Five Things That I Love This Week

I am craving some serious sunshine.  So the other day, when the thermometer creeped up to a near-75 degrees, I was celebrating summer, margaritas and all.  And what do I do when I've got summer on the brain, even if it's still cold as December out? Well, I make summer cocktails, plant a garden, and cook.

So, here are my top things I love this week, that make me feel like it's actually Spring:

1. The Farmer's Market.  I went in with $10, and ended up asking if they take debit.  I couldn't help myself, it all looks so much better in outdoor light, all fresh and piled high!

With these few little things...

 I made this...

 And this...

And this...

 

2. The Safeway Wine Sale. Right now Safeway is having their annual wine sale. And I love wine. A lot. So how good is their wine sale?  Well, all wines are 30% off. Then, if you buy six bottles, the price goes down another 10%. So I went to the sale because my favorite Merlot (Red Diamond) was on sale for $6.44 a bottle!  But guess what? They were sold out of the Red Diamond Merlot AND the Red Diamond Cabernet.  So what is a girl to do? Well, I just had to opt for a different kind of wine.  When I finished, my tab was $86 and this is what I got:

• Two bottles of Snoqualmie Whistle Stop Red Merlot/Cab Blend (Delish)
• Two bottles of 14 Hands Hot To Trot Red (Awesome)
• One bottle of Red Diamond Shiraz (Never tried but I love Shiraz)
• One bottle of Cupcake Red Velvet (Yummy)
• Two boxes (equivalent to 4 bottles of wine per box) of Bota Box Merlot (By the same winery as Gnarly wine and super good for the price) Tip: Put it in a carafe when hosting and no one will ever know you bought box wine!
• One box (4 bottles) of Bota Box Chardonnay (I actually don't drink white wine but it's good to have around for cooking and guests)

So, I got the equivalent of 18 bottles of wine for $86.  That's like $4-something a bottle and enough to last for...well, a while.  But then I went back to Safeway and they had re-stocked the Red Diamond.  So I bought another four bottles of the Merlot and two bottles of the Cab.  Yes, I'm a wine-o.  And my wine rack is almost full:

3. My New Garden.  We had this really ugly space on our side yard that we didn't know what to do with.  So we decided to use the left over pavers from our patio project and build a raised garden bed.  I'm really excited about it and got to planting right away.  Despite the rain. And the snow. And the hail.  I just can't seem to learn my lesson about planting veggies in June in Central Oregon.

4. Summer Cocktails.  What's better than a good drink after a long day? A good drink with fresh fruit after a long day!  On Tuesday, my sister made up her famous Strawberry Margarita.  All you need is margarita mix from Trader Joe's, Silver Tequila, Fresh Strawberries, Fresh Lime, and Rock Salt for the rim (Silly Straw Optional).  MMMMMMmmmmm!  So good.

Then another night, I took 1 Cup of Orange Juice, 3 Cups of Water, Fresh Basil, and Lime Juice from a Fresh Lime and made this mocktail. Also very delish!

5. Morel Mushrooms.  How can I not give one more shout out to these delish things?  I just knew rain served some purpose.  Turns out it's to make delicious mushrooms!

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• Two Days and One Pound of Morel Mushrooms

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Two Days and One Pound of Morel Mushrooms

The Morel in Nature

There is something to be said about being at the right place, at the right time.  My "right place" was driving by the neighbor's house and stopping for a chat as they were unloading from their trip to the valley picking morel mushrooms.

Ahh...to have wonderful neighbors who offer you a pound of hand-picked morel mushrooms just to be neighborly.

For those of you who know very little about morel mushrooms (as did I, but I faked it because they sounded so delicious I just had to try them!), the morel mushroom only grows in a few parts of the nation. It's looks are a bit deceiving.  Lovers of this mushroom suggest it looks like a "honeycomb".  I think it looks like a mushroom with it's brains falling out.

Either way, this mushroom, popular in French cuisine, is hearty, rich, and at about $5-$15/pound, very desirable.  It has a meaty texture, not slimey or slick like some more common species. And if you can get over the "brainy" look of it, you can begin to explore versatility this mushroom has to offer.

Traditional Fried Morel Mushrooms

The first night, I decided to do them up traditional style.

I soaked them in milk, then battered them in flour, salt, pepper, garlic salt, and a little paprika, then fried them in peanut oil. OMG, for the love of mushrooms, they were amazing.  My husband made a little spicy aioli to dip with them, but they didn't need it! They were perfectly savory without!


The second night, I decided to try them with a little pasta.

Morel Mushrooms w/ Spinach, Olive Oil, and Ravioli

I picked up some spinach cheese raviolis at Trader Joe's, boiled them, and then tossed them in a sauce with 1TBSP Olive Oil, 1 Clove of Garlic, 2TBSP of Low Fat Butter Spread, Fresh Spinach, Salt, Pepper, and the Morel Mushrooms. IT WAS FABULOUS! And to boot? The dish was filling, yet vegetarian and only 7 points for 1/3 a package of the raviolis. Bravo, morel mushrooms!

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