What I'm Loving Lately

I rarely just sort of like something. I'm usually all in with pink puffy heart love or all out. I used to do this once a month but I've gotten out of the habit of sharing things I'm loving with others so I wanted to take a minute to tell you what I'm all into recently: No affiliate links.

Tom's Slippers. These are worth every last penny of $40 some dollars. When I bought them I felt like an extravagant asshole, which I still might be, but it was worth it.

What's on my walls. Do I still like it? Some stuff has been up for a long long time and it's time for it to go. I've been ditching stuff at will and moving stuff around from room to room. I often go through stuff in my house, but rarely stuff that hangs. That's changed this time around as I'm working on getting rid of 30 bags of shit in 30 days. The walls are no longer safe.


Cabela's Sarasota Plush Full Zip Jacket. I bought this in black for Ireland, then I bought it in two other colors because I loved it so damn much. I tend to do that when I find something I adore. It's comfortable and breathable and really warm. Like it can take the place of a jacket on a lot of days warm. Visually I love the contrast zippers. It's $80 on the site right now, but I got the black one for $40 and the other two for $50 so hold for a sale, please. One of mine will live at the shore and the other two at home. MFD was all I don't like this as he was wearing it for a quick foray outside and I replied something to the effect of good it's not yours and you look ridiculous in it.

The Fina Series by Ingrid Thoft. I love strong female leads in books and Fina fits the bill. Her family is fucked up and so is her love life but she's fierce, smart, flawed, and awesome. I enjoy Ingrid Thoft's writing a lot. This is the fourth book and it was just released last week. I finished it last night and I think it was my favorite so far. Go forth and secure some from your library.

I Love Juicy Shampoo from Lush. It's pricey but I love the smell and how it leaves my hair. Since I don't wash my hair that often, it lasts me a long time, so the price is easier to justify spread out. I like their shampoo bars too, but since I don't use any hair products and I don't dry my hair with a blow dryer ever, I rely on my shampoo to provide some oomph and scent. I Love Juicy delivers.

WeMo Smart Plug. I get an enormous thrill every time I can turn the lamp on and off from my phone. Yes, I am aware it's like a more expensive clap on clap off situation. You can't rain on this light parade. Plus now I can turn the lights on for my dogs when I'm not home. It's worth the $30 for that alone.

Making my own elderberry extract. Since this cold keeps popping up like someone you're attempting to drown - speaking from crime show and movie experience, not real life experience, mind - I had to make this again. It's super easy and I control what goes in it. Win Win.

Cleanbear Dish Gloves. Why do my manicures last? Because I don't wash dishes or clean anything without these gloves and I don't use my nails as tools and I use always use a basecoat and never mind it's largely in the gloves. These are strong and they last a long time before one of the fingers blows out. They're like two for $13.

Give me the dirt on your current obsessions.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for mushrooms

You read that right, and not the magic kind either. My facebook peeps know I've been cooking with mushrooms on all burners in my kitchen since mid-October. I am enchanted and possibly obsessed with the funghi.

Since mid October I've made the following:
Rustic Mushroom Tart: this was excellent, but definitely not healthy. I did use skim milk in the bechemal sauce to cut a little bit of fat.


Glorious.

Mushroom Herb Mac & Cheese: This was excellent, and not too heavy.

I just threw this creamy dreamy pasta together with a bit of a veggie ragout: tomatoes, zucchini, onion, garlic, and baby bellas.

Lunch last week - veggie beef barley soup in the crockpot, adapted from my Mom Mom's recipe. The baby bellas stole the show.

By last week, I was recklessly throwing mushrooms into everything. I added baby bellas to this lovely veggie lasagna:

For this week's lunches, I cut the beef and just made mushroom barley soup:

And yesterday while I had the mushroom barley soup going, I made what I thought would land me my mushroom crown of glory: PDub's Burgundy Mushrooms. They cook on the stove top for NINE hours: six with the lid on and three with them off. In the time they were on the stove, I exercised, spent an hour and a half doing yardwork and planting bulbs, packed lunch, cut up veggies, put laundry away, spent 4.5 hours at my neighbor's house drinking wine and shooting the shit with some ladies, and read half of a James Patterson book. That is some serious time on the stove.

I've wanted to make them for years. They were good, but not as good as I expected them to be. MFD loved them over buttery white rice.

Four pounds of button mushrooms

After six hours of cooking with the lid on

After the full nine hours

PDub's mushrooms stuffed with brie are a better bet for me. I've done them with brie and with fontina, I prefer the brie but neither disappoints. They define yum. Serve them as an appetizer at a party this holiday season. Your guests will appreciate them.

I am looking forward to a life partnership with mushrooms.

Also...is Monday over yet? Good Christ.

Toodles,

SMD

p.s. I encountered three slugs at close range during Sunday's yard work. I'm glad I refrained from crapping my pants and screaming like a school girl.