It seemed cleaner, brighter, fresher and more vibrant, with added punch and vigor. I produced some tear sheets below to demonstrate:
The cover did not change much. It's still impacting and bright, but I still find it too cluttered. And I'm still not convinced we need three reminders on the cover that it is a Martha Stewart publication: "Great Food Fast From Martha Stewart", "A Martha Stewart Magazine", and Martha's smiling face on each issue, in a changing spectrum of pastel blouses. We get it: Martha has a hand in Everyday Food.
I love the gigantic font on this page in the electric blue tone. It's a perfect contrast to the rustic image and gives the page so much impact.
Another fantastic use of font and design, mixed with high-contrast photography to create a really powerful page.
This page is reminiscent of a page from Martha Stewart Living, with a streamlined mix of information and photography in a casual glossary format.
The July/August issue is filled with full-page photography, something that used to be a rarity in Everyday Food. Minimal dialogue on certain pages (or none at all) give the eye a needed visual pause and a chance to linger on the delicious-looking completed recipes, which is important to see for the home cook.
The warm weather is upon us and it won't be long before we head for the beach, our tote bags stuffed with surf-side essentials. I'm a quasi-collector of fabulous towels (only large beach towels, thank you very much) and many of the ones I have are hommages to various brands and designers: an orange Ralph Lauren towel with the giant pony logo in navy blue, a rainbow Lacoste towel with a giant alligator logo, an Egyptian-cotton towel with large, red embroidered butterflies and a very campy towel with an Erte diva in full-glam apparel. These ones below, part of the Martha Stewart Collection at Macy's, would make fantastic additions to my large large-towel trove: a Martha must-have! (Does anyone remember, by the way, those fabulous towels from the Catalog for Living from 2001 with the classical nautical motifs - fish, coral, etc. - beautifully overlaid on plush, dark cotton? Sigh. The towels that got away... I should have ordered one when I had the chance.)
Garden Beach Towel
Tent Beach Towel For Two
Koi Pond Beach Towel
Dahlia Beach Towel
Kimono Beach Towel
Beaded Beach Towel
The classic summer pudding terrine takes center stage in front of an arrangement of fragrant roses in Martha's back yard. The dessert consists of white bread soaked in berry juices molded around a melange of cooked, sweetened and chilled berries and fruits. Towards the back of the table is the blancmange, a molded jelly dessert made of almond-steeped milk. Each place setting offers a healthy helping of red gooseberry fools - a mixture of whipped cream and sweetened berry preserve.
Plate cakes are an English tradition that date back decades. Black currants, raspberries, gooseberries and apples are mixed inside a flaky dome of pastry crust. They are baked on oven-proof plates and can be served either warm or cool.
Fools are made with crushed, sweetened, soft fruit that is folded into whipped heavy cream. Green and red gooseberries are used to make two of the fools above. Blueberries flavour the third.
Whim-Whams are essentially miniature trifles, combining delicious custard, berries, cream, brandy (optional) and crisp almond biscuit pieces.
A closer look at the blancmange: For presentation, sugared currants are placed around the cake plate. The flavour is light, nutty and creamy.
Iced lemon-and-raspberry syllabubs look beautiful topped with candied lemon rind. These simple and refreshing desserts have been popular in England for more than 300 years.
