Sorry to have to do it, but I eliminated the ‘do follow’ links because I was getting a lot of comments from people who didn’t have names… who instead used the name section for posting keywords like “cheap ugg boots” and “topical pain reliever.” I finally realized that letting people use my blog for advertising isn’t in the best interests of the blog. So, I decided to delete all those older comments that are from advertisers. I’d prefer to hear from real people with names who enjoy reading the blog.

This is my blog for food and herb related musings. I’m not trying to have the greatest blog on the internet. I just want a place to sound off about things that frustrate me, and to talk about herbs and my vegetarian cooking experiences.

What do Bigfoot eat?

You may think this a trite question, but for me it isn’t. That’s because I’m a Bigfoot researcher. You may be shocked at this revelation about the character of this old hippie with a cooking blog, but please try to understand where I’m coming from. I live in a cabin surrounded by many miles of forest on all sides. There’s a little town nearby, about 1200 people, but I’m in the forest, surrounded by trees. There have been quite a few Bigfoot sightings within a mile of my little dwelling place. So I think wondering what Bigfoot would like to eat is a fair question.

One woman I talked to had a sighting a mile or two from where I live. She said it came into her yard so she set out apples and other fruit for it. This creature apparently ate what she left out. One day it came to her kitchen window and looked in. She said it had a kind and grateful face, and yellow eyes.

Now I’m not asking a Bigfoot to come look into my window though I think that would be cool. What I need to know is what is best to feed it. An acquaintance in Santa Cruz area says they won’t eat bananas unless you demonstrate how to peel and eat them while they’re watching. You see, often Bigfoot watch quietly and undetected from behind trees. They blend in with tree trunks and sometimes imitate tree stumps by crouching down when they think they might be detected and there’s no trees to hide behind.

You might think I’m wacko… I know most people don’t read Bigfoot literature. But there’s a lot of new anecdotal evidence on the internet and in Bigfoot books these days that make it almost impossible not to believe once you’ve allowed yourself to learn more. Many of the sightings are by very credible people, like this Bigfoot Sighting at Oregon Caves National Monument.

Add to that the books by scientists about Bigfoot, and it is a certainty. Right now I’m about to read a book called Bigfoot Sasquatch Evidence by Dr. Grover Krantz. I’m nearly finished reading Tribal Bigfoot by David Paulides.

Superb book, that one.

Did you know there’s a new hobby called “squatching”? It means that people go out into the forest where there have been Bigfoot sightings, and do things to try to attract Bigfoot into the area so that they will hopefully have a Bigfoot sighting or at the very least, find some footprints, or hear vocalizations, or tree knocks. The closest I’ve gotten so far is to hear vocalizations and to get that weird feeling of someone watching and telling me mentally to go away.

Part of squatching is to go into the forest to set up an area where the dirt is cleared enough to bear footprints. Soft raked dirt is needed because often ground is packed too tightly to show any footprints at all. In the morning after raking a baiting site, hopefully you’ll find footprint tracks if you’ve done it right.

I’m thinking… watermelon. I have a bunch of little watermelon in my garden that might do. But would a Bigfoot know what to do with it? And if I put this bait out, would a bear get it instead, or a raccoon? More than likely.

I know a place where the dirt is already soft and mainly dusty… all I’d need to do is take a rake and some food, then camp nearby … I definitely want to try that soon… but first want to figure out what to offer Sasquatch, and rig a way to hang food in a tree in such a way that a Sasquatch could reach it but a bear or raccoon couldn’t.

Strange desires we have here in the forest, no?

I know many Bigfoot researchers say that Bigfoot eats meat. No doubt they need lots of food to sustain the growth of such a large, strong body. But they’re also into berries and roots. Maybe they’d like potatoes and strawberries!

One of my favorite vegetarian dishes is pasta. My boyfriend likes his with canned Alfredo sauce and mushrooms on it. I like that too, but when I make it I usually use herbs, sometimes with chunks of fresh tomato tossed in for flavor, color, and health.

While cooking the pasta I heat a frying pan containing a small amount of oil and sliced fresh garlic. My choices for oil are olive oil, coconut oil, or sunflower oil… all organic. For this, I usually choose olive oil because I love the flavor. To my garlic I add salt, thyme, parsley, kelp flakes, oregano and basil. When the pasta is cooked and drained, I put some in the frying pan with my oil and herbs, and mix it together. The fresh tomatoes go in last, when the heat is turned off. Then I put it all on a plate with Parmesan cheese on top, and sometimes a little grated sharp cheddar right under the Parmesan. Mmmmm… I am such a pasta lover.

You notice I share my recipes but usually don’t mention amounts. I expect that we all have have an inner instinct for knowing how much to use. Learning to rely on that is part of becoming a confident cook. My grandmother never used measuring cups or spoons, and I rarely do.

Pasta choices… my boyfriend likes fettuccine. Honestly, I like it all but usually use fettuccine, spaghetti, or macaroni.

A few nights ago I went to the regular Friday evening fund-raising dinner at our local art center. This is a vegan/vegetarian dinner. They served big pasta shells with some kind of sauce (I should have asked) along with a green salad, cooked beets, and a slice of homemade bread. The dinner was satisfying and delicious, and for five dollars, I enjoyed the meal and the company of artistically minded people. The money is to be used to build a new art center in our remote mountain town.

Wow! Mombu Cuisine - a cooking forum - recommended this site and gave it an 8.4 rating. I’m happy with that.

Thanks Tager!

Country Kitchen Pantry Recommendation.

Since I work at a restaurant that serves awesome deli sandwiches, I get to bring home empty pickle jars that are very helpful as far as keeping my staples goes. Each is filled with a different vegetarian delight food like hummus mix, lentils, brown rice, and falafel mix. I truly enjoy looking at the jars full of goodies. They are so colorful - and the textures are all different.

I think falafel mix is particularly good, health-wise. It is made from chick peas. I’ve had some that was too spicy, but what I buy up in Medford, Oregon is excellent quality and enjoyable. If I were hiking in the wilderness with a little stove, this is one food I’d take with me for nutrition and to provide lightweight staples. You can mix falafel mix with cooked, crushed beans to produce a thick textured burger patty. Fry that up, and eat in a hamburger bun with all the condiments, lettuce, onion, and tomato.

Recently my significant other, the magnificent Bob, decided to make beans and rice the new staple of his diet. First let me say I’m very proud of this man. He was a meat eater all his life until gout stopped him from eating 90% of the foods he loved, including red meat. Now he’s recovering thanks to some medication, but rather than going back to the bad diet, he’s adjusted to being mostly vegetarian, though he still eats fish. I don’t, so we usually don’t share meals. He cooks what he wants and I cook what I want. I’ve gone on a vegan diet. Anyhow, as I was about to say, Bob wants to eat rice and beans. So I’ve been cooking them, keeping them on hand in the fridge. I’ve been using pinto beans. The rice and beans fill several jars in my pantry. I find that when I’m cooking them constantly, I go through the beans pretty fast - so I need more than one of the gallon jars full of them.

I have granola in one jar. I’ve been using that to make the sweet treat I mentioned in my last post. More on that in another post. I’ve morphed the recipe into breakfast bars! Recipe to be announced SOON. I keep the rice flour in another gallon jar, and cinnamon I bought in bulk in another smaller jar. Cinnamon and rice flour provide the outer coating for these treats.

Anyhow, if you need jars, ask at your local restaurant or deli. If they use pickles, they probably have more jars than they want. The one gallon mayonnaise jars are plastic, but they’re handy too… I use them for pasta and beans.

Suggestion: Stock up on as many dry staples as you can.