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

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

Busy Girl's Tomato, Goat Cheese & Arugula Flatbread -- Gorgeous + Tasty Enough to Bring to Someone Else's House

When I made this, I hoped it would be yummy.  It was, and I lucked out that it is pretty, too!  I based this on a great looking recipe from the Prevention website called  "Arugula and Goat Cheese Pizza." I didn't have the recipe handy when I was cooking so I improvised. I ended up changing the recipe substantially, so I have listed that I am only putting my recipe down at the bottom.  Please refer to the other, also.  The site has great, healthy recipes.

I  LOVED how it turned out.  So elegant and delicious.  

About four teaspoons or less of oil.  I used canola instead of olive so I could cook those onions at a higher heat in order to finish cooking them more quickly.  You can see the thin, whole wheat Boboli in the background.

Cooking the onions at high heat causes splatter.  Ergo, the splatter shield. Using it makes me feel very chef-like.  Splatter does not make me feel chef-like. Splatter is never good, especially in a tiny kitchen.

Pioneer Woman says to show pictures with movement (see pouring oil above) whenever possible.  Maybe that didn't include dropping sliced yellow pear tomatoes into my pan, but hey, I'm new, and and I'm tryin'!

One pint of grape tomatoes, sliced in half, and about the same amount (eyeballed) from my last crop of yellow pear tomatoes from my garden (*sniff* *sniff* see you next year my sweet little beauties).

[Hey, cat, what about this smells like tuna to you?  You'd better tune up your tuna sniffer. Additional note to cat, you do not like tomatoes, you like salty french fries.]

Back to our regularly scheduled flatbread...Keep up the heat and cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes just start to soften. I added about a teaspoon of Kosher salt to bring out the tomato flavor.

Mild goat cheese with rind that cuts like a brie.  Remove the rind or use the crumble goat cheese ithout rind.  I am a rind person.  Into the oven it goes, 450 for 8-10 min, and out to the garden I go for the arugula to mix with a little olive oil and put on top when it comes out of the oven.

Spouse refers to this (below) as "The Arugula Situation."  As in, "When are you going to take care of that Arugula Situation you have in the backyard?"  The growing issues of the garden this year make me really enjoy anything that is able to become wildly overgrown.  Please note, to the right of The Arugula Situation, is the up-and-coming "Parsley Situation."  Since it is not overflowing onto the walkway hubby built, he doesn't notice it right now.  He will, soon, though, when it becomes the "Pesto Situation" taking over our tiny, elegant little freezer.

Hacked off this handful (below) and pulled the best leaves off to top our pizza!

Tomato, Goat Cheese & Arugula Flatbread

Ingredients:  (You can totally eyeball everything for this recipe.  Except the flatbread)

• 2-4 teaspoons canola oil
• One medium onion, chopped (use a larger onion if you love onions like I do!)
• 1 thin whole wheat pizza crust (I used the Boboli 12” 100% whole wheat)
• 2 pints (or 2-3 cups) grape tomatoes.  If you see any yellows, use those with the reds!
• A pinch of salt (about ¼ teaspoon)
• 1 1/2 ounce(s) goat cheese, sliced or crumbled
• 1-1.5 cup(s) loosely packed baby arugula
• 1 teaspoon olive oil (or olive oil spray)

Make it!

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2.  Heat canola oil in non-stick skillet over medium to medium high heat, add chopped onion.  Cook, stirring until onion is softened and golden or darker (At the Valentine house, we like it dark brown, almost crispy) 5-7 minutes.

3.  Now add the tomatoes to the onions, sprinkle salt and let it cook without stirring for about two minutes while the tomatoes cook and the then stir to flip the tomatoes and cook another rwo minutes.

3.  Place crust on baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Scoop tomato and onion mixture onto flatbread. 

4.  Slice (or crumble) and place goat cheese evenly on top.

5.  Bake approximately 8 minutes, according to directions on flatbread/pizza crust packaging.

6.  Toss arugula with teaspoon of olive oil and arrange on top of cooked flatbread.

Cut into quarters, or cut into smaller slices for finger food/appetizers, or hide half and eat it for breakfast with a poached egg, and for lunch with smoked salmon, chicken breast or chicken sausage.

Enjoy!
xo JPV

BTW, when I went in the fridge to get the goat cheese, I was reminded of this, below, my Squash Situation! AARRGGHH!!!