Spring in Brown County State Park

A few weeks ago I took a day trip over to Brown County State Park.  This is the largest state park in Indiana and showcases the hills of Southern Indiana.

On the way there I stopped by Moore's Creek again and took a couple of pictures.

Yellow Rocket, or Barbarea vulgaris.

Roundleaf Ragwort, or Packera obovata.

The first of many views of the countryside.

Ogle Lake; one of two man-made lakes in the park.

Violets in bloom near the trail around Ogle Lake.

Yellow violet.

Goldthread or Coptis trifolia.

Toothwort, or Cardamine concatenata.

An unidentified wildflower.

Dutchman's Breeches, or Dicentra cucullaria.

The sun shines through the trees.

Another wildflower.

A weathered fallen tree.

Phlox.

Another variety of Roundleaf Ragwort.

Scenery around Ogle Lake.

A hollow tree.

Turtles sunning on a log.

A tree that has been gnawed on by beavers.

Strahl Creek at the base of Strahl Lake.

The waterfall at the base of Strahl Lake.

The Hills O' Brown were created when the glaciers to the north, melted and carved out the hollers, leaving a rugged terrain behind.

A butterfly visits the phlox.

After my tour of the park I headed east to Gnaw Bone, IN.

I wanted to try the famous Gnaw Bone pork tenderloin sandwich.

To that end, I stopped at the Gnaw Bone Mart and ordered the pork tenderloin and an side of onion rings.

The usual side is an order of freshly made potato chips.

This was the thoughtful decor the mart accorded the diner.

But not to worry; as with many unpretentious places, the food was the star.

This truly was the best pork tenderloin sandwich I have ever had.

I will be back for more.

I will have to try the potato chips next time.

And perhaps the small version of this sandwich.  

This is a monster of a sandwich.

Late April in Monroe County

It has been a wet April and the creeks have been flowing.

Such a welcome change from last year.

 Jordan River on IU campus is happily tumbling over the rocks.

 Even Farmer Brown* is decked out in Hoosier colors to celebrate our boys making it to 

the Sweet 16 again this year.

*Disclaimer: I don't know if that is his name, but he ought to have a name, shouldn't he?

So, Farmer Brown it is, as far as I am concerned.

 Near by, Moores Creek is making its way down to Lake Monroe.

 A wild phlox grows by the creek.

 Across the road, the redbuds are in bloom.

 It is peaceful out on the lake today.

 The water is up, but the road is still passable - for now.

I love spring.

Midnight Reads Kitchens are Monkey Business

I am still in the process of transferring everything over to my new computer and today I found this photo from late 2007. 

In it, my dearly departed cat, Midnight, is sitting on the desk looking intently at my old computer.  What is that up on the screen?  Why, it's my dear friend's blog, Kitchens are Monkey Business.

Rosie Hawthorne, here is one of your very first fans!

Visiting the Farmers' Market

This Saturday was the first Farmers' Market of the season.

The Foodie Daughter and I decided to head downtown and check it out.

Outside the market a troop of belly dancers perform with swords.

They could even dance with the swords balanced on their heads.

Talented ladies.

People line up for a local restaurant's tent at the market.

Another performer entertains the crowd.

A vendor with a display of locally harvested honey.

This gentleman lets everyone know that he is the egg man by his head gear.

I am so glad they let the eggs roam free.

Free Ranged Eggs are happy eggs.

Most of the offerings this Saturday were sweet potatoes, cut spring flowers, potted plants for the garden, honey, jellies, eggs, meat, and cheese.

We enjoyed our visit, but didn't purchase anything this trip.

Maybe next time.

Turkey Rolls

I was first introduced to this recipe several years ago by a caterer at an event.  Intrigued, I asked for the recipe and I received it.  There were just three ingredients: deli turkey slices, an instant stuffing mix, and turkey gravy.

The first time I recreated this recipe at home, I used some name brand deli turkey slices, Stove Top Stuffing (tm), and jarred turkey dressing.  It was good, but rather salty for our tastes.

The second time I made it, I sought out lower sodium turkey slices and low-sodium Stove Top Stuffing (tm).  That was much more palatable.


It has been years since I have made this dish.

Why?

Because I no longer use processed foods in this house.
No Stove Top Stuffing (tm) with its gazillion ingredients, most of which are unpronounceable.
And no more jarred turkey dressing with its chicken fat ingredients that I cannot have.

So if we are to have this dish, I will be making it the old fashioned way.

But is it any more difficult?

The ingredients for "real" turkey rolls are:

Castle Wood deli turkey slices

1 /2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup diced onion

1 rib diced celery

1/4 teaspoon dried Herbes de Provence

 2 cups dry cornbread stuffing crumbles

1 cup water

1 cup turkey stock

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Saute the onion and celery in the olive oil over medium-high heat until translucent.  Add the Herbes de Provence and the cornbread.

Add the water and stir until combined.  Take off the heat.

Place a bit of the mixture into a turkey slice and roll tightly.  Place into a baking dish.  Continue until all the cornbread mixture is used.

Make the dressing:  Melt the butter and the flour together.  Allow the flour to "cook" so that it loses the raw flavor.  Keep stirring.  Do not walk away!  Add the turkey stock and simmer until it is reduced down to a nice consistency.  Salt to taste*.

*I never salt my stocks when I make them as I never know what I will be using them for later.  This way, I can better control the sodium levels of my foods.

Pour the gravy over the turkey rolls and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Was this more difficult?  Not really.  The "stove top dressing that I made only took about seven minutes to make and only had six ingredients, not counting the ingredients that were in the cornbread.  It only took a couple of minutes to make the gravy, so no big deal there, either.

But here is the big kicker: The original recipe had 1,300 milligrams of sodium per serving.

 I was able to reduce that to 1, 140 milligrams.

However, the homemade version only has 760 milligrams of sodium per serving .

And that is just one small benefit of eating homemade foods, my friends.

 

And how good was this?

This good.

This very good.

The Palm Sunday Snow Storm

When I was a very young girl, we had to worry about tornado outbreaks on Palm Sunday.

In fact, I had a friend who survived being thrown over a mile out of her crib by a tornado from the ruins of her family's brand new home that they had just moved into that weekend.  Palm Sunday tornadoes were the stuff of nightmares in our neck of the woods.

And along comes "Global Warming."  

So what do we get?  A snow storm!

A snow storm.  

What's next?  A hurricane?  A volcano?  Killer bees?  Cuddly Kittens?

Okay, I can take the last.  

I'd take cuddly kittens any day.

Just don't tell my allergist.  He wouldn't be happy about that.

Anyway, back to the snow storm.

 The sleet turned over to snow and it started coming down in a hurry.

This was just after fifteen minutes of snow.  Stay tuned for more snow from 

Sunny Southern Indiana(tm).