I come from a long line of cat lovers; so it seemed quite natural to marry one when I fell in love with my beautiful girlfriend.\u00a0 Both of us believe with our hearts that cats deserve to go outside, so we have dealt with all the interesting antics of the small predators.\u00a0 For awhile, we even went as far as to install a cat door that gave them the freedom to go in and out as they pleased.\u00a0 Seemed easier than opening the door to let them in or out every 12 minutes.\u00a0 OK, maybe it wasn’t quite that often, but at times it sure seemed like it.<\/p>\n
We love our cats and all, and we do allow them outside.\u00a0 We also got just a wee bit tired of uninvited \u201cguests\u201d showing up in various corners of the house though.\u00a0 \u201cKen!!\u00a0 There’s a mouse in the compost again!!\u201d\u00a0 My wife would always dispatch me when \u201cthe one that got away\u201d was busy trying to score a free meal after escaping the jaws of one of our feline hunters.\u00a0 Then of course there were some birds… Oh, and you really haven’t lived until you’ve stepped in a pile of guts on the kitchen floor in the middle of the night.<\/p>\n
It took several years but finally, thank God, we came to our senses and boarded up the cat door.\u00a0 They still go outside and hunt, but they’re not allowed to bring in any take-out items they may have scored in Mother Nature’s garden.\u00a0 So now we still get the occasional mouse in the house, but it’s the kind we humans love to eat.\u00a0 This delicacy was first introduced to us by Mrs. Spoelma.<\/p>\n
God bless Mrs. Spoelma, the \u201cHollander\u201d (Michigan term for Dutch) lady who lived next door to us when we first moved to Muskegon.\u00a0 She and her husband were often outside cleaning up the yard, and we’d have many a conversation across the fence.\u00a0 That was 35 years ago (wow!!), and one couldn’t ask for nicer neighbors.<\/p>\n
When our daughter came into the world, she started bringing us food.\u00a0 Most often, she brought an odd mashed potato dish we’d never had before.\u00a0 \u201cThis is maus (pronounced \u2018mouse\u2019),\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cIt’s an old family recipe:\u00a0 mashed potatoes, kale, and barley.\u00a0 Oh and a little bit of onion, too.\u201d\u00a0 It was simply wonderful.\u00a0 Perfect food for a couple of tree huggers with a brand new baby.\u00a0 Free food is pretty doggoned perfect if you ask me; especially when it’s delicious.\u00a0 \u201cMaus\u201d is not merely wonderful as a side dish for meat and another vegetable, maybe even some gravy.\u00a0 It is especially yummy the following day, reheated with an over easy egg or two on top.\u00a0 MMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm.<\/p>\n
When I sat down to write this evening, I thought I’d go on the web and try to find a recipe that resembled this remarkable dish.\u00a0 No such luck.\u00a0 After many variations of the words potato, mashed, kale, barley, and Dutch, I found several interesting cooking ideas but nothing that resembled what our dear Mrs. Spoelma made.\u00a0 After a little trial and error, I think I’ve been able to replicate the flavor pretty closely.<\/p>\n
However, I feel it’s my duty to share the basics with you.\u00a0 I love to cook but I rarely follow any recipe exactly.\u00a0 Mouse is no exception; but without further ado here is a rudimentary description.\u00a0 Try this and alter the quantities of barley, kale, and onions to your liking next time.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 Maus:\u00a0 Delicious Mashed Potatoes, Kale, Barley and Onion<\/span><\/p>\n Ingredients:<\/p>\n Potatoes :\u00a0 enough to fill a 6 quart pot a bit more than halfway when diced<\/p>\n Barley:\u00a0 \u00bd cup hulled barley (pearled barley is OK but not as nutritious as hulled)<\/p>\n Kale:\u00a0 3 tightly packed cups, chopped<\/p>\n Onions:\u00a0 one large onion or 4 or 5 small onions, diced<\/p>\n \u00bd stick of salted butter<\/p>\n 1 cup of milk<\/p>\n salt to taste<\/p>\n Potatoes, barley, and kale will be cooked in separate pots.<\/p>\n Add more than enough water to the barley to cover, at least 2 inches higher than the barley.\u00a0 Boil the barley until tender, then drain, cover and set aside.<\/p>\n Add 1 cup water to the kale, and cover.\u00a0 Bring to boil, remove from heat after 2 or 3 minutes boiling.\u00a0 Toss the onions in with the kale and cover again, let that sit for about 5 minutes.\u00a0 The heat will cook the onions just enough.\u00a0 Drain, then set aside.<\/p>\n Wash and dice enough potatoes to fill a 6 quart pot a bit more than half way.\u00a0 (We leave the skins on.) Fill with water till the potatoes are barely covered, and boil until tender, drain.\u00a0\u00a0 Add butter and mash, adding milk and a dash or so of salt along the way.\u00a0\u00a0 When the potatoes are creamy, add barley, kale and onions to the potatoes and mash together until mixed thoroughly.<\/p>\n OK, you’re done!\u00a0 Now, don’t just stand there, it’s time to eat!!<\/p>\n Well, for this week’s cartoon, let’s go back to the rodent type mice…
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