The worst thing to hit a food blogger...

A stomach bug!

I must apologize, dear readers, for neglecting you an entire week. Alas, life got BUSY and then I got SICK...and well...here we sit. Consequently, I have precious few tidbits to give you. However, I will try to scramble a couple of things together.

#1 - Right before the icky hit, I discovered a wonderful new mushroom dish. While vacationing in Minneapolis, MN, we once hit dinner at a great restaurant called Manny's. It is NOT a vegetarian's delight. In fact, it is quite the opposite. The husband and I suffered through, though. We're vegetarians from the health and political perspective, not moral, so cheating every now and again is allowed. I think ball and chain felt it was a good cheat, indeed. One of the family-style "side" dishes was a stewed mushroom that was phenomenal. I wanted to dive in and bathe in it. And, I was eating LIVE MAINE LOBSTER (well, it was dead when I ate it, clearly). So...for me to be impressed by mushrooms. Well...you get the idea!

Speed forward to this last week, when mushrooms went on sale. I found recipes, all the while actually forgetting about the heavenly mushrooms in Minnesota, until I whipped up these. Oh my goodness, they are SO close. I made them with whole baby portobello mushroom caps. Heaven. I served them over rice, but I really think they needed a good cous-cous, polenta, or maybe even a pasta. White rice just didn't meet the flavor and substance of the shrooms head on like I wanted.

#2 - I am spring cleaning and I simply MUST sing the praises of a grand household cleaner that ALL of you should have in your pantry right now: vinegar. Just plain 'ole white distilled. I keep it in a spray bottle, with a hefty amount of lavender oil (lavender is a natural anti-bacterial substance). I'd say about 15 drops or so. Vinegar dissolves oil and grime well. Trust me, with two little ones - I give it a WORK OUT. It also can double as a wonderful window and mirror cleaner - with no streaks. I used it on my TV, my kid's toys, everywhere! Once it's dry, the vinegar smell goes away, leaving the faint hint of lavender. Plus, I'm cleaning all the areas of the house with a kid-friendly substance that they can DRINK and will never be hurt. Really, it's a household miracle as far as I am concerned.

It's just one of the suggestions from a book I recommended ages ago. Seriously, give it a whirl. I adore that I spent a solid hour cleaning without any damage to my hands. AND, my house is a clean as it would have been with harsh chemicals. Cleaner even - that other junk always leaves some sort of residue somewhere. The vinegar does not!

Tomorrow I am making tomato soup. In double, triple, batches. I will post about that this weekend, tomorrow even. It's a date!