It is SO Springtime -- Eye Candy From Today's Trip to Merrifield Garden Center!

Even the pots look all shiny and happy and excited about EOS (Early On-set Spring). (Below)

What a glorious day, and I can't wait to come back to Merrifield later in the week sans HoneyHusband so I can lollygag for hours.  The place is huge and has everything, and best of all, the people are fantastic.  Barry helped us first with choosing our new shade loving bush for in front of the house, and he handed me off to the woman who knew everything about the early salad greens to plant, and she handed me off to the soil guy who showed me what I needed to put them in pots rather than the garden proper.

Rosebushes, waiting to go to their forever homes.

I loved this plant/flower.  Helleborus.  I know I have seen them in a million beautiful colors before, but had never seen this gorgeous pale sage tipped in pink with yellow centers.  When I got home I discovered they are the "plant of the week" at Merrified with specific information on their website here.

And back at home:

Hubby planting the new bush between the two laurels.  It was tragic to take up the hydrangea, but it just got no sun in front of, and right up against, the house, which faces North.  Don't get me started on stupid design and planning.  No excuse for it being built 80 years ago.

Pear tree starting to bloom in the backyard!  So pretty.

Honey Husband had to trample a few daffodils putting in the new bush.  I salvaged a few -- I think these mostly white ones look perfect in that little blue vase I bought in Morocco.  Yellow and blue dish behind it I bought in the restaurant district in Tokyo.  In it are tomatoes from the Schlagel Farms greenhouse -- they come to the Delray Farmers Market year round, thank goodness.  I asked why he had green tomatoes this time of year and he said he broke a stem while he was picking some red ones and voila, I will have fried green tomatoes this week!

One last shot from the garden center.  Om Garden Frog says: Namaste!

2012: Let's Kick It Off With Breakfast as Seen Through Hipstamatic - My New Love

Missed you all!  Since Christmas I have been on a steep, fast learning curve going from Blackberry to iPhone, Windows to mac, and learning how to use some fun new camera accessories.  It's meant hunting for my photos and figuring out how to, well, do everything differently.  I'm very happy with the "move," though.

iPhone: I am in mad, mad love Hipstamatic. 

I haven't gotten as into Instagram as the rest of the universe. But I am still playing around with it and learning.  Though the thought of joining yet another online community makes me feel overwhelmed.

I also love CameraBag for its simplicity.  

As my friend Ashlee always said, "Wakey, wakey, egg and bakey!" 

This is also now the name of my morning alarm.  The small pleasures of iPhone ... I can name my alarms.  (If only it always meant there were eggs and bacon waiting as soon as it went off *sigh*)

Uber fresh eggs from Tom's Amish Store at the Del Ray Farmer's Market.  His eggs come form an Amish farm a few hours away.  The taste is so rich and amazing.   Tom told me that he bought Eggland's Best and measured them with a loop and they were all exactly the same size ... what happens to the others? Ew.

Baked at 350 for about 15 min.  Came out beautifully! 

 Thomas' English Muffin Light Multigrain

Frozen spinach, thawed in microwave

I keep a hunk or two (or three) of Parmesan in the fridge and grate fresh.  There is no substitute for that taste!

Really, this simple breakfast is made spectacular with the truly fresh, local, organic eggs, tomatoes, Parmesan (not local, but definitely fresh)

All photos below taken with Hipstamatic app 

(except very last one).

This particular lens makes things come out rather yellow, probably not the best for food, but I am still learning how to change the lenses (literally to shake the iPhone ... it's so wild).  But I still love it!

These heirloom cherry tomatoes are shaped a little like hearts.

Below is another photo of the above taken with the normal camera on the iPhone.

The regular picture.

All photos taken with the iPhone 4S with 64GB storage for all my photos!

And, yes, breakfast was not as warm as I would have liked once I finished playing with my my new photo toy!  (Ok, not a toy, but it sure feels like one!)

Happy New Year, hope it is wonderful already.

Yours, in photo-fun,

Julia

Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup -- My Favorite

I love this soup.  It is based on this Cooking Light recipe I found two years ago.  I say based on it because I only guesstimate the measurements and it always turns out great.

The three main ingredients are:  Carrots, sweet potatoes, onion.
The secret ingredient is:  ginger.
And it has special super powers:
1.  It can survive just fine for a few hours without refrigeration (read:  sit on my desk til lunch);
2.  Awesome way to get my veggies rather than a side of broccoli;
3.  It's a puree so it can travel well (see # 1, to the office without seeping out);
4.  Freezes well.

All veggies from Del Ray and Old Town farmers' markets except small onions which are organic from Trader Joe's.

These are the enormous carrots from Lopez Farms at the Old Town farmers' market.  I asked a nice fellow shopper to model the monster carrot for me. Amazingly sweet for being so large.  Probably because they are organic and fresh out of the ground a few miles from where I bought them.

One carrot, chopped, weighed 13 ounces!  (My million year old scale is on the left.)

Two sweet potatoes, peeled, chopped into big chunks. (BOWL: Blue and white dragon design purchased in my favorite supply store in DC's Chinatown.)

Toss potatoes (peeled and chopped), onion (one medium or a few small  ones) and carrots (1/2 - 1 pound, washed, but no need to peel if they are organic) with a few drizzles of olive oil to coat. 13x9" in baking dish (any size is fine, so is a cookie sheet, or in tin foil on the grill).

Heat oven to 325 degrees F.  Roast for 30-45 minutes.  Toss once at 15-20 minutes (these are just going in the oven).

Perfect!  Just out of the oven, browning around the edges, olive oil prevents everything from drying out.  House smells awesome.

Add four cups of low sodium chicken or veggie stock. More or less by half a cup depending on whether you use more or less vegetables.

I love this stuff.  I grew up on Wyler's bouillon, could eat it straight (Gross, I know, but I used to make a salt pile and dunk my fries in it, too, when I was a kid). While I don't always have my own broth on hand (not much room for it in the tiny kitchen), I always have some of this stuff on hand. USDA organic and it is the perfect way to stock stock in a minuscule kitchen.  I use 1/2-3/4 teaspoon per cup of water.

Fresh ginger made easy. 

Everybody in da pot.  Bring to a boil.

Turn down to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

I've done this step in a blender, in batches, many times. It works for sure, and is totally worth it. I just started making soups often enough in the tiny kitchen that I invested in a nice stick blender. I love concocting soups, and especially in the tiny kitchen, the immersion blender saves my space, time and mess.  It took about 90 seconds.

 

Perfection!

Back on the stove* for serving and measuring out for freezing.
* Our incredibly well laid out tiny kitchen does not have an outlet on the stove side, so I put the pot on a trivet on the opposite counter, blend it (very fun) and then move it back to the stove top.

Yours, in soup joy,

Julia

Click here for printable version

The Weekly Wreath Wrap -- Now Through December. Too Many Beautiful Ones From My Local Virginia Farmers' Market. One Post a Week, It Just Has to be Done.

If you're new here, you need to know that I love wreaths (and welcome!). And I go to my two awesome local farmers' markets on Saturdays.  Where, year round, is an amazing team of European master floriculturalists who bring their creations year round.  With the holiday season in full swing, many of the independent, family farms are bringing their own creations, also.

(this and the wreaths below were at the natural-designs.net the Old Town Farmers' Market)

 As I've mentioned before, I pay for everything, not that anyone is offering, I just get very excited about products, people and services I love -- someday I really will do a whole post on my love of Cetaphil, or maybe bacon, and John Freida's Frizz Ease products ...)

Magnolia over curly kale at Three Way Farms at the Del Ray Farmers' Market. (Click to learn more about the Del Ray Market on their facebook page)

A sweet little twig wreath also from Three Way Farms.  Nestled in the parsnips.  Duh, where else would the cute wreaths hang out?

Closer shot of the friend-of-the-parsnips wreath.

Halloween in my Hood -- Life Size Angry Birds and Dressed Up Doggies

Welcome to the Annual Del Ray Halloween Parade! The life sized Angry Birds was the big hit of the parade.

Here is one of our Pig Kings from Angry Birds awaiting rescue.

Angry Bird looking for his slingshot via gathering Halloween goodies

The life size slingshot with pirates, goblins, cowboys lined up to take a shot, and an angry bird watching from the left.

Pint size Angry Bird costume (compared to the one above!), with an exhausted little blonde/green pig.

 I  heart the mummy hot dog! He looks like a tough guy, even in mummy costume.

Del Ray Farmers' Market in Fall -- A Feast of Rich Colors, and Flavors

Love your neighborhood farmers' market. I am quite a lucky duck that this one is right in my neighborhood.

Hot Royal Black Peppers -- could they be more beautiful?  Too hot for me to eat, though.

Some peppers I (my mouth) can handle (maybe)!  Such a gorgeous fall mix of them.

Heirloom tomatoes, San Marzanos in the basket, and heirloom peppers.

All of the above photographed at the Vine Ripe Farm area at the Del Ray Farmers' Market:

Then over to Three Way Farms:

Little hands picking tomatoes.

Friendly help at Three Way Farm. Picking out heirloom "chocolate" cherry tomatoes for me! So called because of the coloring.  Have a wonderful deep tomato taste.  If they tasted like chocolate, that would have been just fine, too.

Friendly folk at Three Way Farm!  Thank you!

Radishes, green beans, and onions, all just begging me to be roasted and used in silky fall soup.

Another fab vendor at the Del Ray Farmers' Market, Toigo Orchards ... 

mmmm tomatoes as far as the eye can see:

One last caramel apple with fall sprinkles at Ashbank.

Weekend macaron flavors at Mariannas Macarons. Two each of rose, vanilla and Nutella...heaven!

Time for some easy, delish fall recipes that look beautiful, too, friends!

 Hope you're having wonderful weather this weekend in your neighborhood.

Love,

JPV