Honey mushroom jerky

 I went over to clean one of my Airbnb the other day and in the backyard I found a lovely cluster up ringless honey mushrooms. My son had mentioned that he makes jerky out of mushrooms and so I thought I would come home and try it. I also wanted to fry them in a little butter to see what they tasted like as I’ve never tasted them before. I ended up, just deciding to fry the whole bunch of them, even though they use fresh mushrooms uncooked for the jerky I decided to use the cooked mushrooms and I must say it was delicious. I just combined a couple recipes. My marinade had liquid amino, sesame, oil, sesame, seeds, garlic, Hungarian, paprika, smoked paprika, applewood seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, splash of soy sauce, and some cayenne pepper. It turned out great. Put it in the dehydrator for about four hours, and it was perfect.

Poor man’s pepper

 What a great find! Last year we had a big windstorm that knocked over our shade trees next to my husband‘s office. Underneath the shade trees, we had put a lot of gravel, which now is sprouting up all sorts of stuff. I was weeding it out by hand and took a closer look at some of the things that I was pulling up. I was pretty sure this was poor man’s pepper and thankfully had a little plant identifier along with me. I usually see this in the fall where it’s very recognizable because it shoots up spiky little flower heads with little seed pods hanging off the sides. One taste of the leaves and sure enough… Poor man pepper. I’ve never picked it in the spring, and probably stepped over it many times. Never more though. The spring greens are so absolutely delicious and very very. Peppery. I decided to bring as many little bundles home with me as I could today, and throw them on the dehydrator along with garlic Leaves, oregano, sage, sorrel. I make a delicious Dried herb mix to be used all Year long, And I think it just got one notch better :-)

Beautiful Service Berries

 These little berries come from a service berry tree  they are similar in size to a blueberry, but have a unique taste. It is sweet and the closest thing I can think of to the taste might be in fact, a blueberry the serviceberry tree is native to Oklahoma, although I have never seen one in the wild or if I have it hasn’t been either in bloom or in fruit so I’ve probably just walked right by it. This one actually is planted in my backyard. 

Creamed poke salet

 This was so delicious. Basically poke boiled twice with the water poured off each time, and possibly three times. Then fry up some onions and garlic. Add the poke. Add some cream cheese and Parmesan and a little milk. I know you’re supposed to add cream, but I didn’t do that. Oh, and then I added fried onions to the top

Cattail surprise

 Well, there’s two surprises the first is that I’ve never tried cat tail before. Always got there too late. The second surprises that it’s delicious. Who knew?! I ate some fresh and it was buttery, mild and really good. And then brought some home and decided to throw it in with, onions, celery, and rice. Another win. 

Spring has sprung soup

 Everything in my yard is blooming so of course I had to go out and play in my garden. I’ve been eating greens from the curly dock that is allowed to grow there, the dandelions, Traveling onions, and now I’m adding some evening Primrose leaves for Thai soup. I would tell you how I make this, But every time it’s a little different. We like ours hot so there’s usually some sort of hot pepper or hot chili, garlic sauce, added, some shaved ginger, always some coconut milk, and Green chili paste. I’ve added it all kind of things to this depending on the mood I’m in, and what I have on hand. You can add any kind of vegetables you like, sometime, I’ve added fresh, basil, or frozen pesto from my freezer, sweet potato… You name it. We’re pretty much vegan around here usually, so it usually doesn’t have any meat in it but you can certainly substitute tofu if you’re like me or add a nice chicken stock and pieces of chicken. Oh, and I forgot I usually add a little bit of soy sauce, and sometimes a touch of Stevia it’s time to get out side with your kids and look beneath your feet.  See what’s for dinner!