herbs – Francois et Moi

Pretty Face Seedling Starters

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 12:43:13 +0000

As a professional fashion artist and amateur portrait painter, my Grandma Annie loved to study human faces. She was fascinated by each one’s unique details, their asymmetry, and the way in which the features join together to form a whole. We lost her to a merciless bout of cancer earlier this year, but I still think about her everyday. She was a strong influence for me in igniting my love for arts and crafts, not only through her words of encouragement, but also through her own creative pursuits. Inspired by Mrs. Annabelle and her love of facial features, I created these Pretty Face Seedling Cups as a way to start my herbs inside until it’s warm enough to move them onto our balcony. The egg cups are the perfect vessel for A.) a little face and B.) growing seedlings. Just make sure you use small rocks at the bottom of each cup for drainage. Materials: egg cups, black oil-based paint pen, translucent satin acrylic paint in color Pink Hyacinth, 3/4″ paint dauber 1. Use a fine-tipped, oil-based paint pen to freehand two 1/2″ wide eyelid shapes, followed by the eyelashes. If desired, ornament the egg cup further with a “beaded […]

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How to Make: Grapefruit Lavender Bitters

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 12:23:57 +0000

Part two of our homemade bitters extravaganza takes shape in the form of grapefruit lavender bitters. Seriously, what could be better than the combination of these two flavors?! Combining them in the form of a cocktail? Bingo. Grapefruit lavender bitters is essentially 100 proof vodka infused with a melange of zest and herbs to achieve a high flavor potency, and thus only a few drops are needed to add a complex kick of citrus to any cocktail, my most recent fave being the Sparkling Lillet & Grapefruit Cocktail. As with any homemade bitters, the flavor and potency is a matter of taste and preference. Below is where our taste buds lead us, but feel free to experiment to find your perfect ratio. There’s no wrong answers here! Happy weekending. Ingredients: We ordered most of our herbs from Mountain Rose Herbs. Great quality and fast service! zest of 3 grapefruits, removed with a peeler 4-1/4 c 100 proof vodka or Everclear (divided into 2-1/4 c & 2 c) 1 tbsp culinary lavender 1/2 tbsp juniper berries 1/2 tbsp gentian root 3/4 tsp black walnut leaf 1/2 c water 1/2 c sugar Materials: 2 mason jars lots of cheescloth for straining strainer 2oz or 4oz dropper bottles a funnel […]

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Ridiculously Good: Rustic Homemade Herb Crackers

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 13:29:55 +0000

Sometimes I think the best days are the ones that evolve naturally with little or no planning or calculation to them. And the following Saturday after we came back from Europe happened to be one of those days. I woke up early that gloomy Saturday morning, made a pot of french press and made myself comfortable with my laptop. It was an amazing trip abroad, but I was glad to be home nestled on our sofa and slowly working back into the everyday. I jumped on Pinterest between emails and blog planning and decided I wanted to cook something–it had seemed like forever since I’d done anything in my kitchen! We had picked up Boursin Cheese on our first stop at the grocery store, so I thought it would be fun to make something to go with it. I decided I’d use Martha Stewart’s Thyme Crackers as inspiration, as we happened to have all the ingredients already, (I’d picked up cream earlier that week for another project I’m working on!) but since I only have a mini food processor, and it’s not large enough to accommodate the recipe, I used my Kitchenaid mixer instead and it worked great! I also used a blend of fresh herbs […]

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