Friday, November 2, 2007

A Nuts and Basket Case

Recently I bought these 2 baskets that I'm using for storing wood and pine cones. The pine cones I collect in the woods and let them dry before I use them for either decoration or for putting them on the fire in my wood stove. While I was trying to take a pic of my new baskets this happened.
Like me, Kadootje (= little present) loves baskets. And we are not the only ones as you can see here.
And of course, while I was trying to take some pics of Macavity on the front porch in his own private basket, who had to stick her cute little nose where it didn't belong?
Kadootje!

I collect baskets in all shapes and sizes as they come in so handy. Just think of all the many good uses you can put your baskets to, like:
hanging baskets,
baskets up against a wall filled with plants,
baskets to put pots in or
erm, sorry about that! BTW the one in the middle is baby Russian BlueWillow. Isn't she just absolutely adorable? On the left is her sister Paloma and on the right her sister Ravenna. They were about 3 weeks old then, cute as can be and already very much into baskets. Do you suppose the love of baskets contagious?

I use my baskets for so many things like collecting wood for the stove
or for putting dead flowers in when I'm deadheading the roses
or for collecting fresh fruits from my organic kitchen garden.
I also put the delicate flowers of the elderberry in my baskets. Every year I collect the elderberry flowers to make elderberry champagne.
My baskets are also used for carrying the harvest from my kitchen garden into my kitchen.
And when I'm cutting flowers for the vase there's always a basket dangling from one arm where I put the cut flowers in. That way the delicate flowers won't get damaged.
I even have a metal basket that informs other gardeners of who I am. ;-)
Recently I had to pick a nice crop of pears and this basket came in very handy too. It's a very nice and sturdy one that I use for carrying heavy stuff like blocks of wood or a crop of pears or a ...............
big heavy Maine Coon cat named Dolly Daisy. Boy, is she heavy to carry around in a basket! The things I do for my cats!

In the garden I use these plastic baskets for storing potting compost in or I chuck weeds in them while I'm doing a spot of weeding.
It must be crystal clear by now that I'm nuts about baskets. Speaking of which ........................
Here's a basket filled to the brim with hazelnuts. I got those from my friend Godelive who has a hazelnut tree in her garden.
And I have walnuts, zillions of walnuts. What on earth shall I do with them all?
Recently I went for another walk in the forest where I found these: chestnuts. I guess it will be chestnut roasting time on Bliss soon!
I'm slowly going nuts here; what to do with all those walnuts and hazelnuts? Please help; suggestions and recipes welcome!

copyright Y.E.W. Heuzen

When you've got to go you've got to go, so why not do it in style? I wonder how many old troopers in the entertainment world have ended their careers with these words ringing in their ears. Well, it's the same with deciduous trees, some at any rate.
Roy Lancaster

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really do like your baskets! They are handy but also beautiful. Those pine cones above are really huge, or!? Always nice to see your cats...

Have a nice weekend and thank you for your comments!

Connie said...

Wonderful baskets....so versatile and useful! My favorite is the trug with the strawberries in it....looks like you have several of those. Where did you get them?

Anonymous said...

I love baskets (love!), and yours are so darling filled with all their various things. Especially flowers and cats. What to do with nuts? Off the top of my head you could make baklava, english toffee, brownies, walnut bread, hazelnut ganache...? ~A :-)

Lisa at Greenbow said...

What great baskets. You remind me of my sister. She has lots of baskets. Of course I have my fair share of them too.

I also have a picture of my cat, from many years ago before digital cameras, sitting in a basket I was using while deadheading in the garden. I was surprised when I looked around to place some deadheads in it to find her sitting there. She stayed long enough for me to go into the house, get the camera and take her picture. That was 17years ago and I still have the picture in a frame displayed in my garden book cabinet.

Why do you put pine cones in your fireplace? I don't have a fireplace and have never had one. Fireplaces are so picturesque. I have always wanted one. I have to resort ot playing a DVD of a fireplace. It always makes me feel warmer.

Priscilla George said...

Beautiful baskets. I too love baskets and have always given them to my cats. Every cat loves baskets I swear. I don't baskets all the much but I have to fight the urge to buy them whenever I see a sale or just seem them normal price.

Lis vom Lindenhof said...

Na du hast ja wirklich viele Körbe und sie sind sogar alle gefüllt! :-)Die flachen Körbe gefallen mir besonders gut, aber eigentlich sehen alle gut aus, egal was drin ist.
Schönes Wochenende wünsche ich dir

Naturegirl said...

Baskets and more baskets!! How can we not love the baskets! My kitties are always in one of the many baskets that I have aroung the house!! In fact next post I shall show what my little Paisley did with one of my baskets!!

Your clollections of baskets and cats are wonderful!! Hugs Anna Paisley and Babie!! Thanks for coming by to get me!! It is always BLISS to stop by! xo purzzzzzzzzz

Andrea's Garden said...

Wow, Yolanda, quite a collection you've got there. My mom used to cook chestnuts peel them and use them like a vegetable and fry pork chops to eat with them. I used to like that.. ought to try that myself. Other than that - in Germany we (where I am from) like eating them in the fall with "new wine" roasted or boiled in salt water. Take care! Andrea

Angelina said...

My favorite walnut recipe (and I'm so envious of your baskets of walnuts!) is a walnut pasta sauce from my Deborah Madison cookbook:

3/4 cup lightly roasted walnuts
1 garlic clove
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup boiling hot water

You put the nuts, garlic, salt and pepper into a food processor and pulverize it. Add just enough olive oil to make it into a thick paste. Pulverize it some more until it is as smooth as you like it. Then add the hot water and mix well. The water will thin the sauce but it will thicken again after it cools.

This is enough for 12 ounces of pasta. I add generous amounts of Parmesan cheese to it after I've mixed the sauce with the noodles. It's great with a simple salad or steamed green vegetables such as Brussels sprouts. That's what I just had for dinner. Yum!

I love your cats.
And my favorite basket is also the one with the strawberries and gooseberries. So pretty.

Unknown said...

Cats and baskets...cats and baskets...it's like fish and chips, a match made in...well, somewhere. Our cats all love baskets (and boxes too small for them, and other places that they think were developed for them.) Lovely photos, and all those walnuts seem to cry out for pesto, like angelina suggests.

Gardenmomma Chris said...

Yolanda, I don't think I've seen baskets displayed more beautifully!! One is more wonderful than the next! :)

Kylee Baumle said...

Love the twin baskets in the last photo! Yes, cats love baskets. When Simon was a kitten, somehow he tipped over a small square one and as I was walking through the kitchen, here was this basket moving across the floor as if it were alive. Little Simon was under it of course. Very cute and very funny to see! :-)

Anonymous said...

Zo zeg..........wat een verzameling manden heb jij. Wel leuk hoor...al die verschillende manden. Ik hou er wel van. En die foto van die drie kleine katjes in die mandjes....ik smelt.
Fijn weekend.

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hi all and welcome to Bliss!

* Karin: yes, you're right, those pine cones are really huge.

* Connie: I bought a set of 3 trugs here in the Netherlands. The manufacturer doesn't deliver these trugs outside the Netherlands. Many garden bloggers have enquired after them but found they could not buy them here. Sorry!

* Angela: I have always loved baskets, I love all natural materials. Thanks for your suggestions!

* Lisa: baskets and kitties go together very well. ;-)

I throw pine cones on the fire when I've just started a fire, they burn very well you see. After that I put on heavy wood logs.

* Vanillalotus: I also have a hard time not buying baskets when I see them in a shop, I find them so appealing.

* Lis: you haven't seen even half of all the baskets I have. Perhaps I should do a post on the other half too. ;-)

* Anna: can't wait to see what your Paisley did with one of your baskets. ;-) Cats and baskets mix so very well, don't you think?

* Andrea: the chestnuts I will roast and eat them with some salt and butter I think.

* Angelina: thanks for that delicious recipe I'm going to try that one out.

* Jodi: do you suppose that baskets appeal to both humans and cats on a very basic level? There was a time when baskets were used to carry all kinds of food in from fish to fruit to loafs of bread?

Ah yes, the far too small carton box thingy. For some reason most cats love to cram themselves into a too small box.

* Chris : glad you liked it!

* Kylee: those baskets were originally used for storing bulbs.
Cats and baskets are a great mix!

* Marga: je hebt de helft nog niet gezien hoor, hihi. Ja, lief he, die 3 kleine grijze smurfjes.

Tira said...

That pic with the kittens is too adorable At a fruit stand in Kauai last week they had all the fruits in baskets and I took pics to post-so your fruits in baskets photos quite reminds me of mine!

Garden Cats + Crafts said...

Ein "Körbe-Post"! Wie interessant. Nicht nur Kadootje und Macavity lieben Körbe. Nicki, Bonnie und ich auch. Sehr schön in Szene gesetzt Deine Körbe. Sehr gute Idee.
Schönen Sonntag und liebe Grüße,
Birgit

Ruth Welter said...

Hi Yolanda, what a beautiful blog you have and beautiful kitties as well.

Anonymous said...

Hi Yolanda,
Wow, those are lots of nuts in those baskets. And you've got all sorts of baskets in your garden.
Very inspiring.

Bye,

Bert

Robin's Nesting Place said...

I like baskets too. You have a great collection of sturdy baskets.
I love walnuts in pumpkin bread, banana bread,chocolate chip cookies, salads, muffins, cakes. You can just freeze them and eat them raw. They are a great source of omega 3 fatty acids.

Carol Michel said...

Yolanda.. not only are you 'nut's and a 'basket case' but you taunt us with those beautiful trugs that we can't get here in the United States. I'm going to hunt for one over here, anyway. When I find it, I'll post about it!

Carol at May Dreams Gardens

SchneiderHein said...

Alles zum Thema Korb perfekt in Szene gesetzt. Wieder ein Post, der mich zum Schmunzeln bringt. Yolanda, Du hast immer so interessante Post-Themen! Ich bin schon gespannt, wie Du hier in ein paar Wochen die Verwertung Deiner Nüsse vorführtst...?
Liebe Grüße Silke

Anonymous said...

Ha, wat een leuke log met al die manden. Heerlijk, vol met noten, hout, bloempjes, fruit: heel leuk!
Hier slechts eentje binnen met ook alleen maar dennenappels, van de boom van de buurvrouw, eerlijk geoogst en goed laten drogen. Ruikt lekker ;-)
Binnenkort weer een grote bak met haardhout, maar eerst moet het kanaal nog schoon!

Brimstone said...

Bij dit mandjeslog krijg je het echte nostalgische cottage garden idee.
Leuk gedaan Bliss.

Bob said...

Your use of basket are great. They really add a textural natural element when filled with plants. Thank you for sharing the wonderful pictures.

healingmagichands said...

I love baskets too, and have several very beautiful ones. I have an oak split basket that I use for my laundry basket, and whenever I bring it in full of clean laundry from the clothes line, Mike (my huge black cat)waits pensively until it is empty so he can jump into it and curl up for a while.

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hi all and welcome to Bliss!

* Nicole: displaying fruit in baskets make the fruit so appealing, don't you think? My 3 little kitten girls do look so cute in baskets but out of them too. ;-)

* Birgit: Of course do Nicki and Bonnie like baskets too, they are real cats. ;-)

* Ruth: welcome and I'm glad you enjoyed my blog and kitties.

* Robin: thanks for the tip on freezing the walnuts, I hadn't thought of that.

* Carol I hope that you will be able to find a trug like that soon. I know that you have wanted one for a loooooooong time.

* Silke I'm glad my post brought you to Schmunzeln. ;-) And that you like what you see and read over here. So far I had some great suggestions about what to do with all those nuts.

* Richtsje: ja, die dennenappeltjes ruiken lekker en ze zien er ook mooi uit. Ik gooi er af en toe eentje op het haardvuur, dat ziet er ook mooi uit. Tis een goed idee om de schoorsteen te laten vegen, je wilt tenslotte geen brand.

* Brimstone: manden hebben inderdaad iets nostalgisch omdat de mens ze al zooooooo lang gebruikt. Ik ben er zelf gek op omdat ik van traditionele handgemaakte dingen houd.

* Bob: glad you liked the baskets and their contents.

* Healingmagichands: your Mike is a very considerate cat, mine would jump on top of all that clean laundry. ;-) And of course, I have a laundry basket too.

kate said...

Your baskets and their contents are all wonderful looking. Cats and baskets do go so well together. Nuts in baskets look great - I love walnuts and put them in most everything I bake ... you can also make walnut oil which has a lovely taste.

Chestnuts roasting over a fire sounds so inviting on this freezing evening. The sky is clear and the stars are twinkling overhead, but oh my, it is chilly. Seeing your spinach and radishes made me smile ...