Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

It was my lucky or should I say, ducky day! I saw 3 sets of goslings, AND my first family of ducklings, or “duck-a-lings” for the season. WHOOOOO HOOOOO!!!! Many years ago, my niece’s daughter called the baby ducklings “duck-a-lings”, and I just fell in love with that term. So now I say it all the time too.

My goslings are already growing up and are not so little any more. They are still so cute though. 🙂 They are getting a lot of personality now.

And now for my first “duck-a-lings” of the season. Mom already had them in swim lessons too. They were sticking pretty close to mom, but were thoroughly enjoying their day. Dad was right there too, helping mom out with their new brood of six.

Mom is counting to see if everyone is there.

Look how proud she is.

Mom has all her ducks in a row.

I hope your days are just ducky. 🙂

Compound butters, or buerre composse, are a chef’s secret weapon for ensuring great taste with their dishes. They intensify the flavors without requiring too much extra effort. They add depth to the flavor profile and counterbalances more acidic flavors while making every meal feel and taste like a premium experience. They work for anything, and just about every dish as well. Compound butter, or finishing butter, is a type of butter that is mixed with herbs, spice blends, and other ingredients that give it a savory or sweet flavor, depending on the ingredients you use. The term compound butter encompasses countless recipes and flavor profiles, with endless possibilities.

Back in my culinary school days, I remember when we were learning about compound butters and how to make them. Again, Chef Averseing had ideas that he wanted us to use, and I had my own ideas. So while the rest of my class was making something else, I went into the walk-ins and started pulling out other ingredients to use for my own compound butters. Once again, Chef Andre would say, “Non, non, non Jeanne, this is not it”. And after I had made was I making, he would once again say, “Jeanne, dis is good”. I heard these phrases quite a lot in my days of studying under Chef Andre. 🙂

I use compound butters all the time, a lot of times without even realizing it. I don’t always make them ahead of time, but I do make them when I add butter as a finish to my sauces. The results are basically the same. This time, I actually did make my compound butter ahead of time. I made a toasted hazelnut-lime butter, with some fresh lemon verbena picked straight from my backyard. I served it over my pan-fried cod. It was a perfect pairing.

Every spring, my backyard is completely taken over by lemon verbena. I don’t mind one bit though. It smells so good, and I try my best to use as much of it as I can, though, every year, I get more and more. I will NEVER be able to use it all up, but that doesn’t mean I stop trying. I add it to everything when I can. 🙂

Hazelnut-Lime Butter

1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted

2 TBSP lime juice

1 stick or 1/2 cup softened butter

1-2 tsp lime zest

1/4 cup lemon verbena, optional

Place the hazelnuts, lime juice, lemon verbena and lime zest in the food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely chopped.

Add the butter and pulse again until it is all mixed together.

Wrap it in plastic wrap and seal tightly, then store in the refrigerator for up to a month. You can use it for all kinds of dishes and recipes.

This time, I used it to top my pan-fried cod. For the cod, first I patted it dry with a paper towel, then coated it with some flour, salt, pepper, and Peruvian chili lime seasoning. In a very hot skillet, I added some of the hazelnut-lime butter, olive oil and a little lime olive oil and cooked the fish for about four minutes per side, or until golden brown on the outside and white and flaky on the inside.

When the fish was done, I topped it with more of the hazelnut lime butter, and served it with my Mexican vegetable frittata Mexican Vegetable Frittata, roasted potatoes and some warmed ciabatta, with a glass or two of a Spanish white on the side. Delicious and perfect for a lighter spring meal.

Recipes are guidelines. They give you the basics. It is up to you to be creative and to fill in the blanks and to add your own personality and personal touches. 🙂 Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

So many flowers are blooming right now, in all shapes and sizes and colors too. Spring is really blossoming at the moment, and all of her beautiful colors are popping up all over the place.

These are just a few. I have lots more to share. All in good time though. 🙂 Color your world beautiful, today, tomorrow and everyday. 🙂

What is the difference between a Spanish omelette and a frittata? What is the difference between a torte and a frittata? What is the difference between a frittata and a quiche? I am finding a lot of overlap, without coming up with a lot of specific answers. But from the best that I can tell, a frittata is a quiche without a crust. Frittatas, omelettes, Spanish omelettes, tortes and quiches are all egg-based dishes with fillings that make for a hearty and delicious meal any time of day. There are four main differences between a frittata and a quiche. They are the presence of a crust, the egg-to-dairy ratio, the vessel that they’re baked in, and where they are cooked. But this still does not really help much, considering I baked my frittata in a quiche or tart pan, just like I would bake a quiche. Confusing, I know, even for me. If anyone can really explain the differences to me, I am all ears and would love to hear your thoughts. All I know is that the recipe I followed (well, sort of. Of course I changed it.) called my dish a torte, though it looks more like a frittata, or a crustless quiche to me. But whatever name it goes by, it was very good.

Mexican Vegetable Torte

The original recipe only called for zucchini. I love zucchini, but I love so many vegetables, and I felt this recipe needed more than just zucchini. So I added mushrooms, and green bell peppers, and of course garlic as well. Bottom line, make it with whatever vegetables you like. Mix and match with whatever you want and call it whatever name works for you. What you call it doesn’t matter. What matters is how it tastes. 🙂

1 1/4 lbs sliced zucchini

4-5 mushrooms sliced

1 shallot, diced fine

1 small green pepper, diced fine

1/2-3/4 TBSP garlic

1-2 jalapenos, diced fine

3 eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup milk

salt to taste

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup grated light or white cheese

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

Spray cooking spray in a torte or quiche pan.

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

I knew before making my torte I was going to add mushrooms and garlic, but when I was at the store, the produce manager and one of his assistants were talking about these tiny, baby green bell peppers that they weren’t sure if they would be able to sell or not, or at least not at their marked price. I overheard their conversation and asked about it, so they offered me a deal, 2 for 1. How could I resist? I bought four and one went into my torte. It was a great addition to my torte too.

Saute the vegetables in a little bit of olive oil and butter until they are soft.

Combine the eggs, milk, flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne pepper and cheese together and mix well. I changed the recipe again, here too. My original recipe did not call for milk or for baking powder, but instead called for self-rising flour. I do not really care for self-rising flour, so I added the baking powder to regular flour. I also thought the mixture was too thick and needed a little milk.

Allow the vegetables to cool slightly before adding them to the egg and cheese mixture, then mix together well.

Evenly spread the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the center is set, and the top is a light golden brown.

You can enjoy this on its own for breakfast, lunch or a light snack, or you can serve it as a side dish to your favorite entree. I served it along side some cod with roasted hazelnut and lime butter, but more on that later. 🙂

As I always say, it’s OK to play with your food. I do it all the time. 🙂 Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

We have a few different swallow species here in Colorado. Some stay more in the mountain areas, while some like to visit the “lowlands” more. Here we see Barn Swallows quite often. They like to visit us from April-October. I love seeing them. I love their bright, contrasting colors of blue and rust. I almost always see them perched up high on lampposts. Often times because they are so high, it is hard for me to get good shots. But every now and then I get lucky.

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

I hope you all enjoyed your Cinco de Mayo festivities. We had a quiet, low-key day, though I did make chicken enchiladas Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Tomatillo Sauce and guacamole Old World/New World Fiesta for the day. And we still had some leftover Spanish rice and vegetables which I added to the meal. So we had yet another simple, but tasty Mexican celebration meal. We didn’t really celebrate though. We really do eat like this quite often. I just made a point of making Mexican food for the day.

You can make everyday special and celebrate all the little things in life that make life so good, everyday. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

My turtles, both the Red-Eared Sliders and the Snapping turtles, are out sunning themselves these days. I am seeing quite a few turtles out and about, just enjoying their days in the sun. Some of them even look like they are smiling too. At the moment, my Red-Eared Sliders are the ones who are really out and about. The Snapping turtles haven’t fully exposed themselves yet, but I do still see them. They are still testing the waters.

Be like the turtles, and come out to enjoy the sunshine. 🙂

Since today is actually the 5th of May of Cinco de Mayo, chances are pretty good that I will be making something Mexican once again for dinner. But for now, I am just going to share some photos of past Cinco de Mayo celebrations from around the country.

And there is ALWAYS plenty of good food.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo or Happy May 5th. It is always a festive, colorful and musical day of fun celebrations.

Cinco de Mayo is a day of celebration that recognizes Mexico’s victory over the Second French Empire led by Napoleon III at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. But it is really more of a Mexican-American “holiday”, celebrated in America much more so than it is in Mexico. For many in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo isn’t a day of monumental importance or a national party. For some, it’s merely a date marked in the calendar, while for others, it’s a day to commemorate the resilience of the Mexican spirit and a taciturn reminder of the valor of the Mestizo in the face of adversity. Yet, Cinco de Mayo is not widely celebrated in Mexico outside of Puebla. Unlike Mexico’s Independence Day, Sept. 16, it is not even a federal holiday. In the United States, by contrast, more than 500 cities have annual Cinco de Mayo celebrations, with the largest in Los Angeles, drawing as many as 500,000 revelers. The United States started celebrating the day in 1863, in California in response to the resistance to French rule in Mexico and as a way to honor California’s Mexican- American heritage.

I grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles, in Pasadena. California, and Los Angeles specifically, has a very large Mexican population. The name “Los Angels” itself means city of angels. That being said, Cinco de Mayo was always a big, festive day, and the festivities have grown ever since.

We “celebrated” the day, a couple of days early, with some good Mexican food and games after. Most people like to make fajitas, burritos, tacos, or nachos for the day. But these are the foods popular in most restaurants, and especially in Mexican restaurants, everywhere you go. These ARE NOT the only good Mexican foods around by any means of the imagination though. Mexico has lots of fabulous food. I wanted to make something less mainstream, but still authentically Mexican. I made a Mexican or Spanish chicken, with Spanish rice, some sauteed vegetables with Mexican herbs and spices and flan for dessert.

First, I marinated the chicken for about 5 hours, in a spicy tomato sauce. Then we grilled it up when we were ready to eat. I reserved some of the sauce and cooked it down to serve on top of the cooked chicken as well. My sauce was a quick version of an adobo sauce.

1 cup salsa

1 TBSP garlic

1 cup orang juice

3 TBSP onion, diced fine

1-2 tsp cumin

1 jalapeno, diced fine

1-2 tsp oregano

lemon verbena and/or cilantro, chopped

Mix everything together well and use as a marinade for the chicken, and let it marinade for at least 3-4 hours. Reserve some of the marinade for later to top the chicken once it is cooked.

When ready to cook, you can cook it any way you like, but I liked it grilled. We also heated up some tortillas on the grill while the chicken was cooking.

Next came the Spanish rice. You have seen this before, when I had my Old World/New World fiesta. Spanish Rice

We go to Mexico all the time. As you know, we LOVE diving in Cozumel. When we eat out, often the vegetables served are sauteed zucchini, crookneck and carrots, mixed with cumin, oregano, and sometimes peppers. This is exactly what I did too. I also threw in some of my lemon verbena, which is already growing wild and taking over my backyard. But I LOVE cooking with it. 🙂

Dessert was flan. You saw this from my Old World/New World fiesta as well, only I made it as individual portions, since I was only making it for only five people this time. Old World/New World Fiesta

And of course, we had margaritas too.

I love Mexican food, and we eat it all the time, so really this was just yet another normal dinner for us. And as usual, we celebrated with friends and games after. So it was a celebration of sorts, but really just a celebration of life, because life is good, and it is always better when shared over good food with good friends.

Que tengas un gran dia y haz que cada dia sea grandioso. Mantente segura y mantente bien. Hasta la proxima. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

On a side note. Today, May 4th, would have been my mother’s 95th birthday. Sadly, I lost my mom over 18 years ago, so she is up in Heaven now. Happy, Heavenly Birthday Mom. I love you always and forever.

Spring is alive and well. I have seen so many birds all around, and a lot of Rosy Finches too. It seems like I have seen a lot more than usual, or maybe I am just noticing them more. Here are some more fun pictures of my Rosy Finches.

This one seems to be house hunting. I think he likes the view.

This guy likes to be more grounded, and prefers a garden view.

Have a rosy day, and always try to enjoy your view. 🙂