Recently my friend Shirley gave
(issued if you are a Jane Austen fan:)
an invitation to myself as well as several other women for a luncheon at her home. I knew we were in for a treat because my family has dined with our friends before, so I was equipped with my camera so that I could share the yummy details with you.
Shirley is a domestic diva with the gift of organization and homemaking,
and inspires me to strive toward a more organized home.
She also excels in her cooking and baking, and has blessed many with her efforts.
We arrived just before lunch in time to take in a garden tour as she also loves to garden and has beautiful perennial gardens of which she knows the names of every plant. I have been the recipient of some of her unique perennials that are thriving in my gardens now.
This was the scene that greeted us when we came into her dining area for lunch:
Shirley loves to bring in flowers/plants from the garden to make her own floral bouquets. Here she took some really neat ferns with a silvery leaf and used them with her scented candles as well as in a vase with a beautiful crimson day-lily:
Her Chicken Sonoma Valley Salad was a perfect summer meal in itself:
She also served a cheese ball with cracker tray, along with an assortment of meats and a lovely, light Creamy Orange Salad:
For me the dessert was truly the grand finale, with her famous Snappy Pumpkin Cheesecake served with caramel syrup and whipped cream, along with a light and fresh Lemon Chiffon Cake...my absolute favourite!
This morning I was up early (6'ish) to get some baking done before the heat of the day. We are having record high temperatures for the past few days...at noon today it was 33'c or 91'f.
I have never made a lemon chiffon cake before, so when Shirley emailed me the recipes, I was determined to make one for my family. I also had to use up some ripe bananas, so the muffins were made for breakfast this morning and the cake will be served at tea-time this afternoon.
Shirley graciously provided the recipes for her luncheon and they can be found in the comment section of this post. Thank you again Shirley for the lovely luncheon, for your inspiration and for your friendship!