A special meal for the mice

I think we need to make our mice a nice dinner. 
"Cheese sandwich" Little Bear said.

"No, how about cheese sandwich and cheddar broccoli soup?" Baxter mentioned.

"Nope, too cliche, Cocoa and Navy would probably like something non-cheese related.  How about something from the Northwest?"

All three mentioned]SALMON at the same time.

First up, I need to make sure there are no food allergies.  
Navy, Cocoa can you both have stuffed salmon?

Yes, they said as they were drooling....perhaps a cheese course two?

Navy and Cocoa wanted to get in on the action so they could take this recipe back home to Sandy and his crew.  Pro tip, call the gang at Northern Seafood in Tacoma and have them ship it off to you.

The fish is done LIttle Bear says but you all must wait till it cools.

Allright, can we eat now?  

Editors note:  You might have noticed two stuffed salmons and one picture of Navy and Cocoa.  Don't worry readers Navy and Cocoa each got their own plates but the camera could not get both in the same shot. 

 

An extremely important project part 3....more waiting.

 Hello Blog World,
My Spring project is moving along nicely.  The sunflower seeds my pal Little Bear and I planted in honor of the people of Ukraine is slowly progressing. 

As you can see  the seeds are turning into little plants.   The name of this game is patience.... 

The eternal question with Drunk Fox.

 Hello Blog World,
Drunk Fox here. I am in charge of the blog this week as Little Fox is out and about.  I wanted to show off my favorite hot chocolate mug.  Isn't it cool?  A fox giving a gift to a rabbit.

Wait a minute!  Is the fox giving the gift to the rabbit or is the rabbit giving the gift to the fox?  

Let me assemble my team. 

We are divided.  Looks like sides are forming.  Little Bear and Big Bear are choosing the side that thinks the rabbit is giving the fox the gift.  My side believes the fox is giving the rabbit the gift. 

It looks all like the bears are sticking together on this one.  You can even see that I lost a supporter.  The little bear (no, not Little Bear) switched sides.  Team Bears vs. Team Other Animals.

It's a tie!  Four to four.  I think we all need to step away from this debate, I can see a look in  Wolfy's eyes that he's ready to take this debate to the next level.

Time to practice diplomacy fox style.  I will brew up some hot chocolate and get some peppermint sticks to redirect our attention.

Snow day

 A mid-February snowstorm.

Stuffy Class: How to be a neighborhoodologist with Little Bear.

Hiya everyone!

  Little Fox here and this weeks stuffy class is taught by one of my close pals, Little Bear.  

I think we can agree that Little Bear might be a distant cousin of Jerry, Ben or Sandy.  

Little Bear is going to teach us about exploring our neighborhoods.  Time for me to enjoy my Tortilla Espanola (Spanish potato omelette).

----------

Welcome to my stuffy class.  

My name is Little Bear and I am a certified neighborhoodologist.  What is an neighborhoodologist?  We are specialists in neighborhoods.

One of the highlights of my neighborhood is our park.  It's a popular place.  There is a micro sledding hill, playground equipment and basketball courts.

One of my favorite places in the park is our little library.  This bear is a big fan of libraries.....really where else can you walk in and take a ton of books, movies, and other random things (like a food dehydrator) for free??  Of course you have to bring them back.....but still. 

My little library is not being serviced because of Covid 19.

Instructions in English and Spanish.  

The next place to explore is a place dear to my heart.  Before moving in with the roommates I used to work and live at this coffee shop.  It's a great place to enjoy a nice warm drink on a rainy day.  Favorite cold weather drink....cafe mocha.  I also recommend anything from the Starbucks bakery.

What about warm weather drinks?  Yes, Starbucks makes good warm weather drinks but being a neighborhoodologist I like to see what else my hood has to offer.  Dairy Queen is a good place for a warm weather treat.  Do you have DQ where you live?

Today's weather is 88 and DQ is doing a good business.  Does this little bear want to wait in this line for his favorite treat?

I think the line will move fast.  This bear is signing off from the blog.  What's that you ask, what am I getting?  Midnight Truffle Blizzard (it's on the secret menu) and I will get my pal Sequoia a pup cup (vanilla sundae, peanut butter, and two milk bone dog biscuits).

Little Bear signing off.

Recipe #1. Cake

 Hello Blog Pals!
Welcome to my recipe contest entry #1.  This entry is from my close friend, Little Bear.  Little Bear might be a cousin of Sandy's, Jerry and Ben but we're not 100% sure.  Little Bear loves coffee, anything Starbucks related, and is a guest judge at the International Chocolate Competition.  He shared a recipe for a chocolate cake with a cup of coffee in it, a box of pudding, and special cake flour.

I like Little Bear's thinking, start with dessert (hmm, maybe he is related to Jerry?)

Step 1, preheat oven. 

Step 2, grease the pan. 

Time to get supplies.  Oh my, Godiva pudding.  This should be good. 

 Premium applesauce and cake flour.  I wonder if the applesauce is going in the cake? 

Tools of the trade:  Cooking spray, baking soda, baking powder.

 A strong cup of coffee goes in this recipe. 

Greek yogurt? Huh, what is Little Bear up to? 

Ready to go into the oven. Now I just have to wait. 

Isn't it funny how a fresh cake from the oven can bring all of your friends out for a visit. Big Bear, Drunk Fox, Lightning, Reindeer, Kermit the Frog, and Wolfy all make it out for the final product.  Little Bear informed the gang this is a low fat/lower calorie cake.  Hmm, who would have guessed?

Help! AKA a recipe contest for Stuffies

Hello Friends!

Little Fox here.   I am in a quandary. Please help!!!!!

My new friends Wolfy and Red are coming over and I have no idea what to serve them.  Red and Wolfy are new to the house and I want to be hospitable to them.  I asked around and Drunk Fox was no help.  He suggested making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  I think I will pass on that.

Little Bear suggested serving hot chocolate.  I think I need something more complex than hot chocolate.

My first guest is Wolfy.  Being a wolf he eats ANYTHING.   Wolfy spent most of his life exploring his two passions.  Wandering the woods of Oregon with his pack and working for the WWF (not the wrestling organization from the 80s and 90s) but the World Wildlife Foundation.   He has decided to slow down and heard that he could retire at my roommates place and he is excited to start this new chapter in his life.

My other friend is named Red and Red is a Black Rabbit.  He is one of the few meat eating rabbits I know.  

Red is from a winery in Oregon and has his own wine (it's called Black Rabbit Red).

Besides a winery at McMenamins Edgefield they also have a fancy restaurant there called Black Rabbit.   It has two $$ on yelp so it’s fancy and expensive,

I think I need to step up my game in the kitchen if Red is coming over.

Little Bear and Drunk Fox really want this dinner to be successful so they have offered prizes and told me to make it a contest.  So, what are the rules?  Well, there are no rules (except one recipe per stuffy).   The last contest my roommates were cooking for months (but were well fed).

Argh!  I need some help.  Stuffy friends can you send me your favorite recipe my way for my dinner.  

Thanks for submitting a recipe.  Be sure to keep an eye on the blog for your recipe cooked by me for my friends Wolfy and Red (OK, Little Bear and Drunk Fox will be joining us as well).  

Oh, by the way there is an extra prize category if any stuffy can find a decent recipe that involves the Diet Hot Chocolate that Little Bear brought with hm.

The last day for submission is April 25 .  Feel free to post the recipes in the comments or send them to me at lfox97123@gmail.com

Air Show Party

Hi Friends,
Drunk Fox here.  The airshow is in town and I live on the flightpath so my backyard has a front row seat.  I decided to throw a party together at the last minute.  Let's see what I have in the kitchen.  Uh, yes, Droopy be aware this post should have a Drool Alert posted.

What a great day for the air show.  The sun is out, the table is clear, what more could a fox ask for?

Sequoia wanted to come out.  He sniffed around then decided to rest.

Every good party has to have food.  Let's see what I have in my kitchen.  Ah yes, Peanut Butter and Jelly - that will do.

Hmm, I better get some chips too.  Just in case my stuffy friends want something else. 

I was reading a Martha Stewart blog earlier today about how to throw a good party and she said drinks are important at any party. 

Let's see: Coffee, Sparkling Cider, and Ginger Beer (don't worry gang, it's Non-Alcoholic). 

Little Bear and unnamed Otter are my first guests. Looks like Little Bear is going to double fist the coffee and ginger beer.  That's an odd combination.

Big Bear decided to show up.  Big Bear is taking flying lessons so he was beary interested in attending my party.

Perhaps a little pre-airshow entertainment.  The Martha Stewart Blog said to have some entertainment lined up.  I was able to book Kermit the Frog.  I hope that is acceptable. 

You know, it's odd.  I don't see Reindeer here and I was hoping that he would come. I know he wants me to be a better cook but I tell you I like my Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches.  I hope he comes to enjoy the party.

Ah yes, he made it!  Now we wait for the show to start. 

The Blue Angels didn't come this year but you have to admit they are pretty cool to watch.  Years ago the Canadian Snow Birds (the airplane group, not the Rver's coming to vacation) came to the show as well.

The F/A 18 did graze our cul-de-sac today as they were getting ready for their maneuvers at the air show. 

Final Results Recipe Contest

Hello Blog Pals,
This January I posted a recipe contest and got a lot of recipes from my friends Sandy, Jerry, Ben, and Ajdin.  My stuffy friends overwhelmed my kitchen staff with a ton of great recipes to make.  I got through most of them and I am saving the  recipes that are more "winter" based for next year being that it's May 7th today and I still haven't made it through all the recipes.

Here are the winners as judged by my expert team of judges.

Easiest preparation goes to Ben's party meatballs.  **Editor's note** if you use pre-made frozen meatballs this meal is even easier.  Drunk Fox also says this a great meal to enjoy with a beer, wine, something mixed from the bar.  This was a crowd favorite at the house.

You might notice there is not any dip visable for these party meatballs, that's because a certain fox who loves bar food (and shall remain nameless) could not get enough of the dip.  Time to restock.

Regional Favorite:  Congratulations are in order for Ajdin since his banana bread recipe won in the regional recipe category.  We are not sure what region banana bread come from but it was certainly a favorite for stuffies and humans alike.  Little Bear mentioned that the only way this could be better is with honey in it.  This was best when it was right out of the oven.  Great job Ajdin.

Stuffies waiting patiently for photo shoot to be over to devour this treat. 

Coolest named dish: Jake's special cranberry chicken wraps.  Big Bear chose this recipe for the coolest name, probably because it has the word "special" in it and he loves feta cheese.  Way to go Jake.

Jake, you should open a restaurant focusing in healthy California cuisine. 

Honorable mention: Ben's chocolate peppermint cookies.  These cookies were delicious.  The only thing that I would recommend is that the recipe would make more.  **Editor's note** this also wins in the honorable mention category because breaking the mints was beary therapeutic.

These were great and didn't last long at the house.  Humans and stuffies alike enjoyed this recipe. 

Little bears who live in cold climates seem to be dominating the recipe contest.  But Sandy wins the the budget category with his Bacon wrapped port tenderloin.  **Editors note** this is a budget meal because bacon and pork tenderloin are always on sale.  This also wins the category for stickiest paws with the apple juice and brown sugar sauce.

Kermit is very excited - good thing there was a bottle of wine to keep his steady. 

Regional Dish #2 also goes to Sandy for his spinach dip.  Reindeer appreciates the vegetarianness of this meal and Drunk Fox always likes a good appetizer/bar bite.  There were so many recipes to choose from we needed to add another category for regional dish. 

"Reindeer, would you like another wheat thin for this amazing dip?"

Judges Favorite:  The dish that won judges favorite was from....drumroll please....Chef Ben's pomegranate spinach salad with feta.  Everyone loved this dish.  Reindeer liked how you could make it vegetarian, drunk fox loved the chicken, and Little and Big Bear liked it because you could customize the salad to fit their needs (i.e. add smoked salmon or extra veggies or extra chicken).

Everyone loves a good salad.  Carnivores and vegetarians alike.

The panel of judges thanks everyone for their submissions.  If you are interested in the recipes I have attached all recipes from the 2016 contest here.  Now, I must get to the post office to send off the prizes for our winners.  Thanks again everyone!