Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

I have been seeing a lot of Ravens lately. Much more so than usual. We really saw a lot on our trip too.

Ravens have a lot of symbolic and spiritual meaning. Sometimes, Ravens are associated with loss and ill omens. But they are also a sign of prophecy, insight, transformation and intelligence . They also represent long-term success in love and finding devoted, faithful partners. In some parts of the world, the raven is a sign of death or misfortune; to others its presence indicates good fortune. They connect the material world with the spiritual world.

Some fun facts about the Raven, just in case you were curious.

1. They are highly intelligent birds.
2. They are excellent hunters
3. They can mimic human voices
4. They gesture with their beaks to communicate.
5. They remember faces.
6. They can live anywhere.
7. They have both friends and enemies
8. A group of Ravens is call an “unkindness”, “treachery” or a “conspiracy”.
9. They travel in gangs before pairing off.
10. Because Ravens terrified famous Poet, Edgar Allen Poe, he was inspired to write his famous poem dedicated to the terrors they bought to him.
11. They have been powerful symbols in folklore throughoput the ages.
12. They are not all black. They also come in white. These light-feathered birds are actually ravens with a rare pigment condition called leucism, which gives them their fair feathers and, oftentimes, blue eyes.
13. Over the past decade, there has been a steady and dramatic increase of ravens in North America. Of particular note is the Mojave Desert, which has reported a staggering 700 percent increase of the black birds over the past 40 years! While this is good news in the midst of a “bird crisis” in North America and Canada, which have collectively lost nearly three billion birds since 1970, this raven boom could spell trouble for the US population of desert tortoises, which are a favorite raven delicacy.

Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

I have been busy making more VBS snacks. My kitchen has been a snack processing plant all week. I was trying not to post two similar items back-to-back, but then I am still working on the others, so I have no choice. Besides, the kids will be eating them back-to-back, so it’s all good. 🙂 I should be finished with the other two snacks today. One was a lot more time consuming that I anticipated, and those are the ones I am still working on right now. Soon though. Just have a little more patience and you will see more of my creative snacks for the kids. 🙂

I call these Noah’s Ark snack bags because they are a wide variety of “animals” combined together and bagged like the Circus Treats. Lacy, our Early Childhood Director, gets all of these ideas from an early childhood ministry website and then she passes them along tome to make. I don’t really have any say so in what’s being made, or how to make them , or when they will be served. I am just in the productions department.

Another big batch of 103 bags filled with all kinds of animal goodies.

Again, these are fun snacks to make with and for your kids and grandkids. They had Goldfish, Animal Crackers and Gummy Bears all combined together Each mouthful will be a combination of salty, savory and sweet, with some crunch and some soft chewies.

My next two batches of VBS snacks will be totally different than these two, adding some variety. I hope the kids enjoy everything. A lot of work has gone into making and preparing all of these. :

Add some fun into you life. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

The blooming cacti are the last of my mountain flowers. They came in bright yellow, bright pink and deep red, and everything in between. They are beautiful but dangerous at the same time. You can look, but definitely don’t touch.

Every rose has its thorn, or in this case, every cactus has its thorn. Everything has both a soft and beautiful side as well as a prickly side.

Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

Summer time is the time for lots of fruit, and particularly citrus fruits. I am not a big grapefruit fan, so I don’t make a lot of things with grapefruit, but I LOVE oranges, lemons and limes and make a lot of thing with all of them. I love bold lemon, lime and orange flavors in just about everything. This time I added my oranges to cookies, both in the cookies and in the frosting. They are perfect for picnics. I am calling them orange frost bites, because there are frosted cookies and there are bits of orange in every bite. 🙂

Orange Frost Bites

2 medium navel oranges

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 TBSP melted butter

orange sprinkles, optional

Preheat the oven to 350* F or 190* C.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Peel the oranges then remove all the white pith from both the oranges and the peel.

Place both the orange slices and the peel into the food processor and process until everything is smooth. You should have about 3/4 cup of orange puree.

Combine all the dry ingredients together and set aside.

Mix the butter and sugar together until creamy. Add the milk and 6 TBSP of orange mixture, then mix and add the flour mixture and mix again until everything is blended together.

Drop about 2 tsp of dough onto the parchment paper, about 2 inches apart. I like to roll my cookies into a ball, then slightly press them to make them flatter. This is a very soft dough, so you may need to add a little flour to your hands before rolling and pressing, if you choose to do this.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges are set and are lightly browned. These are meant to be soft cookies, but if you like them a little crunchier, just bake them a little longer. I prefer my cookies a bit crunchier, so I baked mine a bit longer.

Let the cookies cool completely before adding the frosting.

For the frosting, just mix both the powdered sugar and melted butter together until creamy then add about 2 TBSP of the orange puree and mix together well, then spread on the cookies with a knife. If you like, you can add some orange sprinkles on top for more color and pizzazz.

Your taste buds will be in for a citrusy surprise with every bite, and you will be getting hints of orange and Vitamin C in every bite too. It’s a win/win for everyone. They are sweet and tangy cookies to enjoy and are healthier because of the added oranges. 🙂

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

WHOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!! I got some very lucky shots today. I got some good shots of a hummingbird. He was way up high at the top of the tree, but I zoomed in and got some good shots. This is a rare thing, at least for me, so I am very excited about getting these shots. 🙂

We have a few types of hummingbirds in our area. This is a Broad-Tailed Hummingbird.

You just never know what you’re going to see. And sometimes you just get lucky. See as much as you can and take it all in. Have a great day and make everyday great. 🙂

It’s VBS (Vacation Bible School) time once again, and that means I am busy making VBS snacks. I will be making snacks all week, but like my coffee cart, I spread it out through the week, so no one day is totally overwhelming. Lacy, our Early Childhood Director, comes up with all these ideas from her work plans and then she passes them along to me to make. This year’s theme is “Wild Life”.

The backseat of my car is filled with goodies for VBS snacks.

The first batch of goodies were bags of circus treats. They were easy to make, there was just a lot of them. They are a mixture of Honey Chex, Teddy Grahams and Circus Cookies all tossed together.

We are expecting 80+ kids this year, so I made 106 bags in total. You always want to make a few more, just in case.

This is the first batch of goodies. There are more coming your way all week. If you have kids or grandkids these are fun snacks to make together, that you know the kids will enjoy munching on.

Put some fun into everything you do. Have a great day and make everyday great. Have fun, stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Here are some beautiful purple mountain flowers to brighten up your day.

The beautiful Columbines. This purple is the color they most often come in, though there are many other colors and variations as well.

I just love these Silvery Lupines,

as well as these Tall Chiming Bells.

The Moss Campions come in all different shades of pinks and purples.

Low Penstemons looking pretty,

as are these Columbian Monkshood.

And of course our beautiful Salvia. They are blooming so nicely all around us right now. I even have a whole bunch in my front yard.

Today, color your world purple. Announce to the world that you are here and you have arrived. Have a great day and make everyday great.

Yesterday, I told you about my Peruvian chicken or pollo la brasa Peruvian Chicken Con Salsa Aji Verde . Today I am going to share the rice dish I served it with, called arroz con alcachofas or rice with artichokes. I actually combined two different recipes, and then added my own personal touches as well to create this delicious Peruvian side dish.

Artichokes are native to the Mediterranean and have been growing wild since ancient times. They were mainly localized to the Mediterranean until the 19th century when European immigrants introduced the plant to South America where it became highly naturalized in Peru, Chile and the other southern countries of South America. When in season, they grow abundantly and are very popular, used in all kinds of dishes.

Artichokes do not like cold weather, and are grown in regions where the temperature is pretty moderate year round. Italy is the number one producer of artichokes in the world, followed by Egypt, Spain and Peru. In the United States, they are almost exclusively grown in California.

Arroz Con Alcachofas

1 1/2 cups rice

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 tsp saffron threads

1/2 cup dry white wine

3 cups chicken broth

1 can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and quartered

1 TBSP garlic

salt & pepper to taste

1 – 1 1/2 cup chopped tomates

1/4 cup Peruvian peppers

butter and olive oil for cooking

Get a large skillet very hot and add the butter and olive oil. Add the onions and cook for about 2 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.

Add the rice and saute in the butter and oil until it is all coated, for about 1 minute.

Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until the liquid is mostly evaporated, stirring occasionally to make sure the rice doesn’t stick.

When the rice is ready, serve it with your favorite main course, such as pollo la brasa, and desfruitas! Enjoy!

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

Once again, our very own, Ohiocook from My Meals Are On Wheels at https://beatcancer2010.wordpress.com/ and NonNom’s Recipes at https://nomnomsrecipes.com/ were my inspiration for this delicious dish. Thank you, as always, for all your delicious ideas. Please keep them coming. 🙂

Peruvian chicken, also known as pollo a la brasa, is chicken that is cooked slow, and is traditionally cooked on a rotisserie, though roasting it or grilling it works fine too. Pollo la brasa is Spanish for rotisserie chicken—the Latin way. It is made with garlic, spices, chilies, lime juice and sometimes with mint as well. The recipe is relatively new, created back in 1950, by a Swiss immigrant to Peru, named Roger Schuler. When he moved to Chalalacayo, near the capital of Peru. Mr. Schuler was originally a chicken farmer and he was playing with different recipes and cooking techniques when he stumbled upon this delicious concoction. The spicy rub is what makes this dish so special and tasty. It also helps provide the crust, which seals in the juicy, moist flavors. Today, Pollo la brasa is one of the most popular and widely eaten dishes in Peru.

Over time, Peru’s cuisine evolved through the fusion of indigenous Peruvian cultures, Spanish colonization, Arab/Moorish influences, the arrival of slaves from Africa, and Japanese and Chinese immigrants. This historical integration led to a unique food cultures and cuisines including “Creole”, “Nikkei” and “Chifa”. And anything that is cooked in my kitchen, is also “Jeannified” and is lovingly made with the influences of Jeanne as well. 🙂

Yesterday, I took you to Morocco for dinner, Moroccan Shrimp With Potatoes, Tomatoes And Olives and now I am taking you to Peru. I wish travel was as easy in real life as it is in the kitchen. 🙂

Peruvian Chicken

I made the spicy lime, garlic and spice rub first. Everything went into the food processor and was blended until it was a thick paste.

3 TBSP olive oil

1-2 TBSP lime olive oil, optional

1-2 TBSP garlic

1 TBSP black pepper

1 TBSP cumin

1 TBSP sugar

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp oregano

2 tsp lime zest

1/4 cup lime juice

3 jalapenos, seeded

3-4 lbs chicken, either whole or pieces

Once the paste is made, completely coat the chicken and let it marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 6 hours and up to 24 hours.

When the chicken is ready to cook, preheat the oven to 500* F or 260*C. Place a cup of water in the oven when it gets to temperature. This will act as a steamer and will help with the crusting of the skin. Place the chicken in the oven and cook for about 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350* F or 190* C and continue to cook until all the juices run clear and the internal temperature of the chicken is about 165*F, or for about 40-55 minutes. Once I reduced the oven temperature, I took the water and poured it into the baking dish.

This chicken is almost always served with a green sauce or una salsa aji verde, which is a green sauce made with jalapenos, lime juice, garlic and cilantro. So, while the chicken was marinating, I made the salsa aji verde.

Aji Verde or Green Sauce

3 jalapeno, seeded

1 cup fresh cilantro

1 TBSP garlic

1 cup mayonnaise

1 TBSP lime juice

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 TBSP olive oil

1 TBSP lime olive oil, optional

Place everything in the food processor and blend until it is all creamy. Set aside until you are ready to use.

When the chicken is completely cooked, top it with the salsa aji verde before serving.

I served my chicken over some Peruvian rice or arroz alcachofas, made with artichoke hearts, onions, garlic and Peruvian peppers. I combined two different Peruvian rice recipes, and then, of course, added my own touches as well (like the Peruvian peppers). I had some fresh Asiago cheese bread that I warmed and served with the dish, plus a glass or two of some chilled pinot grigio on the side. !Delicioso! Our friend Bryan was over for dinner, and raved about the dish. I think he really liked it – a lot! I think this is his “new” favorite dish.

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

We saw these bright orange flowers and just fell in love with them. We first noticed them in Utah, but they were also in Colorado as well. I just learned they are called Globemallow, and are often found growing along the roadsides. Aren’t they pretty?