Orange-Blueberry Muffins & a New Teapot!

Our recent house guests sent us this lovely white teapot &
two especially large & beautiful mugs
as a "thank you" gift for having them stay here.

I combined the teapot & cups on a bed tray & have used my

berry basket as a substitute sugar/creamer/serving plate.

I made orange-blueberry muffins from blueberries grown on my parent's property
(now my sister's home).

Here is what the blueberry bushes look like right now.

As soon as the berries start to appear,

my sister, with the help of her sons,

cover them with netting to cut down on the

amount of fruit the birds are able to get to.

They still get their fair share!

My sister picks the blueberries just about every day

as they ripen slowly, in small batches.

She freezes them & then doles them out to each of our

siblings & children.

What a treat they are...Thanks, Sis!

I always save my last bag until I know the new ones are coming in.

That way, I'm never without some in the freezer.

This Vanilla Caramel tea by Bigelow is one of my favorite flavors lately.

Have you tried it?

I added sanding sugar to the tops of the muffins

while they were still warm.

I like that extra little crunch & sweetness.

My hyacinths that have been toppled

over in all the rain we've been getting.

I hated to cut them, as they won't last long indoors

but what a wonderful fragrance they bring to a room!

More colored sugar to add to the fun!

I'm on a roll with this added touch of whimsy.

Look how pretty the mugs are, with their deeply carved decoration.

No names to identify the maker...sorry.

The cutwork linen liner is from Ireland.

I ADORE anything lacey & with cutwork details &

this one just grabbed my heart!

The napkins are lace edged hankies that are doing double duty.

More pretty edges on a tea towel to enjoy.

I'm joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch

for this week's

Tablescape Thursday.

Here is the recipe for the muffins, just in time

for Foodie Friday with Michael Lee at

Designs by Gollum.

I'll be at The Tablescapers, too for her

Seasonal Sundays

EDIT: Alli invited me to also link to her

Sweet Tooth Friday meme on her cute blog

Alli-n-Son

Orange-Blueberry Muffins

Makes 12

• 2 Cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 Cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 Cups low-fat buttermilk
• 1/4 Cup butter, melted
• 1/2 Cup frozen blueberries (no need to thaw)
• 2 tsp grated orange rind
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

• 1 tablespoon sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda & salt in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine buttermilk, melted butter, orange rind, vanilla & beaten egg in a bowl then add to flour mixture. Stir just until moist then add blueberries. Mix gently…try to not break the blueberries or you’ll have blue batter!

Spoon into 12 paper muffin cups and sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake at 400° for 18 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove muffins from pans; cool on a wire rack. (I added extra sanding sugar AFTER they came out of the oven & cooled a bit)

Thanks for stopping by The Gazebo House.

Now if you'll excuse me, I still have Easter

dishes to put away!!!

fondly,

Memory Lane Monday @ Brynwood Needleworks

Once a month, Donna at Brynwood Needleworks
hosts her Memory Lane Monday meme,
which I'm joining for the first time.

All weekend long, I was thinking about
an Easter story my Mother shared with me years ago.

She was the older of two girls & had five brothers as well.
A poor family of seven children, they had very little money
to spare for fancy extras.

Every Easter, as a child, she used to pray for snow!
You see, she never had a pretty new dress or shoes
to wear to church on Easter morning.
If it snowed, everyone would have to wear their
coats & boots, thus no one would be able to tell

that she wasn't dressed in something new.

Imagine how happy I was to wake up to a cold, rainy day on Sunday.
Somewhere, some other little girl's prayers were answered!

I hope you had a blessed Easter celebration with your family & friends,
no matter what the weather was like!


fondly,



I'll also be linking to Marty's Table Top Tuesdays at A Stroll Thru Life tomorrow.
Thank you to both Donna & Marty for giving us a spot to share our worlds.

Easter Blessings

"I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believes in Me,
though he may die, he shall live.
And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die."
-- John 11:25-26

Vanilla Peach Coffee Cake

Michael Lee West has released her newest book
Gone With A Handsomer Man.
You can read all about it HERE.
To celebrate its launch, I've made the main character,
Teeny Templeton's recipe for
Vanilla Peach Coffee Cake.



Since my copy of her book is still on order from Borders
I had to use a print-out of the cover
in my new cookbook stand.

Vanilla Peach Coffee Cake

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar (white, granulated)
• 1 tspspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Beat eggs. Add milk and oil. Whisk together.
Add vanilla & sour cream.
Next add dry ingredients
Mix will be crumbly.
Pour into greased 9x13 in pan or well seasoned cast iron skillet

Prepare topping:

• 3 cups peeled, ripe peaches sliced
• 2 Tablespoons melted butter
• 1 Cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour

Mix ingredients and spoon over batter

Place in 350º preheated oven for 30 min.


I melted some peach jam & brushed it on the top of the cake
after seeing Ina Garten do the same thing last week.
It gave it a beautiful shine for the photos!

We were all set to enjoy the coffee cake with our mid-afternoon tea &
my newest teapot...more about that later.











I was in such a hurry to capture pictures of the cake,
that I didn't let it cool at all before placing
it on my antique Fostoria Americana cake plate.

I should know better!

Suddenly we heard this LOUD crack & I rushed in to find this:


I cried!
Literally stood there & just cried!
The heat from the cake caused it to break in two.
This was one of my most cherished antiques.
I know you're not supposed to put so much stock into material things
but still.......


We enjoyed the cake anyway.
(after making sure there wasn't any glass in it)
Serving plate: Pfaltzgraff Grapevine pattern


I need another cup of tea!
I'm joining noted author, Michael Lee at
Designs by Gollum
for her weekly meme
Foodie Friday.

I hope you go visit her & find tons more recipes to try.
Thanks for visiting me here at The Gazebo House.

If you go visit Yvonne at StoneGable,
you can enter to win the book, a $100 Horchow gift certificate
& some beautiful dishes, too!

Kathleen, at Cuisine Kathleen is also having a $100 gift certificate
give-away in honor of Michael Lee's new book.

Wishing you a Joyeuse Pacques!

Easter Brunch for the Grand-kidlets

Bright, happy colors abound here at The Gazebo House!



This table went through several changes, as you'll see,

but some of the photos were just too cute not to use anyway.

The centerpiece started out with the apothecary jar of eggs



but was later switched when I found this live geranium with lavender blossoms.




The cache pot that I have it in, matches the handles

on the hand painted Spring Carnival Ceramic baskets on either side.


The soft, Monet-like pastel napkins went from the sides of the plates

to beneath them, once the polka-dot placemats were put into use.



Colorful plastic eggs currently sit in the egg cups

but will be replaced with decorated hard-boiled eggs with each child's name

as place cards on Easter morning.



A wee bit of candy is on the main table but not too much allowed until AFTER the meal.






The white dinner plates are Oneida's Wicker

(a new service for 8 that I found while

shopping with my sister...$21 total!)

The white salad plates are Michael Lee's

favorite Gibson dishes from Big Lots.

The colorful "Happy Easter" plates are last year's purchase.



I found these two harlequin patterned ceramic baskets

called Spring Carnival

at two different places, on two different shopping trips.

They are FTD floral containers

but I'm going to use them to hold my

decorated Easter eggs.

I'm using my Mom's flatware, as it is lightweight &

easy for the children to handle.

It is Wm. A. Rogers Oneida Silverplate.

The pattern is Wildwood/Always from 1958.

Fresh OJ for everybody in

Napoleon Bee glasses & water or milk

in the American Whitehall tumblers.

Coffee, (for the adults) tea & dessert will be served from the side table.

Thanks to Yvonne (StoneGable) for the idea of coloring my sugar!

My glass basket, was an Avon collectable from years ago.

Thanks also to Vintage Sandy for the gift of the lovely quilted mug mats

that have helped to continue the lavender color theme.

They’re not just for mugs!!

May the blessings of Christ's sacrifice

fill your heart with grateful love

during this Easter season.

I'm joining Susan at

Between Naps on the Porch for her

Tablescape Thursday

as well as The Tablescaper for her

Seasonal Sunday meme.

Thank you, Ladies for hosting some of the best weekly parties in all of bloggerville!