Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

It’s lemon season again, so I am cooking up lots and lots of delicious lemony recipes, from savory to sweet. This time, it was lemon biscotti or cantucci.

Biscotti are Italian hard finger-shaped cookies that are perfect for dipping into your coffee or lattes or cappuccinos, or espressos, though originally, biscotti was served with sweet wine. The Ancient Romans thought biscotti were more about convenience food for travelers rather than a pleasurable treat for leisurely diners. They are unleavened, finger-shaped wafers that were baked first to cook them, then baked a second time to completely dry them out, making them durable for travel and nourishment for the long journey. Pliny boasted that they would be edible for centuries. I don’t know about that, but they certainly do have a longer shelf life than most other cookies. Biscotti were a staple of the diet of the Roman Legions.

Biscotti have their origins dating back to the Ancient Romans, but became really popular in 14th-century in Tuscany, in the city of Prato.  They were originally made from almonds, which were abundant in the region. Because the second baking drew moisture out of the biscuit, it rendered the biscotti hard, sturdy and, importantly, resistant to mold.

The word biscotto is derived from the Latin ‘bis’ for ‘twice’ and ‘coctum’ or ‘baked’ which would soon be adapted to ‘cotto’ meaning ‘cooked’. In Tuscany, biscotti is known as cantucci or Cantucci de Prado. Biscotti is the generic Italian term for any type of hard cookies, though here in the United States, biscotti is the term used for the cantucci style cookies. Originally biscotti, or cantucci, were made primarily from almonds. Today anything goes, and they are made with a wide variety of flavors and ingredients. Lemon is always a very popular choice for biscotti.

My latest version of lemon biscotti was a big hit on the church coffee cart. They all disappeared within minutes. They are lemony with a hint of almond flavor and are sweet, tangy and crunchy all at the same time. And all you need are a few simple, basic ingredients too, and magic happens.

Lemon Biscotti

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 TBSP lemon zest

1/2 tsp lemon extract

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 cup slivered almonds

The Glaze

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

1 cup powdered sugar

For the glaze, just whisk everything together and set aside until you are ready to use it.

For the cookies, mix all the dry ingredients together and set aside.

I like to toast my almonds first, and the easiest and quickest way I find to toast them is in a skillet directly on the fire. It only takes a few minutes until they are golden brown.

Mix the eggs and sugar together until light and creamy, for about 2- 3 minutes, then add the vanilla and lemon and almond extracts and blend again. Add the flour mixture 1/2 at a time, mixing in between each addition. Mix just until everything is blended together.

Fold the almonds into the dough. Mix together until it forms into a ball. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before shaping.

When you are ready to shape the dough, preheat the oven to 325* F or 160* C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, cut the dough in 1/2 and shape each dough ball into 1/2 into a log about 12 inches long. Place one log on each prepared baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned.

Let the logs cool for about 5-10 minutes then slice at an angle into strips or fingers, that are about 1/2 inch thick. Turn the cookies on their edges and re-bake for another 20-25 minutes, or until they are lightly browned.

Allow the cookies to cool completely then dip into or drizzle with the glaze, making them however you like and enjoy. ! Mangia! These are so light and crunchy and oh so good. I bet you can’t stop at just one.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘ Til next time.

The lakes were very quiet even though it was a beautiful, bright, sun-shiny day. About the only one I saw out playing and having fun on or even around the lakes was another Redhead. He looked like he was having a great time, and he was king of the lakes.

I know personally, it is so much fun when you have the pool all to yourself and you can do whatever you like and not be bothered by anyone else. Sometimes it’s good to be either the king or the queen of the day. Make the most out of all your days.

You all know how much we love our local winery, InVINtions, A Creative Winery. Video #17 – INVINtions, A Creative Winery; A Toast to InVINtions! We have been members of the winery for at least 11 years and counting. Everyone is so fun and friendly, and they are all like family too. Well, it was time to make another batch. This time we made one of my favorites, a dry white, Verdicchio. Originally, there was going to be six of us making the wines, but unfortunately Janet wasn’t feeling well, so she and Bob decided not to join us this time. They will be there in a couple of months when we bottle it all up though. Our friends Mike and Lauren had never made wine, so they helped us out for this batch. We all had so much fun, but then we always do. 🙂

The Winers, along with our expert tutors for the day, Emily and Devon.

Larry calls this instant wine, or wine in a bag. Regardless of what form it comes in, it is still a fun experience to say “you make your own wine”. Here are all the ingredients we needed; the bag of juice, yeast and a few other secret ingredients. From here, just add water.

Mike is getting some expert guidance from Devon before we begin our process.

Now doesn’t this look like trouble just waiting to happen?! 🙂

Adding the wine juice.

You know Lauren and I are up to something. We are mixing it all together to get it to just right.

Doing the wine dance, making sure we shake things all up.

Everything is added, and mixed just right. Now I am adding the yeast to the top. The wine is now made. Now we have to wait for about 2 months for the wine to ferment, and then it will be ready to bottle and drink. Let’s let it ferment.

After making the wine, we got to go to the back of the house to see what happens next. Each bottle is one batch, which produces 28 bottles of wine.

The steel vats that are used to produce larger amounts of wine. InVINtions is considered a boutique winery, and they produce about 10,000 barrels of wine per year. Most of the wines are produced in stainless steel vats at InVINtions.

Mike is getting some more winemaking tips from Devon.

These wines are being magnetized, which is an aging process. This is the last thing that is done before popping them open and enjoying the delicious nectars of the Gods they contain.

!Cheers! !Salud! !A Votre Sante! !Slainte! Let the good wines just keep on comin’. 🙂 Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

I just love the egrets. They always look so graceful and majestic. I think they are just gorgeous. We hadn’t seen anything on our walk at all, until the very end when we saw one lone egret. He was the first of hopefully many more to come for the season. He just looked perfect and was completely at home in his reeds.

Enjoy your says and stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

Yesterday, Priscilla and I decided to have a much needed girls’ day with just the two of us. It has been a very long time since it was just the two of us, and it was long over due. We decided to pamper ourselves and we both had a manicure and a pedicure. It felt so good, and our nails look beautiful too. This is something I NEVER do, but it was fun.

Because we were out playing, I was not in the kitchen cooking. But it is good to take a break every now and then. Instead of giving you a delicious, mouthwatering recipe, I am going to leave you with some food or thought instead. I think these words are so true and deliciously insightful.

A recipe has no soul. You as the cook must bring soul to the recipe.

~ Thomas Keller, American Chef~

Cooking is the ultimate giving.

~ Jamie Oliver, British Chef ~

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.

~ Charles, M. Schultz, Creator of the Peanuts Series ~

You have to taste culture to understand it.

~ Ashram Proverb ~

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

~ Paul Prudhomme, American/Cajun Chef ~

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.

~ J.R.R. Tolkien, British Author ~

And last but not least. I leave you with this. All these quotes are great, but I think this simple quote is my favorite of the bunch.

All we need to enjoy good food is a good appetite and an open heart.

~ Author Unknown ~

I think having an open heart is the key to enjoying life and all its experiences. Enjoy all your experiences that life provides and enjoy all of your days. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

Pork chops were the next item in our “meat rotation” as Larry likes to call it, so dinner was pork chops with a creamy mushroom sauce served over wild rice. YUM.

To me, the sauces are what make the meal. Pork chops on their own are fine, but they are really kind of plain and that makes them kind of boring, at least to me. So I am always trying to “sauce” them up in as many delicious ways as I can. And I did just that with this creamy mushroom sauce too.

This sauce was so easy to make and so good to eat too. You can also use this same sauce for chicken too if you like.

Pork Chops with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

2 lbs thick pork chops

salt 7 pepper to taste

olive oil

1/2 onion, diced fine

2-3 carrots, sliced

1 TBSP garlic

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 cup peas

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth

4 TBSP butter, divided

Add coarse salt and cracked black pepper to the pork and let it rest for about 2-3 hours before pan frying it and browning it. Then brown it for about 2 minutes per side in a very hot pan with a combination of olive oil and about 1 TBSP of butter.

Once the pork is completely browned and has a crust to it, remove it from the heat and set it aside. In the same pan. add the carrots, onions, mushrooms and garlic and cook for about 3-5 minutes or until the carrots are tender and the onions are translucent.

Add the Worcestershire sauce and seasonings. Combine well then add the broth, cream and the peas. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the rest of the butter to finish the sauce. Re-add the pork chops back to the sauce and heat thoroughly.

I served this over wild rice, but it would also go nicely with wither white or brown rice or even noodles too. I served it with a creamy chardonnay on the side, with some warmed ciabiatta. Delicious.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

The warmer spring weather is making everyone very playful. This little squirrel was having so much fun posing for the camera. You could tell he just loved being the focus of my camera’s attention. I don’t know who was enjoying it more, him or me. 🙂

Oh, are you looking at me? He has just discovered the camera, and he likes it.

There was one more squirrel in another tree who was curious, but he was not a ham at all like his buddy. He couldn’t really be bothered with the camera and the papparrazzi.

Try to find something good in everyday then everyday will be a good day.

This is a follow-up story to yesterday’s post regarding the ever increasing food costs. High Food Costs Are Eating Me Up The responses I received were all saying the same thing. EVERYONE is experiencing higher food prices at the grocery stores, everywhere, and not just here in the United States either. Our very own blogger seekingdivineperspective at https://seekingdivineperspective.com/ suggested I offer some saving tips on how to save in the kitchen. I can only offer the tips that personally work for me, but I do believe they can help everyone as well.

• Buy in bulk when you can, if you have storage space and/or freezer space. Even though it is just the two of us, we buy things in bulk as much as possible. We cut and divide things into smaller portions and freeze the rest. We especially do this for our meats. But we actually purchase a lot of thigs in bulk. For instance, I buy a 25 lb bag of flour at Costco that is cheaper than a 5 lb bag at the store. Of course I am going to buy it in bulk.
• Make as much from scratch as you can. I rarely buy pre-made or pre-packaged items. Yes, I do buy some items that are already made, like pasta sauce. Can I make it? Of course I can, but it is usually cheaper and easier to buy it already made. But things like pre-cut vegetables or meats that are already marinated, are much cheaper and usually healthier and better tasting if you do it on your own.
• Buy store brands rather than name brands. Store brand foods are almost always the same identical items you purchase with the fancy, more expensive name recognition. We shop at Costco all the time. We love Costco. The Costco/Kirkland brands are the same exact items you purchase with the name brands. They just use their own labels, because they too know that it is much cheaper to buy things in bulk.
• Waste not want not. You know how I have an alter ego whom I lovingly refer to as “The Queen of Leftovers”. I do my absolute best to re-use, repurpose and recycle everything, and that absolutely includes food as well. Both of my parents were products of both the great depression and WWII, so this philosophy is a concept I grew up with and it has always been a part of how I live my life.
• When entertaining, instead of having to prepare it all by yourself, have a potluck. You can still enjoy your friends and family, but at a fraction of the cost because everyone is contributing. Not only is this a more cost effective way to entertain, but it is also a lot of fun. You get to try many other styles of cooking and new recipes, and everyone gets to shine for a bit. I absolutely LOVE potlucks.
• If possible, DON’T buy a lot of specialty foods. Those are ALWAYS more expensive.
• I rarely buy organic foods. I buy local foods, but I rarely buy specifically organic foods. In all honestly, I have found that organic is NOT all that it is cracked up to be. This has to be a personal decision, and it will be different for everyone. But usually organic foods are much more expensive because they do not produce or yield as much as “non-organic” foods. And a lot of people have been fooled to believe that organic foods are better for the environment. NOT TRUE! To produce organic foods, it requires more water and more land to yield the same amounts.

List of Cons of Organic Food

• Easily Goes Bad. Compared to non-organic food, organic produce has the possibility of going off a lot quicker. …
• More Expensive. …
• Minimal Chemicals Allowed. …
• No Health Benefits. …
• No Nutritional Proof. …
• Even Low-Level Pesticides Can be Harmful. …
• Pesticide Contamination. …
• High Bacterial Levels.
•  In March, a Consumer Reports analysis found that, on average, the prices on organic foods were 47% higher than on their conventional counterparts. 

While organic crops are often promoted as being nutritionally superior to conventional or GMO, there is little evidence to support this claim. In fact, numerous studies (all from Google) have found no significant nutritional advantage of organic over conventionally grown foods.  A recent study found that because organic agriculture is now done mostly by big corporations instead of not local producers, and the lower yields combined with the intensive use of machinery means that overall, in terms of emissions and pollution, organic agriculture is usually worse than conventional.

Many consumers believe that the Organic label means the food has superior nutrition and is safer, especially in regard to pesticide residues. This is not true. Studies have shown no appreciable difference in nutrition between crops grown either organically or conventionally.  Organic agricultural production still uses pesticides and herbicides that USDA’s organic certification standards have okayed. Just because something is labeled “organic” does not mean that no pesticides or herbicides were used. It simply means that the ones applied met the USDA’s production standards for the term. In general, pesticide levels in both organic and non-organic foods were within allowable safety limits. A recent USDA survey reveals some shocking facts. According to an annual summary of pesticide data, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) revealed that a whopping 21 percent of organic samples tested contained pesticide residue.

***All of these tips on organic foods was taken from Google. Do your own research and make the decisions that are best for you and your family based on your own studies.

I hope these tips help. Right now, we are all doing our best to help make ends meet. All we can do is to do our best. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

Spring is definitely here. We have the first buds and blooms of spring. They are popping up all over the place. Usually the first buds and flowers to appear are either purple, yellow or white or a combination of all three. I don’t why this is, but those are usually the first colors we see, at least here around our lakes.

My own irises are starting to pop up as well. These too will be purple. Irises were my mother’s favorite flowers, so I have them around as much as I can to remind me of my mom.

Even the most recent bouquets that I bought were white, purple and yellow. I sense a theme here. 🙂

Spring has definitely sprung. Let the colors brighten your days and brighten your spirits.

I am sure you have all noticed the rising price of food in the grocery stores. It is happening everywhere. Every time I go into the store I am paying more for the same items than I did the time before. I am paying more and more and getting less and less each time. I never paid all that much attention to it before because the rising prices seemed small and incremental. But now they are HUGE and are very noticeable.

I had to finally concede that I can no longer teach my kids’ cooking classes at the moment because of these ever increasing high food prices. I was pricing out the items I needed for Noah’s latest request, and to my dismay and horror, in order to purchase just the basics for what I needed, plus the high costs of gas as well, I was actually operating in the red. And as I said, that was just for the basics too. It is much worse when I am purchasing specialty items. And that isn’t even accounting for my time, or my planning or my travel. No business, regardless of whether it’s just a business of 1 or a business of 1000, can continue operating in the red for very long. It broke my heart to have to say “good-bye” to the kids, but I had no other choice. These high food costs are eating me up.

All we can do is to do our best. And sometimes that means we have to make some touch choices to get through tough times. I hope all of you continue to do you best and to be your best. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.