Once Upon A Time

There was a mother mousey who lived in a sleeve.  She had more mousey children than she could believe.

She gave them some broth without any bread.  She whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed.

How Can You Tell If Someone Doesn't Like Your Carrot Soup?

"Yeah, I tried that carrot soup you brought.  I didn't even try to give  her any, she doesn't have much of an appetite.  It was different.  I suppose it has nutritional value?  What is in it?"

Nice Weather We're Having

With all these days in October with the high temperatures in the 70's and 80's, I almost feel redeemed for the long and cold winter we had last year.

Poor Aunt Bea

Sandhill Cranes

It has been a long time since I've put a new bird on my annual bird list.  I need to get out bird watching again.  I'm tempted to see the gathering/staging area of the sandhill cranes at the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge soon.  The refuge is offering sandhill crane tours on Oct. 15 and 22 at 6:30 in the morning.  The cranes roost together at night and we can watch them leaving the roosting area in the morning to forage for the day.  I am tempted to go and watch.

Carrot Soup

I had a great crop of carrots this year so I looked up a recipe for carrot soup and then changed the ingredients to fit what I had available. It was delicious!  Ingredients:  carrots (an amount similar to a small bag of baby carrots) sliced into coins, 1/2 cup red onion diced, 1/2 cup celery diced, 3 cloves garlic diced, 3 cups vegetable or chicken broth, 4 small tomatoes diced, 3 TB soy sauce, and a generous sprinkling of powdered red pepper.  Add all ingredients except for the soy sauce and red pepper to a sauce pan.  Simmer for 35 minutes until carrots are tender.  Blend soup.  I bought an immersion blender which is a lot easier than transferring hot soup into a blender and then back again into the pot.  Add soy sauce and red pepper to taste.  Enjoy!  It's really, really good.



Oatmeal

Lately I've been enjoying steel cut oats.  Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:  1 heaping cup of steel cut oats (looks kinda like grit for the birds), 1 cup water, 1 cup milk, 1 tsp. salt, 3 or 4 apples peeled and cut into chunks, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, 1 TB cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Spray the inside of your crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.  Do it.  Do it or you'll be sorry later.  Add all ingredients.  Stir.  Cook on low for 7 or 8 hours.  My crock pot runs hot so I cook it for 6 hours.  If you cook it overnight you will wake up to a wonderful cinnamon and apple aroma.  Makes 6 servings.  Serve with sweeter and milk.  This oatmeal is so hearty you will not get hungry again for at least 6 hours.