Bear here...

Some people think for a meal to be really great it has to have a complex recipe with lots of ingredients and multiple levels of cooking techniques. I am thinking that's B.S. What you need are good ingredients and patience for the process of cooking or putting it together.

"So Bear, do you have examples of good meals that were simple to put together?" you ask. But of course, dear reader, so glad you asked! And I have the pictures to prove it!

Example #1- Simple tomato and cucumber salad:

• Chop the first tomatoes of the season  (from our CSA)
• Skin, seed, and chop cucumbers (from our CSA)
• Grate a good tasting Parmesan cheese.
• Chop fresh basil (from the yard).
• Combine everything in a big bowl.
• Add 2 tblsp olive oil and 1 tblsp balsamic vinegar over everything, and mix.

That's it. It tastes amazing when you haven't had tomatoes since last Summer.

Example #2- a simple grilled meal:  

• Shuck corn, slice zucchini, season steaks.
• Grill veggies until browned the way you like them (no oil needed).
• Move coals so the veggies stay warm without burning, grill the steaks, and you are good to go...

Example #2.5 (if anybody cares): While I was outside, Theresa boiled then mashed potatoes, adding butter and fresh chopped parsley. She also browned mushrooms, more zucchini, and onions in a frying pan, with the rest of the fresh parsley.  As you can see, everything was great!

Since this is about simple food, I'm keeping it simple and stopping for now.

​Type at ya later...

Bear here...

Ever come home from a vacation in Scotland with cookbooks and a need to cook something weird, er... different?  I have!  Time for flavored oatmeal milk!  (Cool note: I am enjoying the drink while writing the blog, just sayen...)

In the beginning... There is a simple alternative to dairy milk. Add 1 cup rolled oats to 2 1/2 cups water, let it sit in the blender for a 1/2 hour, then blend until smooth, around 1 to 2 minutes. If you want a thin "milk" then strain the oatmeal out. I like it thick, so I drink it all. (​The longer the drink sits the thicker it becomes. I tried to make this overnight once, without straining, and drank pancake batter the next day. Not a pleasant texture, just sayen...)

In the next... There is my inner Cook of Anarchy who wants to flavor this stuff and make rough smoothies.  Let's experiment...

Today's drink  was about the frozen fruit. We had strawberries, mangoes and last year's black caps/wild raspberries, Use a small hand full of each and taste. Keep adding fruit until you like it. Note: fruit is sweet but wasn't sweet enough for me, so after the drink is fruity enough, I add honey. Start with 1/4 cup, blend, then taste again and add a little more if needed. Keep going until you like the taste. Like I do...

Tips for rough smoothies:

• When ready to drink, add 3 or more cubes of ice. They float and give extra coldness to your drink.
• Clean the blender as soon as possible (cleaning dried oat gruel sucks).
• Learn to like the rougher texture, it's better for ya. You can also add 1/4 cup oat bran for more fiber & if you know what else makes the drink healthier without screwing up the taste, add it.
• Theresa's favorite: After blending the oats and water, add 1 heaping tablespoon of cinnamon and honey to taste (start with a 1/4 cup), and blend again. Yum!
• I have tried chocolate. I recommend using syrup, not chips, unless you want a grittier drink feel.
• I am going to try chocolate and mint, also going for peanuts and chocolate.
• Unleash your inner Cook of Anarchy... If you want to unleash on oats, below is a link to the book I'm using.
  ​
  

My drink is gone, this blog is done. 

​Type at ya later...

Bear here...

A couple weeks ago we moved our shitake logs from under the pine tree in our front yard to our back yard that has black walnut trees. The logs usually shroom in our yard in early spring or late fall and they usually are not large harvests. Apparently the logs like the move, here are some pictures of our harvest on Sun. July 2nd.

We decided to leave the small shrooms alone for later . We still harvested 1 1/3 lbs of shrooms! (FYI shitake shrooms where we shop cost over $14 per pound.)

No Our Tiny Homestead food blog is finished with out some cooking, here ya go...

A lovely pan of shrooms, before and after...

We steamed some asparigus, sauted some onions and heated some garlic and yogurt for sauce then  put it all together. Oh Yeah!

It's all together and ready to eat!

​Type at ya later...

Bear here... (short blog) 

Any body remember blogs about the shitake mushroom logs we bought a few years ago?  We finally moved them from our front yard!  They are now resting against the new catio walls. 

Kinda looks like the raccoons have taken up caber tossing, and they'r good at it!  Hmm... Scottish coons in our yard, who da thunk?

Type at ya later...
​