Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

I love seeing the variety of wildlife and water fowls that like to call my lakes home. Many of our animals are seasonal and they come and go as the seasons change. It is like a revolving door of different visitors coming in for a long extended visit or stay. This time, I am happy to say, my American Widgeons are back. Hopefully they will stay with us for awhile before taking their leave once again.

The males have more color, and a bright green streak on the heads. the females are more muted.

Every season has its beauty. I love to take it all in. Have a great, beautiful day, and make everyday great and beautiful.

OK. Back to the business of cooking in my kitchen again, although, I have been busy cooking ever since we returned home. But it is time to start sharing my own kitchen creations with you once again. 🙂

I guess I am still in a Spanish and Mediterranean frame of mind, especially when it comes to cooking. Although to be fair, I love cooking in the Mediterranean style anytime. I made some Moroccan pumpkin and lentil stew with lamb meatballs that warmed the cockles of my heart and was a perfect dish for fall.

I made a big pot because, as usual, I was feeding a bunch of people. That’s just what I do. I feed people. 🙂

I started off with the lamb meatballs, since those took the most time to make.

Lamb Meatballs

2 lbs ground lamb

1 onion, diced fine

1 TBSP garlic

1 egg

2 TBSP flour

salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Combine everything together, except for the flour and mix well. Then take about 1 TBSP of meat and form it into a round ball. Continue until all the meat has been formed into meatballs.

Once the meatballs are rolled, roll them all in flour. Then set in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or so, to set before cooking.

Once you are ready to cook the meatballs, place some cooking oil and butter into a large very hot pan, and add the meatballs. Do not over crowd the pan. Cooking them in batches is perfectly fine. Cook for about 2-3 minutes per side, or until they are completely browned. Once they are browned, remove them from the heat, set aside and keep them warm.

The meatballs are the first part. The pumpkin and lentil stew is the second part.

Moroccan Pumpkin and Lentil Stew

Fall is pumpkin season, and I love to cook with and eat a lot of pumpkin in the fall.

1 large onion, diced fine

1-2 jalapenos, seeded and diced fine

1-1 1/2 TBSP garlic

4-5 tomatoes, diced

1 can tomato paste

1 cup green lentils, rinsed

1 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste

salt & pepper to taste

1 TBSP paprika

1 tsp cumin

2 lbs of pumpkin, skin removed, seeded and cubed

2 1/2 cups water

1/4-1/3 cup chopped cilantro

Get a large stew pot very hot and add olive oil along with the onion, jalapenos and garlic. Saute for about 1-2 minutes, or until the onions have become soft and translucent. Then add the pumpkin, lentils, tomato paste and tomatoes. Continue to cook for about 2-3 minutes, then add the water and salt & pepper and spices.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a medium-low and cook for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cilantro towards the end of the cooking and mix in thoroughly.

Carefully add the meatballs into the mixture and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, or until everything is heated throughout, stirring occasionally.

Top with more chopped parsley and/or cilantro and serve it while its hot. This warm Mediterranean dish is sure to warm you up on those cool, crisp fall evenings. It is a definite winner for a cool fall night.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Our beautiful Dorrie, (Andorra) or as we call her, our polar bear, had her first snow experience today. Last week we were in fall, and yesterday, last night and still this morning, we had snow. We got about 6 inches total. This is our first snow of the season, and it is predicted to be yet another very cold, very snowy winter this year too. Dorrie came to us from Oklahoma. I’ve never been to OK, but I am pretty sure snow is not a regular thing there, or at least not in the amounts we get here in Colorado. So we are calling this Dorrie’s first snow. She and her sister Juneau were having so much fun romping around in the cold, wet white stuff on the ground. Juneau is made for the snow, and loves it. The colder the better. Dorrie seems to have followed in her big sister’s footsteps or paw prints, and seems to love it too. 🙂

What is the cold, wet, white stuff? I’ve never seen this before. But I like it.

Just look at the smile on her face. I think she likes it, which is a good thing, because I think she is going to have a lot more of it too. 🙂

First experiences can be so much fun. Enjoy them all. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

I know I have been busy posting about Spain, but since we’ve been home, I’ve been cooking all along, just like normal. I just wanted to make sure you got all of our Spanish experiences first. But have no fear, Jeanne from “A Jeanne in the Kitchen” has still been busy in her kitchen cooking up lots and lots of good things for all of you. As much as I love traveling and taking in life’s adventures, I still love being in my kitchen cooking for everyone just as much, if not more. 🙂

It was that time of year again, for Priscilla and I to make our annual caramels. Video #18 – Making Caramels with Priscilla. We made our normal 2x double batches, one plain and one with chocolate and pecans. Though I am thinking about making a 3rd batch too. I am thinking maybe some chocolate mint caramels. I’m not sure yet though, as I am still cutting and wrapping the first batches. And I still have A LOT more to cut and wrap. 🙂

have a sweet, sweet day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

I have one last post from Barcelona. This is just the art from the streets, though there is so much art to be seen everywhere. There was so much fun street art I needed to share it with all of you. Some of it is tile and/or mosaics. Some is on the walls and some is one the doors. Some is in the form of statues. And some is even done in flowers. But it’s all very fun and creative all the same. I love looking at all the street art from all over. Some of the artists are very talented indeed. Some are professionals, but most are not. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great, or Que tengas un gran día y haz que cada día sea grandioso. Stay safe and stay well. Mantente seguro y mantente bien. ‘Til next time. Hasta la próxima.

We saw so many pigeons all over Mallorca and Barcelona. How could I not take pictures of them? This is La Platja de Las Ramblas, Barcelona. The only other time I have seen so many pigeons all gathered together like this was in Venice, many moons ago. We gathered at the Platja a few times to meet with our tour groups, and every single time, this is what we saw.

We also saw a lot of green parrots. Not nearly as many as the pigeons, but still quite a few. 🙂

It’s fun to see the world through a birds’ eye view. 🙂

Our last Spanish meal in Barcelona came after yet another very full day of adventures. We ate in the center of Las Ramblas in one of the Platjas. While we waited for our food to arrive, we needed to unwind and relax with some cool, refreshing libations. After all, we had a very full trip with lots and lots of fun adventures.

We ordered another version of pasta del mar, patatas bravas and some garlic shrimp or gambons de ajillo.

After yet another delicious dinner, it was time to go back to the hotel and pack for our trip home.

Spain was indeed very, very good to us. I can’t wait for our next visit. 🙂

On our last full day in Barcelona, before returning home, we hit the waters. First we took a catamaran cruise around the Bay of Barcelona. We saw the city from yet a different point of view yet again. It was very relaxing and we met a very nice family from Portugal.

Sagrada Familia from a distance.

This big statue of Christopher Columbus stands proudly at the harbor entrance, overlooking the sea.

After our catamaran tour, we went to the Aquarium. They did a good job with it. There were lots of rays and sharks, as well as smaller sea creatures, including a lot of seahorses. We have seen many of these creatures on our many dive excursions, from all over. None of our shark pictures really came out well, but we see and dive with sharks all the time. 🙂 Whenever we go to an aquarium, we always point out all the critters we have seen in person, in their natural habitats, through our diving experiences. We dive a lot and we dive all over the world, which means we have seen A LOT!!!!!

The aquarium even had a penguin display. And yes, we have even seen penguins in their natural habitat too, at Phillip Island, outside of Melbourne, Australia. They were the very cute and adorable Little Penguins, that stand about 1 foot high and are blue and white, rather than black and white. They were so cute. I just fell in love with the Little Penguins. 🙂

It was feeding time for the rays.

We don’t see a lot of Seahorses, and we don’t see them often, but we have seen quite a few.

We see Lionfish everywhere, though in the Caribbean waters, where we dive mostly, they are the invaders. They are trying to eradicate these invaders from the warmer Caribbean waters because they are so destructive to the reef and ecosystems. They are very pretty to look at and are very tasty to eat too.

From the Aquarium, we headed over to the Maritime Museum. The Spanish have a very long relationship with the seas and ships. They have been sailing the seven seas for 1000’s of years. This had very special meaning to me, even more so than the Aquarium, because it reminded me of my dad. My dad was in the Merchant Marines his whole life, once he immigrated over to the States from Australia. In fact, it was through the Merchant marines that he was able to emigrate over to the States. So I have always had a very special affinity towards boats, ships and of course, the oceans.

This is a model of one of the big Spanish Galleons. They usually had a crew of about 400 people, with most of the crewsman living their lives chained to their rowing stations for the duration of their days at sea, regardless of the conditions.

This is an actual replica of one of the Galleons, that was made in 1973. I just love all the attention to detail.

Poseidon riding his dolphin on the bow.

Can you imagine living every second of your sea life chained to one of these oars? Everything you did was at the end of one of these oars until you were released from your servitude.

Other than our travel adventures getting back to the airport, this was our last Spanish adventure for this trip. I hope you have enjoyed my Spanish Adventures series from Barcelona, Mallorca and Andorra. At the moment, we have no new adventures on the books, but I know that will soon change. We love to travel and we love our adventures, and we never have too long in between travels and adventures. 🙂

Life is an adventure. Be adventurous and make the most of it. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Believe it or not, I only have a few more posts from Spain, and then this wonderful trip will officially be on the books, and it will time to move on to the next chapter. But hold tight. I’m not done yet.

One of the things we did was take a cooking class, learning how to make seafood paella the traditional way. Of course I already know how to and make it quite often, but it is always fun to learn something new. 🙂

We met Chef Andrea at the Traveler’s Nest once again, Back From Barcelona – The Tapas Tour and he walked us over to the kitchens, where we got to play with our food. Once again, we had a fairly large group, mostly Americans, and Californians, but some really fun people from Holland too, who sat with us.

Chef Andrea was so much fun and so full of personality. I asked him if he needed a sous chef for the evening, and told him I am a chef as well. At first I don’t think he believed me, but once he found out that I really am a chef, he kept giving me things to cut up to put into the paella. It only took a minute or two for him to realize I was actually telling the truth. He knew as soon as I picked up the knife and started cutting the vegetables.

I accidentally left my good camera in the restaurant, so I apologize for the grainy pictures. Larry took them from his cell phone. I did get my camera back once we went back to the restaurant for dessert.

When we first got to the classroom kitchen, the first thing Chef Andrea taught us was how to make a “real” Spanish sangria. We were drinking these all night during our cooking lesson.

I love this picture of the bull fight.

Once the drinks were poured, Chef Andrea led us back to the kitchen area, where his “mis en place” was all set and ready for us to start cooking. Chef Andrea is explaining what we need to do and how to do it. These ladies were our new Dutch friends. We were taking it all in in.

Other than Chef Andrea, Larry and I, no one else knew I was a chef. One gentleman was funny. He was taking pictures of his girlfriend, who I guess was standing next to me, and said he was shocked at how fast I was cutting, especially compared to how slow she was. Surprise!!!! I actually know my way around quite well in ANY kitchen, anywhere around the world. 🙂

We started with the squid in the giant paellaria. That took about 20 minutes.

The collection of paellaria pans. As it turns out, one size does NOT fit all.

Next came all the vegetables and some spices, and lots of fun and laughs.

Everyone got a turn to play chef.

We let everything simmer for awhile, while we were cutting up the monkfish and of course, sampling more sangria.

We added the rice and the fish stock, and let it all cook again, for about another 20 or so minutes. More fun and more sangria while we waited. 🙂

Next came the shrimp that had already been cooked before adding it to the pan.

Once the paella was ready, it was time for pictures of the finished product before we all got to dig in and enjoy the fruits of the sea, and the fruits of our labors. 🙂

Time to eat!!!!! !Desfruitas!

It was such a fun evening, and we laughed so hard all night. We really enjoyed our new Dutch friends too. After the paella was eaten, we headed back to the Traveler’s Nest for either a dessert or more to drink. Larry and I both opted for dessert. We had enough libations for one evening. 🙂

Larry chose the Spanish cheesecake and I went for the chocolate tart.

We met up with our new friends again for one last picture for the memory book. Larry and his bevy of beauties.

Again, if you love to cook, and have fun meeting and playing well with others, I highly recommend this fun Spanish cooking adventure. We all had a great time, as well as delicious food.

Larry booked a lot of our tours before we left home, online. I couldn’t tell you what website he used, but if you are interested, just shoot me a line, and I will find out from Larry and will pass it on. 🙂

Again, quoting Wolfgang Puck, “Live, Love, Eat”! Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

We had a very full and busy day exploring the Parc Guell Back From Barcelona – Parc Guell and Monjuic areas Back From Barcelona – Montjuic of Barcelona. But our day was far from over. We still had the night ahead of us. We did a really deliciously fun tapas tour of the city.

We started the tour at The Traveler’s Nest in the Gothic part of town.

We met our tour guide Laura, and about 15 other new friends from around the world, and toured around the city, going to four different restaurants and tavernas to sample the city’s tapas and traditions.

At The Traveler’s Nest, we all started off with a little sweet red Vermouth, or Vermut Rojo, and some pinchos (Spanish) or pinxtos (Basque) styled tapas. There are four main styles of tapas – 1) The pinchos or pinxtos, 2) cheese and/or charcuterie platters, 3) hot and 4) cold. I love them all.

Pintxos are small snacks eaten in northern Spain and are lesser known internationally. They are offered in skewers and toothpicks. Pintxos vary because they can consist of several foods such as meat, fresh seafood, olives, and peppers. Pintxos got its name from the Spanish pincho, a cocktail stick. A typical snack of the Basque Country and Navarre, “pinchos” consist of small slices of bread upon which an ingredient or mixture of ingredients is placed and fastened with a toothpick, which gives the food its name “pincho,” meaning “spike.”  Traditionally, you are charged by the number of toothpicks you have on your plate. Some would think it is easy to fool the bartenders or servers by hiding the toothpicks, but they know. They are counting too. 🙂

After the pinxos were finished, it was time to move on to our second stop for the evening, to try another style of tapas at another restaurant.

We sampled a wide variety of different tapas here while enjoying the company of of our fellow world travelers. We met people from Ireland, Australia and more Americans.

We sampled some traditional Spanish tortillas, made with eggs and potatoes,

mushroom croquettes,

steamed mussels,

and some breaded and fried eggplant topped with cheese. Once again, it was a feast for our taste buds.

We were told to pace ourselves because we still had a lot more to try.

Stop #3 was at a traditional Catalonian restaurant that was so packed, we had to enjoy our tapas and wine outside, Catalonian style.

Laura is explaining how to “drink” Catalonian style. You have to pour the wine from above. The higher you can get the pitcher, without spilling, the more “Catalonian” you are.

Larry has really long arms, so he mastered this style of drinking. He must have some Catalan in him that he didn’t know about. In the end, we all spilled some on us, including Laura.

After drinking Catalan style, our fried salted fish came out and we passed it all around for everyone to sample.

Round #4. More tapas and postres.

Here we sampled some albondigas (meatballs), pane (bread) and patatas bravas, with sangria.

Dessert followed after the savory tapas.

This was a really fun evening, and I highly recommend taking a tapas tour like this. It’s a great way to see the city and to try different places and different dishes that you might miss otherwise. We met some really fun people and we all shared a lot of fun stories and laughs over great food and drinks.

As Wolfgang Puck would say “Live, Love, Eat”, and that we did too. ‘Til next time.