Rose Geranium Cake with Rose Geranium Buttercream Frosting

This recipe is one taken from the FLORA issue. The entire issue, being focused on cooking with edible flowers, explores what I call "A Study of Nature's Buds & Blossoms,"  and takes a sweeter approach (It's the first and only issue focused exclusively on desserts). This issue was the perfect vehicle for me to play out a fantasy of photographing flowery things, which had been on my list for a long time. Really, it was my mother's idea, and when she suggested it, I thought "of course!." And so I dove in with Lilac Sugar Doughnuts, Crystalized Orchids, Candied Flowering Herbs and Rose-Scented Pavlovas swirled with streaky jam. Dried Rose petals and falling lilacs scented my house for a few months. 

As always, I wanted to make it as useful as possible, so I began the issue with a spread of edible flower botanical drawings (both sweet and savory),- from Begonias, Borage & Bergamot, to Chicory, Okra and Mustard. Many common plants have edible flowers that are often unrecognized or overlooked and letting your herbs flower can be one of the easiest and loveliest ways to discover this. In fact, often when I'm looking for edible flowers to cook with- which can be very hard and expensive to come by- I head to my local nursery to pick up starts. Believe it or not, this is often the cheapest and easiest way to go about it. Plus, you get the added benefit of adding the plant to your garden and producing your own flowers the next go-around.  

When it comes to cooking with flowers, it's understandable to be confused as to where to start and worried about how not to "over-flower" your food (no one likes their desert to taste like perfume). These flavors are infused with techniques such as steeping in water or cream that is added to a batter or whipped into a frosting, or wrapping a stick of butter and letting it sit overnight so the oils transfer. Throwing petals in sugar so the oils transfer is another great way to get these flavors into your dishes. 

Being particularly forgiving, sweet recipes are a great place to learn the process of infusing flavors and I built this issue around learning techniques through simple recipes you can make then use to make more complicated recipes. For example, Lilac Sugar is used to make Lilac Sugar Doughnuts and Crystalized Flowers are used to make Iced Sugar Cookies with Crystalized Flowers. All in all the issue includes twelve recipes, including a fanciful spread of five floral cakes, a book guide (one of my favorites yet!), a restaurant guide, and an interview with a florist, all relating back to the floral theme. 

Because, as Emma Goldman once wrote:

"I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck." 

Rose Geranium Cake with Rose Geranium Buttercream Frosting

Makes 1 two-layer cake

I love this cake. It's beautiful, feminine and has macarons on it. It also really delivers in terms of flavor. I always imagine it at tea parties, garden parties and in other, quite ladylike appearances. Rose Geranium and other scented geraniums are available at many nurseries this time of year, making it the perfect spring cake for your upcoming lunch, garden party or gathering with friends. 

Ingredients: 

Cake

18 Rose Geranium leaves

2 sticks butter, unsalted

3 cups all purpose flour, plus more

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

3/4 cup whole milk

1 vanilla bean (I love Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans)

1 3/4 cup sugar

6 large egg whites

Frosting

4 Rose Geranium leaves

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Pinch of sea salt

1/3 cup cold water

5 drops red food coloring

3 drops orange bitters

To Make: 

Cake

1. The night before you plan to make the cake, rub 6 of the Geranium leaves to release their oils, wrap around the sticks of butter, warp again in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. 

2. The next day when you are ready to make the cake, let the butter reach room temperature and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 8" cake pans. Rub the remaining Rose Geranium leaves with your fingers and line the bottom of the cake pans with them. 

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. In another medium bowl, combine the milk, water and vanilla bean seeds. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl and hand beater, unwrap the leaves from the butter and cream together with the sguar until fluffy. Beat in the egg whites one at a time. Add small amounts of the flour mixture, alternating with the milk mixture, until incorporated. 

4. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake pulls out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. 

Frosting

1. The night before, combine the Rose Geranium leaves with the sugar in an airtight container. Let sit overnight. 

2. Remove the leaves and mix the sugar with the egg whites, cream of tartar, salt and water in a large heat-proof bowl and beat for one minute. Place the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water and whip with a whisk until you see stiff peaks. Remove from the heat and whip in the food coloring and bitters. Place 1 completely cooled cake on a serving dish, frost, top with other cake and frost all over. Decorate as you please with flowers and macarons.  

Ten Tips For Starting a Successful Garden

Nothing has been on my mind more these past number of weeks than gardening. The start of the season is so exciting- placing seed orders, trips to the nursery, deliveries of dirt and endless planning in the garden journal. Another (not that I need another), excuse to place a million holds on library books and get lost reading...

My purpose for expanding the magazine into a blog is to create a place to share useful information, tips & resources with you. I want to provide you with what you need to know, to do what you want to do. And I thought, with the time of year, gardening would be a perfect topic to kick off with. So below I've rounded up a handful of time-tested rules for the start of the season. Nothing too crazy, and nothing too long to remember, just the core essentials to get you going. Part of helping and serving is to share resources- and boy are there some excellent ones out there. So read on and get ready for sunshine.

Over at Home Base

It's been busy at our place. I've dubbed our new garden "Honest Acres," because having a name gives it authority and makes it feel established and special- all things I'm hopeful for in this space. Growing something is one of the purest forms of joy and deepest connections to the greater earth we live in. There are so many benefits to growing a plant- the practice of nurture, having faith and being rewarded for it, watching hard work pay off, bearing witness to an entire cycle of life and, of course, your own crops always taste sweeter and your flowers bloom more beautifully when you've grown them with your own two hands.

I've always enjoyed growing things. From having a tiny, rocky plot with my sister next to our mom's on my parent's property growing up, to tending some long-forgotten bulbs hiding along the side of the 100 year old house I shared with eight roommates in college, to our first little bed my husband (then boyfriend) and I shared at our tiny apartment, installing wheels on the bottom so we could chase the fleeting sun around the patio throughout the day. 

The garden has been a lot of work for us- we chose to go very big in an area that needed clearing (like, 100-year-old Cedar stumps clearing). You could do as much or as little as you like. From a seasonal herb garden in some pots on the porch or a window sill, to building and installing beds, to creating a trellised wonderland (like my neighbors). It's up to you and the opportunities are endless. 

 

10 Tips For Starting A Successful Garden

1. You will kill something and it's okay

The number one thing I hear people say is they are afraid. Afraid to kill something they planted, afraid their seeds won't come up, afraid their carrots will look funny. And that's most likely all true, but it's not something to be afraid of. We all do this, it's a part of the process- call it "garden initiation" if you like. And it's really a right of passage you have to cross before you can harvest a boastful bounty. Like anything in life, it takes time to learn and make adjustments. If you're worried your seeds won't come up, plant extra. Think you'll kill your starts? Start more so you're more likely to have some make it. As for carrots- it happens to the best of us!

2. Choose a Good Site (or Pot)

When choosing your plot, make sure you're going to get great sun. Afternoon sun is hotter than morning sun so pay attention to that, as well as the trees and buildings that will cast shade as the sun moves across the sky, drainage of the soil and access to water. One of the most surprising things I learned (that makes perfect sense), is picking a pot the right size and shape to suit the root structure of your plant. My friend Amy Pennington taught me this in her fantastic book Apartment Gardening. Just like our own bodies, plants have root systems that are different sizes and shapes. Some are low and full and some are tall and lean. Choose appropriately and remember to leave plenty of room to grow.

*A side note for raised beds: It's awfully disappointing to go through all the work of setting up a beautiful bed and watching your plants explode into a lush wonderland, only to have pests sneak up from underneath and peter-rabbit your harvest. I've known many gardeners who got by for years, even decades, before suddenly being attacked by moles, voles, mice and rats. Stop those suckers in their tracks by installing metal hardware cloth on the bottom of your beds. Hardware cloth is a sturdy, less flexible roll of wire mesh with small holes that pests can't poke through but that allow for drainage and roots to pass through. Stapling hardware cloth with quarter-inch-sized holes to the bottom of your beds before filling with soil is a momentary delay that provides a whole lot of payoff. 

3. Pay Attention To Your Soil

Second to getting great sun and making sure to water, is soil. The importance of soil cannot be understated and it's often completely ignored. If you're planting in raised beds or containers, you're generally bringing in soil and can select a suitable type for what you plan to grow. If you are gardening at ground level, testing your soil is invaluable. Many people skip it because it can cost around $50 and that sounds expensive, I know. But planting in poor soil or soil not well suited for your crops will cost you so much more in amendments, fertilizer and failed crops both in time and in $ than spending that $50 will. There is a lab that will do this for you and it's quite easy. If you have a well, you do something similar when you test your water each year. Gather some up into a little vial, mail, and get results. Then you can amend according to what you get back and what the crops you are putting in require. 

4. Choose Crops In Your Favor

What you plant and the varieties you choose will greatly effect how well your plants do. Certain plants are native to the Amazon Jungle and thus, like Jungle environments. Others thrive in the sandy desert and get bogged down in wet soil. That said, there are many things you can do to give yourself the upper hand. Many species have specific strains that are bred for hardiness, and resistance to certain pests. For example, I have a fig tree and I live in the Cascade mountains where it snows in the winter and the ground is soggy most of the year before going into a drought in the summer. Figs are thought to be native to Jordan! Pretty different environments, but my fig thrives, mostly because I specifically picked a variety bred for Chicago, where winters are harsh. Pay attention when selecting seeds and starts and look for varieties bred for your environment or areas that share the same characteristics. 

5. Use This Stuff

I hadn't heard of Endo Mycorrhizae until I got my fruit trees and it was mentioned in the paper planting packet they shipped with. A type of fungi, it's the "superfood" of new crops and transplanting. Sprinkling some onto the roots of large trees or shrubs when re-planting or a little tossed in with starts when moving to the garden helps give the plants a boost of energy and nutrients to eat to help them get established. 

6. Fertilize!

Sooo many people don't fertilize. If you think about it, fertilizer is food for your plant. Just like our own little ones get extra hungry when they're going through growth spurts, so too do our plants. So give them what they want- a big helping of something extra-nutritious like Fish and Bone Meal. Yes, it does smell like you think it would (my husband is not a fan), but the smell dissipates with watering and time as it travels to the root systems and makes it way up into fertile leaves, flowers and fruits. Make sure to check the fertilizer's ratio to your plants. Different plants like different balances.

7. Don't just dump any old compost on there 

Not all compost is created equal. Different plants need different amounts of nitrogen and other elements to succeed and too much or too little can burn, damage or kill. Not everyone knows that compost has to be balanced. A collection of kitchen scraps that have broken down do not necessarily have the right components for your garden. Of course, you can take this and add things (such as dry leaves), to create excellent garden compost, but it does take some consideration. 

8. Plant a Cover Crop

Cover crops are one of the most overlooked, most essential things you can do for your garden. The original compost, farmers have long used cover crops to protect their soil's nutrients from being washed away in heavy winter and early spring rains. A few weeks before planting, take a shovel and break up the cover crop (it shouldn't be hard), to mix into the soil. As it decomposes, it will serve as compost and add nutrients to your soil. There are various cover crops from red wheat to fava beans, many of which are delicious in their own right. In addition to protecting from rain and serving as compost, different crops deliver different nutrients back into the soil so choose according to what you plan to plant. 

9. Plant Flowers & Think about Beneficial Insects 

Vegetables need flowers. People need flowers. So why not plant flowers!? Flowers attract beneficial insects that feed on the pests who wreak havoc on our gardens. Planting flowers in and around your vegetables and fruit trees is a great way to attract wildlife to your garden and protect your plants in a natural, low-maintenance way. Plus, who doesn't love flowers!? 

10. Have Fun & Experiment!

Ultimately, a garden is a place of creativity and exploration. So try things! Plant that funky seed packet you picked up on your last road trip. Try something you've always been afraid to try, like artichokes or pumpkins. Mix your purple and orange carrots together and see what happens. Each time you try something new, you pick up things. It might not work out, or it might bred a new hybrid. You never know until you try, and the joy of silly experimentation and occasional success is infectious. 

Resources

1. ENCLYCLOPEDIA BOTANICA PODCAST

by Hilary Dahl of Seattle Urban Farm Co. 

The BEST gardening podcast...ever! I could listen to Hilary's clam, collected voice, inquisitive questions and clear explanations all day. Between interviewing guests from various seed companies and garden-related professions, to going in depth to explain different plant profiles, to topics such as seed collecting, open pollination and creating healthy soil, this podcast is a wealth of information and a valuable resource for anyone interested in the garden. Plus, I adore Seattle Urban Farm Co. (you'll see their book below). 

2. FOOD GROWN RIGHT IN YOUR BACKYARD

By Colin McCrate & Brad Halm of Seattle Urban Farm Co. 

This is the book I recommend to anyone just getting into gardening. Colin & Brad do a stellar job of outlining everything you need to know about starting a garden- choosing a spot, constructing a garden, watering, crops, pests, harvest, etc- and provide you with multiple ways to go about each so you can customize and work with the space and time you have. It's also home to some of the best charts I've come across for planting dates, fertilizing, succession planting, etc. And I very much enjoy the humor and conversational writing style. Published by Skipstone Press, an imprint of the Mountaineers Books, a company I've worked with and have immense respect for. They go out of their way to support and share people doing incredible things with integrity and sustainable practices so you aren't only supporting them and the authors but those they support as well. 

3. THE TIMBER PRESS GUIDE TO VEGETABLE GARDENING IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST/MIDWEST/SOUTHWEST/SOUTHEAST/MOUNTAIN STATES/SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

As you can tell, there is a version of this book for anywhere you live in the United States, except maybe Alaska. Published by another of my favorite publishers for foraging, gardening and natural history books, this comprehensive manual is organized by month, something I appreciate as no matter where you are in the year, there is always something that can or should be done for the garden. With an introduction to your particular climate in the beginning and an A-Z list of edible profiles in the back, it's a great way to stay on track and guide you through the year. 

4. UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS SOIL & PLANT NUTRIENT TESTING LABORATORY

This is a cool and very useful tool to have. The Lab at the University of Massachusetts Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment offers testing services for soil. Just fill out one of the online forms, follow the instructions for collection, drop in the mail, and get your results. Knowing your soil's nutrient levels, soil acidity, environmental pollution, and toxic levels of lead or other heavy metals will keep you safe, save you money, and tell you exactly what fertilizers and lime to add to your soil. 

5. TERRITORIAL SEED COMPANY

Territorial Seeds Co. is a wonderful, long-standing company with a solid reputation. You can find many standard varieties, beautiful varieties, organic varieties and some unique varieties on their site. 

6. JOHNNY'S SEEDS

The go-to seed company for many professional gardeners, Johnny's supplies a hearty selection of reliably germinating seeds. With a nice selection of the basics, they extend a bit beyond your staple varieties and their prices are on point. 

7. CUT FLOWER GARDEN

Cut Flower Garden by Erin Benzakein of Floret Flower Farm (below) has become the standard for learning how to grow a cut flower garden. The fact that the book is undeniably gorgeous doesn't hurt either. Whether you want a dreamy puddle of inspiration to drool over or a thorough technique-focused education, this book charmingly delivers. 

8. FLORET FLOWER FARM

Floret is a well known, well established flower farm in the Skagit Valley of Washington State, just a couple of hours from us! Erin, the owner and founder of Floret, is a master at her craft and has been recognized far and wide for her cut flower garden book (linked above), her blog, and features in Martha Stewart. She holds immaculate flower workshops that, as you can imagine, sell out in an instant. Her shop sells seeds, bulbs and some top-of-the-line tools, though these sell out in a snap as well so be ready!

9. ENDO MYCORRHIZAE (The stuff that makes your plants grow strong) 

Only a tiny amount of Endo Mycorrhizae is needed to sprinkle on transplants or add to the soil of existing plants. Found through many mail-order seed and nursery catalogs, you'll want to store in a dry, moderate-temperature place. Refer to the product instructions on quantity and implementation.

10. FISH & BONE MEAL 

A chemical-free, nutrient rich option to fertilize. A great source of organic phosphorus and calcium, the option linked above works especially well with fruiting trees, as well as new garden beds, perennials and bulbs. 

11. RAINTREE NURSERY

Excellent nursery for Pacific Northwest Native and hard to find varieties. This is my go-to for re-wilding my property and adding edible, native plants that are both sustainable and beautiful. They also specialize in unique crops such as the tea plant, goji berries, and more. 

How To Tell When It's Spring

As I write this I'm sitting in a quaint cafe, gazing into soft, muted wallpaper while a marble counter shines with macarons and perfect buckwheat madeleines, snacking on an almond croissant and sipping floral tea. The feeling of spring is all around me. 

To me, spring is many things. It's light, air, a freshness after a season that keeps the windows closed and the doors shut. It's new life and rejuvenation- ballsy buds busting through the impenetrable ground, demanding a spot in the sunshine. Tea parties and garden parties and getting things in the garden. Spring is about new life and, more than anything, it's about flowers. 

This season used to get me down. It rains here heavily in the spring, more in the mountainous area where I live than in most of the rest of the Pacific Northwest- an already rainy part of the world- but with that rains comes an all-encompassing lushness. The fertile nook we live in turns into Fern Gully (or, as some of our friends like to say, The Shire), and every drop, every soaking-wet run, every sopping wet pair of shoes and muddy day spent in the garden is worth it.

So a few thoughts, a few signs & a few things to notice, to let you know spring is here.  

Ten Signs of Spring

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Swanky New Site

Hi there,

I'm Shannon and I create and publish Honest magazine, from developing recipes, to photography, to writing. Honest is a project I started when I first launched my career into food and travel photography in the Pacific Northwest where I live and work in a small mountain town at the foot of the cascade mountains.

In the last year, things have been changing. Since 2013, Honest Magazine has been a small quarterly food and lifestyle magazine with a varied and interesting collection of readers from Norway, to Poland, to Brazil. For the last five and a half years I've put all of my focus into the print magazine- finessing ideas, words and photographs. Long have I ached to build a hub to house and share all that I've had the pleasure of learning through the issues. Honest's little black book of world-class restaurants- some highly regarded, some in crumbling brick buildings in the side of a remote mountain. 

The Journal is a wonderful new place to express thoughts and ideas and share the volumes of tips, tricks and tutorials that have been filed away. Having a strict theme for each issue is an excellent exercise in creating freedom and beauty within restraint, but it often means tucking away so many unique and creative ideas that don't fit the mold. The Journal is the place for all of those things to flow freely. 

One of my long term goals has been to share more with the community through workshops. Last June I finally took the plunge for the Sweet & Honest Food Photography and Styling workshop with Sweetgrass Food Co. With food and drinks provided by Sweetgrass, the workshop took place in their beautiful, whitewashed building in Downtown Seattle. Students who work in creative fields, to aspiring bloggers, to hobbyists looking to have fun all came together to learn and explore. The class turned out to be a huge success and with positive feedback I've decided to add more! Pulling out ideas and curriculums I've had tucked away for years, I'm looking forward to brushing the dust off those papers and joining together for more fun and explorations of rustic crafts (woodcrafts, jewelry making, prints), cooking (cooking intuitively, edible flowers, garden to table harvest), gardening (expanded uses for your garden harvest), and foraging (there is no such thing as a weed). 

One of the greatest influencers of perspective is travel. Food. Culture. Recreation. Style. Everywhere you go, everything you see- affects you. The places shared here aren't focused on the new or the most happening- they're focused on the story of the place. What makes it romantic, sensual, vibrant. Streets to stroll and meals to have for certain moods are included. 

A cookbook roundup spread from the "CURE" issue.

Philosophical author Charlie Jones once said, "You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the places you go, people you meet and the books you read.” There are books in this world that reach deep down to your very core. They are few and far between and worth sharing. Ernest Hemingway, James Jones, J.D. Salinger. Included in the classics are those cookbooks that feed the soul. Julia Child, Marcella Hazan, Yvette Van Bowen and numerous other paper-bound treasures.

And last but not least, perhaps my most favorite soon-to-be added is the Community section. Blogs, Resources, Publications and Groups you can visit, join and turn to for help and inspiration. Because after all, what are we without each other? 

So check back soon for these brimming additions and sign up for the mailing list at the bottom of the page to get updates on blog posts, new issues, workshops and join the Honest community. 

Cheers,

Shannon