A Jeanne in the Kitchen

I have been busy in the “silver mines ” lately. Even more so than usual. I have been working on a whole bunch of gifts for all my September birthdays. I have completed 4 out of 5 and started the 5th gift today. I made a lot of progress on it too. That one won’t get finished until I return home though.

Here is the last set I completed. I just finished it today. As usual, it was full of trials and tribulations, and a lot of blood, sweat and tears too. But it is now done, and even if I do say so myself, I think it came out very nice. 🙂 The stones are Snowflake Obsidian. (I have NO idea why the photo kept flipping on me, but with as many troubles that I had with this set, I am NOT surprised). I already had the small stones for the earrings, and Bruce and Julia gave me the larger stone, with a bunch of other beautiful stones, when they came out to visit. It was a good match to complete the set. 🙂

OK. I’m off now. I’ll be back before you know it. I’ll miss you. Talk to you soon. 🙂

Life is short. Make the most out of everyday and live life to the fullest. Have a great day and make everyday great. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.

We are busy getting last minute things taken care of before we leave tomorrow. Our flight to Bonaire leaves early, early in the morning. I think our flight leaves at 5:00 AM, meaning we have to be at the airport no later than 3:00 AM. UUUUUGGGHHHH!!!!!

I will be off the grid until we return home. I will be underwater, diving, diving, and diving. Try not to miss me too much. I’ll be home again before you know it. 🙂

These pictures are from our last trip to Bonaire, a few years ago.

I’ll see you soon. Live life to the fullest. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

I always love recreating from my leftovers, but we really make a point of making sure we use up everything in our fridge right before we leave for a trip. This time, I re-Thai=ed.

When I made my Thai Swai Thai Swai, I had enough sauce leftover for something else. I re-Thai-ed it, and used chicken instead of fish and added some more vegetables. I served it over pasta instead of rice and once again, made it into something completely different. The “Queen” would be so proud. 🙂

I used both my remaining Thai sauce and the rest of my coconut milk, then added some more green beans, that I par-boiled first, some mushrooms a yellow heirloom tomato and chopped cilantro.

I cooked the seasoned chicken first, then removed it and sauteed the mushrooms. Next came the sauce and coconut milk, then I re-added the chicken and green beans.

When plating it up, it was cooked pasta, a little sauce, the sliced chicken, more sauce and vegetables, finished with the diced tomatoes and chopped cilantro. It was just as good the second time around as it was the first. 🙂

Life is short. Make the most out of everyday and live life to the fullest. Have a great day and make everyday great. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.

I love to balance my meals. When I cook I always mix proteins with vegetables and some kind of starch or carbs on the side. I do this with any dish I cook, regardless of the ethnicity of the dish. I try to match my vegetables and starches to the ethnicity of the main entree the best that I can too. So when I made my Caribbean roast Caribbean Roast, I also made my vegetables Caribbean style. I am old school, what can I say?!

One of the veggies I served was a fried purple sweet potato (the last one from Julia’s garden bounty). Sweet potatoes are a Caribbean staple and people eat them everyday, as well as all other varieties of tubers. Various types of squash are also eaten on a daily basis in the Caribbean. My main vegetables were a medley of zucchini, yellow crookneck, peppers, onions and garlic all tossed together with my jerk sauce and some rum butter from Bella La Crema Bella La Crema.

First I sauteed the vegetables in the butter/oil mixture I used for my meat. I sauteed the vegetables for about 5-7 minutes before adding the jerk sauce (I divided my jerk sauce before marinating my meat).

Once I added the jerk sauce, I brought it all to a boil, then reduced the heat to a simmer and continued to cook it for an additional 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Then I added about 1-2 TBSP of rum butter to finish the sauce before serving. We all know how popular rum is in the Caribbean, so adding rum butter just seemed like a given. 🙂

So what made these typical everyday vegetables Caribbean? Let’s see ……. I used Caribbean spices in my jerk sauce, I used typical vegetables that are used in Caribbean cooking, and I used rum in my butter. They were sweet and spicy at the same time. Yep! I’d say that makes them Caribbean vegetables indeed. 🙂

As I always say, play with your food. Make cooking fun. Life is short have fun with it and live life to the fullest. Have a great day and make everyday great. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.

We will soon be off to the Caribbean once again, so I started cooking some Caribbean styled foods to get us in the mood. I made a Caribbean roast with jerk seasoning and some Caribbean vegetables and fried sweet potato to go with the roast. YUMMY!

I marinated my roast in a jerk seasoning for about 4-5 hours before cooking it.

Jerk seasoning is fusion of flavors from the traditions of the native Taino Indians and the enslaved people known as the Jamaican Maroons. The English seized control over Jamaica from the Spanish in 1655, and there were a lot of Spanish influences. The Jamaican Maroons were slaves owned by the Spanish who escaped into the mountains of Jamaica. The Taino People used native herbs, allspice (pimento), and chili peppers to preserve and flavor meat. The word “jerk” likely derives from the Spanish word charqui, meaning dried or cured meat, or from a Quechua term for dried meat. Another theory suggests it refers to the poking motion used to pierce meat so spices could penetrate deeply. Authentic traditional blends rely on allspice, Scotch bonnet peppers, thyme, and scallions.

Caribbean Roast

Here in the United States, Scotch bonnet peppers are not as readily available as jalapenos or habaneros, so I substitute jalapenos when I make a jerk sauce.

1 4-5 lb roast

3-4 jalapenos or habanero chilies, diced fine

5 green onions, sliced

2 tsp chopped thyme

1 TBSP garlic

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 TBSP soy sauce

1 TBSP dark rum

salt & pepper to taste, though go easy on the salt because the soy sauce is salty too

1-2 TBSP cilantro, chopped

2 TBSP olive oil

Mix everything together well and generously coat all sides of the roast. Cover and let marinate for at least 3-4 hours hours before cooking.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 375* F or 191*C. Get a large skillet VERY HOT and add a combination of butter and olive oil. Carefully place the meat in the skillet and sear each side for about 4 minutes per side, or until a nice crust is formed on all sides of the meat.

When the meat is seared completely, place it in a deep baking dish and roast uncovered for about 40-50 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 120*F or 49*C for rare; 125*F or 52*C for medium rare. Cook longer if you prefer your meat more done. After the meat reaches your desired temperature, let it rest out of the oven for about 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving. Top with a little of the jerk sauce before serving.

This jerk sauce will go with any type of meat, so try it over pork or chicken too. 🙂 The longer you marinate the meat, the juicier and more tender and flavorful it will get.

Life is short. Make the most out of everyday and live life to the fullest. Enjoy the ride. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

We leave for Bonaire early Saturday morning, so we are mixing and matching and using up what we currently have leftover in the fridge. We like to leave our fridge as empty as possible before we leave for our trips. That being said, I will still cook a couple of things before we go. 🙂

So, today, how about some more fun food quotes to start our week off?! Last time, I focused on Julia Child and some of her famous food quotes. In The Words of Julia Child Today, let’s hear from the one and only, iconic Chef Anthony Bourdain. He is another favorite of mine. I like how he always lived by his own rules.

Barbecue may not be the road to world peace, but it’s a start.

~ Anthony Bourdain~

Food is everything we are.

People confuse me. Food doesn’t.

Good food, good eating, is all about risk.

To cook well, you have to like to eat.

Bad food is made without pride, by cooks who have no pride, and no love.

When someone cooks for you, they are saying something. They are telling you about themselves.

You learn a lot about someone when you share a meal together.

Life is short. Live life to the fullest and make the most out of everyday. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

Wild strawberries have been growing around the world since the stone age. Many native people have eaten them and used them in many different ways, including treating all kinds of ailments and even crushing them to make ink. But the strawberries we know today are very different from the old wild strawberries. Wild strawberries are much smaller than the strawberries we know and love today, and the ancient wild strawberries were about the size of blackberries. The strawberries the world loves today were an accidental cross between the North American Virginia strawberry and the Chilean strawberry. They were first cultivated on a large scale in France in the 1750’s. But before that, French King Charles V loved them so much that he ordered over 1,000 wild strawberry plants for his palace gardens in the 14th century, which was the start of early European cultivation.

Long before these delicious non-berry “berries” were called strawberries, they were known as earth berries or eorþ-berige because they grew close to the ground. The older Germanic root matched terms like the German Erdbeere. The word later shifted to strēowberige, possibly describing how the plant’s runners are “strewn” about, and from there, the English word strawberry evolved. They got the name of strawberries because of their historical growth habit or use of straw, long before people knew what true “berries” were.

Wild Strawberries

The most popular type of modern strawberries are a cross between the Chilean strawberries, that the Mapuche and Huilliche Indians had cultivated for 100’s of years, and a North American Virginia species. French explorers brought the Chilean version back to France with them, but they only produced flowers and no fruit. They brought back only the female plants and no male plants. When the Virginia strawberries were introduced to the Chilean strawberries, it was love at first sight, and edible strawberries were grown. They were quickly cultivated all over Europe, and later the rest of the world, and have been from that time on.

Today strawberries, who are members of the rose family, are grown all over the world. They are found in most temperate regions and even in some subtropical regions of the world. The world’s top producers are the United States, and California in particular, Mexico, Turkey and China. Some of my Australian cousins were strawberry farmers too and did quite well with their strawberry farms. Strawberries are beloved fruits everywhere.

Even though the word berry is part of the name, strawberries are NOT true berries in a botanical sense. Botanists do not classify strawberries as true berries (like blueberries or grapes) because their edible red flesh comes from the stem that holds the ovaries, rather than the ovary wall itself. Their seeds are grown on the outside of the fruit, not the inside. There are roughly 200 seeds that cover the outer skin of each berry. Because they are members of the Rosaceae or rose family, they have a sweet fragrance and little floral blossoms.

Here are some more fun facts about strawberries I bet most of us, myself included, did not know:

1. Strawberries are powerful teeth whiteners. They contain Vitamin C which helps fight plaque.
2. Strawberries are the only fruit with seeds on the outside.
3. Unlike some fruits, strawberries don’t continue to ripen once picked.
4. Strawberries survive in a range of conditions and will grow happily in most places around the world.
5. There are about 200 seeds in every strawberry.
6. Eight strawberries have more vitamin C than an orange, that’s 140% of our daily recommended amount.
7. The strawberry plant, along with its good friend the raspberry plant, are members of the rose family.
8. Strawberries are full of a special substance called Ellagic acid which is thought to help fight some cancers.
9. The French traditionally serve newlyweds a soup made out of strawberries at the wedding breakfast, since it is considered an aphrodisiac.
10. The “seeds” of the strawberry are called achenes and each one is actually an individual dried fruit.

There are three main categories of strawberries. They are June-Bearing strawberries, Ever-Bearing Strawberries and Day-Neutral Strawberries.

June-Bearing Strawberries – Just as the name implies, are harvested in June. They only produce one large crop per year for a 2-3 week period in June. They are typically very large and very sweet.

Everbearing-Strawberries – They produce two to three distinct flushes of fruit during the growing season—typically a heavy crop in late spring, a lighter one in mid-summer, and another in early fall. The berries are usually smaller and not as sweet as the June-Bearing varieties.

Day-Neutral Strawberries – Flowers and fruits grow continuously from spring through fall, unaffected by the length of daylight, with production slowing down during the intense heat when temperatures are rising over 85* F. Usually the fruits are smaller in size too.

As with anything, there are many varieties of strawberries, each offering their own unique characteristics and personalities. They come in all colors, including blue, and all sizes. I never knew there were blue strawberries. Did you?

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Strawberries are very healthy fruits. They are jam-packed with Vitamin C, fiber and antioxidants, and only contain about 7 grams of sugar. They also have plant compounds called anthocyanins that help lower blood pressure and keep your blood vessels strong and flexible. They have a low glycemic index and can prevent large spikes in blood sugar after you eat. The antioxidants they contain help reduce cell damage and lower your risk of chronic illnesses. And because of their high amounts of Vitamin C, they help your immune system fight off illnesses.

So berry up and keep those strawberry fields growing forever. You’ll be very, or should I say berry, happy you did.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is short. Make the most out of everyday and live life to the fullest. ‘Til next time.

When we think of pasta, we immediately think of Italy, but pasta was originally created in Ancient China and then spread to other parts of the world. Pasta has been a part of the Greek diet since the ancient times as well.

In early Greece, pasta was a simple dish of nourishing food. It was made from the wheat that has been a staple in the Greek diets throughout the times. Greek pasta dishes often include local ingredients and flavors, reflecting the Mediterranean diet. Traditional recipes may feature pasta in soups, baked dishes, or with various sauces. The term “macaroni” has Greek origins, further emphasizing the cultural significance of pasta in Greek cuisine. In Ancient Greece, pasta was a flattened dough was cut into thin slices. The earliest mentions of a pasta-like food come from Ancient Greece around 1000 BC. This food, called laganon (plural laganae, Greek: λάγανον), was a flat sheet of dough that could be cut into strips, similar to lasagna today, was arguably marking the first pasta-like preparation in the Mediterranean.

Unbeknownst to me at the time when I made my Greek pasta, I was actually making it in a very traditional way, using local ingredients and produce.

Greek Pasta Salad

I used the remainder of my herbed vinaigrette that I used as the marinade for my chicken, Chicken Souvlaki, then added a bunch of fresh vegetables and my leftover pasta, and tossed it all together. It can be served cold, room temperature or hot; whatever your preference is.

1/2 cup herbed vinaigrette

1-2 cups cooked pasta of your choice

1/4 cup mixed olives, sliced

1-2 tomatoes, diced

1/4 green bell pepper,diced

1/4 red bell pepper,diced

1/4 red onion, diced

1/2 cucumber, sliced, optional- don’t use if you are going to heat up the pasta salad

1 TBSP capers

fresh ground black pepper to taste

Toss everything together and serve, or chill and to serve it later.

Pretty easy-peasy and very tasty too. Serve it next to anything you like or make it to take with you when you are on the go.

Life is short. Make the most out of everyday and live life to the fullest. Enjoy the ride. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

As you know, Larry and I love to travel. We travel all over the world. Our next stop is back to Bonaire. We leave next week. But we are already planning ahead for yet another trip coming up in March too.

We are planning a trip to Greece in March. We are already preparing our taste buds for Greece too. We have been watching some Greek touring shows, and one of them was about Greek foods. YUMMY!! I was so inspired that last night I made a Greek dinner with chicken souvlaki and tzatziki sauce and a Greek pasta to go with it.

Chicken Souvlaki

I made a lemon herb vinaigrette that I used for both my pasta salad and for my marinade for the chicken.

1-1 1/2 lbs chicken, cubed

1 cup olive oil

1/3 cup Prosecco vinegar

2-3 TBSP lemon vinegar, and/or lemon juice

2 TBSP lemon olive oil, optional

1 TBSP garlic

fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 tsp each fresh thyme, oregano and rosemary, chopped fine

Mix everything together well and add the chicken pieces. Let marinade for at least 1-2 hours before cooking. Because I used the same marinade for both my pasta and my chicken, I divided it before adding the chicken.

Once the chicken pieces had marinated, I skewered them and grilled them.

I made my tzatziki sauce for the gyros. Tzatziki sauce is a simple yogurt based sauce with lemon juice, garlic, paprika and fresh herbs. I also mixed in some red onion, cucumber and tomatoes.

When everything was ready, it was time to load up the pita bread with tzatziki sauce, the chicken, and lettuce and feta cheese if you like. Some people add even more tomatoes, red onion and cucumbers, but since I had it in the sauce and in the salad, I opted not to add it to the sandwich this time.

It was a good night to go Greek. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is short. Make the most out of everyday and live life to the fullest. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.

We’ve all heard and used the phrase comfort food. But what does it actually mean? What is comfort food? Comfort food is any nourishing, familiar food that gives a sense of emotional well-being and nostalgic pleasure. They are foods that take us back in time, back to our childhood memories and to a safe, familiar place, even if only for a short while. Everyone will have their own special comfort food that they will turn to when they need to be comforted. There is no one specific dish. There is no one “dish” fits all in our times of need. Comfort foods offer a warm hug from the inside out. They are food for the soul.

Comfort foods can be anything, and I am sure they are found in every culture. Usually, though, at least in the Western world, they are foods that are high-carbohydrate and high-fat foods. These are the foods that trigger the release of the feel-good chemicals, like dopamine, in the brain. These comfort foods, are usually warm and simple, and help relieve stress when we are anxious or nervous. There is no such thing as counting calories when we need an extra hug.

Here are some of the most popular comfort foods in the United States:

Mac & Cheese

Chicken Pot Pie

Mashed Potatoes

Pizza

Soup, especially chicken noodle soup.

There is a reason these foods are some of our favorites. Not only do they taste good, but they make us feel good too. We all need an extra pick-me-up from time to time. The foods we eat can also be the “friends” we need.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is short. Live life to the fullest and make the most out of everyday. ‘Til next time.