A Jeanne in the Kitchen

Plums are a widely popular fruit, all over the world. They are also some of the oldest fruits in he world, along with olives and figs. They have been around since the Neolithic period.

Today, there are two main species of plums – one, the Prunus salcino, also known as Japanese plums, which actually originated in China 1000’s of years before being introduced to Japan; and the other, the Prunus domestica, which originated around the Caspian and Caucasus Mountains over 2,000 years ago. In China, plums were associated with wisdom, longevity, and resurrection, with records dating back to 479 B.C. Plums were even listed as foods in the Bible, being recognized as symbols of prosperity, abundance, and God’s blessing. Plums traveled to the west and to the rest of the world around the Middle ages, coming from Greece and Rome, most probably coming from the Crusaders and the spice traders. The Ancient Romans have been credited for introducing plums to the British Isles, while Alexander the Great was responsible for bringing them to The Mediterranean regions. Plums made their way to the Americas in the 1800’s via the Spanish missionaries. Today, there are many varieties of plums that can trace their origins back to these two original species of plums.

Plums are a member of the stone fruit family, or drupes, along with peaches, nectarines, cherries, apricots, mangoes, and olives, and many others. These summer fruits are often categorized as clingstone or freestone based on how the flesh separates from the pit.

Plums love the California climate, and grow very well in the Santa Clara Valley, known as Silicon Valley today. When plums first started taking over in Santa Clara Valley, the valley was then commonly called “The Valley of Heart’s Delight”, after the plums.

Though plums are enjoyed all over the world, China still ranks as the number one plum producer and consumer, with California coming in second. California produces over 100 varieties of plums and produces roughly 70% of the plums consumed in the United States. They are enjoyed in may different ways – dried (prunes), fresh, canned, cooked, pickled, salted, used in baked goods and preserves, stews, and they are even asked for alcoholic beverages, such as plum wine or Slivovitz, which is a fruit spirit (or fruit brandy) made from damson plums, often referred to as plum spirit (or plum brandy). Slivovitz is produced in Central and Southeastern Europe.

Plums, like most fruits are very healthy. They are rich in antioxidants, vitamins C and K and potassium, they are used as laxatives or to help keep us regular, they help reduce inflammation, and they have positive effects on bone health and may help reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Plums and prunes are also a good source of calcium, magnesium, iron, vitamin B6, a combination of vitamins and minerals that boost the production of melatonin, the hormone that lets the body know its time to sleep.

“When the old plum tree blooms the entire world blooms” (p. 103 – The Story of Food). So eat your plums. They are plum good and plum good for you too. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is what you make it, so make it fantastic. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.

I haven’t done any fun food quotes for awhile, and I thought it was time. We all need a good laugh or two and need to lighten our load a bit. So sit back and enjoy. 🙂

1. The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook. Julia Child

2. Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside. Mark Twain

3. I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food. W.C. Fields

4. Cooking is at once child’s play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love. Craig Claiborne

5. You don’t need a silver fork to eat good food. Paul Prudhomme

6. To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.  La Rochefoucauld

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is what you make it, so make it fantastic. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.

A friend of mine was telling someone about all my button “art” and she challenged me to make a dragon for her, since she loves dragons. OK. Challenge accepted. Now what?

First, I had to come up with a good pattern. I went to the children’s library and looked at books with pictures of dragons, then I made some copies of those pictures. So now I had a good idea in my head. But was I able to make it?

I knew what I wanted as my background, so I pulled out my paints and went to town on that. I wanted a fiery background.

As the canvas was drying I pulled out my buttons. My friend Mandy wanted a red and black dragon. I traced my pattern onto the canvas and went to town. I started with the small things first then graduated to the main part of the dragon.

This is by far my most complicated button project to date, but I think it came out pretty cute. I sent Mandy a picture and she said she loved it. I will drop it off for her today.

If I think about something long enough and plan it out, I can do anything I set my mind to. We all can if we just give ourselves confidence in our own abilities and believe in ourselves. Also, don’t be afraid to take chances or to make mistakes. Those are all part of the learning process. If you really believe you can, then you will be able to do whatever you want. Believing in yourself is half the battle. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Don’t be afraid to take on those new challenges. Accept them and go at them with gusto. You just might surprise yourself with what you can actually achieve. 🙂 ‘Til next time.

Pizza and spaghetti are two of the world’s most favorite foods. Everyone loves them. Though you can make both in many different ways, using many different kinds of sauce, both are primarily enjoyed with a red sauce. But what’s the difference between the two? Are there any differences? I am only going to focus on the red sauces today.

Pizza sauce is generally thicker, smoother, and uncooked (or minimally cooked) before being applied to raw dough, allowing it to cook in the oven and retain a fresh, concentrated tomato taste. Spaghetti sauce is typically cooked, thinner, often chunkier, and seasoned with more varied herbs to complement pasta. Pizza sauce is generally thicker, smoother, and uncooked (or minimally cooked) before being applied to raw dough, allowing it to cook in the oven and retain a fresh, concentrated tomato taste. And usually the two main red sauces for pasta include a marinara sauce, which is usually vegetarian, and a bolognese sauce, which is usually loaded with meat.

When making pizza sauce, the ingredients are blended and then sandwiched between the uncooked dough and cheese for pizza. Since it will be cooked at very high temperatures, it’s best to have raw sauce to avoid overcooking. It is basically a pureed tomato sauce with herbs and spices.

On the other hand, pasta sauce is added to the already-cooked pasta. It typically has slightly more water (especially when using crushed tomatoes), so it turns out thinner. Pizza sauce needs to stay on top of the dough and needs to be thicker as a result. Pizza sauce is usually applied raw (or just simmered briefly) to dough, cooking for the first time in the oven. Spaghetti sauce is usually fully simmered for 30–45 minutes. Pizza sauce is thicker, more paste-like, and smoother to prevent soggy dough. Spaghetti sauce can be thinner and chunky.

Are the flavors of the two sauces different? Sure, but not too different. Cooking the sauces will change the flavors and the textures a bit. Cooked sauces will have a slightly sweeter taste with richer, deeper flavors than uncooked sauces. They will have more depth than uncooked sauces. A marinara sauce, without the meats, is closest to a pizza sauce than a bolognese sauce.

I dress up all my sauces anyway. And as you have all probably figured out by now, I don’t really follow ANY rules, especially when in the kitchen. I make up and play by my own rules all the time (mainly in the kitchen, though I do it in general life as well too). So I have no problem using pizza sauce for spaghetti or spaghetti sauce for pizza. 🙂 If switching them out, you just need to tweak them a bit, but I do that all the time anyway, so to me it is nothing new.

The other day, when I made my thick tomato sauce, for my sausage and peppers https://ajeanneinthekitchen.com/2026/02/27/big-bold-red/, I had a lot of sauce left over. Of course I didn’t want to make the same thing again. So what did I make instead? Pizza, of course.

The last time I made this dough recipe, the dough was very thick and bready, or more of a Chicago or deep dish styled pizza dough. Don’t get me wrong, I love this kind of pizza dough/crust, but sometimes I want something different. This time I divided the dough in 1/2 and made two pizzas with it. The pizzas are the same except I made them with different cheeses. I can handle some of the lighter cheeses, but the other, bolder, stronger cheeses and I just don’t get a long well at all. Larry likes those though. So, I had the cheeses and I had the dough. I made two pizzas.

Besides using my leftover sauce, which already had sausage in it, I used the remainder of my peppers and mushrooms as well, and also added some cubed cooked chicken too. It was delicious!

As I always say, play with your food. Don’t be limited by what others think or say. Discover things on your own. Use what you have. Be creative.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is what you make it, so make it fantastic. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.

My second piece of jewelry is now complete. I have finished my silver bracelet! This was most definitely a challenge. It was a labor of love, filled with plenty of my own blood sweat and tears. But now, it is all finished, and well worth all the effort.

It is full of mistakes, but fortunately, I have disguised them pretty well. I took an extra class to finish it last night, and someone from this class commented on it, saying how he really liked the uneven lightning bolts. I thanked him and laughed, and told him they were purely unintentional. It was just poor sawing skills. But he reiterated how much he really liked it. My instructors liked it a lot too.

Here is the process of the bracelet, from start to finish.

First, I had to mark the design with the scribe, then cut it out.

Then the sawing process began. This was definitely the MOST challenging part. I broke so many saw blades. But after talking to others who have made this same bracelet (all of us who take the beginning class make this bracelet), I learned I was NOT alone. We all broke a ton of blades on this one. The rest was pretty easy.

We had to cut the zigzag piece in half then solder it on to the back piece.

It was in its UGLY phase right after the soldering. I put it in the pickle (cleaning solution) after, and then cleaned it and polished it.

Once it was cleaned up a bit, I cut off all the excess pieces, and sanded and polished, sanded and polished and sanded and polished again.

I could have easily finished it on Friday, but the lead instructor asked if I would wait until our Tuesday class, to use it as a demo for the rest of the class. But we never got to it on Tuesday night. I was very disappointed, but one of the other instructors told me to come back last night and he would help me finish it, and finish it we did too. 🙂 I am the only one in our class who has finished two pieces. Most people are still working on completing their first piece, and I have now finished two.

And Voila! The finished piece. I think it came out very nice indeed. 🙂

Two pieces down, one to go. I have already started on my third piece for this class session. It is my ring. I am in the crunch zone now. We leave to go to Portugal on the 17th, and I am pushing very hard to get my ring finished before we leave, even though I will miss the last official class for this session. But thank goodness for the workshops. I will be going in again tomorrow to work on it some more. I think I will get it done before we leave. I hope, I hope, I hope. 🙂

I chose a red slab stone to go with the red jasper in my pendant.

See, you are NEVER too old to learn new things. I am living proof of that. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Learn something new everyday too. It keeps life interesting and fun. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.

Today when I was out walking around our lakes, I met someone who told me our little gazebo is in danger of being torn down. The reason stated is because it needs repairs, that would cost $$$. We have A LOT of people who live in the homes and townhomes that are part of our lake community. All the gazebo needs is a little TLC and some fresh paint. We could easily all pull together to fix it up and preserve it. There is no need to tear it down just because it is beginning to show its age. Shoot, we all are. But if we take care ourselves, we will live for a long time. I hope our charming little gazebo gets to live a long life too.

I just don’t understand why so many people want to throw things away and/or tear them down just because they have an aged personality. But then, they want to do the same with those of us who are older too. I am fighting to save our little gazebo. I have already spoken to and texted my neighbors. We have to fight for the little things. We have to fight to keep our personalities and our treasures. Maybe in some small way, I am fighting for my own self preservation too.

Couscous, like rice or pasta, goes with anything. You can dress it up however you like, and it will always be good. The possibilities on how to dress it up and what to serve it with are endless.

Couscous is a nutritious North African staple made from steamed, rolled semolina pasta, not a grain. It is high in selenium, low in fat, and cooks in minutes. It is not gluten-free. It is often served with stews, in salads, or as a quick side dish, typically steamed or steamed-then-hydrated. It is very healthy for you, with very little fat. A 1/4 cup (dry) serving contains 150 kcal, 5g protein, and 0g fat. It is a good source of selenium, manganese, phosphorus, and B vitamins. Because it is so high in fiber, it helps maintain balance for your blood sugars and aids in food digestion too.

When I made my orange spiced bacon wrapped shrimp Orange Spiced Bacon Wrapped Shrimp I served it over a bed of couscous with sauteed vegetables.

I added diced asparagus, red onions, red bell peppers, garlic, mixed olives, a variety of spices and cilantro to dress it up this time. It never ceases to amaze me how little bits of this and that can take something that is good into something that is fantastic and WOW!

I sauteed the peppers, onions, garlic, and asparagus together with a little cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and salt & pepper in olive oil.

Once those were done, and the couscous was ready, I mixed everything together, along with the olives and the cilantro.

I added the shrimp and a little of the orange marinade/sauce, and VOILA! Dinner was done. Easy-peasy!

Things don’t have to be complicated in order to be good. In fact, as I have said many, many times, simple is often best. SO …. remember the K.I.S.S. rule – Keep It Simple (Stupid). 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is what you make it, so make it fantastic. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.

As we were dining on our deck, we were graced by not one, but two Blue Jays. It must have been a pair, because we also saw that directly underneath them was a nest. They are building a safe home for their future.

Our HOA has complained about our “dead” trees, but I don’t think they are dead at all. We always see so many different birds and squirrels in our trees, and now we even have nests in them. As long as there is so much life in our trees, I refuse to cut them down. They are far from dead, and are instead, very much alive.

Bacon and shrimp. Two great tastes that taste even better when put together. We love to wrap our shrimp in bacon. Once that’s done, all you need is a good sauce or marinade and then VOILA!

I made an orange spiced marinade for the shrimp and sauce. What a great, tasty idea, even if I do say so myself. 🙂 I served it over a vegetable couscous with a Portuguese white wine on the side. What made this dish even better was that it was our first dinner al fresco of the season. 🙂

Orange Spiced Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

You can use this same marinade for chicken or pork too.

1-2 lbs large shrimp or prawns, peeled and deveined and rinsed

5-6 pieces bacon, par cooked

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 cup orange juice

1-2 TBSP orange olive oil, optional

3 TBSP orange balsamic vinegar, optional

1 shallot, minced

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

black pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Whisk everything together well. Pour about half the mixture over the shrimp, cover and marinate for 30-60 minutes before wrapping in the bacon and skewering to grill.

While the shrimp is marinating, par cook the bacon. You only only it partially cooked because it still needs to be flexible enough to wrap around the shrimp. It will continue cooking on the grill with the shrimp.

Allow the bacon to cool slightly, then cut each piece in half and wrap around the shrimp. Skewer onto the skewers and place on a very hot grill to cook. Cook for about 3-4 minutes per side, or until both the shrimp and the bacon are completely cooked.

Top the shrimp with more of the marinade and serve alongside your favorite side dishes. I made some vegetable couscous and warmed pita bread, and then served a cool crisp white wine on the side. Enjoy!

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is what you make it, so make it fantastic. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.

Once again, things were pretty quiet around the lakes; with one exception. There was one Red-Naped Sapsucker that captured my attention. She let me take quite a few good shots of her too, which I was more than happy to do. I am pretty sure this is a female by her coloring. A male would have a lot of more red. I think she is very beautiful. I am very grateful she let me take so many pictures of her.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is what you make it, so make it fantastic. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.