Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

We have actually been having cooler weather lately; weather that we are supposed to have for this time of year. I still have snow in my backyard from our last snow too. When it’s chilly outside, it chili time inside.

When Larry last had his smoker going, he smoked a lot of meat, like he always does. One of the meats he smoked was a beef round roast.

He did a good job with it too. The flavor was very good, but it was still a little tough, and needed to cook more. The best cure for that is to slow cook it more, and a great way to do that is to turn it into a batch of chili. I made a small pot of chili with some of it, and have the rest earmarked for something else, coming your way very soon. 🙂

Chili with Round Roast

I just made a small pot of chili, and it was just a simple chili. Chili is one of these recipes that has endless possibilities. Beans or no beans? To me, chili always has to have beans. That is the Southern way. I also like it thick. Some people like it thinner. When it comes to chili, everyone has their favorite recipe and the favorite way to make it.

2 1/2-3 lbs cooked round roast, cubed

1 can red beans

1 TBSP garlic

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

salt & pepper to taste

1 TBSP chili powder, or to taste

2 cups beef broth

1/3 cup flour, optional

I mixed in the beef, peppers, onions and beans. Then I mixed the beef broth, flour, garlic and seasonings together and incorporated it all with the beef, beans and peppers.

Then I just let it all cook at a medium-high temperature for about 3-4 hours and walked away while it did its thing. I just had a small bowl of chili with French fries in the side.

Larry decided he wanted chili nachos instead.

The chili warmed us up from the inside out, which helped to take the chill out of the air outside.

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

Yesterday I decided to change up my walking a bit, and visited nearby Metzger Farm. It’s just about 1 mile down the hill from where I live, and I like to mix up my walks. As soon as I arrived, I saw quite a few magpies and a bunny. But later into my walk, I saw a beautiful American Kestrel up high in a tree. She was a female. I could tell by her coloring. She was scanning the area for prey. I love the little Kestrels, along with all the other birds of prey. American Kestrels are small falcons.

At first, I was struggling to get good pictures of this little beauty, because she was so far away and so high up in the tree. I also had the bright sunlight to contend with. But once I found a good angle, I was able to get a few good shots of her.

Rice seems such a simple dish, yet it has a very, very long and illustrious history around the world. There are roughly 40,000 different varieties of rice found all over the world, but three main types or categories – short grain rice, like sticky rice used for sushi; medium grain rice, such as Arborio; and long grain rice, namely traditional white or brown rice, Jasmine and Basmati. There is also black rice and wild rice too.

Rice has been cultivated for 10’s of 1000’s of years. Different rice varieties are found all over the world, and are eaten by everyone. That being said, however, rice is one of Asia’s most important food crops. Roughly 800 million tons of rice are produced every year around the world, with 90-95% being produced in Asian countries, principally in China, India, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. It feeds over 3.5 billion people, almost half the world’s population, on a daily basis too.

The Folklores of Rice

Not only is rice a dietary staple for billions of people around the world, but it also has a lot of cultural significance and uses as well. For example, in Japanese culture, rice is used in offerings to the gods and in traditional dishes served at special occasions. But rice is an integral part of many cultures folklore, not just in Japan.

In Myanmar, the Kachins were sent forth from the center of the Earth with rice seeds and were directed to a country where life would be perfect and rice would grow well. In Bali, Lord Vishnu caused the Earth to give birth to rice and the God Indra taught people how to raise it. And in China rice is the gift of animals. Legend says after a disastrous flooding all plants had been destroyed and no food was available. One day a dog ran through the fields to the people with rice seeds hanging from his tail. The people planted the seeds, rice grew and hunger disappeared. All of these stories and many others have rice as their foundation and for generations people have believed these lores of rice. 

There are many origin myths and much folklore about rice, it is believed that a goddesses gave rice to humans and taught them how to grow it. Religious use of rice takes place in India, China, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Bali. In Asia, the rice spirit is female and often a mother figure.

According to their beliefs, the spirit of the paddy plant is said to be part of the Kinoingan – also known as the Bambaazon, who is revered as the creator, a source of life and existence. The rice spirit Bambaazon is therefore revered in the rice plant, the rice grain and the cooked rice.

The staple food for Asian nations is rice as it symbolises fertility and a good harvest. An empty rice jar is something that indicates barren and starving days. Hence, rice jars are always filled to the brim before the New Year commences.

Growing The Rice

With the exception of the type called upland rice, the plant is grown on submerged land in the coastal plains, tidal deltas, and river basins of tropical, semitropical, and temperate regions. The seeds are sown in prepared beds, and when the seedlings are 25 to 50 days old, they are transplanted to a field, or paddy, that has been enclosed by levees and submerged under 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) of water, remaining submerged during the growing season. In hilly areas rice farms are commonly terraced to keep the paddies flooded at various elevations. Successful rice production depends on adequate irrigation, including construction of dams and waterwheels, and on the quality of the soil. Long periods of sunshine are essential. Rice yields vary considerably, ranging from 700 to 4,000 kilograms per hectare (600 to 3,500 pounds per acre). Adequate irrigation, which means inundation of the fields to a depth of several inches during the greater part of the growing season, is a basic requirement for productive land use.

In Asia the paddy is cultivated in three main types of soil, including clays with a firm bottom within a few inches of the surface; silts and soft clays with soft bottoms becoming hard on drying; and peats and “mucks” containing peat, provided the depth of the peat is not excessive. Fields must be drained and dried before harvesting. When combine harvesters or binder threshers are employed, the grain must be dried to about 14 percent moisture so that no deterioration takes place in storage. When reaper binders are used, the crop is “shocked” in certain ways so that the grain is protected from rain.

Processing The Rice

The harvested rice kernel, known as paddy, or rough, rice, is enclosed by the hull, or husk. Milling usually removes both the hull and bran layers of the kernel, and a coating of glucose and talc is sometimes applied to give the kernel a glossy finish. Rice that is processed to remove only the husks, called brown rice, contains about 8 percent protein and small amounts of fats and is a source of thiamine, niacin, riboflavin, iron, and calcium. Rice that is milled to remove the bran as well is called white rice and is greatly diminished in nutrients. When white rice forms a major portion of the diet, there is a risk of beriberi, a disease resulting from a deficiency of thiamine and minerals. Parboiled white rice is specially processed before milling to retain most of the nutrients, and enriched rice has iron and B vitamins added to it.

The milling methods used in most of Asia remain fairly primitive, but large mills operate in Japan and some other areas. Hulling of the paddy is usually accomplished by pestle and mortar worked by hand, foot, or water power. Improvements are slowly taking place. The yield of milled rice is dependent on the size and shape of the grain, the degree of ripeness, and the extent of exposure to the sun. Some large mills, handling 500 to 1,000 tons of paddy daily, have specialized hulling plants with consequent smaller losses from broken grain. They generally employ modern milling techniques and rely on controlled drying plants instead of on sun drying.

Rice is also used to make different kinds of alcohol too. The Japanese sake is a prime example of rice alcohol. Other examples include soju, baiju and other distilled spirits, like rice wine or rice whisky. Its neutral taste and clear color make it an ideal base for these drinks. Additionally, rice alcohol can be utilized in the production of rice vinegar and even as a base for vodka.

As you can see, rice isn’t just a simple dish as we once thought. It is far more complicated and has many uses. Rice plays a very important role in many cultures too. There is much more to rice than just adding it to a dish as a side dish.

I hope you learned a little bit of food history and culture and enjoyed our little food lesson today. I know I did. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

We just bottled yet another batch of our very own wine. We are becoming quite the vintners these days. This is our 2nd batch of our own wine productions that we have done all by ourselves; no help from the experts at all.

This time, we made a Chardonnay. All the pros at InVintions A Toast to InVINtions!, Video #17 – INVINtions, A Creative Winery, The Hallowine Party at InVINtions complimented us on the nice color and clarity of the wine. We bought a kit that contained everything we needed and followed the instructions, but we’ll take credit for our nice wine. 🙂

The whole process from start to finish took about 6 weeks. And now, it is all done, and bottled, ready top be enjoyed. We have been recycling our bottles and then we wash and sanitize them with the cleaner and sanitizer we bought specifically for making wines.

We tend to name our wines after our fur babies. This one is yet another line of our “Big Dog Wines”, and we named it after Dorrie, our beautiful English Cream Golden. We called it “Dorrie’s Golden Chardonnay”.

Each batch makes about 28 bottles of wine.

We have tried a little, but not much. So far, so good though. It is a cool, crisp Chardonnay with hints of green apple and citrus flavors. We like it.

Our first wine production project was our “Midnight Malbec”, Midnight Malbec featuring Nicky, our black panther.

Have a great day and make everyday great, especially with a little wine along the way. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

I love the sweet tang that cranberries bring to the table, especially the Thanksgiving table. Most people don’t know or appreciate what real cranberry sauce is supposed to be like, since so many people today eat the canned cranberry “jelly”. But I love to make my own cranberry chutney, though I always offer both. This cranberry chutney is loaded with cranberries (I use the dried cranberries) and lots of other fruit as well. It’s one of my Thanksgiving favorites and is almost always served at my Thanksgiving table.

Cranberry Chutney

I cut the recipe in half this year, and I still have a lot leftover, but I already have something delicious in mind for the leftovers. 🙂 I used brown sugar this time, because I thought I was out of regular cane sugar, but I found it after I had made my chutney. Oh well. Both work just fine.

2 cups dried cranberries

1 apple, peeled and diced fine

1 pear, peeled and diced fine

1 orange, peeled and diced fine

1/2 cup golden raisins or sultanas

1 tsp salt

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp cloves

1 TBSP minced crystallized ginger

1/4 cup water, if needed

1 1/2 cups sugar or brown sugar

dash of liqueur of your choice – I used almond tequila this time, but Frangelico would have been nice too. Again, I thought of the Frangelico after I had made it. I have both.

Place all the ingredients in a sauce pan, except for the liqueur and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce to a simmer and continue to cook, for about 10-15 minutes, stirring often, until it thickens. Add the liqueur and mix in, then let set for about 20 minutes. You can make this ahead too, and just place it in the refrigerator, bringing it our about 20-30 minutes before serving. It is best when served warm or at room temperature.

You can also add an onion to the mix as well, which I have done on many occasions. I purposely did not add an onion this year though, knowing that I was going to have leftovers, and already having a sweet idea of how to use them. You will have to just hold on tight for a little longer though, to see how I creatively use up my leftovers. 🙂

Be forever thankful for what you have and you will always have plenty. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

This morning when I woke up and got to the computer (I am still going through all my emails), I had a very pleasant surprise from Ian Normandin at Arlington Wine & Liquor. Arlington Wine & Liquor reached out to me and would like to do a collaboration, featuring an article on pairing foods and wines. Once again, I am very honored by this invitation. Of course I am going to do it. I am thrilled. I am also very excited and very pleasantly surprised that my little blog is getting noticed and published. WHOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!

Here is a little background information that Ian provided me about Arlington Wine & Liquor. They are “a premium wine and liquor store with a selection of over 10,000 products. We’re proud recipients of the Market Watch Leaders Award and have been featured as Hudson Valley Magazine’s “Best Of” since 1994. Our team passionately curates exciting selections by tasting hundreds of wines and spirits every month“. Arlington Wine & Liquor is located in Poughkeepsie, NY.

So …… I will keep you posted on what happens next. A Jeanne in the Kitchen is getting noticed. I like it!!!!!!

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe, stay well, and always keep the element of surprise open. ‘Til next time.

Stuffing foods, particularly meat carcasses, has been around almost since the beginning of time. The earliest written evidence of stuffing is in the Roman cookbook Apicius De Re Coquinaria, which includes recipes for stuffing chicken, pig, hare, and dormouse. The word “stuffing” comes from the Old French word estoffe, which means “to fill up”.

The word stuffing is only one name it is known as. Over the centuries, stuffing has also been known as Farce: Around 1390; Stuffing: 1538; Forcemeat: 1688; and Dressing: 1850 in the United States, particularly in the southern states.

Stuffing has been an American Thanksgiving tradition since around the 1800’s. The terms “dressing” or “stuffing” are often used interchangeably, and the term used depends on the region where it is prepared. In the southern United States, the term “dressing” is more common, while in the northern states, the term “stuffing” is more common. I grew up in Southern California, where it was called stuffing, but my mother was from Southeast Texas, so she often called it dressing. I grew up with both terms. Stuffing can be made with a variety of ingredients, including bread, rice, potatoes, saltines, and masa harina. The ingredients used are regional.

I make stuffing every Thanksgiving, as do most Americans. Since there are so many different versions, I mix it up and make different kinds all the time. This year, I made a cornbread and bacon stuffing.

Cornbread & Bacon Stuffing

I cheated a bit this year, and that is perfectly OK too. I did make my own stuffing and added some more day-old bread that I cubed as well, but I did purchase a bag of Pepperidge Farm cornbread cubes too. I didn’t have time to make my own cornbread first. If I am going to cheat, I am going to cheat by using the best. 🙂

Preheat he oven to 375*F or 191*C.

Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.

1 bag Pepperidge Farm cornbread cubes

1/2 loaf sourdough bread, cubed

1 apple, peeled and diced fine

3-5 celery ribs, rinsed and diced small

1 onion, diced fine

1 TBSP garlic

1/2-3/4 lbs bacon, diced and cooked

salt & pepper to taste

1-2 tsp each dried thyme, marjoram and/or fines herbs, or herbs or your choice

4-5 cups chicken or turkey stock, or more as needed

Cook the bacon, onions, celery, apple and garlic together in olive oil and/or butter until they are soft and translucent and the bacon is cooked.

In a large bowl, combine the cornbread, bread, cooked vegetables, bacon and seasonings, and mix together well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Pour the broth or stock over the bread mixture, and firmly press it into the bread. You want the bread to be completely saturated and soaked. Pour as much of the broth in as needed.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about an hour. If you like a little crust on your stuffing, remove the foil around the last 15-20 minutes of the cooking process and continue to cook uncovered. It will be nice and moist and will go with any dish you want to serve it with.

Today, most people do NOT stuff the turkey with the stuffing, for a few reasons. But the most important reasons are to NOT cross contaminate the foods and to allow all the foods to cook properly on their own, as they need to and to get at the proper temperatures.

Stuffing, or dressing, is very popular at Thanksgiving, but that is not the only time we eat it. In fact, I just served some of our leftover stuffing with our leftover curried pork chops Curried Pork Chops just last night. Stuffing, or dressing, is good anytime, with almost any dish you want to serve it next to. Stuffing isn’t just for Thanksgiving anymore. 🙂

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

Still working on my Thanksgiving menu for you. Rolls and/or bread are a large part of the Thanksgiving dinner, and are found at every table across America. Of course we had rolls too. I made some rosemary-garlic rolls for the occasion.

Rosemary-Garlic Dinner Rolls

These rolls were light and fluffy and tasted oh so good.

1 cup warm water

2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast

1 egg lightly beaten

3 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP fresh rosemary, chopped fine or dried

1 TBSP garlic

1 tsp salt

3 1/4 cups flour

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water for about 10 minutes or until it is frothy.

Mix the sugar, rosemary, garlic, salt and flour together and make a well in the center.

Beat the egg slightly, then add to the yeast mixture and pour into the center of the flour well. Mix it in from the inside out until the dough is all mixed together. Then knead it on a lightly floured surface, adding more water if needed, until it forms a dough ball. Cover and let the dough rise for about an hour.

Dived the dough into 16 equal portions and roll into balls. Place them on a baking sheet and let them rise again for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375*F or 191*C.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm, smeared with butter. YUM! Everyone will love these delicious rolls and will definitely go back for seconds.

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

We did it! We got the house all decorated for Christmas. The house is as done as it is going to get. All the “kids” helped too. Now we are ready for the season’s festivities. Let the celebrating begin. 🙂

I love Santa Claus and I collect Santas. I have for many years. I think I love the magic, fun and frivolity he brings to the season. As we were unpacking our Santas, Juneau decided she needed to see what was going on too.

Otis was watching from under the tree.

Nicky was supervising as we were decorating.

We worked hard for most of the day, but we got everything decorated and festive. All the lights are up, the trees are decorated, and Santas are everywhere.

Our tree in the living room.

The small tree in the art niche above the stairs.

And our big, main tree in the family room.

Even the banisters are lit up.

While decorating, Larry even found time to smoke some more meat. When it came time to putting it all away, Dorrie was more than ready to help Daddy, hoping he would drop it for her. She was pouting earlier, while we were setting up, because we were not giving all the attention to her. But when it came time for the meat, she was all in.

We’re all ready. Let the celebrating begin. Let’s ring in the season. 🙂

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas everyone. ‘Til next time.

I told you about our Thanksgiving spread, The Day After Thanksgiving. Today, I am going to start with dessert first. I did not make a traditional pumpkin or pecan pie, like I usually do, but instead made a pumpkin pecan bundt cake.

The idea of this delicious cake came to me from one of our own, The Reluctant Poet at https://thereluctantpoetweb.wordpress.com/. Thank you for this delicious idea. I added the pecans, which I think made the cake even more festive. 🙂

Pumpkin Pecan Bundt Cake

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

Spray a bundt cake pan with cooking spray.

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 can pumpkin puree

1 cup canola oil

3 eggs

3/4-1 cup chopped pecans

Combine all the dry ingredients together and set aside.

Mix the sugar, oil, eggs and pumpkin together, then add 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix together well, then add the remaining portion of the flour and mix again. Fold in the chopped pecans and evenly spread into the prepared cake pan.

Bake for about 1 hour or until the cake is done, and a toothpick that is inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let the cake cool completely before removing from the pan and decorating. I like just simple cake decorations, so I just whipped up some cream, added a dash of nutmeg on top and then added some chopped pecans.

The cake came out delicious. It’s so moist and full of flavor. It is a perfect cake for fall and for Thanksgiving, or anytime you feel like something with a fall flavor.

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