I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
Author: ajeanneinthekitchen
I have worked in the restaurant and catering industry for over 35 years. I attended 2 culinary schools in Southern California, and have a degree in culinary arts from the Southern California School of Culinary Arts, as well as a few other degrees in other areas. I love to cook and I love to feed people.
I was able to get out and about for a bit before we had a little tornado in our area. People do not realize that Colorado is part of Tornado Alley, but it is, particularly Eastern Colorado. About 3:15 yesterday afternoon, I had an emergency tornado alert sent to me on my phone. It was for all over the state, but we had a funnel cloud right down the street from us too, and we are in the North Denver Metro area. We had a brief hail storm and rain, but it only lasted about 20 minutes or so.
These are some shots I got of our feathered tallgrass before the tornado warning though. I just love these. These are in my front yard.
To say you are eating Indian food is really open to interpretation since, India is a land of many mysteries and many different people from many different walks of life. Because this land has such a rich diversity of people from all different backgrounds, there is a wide variety of different kinds of foods as well. The Parsis or Parcees are a group of people who are “Persians,” who are descended from Persian Zoroastrians who emigrated to India to avoid religious persecution by Muslims. They live mostly on the West Coast of the Indian shores. Because their heritage is Persian, as you would expect, the foods are also mostly Persian as well. Most of the Indian foods found in America come from the Northern parts of India.
It was time for some chicken, but of course, I didn’t want anything ordinary. I know we just had an Asian Beef stir-fry the other day A Little Stir-Fry, but there is a huge difference between a Chinese style stir-fry and Indian food, especially food from the Parsi sector of India, so they were completely different, even though technically, both are considered Asian. The Parsi name for this dish is Dhansak.
When cooking ethnic foods, I like to prepare them as authentically as I can, so I tend to actually follow recipes a lot more closely than I normally do. Indian foods are always made with a wide variety of exotic spices, also known as Masala. There are two main types of Masala, but every region will produce a different variety depending on the kind of ingredients that are used in that region – The two main types of Masala re Godha and Tikha.
Godha – This Masala sauce does not use chilli, but is highly pungent due to its heavy use of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. With good quality spices this Masala is hot in its own right! It tends to be a shade of brown.
Tikha – This is generally a hotter masala due to its primary use of chili as the main ingredient and so it is generally red in color.
This dish uses more of the Godha version of Masala.
Chicken with Lentils and Vegetables
The Masala
2 TBSP butter or ghee
1 onion, diced fine
1 TBSP ginger
1 TBSP garlic
1 jalapeno, diced fine
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cumin
Mix all the ingredients together and cook in the butter of ghee to make a paste.
The Lentils
1 cup lentils
3 cups water
Soak the lentils in cold water for at least 30 minutes, then drain and bring the lentils to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 40 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated.
The Main Dish
2 lbs chicken breasts
salt & peper to taste
1 onion, sliced very thin
1 jalapeno, diced fine
1 TBSP garlic
1 TBSP ginger
2 cups either zucchini, yellow crookneck squash or eggplant, or a combination thereof, sliced thin
1 can garbanzo beans or chickpeas, drained
1 can chicken broth
1 potato, diced
2- 3 cups spinach, stems removed and chopped
2 large tomatoes, diced large
1 TBSP dried mint
3 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped fine
olive oil and butter or ghee for cooking
Saute the onions, garlic, ginger and jalapeno in the butter/ghee and olive oil for about 3 minutes. Then add the chicken and continue to cook for about 20 minutes or until the onions start to caramelize and the chicken is tender, flipping the chicken over after about 10 minutes. Once the chicken is tender, remove the chicken and onion mixture from the skillet and set aside.
Add the vegetable mixture and Masala to the skillet and cook for about 5-7 minutes, then re-add the chicken and onion mixture as well as the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20 more minutes.
When both the lentils and the chicken mixture are done, it is time to serve it up. I layered the chicken and vegetable sauce over the lentils and topped it all with more of the cilantro. I served it with some warmed naan bread on the side. I chose a light, crisp, citrusy chardonnay as my wine choice, which helped cut down some of the heat and spice from the meal.
Enjoy your meal or as they would say in Parsi, bho’jan ka aanand len.
In the movie “You’ve Got Mail“, with Tim Hanks and Meg Ryan, Meg Ryan said “daisies were her favorite flower because daisies were such happy flowers”. I could not agree more. They are very happy flowers. Usually I have a whole bunch growing in my front yard, but this year I only had a couple. Fortunately one of my neighbors had a big bunch of daisies in her yard, so I am able to enjoy them vicariously through her.
Smile and be happy like the daisies. Enjoy your day and all the days to come.
Tilapia are mainly freshwater fish inhabiting shallow streams, ponds, rivers, and lakes, and less commonly found living in brackish water. While Tilapia is often raised in fish farms around the globe, the species is native to the Middle East and Africa. Tilapia is the fourth-most consumed fish in the United States dating back to 2002. The popularity of tilapia came about due to its low price, easy preparation, and mild taste. Tilapia is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids and protein, both of which are important for good health.
We love all kinds of seafood, and eat quite a bit of it, especially while we are on our diving expeditions and trips to the seashore. Tilapia is one of those fish that finds its way into our menu plans quite frequently too. Because it is a lighter, whitefish, without a heavy “fishy” taste, Larry likes it better than many other types of seafood. I grew up eating seafood of all kinds and I don’t mind that “fishy” taste so much, but I have to say, the whitefishes are some of my favorites too. That being said, we pulled some tilapia out of the freezer, and into the culinary rotation it went. This time, I pan-fried it and served it with a creamy spinach sauce over rice. Tilapia is what we had on hand, but this sauce would go very nicely over any type of whitefish.
Tilapia with Creamy Spinach Sauce
1 lb tilapia, or any other whitefish
3-4 cups baby spinach, stems removed, chopped
1 shallot, chopped fine
1 TBSP garlic
2 TBSP lime juice
1 cup heavy whipping cream
salt & pepper to taste
butter for finishing the sauce
Saute the spinach, garlic and shallots in a hot skillet with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. You can use either white or black pepper, but I actually prefer the black pepper. I think it add more character.
When the spinach is wilted, removed the mixture from the skillet and add the line juice. Reduce until most of the liquid is gone, then add the cream.
Once the cream and lime juice are thoroughly mixed, re-add the spinach mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, and continue to cook, stirring constantly, for about 7-10 minutes. Turn off the heat, then add some butter in for the finish and incorporate well.
Lightly coat the the tilapia with salt and pepper and panfry in a hot skillet with a combination of both butter and olive oil until golden brown.
When both the fish and the sauce are done, it is time to serve it up. I served it over some of my leftover lime rice with a medley of summer vegetables. My wine of choice was a crisp, citrusy chardonnay. It was a deliciously light meal, which was just perfect for a summer’s evening out on the deck.
We often cook a lot of things up in quantity and then freeze them to pull out at a later time. We had some brisket that we smoked and froze awhile ago and it just made its way into our culinary rotation. What was I going to do with all this brisket. HMMMMM?????? I turned it into an Asian stir-fry with a teriyaki sauce and vegetables that I served over some leftover pasta with some fried potsitckers on the side. Because my dish was a beef dish, I served it with a smooth red blend as my wine choice.
You would think with a name like teriyaki that this sauce originated in Japan. You would only be partially correct though. It can trace its origins to the Japanese shoyu sauce, but teriyaki sauce is actually an American creation, born in Hawai’i, around the early 1960’s, when large amounts of Japanese immigrants were settling into the islands. Teriyaki sauce is a unique marinade that was created using local products such as pineapple juice and brown sugar that were blended together in soy sauce. Today, teriyaki is widely recognized the world over, and is now more or less a way of cooking rather than just a very popular sauce.
Teriyaki Beef and Vegetable Stir-Fry
Stir-fries are as versatile as they come, and you can use any combination of meats, seafoods and vegetables you like. This time I used some red and yellow bell peppers, green beans, mushrooms, green onions, red onions, ginger, garlic and cilantro with my beef brisket.
I started off with what I had left of my store bought teriyaki sauce, then I added to it to make it even better.
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
1 tsp Chinese 5-Spices
1 TBSP soy sauce
1 heaping TBSP cornstarch
Combine it all together and mix well.
My meat was already cooked, so I just sliced into thin strips and set it aside.
Slice the vegetables and saute together with the garlic and ginger until they are tender. Then add the beef and mix together well.
Add the meat and mix everything together thoroughly, then add the sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce thickens a bit. It is now ready to serve over either pasta or rice and enjoy.
We have been seeing an awful lot of dragonflies all around lately. This is a good thing though, not only because they are beautiful and a bit exotic, but also because they eat all the mosquitoes. For me being a mosquito magnet, this is GREAT NEWS. One single dragonfly can eat anywhere between 30-100’s of mosquitoes per day. The more mosquitos the dragonflies eat, the less the mosquitoes will eat me. I say eat away dragonflies, eat away. Though mosquitoes are a personal favorite of the dragonflies, they also like to eat the flies and other insects too. They are a natural sort of pest control. Seeing a lot of dragonflies flying around is a sign of a good, healthy ecosystem. Many gardeners welcome them into their yards because they kill off a lot of the pests and other insects that love to feast in the gardens.
Dragonflies and their cousins, the damselflies, have long been thought to represent change, transformation, adaptability, and self-realization. The change that is often referred to has its source in mental and emotional maturity and understanding the deeper meaning of life. In some cultures, dragonflies represent good luck or prosperity. So make a wish when you see a dragonfly and it’ll come true. … Plenty of dragonflies meant there were plenty of fish around. If a dragonfly hovered near the fisherman, he took it as a good luck sign. The Bible even says that seeing dragonflies is the bringer of light in the darkness of people’s hearts (2nd Corinthians 4:6). Who knew?
There are roughly 5,000 different varieties of dragonflies flying around the world today. Each one has a lifespan of roughly 6 months. We don’t have all 5,000 varieties here in my backyard, but we do have quite a few. They have been very difficult to get pictures of, but yesterday, I got lucky.
Dragonflies
And Damselflies
Enjoy your day. Make the most of it. Today is the gift and tomorrow is never promised.
Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder. There is no doubt about that. But beauty can definitely be found in all things, and in the most unexpected places. With this Flower a Day Challenge, I have been focusing on all kinds of flowers. All of them are beautiful in their own way; all of them are very different.
Weeds are something that most of us complain about because they are a general nuisance and pain in the neck. But they can also be quite beautiful too. Take the sunflower for instance. It is technically considered a weed, though the flowers are gorgeous. I LOVE sunflowers. And did you know dandelions are actually part of the same family as sunflowers? They are, and they too can be quite beautiful as well, if you get beyond the fact that they grow, well, like weeds. 🙂 Today, I am going to show you some of our “beautiful dandelion weeds”.
They just look like beautiful, colorful flowers to me. This bee is quite happy with the dandelion. Even bears love dandelions. When bears come out of hibernation, they look for the dandelions. They are a great nutrient for them and are full of the fat they need after a long winter’s nap. Plus they give them a nice little buzz as well. So see, even weeds have a purpose.
Look for the beauty wherever you can. We all need a more beauty in our lives, even if they come from the most unexpected sources.
I love cherries and I love how they are so versatile too. You can eat them one after another by just popping them in your mouth, or you can bake them into to breads or desserts, or you can prepare savory dishes with them too. Any which way you prepare them, they are always going to turn our great. They add so much flavor to any dish.
Cherries are what are known as stone fruits, or fruits that have a flesh or pulp enclosing a stone, such as a peach, plum, or cherry. They are also known as drupes. The pit is often referred to as the stone or the pit too. Cherries are very healthy and are loaded with Vitamin C and fiber. Cherries are grown all over the world and are used for many different foods, but the top cherry producing areas are Turkey, the United States, Iran, Spain, and Italy. In the United States, some of the important sweet cherry cultivars are Rainier, Bing, Ulster, Tulare, Brooks, and King. I love all the cherries, but I think the Bings are my favorite.
I have been in a cherry mood lately. As you know, I just made a whole bunch of mini cherry scones for my church coffee cart. Mini Cherry Scones They were a huge success. I served them with a bunch of other nibblies, and by the end of our church gathering, all that was left on my try were just a few tiny morsels. Everything else was graciously devoured. I also made some cherry brownies not to long ago as well that I gave to our new neighbors, that were yet another huge success. Being Neighborly And most recently, I turned my cherries into a delicious savory meal as well, by using them as a sauce with pork chops.
I love the combination of cherries and lime. They have such a unique flavor. I love them both on their own, and I also love them when combined together. For my sauce, that is exactly what I did too. I combined cherries, lime juice, cilantro, green and red onions and my hot and spicy honey. Our taste buds were most definitely doing the happy dance with this one.
We almost always buy a big pork loin and then slice our own pork chops form it, leaving a large portion as a pork loin too. This way, we can make our pork chops nice and thick, just how we like them. Once again, Costco, only my favorite place to shop. 🙂
Pork Chops with Cherry Lime Sauce
2 lbs thick-cut pork chops
1 TBSP garlic
1/4 red onion, sliced very thin
1/4 cup green onions, sliced thin
1-2 cup cups cherries, cut in half and pitted
1/3 cup lime juice
1- 2 tsp lime peel, optional
1 TBSP hot and spicy honey
3 TBSP lime olive oil, or just plain olive oil
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped fine
Combine everything together and use as a marinade for the pork. Let it marinade for at least 3-4 hours before cooking, making sure to turn the pork over after about 2 hours.
Once you are ready to cook the pork, put it on a hot grill and grill it to perfection.
While the pork is cooking, cook down the sauce on the stove. Bring it to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook down, stirring occasionally, for about 10-15 minutes.
When both the pork and the sauce are ready, it is time to serve it up. I served it over lime rice with asparagus on the side. I completed the meal with a cool, crisp chardonnay. (This is some of the wines I bought when I was in Idaho, back in April. Hitting the Caldwell Wine Trail) It was so colorful and tasty and a perfect summer meal.
We see hummingbirds flitting around quite frequently, but they are so hard to get pictures of because they rarely slow down. But this time, I got very lucky. We were dining out on our beloved deck and I spied a wee little bird high up in the trees. Fortunately I had my camera with me, and I zoomed in as much as I could. And to my surprise, I got him. I got a few shots of him before he was off flitting about once more.
This is a little Calliope Hummingbird. At most he is only between 3-4 inches long. These are definitely some very lucky shots.
Sometimes you just have to take a chance and go for it. Sometimes, you just might get lucky.
