River Otters, Tabouleh and Easter Cooking

A river otter swam with a piece of dried grass in its mouth the other day. It seems they are busy building homes for their young. I caught a picture of one of them, and will post it here.

The cattails were cut down in big swaths a couple of years ago, and with the heavy snows of winter this year, and more filling of the lake, there are not many areas for the nesting of blackbirds. Hopefully as the cattails come up from beneath the lake in green shoots, along with lily pads, etc., there will be a more welcome habitat for nesting in a few weeks. There was a skiff of snow and ice here last night, so spring is still in process.

Someone I know needs to drink water and tea and a protein drink before taking a walk. Business has come before self care again, which is a habit waiting to be broken. I have a fridge full of good leftovers from the Easter weekend. Ham was 99 cents a pound for a Cooks brand butt portion that will add that rich flavor to beans and soups and scrambled eggs in the future. I made a new salad which I will share below. It's from a book on balancing pH, with some changes of my own.

I'll have to also add the Applesauce Oatmeal Cranberry Walnut Muffins were very good, but being out of applesauce, I pureed some canned pears and these really turned out to be delicious. They are sweeter and lighter than the applesauce version. Eating one muffin is like eating 1/2 a bowl of oatmeal. I once left out the 1/2 c. of brown sugar in the recipe, and they were still fine. I like these with butter and real unadulterated blackberry honey. See recipe on my other blog at: www.leangreencafe.blogspot.com

I'll share the greenbean/tomato/garlic/olive salad I love so much, soon.

My blogs will be like me: an eclectic and genuine mixture of the full menu of life.

Tabouleh
2 c. cooked quinoa (Can use couscous if you'd like. Quinoa was great, also. I cooked 1 c. of this grain in 2 c. of boiling water, reduced to lowest heat and covered, for 20 min., like cooking rice.
Use 2 c. of this cooked grain. Cool a bit after cooking
Add: 1 c. chopped tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes
1 bunch finely chopped parsley
Chopped chives or green onions to your liking for color and flavor
1 can of olives-size of can depends on how much you love them, sliced or whole
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Juice of 1 lime (recipe called for juice of 3 lemons. Too much acidity for me, though lemons turn alkalaine in the body, so they're good to add to the water you drink.)
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
Sprinkle with Cayenne Pepper.
Refrigerate and enjoy! Some recipes use bulgar wheat and mint leaves, w/ dried parsley. *Experiment with wholesome foods that steer away from bleached flour products, white rice and potatoes for lower acid and blood sugar spiking.