Say hello!

Archives
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
March/April 2006
January/February 2006
November/December 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005

www.flickr.com

There is a tree here in San Francisco that is very special to me, and to Moondoggie. We both come from the East and associate the amazingly delicious scent of this tree with the wonder of coming to California for college. The tree seems to bloom (and smell divine) several times a year, roughly April, September and maybe February too? And it actually is blooming and smelling good right now, so maybe it just blooms ALL the time.

No Californian I've asked has known what kind of tree it is. Maybe it is just because if you grow up here you take it for granted that things will be green and lovely and good-smelling and bloomy all the time. Growing up in the East? Not so. I'm guessing most of us Easterners can identify dogwood, cherry and lilac at least, and probably many more things that we were grateful to see and smell after a long winter.

At any rate, Moondoggie and I have named it "the smelly tree" and it takes pride of place in many of our conversations. vis:
"The smelly trees are in bloom again!"
"Yes, they are! Remember how in our old apartment sometimes the smell would come in the window when the breeze was just right? I miss that."
And so on.

Well, Californians, I'm giving you a chance to prove my judgement of you as cavalier flower-take-for-granteders wrong. Here are several pictures of the smelly tree. If you can identify it, PLEASE do. I will give you a present.

The flowers of the smelly tree, which, as mentioned before, smell really good. It is a cross between a jasmine smell and an orange blossom smell.

The fruits of the smelly tree. They turn orange eventually, and have red seeds inside.

If I ever have a yard, I vow that there will be a smelly tree in it.

And because you deserve a treat if you've stayed with me through all of this crazy tree-talk, here is recipe for cream of spinach soup! I made it today and it was very good, and easy.

Cream of Spinach Soup
3 cups chicken stock (or veggie)
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach (roughly 1.5 cups if you'd rather use fresh, make sure to steam it if you do)
1 medium onion diced
1 medium potato, peeled and diced (i used a baking potato, but i recommend getting a creamier potato instead, since mine came out a bit mealy. just use two if they are quite small)
3T butter (if you MUST, you can use 1 T butter and 2T olive oil)
1/2 cup heavy cream (you could also use evaporated milk if you want creamy consistancy & less fat, or else use plain milk)
salt and pepper

Melt butter over medium heat in a large pot. Toss in the onions and cook until translucent (maybe 5 minutes?). Toss in the potatoes and pour in the broth, then bring the whole thing to a boil. Turn it down to a simmer and let it simmer until the potatoes are tender (between 10-15 minutes, depending on the kind of potato you use. If you can pierce a piece easily with a knife, they're done). Then add in your spinach (thawed if using frozen, steamed if using fresh) and bring back up to a simmer. Puree using an immersion blender, or in a regular blender. Then stir in cream, and season to taste with salt and pepper. It is a lot of simple flavors that taste very nice together. Hope you enjoy it!

Daily Blogs
Loobylu
Wee World
Posie Gets Cozy
Yarnstorm
angry chicken
boy girl party
bara+design
Love Forever
inside a black apple
Coquette
disdressed
sunberst
bits and bobbins
Lemon Tree Tales
Penelope
Theo Design
Pookie&Fig
Wise Craft
Twelve22
Craft Log
Wee Wonderfuls
abby try again
little birds
thimble
not martha
shim and sons
buzzville
simple sparrow
needle book
inspire co.
Bella Dia
Bluepoppy
La Coquette

Shopping
My Etsy Shop
Crafty Planet!
Meg
Studiogems
Tiny Showcase

Hilarity
Miss Doxie
Crazy Aunt Purl
Otter
The Manolo
Pink is the New Blog