Between You and Me, Keeping It Tidy, Scallops With Mushrooms and Spinach Recipe

 We keep a path mowed between us and our neighbor's house. The grass is tall now and the seed heads glitter in the sun. I was walking home here.

We also keep the perimeter of the fence line mowed. This is where Henri loves to walk. (Lately I feel the need to be on the lookout for snakes, though.) The trees on the right are the old apple and cherry trees left from when the property was a farm. There's some serious haying for Mr. B. to do here!

The brambles are covered in blooms this year. I'll have to check back and see if they produce a bumper crop of wine berries or something similar.

 I can't say how much I love using raised beds. They are super easy to tend in every way. We put up three strands of electric wire fencing around the beds during the growing season. Otherwise the deer would have it all and we would have none.

 

This is the spinach and Swiss chard Simon planted in February. I've harvested spinach twice now and the center leaves are still producing. To celebrate the spinach, I made a recipe of scallops and mushrooms with shallots on a bed of wilted spinach. It was delicious!

Scallops With Mushrooms and Spinach

Ingredients

20 sea scallops

1/4 c flour

Good olive oil

4 T unsalted butter

1 c chopped shallots

8 oz. cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced

1/2 c dry white wine

8 oz fresh baby spinach

2 T grated Parmesan cheese

Lemon wedges to garnish

Preparation

Pat scallops dry and season with s & p. Toss scallops in flour. Heat 2 T olive oil in large saute pan. When the oil is very hot, add half the scallops and saute on one side without moving until they are browned, about 3 minutes. Turn scallops and cook for about 2 minutes to scalloops are still a little raw in the center. Transfer to heatproof platter and keep warm. Repeat with remaining. Melt butter in the pan and add the shallots; cook for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms cook for 4-5 minutes, turning often until browned and tender. Add the wine and scrape up brown bits. Cook for 2 minutes to reduce wine. Add the spinach to the pan in handfuls, so some wilts before adding more. Toss the spinach wtith suce to help it wilt. Add spinach mixture to the scallops in the oven. Sprinkle with Parmesan and back for 3 minutes until scallops are just cooked. Sprinkle with pepper and serve hot with wedges of lemon.

Serves 4

Henri's Walk

We begin at the road with a stop at the mailbox. We duck under the fence and walk along the fence line. Even in winter there is shade and shadow.

The entire area under the apple tree has been pawed by deer. Their hoof prints and droppings are everywhere and the ground is very bumpy to walk. They must be searching for buried apples.

The nesting box shows signs of habitation.

An old Tulip Poplar bud casing has blown from somewhere.

Old tree stumps are everywhere along the fence line.

The little graveyard behind the horse shed.

The hole under this one is a bit eerie. Perhaps a groundhog has made a nice home here.

This makes me smile. A squirrel used the wood block as his nut table. It is covered in Black Walnut husks.

The squirrels leave traces of their Black Walnut meal everywhere. I can't resist picking these up and saving them. They're probably covered in squirrel saliva. I wonder if I can get sick. 

Our property used to be cow pasture. Overgrown Locust fence posts still remain. I've been meaning to unbolt these old insulators and bring them inside because the ceramic bases are so pretty.

The neighbor's wood pile.

Returning to the house, smoke rises from the wood stove.

It may be the same circuitous walk over and over again, yet it's always different. Seasons and weather greatly change it up. Sun and clouds, hot or cold, windy or calm, all combine to create a very different walk. It can also be noisy or quiet. Today was on the quiet side, although I did hear a woodpecker, two different bird calls and a chattering squirrel. The weather forecasts snow for the weekend. That will be a beautiful walk, indeed!