I smiled back at him and nodded weakly, "Is that an anemone on yours?"
He then reached across the table, grabbed the plate in front of me, and repeated, "Bellis perennis is my plate," as he handed me the anemone.
This happened in 1997 (meaning we are not talking about the Mister's Father). Ever since that time, I can't eat off of flowery dishes without first checking to see if is is an English Daisy that I am not allowed to have. Fortunately, my lasagna pan has clematis on it and my clafouti dish has gazania* so I am good to use them. And yes, despite my avowal that I don't like limited purpose stuff that just clutters up the house and my avowal that I don't like floral stuff, I own a flowery clafouti dish, and I love it.
It was just this morning as I was looking for Knock-Off Portmerion Clafouti Pan Websites to which to link that I realized that my fabulous garage sale purchase could not be a clafouti pan because they don't exist. Flan: possibly. Quiche: sure. Floral Clafouti pan: doesn't exist. Except you have photographic evidence of the clafouti in mine.
Tomorrow in the exciting conclusion: what is a clafouti and why my clafouti may not have been one.
*My dish gives the common name of Gazania as Treasure Flower, a name that I have never heard anyone in horticulture use. All of the gardeners I know call them "gazania" but apparently that term is not widespread:
Middle-aged English Garden Visitor at garden in SW Scotland: what are those pretty flowers?
Me (inappropriately young, blonde and female): Gazania.
Him: Daisies?
Me: Gazania.
Him [loudly]: What is that name of those daisies?
Me: They are called gazania.
Him [loudly and slowly]: Where . . are . . you . . from?
Me: Colorado, in the States.
Him: Really? I thought is was someplace farther, like Denmark.
Me (baffled by distance part of remark): I'm from the U.S. I have been working here for almost a year.
Him: How do you like England?
Me: Well, I've only been to England once, but I very much like it here in Scotland.
Him (not recognizing that Scotland is not part of England): Very good, then.
Him [flagging down an appropriately male and middle-aged gardener]: Excuse me, can you tell me the name of these flowers.
Scottish Gardener: Those would be gazania.
Him: Thank you.
1 comment:
I have to add that 1) I misspelled Portmeirion and I know that because 2) my quiche plate is not actually a knock off and therefore 3) it was a good buy at <$1 at a garage sale because they go for 15 to 51 on e-bay ($51 for the Treasure Flower identical to mine).
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