A "Little" Gardening

Before the storm Sunday

"we" did a little gardening.

a "Little" gardening

In the fairy garden

Which is in an old wheelbarrow

The cottage

Made from hypertufa

Made by me

eons ago

And every fairy garden needs a fairy

seated on a log, amongst the toadstools

watching a wee bird

And the garden is watched over

by the big fairy

Getting ready to blow her "fairy dust"

We cleaned up some of the "garden"

Did some permanent plantings of wee evergreens

And a few flowers

We're hoping to get some creeping thyme to plant in the bare places.

I've spotted just what I want at Home Depot

It's just a trip to get there --

tomorrow perhaps?

The storm did not damage the fairy garden

(for they are a protected species are they not?)

No windows broke and the roof seems to be intact!

Today was spent in the garden

(or part of it anyway)

Making order out of the  herb beds

And pulling up all of the weed that appears every spring between the bricks.

Dinner was easy

A new recipe for chicken with porcini sauce

And roasted Brussels sprouts

glazed with Balsamic vinegar

(alas, the last of the sprouts until fall, I'm afraid)

EASY CHICKEN CUTLETS WITH PORCINI SAUCE

1/2 oz. dried porcini mushrooms (about 3/4 cup)
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup  flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6-8 oz. each), halved horizontally and pounded 1/4″ thick
1 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 small shallot, minced
1/4 cup dry vermouth
1 tsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. thyme, minced
1/2 tsp. lemon juice

Rinse the porcini in a large bowl of cold water, agitating them with hands to release dirt and sand. Allow sand to settle to bottom of bowl.  Pour chicken broth into microwave-safe 2 cup measuring cup, and then then lift porcini from water and transfer to measuring cup.  Submerge porcini beneath the surface of liquid. Microwave 1 minute, until brothis steaming. Let stand 10 minutes. Using tongs, gently lift porcini out of broth and transfer to cutting board, reserving broth. Chop porcini into ¾-inch pieces and transfer to medium bowl.  Strain broth through fine-meshstrainer lined with large coffee filter into bowl with chopped porcini.

Combine flour, salt, and pepper in pie plate.  Dredge chicken in flour, shaking gently to remove excess.  Set chicken aside on plate, and reserve a teaspoon of the flour.

Heat 1/2 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Place 3 cutlets in skillet and cookwithout moving until browned, about 1-2 minutes. Flip cutlets and continue to cook until second sides are opaque,15 to 20 seconds.  Transfer to large plate.

Add remaining 1/2 Tbsp. oil to now-empty skillet and repeat to cook remainingcutlets. Tent plate loosely with foil.

Reduce heat to medium.  Add the shallot and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 30 seconds. Add reserved teaspoon flour and cook, whisking constantly, 30 seconds.  Increase heat to medium-high and whisk in vermouth, soaked porcini and their liquid, tomato paste, soy sauce,and sugar.  Simmer until reduced to 1 cup, 3 to 5 minutes.

Transfer cutlets and any accumulated juices to skillet. Cover and simmer until cutlets are heated through,about 1 minute. Remove skillet from heat and transfer cutlets to serving platter. Whisk butter, thyme, and lemon juice into sauce and season with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve immediately .

It's Wednesday and I'm joining Susan at A Southern Daydramer for Outdoor Wednesday