Foodie Suday: Garden Fantasies & Grilled Dinners

By Beth Happy Foodie Sunday everyone! What are you planning for this lovely long weekend? I’m spending today out in my garden, which has been an utter symphony of scent for several weeks now due to the crazy warm breezes that have been blowing for months now. Indeed spring came early and I’ve enjoyed it and this year I’ve even planted artichokes to go along with my fairly ebullient state of mind.  This year I decided to try and keep everything manageable  (right!) and I’ve planted my vegetables in containers. This keeps everything nice , weed free and very controllable.   Pretty too…because the containers can double in an instant as fabulous centerpieces for an impromptu evening on the patio with a few friends ! It’s fun to garden this way…I can control the soil and the light and even the finicky eggplants seem happy! I’ve got shallots, lettuces and swiss chard, several types of tomatoes and so many herbs that when the southern breezes are blowing I can lay in the hammock with a Campari and soda and pretend that I’m  relaxing somewhere in Italy with the olive scented breezes blowing through my hair and a luscious dinner of oozing burrata cheese  nestled on a bed of fresh tomatoes and basil and perhaps a luscious Bistecca that’s been marinating for hours in olive oil, rosemary , garlic and lemon waiting for me on the veranda.  My husband’s usually there in my fantasies cooking it for me, a real plus because the man has really learned how to use his grill and wield his tools! His recipe for roasted mussels in white wine can bring me to my knees. He uses just a touch of olive oil, a bit of garlic and rosemary and a tablespoon of white wine and then roasts them slowly and tenderly in a cast iron pan over the open flames. Served over a bed of juicy braised fennel, with lots of crusty grilled bread I can promise that you have never tasted anything better.  If you want the recipe write me and I'll send it to you. I can't promise you though that they'll turn out as well…Himself has a wee bit of magic about him!  One needs a perfume for such an occasion and today I’m wearing one of my favorites, Eau d’ Italie’s utterly gorgeous Jardin du Poete. To say that I adore this  would be an understatement. Jardin du Poete is really a perfect perfume for me. It’s a Medieval herbalists materia medica and a wiccan grimoire all wrapped up in a bottle, juicy, peppery , green and full of all of the things that I love in a fragrance like bitter grapefruits and oranges, angelica ,basil and pink peppercorns.  A bit of vetiver and a touch of musk is the final bit of magic that brings Pan himself dancing into the garden to play devilishly with all of your senses  that mixed with my husbands mussels and a perfectly chilled Viognier are destined to create an absolutely delightful and delicious evening….. Learn more about the luscious Eau d' Italie from eauditalie.com. Photo of the burrata salad courtesy of  winestainedcloth.wordpress.com