A Drive to the Oregon Coast

A friend and I drove to Tillamook to donate an old WWII B-17 Generator to the Air Museum. The day was cloudy, but warm. It's always good for me to get away from the norm at home and gain perspective on a drive. The coast always lends itself to generous views, a variety of eating delights and an influx of energy from Doug fir forests, rivers, elk, deer, chipmunks, sky and fresh ocean air.

After taking care of the business end of the trip, we toured the Air Museum, watching the short movie about the building of two blimp hangers, observing the many WWII artifacts, planes with painted women, teeth or titles, and a myriad of fascinating historical pictures, etc. We even ordered the Cheeseburger and some onion rings, to see what they meant by Tillamooks Best Cheeseburger, and get into the 40's spirit of the cafe. What once was so yummy, sort of hits my stomach like the grease bomb it really is. Since we split the cheeseburger and rings, there was plenty of room for sampling the cheese curd and various cheeses at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. My friend had not seen either the Air Museum or the Cheese Factory, so we went on the self-guided tour at the Cheese Factory, complete with seeing the dairy film, watching the giant stainless vats produce curds and whey, and 42 lb. blocks of cheese. I bought some curd, the Smoky and Jalapeno Cheese Spread, avoided the fudge, and had a peanut butter chocolate waffle ice cream cone.

While at the Air Museum we went for a walk and found an old Catholic cemetery. Once again, I was reminded of how many have come and gone, and how I often take a day for granted. I took several pictures of the old gravestones, and a vibrant fuschia.

There are also old train cars, and a very old wood-burning? engine at the Air Museum. The train cars reminded me of how fun it would be to make a breakfast cafe from one of them.

In Wheeler, I showed my friend the Wheeler Hotel, so he could have someplace special to take a partner someday. It was in Wheeler that the little tyke in the picture above got out of the car, seemingly half asleep and a bit weepy. What a dolly.

I've been away for a while from posting. I have to read my past posts to know what I have promised to write about. There is so much. Last summer I was gone to Austin, Houston and New Orleans, and I have much to catch up on here at home, above the lake.

The Oregon strawberries off Helvetia exit this year are wonderful. I picked Shukstans, for $1 a lb. 30# later, I put up a couple of batches of freezer jam, several bags of frozen berries for smoothies, two strawberry pies (one for a daughter's birthday June 23rd), and several batches of strawberry shortcake. There is nothing like an Oregon strawberry. Now I'm waiting for the blueberries and blackberries to come off. There is a pie cherry tree I have my eye on, also. I haven't canned them or made pie cherry jam in too long. Now you see with balancing remodeling and fruit and yard work, how I can be diverted from posting. I'm also building my own natural nutrition company, and I often share my favorite berry protein smoothies, or cocoa almond (or peanut butter) frosties made with rice milk, healthy soy protein, ice cubes, etc. I put 1 tsp. of fiber in mine...

My best,
Pamela

Spring Salad Recipe

This easy colorful Spring Salad is made from raw veggies and a can of pitted black olives, with a homemade dressing. Dr. Mercola shared it some time ago, and since I promised to share it with you, here it is:

SALAD:
1 pint organic cherry tomatoes (washed)
2 cups black, pitted olives-1 can
1 cup organic green beans, chopped large after washing
(I was surprised how good fresh green beans were, eaten raw. Another favorite of mine is sugar snap peas, which I wash, destring and put on a veggie plate to serve with hummus.)
DRESSING: (The best bit!)
Approx 1/2 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed or chopped
About 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
(I've also used fresh or dried basil in the salad, or a bit of dried leaf oregano)
1 squeeze of lemon juice
(You can use lime instead if you'd like)
GARNISH:
Sprig of fresh mint or oregano
PREPARATION:
Place tomatoes, olives, and green beans in medium bowl.
Place olive oil, garlic oregano, and lemon juice in small bottle and shake.
Pour dressing over salad and toss well.
Garnish with sprig of fresh mint or oregano.
The aroma is divine; the taste is even better! What a quick, easy recipe for guests. Of course the recipe can be doubled, or even tripled, for larger crowds.

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.