And we’re off. This time, we’re off to Belize, once again, for some more fabulous diving. You won’t hear from me again for a few days, as I will be underwater blowing bubbles in Belize. I am hoping to reconnect with my all buddies and friends, the sharks, turtles, eagle rays, eels and all the brightly colored fishies of the warm, tropical Caribbean waters.
Maybe I’ll be back. Maybe I won’t. You just never know when I am off diving. 🙂
We got together with Bruce and Julia http://retirementrvdream.wordpress.com/ last night before they embark on their new adventures with their life on the road. We all met up at a small local Cajun restaurant called The Lost Cajun. As you might guess by the name, it is a Cajun restaurant, specializing in Cajun foods. Julia and I both have some Cajun roots, whereas Bruce and Larry have been adopted into the culture through osmosis.
Everything was very clean and the atmosphere was full of Cajun fun.
The Lost Cajun was founded by the lost Cajuns Raymond and Belinda Griffin, who ventured west to Colorado from Barataria, LA, after hurricanes and loss in their home state of Louisiana. They first opened a little authentic gumbo shop in the mountain area of Frisco, CO in 2010. From Frisco, they decided to open yet another Cajun restaurant in another “little” Colorado mountain town called Breckenridge. Now, they are franchising their brand and their restaurants all over the country. “It’s not just the food people love, it’s our culture of courtesy and respect that we’ve created, along with some of the best service that you have ever experienced. Our gumbos take 4 to 6 hours to cook, as well as our special dishes such as red beans and rice, crawfish etouffee and lobster bisque. There are no short cuts, and it’s got to be cooked slowly, with a lot of care! Our seafood is like none that you have ever tasted, and the beignets are just like the ones you get in New Orleans – maybe just a wee bit better! Stop in and try some of our free samples and you’ll see what I’m talking about. As we say in Louisiana, “make a pass” and say hello, feel the down-home atmosphere and “pass a good time!”.
As always when we get together with Julia and Bruce, we have a great time and share great food together. This time was no different. We chose to eat inside, as the weather outside was a bit frightful.
Fortunately, it was warm and welcoming inside. The walls were decorated with all kinds of fun Cajun memorabilia.
The food was just as warm and inviting as were the walls. Bruce started things off with a cup of Cajun Gumbo. Based on his smile, I think he liked it.
Next came a basket of fried alligator with a spicy remoulade for all of us to share. I love good alligator. It was perfectly crispy and tender all at the same time.
Those were just the starters. Next came the meal. Bruce, Julia and Larry all ordered Po’ Boy sandwiches. They were all different and they all ordered different sides.
I went for something totally different and I ordered the fried fish. I know, surprise, surprise right?! Me being different, who would have thought? 🙂
Everything was delicious and disappeared quickly. The portions were just the right size so that we were able to save a little room to finish the evening off with some hot and fresh beignets too. They were just as good, if not better, as the ones I remember from Cafe du Monde, down on Bourbon Street, in New Orleans.
We all had a great time telling stories and sharing laughs, as well as sharing the delicious food, or as they say in Louisiana, we made a pass and passed a good time. As the sign says, “Good Food, Good Friends, Good Times”.
Until we meet again Bruce and Julia. Safe travels on the road with all your new and upcoming adventures that await you both. Laissez le bontemps roulez!
We went to the The Lost Cajun located in Westminster, Colorado, just a hop skip and a jump from our doorstep. They are located at 3013 West 104th Avenue, Suite 100, Westminster, Colorado. You can give them a call at (720) 772-7773 or visit them online at westminster@thelostcajun.com. So make a pass and pass a good time. Trust me, you will be very happy you did.
Most us see weather like this and we want to stay indoors, with a nice steaming hot cuppa and a good book. But NOT my crazy kids. Oh No! They see weather like this and they think it is just perfect. 🙂
Come out and play with us Mommy.
HUH????? What do you mean it’s to cold? It’s perfect!
Mommy is so mean. She is no fun at all. She made us come in.
We are off to dive again in just a couple of days, and we like to bring goodies with us, either as dive snacks during our rest intervals or as dessert snacks or even for breakfast. I made some pumpkin chocolate chip bars to take along with us. I will just pack these up in airtight container and off they go, and off we’ll go. Belize, here we come! 🙂
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
2 cups flour
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup or 2 sticks softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
powdered sugar for dusting, optional
Preheat the oven to 350* F or 180* C.
Spray a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray.
Combine all the dry ingredients and set aside.
Mix the butter and sugars together until creamy, then add the egg and the vanilla and mix again. Add the pumpkin and 1/2 the flour mixture and mix. Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix just until everything is combined. Fold in 1 cup of the chocolate chips. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.
The recipe called for adding parchment paper to the dish, but I find that more troublesome than it is worth, so I removed it before adding the batter.
Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
Let cool before slicing, and let it cool again completely before dusting with powdered sugar, if using. Then it is time to eat them up, yum!
These are a fun treat anytime, anywhere. Enjoy.
Stay warm, stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.
After the snows, it was so beautiful outside. We are in between snows, so i took advantage the break. There was a little crispness to the air, but the sun was shining brightly and the skies were vibrantly blue. The birds were out enjoying it too. I could hear a lot more than I saw, but I did get to see some House Finches and Chipping Sparrows who were out enjoying their day.
The House Finches
Chipping Sparrows
Make the most of your days. There is always something new to see and do.
I love making soups of all kinds. There is something very comforting about soups, especially on a cold, blustery, snowy day. Yesterday was a perfect day for soup too. The winds were blowing, the snow was falling and the outside temperature was frigid. So I stayed in and made a big pot of soup. It just hit the spot.
We are getting ready to leave for another diving trip so I threw in a bit of everything to help clear out the fridge too. This soup is full of stuff; chicken, sausage, onions, carrots, garlic, spinach, tomatoes, and white beans. YUM! it was a very hearty soup that was a meal. It definitely warmed us up from the inside out too.
My mis-en-place is all set, ready to go.
First step was to par cook the sausage so I could chop it for later.
I added the olive oil, carrots, onions and garlic to a hot soup pot and cooked them up for about 7 minutes, or until the onions and carrots were tender.
Next came the meats and seasonings. This took about 15 minutes. I needed to make sure both the chicken and sausage were completely cooked.
Then came about 8 cups of chicken broth.
I brought everything to a boil, then reduced the heat to a simmer and added the spinach, white beans and tomatoes. I simmered it all for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, and then it was time for soup.
It was a simple meal of soup, bread and wine. I used the last of my cheesy-mushroom pull apart bread, which was a perfect companion to the soup. Cheesy Mushroom Pull Apart Monkey Bread Sometimes simple meals are all we need. When we eat sim[le meals I can save more room for my favorite snack and dessert – POPCORN! And popcorn we ate too. AWWWW! My kind of meal.
Stay warm, stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.
The snow has arrived. It has been snowing all morning, and it’s still coming down now. So far, we have about 3-4 inches. We are expected to get between 3-6 inches today.
Both Vinnie and Juneau were made for this kind of weather. This is their favorite type of weather. They both think this is the perfect kind of weather. As they were out enjoying themselves, I was freezing! It’s FRIGID out there. But I was able to capture a few good pictures of them having fun before I had to call them in. Boy did I ever get some dirty looks too when I did too. 🙂
Stay warm, stay well and stay safe Everyone. ‘Til next time.
This is the last post of my Indian Feast series. When having a feast or celebrating a special occasion you have to have sweets and desserts, right? So this one is about the dessert, although we had so much food, we didn’t really need dessert, but it always appreciated and makes any occasion a special occasion.
My Indian dessert was banana, coconut and cardamom samosas. Usually when I make samosas I make them as a savory dish. I had never thought about making them sweet before. But apparently sweet samosas are very popular in India too, especially for special events and holidays.
Samosas are fried or baked pastries filled with either a savory or sweet filling. They take shape in many different forms, but most commonly as either triangles or half moon shapes, depending on the region they are from. They are popular all over South East Asia, The Middle East, Central Asia, East Africa as well as other parts of the world. They have been around for centuries, and most likely traveled to India from the Ancient Spice or Silk routes. It is believed they originated in the Middle East. The word samosa is a Hindu word, with Persian roots. The word samosa means triangular pastry.
Normally when I make samosas, I fry them, but this time, I actually followed the recipe (a rarity, I know), and it said to bake them, although to be fair, it did also suggest you could fry them, but their preferred method was to bake them. I decided I prefer them fried to baked, but hey I am always up for trying new things. Next time, and there will definitely be a next time for these delicious sweet treats, I will fry them instead of baking them.
Banana, Coconut & Cardamom Samosas
The Pastry
2 large very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
2/3 cup toasted coconut
2 tsp cardamom
2 TBSP light brown sugar
phyllo or filo pastry sheets, cut into strips to make about 20
4-5 oz melted butter
powdered sugar for dusting
The Sauce
1 4-oz bar of chocolate – You can use either dark or white. I chose white chocolate with coconut
1 tsp butter
1 tsp chai tea leaves
If you want to bake these, preheat the oven to 400* F or 200* C. If you prefer to fry them, get a deep skillet or pan and add about 2 inches of vegetable or canola oil. Get the oil to 350* F or 180*C before adding the samosas.
I just toasted the coconut in a dry skillet on the stove. It browns very quickly, so watch it. You do not want to burn it. This is optional, but I prefer toasted coconut to plain. If toasting it, you just want it lightly golden.
Mash the bananas completely, then add the toasted coconut, brown sugar and the cardamom and combine thoroughly.
Working with phyllo or filo dough can be very tricky. It is a very delicate dough that needs to be kept moist. As you are working with the dough, keep the rest covered with a damp towel so it doesn’t dry out. If it dries, it is close to impossible to work with. I actually used two towels. One dry, and then I added the damp towel on top of the dry towel so the dough did not get wet or mushy.
Get two sheets of the dough and carefully spread it out and brush the melted butter all over the top.
Cut the dough into strips about 2 inches wide. Add a dollop of the banana mixture at the top then carefully fold it over until you have a triangle. Keep folding until you have used the whole strip. Fold it like you are folding a flag. Carefully fold the end pieces into the seam to seal the pastry. Continue until the filling is done.
Once all the triangle pastries are made, brush them with more melted butter. At this point, you can cover and refrigerate them for a awhile until you are ready to cook them, either by pan frying or by baking them.
Either way you prepare them, it won’t take long to cook them. If you are baking them, bake them at 400* F or 200* C for about 4 minutes. If you are frying them, fry them until they are lightly golden. Allow them to cool completely then dust with the powdered sugar.
The sauce is easy to make too. I used white chocolate with coconut, mixed with the chai tea and a little butter, but dark chocolate is great too. Just melt it all down until it becomes a liquid, then drizzle it over the samosas.
I topped them with the sauce and then served them with ice cream and added a sprinkle of chai leaves on top.
They were delicious. They were so light and airy. You could also add some golden sultanas or golden raisins too, both inside the filling and to top them.
These are the books I used for my recipes and my inspirations for this fabulous feast. It was a feast enjoyed by all.
Stay warm, stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.
Today is a beautiful day with clear blue skies. There is only a slight crispness and coolness to the air. But tomorrow … We are supposed to have more snow. I took advantage of the better weather today. So did the ducks and geese.
Our ponds are all in various stages of being frozen over. Some are completely frozen while others are only partially frozen, while others still are frozen only on the ends and are liquid in the middle. Either way, the ducks and geese were having fun.
The tracks. You know they have been here. They have left their marks.
Found … Ducks and geese.
Is this the polar bear swim club?
The geese were mostly our Canadians, but if you look closely, you will also see one lone snow goose hiding.
I’ve got to get away from these crazy boys.
I’m so handsome, she’ll come back to me. I just know it.
BRRRRRR! It’s cold.
My ducks today were mostly Mallards, but I did have a couple of Common Goldeneyes enjoying themselves too.
Stay warm, stay well and stay safe Everyone, but still make sure to always make the best of your days.
I am coming to a close on my recent Indian Feast series. Only a couple more recipes to go. This is the last of the main meal recipes and dishes. It is a very simple, very delicious recipe that was a big hit, and helped turn our meal into a feast.
This simple recipe only require a few basic ingredients that we all have in our kitchens and pantries.
Indian Tomato and Onion Salad
1/2 cup white vinegar
1-2 tsp green chilies, diced fine – you can use either jalapeno, serrano or Thai chilies. I use jalapenos for just about everything
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup onion, sliced very thin
4-5 tomatoes, cut into wedges
Cut the onions and peppers first and let them marinate in the vinegar for about 10 or so minutes to mellow and soften their pungent flavors.
Add the tomatoes and chill in the refrigerator until ready to eat. This is both simple and is simply delicious. Enjoy. We all did.
Stay well and stay safe Everyone. ‘Til next time.
