The Biltmore....

Last weekend, my husband and I got 'out of Dodge' and traveled to a grander, more civilized place - The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.

This was the home of George and Edith Vanderbilt which was constructed over six years and was opened in 1895.

The incredible landscaped grounds were designed by the father of American landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted.

If you plan to visit, there are a myriad of activities available on the estate grounds.  It's almost as if you need several days to enjoy it all.  Honestly, it's like Disney Land for adults.  A beautiful home which was way ahead of it's time in construction (it had 43 bathrooms!), a winery, shopping, farm animals, tractors, horseback riding, Segway adventures and the list goes on.  For me though, it was the amazing horticultural goodness that drew me here.  Most rooms in the home which were open to the tour had incredible fresh floral displays of fantastic quality and creativity.  My only regret was that photos were not allowed inside the home.  There was plenty to capture elsewhere though.

Cool stuff under glass

Go there!

Taterin'...

These days in the garden are busy days.  There's always something to do and never enough time to do it!  Situations like these force you to prioritize.  Do I edge and mulch the flower beds or plant peas and potatoes?  Do I take time to kick back with a coldie and enjoy the gardens and all the work I've done?  Certainly you must do the latter at some point.  The rains were coming this week though, so I knew I needed to stop everything and get to taterin'.  We had several Kennebec potatoes left over from last season that I used as seed potatoes for this year's crop.  They were on the smaller side and had already started sprouting after spending the winter in our cool basement.

I dug and I dug and I dug.....

...and I finished just in time for the first rain drops to fall.  And then I cracked open that coldie.  :)

Morel dinner

My first morel experience was nothing short of amazing.  Not only did I find them in our yard, but we made a meal with them that was out of this world.

Dinner was a loosely adapted version of this recipe using some of our deer tenderloin.  The morels were fun to work with - this being my first time.  I cut them into cross-sections (per advice from myco-geek friend) and soaked them in salt water in order to halt any insect life happening in these little buggars (though none was found).

We added some butter and onions as well as asparagus from the garden and finished them off with a red wine/beef broth roux. 

It was.....

DIVINE!!!!

The not so elusive morel....

I've been curious about morels for several seasons now.  I've made a few attempts to seek them out in our local forests with no luck.  As recently as two weeks ago, I was poking around at the forest floor in a fruitless effort.  I had all but given up until last night when I was mowing the lawn on a mundane spring evening.  I was up near an old fence line at the front edge of our property near our chicken coop and hammock posts.  Imagine my surprise when I nearly tripped over THIS!

I immediately turned the mower off and dropped to my knees.  I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  This amazingly beautiful mushroom that had eluded me for so long was right in my damn yard!  Completely awesome.  I've always heard that when you see one, you need to stop and slow down.  Look around - there will be more.  And there were.  Four of them that I could see on our side of the fence line.  I consulted with a friend who is heavy into mycology and she confirmed what I thought to be true.  They were Classic Yellow Morels.

I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing so I didn't immediately pluck them from the earth, however my friend confirmed that this was okay.  I didn't want to ruin future harvests by taking them all.  She said that the spores has likely already been released and as long as I didn't disturb the underground structure, we would be fine for future years.

So, they've been pinched from their foundations and will make their way to our bellies tonight.  Perhaps paired with some venison backstrap.  Local eating at its finest!  Food reports to follow.....

It's time!!!

Oh Deer...

Living in rural Virginia, we are lucky enough to be surrounded by hunters.  A lot of them.  And friendly ones at that.  Friendly ones that are willing to kill, field dress, and assist with the processing of a deer all for YOU with no strings attached.  We now have a lot of extra meat in the freezer keeping the garden veggies company thanks to one particular hunter, co-worker and friend.   We feel lucky and thankful.  Thankful for kind people and for an animal that gave her life for us.  Her backstraps taste amazingly wonderful.  Oh deer!

Plant Crush

The snow is still melting but it's got me thinking of spring and starting seeds, and digging in the earth.  I'm daydreaming about the perennial beds and where I can move things and what I can add to refine the look.  When we moved into our house, we had a BLANK slate.  I started from square one by removing weeds sod the hard way.  Since my plant budget was basically zero, I had to get creative.  Luckily, plants allow you to do that.  Cuttings were taken, perennials divided and plants were gifted.  Sometimes though, you get a Plant Crush and you've just got to make a purchase.  Here's what's currently making my heart flutter:

Veronicastrum virginicum 'Fascination'

At 4-5 feet, I think this is going to make a lovely backdrop to a perennial bed.  And it's purple.  'Nuff said.