Spring Foraging

Today I did some spring foraging outside...

Troy brought in some miners lettuce. He found it growing up by the barn. I tried the pretty leaves. They were very mild tasting. Much better than store bought lettuce. I think I will pick some for our dinner salad tomorrow night.



Right outside our house we have a beautiful mess of wild onions. They are really everywhere and multiply year by year. This year I decided to put them to good use.



I brought in several baskets full of them and washed them, cut off the bulbs and put them in the freezer for stews, chopped up the greens to use in tonight's potato salad. I also added them to our black bean and rice burritos we had for lunch. They are pretty mild tasting. Freshly picked and eaten, they pack a huge supply of vitamin C and the much coveted chlorophyll that keeps the misquotes from munching on you.



An idea for a healthy lunch or snack: Mash up an avocado and add some chopped wild onion, cayenne and sea salt. Spread on Sesame Rye crackers and add a couple tear drop tomatoes. MMM...



***Always make sure you know what you are eating whenever you are foraging. There are a lot of deadly poisonous plants out there. Wild onions will always SMELL like onions. If it doesn't smell like an onion, don't eat it!

Carmel By the Sea

This is the Inn we stayed in at Carmel By the Sea. Troy took it after a late night walk through the quaint little 1 square mile town. All the shops remind me of houses from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. You can walk down to the beach that is about 1 mile down the road. We saw maybe three other people out that night. It was so quiet, but the little shops are left lit up so we peeped through all the windows, the ocean lapping in the distance. It was a very magical night I will always remember.




We spent hours hiking the trails of Point Lobos. Every turn was filled with breath stopping beauty. Pictures cannot come near seeing.

Our second night we went to the ocean and shared a pint sized Rock Road ice cream and watched the sunset over the ocean.


The last day there we drove all over the coast line stopping about every few miles to take in the view. So many different landforms, so much awesome scenery. We used our binoculars to enjoy the seals and sea otters.

Boats on Fisherman's Wharf

BST Valentine Cookies

Favorite Sugar Cookies Recipe

BST IS THE PLACE TO BE!

Chicken Biscuit Casserole and Pumpkin Pie

Last Nights Dinner...YUM!

Chicken Casserole with a Biscuit Topping
I used left over chicken and chicken broth.
I cut up potatoes and carrots and simmered them a few minutes in the broth to soften.
Then I thickened broth with milk and cornstarch, seasoned it and added peas and left over chicken pieces. I poured it all into 2 casserole pans and mixed up a biscuit dough and dropped over the top. Baked it at 400 for about 30 minutes.
My family devoured it and liked it so much,
they ate the left overs, cold, for breakfast this morning.

Felecia and I made two pumpkin pies with the pureed pumpkin we froze from Autumn.

For more of my personal favorite recipes see my Recipe Zaar Cookbook

Mark and I

Jacob

Jacob was my brother Mark's firstborn son

Here is the coffin all our brother's and Brother in-laws. cousins etc... made in Nichole's garage for Jacob. Everyone was given a chance at the grave site to write something on it to Jacob.
The guitar had a sunset carved on it with Jacobs name on it. They worked so hard. It was very emotional for them all.

Jacobs Obituary

Lentil Soup

When my daughter was very young, she thought this was called "mental soup." Well to my kids that was a very suitable name for this unappreciated healthy soup. Packed with protein, complete if combined with a grain such as brown rice, a great source of iron, about 15 grams of fiber per cup, low in fat and low glycemic level which is a plus for me with the hypoglycemia plus many other vitamins and minerals especially B vitamins. I love them. The above is a soup I made and then poured over fresh baby spinach and diced avocado. I sprinkle mine with pure sea salt. What a power packed lunch. MMM...

1. Wash two cups of brown lentils.
2. Place in a large bowl and cover with warm water and let sit over night.
3. Drain and rinse.
4. Put in a pot along with plenty of chopped onion, garlic, celery, parsley, a pinch of thyme and some basil.
5. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer to desired texture. (I do not like mine mushy so I try not to cook too long- no longer than an hour)
6. Add salt and pepper.

I make a huge batch and then freeze it in smaller containers for lunches.