Whiteley Creek Homestead

Mount Rushmore Nat’l Memorial South Dakota

September 22, 2009

I took my first online test today for my ORT 100 Orientation Course while sitting in a cozy coffeeshop. I scored 100/100. It was the atmosphere I am positive. I am now working on an essay for ORT 100 that is due next. I am to "construct an essay that details a practice related to living a natural health lifestyle and explains how you employ it in your own life path." More than the content, I will be graded on the use of an academic essay format that includes a thesis statement supported by paragraphs with sub-points and a conclusion. Oh, yeah, I can do this, but maybe some inspiration from Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial might help.

Many changes have occurred at the monument since we visited years ago when our grown daughters were little. The architect responsible for the designing the impressive entry, amphitheater, walkways allowing a closeup view of the sculptures and access to the Sculptor's Studio, as wall as a facility housing a museum, book store, restaurant, and gift shop should be commended for envisioning a tribute fitting the grandeur of Lincoln Borglum's work.

The detail in Mr. Borglum's sculptures is indescribably impressive. Look at President Roosevelt's spectacles!

I liked how this view from inside a cave along the walkway at the base of the scupltures framed Presidents Washington and Jefferson and,

outside the park, President Washington's profile was one final visual to tuck away as a memory of our afternoon at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota.
spearfish canyon south dakota

September 21, 2009

Traversing the country in a travel trailer has considerably advantages. A big consideration for us is being able to pack and prepare our own food. For the most part we dine in but, when an opportunity for a good meal at a local nonchain restaurant presents itself, we jump on it. One such place was a restaurant called Cheyenne Crossing located outside Lead, South Dakota at the entry to Spearfish Canyon. We ordered a taco salad to share between us. The ingredients were fresh and flavorful, but every bite… oh, I know Dick grew weary of my saying after each and every bite, "Oh, this is good. This is so very good." It was the Indian Fry Bread that was underneath the huge mound of perfectly seasoned lean ground buffalo meat, lettuce, pinto beans, tomato/salsa mixture, and grated cheese that sealed the deal. The fry bread was reminiscent of the "sinkers" my mom made when I was growing up. She would always save out a little hunk of dough when she made homemade bread which she tore into small hunks then dropped them into hot oil. The delicately golden dough was slightly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. That was what the Indian Fry Bread at Cheyenne Crossing Restaurant was like. After finishing off our taco salad with a slice of from scratch made-on-the-premises carrot cake… oh, it was heavenly and so worth the calories and fat, we headed down the road through Spearfish Canyon for some of the most beautiful scenery in this country.
badlands south dakota

September 20, 2009

My classroom has moved… After making our way west across Minnesota into the prairie of South Dakota last Wednesday and Thursday, we arrived in the Badlands. I have read, completed assignments related to my college cousework, and prepared for tests while absorbing the geography and history in the most amazing locations.

After setting up camp in Badlands National Park, we biked, sipped tea while watching the sun dip behind the rock formations, looked through a huge telescope at Planet Jupiter set up near the park's lodge after darkness fell, and listened to a presentation on nocturnal animals at the park's amphitheater. The ranger explained that animals work different shifts just like people do at their jobs. Nocturnal animals work the night shift sometimes having to work overtime to complete their work (finding food). What a perfect way to explain this concept to children by relating it to their parents' work schedules! The next morning we were accompanied by a ranger on an 8:30 guided hike for an up close and personal view of the rock formations to learn how they were formed.

I just couldn't resist taking a photo of the stark contrast between the ridiculously gigantic motor home parked across from our campsite in the Badlands and another camper staying in a super tiny tent driving a teeny tiny electric car… only in America.
abandoned homestead

September 19, 2009

The next chapter in Dick's and my life? This looks like a good fixer upper. I fell in love with this abandoned homestead in South Dakota enroute to the Black Hills on Wednesday. There was not a farm as far as the eye could see on this country road that we chose to navigate across the state… just prairie.

Somebody raised their family here…
St. Cloud Road Trip

September 14, 2009

This morning, after I served guests breakfast, Dick and I left for St. Cloud. I spent quite a chunk of time there during my college years, so I came to love the city. The Good Earth Co-op for homemade soup and a chunk of whole grain bread, followed by a leisurely stroll through each aisle to add items to my cart that I do not have available to me at the three health food stores in Brainerd, is always a must. Today I brought home pluots (plum and apricot cross), a heavenly fragrant herbal orange spice tea, organic "sunny fruit slices" (like candy orange slices except they come in many different fruity flavors and are mini bite-size pieces) that are always so fresh, 4 lbs of buffalo meat which I can get at our Brainerd Farmers Market but only one day a month and sometimes I'm not able to make it in that day, a little chunk of nitrite-free hormone-free antibiotic-free ham to slice and brown a little for breakfast alongside deep-orange yolked eggs that only come from free range hens that can eat bugs, worms, seeds, and other naturally occurring outdoor things… I can't wait for breakfast, and 6 ears of organically-grown sweet corn.

Leaving the co-op, we headed down Division St. toward Waite Park for our annual stop at the Great Harvest Bread Company for their Pumpkin Swirl Bread and Cinnamon Swirl Bread. Although the Cinnamon Swirl is available year-round, the Pumpkin Swirl is only available September through Thanksgiving. To see the building that the bakery is housed in is worth the trip alone. To truly appreciate its architecture, you need to realize that it is located in a large city along a busy street… not out in a field 20 miles from the nearest town or even in a town with a population of say 35.

Next stop was Plato's Closet that I had learned of upon asking a Good Earth Co-op employee and a customer there where I could find thrift shops. They both suggested Plato's Closet, Goodwill, and Savers… all on Division St. in close proximity to each other. Since Dick was accompanying me on this road trip, I knew I must choose just one of the three. He's patient… to a point. Plato's Closet it was where I found a warm quilted fleece-lined winter jacket.

We wanted to spend a good portion of this pre-autumn day traveling country roads so, as we worked our way back home to Brainerd without a definite route in mind, we ended up in the town of St. Stephen. A longtime friend, Marguerite, has a sister, Georgia, that worked as a teacher for years at the elementary school there, so I wanted to search it out since I'd never seen it before… heck, I've never even been to St. Stephen. Taking a few wrong turns… the town is about the size of Pillager (Minnesota) where I taught… we asked for directions and learned that the school had closed about three years ago. The students now attend school in Sartell, a town next to St. Cloud. The building was renovated into apartments. Isn't this just the cutest school building? My friend's sister had taught 1st grade for many years then 3rd grade. She was the only teacher at each of those grade levels and she had somewhere like 13 students.

The guy standing by the truck in the photo is an apartment renter. After chatting with him, I learned that there are 8 apartments in the entire building. One renter has the entire upper floor residing in a 3-bedroom apartment. The basement has two apartments and the first floor has 5.

The paned door leads up to the large top floor apartment. It was easy to conjure up images of the bustle of activity when school was in session. I wish I would have taken a photo of the original long row of coat hooks still attached to the wall down the first floor hallway. It would have been fun if blackboards had been left intact on the walls but the resident I talked to said they were not. Sad.

A farmer near Pierz was raking his hay into rows to prepare it for baling.

A simple but fun day of adventures… just the way I like it.
dragonfly on borage

September 13, 2009

Click on this photo to see the adorable little dragonfly in the top left corner resting on my borage.
double broccoli quinoa

September 11, 2009

Another keeper from the 101 cookbooks blog… Double Broccoli Quinoa. It wins a "Best of Show" County Fair Ribbon, in my opinion, for the super foods tastily packed into one dish: quinoa, broccoli, avocado, and almonds. Quinoa simmers for 15 minutes while cooked broccoli, garlic cloves, almonds, Parmesan cheese, salt, lemon juice, olive oil, and milk is put in a food processor…

and whirled up to make pesto.

The pesto is added to the cooked quinoa to create the most wonderful flavor. Tossed with steamed broccoli florets for a bright spot of green color then topped with sliced avocado, crumbled feta or goat cheese, and almonds for crunch… ready to dig in.

Double Broccoli Quinoa

3 cups cooked (regular or red heirloom variety) quinoa*

5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems (1 head)

3 medium garlic cloves

2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

pinch of salt

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (1/2 lemon)

¼ cup olive oil (I used 2 tbsp.)

¼ cup heavy cream (I used milk.)

Toppings: sliced avocado, crumbled feta or goat cheese

Cook quinoa* according to package directions and set aside. Note: Quinoa comes in white (traditional), Inca Red (heirloom), and black varieties. I haven’t run across the black. The white has 3 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein and the red and black have 4 grams fiber and 6 grams protein per serving.

Steam the broccoli just long enough to slightly take the raw edge off. Remove from heat and lift steamer basket from pan so that it doesn’t continue cooking. (If cooking in a pan with a little water instead of a steamer, drain broccoli in a colander.) To make the broccoli pesto, puree 2 cups of the cooked broccoli, the garlic, ½ cup of the almonds, Parmesan, salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream (or milk) and pulse until smooth. Just before serving, toss the quinoa and the remaining broccoli florets with about ½ cup of the broccoli pesto. Taste and adjust if needed. You might want to add more of the pesto a bit at a time, or you might want a bit more salt or an added squeeze of lemon juice. Turn out onto a serving platter and top with the remaining almonds, some sliced avocado, and feta or goat cheese. Serves 4 – 6.

*Quinoa is coated with saponins, a bitter tasting, naturally occurring coating that repels birds during its cultivation. It produces soap-like foaming when quinoa is shaken in water. Most boxed/pre-packaged quinoa has been pre-rinsed for convenience, and cooking instructions suggest only a brief rinse before cooking, if at all. If quinoa has not been pre-rinsed, the first step is to remove the saponins, which requires either soaking the grain in water for a few hours or rinsing the quinoa under running water for several minutes in either a fine strainer or cheesecloth. Soaking also causes the quinoa to germinate which boosts its nutritional value. Germination activates its natural enzymes and multiplies its vitamin content.Quinoa has a very short germination period. Soaking in a glass jar of clean water for only 2 to 4 hours is enough to make it sprout. I soak it overnight while I sleep so that it's ready when I need it the next day.
orchard granola crisp

September 11, 2009

This is the perfect autumn breakfast or dessert. Besides apples, pears, and dried cranberries conjuring up images of the season, there are many fall colors going on in the topping supplied by the oats, raw sunnies, and raw pumpkin seeds. And the autumn spices… cinnamon and nutmeg. What a heavenly aroma in the kitchen as it bakes! All of this… as if it wasn't enough… and there is only 2 tbsp real maple syrup or honey to sweeten the fruit mixture and 2 tbsp in the granola topping with just 1 tbsp olive oil to hold it all together! The apples and pears pack their own natural sweetness. The recipe, shared by Joanne Lusted, came from a monthly e-newsletter I receive from Clean Eating Magazine. You don't need to be a magazine subscriber to receive the newsletter.

Orchard Granola Crisp

Filling:

2 Granny Smith Apples quartered, cored, peeled, and thinly sliced (I used Pink Lady because it’s what I had. Gala would be good, too. I would suggest the sweet apples rather than Granny Smith because they add a natural sweetness which is important because of the miniscule amount of maple syrup used.)

2 pears quartered, cored, peeled and thinly sliced

¼ cup unsweetened dried cherries, coarsely chopped (I used dried cranberries unchopped.)

2 tbsp pure maple syrup or raw organic honey

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp arrowroot powder (I didn’t happen to have any on hand, so I used 1 tbsp Organic Granulated Tapioca which worked perfectly.)

½ tsp cinnamon

pinch nutmeg

Granola Topping:

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup whole raw almonds, lightly crushed (I used slivered almonds.)

1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds

2 tbsp pure maple syrup or raw organic honey

1 tbsp olive oil

¼ tsp cinnamon

pinch nutmeg

pinch sea salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine all filling ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and stir well to combine. Pour mixture into a 2-quart oven-safe dish. Set aside. In another large mixing bowl, prepare topping by combining oats, almonds, sunnies, and pumpkin seeds. Add maple syrup (or honey), oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir well to completely coat oats, nuts, and seeds. Spread topping mixture evenly over filling. Cover with aluminum foil (or baking dish lid) and place onto a baking sheet to catch any liquid that boils over during baking. (I did this as a precaution, but nothing boiled over. Maybe because my dish was plenty big.) Place pan into oven and bake for 45 minutes until mixture bubbles at edges. Remove aluminum foil (or lid) and place back into oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until granola topping is crisp and golden brown. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes at room temperature.
peanut butter krispy treats

September 10, 2009

I think I will just move all of the recipes on the 101 Cookbooks blog over to my site. Ever since my daughter Lisa told me about cookbook author Heidi Swanson's blog, I have loved her "natural whole foods vegetarian" recipes so much! In 2003, Heidi vowed to curb her urge to buy more cookbooks and begin to try new recipes from her collection, as well as magazine clippings tucked away into overflowing drawers… and she would blog about it. Sounds like Heidi was a predecessor of Julie Powell that the Julie and Julia movie was based upon. To avoid the pitfall that Heidi is describing (collecting recipes and doing nothing with them), I will not be transferring all of Heidi's recipes over to my blog without trying them… like I was really going to do that anyway. All of the recipes that you will find on my blog… I have personally made, tweaked sometimes, and taken my own photos. My hope is that you, my readers, might join me in building your own repertoire of tried-and-true nourish-your-body recipes. Heidi's cookbook: Super Natural Cooking

Peanut Butter Krispy Treats

¾ cup unsalted peanut butter (non-hydrogenated w/o sugar)

¾ cup maple syrup (the real deal… not Mrs. Butterworth’s)

1 ½ tsp fine-grain sea salt

2 ½ tsp agar agar flakes (available at health food store)

4 cups unsweetened (or lightly sweetened) crisp brown rice cereal

¾ cup pistachios (1/2 cup whole + ¼ cup chopped)

Line two muffin tins with about 18 muffin/cupcake wrappers (or one muffin tin with 12 wrappers) and set aside. Combine the peanut butter, maple syrup, salt, and agar agar flakes in a large saucepan over low heat and stir constantly until smooth, hot, melted, and bubbling just a bit. Add the cereal and ½ cup pistachios and stir until well coated. Spoon two heaping tbsp of the mixture into each muffin wrapper. (These are seriously so good that 2 tbsp isn’t going to satisfy you, so I just filled the wrappers up to divide the mixture evenly among 12.) If you want squares, you can press the mixture into an 8 X 8-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the ¼ cup chopped pistachios and refrigerate until completely cool. This helps the agar agar to set. (I didn’t refrigerate mine. I just dug in.)
fall cleanup and computer giveaway

September 9, 2009

After breakfast this morning, I grabbed my vacuum cleaner to get on with the first thing I wanted to accomplish… to clean the floor and reorganize the furniture on my front porch. I gingerly worked around bees going in and out of a beehive that we should have removed before it grew so large. It is neatly tucked next to a rafter underneath the tin roof. They have worked so hard. We're going to try to remove it intact and relocate the colony.

Next, I dug up an existing flower garden directly in front of the porch. It had been taken over with quack grass and Creeping Charlie… both very nasty invasive weeds. I had attempted to pull them out, but realized that a harsher tactic was needed and it was time for an updated look anyway. I left a patch of perennials that had, for the most part, been able to fend off the invading weeds. In the spring, I will plant the area in annuals.

A brief downpour halted my progress, so I slipped inside to check the status of a free laptop computer giveaway that I entered on September 4th via a cooking site I stumbled upon called thepioneerwoman.com and her spinoff tastykitchen.com, which is a site where you can share and search for endless recipes. The site's creator presented her idea to Windows and a collaboration formed to get all the technical stuff in place to make it happen. Additionally, Windows generously donated a Dell laptop computer to be given away in a one-day drawing. All that was required to enter the drawing was to share a recipe that I had tried from any site/blog on the Internet. That was easy so, at 4:42 p.m. on Friday, I submitted my entry… number 12,153 in a one-day drawing! Five minutes later at 4:47 p.m. the number of entries had increased to 12,197 and the drawing didn't close until midnight! And the winner is… entry #1648 Elisabeth! Congrats!! What an amazing prize!!!

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