DAY THREE: TROUBLE ON EARTH DAY BOOK TOUR (CASHEW MUSHROOM LOAF)

Welcome to the third day of the

 

TROUBLE ON EARTH DAY BOOK TOUR

 

In this delightful forty-six page book Shelby Squirrel learns to rethink, reuse, and recycle our Earth’s precious resources. She meets a distressed, homeless bluebird in need of a friend. See how Shelby uses her newfound knowledge to bring singing back to the forest.

Celebrate Earth Day and join me in exploring what squirrels eat. After all, Shelby must stay strong to make an impact and do her part in saving the earth.

 

Squirrels eat almost anything but they certainly have preferences. They prefer fruit, nuts, insects and fungi.

In the fall squirrels eat more than usual to get fat, which provides both warmth and energy.

Squirrels have a strong sense of smell and can dig out their stored foods from beneath snow drifts. They don’t find all the nuts they bury, so in the spring new trees sprout up. Therefore, in addition to being cute and fun to watch and an introduction to interest children in wildlife, squirrels help spread new trees, which is an important ecological benefit. Thank you squirrels.

Squirrels are primarily vegetarians but when times get tough they will eat bird eggs and snails. They never eat anything bigger than themselves so coyotes and wolves are safe.

Here’s a dish you and Shelby Squirrel would love to eat. It has nuts and mushrooms in a flavorful vegetarian meatloaf. It is so tasty that you will not miss the meat. Shelby wouldn’t.

Recipe from Vegetarian Kitchen by Sarah Brown

Cashew Mushroom Loaf Recipe                               serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

8 ounces cashew nuts

4 ounces fresh bread crumbs

3 medium parsnips, cooked and mashed

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon nutritional yeast (optional)

1/2 cup hot water

Salt and pepper

2 Tablespoons butter

8 ounces mushrooms, chopped

Method

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
  
  
• Heat the oil and fry the onion and garlic until soft. Grind the cashew nuts, then mix with the breadcrumbs.

• Mix in the mashed parsnips, rosemary, and thyme. Add the onion, being sure to scrape all the juices into the mixture.

• Dissolve the yeast in the water and mix into the vegetable nut mixture. Season well.

• Melt the butter in a skillet and fry the chopped mushrooms until soft. Grease a 2-pound loaf pan, then press in half the nut mixture. Cover with a layer of mushrooms and top with the rest of the nut mixture.

• Press down well. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. When cooked, remove the pan and let stand for 10 minutes before turning onto a plate.
•  Serve hot or cold. Slice loaf to serve. Serve with vegetables or a crisp green salad.
  
  Yield: 6 to 8 servings depending on how you slice it. But no matter how you slice it you have some good groceries here, Shelby would love it too.
  

Trouble on Earth Day Book Tour

Celebrate Earth Day with Pictures First day of book tour for Trouble on Earth Day http://susannedrazic.blogspot.com/2012/03/celebrate-earth-day-with-pictures.html

 

Please Visit the Second Day of my book Tour  for Trouble on Earth Day http://barbarabockman.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/review-of-kathy-stemkes-pb-trouble-on-earth-day/

 

Visit third day of Trouble on Earth Day Book Tour:

http://gritsandgroceries.blogspot.com

 

Trouble on Earth Day is available at a discounted price on my blog: http://educationtipster.blogspot.com and through Amazon, B & N, and other online stores.

 

Sh Sh Sh Let the Baby Sleep is available through the publisher, http://guardianangelpublishing.com/shshsh.htm and through Amazon, B & N, and other online stores.

   

As a freelance writer and ghostwriter, Kathy Stemke has published over one hundred of articles in directories, magazines and on websites. She is a reviewer for Sylvan Dell Publishing and a former editor for The National Writing for Children Center. As a retired teacher, Kathy has several activities published with Gryphon House Publishing. Stemke is also part of the team at DKV Writing 4 U, a writing services company that includes ghostwriting, copywriting, editing, proofreading, critiquing, and resumes.  http://www.dkvwriting4u.com

Award winning author, Kathy Stemke’s first children’s picture book, Moving Through All Seven Days, was published on Lulu. Her next two picture books, Sh, Sh, Sh Let the Baby Sleep, and Trouble on Earth Day were released in 2011. Both of these books have been awarded the Children’s Literary Classics Seal of Approval.  Visit her book blog at http://shshshletthebabysleep.blogspot.com

 

Mrs.Stemke offers great teaching tips and children’s book reviews as well as a monthly newsletter titled, MOVEMENT AND RHYTHM, on her blog. http://educationtipster.blogspot.com

 

Throughout the book tour visitors will be asked to send their best EARTH photo to dancekam1@yahoo.com to be displayed on the last day of the tour. A winner will be selected and awarded a $10 gift card.