Orange Cake

1 (18 oz) box yellow cake mix

1 (3 oz) package  instant lemon pudding mix

3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup canola oil

4 eggs

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon orange zest

Butter and flour a 10 inch bundt pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In the bowl of a Kitchen Aid mixer, using the whisk attachment, combine: cake mix, pudding mix, orange juice, oil, eggs and citrus zests. Beat on low until blended. Scrape bowl,and beat on medium speed for 4 minutes. Pour into prepared bundt pan. Bake 50-60 minutes (until set.) Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto cake plate and cool completely.

Glaze:

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook 1/3 cup orange juice, 2/3 cup sugar and 1/4 cup butter for two minutes. Drizzle over cooled cake. Serve cake with fresh whipped cream and canned peaches (spiced, homemade are best.)

Enjoy!

~Melissa

These make a nice first course or side dish.

~Venetian Baked Tomatoes~

8 medium, round tomatoes
5 slices crustless bread, cubed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. onion powder
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
fresh parsley and basil, chopped fine

Wash, dry and slice the tops off tomatoes. Scoop insides into a bowl. Place bread cubes into the bowl with the tomato insides. Add olive oil,salt, egg, garlic, and onion powder. Mix well. Add Parmesan cheese and combine. Dry the insides of the tomatoes well and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Fill with the sauce, finishing just above the top of each tomato. Sprinkle the parsley/basil mixture over the tops of filled tomatoes. Arrange on a baking sheet that has either been oiled or lined with parchment. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Turn off the oven and allow the tomatoes to rest for another 5-10 minutes before removing. Serve warm.

Enjoy!
~Melissa

I discovered an amazing resource for purchasing artisan foods online. It’s sort of an Etsy shop for foodies and for people who care where and how their foods are prepared. The site is called Foodzie, and they offer goodies from almost 300 independent food growers and makers around the country. They even sell farm fresh produce!

Some of the items in my shopping cart include: honey cake from “The Exceptional Brownie,” tamales from “Tucson Tamale,” honey balsamic vinegar from “Honey Ridge Farms,” and some chocolates from “Hedonist Artisan Chocolates.”

Won’t it be wonderful to have these farmer’s market delights available to you even when there’s snow on the ground? I think so!

~Melissa

XO,

Melissa

The Essential Tea Companion

It’s absolutely beautiful and includes tips on getting acquainted with tea, special occasion tea party ideas, delightful recipes and much more.

Enjoy!

~Melissa

Hello friends! It’s so nice to have ChinDeep up and running again! Thanks so much for all of your emails, calls and words of encouragement while the site was down. The silver lining… ChinDeep’s facebook page has 179 fans, and is averaging 2 new fans a day! Uh-Mazing!

While doing research for the tea book I came across a favorite tea time recipe that is too good not to share. Barm Brack is a flavorful, spicy bread that is almost like cake. I like it because it’s not too sweet and therefore doesn’t compete with a slathering of butter and jam, preserves or even chutney. It’s perfect with a hearty cup of Keemun or Assam. A yummy breakfast or tea time treat.

~Barm Brack~

1/2 cup dried curants

1/2 cup golden raisins (sultanas)

1 cup freshly brewed, strong black tea

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 and 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

Place currants and raisins in a small bowl and cover with tea. Allow to sit for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9×9 cake pan. In a medium bowl, combine cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, flour and sugar. Mix in the currants, raisins, tea and egg until just combined. Pour batter into cake pan and bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

~Melissa

The stone barn was built in 1896. Set in the Mississippi river valley and surrounded by sweeping farmland and bluffs.

We had the “Supreme” pizza from the Stone Barn’s woodfire-brick oven. It had that great, authentic Italian pizza flavor, and the toppings were outstanding.The Stone Barn also has a nice wine list. My only complaint-drinking my wine from a plastic tumbler We enjoyed Chocolate Shoppe ice cream for dessert, which is always a treat.

What a gorgeous setting!

We’ll definitely be back…and we’ll be trying the Greek pizza.

What are you up to this weekend friends?

~Melissa

Today…

We went to Hallstrom’s Ice Cream Parlor for lunch

Gracie had the Brownie Cascade and I had the Mint Chocolate Avalanche

The best ice cream in town!

We sat by the fountain downtown

and admired the gorgeous flower baskets

and listened to the soothing sound of rushing water. It was so warm today we contemplated jumping in!

on the way home we walked past the Red Wing Train Depot and watched the trains for awhile

and said hello to a jester who was enjoying his afternoon tea while balancing on a rock

How did you spend this sunny summer day?

~Melissa

The Spirit of Scent~The Proust Effect

From the book “Welcome Home” by Melissa Placzek

page 96

“But when from a long-distant past nothing subsists, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, taste and smell alone, more fragile but more enduring, more immaterial, more persistent, more faithful, remain poised a long time, like souls, remembering, waiting, hoping, amid the ruins of all the rest; and bear unflinchingly, in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the vast structure of recollection.”

Marcel Proust, in Swann’s Way, “Remembrance of Things Past” 1913

There’s an interesting phenomenon called “The Proust Effect” that I came across while doing research for a psychology class. What it is is simply memories and emotions being prompted into recollection through the power of scent. Example: Picture yourself walking down a city street and as you pass a bakery the scent of chocolate chip cookies overwhelms you. Immediately you feel as though you’ve been transported back in time to your grandmother’s kitchen. The scent of the cookies actually brings tears to your eyes because you miss your grandmother. This is the Proust Effect in action.

Ever since this pshych lesson I’ve been applying this little trick in my own life to create a sort of “scrapbook of scents.” I do this whenever I travel or know I’m about to experience something new. This is so fun, and one of my favorite things to do. It’s surprising how it keeps the memory of certain experiences, places, and people alive.

Maybe you’d like to try this? The next time you’re planning a vacation select a new perfume scent that is unlike anything you’ve ever worn before. DO NOT wear this new perfume until you arrive at your vacation destination. While on this vacation make sure you wear the perfume every day. When you return home, don’t wear the scent for at least two weeks. Then, the next time you smell the perfume it will be like being transported back to where you were vacationing. The scent of this special perfume will remind you of this place forever. I promise, this really works!

Anytime I want to escape, my perfume bottles serve as a sort of time machine. When I wear “Summer Hill” by Crabtree & Evelyn I am on Nantucket Island. When I wear “Rapture” by Victoria’s Secret it’s my wedding day again. When I wear “Pleaseures Exotic” by Estee Lauder I’m being a beach bum in Florida and touring Magic Kingdom with my family, and “Beachy” by Lilly Pulitzer transports me to the beautiful Island of Maui Hawaii. You get the idea. I can’t wait to bring this new scent, “Red Cherie” by Thymes, on a new adventure so I can add to my scent library.

Red Cherie by Thymes

Red Cherie Bath Salts

Red Cherie Body Scrub

Red Cherie

Do you have a favorite perfume or cologne that reminds you of a special place or time?

XO,

Melissa

Trailer: I Am Love starring Tilda Swinton

Trailer: An Education starring Peter Sarsgaard and Carey Mulligan

Don’t miss the soundtrack to this movie… so romantic.

Listen to a sample of each song here

~Melissa