Who doesn’t love a rose every now and then? And since Portland is the City of Roses, we thought we’d check out the International Rose Test Garden, the largest test garden of roses in the U.S. Now you might be thinking roses are so Valentine’s Day circa 1992, but this garden was huge, colorful, and the intoxicating smell might bring back your love for the world’s top selling flower.

Tie Dye made it onto flowers, naturally

Can you believe this is a rose? A big one with a bunch of tiny ones, all grown together!

The Rosie O’Donnell Hybrid Tea

Okay, just wanted to cheer up your day. Are you looking at barren trees and miss the green? Are your toes numb, in spite of the 877 pairs of socks layered onto your feet? Just remember…spring will come back in the not-so-distant future!

Happy blooming day!
Laurel

Matt & I visited Pittock Mansion in Portland 2 weekends ago, then promptly took my parents to see it the next week. It is supposed to be one of the best views of the city, as the house is perched on the 1,000-foot West “Hill.” (The only hills I grew up with were freeway overpasses, so this is definitely a mountain to me.) Luckily, the two of us went on a clear day and took lots of pictures. Unfortunately for my parents, their visit was on a cloudy with low visibility of the mountains. (Perhaps they’ll need to come back soon and try again!)

Anyway, it is called the Pittock Mansion because, well, the Pittock family owned this big home. The husband and wife duo were pioneers on the Oregon Trail, Mr. starting the Portland newspaper here and Mrs. being very involved in social work efforts and gardening in the area. I actually read about her in one of my social work textbooks a few years ago…pretty nifty!

We haven’t taken the tour of their house yet, but if you go around to the backyard, that’s where beautiful greenery and flowers line the ‘cliff’ of the views. The five or six mountains in the Cascades Range you can see in a 180-degree span include Mts. Hood and St. Helens.

Yellow Rose of Texas Oregon

Wouldn’t it be fun to have those views in your backyard? Well, I’ll visit this one for free when I’m wanting a giant garden. And I don’t have to remember to water the plants… 🙂

Happy Day!
Laurel

 I remember the first time I tasted focaccia bread. It was at one of those Italian chain restaurants where they sing you Happy Birthday in Italian and bring out baskets of warm focaccia to dip into herbed olive oil and devour. I think I was 12. The strange looking puffy yet flat bread was piping hot, spongy and really delicious. The soft bread tasted like I imagined Italy felt.

Since then, I’ve had some more tastes of the bread, topped with meats and cheeses, even used for paninis and sweetened for a simple dessert. It’s time to try and make it. Mostly because I love an excuse to use rosemary.

A note on rosemary…I really love this herb. It’s hearty and can be grown most anywhere. It’s a treat to see it growing wild in Texas, where the heat can destroy even the toughest of plants. Rosemary is pretty as a full bush but also looks nice if flower arrangements and just to have around the house. It’s also a plant that’s hard to kill (i.e., forgetting to water it for a month, and it keeps on ticking!). We love to use fresh rosemary but dried is great, too. There’s a longer stemmed dried rosemary that we get from Whole Foods. It’s by far the best quality I’ve found, and a little goes a long way. So this was definitely included in the focaccia.

Simple Focaccia
This simple bread is wonderful to make while you prepare the rest of dinner, or while you’re around the house for 2 hours. No mixer required. Top the bread with the seasonings/toppings of your choice. Some ideas: Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, lots of dried rosemary, thyme, chives, sun dried tomatoes, sliced pepperoncinis, red onions, garlic (roasted, cloves, powder), olives, mushrooms, bell peppers, cheeses (mozzarella, parmesan), prosciutto or pepperoni.
Adapted from here

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 TB instant yeast
1 t. salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees-ish)
3 TB olive oil
Toppings/seasonings of your choice

STEP ONE: In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, salt, water, and 3 TB olive oil. Mix for 1-2 minutes, until all combined. Dough will be sticky.

STEP TWO: In a lightly oiled 9X13 baking pan, place the dough, flattening out a bit. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, or until the dough has risen and is puffy.

STEP THREE: Remove the plastic wrap and poke the dough all over with your fingers. Drizzle with olive oil (lightly) and top with seasonings/toppings. (I used Italian seasoning, dried rosemary, garlic powder, and a little sea salt.) Bake for 40 minutes.

STEP FOUR: After cooling for 5-10 minutes, slice into squares and serve. (Great for open faced sandwiches, dipping bread in herbed olive oil, side bread for a meal, etc.)

YUM

Happy eating!
Laurel