How to do chic wedding floral arrangements on a budget

In honor of my fifth year wedding anniversary I thought I would share some great ways to spend less on your wedding flowers.

I love flowers but they are ephemeral and the price can go from within budget to NASA budget! I think that you should spend money on things that last and that if it gets too hot/too cold it will not wilt up your budget!

 Before I went with a florist I viewed a couple of The Knot videos that really helped me think outside the box and realize I do not have to do boring flowers. In 2008 the knot had these videos on demand through the wedding channel. They helped me see that I could get creative, be within a budget and it would not have to look cheap. I was able to get all my 15-20 centerpiece table flowers, the bouquet for the bouquet toss, my bouquet, my matron of honor's bouquet, 2 nosegays, 3 corsages, 10 boutonnieres for around $1150.00! The price includes the tax and delivery of the flowers which was 45 minutes from the florist! 

I also was lucky that I got married in a gazebo that had greenery and potted plants inside the gazebo. I really did not need anything outside since I was on a lake. Lake Pearl really made my wedding day fantastic! So your wedding ceremony venue can either cause you to save money on flowers or can make it be expensive. But you can fill up your ceremony space with other items beside flowers like personal mementos, toys, candy, balloons, flags, maps and etc to your theme to cut down on the price! If you have alternative centerpieces you can DIY and save more money for your ceremony flowers or a other reception upgrades.

Ways to fill up ceremony space besides flowers
 how cute is this banner!

Balloons done chic! Might be a cheaper way
to fill a ceremony reception area than flowers



chocolate centerpiece leaves you money for
your ceremony flowers plus your guests can enjoy them!


 

Candy for a winter centerpiece

Smaller version for a nice and French centerpiece.
Guest will enjoy these much more than flowers!
You could change it up so there are different treats
at each tables so people will mingle! Yum!


I went to a couple of vendors to get price quotes and to see the quality of the items that they had done before. This was of course before pinterest I had to go in person, look through many florist binders and then show them what I saw on the web. You had to really had to have an active imagination and a good florist. I luckily had both! I went with the person that actually seemed to give me great ideas, was warm, receptive and who was the right price. She no longer has a floral shop which is disappointing because she was fantastic! She gave me demonstrations and let me play with what I wanted for a centerpiece. She also gave me the final ideas to take home!

Ways to save on flowers:

1.) Go with in season flowers because out of season flowers and being stubborn causes wimpy centerpieces. Who wants wimpy! Go with full and more flowers for your money! You spent a lot on the dress and everything else do not make the wedding look cheap with crummy flowers (even if it is done on the cheaper-- weddings are never cheap!).

In season for August Freesia

2.) If you cannot afford a flower because it is out of season or is always expensive then think of texture instead of an exact flower. I saw that you could mold, arrange cheap filler flower baby breath and my florist made beautiful nosegay bouquets for my mother in law and for my mother. It was actually very elegant and at $15.00 a bouquet--it was the right price!

My mother in law showing off her
nosegay of baby breaths.

Also look at the other ways that a cheap flower like baby's breath can really transform a place and for less. This is a great example of a cheap flower being arranged to look glamorous to do this on this large scale with other flowers would have been insanely expensive!



See how grand baby breath can be in your elegant wedding!

Another example how a cheap flowers
 arranged can look expensive and chic.

This is beyond beautiful using carnations!

3.) If you still cannot go without a certain flower that you love treat yourself to a couple of the blooms. This is where a really good florist can help you  try to see if the bouquet could work with a couple other blooms of your must have flowers. They can also suggest a flower that looks a lot like the flower that you love that is in season or is a lower cost. Or they could suggest what would be a good filler flower or leaves that could help plump up the bouquet. They can also suggest a bouquet style that would make the flower have more of a presence and make it more elegant.

Work with your florist and you can get beauty on a budget!

The knot also has a very good video about how to make an expensive centerpiece that you have pinterest that is out of budget into unique and within budget centerpiece. The knot also has another great one for flowers on a small budget.

4.) Rethink the tradition bouquet shape and flower arrangements. Go outside the box, look at many different ways to do flower arrangements and look at your savings add up! Some bouquet styles are more time consuming and even if you pick a less expensive flower it still will be labor intensive therefore will cost you more!

 I was going for a modern Golden Hollywood look so I wanted lillies. I worked with my florist a lot to have saving on my bouquets and centerpieces. When I went into a flower shop in the next town over I discovered these beautiful flowers called pink ginger. Most bouquets for the bride I was quoted for at least $120 for a wimpy bouquet. So I got an idea they charge by bloom so if I wanted volume I would pick bigger flowers.  I decided to have three large lillies and three pink ginger flowers with banana leaves and then have it in a presentation bouquet. The presentation style bouquet was less labor intensive than a wired posy bouquet or even more expensive composite-flower bouquet. The less labor intensive presentation bouquet helped save my flower budget and it was so beautiful! All this drama and hollywood glamour and it was only $75.00!

Three large white lillies, three pink gingers and
banana leaves in a presentation style.

The pink ginger really helps update
 the Golden hollywood white lillies!

5.) Go with bigger blooms that are might be a more expensive a bloom but they fill up more of a vase or bouquet so in the end you pay less. I love hydrangeas, they were in season and they were $15-$20 to fill up a vase plus the cost of the silver short vase it was not bad! I think they came to $35 a table and the guest could take home the centerpieces. I decided to go with one big hydrangea that was white and to have it wrapped in a bow of banana leaves for my pregnant matron of honor. To match the pink ginger in my bouquet my flourist dusted the leaves in a pink. It was stunning and only $25.00! So for $100.00 I got my bouquet and my matron of honor's bouquet! That is a deal!

My Matron of honor's bouquet that is a steal that
I recommend you stealing for your wedding!

6.) If you are on a budget and you have guests like mine that want to take home the centerpieces then I suggest not renting the vases. You will lose the deposit on the vase and it is tacky to yell out "No do not take those vases they are only rented!" Also in the same vein do not have high centerpieces because when they are too high people take them off of the table so they can see who they are taking with. So when your high flowers are on the flower getting knocked over and rental vases breaking your deposit is not worth it! Think low and inexpensive vases. There are many ways to fill an inexpensive vase to make it more expensive looking and there are many inexpensive but chic containers for flowers. I went with a silver plastic cup vase that looked like an antique silver vase. I was going to rent actual silver short cup vases until my florist asked the question "do your guests expect to take home the flowers." The answer for me was yes. In fact my flowers were a hit and people were quasi fighting over them so I am glad I did not rent the vases! If I had rented my vases I would have had to buy the expensive vases I expected only to rent. That is an unexpected cost that I saved myself and would recommend to those on a budget to avoid!

My centerpieces simple and elegant. The chairs I
did not like but most people were off the chairs
 dancing so it was fine for an hour or so!

I went with this plastic silver vase. It looked real
and it saved a lot of money!

7.) If you find that the vases that are provided by your florist are not what you want or if they are too expensive then provide the vases. You can go to ikea, ebay, tag sales, estate sales and even your own house. If you are going for a more vintage vibe to your reception and ceremony if you get different types of vases or even trophy award cups it can make it more vintage/eclectic. Or maybe you want instead to have mason jars or to have mint julep cups as vases! Done right these can add character and be quite stunning.This can help lower the cost of the vases and it is not as convenient but for great shopper this can mean an upgrade to the DJ, an addition of a candy bar or other wants!

The silver color is beautiful in this mint julep cup and is rather
popular for vases. When not drinking mint juleps on your porch
have your cut flowers drink up some water! This one is actually
on budget and plastic! Now tell me that is not a steal for 12 at $32!

Mason Jar cheap and reusable! This is a very chic Mason jar!

This is a great trophy cup found on Etsy that
can really add a great vintage vibe. It also
is just stunning and you might be able to
get at a great price on etsy, ebay, estate sales and etc.
Your wedding with this style will come in first place!

Different vases but all in the same silver family.

Many different vases with blooms have a unique and vintage vibe.

8.) Try mixing flowers with fruits or other items in the vases to provide interest but also to save lots of money!

For a whimsical center piece flowers and lemons.

Limes and baby breaths  A sweet centerpiece for a casual wedding,
 rehearsal dinner or engagement party

So go for unique out of the box ideas that can save you money, make your wedding less cookie cutter and hire the best florist you can buy! If you and your florist do not have a good understanding you might as well go down to a floral market or a grocery store before your wedding and do the flowers yourself. But that is not smart because you will have other things to think about!

Spend a little money for a treat for yourself and show the world who you Mrs. (insert your to be married name hyphened or not or keep your last name or whatever you decide) are during your first celebration as a married woman. Do not just get flowers that everyone else gets and do not get pressured to be ultra traditional and do things because that is what "Bride-you" has to do. But then again if going to far outside the box and not being comfortable because you do not see you in the flowers then step away! Think of it as your dress. I hope you try/tried on lots of different styled dresses and have/had an open mind. Try out new styles and even just say to the florist what you love for textures, colors and even smells. Then pinterest a lot and scrap book ideas for flowers. Go to wedding expos and see what is offered and then bring it back to your florist. A florist is a flower tailor and you have to make sure you go with one fits your flowers to your wedding day dream!

Craft Exchange and Ask A Friend

The Brother Sewing Machine I have yet to learn to use!

Sometimes you want to know a skill but you might not have the money or you do not know who to trust. I have only been in Fairfield county for five years and I really do not know the area. Brooklyn supposedly has a lot of great crafting places and artisan business but that is a little far from where I live. So there is no place really close that can teach me how to sew.
I was going to pay $50.00 a lesson at Sew Create and Celebrate in Norwalk. You have to send via mail cash or a check for 3 lessons ($150.00) before you can be scheduled. $50 for a private 1.5 hour class is actually not too bad for a stranger to teach you a new skill. I thought it was actually worth it until the owner emailed me back and said that it was not going to work because I cannot follow directions. That she does not want to waste her time with me and she rather save it for her sewing time.This was her response to me asking if I could pay via paypal. I had asked because she was talking about how she wanted the money ASAP. She apparently either does not know how to use paypal, this is not legitimate business (aka she does not pay the IRS any taxes for the services she provides) or it is a scam. I just think that is rude way to treat a potential client! I was trying to see the fastest way to pay the individual. But the proper way to respond back would have been something like "Sorry, I do not accept paypal. But don't worry you can pay for the session when you come via check or cash. I look forward to seeing you on (insert date)." But now I know this woman does not know how to treat a customer and she does not have the patience to teach!
But that rudeness made me think! It is hard to find someone to teach you things because you have to trust the person first. Fairfield County is very expensive and sometimes you try things and it is not worth the money! Sometimes the risk pays off but it is still sometimes just too expensive to keep up. It made me think of this article that I read about a Craft exchange. I think it was probably in either Real Simple or Living and I wish I had the article! One woman wanted to learn how to sew and was an amazing baker while the other woman was an excellent seamstress and wanted to learn how to bake. They found that they were able to get together and do rather inexpensive hangouts. It was something they could do together and they began to look forward to weekly. Plus who does not like fresh pastry and friendship?
I think that a craft exchange is an excellent idea because you trust your friends and you have seen their product! You have an idea if your friend is going to be a good teacher and it might just cost something you can barter. So maybe you are a marketing/business professional and your friend is a great artist that is trying to start a side business. You might be able to exchange your marketing/business talents or connections. Or you could just offer to get a great bottle of wine or dinner!
So that article I had read over three years ago was jogging in my mind. I am very fortunate to have very talented and artistic friends. Then I realized that I have a friend who knows how to sew who could teach me how to sew! She is a 45 minute train ride into NYC! I can bake but her recent weight loss and etc cookies is not the best exchange! But I offered to make cookies for another person or to make dinner for us that night. She texted me back that I would not have to barter but I still will at least give a hostess gift that she will like.

A perfect hostess gift for me, wink, wink! Macarons!

If you have a great friend like I do that says "oh no you do not have to bring anything or exchange anything." You need to make sure to bring something small that says that you appreciate the time that they took out of their busy life. Maybe if you are a suburbanite or country girl bring some baked goods, home made jam, fresh produce from a garden or fresh flowers. If you are an urban girl bring something that is hard to find items in suburbia/the country. I suggest bring a trendy crunut (croissant doughnut) that maybe the surburbanite or Country gal might have been wanting to try out or get something from a specialty store. I invited a friend for a weekend who lives in the city. She can be invited back anytime because she is a good guest and she brought me my first set of macarons and a specialty store chocolate fish! It was something I could not get where I was from and it floored me! That is a great example of a hostess gift. You do not have to spend a lot of money on the item but the idea that you have spent a little bit of time is what matters! And I think you can always do well with flowers that do not have a high pollen count because girls like flowers! Check out this post from Luxe Austerity.
I also want to learn how to use photoshop and I am thinking about being a freelance/professional photographer so I Facebooked and I emailed a friend who lives 2.5 hours away and I asked for advice. She is a graphic designer and I asked her basically do you think going to school for graphic design certificate (I have a B.A. already) would be good to learn or etc. Instead she surprised me she said no that would not probably be the best price way to get the information you want. Then she told me about Before & After Master Collection which compiles many articles that teach you how to do cool things with photoshop. She then let me in on a secret that you do not need to have a degree in Graphic Design to be a Graphic Designer and this was where she learned her basic skills! The Master Collection is only $179 (plus you have to purchase the most updated version of Adobe Photoshop, have a computer that can multi-task all these products and etc) but that is not that bad of an investment when the graphic design certificate program was going to cost me thousands. I also have this book Adobe Creative Suite for Dummies which I should read!
So the lesson is if you have a friend who is an expert in an area do not be afraid to ask for their advice! It is free advice and might not be the answers you are looking for but it can save you time and money! Do not be afraid to ask a friend to teach you a skill before you invest in a stranger.If you have a friend that gives time up to help you out make sure to be appreciative, arrive on time and at least come with a small gift. This way you can save money and you can reinvest in a friendship!

Summer Ice Drinks For Less

The Waring Snow Cone Maker retails for $69.95 (this picture is from Crate and barrel)

Have you thought about getting an expensive Margaritaville or thought of dulling the blades of your blender to make your summer drinks this summer? Put down the credit card for a second and see a cheaper way to do your drinks this Summer. Pick up the credit card only after looking into the Waring Snow Cone Maker.

So you could just use a blender to crush ice for your frozen drinks. You might already have a blender handy. I have an issue with my blender. I got it for my wedding shower and it came with all these gadgets but it couldn't stop leaking when I did soup.  When I crushed ice on the ice setting I got crushed ice that was pitiful! The couple of ice cubes were tossed up the air by the blades but no crushing of ice! The ice was doing more of a crowd surfing that being crushed! The blender unevenly chopped ice even when I did small batches. I hate my blender and then after all that you have to clean it and have to worry about the blades cutting your fingers. It is not worth it!

I had at one point thought of getting a maragritaville so that I could get a nice summer slushy drink. But I did not have the $399.99 for a glorified blender. $399.99 was how much the Margaritaville cost when it first came out. People were going out spending that kind of money. There was even a South Park Episode regarding loans and the Margaritaville machine. Now the Fiji is about $349.99 which is down from the suggested retail of $500.00! But cannot be worth the price!  

Bahamas Frozen Concoction Maker picture from Margaritaville Cargo website

Margaritaville now has a one pitcher blender that is called the Bahamas frozen concoction maker which is cheaper than the original Margaritaville and retails for $199.99 which is still way too expensive! I do not drink margaritas so I am not very familiar with the preparation for the drink. I think that the $399.99 original machine blends the ice with the drink. People have been doing that with normal blenders for years but dulling their blender's blades. 

The cheapest way to get a nice frozen drink is with the Waring Snow Cone maker. I know what you are thinking how can a $69.95 machine compete with the old Margaritaville that cost $399.99. I have never actually used a Margaritaville because I did not have the $399.99 to try out the machine. But if you want crushed iced for drinks and if you like snow cones this is a great device for you. With the savings of if you get the top machine of $330 or if you get the new cheaper Bahamas model you still save $130 you still save a lot! For the savings I think you can take the uniformed ice and mix in the ingredients yourself.

What I like about the Waring Snow Cone Maker is that it helps me cut down on juice calories that I consume. I love juices like lemonade and it helps me cut down on how many juice calories I consume. I fill up the glass with ice then I pour over the lemonade. I can use a spoon to eat it like Italian ice which helps it last even longer. Plus I no longer have to spend a lot of money to get Italian ices when I can just buy some lemonade or a syrup and it is much cheaper in the long run. I can decide how many calories I consume and I can get more run for my calories when I use ice as the base. The ice fills me up more and is a lot more refreshing. During the heat wave I used it a lot! 

I purchased mine from Sur La Table which ships items for free if you spend $59.00 and I purchased it through Ebates which I got 6.5%  of the purchase back. I also purchased a couple of the snow cone syrups through Crate and Barrel through ebates and got back 3.5%. I purchased them for about $2.50 which is much less expensive than a box of Italian ices which will not last you as long as a 12.7 oz bottle of syrup. When I first purchase the Snow Cone Maker I got a $9.95 bottle from Sur la Table that was from Sonoma Syrups Co which is a splurge but it is very tasty. At that time the snow cone syrups were the same price at Crate and Barrel so I just purchased the name brand that I recognized. 

But if that is not enough check out below what you can do with your savings when you do not purchase any of the models of the Margaritaville! 

What to do with the savings by not purchasing the Margaritaville

1.      If you do not get the Bahamas cheaper version you can hire a bartender @ $20 a hour for 6.5 hours and have the bartender mix the drinks. If you do not get the original price of the Margaritaville which was $399.99 you can hire a bartender to mix the drinks @ $20 an hour for 16.5 hours and have them hand deliver the drinks with those cute little umbrellas in them.
2.       Instead of getting the Bahamas model you could go to the Elemis Spa at Mohegan Sun  if you add in $20 you could get a facial based on your skin type for 60 minutes. Instead of getting the top of the line Margaritaville you could go to Elemis Spa at Mohegan Sun and get the Renew package. It is a 2 hours and 15 minutes Spa treatment which is a 75 minute Aroma Spa Seaweed Massage and then they resurface your skin with the Tri-enzyme Resurfacing facial. 
3.      You could probably throw a party a couple of times and hire the Merry Maids to clean up the party aftermaths. Prices of course are by house type and mess. But for $130 or $330 that is a good amount of cleaning. In fact you could just have them clean up for normal everyday mess and you could catch up with some good friends instead! 
4.       Add $59 pretax or at  $189 you could go on a 3 day cruise going to Bahamas from Florida. If you did not get the Top of the line Margaritaville you could be upgraded to the balcony room and still have $31 to spend on tourist stuff! You would not have to pretend to be someplace tropical you could be some place tropical! 
5.       You could go to the Key West Margaritaville instead you could get a "Booze in a Blender" which is a 22 oz Margarita with a take home blending cup for $15.25, get a cheeseburger in paradise for $11.25, have key lime pie for $6.99= including 7% tax (not sure what the tax is in Florida but... And still only be out $35.83 and probably could fly down for the day via southwest from CT to FL for $99 one way instead of buying the Margaritaville! Of coures I would also recommend tipping the waiter or waitress generously! 
6.       You could save it in an Capital one 360 savings account and get an interest of 0.75% as of this post. Here is the rates for their other products. 
7.       With the savings one could buy the Warning snow cone instead of the Bahamas Margaritaville almost twice or if you were going with the original cost of the Margaritaville you could get after the savings almost 5 of them for your friends/family! That is crazy when you think of it. 
8.       In these times hard times for so many you could donate your money to The Red Cross, Donors Choose.org, Autism speaks, and do somethings to help those in need. 

My personal Waring Snow Cone Maker

Decisions

It has been over a year since I have created a post on this blog. When I first wrote this blog a lot was different including an important fact I was only working part time. Now I work four, ten hour shifts a week and I am only off of my feet for lunch break. It is labor intensive my new job and yet I burn no calories! I have gotten tired because where I work the days are long! I have been using my free time on researching, working out, enjoying my new found weekends off and day dreaming.

I actually got inspired by a good friend who blogs five days a week on her blog Luxe Austerity. She blogs a sort of quick good things list for Fashionistas on a budget. You got to love friends! I love her blog and it gave me inspiration! I realized that I do not need to write long blogs and over do it! So I am saying thank you to Poppy B! Reading her blog gave me the kick to start writing again on this blog! I am not saying I will not be verbose BUT it will help me write more with less pressure!

If you have been following me you will see that I had a desire to create an online bakery of some sort for extra money. Friends, co-worker, and family love my cookies! I had a list up of the cookies that I was selling only to my friends because I do not have a commercial kitchen.

So I learned about the WBDC which targets women and minorities who want to open a small business. It is a great resource and there is a WBDC I can walk to! I decided to go to a class at a local Women's Business development Center. It was a four week class in June that  met from 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm on Wednesdays tailored to running a food business in Connecticut. It was a good kick in the butt that I needed.

I had been starry eyed for a couple years thinking that when Jon and I move to a house I would build a kitchen in the basement. The idea was that we could write off the basement that I used, that it would cut down on over head costs, and we would not have to renovate a space and pay rent on it. However this class set this idea straight. Connecticut and it's taxes are no joke and they have been cracking down on home businesses related to food! There is a scale tax for an instance for every food and packaging scale and you have to pay people to come out to properly adjust it! That is just one crazy thing that makes your money fly out the window! A lot of the people that spoke to us at the WBDC were able to work from their homes or out of a friend's kitchen. They had some loop holes that we cannot follow now and the penalties are very severe. So they were able to save money and at the time that the rules changed they had enough money to pay for rent/renovations of a space. But new rules and regulations make things hard but also help protect consumers and your business. But still it kind of stinks that I cannot cook out of a nice basement commercial kitchen far from my cute little dog, Penny!

There is one major issue and reason I will not in the next couple of years start this online bakery and it is money! You have to have a lot money and have to rent spaces which you normally have to renovate first before you do that which is more money. In order to qualify for better loans and for free money you have to be in business for a year. They are not going to waste money on new businesses because everyone wants to be in this business and there is a lot of over head costs that put people out of business. But the major one is insurance related. If I were to purchase a place with a basement to do a basement kitchen and have commercial  kitchen and there ever was a fire resulting from a commercial kitchen I could lose my insurance and be uninsurable. This is important. I would get no money to rebuild my house, lose property and personal items and get no money! So I would then want to renovate get into a house and not be able to get a mortgage because the fire was caused by a commercial kitchen which would not be covered by home mortgages!

I do not have 100,000s of money to just renovated and get a good kitchen started. So I have been looking into a different vein of small business. Not going to reveal it now but I am doing some research.

What to expect on the blog:
1.) I learned while researching that some companies give out free merchandise for blogs to give away and to try out. I am going to try to go to the companies that I love and try to do merchandise giveaways.
2.) When the heat wave dies down more baking and cooking posts!
3.) More information on trying to start a small business.
4.) More blog posts! I am hoping for at least once a week!

Asparagus Soup with Parmesan Shortbread Coins

 I never posted this but I did this in April or May of 2012, mea culpa! Enjoy!

Asparagus Soup with Parmesan Shortbread Coins

In April and May Asparagus is in season and is cheap. My husband loves asparagus and soup so I made him this recipe originally from Food & Wine which I found on Huffington Post online. You want to make the Parmesan shortbread coins first because you need to chill the dough. The original soup recipe calls for using a blender and doing the soup in batches. I find that the immersion blender saves time, saves the mess and there is less of a chance to get burnt! I have had bad luck with my blender in fact I have never used it after the soup crisis of 2010! Ugh! Spend the $65-$99 and get the immersion blender with all the attachements from Kitchen aid!

Ingredients:

Ingredients to make Asparagus Soup

Asparagus soup

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1.5 pounds asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 quart low-sodium chicken broth (I suggest Kitchen Basics)

0.25 cup tarragon leaves, plus more for garnish

1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley leaves

0.75 cup heavy cream

0.5 cup frozen baby peas, thawed

Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Finely grated lemon zest, for garnish

Ingredients to make the Parmesan Shortbread Coins

Parmesan Short Bread Coins:

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1.5 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (6 ounces)

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1.5 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 large egg yolks

Parmesan Short Bread Coins:

1. In the electric stand mixer using the paddle attachment combine the flour, cheese, thyme, lemon zest and salt.

2. Add the butter and egg yolks and beat at medium speed until lightly moistened crumbs form.

3. Gather the crumbs and knead to form a 2-inch-thick log.

 4. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.

5. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
6. After 30 mins slice the log 1/4 inch thick

7.Arrange on the baking sheets.

8. Preheat the oven to 325° and

9. Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden around the edges; let cool on the sheets.

 

  

Asparagus soup:

1. In a large pot, melt the butter.
   
2. Add the onion, cover and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 6 minutes.
   
   
   
3. Add the asparagus and cook for 1 minute.
   
   
   
4. Add the broth and simmer until the asparagus is tender, about 10 minutes. For my stove it took longer than the 10 minutes.You need to test to make sure that the asparagus is tender.  
   
   
   
5. Add the 1/4 cup of tarragon and the parsley.
   
6. Take the pot off of the heat.
7. Using an immersen blender puree the soup in a stock pot.

   

   Go slow and do not hit the bottom of the stock pot. Too fast and you might splash yourself. Be genle and you can move around the stock pot to get it blended.
8. Add the cream and peas; rewarm.
   
   
   
   
   
9. Season with salt and white pepper and garnish with tarragon and zest.
   
10. Serve with the Parmesan coins.
    

Bon apetit!