Christmas flowers

Monday was our garden club's annual Community projects benefit. Penn Cumberland Garden Club hosts a luncheon featuring a talented flower arranger. They also sell lots of fresh cut and conditioned greens, baked goods and other ways and means. It has turned into a not to be missed event. The speaker this year was Michael O'Neill of Foxboro, PA. Here is a small sampling of his arrangements.

The candle sticks have an orange with another half an orange on top. The 24 inch candles are put through the oranges and then the fresh greens were poked into the top half orange which keeps them moist and looking fresh through the event. It smells wonderful also.

The simple tartan plaid arrangement is a clear glass cylinder container lined on the inside with fabric. Clever!

The ornament arrangement was made with 45 carnations (!) tucked into an oasis ball. The top of the ornament is a gold spray can lid with a pipe cleaner hook.

Gingerbread Boys & Girls!

Preparations are underway for the next holiday event at the tea room. The fragrance of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and freshly grated nutmeg perfumed the air as these Gingerbread guys and gals were baking yesterday. The tea room will transform into Mrs. Claus' kitchen as we will be decorating Gingerbread houses on Saturday, another holiday tradition. Simple decorations have brought these cookies to life, and they await their fate. Our mom and daughter teams have the option of nibbling on gingerbread cookies, or simply adding them to their creations. 
Not having enough patience or time to actually bake and construct eighteen houses, there is a local bakery that whips up the houses, and provides the royal icing 'glue' and a variety candies to decorate the houses. In addition, we provide these little guys, along with a cup of hot cocoa at the end of the morning. The tea room is quite a sight with all those houses decorated in red and gold wrapped candies, little girls and boys beaming with pride as they show off their accomplishment, instant holiday decoration for the moms. 

Our Annual Holiday Tea

The Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving marks the beginning of our holiday season. Our Annual Holiday Tea is served on these days, with groups at 11 am and also 2 pm. The tea room is decorated for the holiday, and the festive tea plates and cups have replaced the English floral patterns that we use throughout the year. The first course consisted of Amaretto Cheese spread with assorted crackers, and a few pieces of a Clementine. That was followed with the sandwich course. We served warm Phyllo Cheese Triangles, local Red Radishes on white bread with French Style cheese spread, Chicken Waldorf salad Triangle with, Pimiento Cheese Spread on Pumpernickel, and and Open Faced Cranberry Maple Spread Sandwich, in addition to a small serving of local, organic Sweet Potato Slaw. The scone course, served piping hot, fresh from the oven, included Traditional English Cream Scones and Orange Almond Scones accompanied with Mock Clotted Cream, Lemon Curd, Cinnamon Honey Butter, and Cherry Amaretto Jam with fresh orange slices and sweet pineapple cubes. The final course, pictured here with the Tea selections for the day included rich Irish Cream Fudge, Mini Pumpkin cheesecake, Thumbprint cookies and a Chocolate Chip/Pecan cookie. With poinsettia tablecloths, and bright red napkins, the holiday season has begun. The table top tree is up, and fully decorated with tea themed ornaments. Twinkling lights, holly leaves, and red berries grace the swag that hangs from the stairway. Decorative Santas are tucked here and there throughout the tea room. With the hint of holiday music in the background, the holiday celebrations have begun. Let our hearts be merry!

Super Scone Sunday

This past Sunday was a special event at Sweet Remembrances. During the winter months we like to feature a scone and tea event which we call Super Scone Sunday. We offer a variety of scones with mixed toppings, and assorted fresh fruit, all accompanied with a warm pot of properly brewed tea. The top tier held heart shaped lemon-cherry scones with fresh orange slices. The middle tier featured triangular pumpkin scones with grapes and kiwi slices. The bottom tier held traditional English cream scones and thin slices of green apple and red pears. The toppings included a mock clotted cream, lemon curd, cinnamon honey butter, and Marmalady's cherry amaretto jam. The tea selection is varied, and the pots are refilled cheerfully. As you can see from the photo, we have switched to our holiday decor with festive tea cozies and poinsettia topped tiered stand.

In Sweet Remembrance

Today, November 26th, is our mother's birthday. In sweet celebration, I am happy to share a page from Bertha Reppert's Twelvemonth Herbal. This herbal provides a peek into her personal diary. She wrote about her herb garden, her family, and shared easy recipes from her kitchen.

Full of favorite quotes and fun tips, it is an easy to read herbal with each page devoted to a day in her life, centered around herbs. On her birthday, she shares her favorite things.

November 26, My Favorite Things

Visiting a well clipped knot garden...Making wormwood wreaths...Watching winter birds at the feeders in the snow...Bird songs at nesting time...The sound of rain against windows...Pansy faces, smiling at me...Purple...Little girls in jumpers and tights...Small Boy Scouts on parade, carrying flags...A gloomy day with nothing scheduled...Noisy holidays when everyone comes home...Family, close friends, laughter and love...Hyacinths in February, in pots, blooming...A letter from my sister...Bach's B Minor Mass, in its entirety...Wearing my "sheep to shawl," plant dyed...Embroidery - and the time to embroider...A cold bedroom, warm comforters and snuggling...Markets, especially farmer's markets, anywhere...To feast my eyes on earth's bounty...Borage growing lustily in a crack in the pavement...Strolling cool damp woods on a hot summer's day...Golden witchhazel threads glowing in a winter woods...Walking barefoot in the grass...Sunny fields of golden mustard...or dandelions...or goldenrod...Church bells peeling the Angelus while I'm working my stilled garden...This is my birthday wish list!

The quotes that she included on this page:

The angel that presided o'er my birth,

Said "Little creature, formed of joy and mirth,

Go love without the help of anything on Earth." - William Blake

and also,

Whoever loves much, does much. - Thomas A. Kempis

Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you and miss you.

Pumpkin Pie - sugar free, crustless, & easy too!

The holiday preparations are underway in our household. The grocery shopping is done, the menu planned. Although, that's easy - since it's always the same for Thanksgiving and Christmas! However, this year I plan on making a corn pudding that will be baked and served in a pumpkin. The rule is, we are allowed to add something to the menu, we just aren't allowed to remove anything from the traditional menu. The family is expected to arrive later this afternoon, and the celebrations will officially begin. The littlest ones have been busily perfecting a presentation about the Pilgrims and also thinking about what they are grateful for this Thanksgiving.

In the meantime, pumpkin pie is cooling on the kitchen counter. This special pumpkin pie always graces our dessert table for the holidays. Quick and easy, it mixes up in a hurry, and helps counterbalance all the calories eaten during the actual Thanksgiving feast. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie

2 c. pumpkin
2 eggs
1 - 12 oz. can evaporated milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
3 packets sweetener

Spray a 9" pie pan with Pam. Beat all pie ingredients together. Pour into prepared pan; sprinkle with additional cinnamon. Bake in preheated 450 degree oven for 10 minutes, then reduce oven to 350 degrees and bake an additional 35 minutes, until set. Remove from oven, allow to cool. Keep refrigerated.

Byron's Potato Filling

Dark & Dreary out today

Another of our classic family recipes is Byron’s Potato Filling. Only the Pennsylvania Dutch would combine potatoes and bread in this fashion and as the saying goes “They know what good is”. This recipe serves 10 so it is perfect for feeding all the family at the holidays. Leftovers, freeze well and are used to make a turkey casserole to eat in the dead of winter allowing us to taste the flavors of the holidays again. During one of Dad’s election campaigns this recipe was used on the back of his campaign card and even voters from the opposing party were asking for his card!
½ pound butter
½ loaf white bread, cubed
½ bunch celery, diced
3 large onions, sliced
12 large potatoes, boiled
2 C milk
4 eggs
1 T salt
½ c fresh parsley, minced

Melt ¼ pound of butter, each, in two frying pans. In one pan, brown the bread cubes until they are crisped, In the other, stir fry the celery and onions until softened and translucent. Mash the potatoes, gradually adding the milk, eggs, salt and parsley. Fold in the cooked celery, onions and browned bread cubes. Pour into one large ovenware dish or two small ones and bake for ½ hour or until the bird is carved.

While The Rosemary House was begun by Bertha Reppert, this family enterprise has always included all the family members. One of Byron Reppert (Dad's) main jobs for 30+ years was as the book keeper for the business. He kept all the records, kept us out of jail (by doing all the government paperwork efficiently and on time), and did the banking. The “King” was always happy in the counting house. We have always kept a Jalap root (Ipomoea jalapa ) in the cash drawer since the root is known to increase money, love, and success. Scott Cunningham in his Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs says to anoint the root with mint essential oil and tie in a green sachet to attract money. So we do this occasionally with a “can’t hurt ~~might help” philosophy. One particularly busy December my dad took a large minty smelling deposit to the bank and the middle aged matronly teller announced loudly to the crowded lobby “Oh, Mr Reppert, You always make my drawers smell so nice…”

Sausage Soup.

Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays both feature the same delicious menu at our home. This is a menu that has not changed in my lifetime and for as long as I can remember has been prepared by my father Byron Reppert (age 86). Dad is a WW II marine, member of Mechanicsburg’s Boro Council for 16 years and mayor of the town for 4 years. He is one of our biggest supporters in any endeavor we take on. About 3 years ago Dad felt the big family meal might be too much for him to prepare by himself so I apprenticed Thanksgiving Dinner. Our festivities begin on the eve of the Holiday with our traditional Sausage Soup. A prepare ahead meal that can be simmering until all members of the family have arrived. To make this hearty soup use chopped Smoked Sausage cooked in boiling water. Add onion and potatoes to the pot, just before serving add some milk, which gives the soup a creamy color and helps to cool the fat. We have always found the flavor of the smoked sausage offers enough seasoning to this soup. The Senior member of our family usually muses that they used to call this “poor man’s soup but with the price of sausage these days you can’t call it that anymore”. The annual tale continues with “and when we were really poor we made the soup with pretzels instead”. Tomorrow we will have another of Dad's family recipes, his famous potato filling. Yum!

Little Women

It doesn't matter how old you are, everyone likes to play dress ups! On this very special fall evening, we were headed to a colonial dinner to be held at the Frankeberger Tavern in downtown Mechanicsburg. This special event was sponsored by the Mechanicsburg Museum Association . In an annual fund raising event, the museum raffles a complete dinner for 10, and Susanna had the winning ticket! The log house Tavern was built in 1801 by George Frankeberger and served as his home and also offered a comfortable place for animal drovers and other travelers to rest. The building has been restored and now offers a hands-on learning experience and a bit of living history for the community. The museum association inspires the imagination and encourages learning. Our dinner was prepared over an open hearth and served by candlelight. It was a bountiful feast, and those preparing the meal were delighted that we dressed the part, noting that we were the first to do so. It was Susanna's idea to dress up, and we all played along. Her sweet daughter said she 'felt like Felicity', one of the American girl dolls. In this photo, we are standing on the steps of Union Church, built in 1825, it was a center for freedom of worship for the townspeople. Today the church is available for private services or weddings. It is also open during special events held in town.

Tea Sandwiches

Tea sandwiches are an integral part of hosting an afternoon tea. Although the traditional chicken salad or cucumber sandwich might be considered staples, why not serve something a little different. I love to come up with a variety of sandwiches, the filling or the bread can be unique and prove interesting. This individual sandwich plate was recently served at one of our special events. It represents only a portion of the tea party dainties that were served that day, of course there were oven fresh scones and a variety of desserts also. This plate of sandwiches included a basic ham salad served in a crisp phyllo cup, a Swiss cheese apple melt on crostini, a cranberry maple spread on white bread, an asparagus finger sandwich with egg yolk butter (a Martha Stewart recipe), and a shredded cucumber round with a burnet leaf garnish (in the herb garden, burnet mimics the taste of cucumber). The Swiss cheese melt and the cranberry maple spread are recipes from Pat Hartman of Civil-La-Tea, a Gettysburg tea room that has since closed but continues to sell teas and cookbooks on line. I've enjoyed making and serving the recipes from both of her cookbooks. Personally, I utilize a wide variety of sources for tea sandwich ideas including magazines, the Internet, and other tea room cookbooks that all inspire the next plate of sandwiches.

What's for dinner?

Wednesday was another delivery day of organic fresh produce from Spiral Path Farm; therefor, dinner tonight centered around the veggies from the box, and the recipe they so graciously included in their newsletter.
Potato Leek Soup -
Scrub the potatoes, it's not necessary to peel them, and cube into small pieces, about 5 - 6 cups. Slice 2 leeks into thin rings (about half way up the stem to the leaves). Saute leeks in a little olive oil. Add potatoes, 1 Tbsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper. Cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Puree about 2 cups of the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth. (Or puree it all if you want a very smooth soup). Return puree to the pot, and gently mix together. Add 2 cups whole milk or half and half plus 2 cups grated cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. Garnish with freshly grated cheese and a few snipped chives. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Herb or 'erb

Written by Bertha Reppert in 1981 and found in the archives of The Rosemary House, this subject is a pertinent today as it was then.

“A herb is an erb is a herb is an erb” to paraphrase a certain G. Stein and with apologies to rose lovers everywhere. The pronunciation of this simple four letter word unnerves the most forthright conversationalist.

It’s “ee-ther” or “i-ther” -- take your choice. As my erudite consort states, “If you’re French, it’s erb; if your English, it’s herb; if your American, say urb.”

The dictionary gives you a choice in the matter, listing both pronunciations as acceptable. Strangely enough, there is no such controversy about ”herbacesous,” the original root of the word. Here Mr. Webster uses the h and gives us no options. The same is true of herbal, herbalist, herbarium and herbivorous. In each of these the opening h is pronounced, loud and clear, just as one would say Herbert.

The Herb Society of America has indeed encouraged the use of the initial h in the pronunciation of its charge. This dedicated organization, so fiercely devoted to the husbandry of all things herbal, gives the word the full dignity of all four letters, saying HERB loud and clear.

I have trained myself to say herb with the h. Not easy in the beginning, I’ve discovered it gives the simple little word an explicitness desirable in speaking on the subject and useful to the practicing herbalist.

And so, gentle reader, the choice is yours. Say what you will. Join the crusade to adopt the h or drop it as is custom in this land. To me, the important thing is to be aware of these simple little plants, not how you say it. It is enough to recognize their importance to history of man and to know that they are useful today – sometimes in different ways – as they were in the time of Genesis.