BBQ with Grampa

Hullo... Chef Sandy here... we are having another barbeque... because it's summer you know... on the menu today we have...

Sandy's world-famous Rosemary-Chicken, slow-grilled to mouth-watering perfection. Guaranteed to please the palate of any bear, dog or fox... ahem...

We also have pan-fried potatoes...

Cucumber salad... made with cucumbers and dill from the garden.

And cabbage salad... made with cabbages and carrots from the garden...

 Oh wait... was I supposed to give a drool warning at the start of this blog post... oops... OK... this is your official, belated drool warning...

Grampa thinks it looks delicious.

There we go... what do you think??? Dinner anyone?

Otto in his Element

Look!!! It's Otto!!! He came for a visit... Cool! I decided to take....

... Otto... err... Otto? Where are you going? "In the water. I'm a river otter and I have missed the river so much!!"

Well, yes, that's right... I took Otto to the cool blue swimming at the river because... well...

... there he goes... into the water...

Ummm... how long do otters stay underwater??

I know they can swim pretty far and fast underwater but...

 Should I go in after him??

 Wait a minute... do you see that big rock in the distance? In the middle of the river?

I think... yes... could it be? I think that is Otto!!!

Whew... good thing... because this little bear is not a great swimmer!

Hi Otto!!! Hmmm.... looks like he's having fun... I'm going to lie down...

Ahhh... I hope otters don't shake themselves like dogs do!!

Nope... otters are beary well-behaved. Time for some sun tanning...

Visitor(s)?

Hullo!! We are down at the ferry terminal because Mama says we are getting a visitor today... cool!

I wonder who is coming??

Could it be Rose? Or Otto? Or Little Fox (he is away from home right now you know)? Or maybe Jerry and Ben???

Let's go to the terminal and meet our visitor!

I wish the ferry would hurry up... the suspense is killing me!

Here we go... I know it says Departures... but it's really all just one big room...

Anybody familiar? See any stuffies???

Ohhhh!!! It's Auntie Pam!!! Ok... but where's her sidekick? Where's Rose???

Rose??? Are you in there??? Otto??? Anybody??

Stay tuned...

Cool Blue River Swimming

Ahhhh... the lazy, hazy days of summer... lying on the beach, sipping an iced hot chocolate. That would be bliss! Well... I have the first part of that OK.

Today, I dragged the humans down to the local river  where there a tonne of cool, deep swimming holes. It was beary hot out and we have been working hard in the garden... I, of course, have been supervising, which is the hardest job of all.

Isn't it beautiful?? There are apparently salmon in there too... must get myself a scuba outfit or something so I can be the bear who Swims with Salmon!

 Some humans were jumping off that bridge into the water... not this little bear!

Soooo nice... do you have a swimming hole where you are?

Mail!

Hullo! Sandy Bear here reporting from the back of Spooky!

I received a beautiful post card from Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. At first... I thought it might be from Little Fox because he was in Utah a while ago. You know how mail can get delayed at the border nowadays. But... it's not from Little Fox!

It was from Ajdin the Bear! Ajdin has been beary busy of late and clearly it's because he has been travelling! Must be nice... thanks Ajdin!

Oh... my new outfit??? Well... yes... its a new outfit!! I wasn't sure if orange and green were my colours... or even if they went together but... apparently they do! Now... if only my humans would mow the lawn just perfectly, I could go out there and practice my putting!

Whirlwind Garden Update

Uh... hello... I have been beary busy harvesting stuff in the garden. My goodness... things are ripening beary quickly!! So, Chef Sandy needs to get to work and process some of this bounty.

First up... some hummus...

Well... no... we don't grow chickpeas but... we had taken some out of the freezer so needed to make the hummus! But stay tuned for a different version of hummus.

Our raspberries are going totally wild...

So I need to freeze these on the cookie sheets...

That way they won't be a big lump in the ziploc bags...

These 2 trays of cookie sheets are already done...

This year we tried broad beans...

We had no idea what to do with them but...

One recipe said try broad bean hummus! So we cooked them for about 5 minutes... and then let them cool...

Also harvested some peas... last year we put them in the freezer without blanching. Cause some internet site said that would be good. NOT! This time, we blanched them for 1.5 minutes... and then froze them. Much better...

And we have two heads of green cabbage!!! One head is going to make coleslaw... and one is going to make cabbage rolls... more on that later.

We shucked the broad beans and whizzed them up in the food processor...

Added the usual hummus additives... tahini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil. It actually tastes quite yummy but with a different flavour than regular hummus. I am pooped!!