Welcome everyone! It has been a long Winter and now we’re starting to look toward Spring. I’ve been in the garden the last few days doing clean-up and prepping the vegetable garden, folding in compost and cleaning out leaves and leftover vegetation from the Fall. It’s a big job but one I love. All those Spring smells. The garlic plants were perfuming the air and the lemon balm is starting to sprout. Every time I brushed the lemon thyme I felt like I was back in Italy….on a much smaller scale but still…
So, I was in the mood this weekend to put a little more effort into breakfast/brunch and decided that waffles, homemade blueberry sauce and bacon with accompanying mimosas would be just the thing to do.
I wanted to set a pretty Spring-like table and had just found some great placemats at the thrift store.
I used contrasting green and white checked napkins with pink and green checked napkin rings. The white dinner plate is Mikasa’s English Countryside. The pretty pink and green dessert/salad plates compliment the placemats and have a present for the diner in the middle of the plate. I served some orange slices cut quite thick from some wonderful oranges called CARA. They were just at my local grocery store but were especially sweet and juicy. Mikasa Park Lane crystal and my everyday stainless completed the place setting.
I also have syrup, honey and blueberry sauce in a variety of containers ready to go on the table. A small bouquet of flowers in an old-fashioned mason jar makes the table casual and welcoming.
Next I added some hot plates in a warm wood to the table and filled the glasses with Mimosas.
Finally the food made an appearance. We had delicious waffles with apple smoked bacon and our sliced oranges.
Everyone was able to select their own toppings or combination. I thought the maple syrup paired really well with the blueberry topping.
Here’s a close-up of the blueberry topping. I’ll copy out the recipe for you below. It only takes a few minutes to put together. I didn’t have fresh blueberries so used frozen. You really couldn’t tell. Everyone enjoyed the “taste of Spring”. Hope you do to!
This recipe is from Pinch of Yum
Easy Homemade Blueberry Sauce
3 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar ( I used a little less)
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Place 1 1/2 cups blueberries in a small saucepan. Cover with water and add sugar and vanilla. Heat over medium-high until mixture comes to a low boil and blueberries just start to break apart.
Add dissolved cornstarch to saucepan and bring mixture to a rolling boil. Turn heat down and simmer on low heat for 2-3 minutes, or until sauce reaches desired thickness. Add water, one tablespoon at a time, if the sauce gets too thick.
Remove from heat. Add remaining blueberries and stir gently. Serve warm or cold.