Review with Pink Azalea

pink azalea bush
Azalea season has come to Highland Park

On My Blog

two wet tulips rhododendron taken May 2, 2011 pink magnolia bud
maitake mushrooms white bloom two forsythia blooms
daffodil macro pink petals dogwood north eighth blooms

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

Mushrooms: Maitake and Shiitake

portabello, maitake and shiitake mushrooms
Pictured above, from left to right, are a portobello, maitake, and shiitake mushroom. I bought these at a local Asian supermarket on Route 27 in Edison called H-Mart.

Why use these special mushrooms? Why not just stick to white button mushrooms? In addition to the excitement of having something new in one’s soup, maitake and shiitake have medicinal benefits. Here’s a post on the health benefits of maitake (slows tumors, protects healthy cells from becoming cancerous, may reduce the need for insulin and more). This post on the health benefits of shiitake mushroom is on cancer.org. Susun at Planet Thrive writes about medicinal mushrooms in general.

maitake mushrooms
Here are a bunch of maitake mushrooms.

shiitake mushroom
This is a shiitake mushroom. Sometimes I put a shiitake mushroom in a mug of hot water and drink it the way someone would a cup of tea.

I’m going to use them in mushroom barley soup tonight. If I have leftover mushroom barley, sometimes I stuff it into my Friday night chicken. I’ve also made mushroom lentil soup. Here is another mushroom with shiitake soup.

Do you have any favorite mushroom recipes?

Nature Notes: Tulips and Robins

two wet tulips
These two wet tulips are relaying the weather we have in New Jersey today.

pink petals dogwood
The pink petals of my neighbor’s dogwood are showing off.

robin in a tree
Yesterday I spotted this robin in a tree. Do you think he spotted me?

in the gray a robin and another bird
Today in the gray I saw two birds in a tree – the left bottom one is a robin. Can’t make out the right one – he’s so far off! Michelle suspects the one on the right is a “she” robin – the males have the brighter breast. Mating season?

We still have a bunny rabbit living in our backyard.

JPiX by Ilana-Davita

École élémentaire des Hospitalières-Saint-Gervais
École élémentaire des Hospitalières-Saint-Gervais, a school in France

Ilana-Davita presents JPIX – The Spring Edition. See some beautiful photos by bloggers from Israel, the U.S., Ukraine, New Zealand and France. Oh, see three paintings, too! Enjoy.

Update: Batya has volunteered to do a JPiX in early August. Thank you, Batya!

Rhododendron of May

rhododendron taken May 2, 2011
Here is my rhododendron photo for First of the Month. Not that different than the April rhododendron, is it? I noticed a few brown spots in May.

However, a glance back at February looks a bit chillier and droopier:
rhododendron february snowy

See more first of the month photos:
first of the month

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