Broccoli Salad and Oh, those Cows

by Mindy Obenhaus

This has been an eventful week here on the ranch. Living in the middle of woods, I have come to expect the unexpected. Every time I look out the window, I never know what I might see.

During the winter months, Cowboy Smokey, the fella who runs cattle on our land, puts out hay for the cows in another pasture, so the herd tends to stay in that area, near their food source. But now that spring is here, cattle are on the move. Imagine waking up, looking out your window and finding this is your backyard. 

Let me tell you, this former suburbanite couldn't have been more excited. I love watching the cows. Observing their behavior and social interactions. Sometimes even the bull takes a turn watching over children. He's the big while fella.

And then there are the calves. 

There's often a group of them together. They play, sleep, groom...and are oh, so curious. Though one of their mama's is never far away.

At least on a normal day. But on that one morning, as the herd disappeared one by one into the woods, there was a lone calf left behind, bawling for his mother.

Except his mama didn't come. Instead, something else had its sites set on the calf. Can you see it in the background?

Here are some better shots.

That nasty coyote wanted that calf for breakfast. Of course, we weren't about to stand for that. So we rushed outside with the dogs barking like crazy while we yelled for that coyote to "git." 

Well, he did "git" and the calf ran the opposite direction. And, after an hour or so of hearing mama cow call her calf and calf answering back as they tried to find one another, they were finally reunited. Though if I'd thought she'd listen, I would have taken that mama aside and told her a thing or two about parenting. Like, keep an eye on your baby. 

And then there was Easter. I made one of my favorite salads. Yet for as much as I love this salad and always ask for it when we're out, I've never made. So Easter was the perfect time for me to make my first broccoli salad and it was very simple.

Chop two heads of broccoli into bite size florets, rinse and put into a large bowl.

Add half a pound of bacon that's been cooked until crisp and chopped, one small red onion, diced, 3/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries and 3/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds and toss everything together.

Love those vibrant colors.

Now for the dressing. Whisk together 1 cup mayonnaise (I used light), 1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar (1/4 cup was sweet enough for me) and 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (I added a splash more). Pour over broccoli mixture and stir until coated.

We took this when we went to a friend's house for dinner Sunday evening and everyone loved it. Best of all, there was a little leftover, meaning more for me. The combination of flavors--not to mention the bacon--will turn even broccoli haters like my husband into broccoli lovers. 

Ah, but this story doesn't end here. I told you it was an eventful week. I'll share the rest with you tomorrow as I fill in for Cate Nolan. But here's a clue.

Hmm... What could those cowboys possibly be up to?

Now it's your turn. How was your Easter? How do you feel about broccoli? And what are your thoughts on that calf/coyote standoff?

Three-time Carol Award nominee, Mindy Obenhaus, lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com

 

Of Poldark and Veggie Burgers

Any POLDARK watchers here in the cafe?

I confess a large part of this post was conceived just as an excuse to talk about Poldark.

The season finale was this past Sunday, and although there were times during this past season when Ross was anything but heroic, I stuck with it and in the end I *almost* forgave him.

If you're interested, I found a really interesting podcast interviewing Ross about the whole situation. As a fan of the show, I enjoyed it, but as a writer, it had me thinking about how I create history for my characters. Lovely to listen to him really analyze his character and his relationships.

Poldark Podcast 

So the food connection (bear with me) -

In one of the last Season 2 episodes, Dr. Dwight tells Caroline's uncle that he suffers from the "sugar disease" which I assume is diabetes.

Watching that episode on the Sunday after Thanksgiving having eaten so many wonderful pies (and heading into Christmas cookie season), I was reminded how badly I needed something healthy to eat.

So I decided to play with some healthy foods.

First I baked some gorgeous sweet potatoes.

Then I added some sprouted lentils and toasted sunflower seeds

I had the idea to add in some greens.  At first it looked like I had created an impossible mess, but they actually mashed down quite well.

I baked them for about fifteen minutes.

They made a great lunch. 

I tried adding some dried cranberries for a different flavor.

So let's talk - food or Poldark????

One last summer salad

I know I've gone kind of overboard on salads this summer, but since this is technically the last day of summer, I'm safe for one last summer salad. (Plus the temps are still flirting with 90 here and the humidity is just plain gross!)

Honestly, this is a case of last is BEST!

This was an I'm starving, what can I eat kind of salad, and OH.MY.WORD it was delicious!

And so simple!

I started with the lettuce that made a salad convert of me this summer - my baby romaine mix.

I added a chopped up honeycrisp apple.

Some toasted sunflower seeds!

Red wine vinegar and oil - just splashed it on.

And what made it a meal a filet of salmon poached in honey mustard.

The flavors blended so beautifully and it was a salad that was both filling and so tasty.

So are you done with salads now that autumn is in the air?

Or are you looking forward to some autumn versions?

Power Protein Bowls

It's that time of year when I'm really starting to crave healthy foods. All winter long I indulged those carb cravings and the scale does not make me happy. But more than that, I don't like the lethargy that comes after a winter of slacking off the healthy eating.

So, little by little, I've been trying to work my way back into healthier meals and snacks. But as I mentioned last week, lack of time and energy steal the inspiration all too often.

This past week I was determined to make something I could use for dinners and lunch.
I made a wonderful bowl.

Are any of you familiar with the fabulous healthy food blog - Oh She Glows?

She has a recipe for something called the Power Protein Goddess Bowl.

Mine wasn't quite the same thing, but it was good and the perfect thing to help during the weeks of crazy NYS testing.

I started with a variety of roasted foods:
red cabbage
sweet potatoes
kale
beets
sunflower seeds


While those were roasting, I made a big pot of brown rice and another pot of my sprouted lentils. I mixed the lentils with the leftover hummus from last week and baked for about ten minutes.

When everything was ready, I just mixed an assortment of the ingredients and topped with toasted sunflower seeds. Gotta love that crunch!

It was good - and just what I wanted. Because of the rice and lentils, it was totally filling but in a non-bloating way. The roasted veggies just gave a nice crunch.


It tasted great chilled too.

I need to look into something similar with spring veggies for some variety.

Do you have any ideas. Does this kind of meal appeal to anyone?