Oyster mushroom season!

We have had some good rain, and I was very happy to see a wonderful bloom of Oyster Mushrooms on the Tulip Poplar stumps in our yard yesterday!  I waited until today to harvest them, so they could grow a little more.  We got about 3.5 pounds.  :)

I soaked them in cold water for a while to drive off the hitchhikers, then carefully rinsed them under cool running water and put them through my salad spinner.  Voila!

If you've never had oyster mushrooms (and you enjoy mushrooms) you are missing a real treat.  They are the best I've ever eaten.  PLEASE do not go out and try to gather these on your own if you are not familiar with them.  Get someone knowledgeable to show you first.

Remember our grandson born on Easter last year?

Here we are.  :)

Kefir - Chapter 18

I have been brewing milk kefir since 2009, and as you can see on the right hand column of my blog, have posted many "chapters" about it.  I admit that it is an "acquired taste", but I really do love kefir and it didn't take long to get there.  Mine is quite sour, smooth and with a full body.  It is wonderful, not only for drinking, but for baking, and the "kefir cheese" can be used in place of cream cheese.

I have reported a few "cures" I have observed through the ensuing years.  Well... I am here to tell you one of my own.  It is slightly embarrassing, but such a wonderful turn of events for me that I have to tell you about it.

About 12 years ago I contracted a food-borne illness from some tainted table grapes.  They were sold in a local store at a deeply discounted rate, so I stocked up.  The package that I used first had a little mold in it.  It never occurred to me  that would be a problem.  I took off the bad grapes, gave the others a good rinse and chowed down.  Big mistake!!!  I came down with the worst case of diarrhea I had ever had... and it continued.  After several days I was forced to go to the doctor.  He gave me an antibiotic, and something for amoebic dysentery and one other thing that I can't remember right now. The icky sickness I was feeling went away, however, the diarrhea did not.  And I have struggled with that ever since, every day.  Ugh.  It was embarrassing and exceedingly inconvenient. A gastroenterologist diagnosed me with collagenous cholitis and he said it was nothing to be concerned about, as far as it causing anything serious, so I thought, "Ok.  I'll just ignore it as much as I can and not keep trying to 'cure' it."  Now... on to the kefir part:

I generally only drank a small glass of the kefir every day, because for most of those years, we had milk goats and I wanted to be able to drink more fresh goat milk.  At the end of May, our milk goat, Heidi, died. So, I have been using the whole milk from the store since then.  About 2 months ago I started drinking a whole glass of milk kefir at breakfast.  After a couple of weeks I noticed my gut problem improving, and before long, I was almost completely normal. 

I am astounded and oh so grateful.  People talk a lot about probiotics.  The milk kefir is full of them - some articles say as many as 20 varieties.  Fermented foods of all kinds are very good for the gut flora and of course the kefir is fermented.

There you go!

Feeding the birds.... Happy Mothers Day :)

At the back of our house is a nice flowering dogwood tree that makes a perfect place for my bird feeding station.  It is so close to the house that I can watch the birds while I cook and I have been enjoying it very much!

In the small hanging feeder on the left are black oil sunflower seeds.  The milk jug has the suet crumbles I made 3 months ago, and of course you can see the regular block of suet at the right.

I took this picture through the kitchen window.  The area was LOADED with birds before I came to the window, and I think I can only see one in the photo.  They saw me.  :)

Here is the list of the birds I've had to far:

black-capped chickadee

nut hatch

tufted titmouse

junco

cardinals

sparrow

gold finch

house wren

brown thrush

flicker

hairy woodpecker

house finch

common grackle

downy woodpecker

rufus-sided towhee

purple finch

blue jay

rose-breasted gross beak

AND a very happy grey squirrel (He's rather greedy.)

My mother was a great bird watcher.  I have her wonderful book Birds of America that she got in 1959.  It contains many notes that she wrote.  It is well used and well loved.  She always kept a pair of binoculars handy at the table, which was beside the window where she watched the birds.  She's been gone since 1984 and I still miss her every day.

Hence, this post - my Mother's Day tribute - if your mother is still alive, please enjoy her today.  I think mine must be pleased about my bird list.  :)

Rhubarb - did you know?

Sliced thinly, and added to a tossed salad, rhubarb is very nice!

Today's Lunch...

I am not certain why, but I decided I would like to show you what I ate for lunch today.  :)

The sandwich you see here is 2 pieces of my "everyday bread" toasted and spread with a little butter.  Then I put on a couple of slices of brie (soft, ripened cheese), 2 slices of braunsweiger, some homemade raw sauerkraut , and some nice, tender chickweed that I went out and picked just for this sandwich.  In the small bowl is some homemade yogurt  topped with lacto-fermented apple chutney.

Oh, my... it was good!

About the chickweed... Now, at least here in Indiana, is a good time to gather chickweed.  It is a wild edible and grows all over the world.  It's very very good for you... better than broccoli or spinach, even.  Here is what Common Chickweed looks like.  Two things to look for - if you look at the stem carefully, you will see a row of tiny hairs going down the stem.  The hairs are ONLY in this row on the stems.  The only look-alike that would be dangerous is the Scarlet Pimpernel, which has redish flowers and the underside of the leaves have brownish spots.  Avoid that.  

If you want to use some, take a pair of scissors and just cut off about an inch of the tops.  The rest of the plant can be rather straw-like.  Bring it in, wash carefully in cold water, then pat dry on a towel.  Use immediately, or keep it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.  It is a great substitute for lettuce and can be steamed, sauteed, creamed, used in soups, or as a salad on it's own.  It's very mild in flavor and rich in nutrients... and right now, it's free and readily available!

2016 Doll Rescue

Twice before, I've blogged about dolls that I've rescued and re-homed.  Well, I'm at it again!  I found this sweet 18-inch doll in a local thrift store.  She was dirty, didn't have decent clothing and her hair was very badly messed up.  I wish I had taken a "before" picture, but I didn't.  I cleaned her all up, made her hair nice, and sewed some clothing for her.  Here are the "after" pictures!  I don't know who she will end up living with, but I'm sure some nice little girl will need a dollie sometime.  :) She came with the nice red boots.

Just in case you'd like to see the other dolls I mentioned, here are the links:

http://simplyhomemaking60.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-rescue.html
http://simplyhomemaking60.blogspot.com/2011/01/happy-ending.html
http://simplyhomemaking60.blogspot.com/2011/04/another-rescue.html