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The Gardens of Mien Ruys - a book review

I don't know how I missed her, but I was totally unfamiliar with Mien Ruys. A beautiful new book The Gardens of Mien Ruys details her life and work. Born in the Netherlands in 1904, she was the daughter of Bonne Ruys, who founded Moerheim Nursery in 1888. She grew up in a liberal atmosphere and encouraged to learn and study. She found great comfort in the natural world around her and learned all the plants in her father's nursery at a young age. After leaving school at the age of 19, she knew that she wanted to work in the garden center. The Moerheim Nursery, in addition to selling plants, had an on-site design studio where they published a detailed catalog and sold landscape design plans to customers. It was in the design studio where Ruys first began to work and she was soon encouraged to venture beyond her country and study abroad. Her father's connections helped her secure a traineeship with Wallace & Sons Nursery in Tunbridge Wells in England. There, she met Gertr...

Chocolate Mousse Cake with Raspberries

 
Here's another winning recipe from the King Arthur Flour folks! Chocolate fans rejoice! 

The recipe showed up on my Instagram feed a few weeks ago and after looking at the photos and reading the reviews, my curiosity was peaked. I printed out the recipe and put it aside. I just made it today and it is an amazing cake.

Making this all at once would be quite time-consuming. I made the cake yesterday and the filling today. I skipped the frosting entirely after reading the reviews. The cake is delicious without the frosting although I'm sure that would elevate it to a new level.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

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