Peace, Love & Bagels: The Friday Five

Thank goodness it's Friday. I seriously slacked on keeping up with my google reader this week, so it's super backlogged. I don't have anyone else's links to share with you today, but I do have five of my own random things to talk about...

Thing 1

Yesterday, despite the fact that there was a dark and ominous thunderstorm cloud just southeast of us, we got out into the yard to work a bit on our raised beds and the in-ground garden! Here's a sneak peek of the raised beds

Thing 2

Saw my Cleveland Marathon race photos........

this is the only one I'm willing to share

I probably saw the cameraman and managed to eek out a smile!

Thing 3

I love the Indians. We are going to join a sold out crowd at the Jake on Saturday night to watch them play the Cincy Reds. Oh, and get a Choo jersey! Anyone up for a post-game meet up??

Thing 4

I am in the market for a new camera. More specifically, I want to get a dSLR. I've always liked Canon. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I want to buy just a body, so I can get an f/1.8 fixed focal length lens (per a recommendation from my boss, who's wife is a photographer).

{photo credit: http://www.bhphotovideo.com}

I had a dream about buying the camera last night, so I think now's the time to do it. Let me know if you have any faves!

Thing 5

A recipe! Brandon and I had an awesome night in the garden last night, which ended with a most delicious (and pretty easy) dinner! I have a TON of asparagus (and green onions, and rhubarb!) from our spring CSA

so I used up some of the spear-grass (as my dad would say) last night on this awesome asparagus mushroom gratin. I wouldn't necessarily call it a gratin, per se, it's more like an asparagus and mushroom casserole. I made a few adaptations to the recipe, namely in the form of cheese. The original recipe called for Swiss or Gruyère, but I used the grass-fed Caraway Cheddar that we bought from the farmer's market last weekend.

individual asparagus and mushroom casseroles

adapted from Vegetarian Times

serves 4

prep time: 20 minutes

cook time: 30 minutes

ingredients:

1 lb asparagus
1 cup mushrooms (any type) torn into half inch pieces
1/4 cup milk (I used vanilla soy and it came out awesome)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup cheese (pretty much any kind you have on hand will probably do)
1 stalk green garlic
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for oiling ramekins

directions:

Preheat oven to 500°F, and place oven rack in top position. Toss asparagus with 1 tbsp olive oil on baking sheet, and season with salt and pepper. Roast 9 minutes then let cool.
Heat remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in skillet over high heat. Spread mushrooms evenly across skillet surface. Cook undisturbed 2 minutes, until mushrooms begin to brown. Toss, and spread evenly across skillet surface. Repeat 2 or 3 times until mushrooms are golden brown. Remove from heat.
Cut off asparagus tips and save for later. Place stalks in bowl of food processor. Add milk, and process 1 minute or until pureed. Transfer to bowl then mix in eggs and cheese, and season with salt and pepper.
Turn oven down to 375°F. Brush four 4-oz. ramekins with oil. Fill prepared ramekins with egg mixture. Top with mushrooms and reserved asparagus tips. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Top with chopped green garlic and enjoy!