beautifully lit Bridal Veil mushroom via
What do you do when you are waking up with coffee and your computer, and happen to click on this ?
You find yourself going down the rabbit hole, researching freaky, lace-adorned, carrion-scented fungi, and wishing you could be somewhere tropical, like at the base of a rotting log in Central America, so you could draw these suckers from life.
You also wonder how you can work the term Crinoline Stinkhorn into your daily lexicon.
Did I forget to mention the other secret ingredient? Can you feel it radiating from my baking sheet?
Sunday Morning Pick Me Up #12. Follow the gluttony on Instagram.
This granola is on regular rotation here at Casa Hobo. Dubbed “Farmhand’s Choice” by its creator, Nekisia Davis, the secret synergistic ingredients are maple syrup, olive oil, and sea salt. Trust me on this combination! Anyone I’ve fed this to always asks for the recipe, which was featured on Food52. I like to use a little less oil , but make up for it by being heavy handed with the pepitas and coconut. Substituting in hazelnuts is also pretty divine. Making a batch of this granola is the best kind of aromatherapy, in my opinion!
You can find out more about Nekisia’s other products at Early Bird Foods.
Rainbow chard and stainless steel.
They’re not just for brewing anymore! Pineapple Oolong pattern-making, just because.
Okay, so clearly this week is all about the food. Bear with me…
My rhubarb plant sacrificed itself to the canning gods this weekend, supplying me with the raw materials for this Rhubarb-Rosemary Jam. It’s a recipe that has been on my roster ever since I got the preserving bug a few years back, and a hallmark to the start of summer !
Today, I got my kicks dressing these guys up to give as gifts. It’s almost as much fun as making the jam , and definitely less messy!
Now that the garden is finally getting some sun, I am looking forward to having a robust, home-grown supply of fresh rosemary. Its herbal, sharp character is a welcome addition to version 2.0 of a recipe that has been in heavy rotation at Casa Hobo lately. A combination of my favourite elements of the Union Square Cafe Bar Nuts recipe and Dorie Greenspan’s Sweet and Spicy Cocktail nuts, I hope you’ll like them as much as I do. These are best accompanied by a lazy afternoon on a sunlit porch, a couple of friends, and some vino.
Rosemary and Brown Sugar Spiced Nuts
2 1/4 cups mixed nuts ( such as raw almonds, walnuts and pecans)
1 egg white
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp finely chopped rosemary
1 1/2 -2 tsp fine sea salt or kosher salt
1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and set oven rack so that it sits in the middle.
Lightly beat egg white in a medium bowl. Stir in nuts until evenly coated.
Combine brown sugar, rosemary, salt and cayenne. Add to nuts and stir to combine.
Lay nuts out in a single layer on a baking sheet that is lined with parchment or a silpat.
Bake 25-30 mins. Allow to cool – nudging and breaking them apart before serving or storing.
Whenever I’m feeling uninspired in the kitchen, I visit the Canal House ladies and my apathy evaporates. I want to crash every one of their (seemingly) impromptu lunches. I found this post particularly endearing – not only can these two cook, but they have a great sense of humour!
There are times when only an elegant Pierre Hermé Chocolate Easter Bunny will suffice. Then, there are the times when you are not in Paris and post-dinner sugar cravings hit. You will be compelled to mix together the most insulting combination of nutritionally-void ingredients in a salute to Easter kitsch. And you will love every minute of it.
Recipe can be found here at Folk Magazine.
–Joy Wilson (is my hero) , of Joy the Baker fame
I’m not embarrassed to say that we hit up Pies ‘n Thighs three times in four days. You’ve got to pace yourself with this one. There is no tasting menu or small plates or palate-cleansing sorbets between courses. This is deep fried chicken, mac and cheese, giant donuts and homemade pies. The best.
First off, you need to come prepared…to wait. They were featured recently on (sigh) Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (damn you Guy Fieri!) and even got the Martha-bump, so traffic is up, and tables are scarce. Try and keep your desperate “hungry-eyes”off the food coming out of the kitchen, by people-watching and staring at the wall kitsch. Yes, you will see the crafting-gone-wild mobile of crocheted chicken thighs streaming out of a gold glittered paper bucket. Yes, even though it is a million degrees beside that deep fryer, the staff are still working the toques and trucker hats (and hairnets), because if you can’t accessorize while you’re making food magic, GET OUT of the kitchen!
To their credit, the food is worth the wait and they get it to you fast, once you’re seated. The chicken and waffles was the supreme champion – the super light and crispy waffle and spiced butter being a tasty surprise. We popped in on night #2 for some samples of their sour cherry and peanut butter pies to take to the apartment. These people know their pie connoisseurs and had whipped cream in containers on the side, so as to not sully the integrity of the pie in transit. Total pros. I was in heaven, eating dessert in my pajamas and I won’t lie, there was plate licking.
Our last kick at the P ‘n T can was breakfast. How can you turn down a sandwich called the Banjo? Feather light biscuits, eggs and pig parts – no complaints! Hobo G showed restraint and went veggie with the Hippie Banjo. The dark, molasses-y Anadama bread, which we have since learned is a traditional Massachussets specialty, was a great foil to the avocado, egg, mayo, cheese combo.
Alan Thicke AND the Biebs? Good times. Photoshop at its finest.
Get some doughnuts to go, on your way out. Treat. Yo. Self. There is no judgment here, just high fives.
Giant delicious doughnut.
hobos and hightops 
