Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

After exploring Colorado National Monument, we decided it was time for more wine tasting at yet another local winery. This time, we ventured into Two Rivers Winery, where we ran into some other park explorers we had met earlier. I guess great minds think (or drink) alike. 🙂

Though there were 6 of us, we decided to share a combination of 4 wine flights. There were 8 different samples per flight, ranging from sweet to dry, in white, pink and red. Some of us are red wine drinkers, some of us are white wine drinkers, and then there is me, who will try it all if the name wine is in the title. There was a little something for everyone in these flights. Though in all honesty, I am really more of a dry white wine drinker than anything. I don’t care for sweet wines at all, regardless of their color, unless it is port. 🙂

Lauren is trying the wines with gusto and a smile.

Happy travelers.

After exploring Colorado National Monument, hiking around, a small lunch of fruits and snacks, and wine tasting, it was time for a full meal. We went to yet another restaurant in Grand Junction, called The Feisty Pint. The Feisty Pint was another restaurant that Guy Fieri visited and features on his hit show, Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives.

The Feisty Pint offers pub food with flare. Again, we all ordered something different, both to eat and to drink. I started it off with a Mule. YUM!

Mike, Karen and I all ordered fish ‘n chips.

Larry ordered “potachos” or nachos made with tater tots.

Lauren ordered chicken fingers and Lori ordered a French dip that had been jazzed up a bit, or “jiuzzed” up as Lauren would say.

At the end of our meal, our tummies were definitely full and we were all feisty.

We all had a little voodoo in us and the voodoo ranger had to keep us in check.

After dinner, we strolled around Grand Junction some more then headed back to the hotel for an evening filled with fun and games and lots of laughs and comradery.

More fun adventures are still coming. This is only day #2. Stay tuned.

‘Til next time.

Our hotel in Grand Junction did not offer breakfast, so that gave us the perfect opportunity to go back to Cafe Sol, a place Larry and I had dined the last time we were in Grand Junction. Sol for the Soul The food was just as good as we remembered and it was a good way to start our big adventure for the day.

The big adventure planned for the day was to go and explore Colorado National Monument. Colorado National Monument preserves one of the grandest landscapes of the American West. It is 31 square miles or 23,000 acres of spectacular red rock landscapes, deep canyons, and towering sandstone monoliths to enjoy, and enjoy we certainly did too. It was magnificent! Truly a breathtaking and AWESOME experience!

We did a combination of driving around and short hikes, with a picnic stop for lunch, through the magnificent park. There are plenty of other locations that feature the red rock formations that are seen here, but none to this scale.

People always ask what is the difference between a national park, like the Grand Canyon, and a national monument like Colorado National Monument. Generally, a national park contains a variety of resources and encompasses large land or water areas to help provide adequate protection of the resources. A national monument is intended to preserve at least one nationally significant resource. The primary difference lies in the reason for preserving the land: National parks are protected due to their scenic, inspirational, education, and recreational value. National monuments have objects of historical, cultural, and/or scientific interest, so their content is quite varied. A national monument is part of the park system because it’s a Park Service unit, but it isn’t a national park. While they’re similar in that they’re protected sites that highlight a historical event or natural area, they’re established and managed differently. The National Park System has since expanded to 424 units (often referred to as parks), more than 150 related areas, and numerous programs that assist in conserving the nation’s natural and cultural heritage for the benefit of current and future generations.

We all took a bazillion photos, so I won’t share them all with you, but will instead only give you some of the highlights. Besides, photos just don’t really capture all the beauty and awe of the park and they certainly don’t do the park justice. This beautiful area is Mother Nature and God at their best, for sure.

I could go on and on with beautiful pictures, but I think you get the general idea of the massive amounts of natural beauty on display. We were all completely mesmerized. If you’ve never been to Colorado National Monument, I highly suggest you add it to your bucket list. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Take in all the beauty that surrounds us and color your world beautiful. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Grand Junction is the largest city in Western Colorado and serves as a hub for transportation and shipping between Denver and Salt Lake City. The population of the Grand Junction, according to the 2010 Census, is 146,723. The name Grand Junction stems from the junction of the Colorado River (formerly known as the Grand River) and the Gunnison River. The area was first settled by Europeans in the 1880s, but the area’s history of human civilization stretches back thousands of years including the Ute and Fremont tribes, among others. Remnants of the tribal history includes petroglyphs and cave paintings, among other items. In the late 19th century, settlers were drawn to the fertile Grand Junction area for its agricultural potential, and the area remains one of Colorado’s largest food producers, including peaches, pears, cherries and corn. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the first grapevines were planted, sparking an increase in wine production. Now home to more than 20 wineries, Grand Junction is known as Colorado’s Wine Country. The warm days and cool nights are exceptional conditions for producing hearty grapes, and red wine varietals in particular flourish in the conditions.  It is also a college town, home to Mesa State University, which is now part of the Colorado State University or CSU system.

After our dinner at TacoParty Good Eats For The Trip – #1 we strolled all around town to take in the sites. We were all impressed with how clean the city was and how many flowers there were. Beautiful, colorful flowers and fun, fanciful artwork lined all the streets. Of course we took it all in and had a lot of fun. That’s just what we do. 🙂

The Boys

and the Girls.

Mike and Lauren stopping for a quick pic.

Artwork, creativity and fun are all a big part of the town’s zest for life. It’s all over the place, everywhere you look. You can’t help but have a good time in a place like this. Good times and fun are just a part of the culture and a way of life here.

Larry and his BIG boy bike.

As Larry put it, two dinosaurs on a bike.

And this is how the bikers really roll in town.

The rise of the Phoenix.

Gorilla fun.

King Kong like Jane (Karen actually).

And finally, it was time to turn in for the night.

And this is just all from day #1. As you can see, we had a lot of fun. We always do. Stay tuned. The fun is only just beginning. I have tons more to share with you.

Stay safe and say well. ‘Til next time.

As I mentioned yesterday, Our Trip To The West – Day #1, we had a lot of good, fun picnics during our travels. Most of our hotels provided breakfasts, and then we had picnics for most of our lunches, while we ate most of our dinners out. I rarely eat 3 meals a day, so I ate mostly fruit for our lunches. In fact, I rarely even eat two meals a day, so needless to say, I ate way more than usual. 🙂

The first of our restaurant meals was in Grand Junction at a trendy, new taco restaurant called TacoParty. We did this on our first night in town. TacoParty was a hip and trendy place and it was packed. We all love Mexican food and tacos in general, but these tacos all had a tasty new twist to them.

TacoParty, was featured on the hit cooking show, Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, hosted by Guy Fieri. In Guy’s words, “This spot is the true definition of HIP! TacoParty (yes, spelled one word) is an incredible hangout that dishes out some of the most creative and delicious Tacos we’ve ever had the pleasure to come across. Their mission or statement stands true, unconventional culinary experience unlike anything else in the Colorado area. While they do dip in the traditional, they often take it leaps and bounds above where you’d never even consider a Taco could go. Quality here is above and beyond and the difference flavors they have are always evolving so you’ll never get bored when you come to the TacoParty. Easily accessible in downtown Grand Junction, it’s often the most talked about and visited spot for foodie lovers.”. Little did we know, that two of the three places we dined at in Grand Junction were featured on the show Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives. I am going out on a limb to say Guy Fieri likes the eats in Grand Junction. 🙂

The walls were lined with different skateboards and modern items representing today’s pop culture.

The bathrooms even had chalk provided so you could leave your message to the world on the walls.

Like many new restaurants, you ordered your food at the counter and when it was ready, they brought it to your table. Strangely though, silverware was optional and only given to you if requested. Um, most of us still use silverware, at least we old people still do.

We all thought the food was very tasty, but a bit on the pricey side. Or maybe I am just out of touch with restaurant prices though, since we rarely eat out any more. As usual when a group of people dine out together, we had a wide variety of menu items on the table.

We started off with a few appetizers for the table, including some shishito peppers in a creamy sauce, chips and fire roasted salsa and new twist on guacamole, made with apples and cracked black pepper and topped with edible flowers. I have to admit, it was the prettiest and most colorful guacamole I’ve ever seen.

Then it was time for the main course – a variety of different tacos and tostadas.

The night was still young, and we had some exploring to do, so we all decided to walk around Grand Junction after dinner, to take in the sights of the City. We were also had very full tummies and needed to walk off some of our dinner.

TacoParty is located at 126 S 5th St, Grand Junction, CO 81501. All that’s needed to do is to show up, stand in line, and order what you like, then join in on the taco party at TacoParty and enjoy. Easy-peasy.

OK. The moment you have all been waiting for (or at least I hope so). 🙂 As you know, We’re back from our latest Western adventures. By Western, I mean Western Colorado and Eastern Utah. There were 6 of us on this little adventure – our friends Lauren and Mike, Karen and her friend Lori, and Larry and I. We all packed ourselves, our gear and tons of snacks and goodies into the car for our road trip. Before we packed everything up though, Larry made us all a batch of his famous breakfast burritos for the road.

Grand Junction was our first destination. Grand Junction is about a 4 1/2 hour drive due west from our house. It is about a 244 mile trek from our house to Grand Junction. We left the house around 8:30 AM and drove for about 3 hours before stopping for our first picnic lunch. I think we were somewhere around Glenwood Springs.

This was our first picnic for the trip. We ended up picnicking everyday for either lunch or dinner. It was a great way to commune with nature and our surroundings as well as a way to cut down on food costs. There was NO shortage of food, and in fact, even after the trip, we still came back with a bunch of goodies. I brought fruit, snacks, chips, and other goodies, as well as cheese and meat. Lauren brought snacks and both Karen and Lori brought goodies on the plane with them from California. There was NO WAY we were going to go hungry. I know! You’re all shocked! 🙂

Mike and I caught each other.

The place we stopped was beautiful and a great way to start off the trip with a bang. However, we did have a few unwelcomed guests who tried to slither their way to our lunch spot. In just a short space, we saw at least 3 snakes – 2 garter snakes and 1 bull snake. None of them are harmful, but that makes NO difference to me in the slightest. I don’t like ANY snakes!!!! I made sure to keep my distance as much as I could from all of them.

Once lunch was done, we headed back into the car to continue our journey. Our first real stop in Grand Junction was the Talon Winery for some wine tasting. Grand Junction is our grape producing area where most of our wines come from, so there are quite a few wineries in the area.

We were all ready to whet our whistle and to try some wines. We liked them all, and we all had our favorites.

WOW!!! We were all impressed with Arin’s wine carrying skills. And not a drop was spilled. 🙂

There were actually three different wineries all in one – Talon Winery, Meadery of the Rockies and St. Kathryn Cellars.

As you can see, there are quite a few award winning wines made and served here too.

After we finished at Talon Winery, it was too early to head to our hotel, so off to another winery we went. This time, we went to Grande River Vineyards, where there were more good times and good wines to be tried by all.

Lauren bought a pair of wine bottle earrings for all of us ladies. We were proudly wearing them and showing them off for everyone to see, while enjoying a glass or two.

From here, it was time to go check into our hotel. We stayed in Grand Junction for two nights before moving on. There was so much to see.

This is Day#1 of our adventures. I will leave it here for now, but believe me, I have many more fun things to share. Stay tuned. Don’t touch that dial. 🙂

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

I will start sharing our trip adventures with you tomorrow. I like to go in order. I guess in some ways, I am a bit OCD when it comes to keeping things in order. It helps me remember what I did and what I saw. Usually I take in so much and see so many good things, I don’t want to forget anything, so keeping things in order helps a lot.

Today, I will share some of the white mountain flowers we saw. We saw so many beautiful flowers of all colors, and sights of all kinds. It was an awesome trip. 🙂 Some of the flowers are from my own neighborhood too, but they still count as mountain flowers since I live at over 5,480 feet above sea level. 🙂

Karen and Lori in front of one of our blooming trees in our open space behind us.

Color your world beautiful and have a great day.

Typically I am not much of a dessert person, unless of course it is popcorn. Then all bets are off, and I will devour it all. However, when we have company over, I do make desserts. And I love making them for my weekly coffee cart too. I just can’t have them around because I will eat them, and I am already way too fat as it is. However, I digress. Back to my topic for the day, my orange, pecan and olive oil cake.

On the first night of Karen and Lori’s visit, not only did I make chicken saltimbocca, Chicken Saltimbocca, but I also made a deliciously light cake made with oranges, Grand Marnier, orange juice, pecans, and olive oil. I also added another secret ingredient that I will share with you as well. In fact, the cake was inspired by this new “secret” ingredient. 🙂

Let me take you back just a bit first to give you the scoop. 🙂 A few days before Karen and Lori arrived, Julia and Bruce came over and we enjoyed each other’s company over a Southwestern steak salad and fun and games. Southwestern Succotash and Steak Salad Julia is ALWAYS so sweet and thoughtful, and she brought some yummy gifts with her. She gave me a sample pack of Tabasco, from their recent touring of the Tabasco plant in Louisiana, as well as some pecan oil.

As soon as I saw the pecan oil, I already knew I was going to make a cake with it. I just had to find a good recipe that would highlight this delicious novelty, and find it I did too. Of course I took a recipe I found and added my own personal touches to it. As you all know, that’s just what I do. 🙂

Orange, Pecan and Olive Oil Cake

1 cup olive oil

1/3 cup pecan olive oil

3 large eggs

1 1/4 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp orange zest

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup Grand Marnier

1 3/4 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup chopped pecans

orange slices, pecan halves and powdered sugar for the topping

Preheat the oven to 325* F or 165* C.

Spray a 9 inch cake pan with cooking spray then line the bottom with parchment paper.

Mix the oils, sugar and eggs together until creamy. Add the orange juice and Grand Marnier, and mix well.

Combine the dry ingredients and mix together well. Add 1/2 the flour mixture into the eggs, mix, then add 1/2 the milk and repeat until everything is incorporated.

Add the chopped pecans and gently fold into the batter. Pour into the prepared cake pan. The batter is supposed to be a thin batter.

Bake for about 75 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and set in the center and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool completely before removing it from the pan and topping with a dusting of powdered sugar, orange slices and pecan halves. Then slice it up and share with friends. This cake was most definitely light and delicious with hints of orange in every bite.

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

I have FINALLY finished editing all the pictures from our trip. You won’t see them all, there are WAY TOO MANY, but you will see the highlights. And part of those highlights are the beautiful flowers we saw all over the place. Here are some more for you to enjoy.

These are some of the beautiful flowers that were all over the sidewalks in Grand Junction. There were so many. Grand Junction was our first stop of the trip.

Irises

Peonies

Columbines

Color your world beautiful and make it a great day.

My friend Karen and her friend Lori, who is now also my friend, arrived on Wednesday evening. We all embarked on our Western Colorado and Southeastern Utah journey early Friday morning. That gave us a full day and two dinners here at home before leaving. Karen had said she wanted something Italian for dinner. Easy-peasy. But I wanted to make something a little different than what we would normally think of as Italian food. So I made chicken saltimbocca with fettuccine Alfredo and vegetables and served it with my rosemary focaccia and a chilled white blend. Rosemary Focaccia

Chicken saltimbocca is thought to have originated in the days of the early Romans, in the area of Breschia, though no one knows for sure. Breschia is located in the Lombardian region in the Italian Alps. The term saltimbocca also spelled as saltinbocca, is an Italian term meaning “jumps in the mouth. Traditionally this dish is made with either chicken or veal that is wrapped with prosciutto and sage.

A little pre-dinner toast.

Chicken Saltimbocca

2 lbs chicken breast cutlets – if they are too thick, pound them out a bit with a meat tenderizer, if needed

salt & pepper to taste

fresh sage leaves

prosciutto cut into very thin slices

olive oil

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 stick butter

I cut my chicken breasts in 1/2 then seasoned them on both sides with both salt and pepper. Carefully wrap each cutlet with the prosciutto and 1 piece of sage tucked in to the prosciutto.

Get a large skillet very hot and add the oil and some of the butter, then carefully place each chicken cutlet into the mixture and cook for about 4-5 minutes per side, or until the juices in the center run clear and the chicken is no longer pink inside.

Add the wine to the skillet and scrape up all the browned chicken bits. Cook for about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 5 or so minutes. Add a bit more butter and cook until it is all melted and the sauce is creamy.

Once everything is done, spoon the sauce over each chicken cutlet and serve with your favorite side dish. I served it with fettuccine Alfredo and sauteed vegetables and rosemary focaccia.

Karen was my Sous Chef for the day’s meal.

Lori was supervising it all while enjoying a glass of wine before dinner.

Chicken saltimbocca is not a dish found in most Italian restaurants. It is a Northern Italian dish. Most Italian restaurants feature foods from the Southern regions. On our last night of our travels, we dined at Scileppi’s, Dinner at the Church, and ironically they offered chicken salimbocca on the menu. But more on that later.

We all had a delicious dinner followed by fun and games and trip planning for our upcoming adventures.

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

We are back from our short, but wonderful road trip through Southwestern Colorado and Southeastern Utah. We were only gone for the long weekend, and returned home late Tuesday night. But even short trips leave me way behind with chores and emails, and of course, the most fun part, editing through ALL of our pictures. This time, I have quite a few to go through too. I have over 800. We traveled with our friends Mike and Lauren, Karen and her friend Lori, who is now our friend too. We all had a great time and I have lots of fun things to share. I will be sharing pictures and tales of our adventures with you before too long, but first I have to continue the editing process. Suffice it to say it was a BEAUTIFUL and FUN trip!!!!!

I will share some beautifully colored flowers from our travels with you for now though, and will continue to do so everyday until you have either had enough or I am done. 🙂 I hope you enjoy them.

Colorful blooming Cacti.

Have a beautiful and colorful day. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.