Yesterday, March 20th, was the first official day of spring in the United States. The first of our spring flowers have already come out too, in honor of spring. They were bright yellow daffodils, coming out like a bright ray of sunshine.
Not a daffodil, but another bright yellow flower in bloom.
Happy Spring everyone! 🙂
Zeppole, or Italian donuts, are a Southern Italian delight. They are especially popular in Naples. It is a particular favorite to enjoy around the beginning of spring, and on March 19, or St., Joseph’s Day or Father’s Day in Italy. Zeppole are deep-fried sweet dough that are traditionally filled with custard, ricotta, or chocolate, and topped with powdered sugar, more custard, and a cherry. There are many different variations and flavors of zeppole made today.
The reason these fried (or baked) treats are enjoyed on St. Joseph’s Day is because it is believed that after St. Joseph fled to Egypt with Mary and Jesus, he started to sell pancakes to provide for his family, therefore, tying sweets and desserts like zeppoles to his name. Another popular theory is that he was a saint of carpenters and craftsmen, and there was the “Carpenter’s Feast,” where wooden toys were sold for children to enjoy. Once St. Joseph’s Day became Father’s Day in Italy, the roles reversed, and the children gave their father’s a gift. Zeppole, or zeppola, comes from the word zeppa, which is a wood wedge used for adjusting the heights of furniture. Since St. Joseph was a carpenter, this links zeppoles to St. Joseph himself. Zeppole have been around since the days of the Ancient Romans, but they became known as the zeppole we know them as today around the 18th century.
I made these delicious treats without knowing anything about them, until now. I was just flipping through my Mediterranean cookbooks, looking for a delicious and different Mediterranean dessert to make to go with my Mediterranean meal. 🙂 I love doing deep dives into history about foods though. (I love all history really though). I love to learn everything I can about the foods that I cook and enjoy.
Zeppole With Lemon Curd
I made these as large “cakes”, but you can make them any size you like. I also topped mine with lemon curd rather than filling them. They came out oh so good!!!!! They were a big hit for sure. Normally I would have made my own lemon curd, but I already had some that I used instead. I also used yogurt instead of ricotta cheese. Mascarpone cheese would work well too, but mine was frozen, so yogurt it was.
1 1/2 cups flour
1 TBSP + 1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 TBSP sugar
2 eggs
2 cups either ricotta cheese, mascarpone cheese or plain yogurt
1 cup milk
2 tsp orange zest
1 tsp vanilla
canola oil for frying
powdered sugar
lemon curd
Combine all the dry ingredients together.
Beat the eggs and sugar. Add the cheese or yogurt, milk and vanilla and mix well. Then mix in the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before frying.
When ready to fry, add about 2 inches of canola, or other high fat oil, into a deep pot and bring to about 350*F or 180*C.
Carefully spoon the batter into the hot oil and fry for about 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully flip them over if necessary to brown equally.
Place them on a paper towel when removing from the oil to absorb the excess oil. Allow them to cool completely before adding a dusting of powdered sugar and the lemon curd (or chocolate, or filling of your choice). If you want to, you can insert the lemon curd into the donuts after they have completely cooled too.
These zeppoles are so light and crispy and they just melt in your mouth. The lemon just really made them pop too. I don’t eat a lot of donuts, but these are definitely a winner. 🙂
Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.
I have lived in Colorado now for 25 years. When I first moved here, from Southern California, I was so shocked to find seagulls here. I thought they had gotten lost and flew off coarse. But no. There are actually a few different types of gulls that call Colorado home. The ones I saw the other day were the Ring-Billed Gulls. They were just swimming alongside all the other water fowl, having a great time, without a care in the world.
Home is wherever your heart is. Be true to yourself and follow your heart.
Larry had taken some short ribs out of the freezer for the week’s meat rotation. As always, I like to look for new and different ways to prepare things, and I found a delicious Mediterranean recipe for them.
Mediterranean Short Ribs
These ribs were so tasty, with hints of both sweet and sour elements.
Preheat the oven to 375* F or 191*C.
Spray a baking dish with cooking spray
3-5 short ribs, cut the meat off the bone and into large chunks
2 TBSP coarse salt
3 TBSP pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, diced
8-10 garlic cloves, sliced very thin
2 apples, peeled and diced
1 TBSP sumac
1/2 cup white vinegar or flavored white balsamic vinegar – I used honey ginger white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup honey or spicy honey
Season the meat with salt & pepper and toss together in olive oil. Brown the meat completely in a large skillet.
Combine the apples, onions, garlic and spices together and add to the meat once it is completely browned. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, stirring often.
Transfer everything to the prepared baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for about 2 hours, or until the meat is tender, checking occasionally and stirring after about 1 hour.
Serve with your favorite Mediterranean side dishes and enjoy. The meat was tender and juicy, and the mixture of the onions and apples was just a perfect compliment to the pork. Serving pork with apples has been a very long tradition, going back 1000’s of years.
Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.
I try to get in long walks as much as possible, and I like to vary my walks too. I always see different things, no matter where I walk, even if walking in the same spots. I just never know what I am going to see, or even if I am going to see anything. Yesterday, I went to another near-by park in Northglenn. The park was pretty with a big lake, lots of picnic areas and a large play area for kids.
There was a Cormorant couple on the lake that was very obviously in love (or at least for the season). They were oblivious and I don’t think they even knew I was there. I was able to get quite a few good shots of the two love birds. They were side by side the whole time.
It was a pretty park, but it has a darker side too, like so many places do today, unfortunately. There is a large homeless population that also likes to hang out in the park, as well as a lot of drug users. I found a bunch of scattered pills in the grass, right next to the lake.
No matter where you are or what you are doing, stay aware and stay safe. Sadly, we live in a very scary, unsafe world.
Soda bread is a staple in Irish cooking and Irish kitchens. It is a simple, hearty bread, made with just a few simple, basic ingredients. Of course, there are different variations, but the most popular version is the basic version. It’s served first thing in the morning as part of a full Irish breakfast, with tea in the afternoon, and alongside beef or lamb stew or any number of other Irish specialties at dinner. It is a simple bread that is good anytime of the day, served alongside any dish or just eaten by itself.
Traditionally it has just four ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. The baking soda and buttermilk react to cause the dough to rise. I made the traditional version for St. Patrick’s day, only I also added some melted butter to my buttermilk, to give it a richer taste. In Ireland, soda bread is often made from stone-ground whole-wheat flour, though white flour versions are available. Stateside, we generally enjoy white soda bread made with all-purpose white flour. In both countries, soda bread is generally shaped into a round loaf. The last step in making any loaf of soda bread is to cut a cross in the top of the dome of dough. According to Irish legend, this is to “let the devil out,” but the technique actually serves a practical purpose: The deep slash allows the dough to cook evenly from crust to inner crumb, creating the velvety texture we all adore.
If you’re new to bread making, Irish soda bread is a great place to start. It’s among the easiest, most forgiving home-baked goods, and it’s one of the quickest breads to go from mixing bowl to table. Since there’s no yeast involved, it’s nearly impossible to mess it up. In fact, the less you handle the dough, the better.
Traditional Irish Soda Bread
This is definitely a a case where simple is the best. I used only 5 ingredients for this delicious, versatile bread, and no yeast. Since I detest buttermilk on its own, I buy the dried buttermilk and mix it with milk right as I am using it. I like mixing it with milk vs. water, because it is richer, creamier and has more texture.
Preheat the oven to 425* F or 218* C.
4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2-3 TBSP melted butter
Mix all the dry ingredients together. Mix the melted butter into the buttermilk then add to the dry mixture and mix everything together to form a soft dough.
Turn it onto a lightly floured surface and quickly knead together until it forms into a soft dough. Shape the dough into a round loaf then cut a deep cross into the top of the bread. DO NOT over handle the dough or it will be tough. The less handling, the better.
Place the dough onto a baking sheet and bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until it is lightly golden and hollow when tapped on the bottom. Let cool slightly then slather some butter and/or jam on top and enjoy. Slainte!
Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe ands stay well. ‘Til next time.
It’s still kind of early to be seeing a lot of turtles, but they are beginning to appear. I saw the first of my Red-Eared Sliders for the season the other day. They were out sunning themselves and enjoying the beautiful day just like I was. 🙂
I know most people like to eat corned beef for St. Patrick’s Day, and that’s perfectly OK. We had some corned beef a few days ago. But I never like to go with the flow. I much prefer to do my own thing rather than follow the crowd. I know. I’m a rebel to the core! 🙂 I did cook Irish food though. I made an Irish beef stew Irish Stew and Irish soda bread for the occasion.
My stew was loaded with beef, carrots, onions, mushrooms and potatoes, and even some Guinness to really give it a lot of flavor. I served it over some mashed potatoes too, making it even more Irish, if that’s possible. 🙂
It’s believed that Irish beef stew, or Stobhach Gaelach in Gaelic, originated sometime during the 17th and 18th centuries, by Irish shepherds and rural farmers who had access to only a few ingredients but needed a nourishing meal to sustain them through long days of work. Traditionally though, Irish stew was made from lamb or mutton, not beef. Beef was used more in the stews when the Irish immigrants came to America during the potato famine, as beef was more readily available and cheaper than either lamb or mutton. Other differences between the traditional Irish stew and beef stew are that beef stew usually includes more vegetables and has tomato paste added to the stew to add more body and more flavoring, whereas traditional Irish stew does not. Today, traditional Irish stew, made with lamb or mutton, is the national dish of Ireland.
The original staple for Irish stew was potatoes which was easy to obtain. If the household was lucky enough to have a little meat, then adding it to a stew was the best way to stretch the meat out to feed the family. Beef was available, but only affordable to British landowners. Your typical Irish cook would use lamb meat or mutton rather than sacrifice their only dairy cow. The addition of the neck bones or shanks also provided more flavoring to the stew.
Each region of Ireland will also have their different version of stew. Southern Ireland will add barley which is an affordable and nutritious filler. Other regions may cap their stew with a crust of mashed potatoes making more of a shepherd’s pie. No one is quite sure when or how the addition of Guinness became part of the stew, but it is sure part of the stew today. Although purists say Irish stew should not have Guinness added to it. I am NOT a beer or stout drinker at all, but I do love the addition of Guinness to my Irish beef stew. When Guinness stout beer cooks down it adds a nice roasted caramel and chocolatey flavor to the stew.
As with anything that has been around for a long time, there are always many different variations. And you can choose what works best for you, or better yet, tweak it a bit to make it your very own. Either way, I’m sure you are going to enjoy this traditional hearty stew.
Have a great day and make every day great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.
I know today is St. Patrick’s Day, and I should be focusing on Irish foods. I will be cooking up something Irish tonight. But that will be for tonight. For now, I am going to give you more of my Mediterranean meal. I am presenting you with some keftes de espinaca or spinach keftes. I served them with tzatziki sauce Lebanese Leftovers, dolmas and pita crisps.
Traditionally, keftes are made with meat, but mine were made with spinach instead. I also made them more like spinach cakes rather than meatballs. These are more like the Jewish leek patties. There are numerous types of kefte, including those made with meat, vegetables, or a combination of both. They have their roots in various Mediterranean cultures.
The word keftes means meatballs in the Ladino, or Judezmo, language. Keftes are from the Sephardic Jewish, Arabic and Ottoman cultures. When the Sephardic Jews were kicked out of Spain in 1492, they ended up in the Ottoman empire. They took their love of keftes, or albondigas, with them. In the Ottoman Empire, they were exposed to kofte, which were known as grilled meat torpedoes. From here, the keftes were created, when the Jewish version was infused with various fillers or leftover scraps, and the shape evolved into flattened fried patties. Kefte became a staple in Sephardic cuisine, with variations including meat-based, vegetable-based, and mixed versions. Keftes, also known as Keftikes in Sephardic cuisine, are croquettes, pancakes, patties, or fritters, usually made with vegetables, and other ingredients.
Leek patties (keftes de prasa) are particularly beloved, with leeks holding a special place in Jewish cuisine, often associated with the foods craved after the Exodus. They are fried, not grilled. These are a favorite, especially around Hanukkah. (Please, all my Jewish friends, help me out here and correct me where I am wrong. I am getting this information from the internet, and we all know the internet makes a ton of mistakes). Keftes de Espinaca, or Spinach Patties, are a cherished Sephardic dish rooted in the culinary histories of Spain and Portugal. These flavorful patties, crafted with fresh spinach, aromatic spices, and often enjoyed during Hanukkah, represent a rich tapestry of Sephardic heritage and tradition.
It is also believed the Ancient Greeks loved their keftes as well. In Greece, they are known as keftedes or keftethes. They are Greek meatballs.
Keftes de Espinaca
1/2 cup +1 TBSP canola, avocado or other oil with a high smoke point for cooking
1 onion, minced
1 TBSP garlic
10-12 oz fresh spinach, stems removed and chopped
1 egg
1 cup mashed potatoes
3/4 cup bread crumbs
salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper
lemon olive oil, optional
Make the mashed potatoes and let them cool slightly.
Sautee the onions and garlic together in about 1-2 TBSP of olive oil and the lemon olive oil, if using.
Once the onions are translucent, add the spinach and seasonings. Cook until the spinach is completely wilted.
Once cooked, add to the mashed potatoes, flour, bread crumbs and egg. Mix together thoroughly. Then form into patties and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or so before cooking.
When ready to cook them, add enough oil to deep skillet or pot to about 2 inches in depth. Bring the oil to 350* F or 180*C. Carefully place the patties into the hot oil and let cook for about 4 minutes, then carefully flip them over to continue to cook for an additional 4 minutes or so, or until they are golden brown. Place them on a paper towel when done to absorb the excess oil. Serve hot or warm.
These are a delicious vegetarian version of the traditional keftes, and can be enjoyed at any time.
Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.
Sometimes you just need to go back and revisit posts from the past. There is nothing wrong with recycling posts. 🙂 I originally posted this one in 2017. I hope you enjoy it – again. 🙂
It’s that time of year again, when everyone celebrates being Irish. Even those who are not Irish celebrate the day. It is St. Patrick’s Day, of course. With a name like Jones, you know I have a lot of Celtic blood running through my veins. I am a true American mutt, with a lot of different nationalities mixed together, but I am predominantly, Irish, Scottish, Welsh and Australian (a combination of all of these nationalities too). It is estimated that roughly 33.3 million Americans have Irish roots, or roughly 10% of the population. Irish Americans are the second largest ethnic group in America, followed by German Americans.
Why do we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? “He returns to Ireland and brings Christianity with him. He is who made the Celts and the pagans into Christians.” St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, the day he is assumed to have died. The holiday originally was tied to religious ideals but now is also a symbol of Irish pride.” The day commemorates Saint Patrick, a missionary who arrived in Ireland during the 5th century and introduced Christianity to the Irish people. March 17 is widely believed to be the day he died, and Ireland has been at the forefront of celebrations commemorating its patron saint on that day since the ninth century. St Paddy’s Day started as a religious celebration in the 17th century to commemorate the life of Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. This “Feast Day” always took place on the anniversary of Patrick’s death, which was believed to be March 17, 461 AD.
Today, it is not celebrated so much as a religious holiday, but a day to honor the Irish and Irish pride. Today, it is a festive event with parades and everything green and orange. The green is said to represent the Catholic population and the orange represents the Protestant population of Ireland. Every year on March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in Ireland and all across the globe. It’s the time for shamrocks, costumes, parades and of course, leprechauns.
Dancers in traditional Irish costumes.
An Irish bagpipe corps marching in stride.
Leprechauns everywhere. Leprechauns are often associated with riches and gold. What happens if you catch a leprechaun? The rule is, if you’re lucky enough to catch a leprechaun, you can never take your eyes off him or he’ll disappear. In one tale, a man managed to catch a leprechaun and forced the fairy to divulge the secret location of his treasure. But in folklore their main vocation is anything but glamorous: they are humble cobblers, or shoemakers. Where’s the fun in celebrating a humble shoemaker though? It is much more fun to try to catch the trickster who is full of shenanigans.
Whether you are Irish or only Irish for the day, celebrate the day in style and a wee bit of fun.
A Jeanne in the Kitchen 