Devil's Club, Mountain Berries, Baneberry and a chipmonk

Top 3- Pic 1 Thimble berry (rubus sp) 2 Red Huckleberry Vaccinium parvifolium (today they were a bit tart, but I like this flavor) they are at their peek of ripeness right now. The leaves are alternate along the stem (pic 3), snow berry is white and the leaves of that plant and the bush itself look similar but they are opposite (across from each other) along the stem, keep this in mind when you are trying to ID the plant if there are no berries on it (clearly if they are white berries they are snowberry).

Next 3 are Devil's Club I wrote about this a few years back here
The leaves are huge! The pic does not do it justice, there are even spines under the leaves (so I found when I went to look under one to snap the shot of the stem) Really amazing plant! You really have to be in it's presence to know what I mean, it literally stopped me in my tracks as I was walking by (and it did not reach out to grab me with those thorns either), very powerful, and if you break a stem, the smell is very penetrating as well, it made me sneeze and my eyes water a bit. See how by the picture the leaves sort of resemble the thimble berry? But, if you are mindful and really look at plants as you are walking this stands out because the leaves are just huge in the full grown plant, they do kind of cover the whole plant (as you can see in the photo) , so I did not immediately see the spiny stems- they are hidden under those leaves. I was done for the day and heading back to the car, so this was the last plant I got to see before my drive home.

Next Baneberry (with the red berry cluster) Actacea rubra - sometimes confused with sweetroot, an edible member of the umbel family (I saw some of these near by as well, the do not have the red cluster on top) In herbalism Tilford from Edible and medicinal plants of the west states it should be handled with extreme care, that it is useful as a strong antispasmodic. I have not used this plant, this is the only one I found in the local area where I was walking today. I am sure there are more if I keep my eyes peeled:)

Creeping Raspberry rubus
I also enjoyed these wild raspberries on my walk, and noticed the salal arn't quite ripe yet, but I found so many I will be checking back.



I think the chipmunk was hoping for me to toss him some food (I was pretty close to camp sites) unfortunately, I had none with me. He hung out for quite a while on that rock, until of course I tried to zoom in for a closer shot.

Hanging out with the bees and other plant musings

The bees just love this oregano! I was marveling at how many bees were actually on the plant when suddenly one flies literally about 5 inches from my face and stayed there in mid air... as if to say 'what the heck are you doing here?' I was grateful that after he got a good look at me he flew away- then they all seemed OK with me hanging out... I was able to get this pic of the bee that said 'hello'.

The lemon balm seems to be doing pretty well to spite the heat...

Further up the mountain there are plenty of shady spots to get a little break from the heat... beneath this tree is a nice place to sit...

Secrets Talking With Flowers

My Grandma Johnson taught me wonderful lessons and traditions. She loved to write poetry. Grandma would make me handmade books of poems with cut out pictures. I can still feel the love, time & intention she put into these books when I pick them up to re-read them once again. She sent me many cards and letters, they always seemed to arrive just at the right time & and she always knew exactly what to say. Grandma had wonderful healing medicine. There is something about having hand written letters and poems, people don't handwrite letters much anymore. The internet, text messaging and phones in this busy life have shifted priorities. I feel blessed to still have these letters and poems. I just ran across this one today as my Mom and I were cleaning out one of our dusty old bins from storage. Grandma wrote this poem in 1980.

Secrets

When I was young and my brothers worked
I played alone, you see
And often times pretended that,
The flowers could talk with me

The daisies with their faces bright
As yellow as the sun,
Always kept their secrets
and would never tell a one.

The violets would shyly whisper
My lover would be true blue,
Then hide their little faces
In leaves all wet with dew.

The roses were as bold as brass
Their heads a flaming red;
And many a secret we exchanged
Before it was time for bed.

But if I wrote them here, for all to see
A secret no longer they would be;
So its much more fun to keep them hidden
and locked away
In the golden memories of yesterday-

Copy write Sally Leslie Johnson 1980

Celebrate National Wildlife Week with your family!

National Wildlife Week april 19th-27

Green hour encourages parents to give their children a "green hour" each day. Time for unstructured play and interaction with the natural world. The green hour website has tons of ideas and inspirations to support families who want their children to connect with the earth. Check it out!

This years theme is get outdoors! This week you and your kids should watch and record the wildlife you see. (You can download a watch list that has flora and fauna local to you! And if you're in need of a thorough wildlife resource be sure to check out enature.com.)
Meet outdoors and share your stories with others!

Here are some great sites for wildlife ID/ getting outdoors for parents and kids

Wildflowers

Bugs

Urban Birds

Kids Gardening

Looking for Green minded holistic child care? Check out Holistic Nanny
Enjoy!

Purple & White Wood Sorrel Flower

So I was reading Wildman Steve Brill's site. I ran across wood sorrel. He states that the white flower with purple stripes is quite rare in America.
A few days later I am walking through the park here in Sandy and what do you know........
The pics didn't really pick up on the purple that well, but the stripes were purple. Cool

Viola adunca Hookedspur/ Western Dog Violet- new plant ally

Violets are another early spring bloom. I found the blue Hookedspur violet was showing off it's beautiful blooms. The above picture is another wild violet, I am not sure of the variety. I have heard the colors can vary. This will be a new plant to me as a medicinal. My mom brought me some over to the house that were volunteers in my Aunts yard to save them from getting sprayed, I guess they were "taking over". She knew I would like them, but she was not sure what type of plant they were. So now they have a home in my yard, and I am happy to have them! A few days later on our outing we spotted some more out in the wild, and I have been noticing them more along the road side near my home. Although this was not on my list as one of my plants to get to know this year, it seems this pretty blue violet found me!
While doing some quick research online I found that wild violets have a long history of Native American uses. In reading this quick reference I found the roots and leaves were chewed during labor, hmmm that is interesting since I am in my 6th month of pregnancy ( although I have also read the rhizomes and seeds are poisonous). There are also some external applications listed for sore & swollen joints. The leaves and flowers are edible and I am sure will make a pretty addition to salad. This will be an interesting plant to get to know.

Trillium Hill Early Spring Blooms

If you look closely you can see the little white dots next to this waterfall, they are beautiful trillium ovatum. I tried to capture the power of this place in the photo but you would just have to be here to experience it. This is a water fall located at the Columbia River Gorge. I was awestruck when I saw such an abundance of trillium on this hill, beautiful and in bloom. I was so appreciative that this place had been protected and the trillium could continue to thrive here. The hill they were on went straight up, someone would have to put quite a bit of effort to get to the top to disturb this trillium population. My first feeling when I saw all of these trillium was exhilaration. After that I spent some time there being completely engrossed at the presence of them. I have been familiar with trillium for several years, we even had some growing in my wild forest backyard when I was a child. To spite being familiar with the plant, after this experience I felt a new special connection, even admiration that I had not experienced before.
This area is not far from the scenic highway. Likely, many people drive by in their cars to enjoy the vastness of the scenic views here. Take a closer look and you will find amazing plants like this that depend on the fragile ecosystem that surrounds them. My Mom was with me when we went on this outing. She told me she had forgotten how beautiful the plants are when you get up close. Her and her x would often go for drives here (it is called the scenic drive after all) but would rarely stop, except for at the main attractions like Multnomah Falls. I encourage everyone to get up close and personal with the earth, look closely in rock crevices, get down on your hands and knees, get connected!
This place was not far from my home as a child and I have always felt a deep connection here. My hope is that this area will continue to be preserved and protected.
To appreciate the rarity of this plant a little more, according to Eric Jules an assistant professor of biology at Humboldt State University Trillium ovatum rarely flower prior to their 15th year. Trillium may be propagated by seed that is produced at the end of summer, plant in the fall in soil similar to a moist forest where the plants are found. As you can see by the picture they also like to be near sword ferns and other moist forest plants. You will not see growth in the first year, and as mentioned above it will not flower for some time. I don't recommend propagating by rhizome from the wild because the plant could be disturbed. If you are able to get a rhizome from a cultivated source, be sure to ask for some of the original soil, they will require some of the microscopic fungus that comes in the soil to grow.
We just finalized our house purchase, I plan on creating a sustainable garden here with local plants. Trillium will definitely be a plant I cultivate. It will surely be worth the wait.
Trillium may seem abundant from the picture you see here. This is because this is a protected area. Let's help to keep this plant protected, even picking the leaves kills this plant. Trillium should not be collected in the wild it is protected in many states (see the prior link to learn about wildcrafting ethics, and how to find out if a plant is protected before picking), it is a plant to be respected and admired. Just sitting with the plant you can learn much from it.

Other names are Bethroot, birthroot, Indian balm, & squaw root.

Medicinal Uses
Trillium is astringent (read more on Kiva's blog here), antispasmodic, expectorant, emmenagogue, anditseptic, and uterine tonic
Often used for excessive bleeding especially in cases of menstrual blood loss. Trillium is a natural uterine tonic and can be used as a douche for treatment of leukorrhea. Trillium has been used to stimulate contractions in labor, it is contraindicated during pregnancy because of this. Trillium is a remedy for diarrhea. Made into a poultice or salve it is useful for external sores and chronic skin problems. Henriette has a good article here

Use Only Cultivated Sources
Good alternatives are Raspberry leaf (as an astringent for the female reproductive system) and Motherwort. Use Shepard's Purse as antihemorrhagic and astringent
Resource Planting for the Future Saving Our Medicinal Herbs United Plant Savers pg 226-229

First signs of spring in my yard

Simple Pleasures! I am one of the few people I know that gets excited when the "weeds" start to pop up in the yard. Yarrow and Catnip (left). Dandelion is also starting to produce fresh leaves, there was just a few for my salad. I noticed my lemon balm plant is begining to show it's new leaves as well, I can't wait to try the Lemon Balm (herb of the year 2007) elixir Kiva suggested!
When I went out to check the mail I noticed this Oregon Wild Iris is growing right by my mail box. Signs of spring are here!

Spring on the way!

Tony Ella and I went on an outing today to Oxbow old growth forest & up the mountain to zig zag trail head. It was a very nice and sunny, at least 60 degrees. This is a heat wave compared to the 20-30 degree weather we were experiencing just a few weeks ago. Oxbow is at the lower elevations at about 300-500 ft. Up the mountain at zig zag, around 1800-2500 feet there is still about a foot of snow on the ground, the plants are still hidden . The Sandy river looked pretty good both at Oxbow and zig zag, although high, it was not flooding as feared and the fisherman seemed to be out as usual. Tony had his line in the water for a while this morning, no luck today. I saw some beautiful new lime green moss, chickweed, & other sprouts of forest ground cover starting to grow, and the new growth of needles on the trees. A deer had walked across the trail not long before we arrived, the tracks were still fresh. A sword fern waved at us as we walked by, scared Tony half to death! Actually he was more excited than scared because he thought it may be a wild animal we could observe. I told him the fern was just giving us a wave, he just gave me a ummmm hmmm with a blank look lol. Seeing the new signs of life in the woods today made me really excited for spring and summer!

A foot of snow in Sandy Oregon

We have had about a foot of snow in the last few days. Unfortunately, I am out a camera so I got this picture from http://www.katu.com/younews/14469662.html The snow is much deeper than this picture shows.

Any tips from readers on a good digital camera for plant and nature pictures would be truly appreciated!

A perfect time to be "snowed in". The entire family picked up a nasty stomach virus, starting with Ella, Tony and then myself. So we have been sick, but enjoying the scenic views of the beautiful snow from inside. Starting to feel much better today, my appetite is slowly returning. Homemade chicken soup is on the menu.

Snow For Christmas!

Nice surprise! We had a white Christmas! According to the news it was the first white Christmas(down to the valley floor) in the pacific northwest in a few decades. It has been snowing steady all day, it looks like we will probably get at least 4 or 5 more inches.

I have been relaxing after a busy holiday. We drove to the coast to visit relatives and enjoyed some great seafood. Unfortunately however, it did not agree with me so I spent the last few days (and early mornings 2 am) sick again :( Back to tea and chicken soup for me! Still waiting for the first trimester nausea & throwing up to pass- thought it would be over by now!

Best wishes and enjoy the new year!

No more naked gardening?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

The town of Happy Valley here is Oregon is trying to pass an law against naked gardening. Come On! I can think of a lot better laws to try and put on the books- people are actually wasting their time with this?


That's it, I'm streaking the neighborhood in protest!

Getting out heading back up the mountain

It has been a pretty busy week, a lot of writing. I am creating a new class online. So finally when I had enough of sitting in front of the computer, I decided to head back up the mountain. Today I collected some false Solomon seal root. I decided to give this medicinal a try, some say you can use it for some of the same uses as the "True" Solomon's seal". We will see. I read in Edible and Medicinal Plants of the west by Tilford that some Northwest Native tribes used a poultice of the root to treat inflammations of the skin, treat sunburn pain, and stop bleeding. Also, and I think the most interesting~ some tribes used to promote smoking the root to "cure insanity" and quite emotional children (did the two go hand in hand?) LOL.
I was also able to score some more elderberries! Yay Elixir her I come!
As soon as the I am done creating my new course (I gave myself a deadline of this weekend) I will be posting more frequently.

Thoughts on collecting plants

Whether your goal is collecting medicinal plants or foraging for wild foods, a few approaches seem to work well (or sometimes not so well) for me.

1. Start with no expectations. I like to check out an area with no intentions of looking for a specific plant or food. Just enjoy yourself, bring a camera and take notes. Collecting the plants is not your objective. When you are not looking for anything in particular, you will be amazed what you will find, you are also a lot more likely to cover a larger area of land. If you start off on a quest for one particular plant, and you have never been there before you may be disappointed and you may also pass up some really good finds. Also, if you happen to run across that particular plant, and you begin to gather, you may find later that there was a much bigger patch or better quality patch else ware. Because you were not familiar with the area and you did not scout it out, you missed it. Use that day for taking in the plants that are there, cover a large area, take mental & hand written notes of the area and where the plants are located. Return at a later date (maybe even the next day if you found the perfect plant) when the plants are at optimum harvesting stage. This is also a good time to get permission to collect if it's private property.

2. Going out with the intention that you will just collect anything you find. This includes any edible or medicinal plant you know. Then when you get back home you improvise and cook up or dry, tincture, any thing you bring back. This can bring many pleasant surprises and off the wall recipes that you would not normally plan. Sometimes you may even hit the jackpot! Study up before you leave and bring a good plant key ( this is why I like the picture before you gather method, you can take plenty of time identifying, and the plant remains there for when you return) Remember the more you know the more you can gather!

3. Spontaneous eating of wild foods or sampling of medicinals. This occurs when you are in the middle of some other activity like a company picnic for example. You cannot control yourself when you see some sort of wild delicacy and you indulge! This is great, especially when bosses, or unknown employees see you and your spouse has to explain that you have obsessive compulsive wild food consumption and collection disorder. Your excitement is enough to justify any weird looks of disapproval from others.

4. Going on a medicinal or wild foods quest for a single plant. This is sort of like gambling and may or may not be rewarding if you are hyper focused on the one plant. You go on a quest for the one plant that you know (or suspect you know) is in season for that region and habitat where you are looking. Say you are looking for huckleberries. If you do find them, they may not be at the harvest stage, or someone or something may have gotten there before you. A lot of disappointment can occur if you search for one plant to the exclusion of all others. You could come home short or with nothing at all. Not to mention the disappointment you have caused the other plants that you ignored that were calling out to you to be gathered.

Balance, Nature, & Your Home

Balance and Nature

Observing Nature's Cycles

Camping is very rejuvenating to me, not only is being out in nature healing, but the change of being outside and being aware earth’s sun and moon cycle is very uplifting. Being connected to this natural earth rhythm is a welcome change. If you can’t make it camping, you may want to try to rise and sleep with the sun or live without electricity for a weekend and then monitor how you feel. Eating the foods that are in season and locally grown also help you to get in tune with the earth. I believe it is good for our bodies to eat the in season foods, live with the seasons. When spring comes around I naturally get a sense that I want to start something new, I feel renewed, more alive.

Bringing the outdoors in

I like to create harmony in my home by making a smooth transition between my indoor and outdoor spaces. I also love the ocean so I have several shells I have found beach combing, along with my rock collection adding to my décor both inside and out. I have several indoor & outdoor plants. I like to put comfortable furniture outside, so in the morning I can sit and enjoy the fresh breeze. By making the outdoors more comfortable, I can easily sit and watch the wildlife, smell the fresh air, and enjoy the moon & stars at night. The more often I do this, especially when I lived at the coast, I found myself noticing the pull of the full moon on bodies of water, as well as feeling this in my body.

As I try to seek more balance in my life, I want to balance not just my role in life, but also the natural elements in my living space. Having natural elements in my home is good for my mind, body, and spirit, as well as it gives my home a good overall energy. Often when I have friends over they pick up my rocks or shells, it is like they can’t help but touch them. Inevitably, we always have a conversation about where they were found or about nature. I find most people really do not get enough nature in their lives. I find when I am more in tune with nature both in my home and outdoors my energy is more in sync and I feel an overall sense of balance and well being.

Tiger Lily Magic

If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy a lily- Chinese Proverb

As a child as far back as I can remember, as single tiger lily grew in the woods behind my house. I would wait with anticipation for the day that the tiger would emerge, a spot of orange against all green foliage. I dare not pick it, I knew even at 6 years old this flower was very special. I would hike up the steep embankment just so I could get close, I would just sit, starring at it's magnificent beauty. The lily made me feel like I was at a far away place, an exotic place, not simply behind my house. I felt like I was in a dream. I left the place feeling like I just found a treasure that no one else knew about, a spring in my step, a rush, a mischievous smile ( I know something you don't) Yes magic, that is what it is. Every year I would go back to say hi to my friend. Sadly, the woods are gone but the Tiger Lily will always live in my heart and memory.

Tiger lily symbolizes passion "my love knows no bounds"

Ocean Spray's Uses

Ocean Spray Holodiscus discolor

This lovely plant is native to the Pacific Northwest. It sways in the wind and as it moves it truly reminds you of the ocean spray. A member of the Rose Family I feel a deep connection to this plant. The blooms are really beautiful this time of year. Although you would not normally associate this tall shrub with other roses, Darcey's blog and Kiva's blog posts about wild roses got me to thinking about this plant again. You may not recognize this plant when it's not in bloom. I Makes a nice garden border plant because it gets very tall. The coast is my home away from home, I had the opportunity to live there a few years back until lack of jobs and money forced us to move. Now it is only a 2 hour drive from my house so I enjoy frequent day and weekend trips.

The benefits of the flower essence of this plant are interesting.

Medicinal, Food & Wildlife Qualities Of The Flower Essence of Ocean Spray

Symptom

Covering over deep grief and taking care of daily life as if everything is fine. This may be such an ingrained way of being that you don't even realize you are doing it. Deep skin issues, like eczema, or respiratory problems can be an indicator that this essence would be helpful.

Action

Ocean spray Flower Essence allows old grief and sorrow to surface and be released. Supports living in your own jubilant Presence.

Henriette has some real nice posts about flower essences on her blog including how to make them, they are very simple to make! Check out her link below

http://www.henriettesherbal.com/blog/index.php?s=flower+essence&submit=Search

reference: http://www.treefrogfarm.com/floweressences/oceanspray.html

Native Americans Found this herb useful in many ways.

Medicinally the Lumi tribe of Washington used Ocean spray blossoms used for diarrhea, Infusion of inner bark used as an eyewash, poultice of leaves applied to sore lips, poultice of leaves applied to sore feet.

Makah used a decoction of bark taken as a tonic by convalescents and athletes.

Chehalis used an
infusion of seeds taken for smallpox, black measles and chicken pox.

Navajo, Ramah used a
Decoction of leaves taken for influenza.

Okanagan-Colville use the
bark dried, powdered, mixed with Vaseline and used on burns as a dressing.

Sanpoil use the
powder of dried leaves used for sores.

Squaxin used the
seeds as a blood purifier.

Many other tribes made uses of the hard fire resistant wood. The branches were used as tongs, to make arrows, fishing hooks, drum hoops, digging sticks, toys for children, teepee post holders, bows for children and more.

Resource:

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=HODI

A Few False Lily of the Valley

False lily of the Valley Maianthemum dilatatum

False Solomon's seal is a perennial. It grows from rhizomes, it will take over your yard if you let it.

Native Americans ate the young greens, fleshy rhizomes, and the ripe berries of this plant. The rhizomes were cooked after being soaked to get rid of their disagreeable taste. The rhizomes were also utilized as a poultice, and brewed to make a tea to treat rheumatism, sore back, and kidney ailments. The berries were eaten raw, though they do not taste very good. I have also read that the smoke from the leaves was inhaled for head aches. I don't think it has modern uses, I have read conflicting info on these plants and some say they are toxic. I have not spent a lot of time studying these plants, I think they are simply beautiful and a wonderful addition to the woods out here in the Pacific Northwest.

False Solomon's seal is so named because its leaf stalk resembles that of Solomon's seal (Polygonatum multiflorum). However, Solomon's seal has bell-shaped flowers hanging individually along the leaf stalk. Solomon's seal is thought to have gotten its name either from markings on the rhizomes resembling a 6-pointed star, or from the hanging flowers resembling a seal on a document.

Feathery False Lily of the Valley or Feathery False Soloman's seal (top)
Feathery False Solomon's seal. Flower's are on top. The berries are edible, but bitter. It is called false as it has none of the medicinal properties of the eastern Solomon's seal. It did have uses to the Native Americans in this region (Pacific Northwest) but as far as I know it is not used in modern herbalism. I plan on doing more research on these plants just to get to know them, they sure are beautiful!

On my way to the Sandy River her in Oregon there are cliffs that border the road. The Feathery False Solomon's seal hangs from them with it's beautiful flowers, often surrounded by moss and ferns. The smaller False Lily of the Vally is common along the rivers edge.

Resource http://nature.berkeley.edu/comtf/html/host_of_the_month_archive.html

Ferns

My fascination with fiddlehead ferns began as a young child when my Mother told me stories of her collecting the young curly tops for food. For fun and tradition she had me do the same. Northwest tribes had many uses for plants most people now find so familiar, they often view them as a nuisance or as weeds. Most people tend to disregard these familiar plants or grow them in their gardens as ornamentals without any thought to their history or use.

Nearly every single bit of the sword fern plant was used by Pacific Northwest Native Americans. The rhizomes were peeled and baked in a pit, then served with fresh or dried salmon eggs; its leaves were used to line the baking pit, as well as for mattresses. The young leaves were chewed to soothe a sore throat. The Quinaults boiled the roots and washed their hair in the resultant water to cure dandruff. Lummi women chewed the new, curled leaves to hasten childbirth. Source Valerie Easton Native Times.

General Description: Fiddlehead ferns are new-growth fronds, usually of the ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris). The name “fiddlehead” refers to any unfurled fern, not to a particular variety, because of their resemblance to the scroll of a violin (or fiddle) head. Fiddleheads taste like asparagus combined with artichoke. Note that fiddlehead ferns should be consumed very young and in limited quantities, because of risks that they are carcinogenic. They must be cooked before eating to remove bitterness and minimize gastric problems.

Season: The fiddlehead fern season lasts about 2 weeks in any locale, starting in early April in the South through late July in Canada.

Purchase: Choose fiddleheads that are bright jade green, springy, and firm.

Avoid: Avoid fiddleheads with excessive fuzzy brown scales. Any scales should not be at all blackened.

Storage: Fiddleheads do not keep well. They should be wrapped in plastic, refrigerated, and eaten within 2 days.

Preparation:

1. Trim the base of each fiddlehead, leaving only a small tail protruding beyond the curled section.
2. Rub off any brown scales with your hands.
3. Rinse well.
4. Boil in salted water 3 to 5 minutes. If desired, add a pinch of baking soda to the cooking water to soften them and brighten their color.

Serving Suggestions: Toss with butter and chopped herbs. Cool and toss at the last minute with mild vinaigrette. Treat like asparagus: drizzle with lemon butter, cheese sauce, or hollandaise. Toss with soy sauce and sesame seeds.

Flavor Affinities: Asparagus, butter, lemon, morel mushrooms, new potatoes, salmon, watercress
Source www.chow.com

A word of caution about preparing fiddleheads for consumption. You should boil or steam them for at least 10 minutes. Don't confuse the ostrich fern with the bracken fern, a poisonous plant scientists believe is carcinogenic. The two species look alike from a distance, and their fiddleheads are similar. An easy way to tell the two species apart is to look at them when they're mature. The bracken fern's leaves have branches. The ostrich fern's leaves have no branches, have a single stem, and emerge from the ground as though they are in a vase.

The ostrich fern is a cheap and easy way to add beauty to your garden. They require little maintenance, but plenty of water.

Shrimp and Fiddlehead Medley

1 pound fiddleheads
6 ounces linguine, uncooked
6 cups water
1-3/4 pounds Maine shrimp, fresh or frozen
1 teaspoon margarine
2/3 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, diced
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon celery seed
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Cut off ends of fiddleheads. Remove scales and wash thoroughly. Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan; add shrimp and cook three to five minutes, or until done. Drain well, and set aside. Cook fiddleheads in boiling water for ten minutes. Drain. Coat a large, nonstick skillet with cooking spray; add margarine. Heat until margarine melts. Add onion and green pepper and saut� until crisp-tender. Stir in fiddleheads. Meanwhile, cook pasta as directed, without salt or oil. Drain well, set aside and keep warm.

Add sliced mushrooms, thyme, pepper, salt and celery seeds to vegetable mixture; stir well. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat three to four minutes or until mushrooms are tender, stirring often. Stir in shrimp and lemon juice; cook until heated through, stirring often.

Place pasta on a large platter. Spoon shrimp mixture on top. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

For more recipes: Reference http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/4198.htm

I'm Back Oregon adventure

3 days away from the computer, hate to say it but loved it! Went from this (picture left)- Multnomah falls on the Columbia River Gorge near where I grew up to (pic top) Crooked River in Prineville Central Oregon 2 hours drive away. Completely different climates. Prineville is very dry. Troutdale is windy and moist. Alot more diverse plants in Troutdale, but Prineville has some new friends that I plan on finding, you won't find cattails, sage brush or Junipers in Troutdale, along with a lot more plants I plan on getting to know in Prineville this summer. I took some pictures of plants near the Gorge that I plan on identifying, look for those in my next blog post!