balsamic broccoli & mushroom pasta salad

simple & delicious hot or cold!
start a pot of salted water to boil, cook the pasta. i used three different pasta shapes - including one whole wheat pasta.
grab a pan, saute a drizzle of olive oil with chopped broccoli until coated, then add in some Italian seasonings (half an Italian dressing packet works too) & balsamic vinegar, this stuff goes a long way, so go a dash at a time.
when the broccoli is almost to your liking, add in the mushrooms and cook till the mushrooms are done. salt & pepper. medium to low heat, or just keep your eye on it.

then toss all together and eat. or cool and then eat.
As far as measuring goes, I probably used just one head of broccoli chopped, and perhaps two cups of roughly chopped mushrooms. the proportion to the pasta salad was very small -but you can certainly beef this up...I keep thinking how great it would be to make this same salad, but add in roasted red peppers, garlic, or perhaps some grilled cherry tomatoes....

shadowbox spring day

the work days always seem most fulfilling to me - waiting for the weather to warm sufficiently, patience i have not.

the manure is raked thoroughly through the garden, waiting for the veggies to be transplanted...the beds are watered...the lavender is coming back of its own accord. the native strawberries are flowering - so much life and growing going on everywhere.


you know it is spring in vermont when the violets and trilliums have popped.


i love making violet sugar and sugared violets this time of year. we have many violet species, purple, white, yellow, and combinations thereof. the baby violet leaves are great salad greens.



Trillium erectum are pictured here, a native VT purple varietal. sad to not see any of the white Trillium grandiflorum, or the painted trilliums on the land so far, but i'll be happy with what i have. it is so exciting to see everything coming to life once again.

i'll be taking a walk to a favorite hiding spot of native white bleeding hearts and jack in the pulpits today or tomorrow....pictures to come if they are around!

rigged up snap peas

well, they are nicely on their way to the ceiling of my kitchen island...wish them luck!

leftover spinach salad omelet

Any day I can make an omelet for breakfast is a good day. Any day I can recycle last night's salad into a omelet is even better!

This only works if you don't put dressing on your main salad, dressed salad gets icky too fast to reuse in the morning. The greens really need to be spinach, kale, collard- any green bit of goodness that is good cooked.

My salad leftovers were whole baby spinach leaves, chopped broccoli, slivered almonds, hemp and flax seeds. Tons of vitamins, minerals and protein for a busy day ahead.

I threw all that into a pan with a bit of olive oil on medium heat and got it all nice and wilty (i'm sure that is not a cooking term)

In the meantime, take two eggs, scramble with salt and pepper in a bowl with a whisk.
I use one yolk, two whites, you should use however much you need for your family, or for the amount of leftover salad you want to use.

Pour in the egg mixture once your salad is "wilty". Scrape your omelet into the center until it starts creating a solid mass - cook it up on both sides, toss on a bit of shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese if you wish, then fold up and let melt for a minute or so. flip it once more for good measure, and voila!

It always makes me happy to make the most of my food, waste not, want not!
What could you throw in to your omelet this morning?