A Plethora of Polenta

So the other day at the market I told you we bought all these mushrooms, but I forgot to tell you what I did with them.... They became two very easy polenta dishes.  Forgive me for the lack of a clear and precise recipe, but this isn't really the type of thing you can eff up and I was just throwing stuff together.

Ok, first you need to make your polenta.  I used about 2 cups of cornmeal to about 4 cups of boiling water.  Pour in the cornmeal very slowly and whisk as you go breaking up all the clumps.  You'll probably want to turn the heat down a bit because it tends to go a bit like a bubbling volcano if you don't.  You may also choose to add more water if its getting too thick, I added a veggie stock cube as well just for a little extra flavor.  When it's ready, pour it into a baking dish, and place in the fridge so it will get solid.

It will take awhile, so give it an hour for best results.  Then you can make up a little sauce.  OK I made this up for Nick who thinks dairy is God's gift to mankind.  Please don't judge.  I took a handful of chantrelles, and a couple handfuls of basic button mushrooms, (sliced of course) and browned them with a white onion in some butter.  I then added a cup of cream, and a few tablespoons of blue cheese and flavored with salt and pepper.  Meanwhile, I had the polenta on a grill pan to get nice and crispy on the bottom and voila....

It was good, but a few minutes after eating it I got the Victoria's Secret swim suit advertisements in my email (probably my ultimate thinspiration) and I started to regret my decision to be so accommodating to my husband's dairy desires.

The next day we had left over polenta, and all those fabulous oyster mushrooms from the market.  I sliced the mushrooms lengthwise, sauteed them in a bit of butter until they were nice and brown, added some carmelized onions to the mix, and topped the whole thing off with store bought pesto (I'm a fraud I know).

This polenta dish was much tastier and probably much healthier than the last.  It was my first experience with oyster mushrooms, and they went down a treat!  A bit on the chewy side of things, but that was good because sometimes my carnivorous husband likes food he can sink his teeth into.  The pesto brought it all together and finished the dish off very nicely.

Heidi in Action

Nick and I took Heidi to the park this morning and I brought along my camera to capture all the action!  Heidi loves to run and she is already way out of both mine and Nick's leagues.  Soon we won't be able to wear her out.  But for now we have so much fun taking her to the park to play and she thinks its the best thing ever.   Since it rains all the time here, a pond has magically appeared in the middle of the park - its actually just like a huge puddle.(Hooray for British weather!)  We're teaching her that water is fun!  Hope you enjoy these puppy action shots.

(I almost got a picture of her pointing, ugh so close yet so far!)

Butch My 4runner

Homesickness is one of those things that gets better over time, but it will never go all the way away.  There are little things that trigger it every now and then, and sometimes they just pimp smack you across the face.  Like today, I was walking Heidi, and parked in a drive way was a black 4 runner.  Why the hell would a black 4 runner make me emotional?

(Via)

Well I guess the thing about homesickness is it is all related to memories.  My first car was a black 4runner I bought for a mere $800 from my very generous aunt.  It was admittedly a piece of shit.  When you closed the doors big chunks of rust would fall off, and it would often smoke on the way to school in the morning, leaving my carpool with big head aches to start the day with. But the truth is, I loved this car.  I named her Butch, because all my friends said it was a car a dyke would drive.  But I didn't care.  It was mine and it gave me my first real taste of freedom.  I loved driving to school in the morning, and sitting in the parking lot having dance parties in the winter until the windows fogged up.  I loved putting it into four wheel drive in the winter snow and feeling like a real bad ass driving by people with little cars that got stuck.  I loved the way it smelled after I let some of my.... less studious friends borrow it to skip class and go get "bagels" in the morning.  (I never skipped class.  Goody two shoes here).  I loved the way the trunk flipped out and we could lay in the back and take naps before rowing practice.  And I really, REALLY loved the car rides home.  I had the best carpool, and we would jam to our CD mixes, on an old battery powered boom box - this car was too ghetto for a CD player.

I guess what I'm saying is I don't miss the car at all.  I miss those memories and the best way to confront homesickness head on  is to realize all that stuff is in the past and I will never do those same things, with those same people on a daily basis ever again.  Even if I was to return home, chances are few other people would be there with me.  So here I am in London, creating new memories.  Who knows - maybe one day I'll be homesick for London?  Doubtful.

Until next time, I'll leave you with the carpool's two favorite jams.  This is for you - MJ, Solimine and Gaffney.

Conservatory: Before and After

We had our conservatory rebuilt sometime around September,  however, as things of such a nature go, we only recently got around to painting it.  I meant to post pictures as soon as it was painted, but it seemed to be filled with tools and other junk as soon as I put my paint brush down.  But since Nick's mum is selling the house now, someone came to view it and we put it all in order.  It looked good.  I wish it could always look like this.

Here are the before pics....

This is a bathroom.  No one used it because it's gross. Agreed?

And now it looks like this....

So new and shiny!  Notice the appliances!  We used to have the washing machine in the kitchen.  Now we have a dishwasher (SCORE!) in the kitchen, and we have both the washing machine and the dryer in the conservatory.  This makes me extremely happy.  Hanging laundry outside to dry is a royal pain, especially when it rains nearly every day here.  The dryer on the left doesn't actually go there, well it's supposed to, except the builders forgot to put a hole in the wall for the exhaust.  So we have to move it to the front of the picture and stick the hose out the window.

Oh, and the toilet has also been redone, except you see, the light of my life, my dear husband, decided that he was a plumber (he's not a plumber) and he was going to fit the sink and toilet himself to save money.  That was in September.  It's now the end of February and we're no closer to having a working toilet in, and as a bonus, we have the lingering smell of sewage since the pipe for the toilet is exposed.  We try to cover it, but it doesn't really work.

You win some, you lose some.

Counter Top Crusades

We have a problem.  Heidi can now get her nose over the top of the counter.  This picture doesn't really do it justice.  She's just tall enough that if we leave anything by the edge she can get a hold of it.  

We've taught her the "Off" command and she is good at listening.  The problem is, she sits on the floor and looks at you like this....

Treat please?

Then within 10 seconds she is back jumping up on the counter.  The biggest problem is soon she'll be able to reach the stove top.  And soon she'll have a very crispy nose... Tips please?