We Have Fairy Gardens!

 We have had rain almost every day for about two weeks.  We needed it and are happy for it...though I do have to say that today I left the house when it was cloudy and by the time I got to my destination more than 30 minutes away I had been through two very scary deluges!  I do not enjoy driving or riding in the rain. AT ALL!

This morning when we woke up I took these pictures of what I have heard described as Fairy Gardens.  They really are beautiful.

These mushrooms came up in two days and are just outside our garage.  I do love them.  I intended to harvest them for solar dyeing wool fiber to see what color we could get. BUT the day got ahead of me.  Hopefully tomorrow.

As you can see, these came up by the birdfeeder.  There are also some plants...probably sunflowers...that are growing up where seeds were dropped.  I think we will let them grow a bit before cutting them. 

These mushrooms are a different variety of mushrooms.  Last year or the year before I did some mushroom dyeing with orange-y mushrooms and got a lovely yellow fiber. I hope I can repeat that.  I just have to find the directions again!

My hope is that the mushrooms will still be in good shape tomorrow when I have time to harvest them and turn them into dye.  I picked some last week and almost immediately they turned into a horrifying moldy mess.  I hope I can help the basket recuperate!

Since I am mentally into solar dyeing I am hoping someone has a lot of weedy goldenrod they would like someone to take away.  I would do it!  I really love the beautiful yellow goldenrod produces.  You should try it yourself!

Fun Memories!

 When we were in Portland, Oregon, we often walked by fancy unusual mushrooms on our way to the office.   Earlier this week I walked by another mushroom!

This is not a mushroom that I recognized.  At this point I have even forgotten where I found it, but I thought it was nifty.  It brought back memories of OPM (the Oregon Portland Mission) where we spent two wonderful happy busy years serving the Lord and our fellow beings.  Now we are serving in different ways, but it is still service to the Lord and our fellows.  So nice.  Sometimes so tiring...!

Munchie Monday: Mushroom Garlic Meatballs

Meatless Garlic Mushroom Meatballs
Ingredients for 16 small meatballs:

1 pound white mushrooms, chopped into small pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup onions, finely chopped or  pulse in food processor
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pulse in food processor
1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1/2 cup breadcrumbs--make your own (by pulsing in food processor!)
1/4 cup chopped parsley or about 1 Tablespoon if you don't have fresh
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 eggs
3 cups of your favorite pasta sauce.

How I did this recipe varied some from Chef John's method.  I peeled the mushrooms carefully then put them in the food processor with the somewhat chopped onion and garlic then pulsed until everything was very tiny.

Melt butter and olive oil in a cast iron skillet then add mushrooms, onions, garlic mixture.  Cook about five minutes until the mushrooms have not more liquid visible.  You can also just pulse the mushrooms by themselves in the food processor then start them cooking by themselves and then add the chopped and pulsed onions and garlic when the mushrooms have evaporated all their juice.  Cook until the onions are very soft and fragrant.

Put mixture in a large bowl with the oatmeal, breadcrumbs, parsley and cheese.  Stir very well.  Taste to see if you need more salt.  If so, add it now, maybe a teaspoonful.  Also add the black pepper, cayenne, and oregano.  If you like how it tastes, then add the eggs, one at a time and mix well.  Cover with plastic wrap or foil so the mixture is tightly covered.

Let mixture sit 4 hours in the refrigerator.

Using a 2-Tablespoon portion scoop, scoop out balls of  meatballs and form slightly if needed and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake meatballs for 12-15 at 450 degrees F.

Add the meatballs to the sauce which is at a simmer. Simmer for 30-60 minutes before serving.  Serve over your favorite pasta.  We used mini-spaghetti, which is actually just spaghetti that has been broken up into 1-2 inch pieces prior to cooking.



The meatballs fell apart somewhat but they tasted great.  Dear One even ate two servings.  Well, over two days....Something he would not have done if he knew they were mushrooms.  Mushroom phobia here.

Munchie Monday: Veggie Meatball Bites

Always I seem to be looking for non-meat regular food, like meatballs and burgers.  I feel sure that somewhere there are good recipes where we can make them.

Here is a recipe which started out at Cooking With Plants.

Meatless Meatballs (Veggie Bites if you make them flat instead of round, which is what I wanted)

6 slice bread, pulverized in a food processor
2 cups walnuts added to the bread crumbs and pulsed until finely chopped
1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal flakes
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning or plain ground sage
2 teaspoons dried cilantro (which I used by mistake, I was reaching for the basil but picked up the cilantro instead and did not notice....)
 1 Tablespoon Better Than Bouillon vegetable stock mixture
 1 can black beans, NOT drained
1/4 cup soy sauce



After turning the bread and walnuts into crumbs in a food processor, add all the remaining dry ingredients and pulse to combine.  When they are happily mixed, dump in the beans, including liquid in the can,  and soy sauce (you can use tamari or Braggs Liquid Aminos if you want instead of the soy sauce) and pulse to make a mushed up combination.

Using a 2-Tablespoon portion scoop put the mixture on a parchment-lined baking sheet (or if you have a high tolerance for stuck-on food, just lightly grease the pan and forget about the parchment paper.  I have a very LOW tolerance for food items sticking to the pan so I always go with the parchment paper...).  Use nice even rows  (this helps the food cook more evenly, plus you can take a quick count more easily) of the plopped-on mixture then go back and with clean damp fingers  and press down the veggie bite mixture a little bit to slightly flatten the balls.


Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, turn the bites over, and bake another 15-20 minutes.  I wanted these to be baked enough that they were sort of crisp and could be picked up and used with French onion dip.  Well, they were not crisp, but they were firm enough to be finger food.  Score! 

These did work just as I had hoped AND they tasted good to boot!  I was so pleased when a lady at the Relief Society Birthday Party where I was going to serve these, asked if she could take some of them home.  OF COURSE SHE COULD!  I did not want to take any of them home because they were such a temptation to eat myself. 

A bonus with the lady's request was that I gave her the beautiful glass bowls I had used to serve the dip and veggie bites it.  Two more things gone from our house.  It is hard to empty out a house when your general modus operandi is to collect things, not dispose of them. Yes, I did particularly love these bowls but we do not need them. I am glad they have gone to a good home.