Market Mushrooms

I love mushrooms. Too bad the rest of the family does not share this sentiment. But in some ways, more mushrooms for me!

The Clintonville Farmers Market (one of the best around here!) has a vendor who has an urban farm right there in Clintonville. And he grows these beautiful Shitake mushrooms... Oh, I think he already has a new loyal patron!

If you like mushrooms, too, I am sure you know that fresh mushrooms don't need a lot of fuss. The simpler, the better.



Today in the garden, we pulled up (to 'check') on our garlic patch growing underground since last fall. Knowing that we aren't supposed to harvest these until this fall, we felt a little guilty, but up came one small head of garlic anyway (mother and son has the same amount of patience...the former perhaps having less of it).



But we put it to good use. I diced up the fresh garlic, sauteed the mushrooms in it with some good olive oil. A sprinkle of sea salt and herbes de Provence and some chopped up parsley ended the dish. Voila, the most earthy, delicious mushrooms you will have in central Ohio!

Peonies in Bloom

The peonies finally bloomed this weekend, when the sun shone bright, and warm. It was as if we were watching them open up by the minute. The tight buds in the morning became a full bloom peony by mid afternoon. Even the kids noticed amidst their water play, and tent building, and tree climbing.

They opened up, Mommy!! They reported from ten feet above the ground.



And then... it started to rain.



I had brought a bunch of them inside, for our indoor enjoyment. But the rest of them drooped, and bowed low toward the ground.

Time and again, nature reminds me the impermanence of beauty. Thankfully, I have them to provide me a bit of sunshine on this rainy day.

One of my favorites

I have many favorite flowers, as you might have guessed. These, the peonies, are among the few on the top of that list. They are just blooming now (the sun today is helpful after so many days of rain). Better yet, we have a whole row of them in the yard (really one of the reasons I wanted this house!). So, needless to say, this will not be the only post about these elegant flowers.

It's happening

We are soon to get to eat fruits and vegetables produced in-state, or maybe even down the road! I did a double take when I saw these strawberries today at the first day of farmers market in this little town of ours.

And soon... we will get to harvest from our very own garden! No strawberries from that, but hopefully lots of other goodies.

Meatless Monday: Homemade Pizza

 

Onions and I. We have a challenging relationship. But it's quite a clear-cut 'love-hate' relationship, namely, I love you onions, but only if you are very well cooked, caramelized, and wilted.  Otherwise, I avoid you like the plaque.



Our family has been following the "Meatless Monday" theme for quite sometime now, with most of our Monday dinners being completely vegetarian meals.

The cool rain has returned in Columbus, so I thought making pizza would be appropriate (considering that last Monday was too hot to even eat in the house, let alone cook anything in it).



Our usual topping for a homemade pizza? Anchovies. Yes, you read it right. Perhaps it was love at first sight when my husband and I  shared our first pizza experience together and we both ordered it with the salty, stinky, delicious fish friends. But tonight, my pantry was devoid of the little guys, hence, the attention given to my pseudo enemies: the onions.



Caramelizing  onions is very therapeutic for me. It's like taming an untamed beast. I was in control of its destiny, just to my liking. If you have not done this, oh, you must. It's a treat really, to watch the stiff, eye-watering pungent rings, wilt before your eyes. They become soft, and sweet, and delectable. And so perfect on top of pizza dough, under a thin layer of cheese.



And that was precisely what we had for our Meatless Monday. How about you?

Buddhist Temple (?)

We are still trying to decipher what this place we found yesterday actually is. Clearly, it's a southeast Asian venue. We were told that it is a temple, but the lack of temple-like fixtures made us think twice.

We will report back when we find out more. Intriguing, is it not?!

Summery

I could easily ask what happened to spring? I was just turning up the heat the other day, and today, sweating.



The truth is, however, is that we had spring. We had a beautiful spring, albeit a wet one.

And spring will come back, I am sure, with its pleasant temperatures, its sweet clean air.



Today, however, was very summery. Hot. Humid. Summer all the way.

The Early Garden

I don't remember a recent summer when we were not either planning a move, traveling overseas, or actually moving from coast to coast. I also don't remember having a backyard big enough to have a garden. Not just a garden in pots the way we managed for the past many years. This summer we actually get to transplant our seedlings and directly sow seeds into the ground! It's exciting!



We had been dreaming about this garden since January when seed catalogues greeted us at the door. Looking at plump colorful tomatoes back then felt dreaming about landing on the moon. It didn't seem possible that the frozen ground out back could produce anything at all, let alone a tomato plant, or delicious herbs, or scrumptious peas and zucchini, and spicy arugula.



But Spring did come. It came in vengeance, actually. The warmth, the rain, the bugs. They are all here now, and are here to stay for the next many months. Oh, the fun we will have outdoors!



There will also be many meals outside, with and without the amazing Ohio bugs.  With all the rain so far, we have a feeling that there will be several uninvited guests around here!

Precious Sun

If you have spent the last couple of months in central Ohio, today was a gift. Nothing fancy. Nothing bought or sold. Simply, we got to have the sun, along with the crisp clean air back. For one day.