3 square Montana meals

Today I did pretty well eating food made in in Montana.

Breakfast

Here you see a Trevino's tortilla (made in Billings), topped with Tillamook cheese (made in Oregon; at least that's still in the West), tomatoes (raised in the USA . . . somewhere), cilantro (ditto), bits of avocado (from California), and salsa created for the Crazy Woman Trading Co. in Big Timber but made in Texas.

Snack

The Crazy Bean is a great place to stop in when you're visiting Big Timber. I love their decaf coffee (from Rocky Mountain Roasting in Bozeman). And the baked goods . . . well, let's just say the new owners, Sandy (pictured) and her husband Andre (the baker), often get asked: "Do you have any cinnamon rolls today?" Quite often they do (as well as butterhorns [pictured], nutty caramel rolls, and miscellaneous cookies with varying degrees of intense chocolate flavor) -- but if you get there too late, you'll certainly remember to get there earlier next time!

Dinner (the local term for lunch)

I read a lot of vegan blogs and while not vegan myself, or even vegetarian, I don't eat a lot of meat, and I appreciate the fact that I don't have to stare at daily photos of meat congealing on plates. But we're in Montana now, and meat has a big place in the economy as well as on the table.

The local meat sold in in my town has been raised naturally and with an aim to making sure the cows are well taken care of. In a future entry, I'll write about a visit to Indreland Ranch, where this meal's sirloin steak comes from. I want to understand better how beef cows are raised.

Next to the steak are the wild asparagus I picked a few days ago, and a potato from Joilet, both roasted in Montola oil (made in Culbertson; although the company may be out of business now). They are lightly sprinkled with Sagebrush Sandy's Seasoning (made in Toston). The condiment is Harold's Hot Mustard (made in Absarokee). This one is my favorite, Sweet Onion, but they have several unusual flavors.

Supper

You'll notice I ate a tortilla in the morning and cereal in the evening. Why not? Montana is full of rugged individualists, and I guess I am now one of them!

This delicious all-organic granola comes from the farmers market in Ennis. There were two sizes. The larger size came with cranberries, but I had to add some fruit to the small size I bought. Luckily, I had a few dried cherries left. These come from The Orchard at Flathead Lake, and I can tell you, they are wonderful eaten straight from the bag.

When I am in Billings, I buy Lifeline Farm milk (from Victor), but I haven't been there for a while, so today it was whatever they sell at the IGA.

So that's it for today. Although I feel like I need another snack, so maybe an apple . . . from Washington State.