Fried Mushrooms and a joke

One day it started raining. And a squirrel found a mushroom to sit under. Then a frog hops along and asks, "Is there any more room under the mushroom?" And the squirrel says, "There's Mush Room!".


(Sarah came up with this joke on the way home one day.)

I thought it was clever and cute.


Jessica made fried mushrooms for her home cooking assignment this week. (Sorry for the blurry pictures-I was trying to get the pictures before the food was consumed.)


First you start with some Tempura batter mix that you just mix with water. We used Krusteaz brand since that's what we had in the cupboard. For more info, visit their website at: www.krusteaz.com

Wash and thoroughly dry some fresh mushrooms. Coat mushrooms and cook in hot corn oil until golden brown.


The first batch came out lightly golden brown and didn't get eaten quite as quickly. But then the second batch came out more golden and were all gone within a few minutes of frying them. I was lucky to get a picture of a few of the golden mushrooms.

It was also reassuring that Jessica was so careful around the hot oil.

Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand

A feel good horse book. Seabiscuit wasn't perfect but he had heart and loved to race. I listened to the audio book and enjoyed hearing the story of this famous racehorse and the people who trained, rode and cared for him.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Jessica's latest creation for her home cooking assignment: soft and moist chocolate chip pumpkin cookies - what a wonderful way to get some additional Vitamin A!

Thank you also to "Roxygirl in Colorado" for her Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe on www.recipezaar.com

500 Pc. Making Friends Animal Puzzle

Here's the latest puzzle that we just completed. Sarah received this for a "white elephant" gift back at Christmas time. Sarah and I worked on it about equally and Eva and Jessica put in pieces here and there when they had the inclination. This was a 500 piece puzzle with the thick pieces that are so much easier to put together than some of the new puzzles with thinner pieces.

This particular puzzle was made by www.sunsout.com which has many other wonderful puzzles including some from Utah artist, James Christensen.

The link below goes to an article from the Harvard Health Publications talking about the benefits of encouragement while doing jigsaw puzzles. It does point out that encouragement is more beneficial than instruction as far as completing the puzzles. The jigsaw puzzle section comes under "cultivate social support." So jigsaw puzzles can help prevent memory loss and promote self-confidence. We've found it's better to have success with a good quality puzzle with fewer pieces and then work up to puzzles with more pieces. Sometimes there's a feeling to be over ambitious and we've ended up with a puzzle that just collects dust rather than collecting connected pieces.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Preventing_memory_loss.htm

February Food Co-op

Harvest Share $14

1 5-lb bag red potatoes
6 oranges
6 apples
2 green onions
1 red leaf lettuce
4 artichokes
1 pkg. mushrooms
1 bunch asparagus
8 kiwi
1 loaf Stone Ground's Artisan Wheat bread
1 16 oz. bag rice


Order by Friday, March 13th for pick-up on Saturday, March 28th.

Go to www.foodco-op.net for more info.

When we picked up our order this month, we overheard a couple of people trading. The one loved artichokes and traded kiwis for extra artichokes. The sign-off table had no objections to people trading as long as the individuals involved were accepting of the trade-off. I have found that we like to try the new things when there is the occasional item that we are not accustomed to consuming such as eggplant and some kinds of squashes. We are old consumers of asparagus and artichokes and love both.



Easy Tender-Crisp Asparagus
1 bunch asparagus
1 large bowl ice water, about half full
1 large pan water, about half full

Rinse asparagus well and snap off ends. Place in bowl of ice water. Bring water to a boil in the large pan. Scoop out the asparagus and put in boiling water. Water will stop boiling. When water starts to boil again pour the asparagus and hot water into the large bowl of ice water. Carefully scoop out asparagus while still hot. Serve with butter or favorite sauce or enjoy plain.


This is our favorite way to cook asparagus as it stays a bit crisp and there's no mushiness.

Pudding Cups

Vanilla pudding, frozen berries and whipping cream. Mmmmmm........ thank you, Jessica!