Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

I have seen so many hummingbirds this season. Yesterday when I was at the end of my walk, and almost home, I was greeted by another hummingbird, a Broad-tailed Hummingbird this time. He was was flying all around some flowers and was having a great time. He let me get a few good shots before flying away too.

Life is full of unexpected surprises. Appreciate them while you can. They don’t last long. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Labor Day weekend unofficially marks the end of summer here in the United States. Technically, there is still a couple of weeks left of summer, but as far as holidays go, especially for kids going back to school, Labor Day weekend is the marker. We don’t have kids, so it doesn’t really apply to us, other than a lot of businesses in tourist areas close up until the beginning of spring around this time.

Because we don’t have kids, we tend to avoid holiday weekends in hopes of avoiding the crowds. But we decided to take a drive up through the mountains. We picked a beautiful day for a drive and it wasn’t very crowded at all either. We packed up a picnic lunch and off we went. We headed back up to Horsetooth Reservoir and then made a big, giant loop through the canyons, following the Cache la Poudre River.

We chose a picnic table overlooking this part of the reservoir. Isn’t it gorgeous?!

After lunch, we continued north and started following the Cache la Poudre River and just made a big loop.

It was a beautiful drive, and surprisingly still very green for this time of year. We do these little drives all the time, and we just stop whenever something catches our eye, get out and explore a bit, then we hop back in the car until out our next stop.

On one of our stops, we even saw a momma white-tailed mule deer with her 2 fawns.

This is momma,

and fawn #1,

and fawn #2 running to catch up.

They followed momma everywhere she went.

We love doing these little drives. We have seen so much of Colorado, as well as many other places all around the world by traveling this way. We see so much more than a lot of other people, only because we stop at whatever we see and we like to take the unbeaten paths rather than just sticking to the highways.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Enjoy all the little things in life. Those are the things that matter most. 🙂

There are many different versions of potato salad, found in most places around the world. American/Southern potato salad usually is made with a mayonnaise/mustard type sauce, Cilantro Lime Potato Salad. European versions, or at least German versions, tend to have more of a light vinaigrette, and the salads are often served warm or at least at room temperature.

I made a red potato salad with a dill vinaigrette to go with all of of our smoked meat the other day, More Tomatoes = More Sauce. I made something a little different because Peter said he wasn’t a big fan of traditional “American” potato salad. Besides, I love to vary and switch things up all the time. I never like serving the same old/same old all the time. 🙂

Red Potato Salad with Dill Vinaigrette

This is a simple, basic potato salad with a simple vinaigrette. It has a light dill-mustard flavor that goes down nice and smooth.

1 1/2-2 lbs red potatoes, quartered

1-1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 up white balsamic, apple cider vinegar or Prosecco vinegar – I used Prosecco

salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

1/4 cup green onions, sliced

3-4 sprigs of fresh dill removed from the stems and chopped

Cook the potatoes until they are done. I usually boil them for about 12 minutes, then let them cool a bit. But for this salad, you want the potatoes to still be warm. This version of potato salad is supposed to be served warm or room temperature. Add the green onions.

Combine all the rest of the ingredients together to make your dressing, and use just enough to lightly coat the potatoes and green onions. Toss everything together and serve. Easy-peasy and delicious.

This is a lighter, healthier version of potato salad for anyone who is trying to curb the calories a bit. It goes well with anything you want to serve it next to. Its light flavor will compliment just about everything. Enjoy.

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

I had yet another very bountiful tomato harvest again, and there are still a ton of tomatoes left, just waiting to ripen. I even got a couple of green bell peppers too this time. I still have tomatoes from my last tomato harvest as well. Needless to say, I still have a lot of tomatoes, and this is AFTER giving a lot away and making different sauces and using them in a lot of creative ways.

The best way to use a lot of tomatoes is by turning them into a sauce, or two, or three. I’ve already used them for marinara sauce A Simple Marinara and for a red mole sauce Puerco con Mole Coloradito. This time, I made a spicy BBQ sauce.

Once again, we had Peter over for dinner, and this time he brought his girlfriend Lilly. So Larry had the smoker out and smoked a bunch of meats. Smoked meats need a good BBQ sauce to go with them, right? And since I have a lot of tomatoes to use, I hit the books to find a perfect sauce to compliment Larry’s smoking abilities. I came up with a recipe for a spicy BBQ sauce, and then of course I changed it and made it my own. 🙂

Fresh Tomato Spicy BBQ Sauce

3 lbs tomatoes, diced – I like to mix and match mine

1 onion, diced

1 1/2 TBSP garlic

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or boiled apple cider vinegar

2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

1-2 chipotle peppers and their sauce

1 TBSP Dijon mustard

1 tsp paprika

salt & pepper to taste

1-2 TBSP honey

1-2 tsp liquid smoke

1/4 cup olive oil

Get a large pot very hot and add the olive oil, onions and garlic. Let cook for about 4 minutes, or until the onions and garlic are translucent and fragrant.

Add the tomatoes and all the rest of the ingredients and cook at a low heat for about 30-40 minutes, or until most of the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce thickens. Allow to cool for just a bit, then puree everything in the food processor.

You are looking for a nice, thick sauce.

Enjoy it with anything you would serve with BBQ sauce. This is much better than any store bought sauce though. 🙂 We added it to the brisket, ribs and the chicken that Larry smoked. Delicious!

Larry also smoked some corn on the cob and I made a simple tomato cucumber salad and a potato salad with a dill vinaigrette.

We all enjoyed the simple dinner and played a bunch of games after. Everyone had a good time, with a lot of good food and lot of laughs.

Life is better when shared with friends and good food. We do our best to celebrate this way as much as we can. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

I am so flattered that so many of you think that I have a beautiful garden with all of these bright, colorful flowers. But sadly no. None of them are mine. I inherited my mother’s “black thumb” when it comes to gardening. They are just beautiful flowers I see on my walks. These are the last of the last for this summer. The fall colors and touches are now coming in, replacing the summer blooms. They are just as beautiful, just beauty of a different kind, for a different season.

Have a beautiful, safe and happy holiday weekend. ‘Til next time.

Costco is great! What would we do without Costco? One of our latest discoveries there was their new, or at least new to us, frozen gyro meat. We’ve have it a few times already. It’s really good too. Anyway, that’s what we pulled down from the freezer and added to this week’s meat rotation. I turned it into a gyro salad.

I made a yogurt dressing, and mixed together Romaine lettuce, red onions, sliced very thin, sliced cucumbers, of course some of my fresh tomatoes, feta cheese for Larry, and sliced mixed olives. Then I added the Costco gyro meat and a warmed pita and hummus and served it all with a cool, crisp Albarino on the side. It was delicious and just perfect for a summer’s meal. I used some of the red and yellow tomatoes for this cool salad.

Yogurt Dressing

This dressing was similar to a tzatziki sauce only I added a little Prosecco vinegar as well to make it more of a salad dressing.

1-1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

2 TBSP lemon juice

fresh ground black pepper

2 tsp garlic

dash of cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

2 TBSP Prosecco vinegar or apple cider vinegar – I used Prosecco vinegar

2 tsp fresh basil, chiffonade

Mix everything together well, and add to your salad or use as a marinade for meats. Delicious, quick, and easy-peasy.

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

All good things come to an end, and times, they keep on a’ changin’. Summer is coming to and end, and fall is just around the corner. Everything is preparing for a new season to begin. That means all my summer flowers are living out their last days of this season, and will lie low until it is time for them to spring up again next year. Here are some of the last of the summer flowers for this season. I may have enough to share a few more with you, but they are coming to an end for this year. Enjoy them while you still can.

I haven’t been baking much these days because unless I am having company over, I do not need to have the temptations around. I am really trying to lose weight, and have cut out almost all sweets and sugars. But every now and then, and especially when we have company, I indulge. I miss baking too, but it is a necessary sacrifice. 🙂

As I mentioned yesterday, A Simple Marinara, we had Peter over for dinner. Of course I had to have dessert too. I made a grape and olive oil cake for the occasion. I didn’t feel quite so guilty because it had grapes, which are fruit. So it was kind of healthy, right?! Of course Larry and Peter added ice cream to their cake, so forget about it being healthier, at least for them. 🙂

Grape Cake with Olive Oil

You can use either red or green grapes for this cake. I’ve made it with both. This time I had green grapes.

Preheat the oven to 350* F or 180* C.

Spray a 9″ cake pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup olive oil

4 TBSP melted butter

2 tsp lemon zest

2 tsp orange zest

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups seedless grapes

powdered sugar for topping

Combine all the dry ingredients together and set aside.

Beat the eggs and sugar together until creamy, then add the melted butter, vanilla, milk and olive oil. Mix together thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients 1/2 a time, mixing in between. Don’t over mix or your cake will turn out tough and dry.

Fold in about 2/3 of the grapes. And pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Add the rest of the grapes on top of the batter.

Bake for about 1 hour, or until the cake is lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely before removing from the pan.

Dust with powdered sugar on top if you like and enjoy. This was another hit, and we ended sending about 1/4 of the cake home with Peter, for him to enjoy again later.

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

Is it possible to have more than one spirit animal? I say yes. I personally have a few, including dolphins, sharks, tigers, and wolves. All of these animals speak to me and to my soul, representing different sides of my personality. Years ago, I participated in one of the EST personality tests, as part of a group team building thing with the company I was working with at the time. It was based on different animals. My personality traits came up equally divided between the playful, fun-loving dolphin and the dangerous and efficient hunter, the tiger. I wasn’t surprised at all.

On our most recent visit to the Wild Animal Sanctuary, the wolves were very active and just having fun. They were loving life. These two are siblings, out on the prowl together.

The white one is one of the parents.

This one’s not so sure about the water.

A little parental encouragement goes a long way.

Resting after a nice swim.

This is a wolf hybrid just resting on the rocks.

Have a great day and make everyday great. 🙂

Marinara sauce originated in Naples, Italy, likely in the 16th century after tomatoes were introduced to Europe, and its name, meaning “sailor-style” or “mariner style,” reflects its historical connection to seafaring individuals. Though early forms may not have featured tomatoes, and the sauce’s true origin is debated, the simple, shelf-stable ingredients of tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil made it ideal for sailors and fishermen. The sauce became a staple in Italian cuisine, transforming into a key ingredient in Italian-American dishes like spaghetti and meatballs after its introduction to the United States by immigrants in the late 1800s.

With all of the tomatoes I have been picking lately, I have to come up with creative ways of using up a lot of tomatoes at a time. Sauces will do that. This time, it was a simple, basic, delicious marinara sauce that I used for my chicken Parmigiano. It seems like no matter how many tomatoes I use, I still have an endless, or at least seemingly endless, supply. 🙂

Simple Marinara Sauce

I used a combination of tomatoes for this easy-peasy, delicious sauce. I like mixing my tomatoes, especially when making sauces. I think combining different varieties adds a new level of richness to the sauce.

5-6 lbs tomatoes, diced medium

1-2 TBSP garlic

1/3 cup olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

1 TBSP each fresh basil, chiffonade, fresh thyme and fresh oregano, chopped

Heat the garlic in the olive oil and cook at a medium-low temperature for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the tomatoes, salt & pepper and cook for about 30-45 minutes, or until the tomatoes break down and make a thick sauce. Stir occasionally.

Add the fresh herbs right at the very end of the cooking process and mix together thoroughly. Add more of the fresh herbs on top right before serving.

Serve over anything you like, from pasta, to chicken, to seafood or vegetables. No matter what you serve it with, you will love it.

We had Janet and Bob’s grandson Peter over for dinner last night, and Janet kept telling me that Peter likes simple foods. Well he went back for seconds, so I’m pretty sure he liked this. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Sometimes the simple things in life are the best things. Stay safe and say well. ‘Til next time.