Dunkel und Grau

Wow, what a change in the weather! I feel like I live in Cambria, without the ocean. All the snow has melted, except for a few spots. Now I am on mud chunk patrol! BTW: dunkel und grau is dark & gray in German. This weather is sooooo German!

This is the view of our street from the living room. I'm looking forward to reviving my lawn in the spring...

This is my main focus for the spring/summer. I want to expand the lawn AND my vegetable garden tiers. I hope my artichoke survives winter, and comes back. We like to play croquet on the flat area, so I'm hoping to get that grassy this year. Also, it's where we stargaze...

Havarti Fontina Mac & Cheese w/Mushrooms

   So, I made my own version of mac & cheese after being inspired by the wonderful dish we had at the Brimstone in the Padre Hotel. I used rather large pasta (farfalle); I'd recommend something much smaller, but it was still yummy! We were supposed to have elk steaks, but I accidentally defrosted beef. Still was yummy!

Fontina Havarti Mac & Cheese with Mushrooms

Roughly grate about 3/4 lb. of havarti, and about 1/4 lb. of Fontina cheeses.
Dice 1/2 an onion. Saute in about 1/3 stick of butter, until soft. Add 4 tbs. of flour to form a nice roux. Then slowly add 4 cups of warm milk (you are basically making a bechamel sauce). Then, add thyme, salt & nutmeg to taste & simmer about 15 min. Chop/saute 1 pkg. of mushrooms, & cook 1 lb. of pasta al dente. Butter a baking dish. Layer in 1/3s: Pasta, cheese, mushrooms, sauce. Bake 15 min. at 350 degrees. YUM!!