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!

Cooking My Way Through My Pinterest Recipes Board(s): Baked Mushrooms With Parmesan and Rosemary Over Polenta

 Beginning to cook my way through my Pinterest food boards is more like it.  They are labelled:

YUM (everything that looks good to me)

YUM:  Seasonal Eating Winter (squash recipes)

PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD (from my own rice krispie sushi pics to anything else that could pass for both something entertaining as well as yummy)

and

Fungus Love (I love mushrooms)

Yes, I love me the fungus.  Hubby hates it.  As in, he walks into the kitchen and says, "Ew!  Fungus.  I can smell it."  It's a texture thing.  Same as I have heard from other friends-who-are-also-haters.

I pinned this recipe for Baked Mushrooms With Rosemary and Parmesan.  All ingredients I love, and, conveniently, had in the house.  Well, the rosemary is technically outside of the house, on the porch.  Yes, in winter.  Rosemary's second successful winter on the porch.  Bizarre. 

Things I make in batches and keep in the fridge to pick on all week:  brown rice (boil in a bag, 10 min in the microwave, you can do it at work in an emergency), quinoa, polenta, bean and rice patties.  I ate polenta with mushrooms til the mushrooms were gone.  So delicious and so very easy.  

Here's the secret to the polenta: Turn the heat way down as soon as you can.  It bubbles, and when those bubbles burst, they burn you and leave a scar.  Trust me.  

Adapted recipe:

Baked Fungus with Parmesan and Rosemary

• lemon juice (1-2 T squeezed fresh from 1 lemon or the lemon juice from that plastic yellow lemon I keep in my fridge and you should keep in yours for when you have no lemons)
• 3-4 stalks of fresh rosemary, chopped fine, save the naked stalks
• 1 T Olive oil, enough to lightly coat
• 1 lb sliced button mushrooms(pre-sliced and packaged if you are short on time, or buy in bulk and just slice them.  If you have an egg slicer, toss them in there if you are OCD and like nice perfect cuts.)
• 1/4 c Parmesan, grated
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400. 
2. Slice mushrooms if you did not buy pre-sliced. 
3. Place the sliced mushrooms on a cookie sheet.  Toss in the olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary, and add the nekkid rosemary stalks, then mix to coat. Season with 1/8 t salt and a few grinds of pepper.
4. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes. Then sprinkle the grated Parmesan over the mushrooms and continue to bake for five more minutes until the cheese has browned lightly. 
5. Remove rosemary stalks.  Transfer mushrooms to a serving dish and dig in/serve over polenta or pasta, and save some for lunch tomorrow, too.

Polenta:

Follow the side of the box. Seriously.  So easy.
Water, polenta, bring to a boil. IMMEDIATELY tun heat to lowest simmer.  Stand back if you see bubbles forming, until the heat is low enough to prevent them.  A whisk works best.  Stir frequently.  Do NOT cover (this causes the polenta to steam rather than cook).

If you would like, add a few tablespoons of butter and/or some Parmesan (fontina is also excellent and turns super creamy in polenta).  Add a healthy teaspoon of salt (I use kosher salt), or more, to taste.

I smooth mine into a baking dish and let it cool.  Then I slice it up and put it in containers in the fridge and just pull it out a square or two at a time during the week. 

This is the polenta I used.  It belongs on the counter. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my kitty.  She does not belong on the counter. But it's better than when she gets on the range hood.

Have a great day, friends and let me know if you have any questions at all about safe polenta preparation and enjoyment or cooking fungus.

Mwah!

JPV

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