Friday, February 26, 2016

Zucchini Potato Pancakes




Ingredients:
3 medium potatoes peeled
1 medium zucchini
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs beaten
1/4 cup finely diced onion
oil for frying

Shred potatoes and zucchini. Sift flour and salt together. Combine all ingredients together until well blended. Heat oil in skillet. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out pancake mixture and flatten in pan. Cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes on each side. Serve warm with yogurt, syrup or fruit.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Birds and Bobcats Update

Here's an update to a couple recent posts. The Great Backyard Bird Count was a tremendous success and it continues to grow every year. As of Sunday, 5,445 individual species had been recorded from across the globe. This is over 50 percent of the known bird species and 353 more species than were reported last year. The United States ranked first with the number of checklists (126,611) and India ranked first in number of species with 735 identified on 7,118 checklists (third). The United States ranked third in number of species with 663 being logged. Second in checklists was Canada with 13,225 and Mexico came in second with number of species (692). Although the final results won't be available for a few weeks, you can check out the numbers recorded to date at http://ebird.org/.

Sadly, the news on the proposed New Hampshire bobcat hunt, which I wrote about on February 1st is not positive. On February 17th, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Commission voted 5-4 in favor of allowing a hunt. In spite of hearing testimony from hundreds of New Hampshire citizens, including hunters, conservationists and scientist, who provided reasons why New Hampshire should not reinstate a bobcat season; and, in spite of receiving over 5000 letters, mostly in opposition to the hunt, the majority of the commissioners held firm their resolve to allow a lottery for hunting and trapping licenses beginning this December. I commend the commissioners who heard the reasons to maintain the ban on hunting and trapping bobcats in New Hampshire and who  responded accordingly by voting against opening the bobcat season: Fred Clews, Jr.-Seacoast; Vincent Greco-Merrimack County; John McGonagle-Belknap County and James Ryan-Rockingham County.

March 2016 Update: The hearing by the NH Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules is scheduled for April 1st, 9:00 AM. If you would like to voice your opposition, attend the hearing or send an e-mail to cheryl.walsh@leg.state.nh.us.

Friday, February 19, 2016

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Quinoa





I went to the farmers market looking for something for dinner and found this Acorn squash. I then googled for a recipe and found this one from another blog Marin Mama Cooks and adjusted it only slightly by adding a combination of raisins and dried cranberries. It is simple to make and serves as a a complete meal.

Ingredients:
2 medium acorn squash cut in half and seeds removed
1 cup quinoa
1 2/3 cup water
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup raisins or dried cranberry
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup fresh parsley or sprouts of your choice
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
-Cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds and brush with olive oil. Cook, flesh side down on a cookie sheet at 425 degrees, until done, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Cook quinoa in water and salt until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Let sit with cover on. Heat one Tablespoon olive oil in pan and toast almonds over medium heat about 2 minutes. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stuff into acorn halves. Bake at 350 degrees about 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle some additional feta and parsley or sprouts on top and serve.




Saturday, February 13, 2016

A Frigid Weekend for The Great Backyard Bird Count

February 13 - One word describes the weather this weekend - COLD. This probably explains why there were not many birds to record during my first day participating in the 2016 Backyard Bird Count. The event runs for four days and started Friday, February 12. Although not high in numbers, I still spotted  eleven different species: Mourning Dove, Tufted Titmouse, Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Dark-eyed Junco, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow, and Cardinal. Usually Juncos are ground feeders, but the one in the picture below preferred being up on the feeder.


Mourning Dove


Downy Woodpecker (f)
Dark-eyed Junco


Female Cardinal
The weather forecast for Sunday is only supposed to be a high of 8 degrees, so we'll see weather the birds brave the cold. I will edit this blog, with updates from Sunday and Monday. If you have fifteen minutes to spare, find a comfortable spot to watch birds and then log your sightings at http://gbbc.birdcount.org/. It's fun and you'll be contributing to scientific research as well.

February 14 - Well the cold weather did not dissuade the birds from coming to the feeder this morning when it was a negative ten degrees. I thought that they might have stayed huddled in the woods, but perhaps they needed the extra calories to stay warm. I did not see any new species, but the number spotted of each species was more than yesterday. At one point there were 18 house sparrows.

House Sparrow with feathers fluffed to stay warm.

Chickadees
Tufted Titmouse

Red-bellied Woodpecker
Goldfinches
I know he's not a bird, but it seems like this guy should count for something.








 

Monday, February 8, 2016

2016 NOFA Winter Conference

The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire (NOFA-NH) put on another great winter conference January 30th in Concord. It is such a great time of year to attend workshops related to the production of food from harvesting wild greens and mushrooms to GMO labeling legislation. Whether you are a backyard gardener or a commercial farmer, you are surrounded by a support network of like-minded folks, looking for ways to live and work sustainably.


Wild Plants I Have Known...and Eaten - by Russ Cohen - front cover of bookAfter Russ Cohen (above), environmental steward, educator and author of  Wild Plants I Have Known...and Eaten, gave a talk on edible native plants, he treated the class to locally harvested nuts and homemade baked goods. The list of wild edibles is extensive and it's exciting to know that there is a smorgasbord of greens, fruits and nuts available for feasting around most people's homes.

Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares To continue the theme of wild foraging, I followed Russ Cohen's presentation with a session titled "Chasing Wild Mushrooms: Foraging and Preparing Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms" by Greg Marley. Although I will always be hesitant to pick and eat wild mushrooms, Greg's talk and his book that I purchased Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares: The Love, Lore and Mystic of Mushrooms have opened up my mind to appreciate the complex and amazing characteristics of fungi in the environment.

One of the great features of the NOFA winter conference, is the book fair sponsored by Main Street BookEnds of Warner. I had no trouble filling up free time between sessions, browsing the tables of the various vendors, including the huge display of "green" books. At the end of the day my mind was filled with ideas of what to to plant once the snow has melted, which should be soon according to the caretakers of Punxsutawney Phil.
 

Monday, February 1, 2016

New Hampshire Fish and Game Holds Public Hearing on Proposed Bobcat Season


If you live in New Hampshire and are a member of the hunting community or just appreciate wildlife, you are probably aware of the proposal to open up a hunting and trapping season for bobcats in this state for the first time since 1989, when bobcat hunting ceased due to population concerns. According to the NH Fish and Game (NHFG) website, the current bobcat population in 2014 was estimated at 1400 breeding adults.  In 2009, NHFG partnered with the University of New Hampshire (UNH) to conduct a five year study on the bobcat populations in New Hampshire. A status report was provided to the NHFG Commission in January, 2015 and shortly after that a proposal was initiated to allow a hunting and trapping season to begin in 2016. Dave and I attended the first of two public hearings on this proposal which was held at the State House in Concord. A second hearing will be held Tuesday, February 2nd in Lancaster.

New Hampshire Fish and Game Commissioners await the beginning of the hearing on a proposed bobcat hunting season

When we arrived, the opponents of the proposal were prevalent, passing out stickers and lanyards opposing the hunt.  By the start of the hearing, the House of Representatives Hall was full with dozens of people signed up to speak. At first it seemed like there were no supporters of the proposal, but eventually, hunters and trappers in favor presented their views. Although, in the minority, some points mentioned in favor of a hunting season were that it helps manage the population by providing valuable information to NHFG on the health of a species; the population has rebounded and can support a hunt; there are already enough predator species in the state; and it's the NHFG Commission's duty to support the hunting community.

I do not come from a family of hunters. My love and appreciation of wildlife was gained from the time spent outdoors as a child and seeing wildlife up close in the woods, a field or next to a pond. I believe that if wildlife are allowed the space that their species requires, most populations would thrive on their own, without human intervention. But that is not the case, as human populations have spread, so too have roads and the destruction of natural habitats to make room for houses, businesses and factories. In turn, animals have been hunted, not just for food, but for nuisance control, profit and plain sport. History has shown that without control, humans will hunt animals to extinction (don't forget the passenger pigeon or the great auk.) Not only have we lost entire species, but we are only beginning to learn the intricate connections that all wildlife have on the health of ecosystems as a whole and how disrupting one, can have cascading impacts on numerous species.

As far as the bobcat is concerned, the arguments given against the NHFG proposal, from elementary school children, to wildlife biologists with PhD's, many hunters themselves, were far more convincing than those in favor: The bobcat is still recovering in New Hampshire; they are not a nuisance to the general population; as a predator species, they will self-regulate their own population; and,  managing the season will cost an already financially strapped state agency over $10,000 annually. I hope that the Commission responds appropriately after considering all facts and opinions. If you would like to read further information on the hunting proposal, including how to submit comments go to http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/wildlife/bobcat-season-proposal.html.

The elusive bobcat spotted recently in our back yard.