Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

The moment we have all been waiting for has finally arrived. I have now gone through all of our amazing entries for this year and have determined who will be awarded with our coveted 2021 Great Blogger’s Bake-Off Awards. Each year the competition gets stiffer and stiffer. Everyone who participated, from around the world, has done an amazing job. Congratulations to you all. There was so much creativity and LOVE presented in all the entries this year. This year, LOVE was the key ingredient, though it always is, because this year’s theme was Love Sweet Love.

It was so fun seeing so many wonderful and beautiful creations. We had a lot of new participants as well as a lot of returning participants. Everything was a work of art, as well as a work of love. This year we also had some poets submit their works of love and art as well. Music and love songs were also included, though those will only get special mention due to the fact that they were not original pieces.

Our first award goes to Gentleman Dave, The Poet’s Kiss https://daonline.home.blog/ for his poem “Recipe for Love Cake“.

Preheat the heart

With kindness and humility.

Butter the pan of your mind

With unselfishness

To prevent the batter of life from sticking.

Mix together patience and contentment

With a generous helping of joy.

Add the zest of life

And sweetness and honey

As much as you desire.

Gently fold the mixture

And sprinkle in trust

A little at a time

Folding it into the mix

Keeping it light and fluffy.

Spread forgiveness

Over all that you say and do.

Then place it in your heart

In the center of your heart

So your love will get even heat on all sides

Cooking it slowly

Don’t rush it.

When it is ready

And you’ll know when it is ready

Sprinkle gratitude over it all

Don’t miss a bit.

Your love should be hot

But moist in the middle.

If at any time, you feel it growing cold

Preheat your heart

And start all over again.

Congratulations Gentleman Dave!!!! You are a true Romantic.

The second award is awarded for the smaller things, that are able to be held in your hand. It goes to Tandy Sinclair from Lavender & Lime at https://tandysinclair.com/https. Tandy is not only a returning participant, but she is always a past winner, with her entry from last year for Best Savory Dish, The Vegetable Cups. This year, Tandy is once again recognized and awarded for her Lemon Meringues. Oh, these just look absolutely Heavenly!

Congratulations Tandy for another great presentation and another Gold Star effort.

Our Creativity Award goes to Tango’s Baking, from https://tangosbaking.home.blog/ for the very fun and creative rendition of the Garfield Bread.

Our Best Themed Award goes to Patria for her Goldilocks’ Cake, that was made out of love for the person who captured her heart. This was also her first time baking. Patria, you did an amazing job! Very well done. Definitely keep up the good work.

Our Best Effort Award goes to Gary Metcalf for his Comeback Cake. He was bound and determined to never give up, and despite all the things that went wrong, he still came out with a decent cake. As they would say Down Under, Good on ya Mate! Gary is also a past Best Effort Award winner, for his cake Houston, We Have a Problem! Gary, I admire your determination. You are a true inspiration to us all.

This year’s runner up and 2nd Place Award goes to Julie, from One More Bite for her Yuzo Curd Tart. This is a beautiful and breathtaking piece of art that looks almost to good to eat. Almost. Beautifully done Julie. Congratulations!

And the Grand Prize for 2021 goes to ……..

Marina from France, who can be found at https://www.instagram.com/marinadenice06/?utm_medium=copy_link

Marina’s cake, The Gambler’s Cake, is a beautiful masterpiece from a very gifted and talented artist. Congratulations Marina! Tres Bien! C’est Manifique! This is an exquisite work of art. You should be very proud of yourself for an EXCELLENT and BEAUTIFUL piece of EDIBLE ART!

And there you have it. The final results from 2021’s Great Blogger-Bake-Off, LOVE SWEET LOVE. Many thanks to all who participated in this fun, annual event. Everyone did an outstanding job. You all made my job very fun, but also very difficult. Keep up the GREAT work Everyone! I can’t wait to see what you all come up with next year.

Please give all of our participants and winners a HUGE round of applause, and please check out their blogs too. They would all love it if you stop by and say hi. Also, please give a big, huge shout out and round of applause to both Mel at Caramel and Gary at  A Dad trying to cope with the loss of his Partner and becoming a single parent. None of this would have been possible without either of them and all their works and efforts that go on behind the scenes for this fun and fabulous annual event. Both also submitted some wonderful entries, and Gary has now won his second Best Effort Award. Well done EVERYONE, well done!

Roses come in all shapes, sizes and colors. They are the universal symbol of love. The tradition of giving flowers carried on to the Middle Ages, especially among the English and the French. It is believed that the tradition of giving a meaning to each type of flower was started in Europe after it was witnessed being done in Turkey. The Victorians widely practiced this custom as well. Classically, roses symbolize love and romance however their meaning can extend way beyond that. The red rose is a universal symbol of love across many cultures but beyond that, the rose can symbolize a variety of feelings depending on their variety, color and number. Roses symbolize suffering: Christian iconography uses the red rose as a symbol of Jesus Christ’s bodily suffering, as well as the blood of other saints such as Alban. Yet roses also symbolize the peace that awaits people in the next world.

http://viewfromtheback.com/2021/08/03/cees-flower-of-the-day-130/

Challenge rules, why not join in?

1.Feel free to post every day or whenever you you feel like it.  You can either post new flower photos or dig back into your archives.

2. Depending on the time of year, you can post any of these types of things for your FOTD.

• Single flowers
• Buds
• Multiple flowers
• Bouquet
• Flower fields
• Wildflowers
• Tree or bush blossoms
• Autumn leaves
• Spring leaves
• Decorative Cabbage
• Berries
• Still life
• Fake or Silk Flowers

So with these roses, I send you good thoughts of peace and love. I think right now, in these turbulent times we live, we could all use some peace and love.

Well, once again, the deadline for all the entries for our 2021 Great Blogger’s Bake-Off has arrived. I think I now have all the entries, and I will start going through the and reviewing them all. Determining who the winners are will be NO easy task either. From what I’ve seen so far, OMG!!!!! Once again, everyone did an amazing job! Thank you all for your fantastic efforts, stories and poems. I will have the results out to you within a couple of days. So don’t change that dial! Stay tuned!

We got together with our friends Julia and Bruce over the weekend. As you might recall, Julia and I met through the world of blogging and since have become very good friends. We have a lot in common and truly enjoy each other’s company. Julia’s blog is http://retirementrvdream.wordpress.com/. If you haven’t “met” Julia yet, you should stop by and say hi. Julia is a fabulous cook as well and there is always something scrumptious cooking in her kitchen. You will love what’s cooking in Julia’s kitchen too.

We started the day off with some wine tasting and officially introduced Bruce and Julia to our favorite local winery, InVINtions Video #17 – INVINtions, A Creative Winery, though they have enjoyed many a bottle of their wines with us at our house already. After wine tasting, we headed back their new “home”. Bruce and Julia have decided to hit the road and they now take their home with them everywhere they go. Their new “home” is an RV.

As far as RV’s go, this is top of the line and is both spacious and luxurious. I was amazed at the kitchen too. It is a full-sized, fully equipped kitchen that you would find in a house. Julia said Larry and I were their first dinner guests in their new “home”. We are honored. Julia prepared a fantastic steak fajita dinner for us, that we enjoyed outside at the picnic table before the rain hit. Though Julia’s new kitchen is amazing, she actually prepared our meal outside on the grill this time, which was perfectly OK with us. 🙂 Here she is grilling up the steaks to perfection along with some onions and poblano chilies.

Bruce and Julia’s new home.

Julia’s actual kitchen. It is hard to believe this is a kitchen in an RV, but it is.

Slicing the steak. It was cooked to absolute steak perfection too. It just melted in our mouths.

And voila! The fajitas are a culinary masterpiece. I loaded them up with some of Julia’s fantastic guacamole as well. For dessert, we had some sliced Palisade peaches Palisade Peach Salsa that Julia had seasoned with garam masala. That was a treat I never would have thought of, but they were so good!!!!!!

Once again, thank you Bruce and Julia for your delicious hospitality and for all the good times. We look forward to many, many more ahead.

Life is short. Do what makes you happy and don’t worry about the rest. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

Purple and yellow are the predominant colors for flowers this year. I see all shades of purple and yellow everywhere I go. It is such a pretty, vibrant combination. Here are some more of our beautiful purples proudly wearing their colors..

Color me purple, color me beautiful.

http://viewfromtheback.com/2021/08/03/cees-flower-of-the-day-130/

Challenge rules, why not join in?

1.Feel free to post every day or whenever you you feel like it.  You can either post new flower photos or dig back into your archives.

2. Depending on the time of year, you can post any of these types of things for your FOTD.

• Single flowers
• Buds
• Multiple flowers
• Bouquet
• Flower fields
• Wildflowers
• Tree or bush blossoms
• Autumn leaves
• Spring leaves
• Decorative Cabbage
• Berries
• Still life
• Fake or Silk Flowers

With my Church coffee cart up and running, and getting more and more successful each week, I now have a good excuse to start baking again without feeling guilty. I love to bake, but if I bake and I am not having people over, or going someplace that gives me an excuse for making something sweet, I feel guilty. I am really trying to loose weight, but it is so hard to do it when then are sweets, treats and goodies all around. So I have not been baking much for quite some time. But if it is for the church, well that it is all good, right?!

This time the coffee cart was fueled with some Nutella brownie bites, lemony zucchini bread and some chocolate chip cookies (I bought those). Once again, they were all gone at the end of the day. I like it that way, and apparently, so does everyone else. 🙂

Yes, I did technically bake the brownies and I did add the Nutella, but they were from a mix. There is NOTHING wrong from baking from a mix, and often times, they have already been perfected and there is nothing else to change. They are simply perfection in a box. But we can all do that. My lemony zucchini bread, however, was all from scratch. I was inspired by another one of our blogger “family members”, but I am embarrasses to admit, I forget who the idea came from. I do apologize for that. Though the recipe is mostly my own.

Lemony Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 cups sifted flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup grated zucchini

1/4 cooking oil

1 egg

1 TBSP lemon juice

1 TBSP poppy seeds

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

Spray cooking spray into a loaf pan.

Sift all the dry ingredients together, including the sugar, and add the zucchini.

Mix the egg, oil and lemon juice together then add to the dry mixture and mix only until everything is thoroughly combined, but do not over mix. Then pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly in the pan.

Bake for about 1 jour, or until it starts to turn a light golden color and an inserted toothpick comes out cleans.

Let it cool completely before adding the glaze and slicing.

The Glaze

2 TBSP lemon juice

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 TBSP + 1 tsp fresh lemon zest

Whisk the lemon juice and powdered sugar together then drizzle it over the top of the bread. Sprinkle the lemon zest over the top. Slice and enjoy.

I think it is because of the zucchini, but this cake is so moist and delicate. It is a lemon lover’s delight. 🙂

Sometimes, it is perfectly OK to enjoy those guilty pleasures in life. That’s what keeps us happy. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

There is beauty in everything. We are beginning to enter into fall, and the leaves and flowers all around are making their seasonal changes. This time, the berries are in bloom. Tree berries, that is. 🙂

http://viewfromtheback.com/2021/08/03/cees-flower-of-the-day-130/

Challenge rules, why not join in?

1.Feel free to post every day or whenever you you feel like it.  You can either post new flower photos or dig back into your archives.

2. Depending on the time of year, you can post any of these types of things for your FOTD.

• Single flowers
• Buds
• Multiple flowers
• Bouquet
• Flower fields
• Wildflowers
• Tree or bush blossoms
• Autumn leaves
• Spring leaves
• Decorative Cabbage
• Berries
• Still life
• Fake or Silk Flowers

The weather is already beginning to cool down, and the days are not as oppressively hot any more. Fall is coming. It won’t be to much longer now. 🙂

It was a another steak night, but of course I had to try it in a different way. After all, I can’t fix it the same way time after time, right?! 🙂 This time I marinated it in orange juice, jalapenos, green onions, cilantro and garlic to give it a little bit of a Caribbean flair. I served it with some vegetable quesadillas on the side, making it even more Caribbean and South of the Border style.

Steak With Orange and Jalapeno Sauce

1 1/2-2 lbs steak, your choice of cut

1 TBSP garlic

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced fine

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup green onions, sliced thin

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped fine

salt & pepper to taste

Season the steak with salt & pepper. Mix all the ingredients together and pour over the steak as a marinade, reserving some of the sauce for later. Allow the steak to marinate for at least 2-3 hours before cooking.

I had every intention of grilling the steak, but when it was time to cook dinner, we were in the midst of a thunder and rain storm and had just come off a tornado warning, so I decided to pan-fry it and sear it in the skillet, on the stove instead. I admit, I love walking on the wild side and living a bit dangerously, but there is something about standing outside in the thunder and lightening while grilling meats that puts me off a bit. Call me strange, I know. My point is that whether you decide to sear it or grill it, it will turn out just fine and will be very tasty and delicious no matter how it is cooked. 🙂 If you are searing it, make sure the skillet is HOT, HOT, HOT, then add a combination of butter and olive oil to cook the meat. Cook for 3 minutes per side, then 1-2 minutes per side again, depending on the thickness of the meat as well as your desired level of doneness. We like it medium rare, and very pink inside. But you still want the crust on the outside too. For this, timing is EVERYTHING.

When the steak is done to your level of perfection, remove it from the skillet and top it with the remaining marinade and serve with your favorite side dishes. Because this was steak, I chose a nice, full-bodied red to go with it.

Enjoy the finer things in life. Bon Appetit! !Disfrutar!

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

All kinds of things are still in bloom right now. Everyday is a new adventure. You just never know what is going to catch my eye or the lens of my camera. I have always called these pussy willows, but when I was looking it up to double check, I learned I have been wrong all this time. I found out they are actually called cattails. They are growing all around our lakes. Right now they look like over cooked corndogs. Later they will burst open with a cotton-like filling.

http://viewfromtheback.com/2021/08/03/cees-flower-of-the-day-130/

Challenge rules, why not join in?

1.Feel free to post every day or whenever you you feel like it.  You can either post new flower photos or dig back into your archives.

2. Depending on the time of year, you can post any of these types of things for your FOTD.

• Single flowers
• Buds
• Multiple flowers
• Bouquet
• Flower fields
• Wildflowers
• Tree or bush blossoms
• Autumn leaves
• Spring leaves
• Decorative Cabbage
• Berries
• Still life
• Fake or Silk Flowers

Have a great day Everyone. Don’t forget to take in the little things. Those are the things that brighten your days.

Pasta salads are a typical American dish with the earliest recipe for it being published in 1962, though they have been an American trend since 1916. The dish gained in popularity during the early eighties and was touted as a form of Nouvelle Cuisine. Pastas in various shapes and sizes were heaped on a plate and topped with dressings of vinegar, olive oil or mayonnaise. “Salad, a term derived from the Latin sal (salt), which yielded the form salata, ‘salted things’ such as the raw vegetables eaten in classical times with a dressing of oil, vinegar or salt. … And hence the name salad, which comes from Vulgar Latin Herba salata, literally ‘salted herb’.” There are as many variations as there are people who live in the USA. We love our pasta salads. They are great side dishes and people take them to pot luck parties, picnics and BBQ’s all the time. They are most often served cold and go with just about anything.

I had pesto and I had pasta. All I needed to do was to cut up a few vegetables and cook up some bacon. Then I tossed it all together for a deliciously cool summer salad.

As I mentioned above, there is NO one way to make a pasta salad. The possibilities are infinite. This is just one way. I have eaten and made many different varieties. They are a quick, easy-peasy way to make something tasty to take with you wherever you go.

It’s colorful, full of vegetables and full of flavor. This time I used red, orange and green bell peppers, green onions, cherry tomatoes and bacon.

I combined my pesto with some mayonnaise for the sauce.

Then everything just got tossed together, and into the refrigerator it went for a chill before serving.

Quick, easy-peasy and delicious. It’s a perfect combination for a busy and hot summer day.

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