Spring is surely my favorite season…In February, we had early blooming Bulbs and Branches- then a cold snap in the last week or so. In the South, we always expect fickle weather, some downpours, a late frost or two and outright craziness. It’s been beautiful here for a few days, so what could be a better time than the first of Spring to get out and poke around, make some observations, snip some herbs, look for the bare spots and make some lightweight decisions? Here’s what I found…
It’s fun to make a Bouquet of Herbs, spread Clippings out, round up some errant Seed Packets and gather up some Passalong Plants. I found sweet faced Wood Violets, Pansies and Johnny Jump Ups- all edible flowers, they would be so pretty decorating a Cake or even a Spring Salad. The Mint is looking good, the Sage didn’t do so well and one of the new Rosemary plants may need to be moved. I sketched out a new place to grow hardy herbs- and moist or sunny places to put Basil, Mint and tender Lettuces depending on what they like best! The Dandelion’s flowers are bright but it’s the leaves that add a peppery flavor to Salads. The Red Camellia is still holding forth but the new Pink Camellias struggled with the drought last year. The Flowering Quince has just about had it for this spring and is beginning to leaf out, there are Bearded Iris Rhizomes we divided last fall- so many in fact- I know I’ll need to pass some of those along!
The tiny blades of Yard Chives- are fun to wrap up Tea Sandwiches like a little package or snip across a bowl of Potato Soup. The Mixed Lettuce and Spinach Seeds are up a few inches, time to plant some more and get a few pots of Basil Seeds started. I even found a few faux eggs hanging around! Wonder where they came from?? Of course nothing’s better than to sit down with a cup of Coffee with Pen and Paper to make a few notes for what the Cottage Garden’s been doing- it’s like welcoming back old friends and greeting new ones . Before the Garden Centers are a riot of color, see what you already have… I hope you’ll get out and Forage for Spring’s Facts and Fun in your yard. Let me know what your Garden’s been up to!
O Lord of Life, In these beautiful days approaching Spring- we are painfully aware of the human condition which cannot understand Your Divine Ways. Some of us bear the final grief of loss and loneliness standing by an open grave; and others bear a living grief which has no grave and sees no end to suffering and sorrow. We think of those-
whose eyes are glazed over by constant pain,
whose ears hear the deafening silence of inner rooms darkened by worry,
numbed by losses which came too soon,
who sit in speechless shock.
Will You enter those grief-filled rooms with the Comfort only You can bring, whispering Grace scented with Mercy and Great Love? Human sympathy and healing cannot mend broken hearts- cannot heal broken spirits. We ask You to reveal Yourself as the One Who has suffered, Who has felt forsaken and Whose Human Flesh gave up, as You exhaled Your Spirit into Your Father’s safekeeping. Fill us now, with Springtime Resurrection Reassurance, grant to us Faith which shines through our tears. We pray that we will do more than just endure- that we will seek our Rest in Your Loving Arms; lean into the full Divine Embrace You always offer. May our weary heartsick souls seek You often. And when we survey the Cross of Calvary, we are grateful for Your Divine Permission to cry out- ‘MyGod, why have You forsaken Me?’
Disease is the dull key,
Pain is a sharp chord,
Suffering is a sour note,
Death is the broken chords of the human experience.
We confess we have never been able to orchestrate more than somber funeral marches to the tune of human suffering. We do not understand it, we hate the sound of it- will You give us Comfort in knowing that farther along we’ll understand why- that one day when You have wiped away all of our tears and put an end to all human sorrow- we will finally hear how You added the Grace Notes, blended an Angelic Chorus and brought all of the unfinished songs, the bitter notes and broken chords of Life together into a Divinely Glorious Melody. Give to us now that Faith which continues to seek the twinkling stars through tear filled eyes. Grant to us a stubborn Hope when the darkest night holds forth. Fill us with an unshakeable conviction that You are the Eternal Embodiment of Springtime filled with Exceeding and Abundant Love beyond the confines of mere mortal existence. May we be forever sustained by Your Great Love, upheld by Your Immense Power and enabled to live in the steady Light of Your Eternal Peace. In the Name of Life Eternal, we make our prayer. Amen.
With sweet thoughts and prayers for those who suffer and sorrow now- On this blessed Lord’s Day, please know-
May Lamb’s Ears and Shamrocks frolic in your fields…May Ferns unfurl in soft Moss Forests like Irish Angel Wings…
May you find a lucky freckled Lad with bouncing Irish curls…
May your plate be filled with Irish Potatoes ‘neath tender Cabbage leaves…
May your Lace be fine as cobwebs and Linens soft and worn…
May light fill twinklin’ Crystal while Irish eyes are laughin’ on misty afternoons…Then sip cream-topped Coffee and hear a Celtic tune…
May your friendships be as Wild Irish Roses with memories so sweet…
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And when this cobbled lane has ended and I walk the streets of gold- May you find the Irish Blessings and know I think of you.
Love y’all, Camellia
*The photograph of the sun rising- was taken by me- St. Patrick’s Day 2016, the beautiful photographs of roses are from Jeremy Miniard’s collection, find Jeremy at http://www.jeremy.miniard.fineartamerica.com, all other photographs are from Camellia’s Cottage community right here in Alabama and should not be used without permission.
Southern Pound Cakes are the standard bearer of civilized Southern Society. You can hold your head up high if there is a pound cake in the house, especially if you have perfected pound cakes made by your ancestors. It is considered treasonous to proclaim another person’s pound cake is better than your momma’s. The Southern obsession with good manners, genteel living and our thinly disguised ancestor worship may be summed up in the humble Southern Pound Cake. ‘This pound cake was mah momma’s recipe and her muhtha before her- why mah family’s been making pound cakes for at least 7 generations. If ah’m not badly mistaken it was one of her ancestors who brought the first pound cake over on the Mayflower or they surely would’ve starved to death!’ We can say that without shame or the benefit of DNA testing – because we know who we think we are! We know our pound cakes are the best if our mommas made it- the crumb must be microscopically fine, the texture must be moist, tender, baked to perfection and long lasting, just look at the texture-
Southern Pound Cakes are high in fat content- the term ‘livin’ high on the hog’– means you have an all butter Southern Pound Cake in the house! The Southern standard of excellence in pound cake baking is to carry on the all-important tradition of being able to entertain at a moment’s notice. To have a pound cake in the freezer or to send a pound cake to any and all joyous occasions and a Southern Pound Cake for uplifting sustenance during bereavement is an inherited skill. Bake a pound cake and you’re ready for anything life throws your way.
Bake a pound cake and you will hear– ‘Mah ancestral muh-thas were known to have beaus swarming from all the surroundin’ counties just to get one taste of those delectable pound cakes! Make a pound cake and men will flock around like a murder of crows!’ So, one of our closely guarded secrets is out– Men love pound cakes and will worship the women who bake them. Southern Pound Cake bakers don’t need dating advice or ancestry sites- we just need to have a third or fourth generation recipe for a Southern Pound cake! And…if you have several variations of that recipe- let’s just say…it’s very effective. Well before a Southern lady was rulin’ the world rockin’ the cradle, she was wielding a silver handled cake knife over an array of pound cakes!
We also know this to be a fact, if a Southern Belle is incapable of outrageous flirting or holding up her end of the conversation, when she sweetly says-‘Would anyone like a sl-eye-ce of pound cake?’ – all eyes will rivet toward the Belle with the silver cake server shining like new money. We southern girls invented the concept of the way to get to a man is through his stomach. My own grandmother’s pound cake recipe was delicious plain but- she had at least four killervariations! Recently we had a birthday at Camellia’s Cottage- the birthday boy wanted a Chocolate Pound Cake with Chocolate Glaze. Months before his actual birthday, he ventured very carefully into the sensitive subject of pound cakes-
‘Now you know I think your pound cake is the best in the worldbut I was just wondering if you evah make a chocolate pound cake? I was actually dreamin’ of one that had a chocolate glaze on top!’ The answer was quick and sure, ‘Why yes, GiGi made chocolatepound cakes for special occasions and always gilded the lily with a chocolate glaze!’ Because of his sincerity and genteel request, Ah’ve re-named this one- Deke’s Decadent Pound Cake– that boy was proud as punch of the chocolate pound cake of his dreams!
Chocolate Pound Cake is one of my grandmother’s variations- another variation was:
GiGi’s Coconut Pound cake. Grated Coconut was added to the batter- and always flavored with Almond Extract. After the tube pan was greased, instead of flouring the pan- the tube pan was coated heavily with finely gratedcoconut. This outstanding version came out of the oven with Toasty Coconut on the sides and bottom. GiGi’s Coconut Pound cake was wonderful during the Holidays alongside Southern Orange Ambrosia.
Another variation to the plain Southern Pound Cake is the substitution of Lemon Extract, then finished with a Thick White Lemon Glaze; sip a glass of lemonade or a long tall iced tea with Heavenly Lemon Glazed Pound Cake
Still another variation was a family favorite that I’ve never found in any Southern cookbook. The batter is GiGi’s plain pound cake- along with vanilla extract, then for the killer variation- Bourbon is added to flavor the batter. Grease and flour as usual except for the bottom of the tube pan- at least a half stick of melted Salted Butter is p0ured in along with 2 cups of pecans. Don’t get any ideas that this variation is like those Yankee Sticky Buns- this is a Southern Salted Pecan Pound Cake. A man will lay down his life for just one slice of the Salted Pecan, so ladies please don’t trifle with a man’s affections if you aren’t serious.
I must tell you that in civilized gatherings Strawberry Shortcake is made with Plain Southern Pound Cake, topped with lightly sugared fresh strawberries and fresh whipped cream, that’s the right way to make it. Do not use those dried out grocery store shells or Cat Head biscuits. To use a Cat Head biscuit with sugar on top for Strawberry Shortcake is just plain laziness.
Gigi’s Plain Pound Cake has 3 sticks of salted butter creamed with 3 cups of sugar, 8 large eggs added one at a time, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and at least ½ teaspoon of almond extract. Sift together at least three times- 1 ½ cups of all purpose flour and 1 ½ cups of cake flour, then fold the flour into the butter, sugar and egg mixture- do this as lightly as you can. Do not use a mixer to do this step.The batter will be thick. Prepare a tube pan with parchment paper on the bottom, then the sides and bottom are greased with butter, then floured. Scoop the thick batter in, smooth the batter out lightly and evenly before baking in a 325ºoven.Bake for one hour, test with a toothpick, just know that the pound cake will most likely need to be baked another 15 minutes. Let cool until cake pulls away from the sides on it’s own. Do not force the pound cake from the pan. Run a knife carefully around the tube. Remove the pound cake with the top side up. Cool completely on a wire rack.
It is tempting to eat a piece of hot pound cake- please note this is uncivilized, even uncouth; though eating a slice of pound cake for breakfast is an exceptional luxury. Now, you may have noticed that there is not one drop of Milk in GiGi’s recipe- butter is the only dairy product included. My grandmother collected recipes for Sour Cream Pound Cake and Cream Cheese Pound Cake but she never veered from her own perfect Southern Pound Cake. She believed that milk or cream in any form- made a pound cake tough which tended to make the cake dry out quicker. Also, I know she suspected that a Cream Cheese Pound Cake was made by some woman who had made an unholy alliance sometime during or after that unpleasant conflict with the Yankees. Since it is a well known fact that Philadelphia is the home of American Cream Cheese…do I have to spell it out for you? Though some women insisted that their Cream Cheese came from Philadelphia Mississippi, still we aren’t going to mess with GiGi’s ancestral pound cake recipe! Though I do have to admit that I have had cream cheese and sour cream pound cakes that are exceptionally good! By now, I am sure you are completely convinced that we are crazy in Alabama- well we are crazy, we’re crazy ’bout Southern Pound Cakes in all of their glory and variations!
Deke’s Decadent Chocolate Pound Cake
Now you know those are some beautiful Southern Pound Cakes!
Love y’all, Camellia
*photographs are obviously mine! A big thank you to Deke for letting me photograph a slice of Deke’s Decadent Chocolate Pound Cake!
‘Friends are like Front Porch Pillars- Sometimes they hold you up, sometimes they lean on you; Sometimes it’s just enough to know they’re standing by for you.’ – quote from one of my favorite posts on Camellia’s Cottage- Front Porches of Alabama! Most of the photographs are from Jeremy Miniard’s fantastic collection. Springtime is a great time to think about curb appeal- these certainly have inspired me! Love y’all, Camellia
‘Friends are like the pillars on your Front Porch…Sometimes they hold you up, Sometimes they lean on you; Sometimes, it’s just enough to know they’re standing by for you…’
Yes, welcome to the Porches of Alabama… ‘How do you do’, ‘Y’all come up and set a while’ or ‘Tell me all about it, we’ll figure out what to do’…
We’ll sip a glass of sweet iced tea, sit and watch the sunset, blink with the lightin’ bugs and hear the crickets sing. Softly sing a song or two, a stolen kiss, a sweet embrace, a gentle breeze to chase the blues away…
‘We’re glad you came’- Are you sure y’all can’t stay awhile?’ with gentle hugs, a tear or two-‘Now don’t be a stranger’ or ‘Please don’t go we’ll miss you so!’ We’ll watch until you’re out of sight-from the Front Porches in Alabama.
With sweet thoughts and prayers for those who suffer and sorrow now- On this blessed Lord’s Day, please know-
An Irish Blessing
