A Jeanne in the Kitchen

Life around the lakes is getting very colorful these days. Many of the the spring flowers are beginning to pop up and bloom. In case you haven’t noticed, I just love flowers, flowers of all kinds. They always brighten up my day. I try my best to always have fresh flowers of some sort around the house for that very reason too. It never ceases to amaze me how something so small, yet so bright and colorful, can lift my spirits so much.

We have lots of bright yellow daffodils popping up all over the place.

The tulips are springing up too.

And even some pinkish/purple mountain flowers are coming to life.

They all look so pretty and colorful. They brighten my day. I hope they brighten your day too.

Mmmmmmm! Raspberries and blackberries. I love them any way I can get them. I love them in savory dishes. I love them as desserts. I love them in salads. And I love to eat them all by themselves.

Both raspberries and blackberries are packed with vitamins and nutrients. One cup of fresh berries provides30 milligrams of Vitamin C as well as 8 grams of fiber. These little berries really know how to pack a punch. 🙂

I am always buying both raspberries and blackberries (blackberries being slightly preferable to me) but Larry won’t eat them at all. So either I eat them all, which I have no problem doing, or I use them in recipes and dishes to share with others. My most recent raspberry treat was made to share, and I used them to make raspberry lemon cream bars. Once again, they were gone in a flash and everyone loved them. 🙂

Raspberry Lemon Cream Bars

Once again, these tasty treats only used a few basic ingredients. They were simple to make and simply delicious to eat.

Preheat the oven to 350* F or 190* C.

Spray cooking spray in a 9×13 baking pan.

Crust

3/4 cup softened butter

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup quick oats

1 1/3 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

Mix everything together well, making sure there are no butter clumps and everything sticks together. Spread about 3/4 of the mixture into the prepared pan, making sure to completely cover the bottom. Press it firmly into place, which will also help spread it out evenly.

Filling

1 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp lemon extract, optional

1 egg

1 package of raspberries, cut in 1/2

1 TBSP flour

2 TBSP sugar

Gently mix the flour and sugar in with the raspberries to coat them. Not only does this help flavor them, but it also helps to prevent the raspberries from “bleeding” into the custard. Then evenly distribute the berry mixture over the top of the crust.

Combine the rest of the ingredients together and evenly pour over the raspberries. Top with the remaining crumble mixture and spread evenly over the top of the custard.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and the custard filling is set.

Once the pan has cooled completely, place it in the refrigerator for about 1-2 hours before slicing. Be prepared though, once you slice them, they won’t be around for long. The lemon and raspberries celebrate each other and the flavors of each one just really pop and come to life. Enjoy. 🙂

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

The squirrels are out and about and are having so much fun. Most of them just love having their pictures taken too. They just look right at me, and into the camera and pose away. I will take as many pictures of them as they allow me to take.

It’s OK to be squirrely every now and then.

Larry and I have been on an Indian food kick lately. Sometimes we go for months without eating any Indian food, and then other times, we can’t seem to get enough. I think it is safe to say, we love Indian food. 🙂

I finally used my Easter lamb, in yet another way. This time I made some Indian butter lamb with vegetables and potatoes. It came out so good too. I served it over rice with some naan bread on the side, and a light, crisp chardonnay.

Indian Butter Lamb with Vegetables and Potatoes

I based this recipe on butter chicken and then expanded from there. My lamb was already cooked, but that just means I left out the step of cooking the lamb first. I did cheat on the sauce for this dish though, ONLY because Larry had bought a jar of butter sauce. I guess he forgot I know how to make it, and quite well too. 🙂

1 1/2 lbs lamb, cut into cubes

2 carrots, peeled and sliced at an angle, Asian style

1/2 red onion, diced fine

1 cup broccoli florets

2 potatoes, cubed and par-cooked

1- 1 1/2 cups green beans, cut into pieces about 1 inch in size

2 tomatoes, diced

1 jar Indian butter sayce

1 TBSP ginger

1 TBSP garlic

salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper, or to taste

olive oil fo cooking

ginger-garlic olive oil, optional

1 cup chicken broth of sauce is too thick

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme

If you are cooking you lamb, cook it first, then once it is cooked, remove it from the heat and set aside.

In a hot skillet, add the oil(s) and the vegetables and saute for about 5-7 minutes, or until they are tender. Add the potatoes and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the rest of the ingredients, including the cooked lamb, and combine well.

Because I had so many vegetables and lamb in my stew, I felt it needed a bit more liquid, so I added about 1 cup of chicken broth and the thyme. I would much rather add more to a dish or recipe than take away from it. This is just as good as you would find in any Indian restaurant, even if I do say so myself. 🙂

I love that I can make most ethnic foods as authentic as most specialty restaurants, but don’t get me wrong; I also love going out to eat too. I get so many great ideas by going out. I also have a ton of great cookbooks that are just filled with so many fabulous recipes. My only complaint, is there are too many great recipes and restaurants, and not nearly enough time.

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

The weather is warming up and the sun is shining. It’s the perfect time of year to start making delicious tropical foods and desserts. I made a macadamia pineapple tart that will take you right to Hawai’i, even if only through your taste buds. I guess everyone was in a Hawaiian state of mind today, because this tart quickly disappeared. There was none left at the end of our service this morning, and that’s a very good thing. The more everyone else eats, the less I eat. 🙂

Macadamia Pineapple Tart

I made my pate sucre (sugar dough crust) first. I start off with my basic go-to-dough and add about 1/3 cup of powdered sugar as well. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour before rolling out to fit into the tart pan, then press it firmly into the pan when ready to use it.

1 1/2 cups flour

6 TBSP cold butter, cubed

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 egg

5-6 TBSP heavy whipping cream.

Mix the flour butter, salt and powdered sugar together first in a food processor, then add the egg and the whipping cream and blend again until it all forms into a ball.

When you are ready to make the tart, bring the dough out of the refrigerator, roll out to about 1/4-1/2 inch in thickness and press firmly into a tart pan. Some people bake their dough first and then fill it, but I find it works just as well to bake it all at once, for a bit longer and a slightly lower temperature.

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

3/4 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

1 can crushed pineapple, drained

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

1/4 cup coffee liqueur or other sweetened liqueur

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

1/2 cup coconut

whipped cream for topping, optional

powdered sugar for topping, optional

Beat the eggs, sugar, salt and melted butter together. Add the liqueur and beat again. This time I used some of our cashew liqueur we brought back from Belize.

Evenly spread the macadamia nuts over the bottom of the dough, then cover with the pineapple.

Pour the egg and sugar mixture over the pineapple and make sure it is evenly distributed over the top. Cover with the coconut and place in the oven.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until the filling is set, the coconut is lighted toasted and the crust is lightly golden. Allow the tart to cool completely before removing from the tart pan. Add whipped cream and/or a dusting of powdered sugar if you like before serving. Then watch it disappear. It is definitely a trip to the tropics for your taste buds. 🙂

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

In honor of Earth Day, I am giving you some more egrets and a cormorant. These photos were taken from my deck, facing towards our first lake. The birds were just completely enjoying themselves before we got a bit more snow. They’re protected from the cold and snow at the moment, but that will soon melt, and my egrets and cormorants will soon be back once again. 🙂

Hey, hey, hey

Look over there. Do you see Mr. Cormorant? Look at him. He thinks he’s so cool over there on his rock.

I hear you, and I don’t care what you say.

I AM cool on my rock!

Happy Earth Day!

I have been seeing quite a few Blue Jays lately, but it is usually on the rare occasions I don’t have my camera with me, or when I do, they fly away before I can get a good shot of them. But Larry was lucky enough to spot one in the trees, and was able to get some good shots before he flew the coop.

If the word shrimp is in the recipe, count me in! I LOVE shrimp. I can eat it and enjoy it however it is fixed. Shrimp is very versatile and universal as well. Almost all cultures, particularly cultures that are around water, eat shrimp. There are over 2000 species of shrimps found all over the world. Shrimp is by far the most consumed seafood all over the world, with people eating roughly 9 billions lbs of it annually. Americans love shrimp too, and we consume about 1.7 billion lbs of it. That’s a lot of shrimp! Today, a lot of shrimp is farmed, with about 75% of it coming from farms all throughout Asia, particularly China and Thailand, and the other 25% coming from farms in Latin America, like Brazil, Mexico and Ecuador.

So with shrimp being so popular, is there any wonder why there are so many fabulous shrimp recipes out there? Not to me. I am always finding great recipes that call for shrimp. I am working on being able to say I have tried them all too, but there is so much shrimp and so many recipes, and not nearly enough time. 🙂

We have been eating a lot of red meat lately, and I felt like something lighter and something fishy. I knew we had a big bag of large shrimp in the freezer, so it was time to bring it down. My latest shrimp dish was an Asian shrimp dish with asparagus, mushrooms and peppers in a ginger sauce. I served it over pasta and with my pork pillows on the side. Pork Pillows You can serve this dish over either rice or pasta. Both work and both are Asian in origin.

Shrimp with Vegetables in a Ginger Sauce

The original recipe only called for asparagus, but of course I doctored it up and made it my own. I added black beans and a lot more vegetables. What can I say? I like stuff in my stuff, and I love vegetables, so I always try to add as many as I can while still keeping in the theme of the dish.

1 lb large shrimp or prawns, peeled and deveined

1/2-3/4 lb asparagus, cut into pieces about 1 inch in size

1 red bell pepper, cut into matchsticks

4-5 green onions, sliced at an angle, Asian style

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

3 TBSP soy sauce

1/4 cup rice wine or 2 TBSP rice vinegar and 1/4 cup dry white wine

2 TBSP sesame oil and/or olive oil

2 TBSP ginger and garlic olive oil, optional

1 TBSP ginger

1 TBSP garlic

1/2 tsp hot chili oil

1 tsp orange zest

1/2 tsp lemon zest

3/4 cup chicken broth, divided

1 tsp cornstarch

2 TBSP brown sugar

Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, 1/2 of the rice vinegar and wine or rice wine, ginger, garlic, lemon zest, orange zest, 1/2 cup of chicken broth and chili oil and combine well. Marinade the shrimp in it for about 15 -30 minutes.

Combine the cornstarch, chicken broth and remaining wine and/or vinegar together and set aside.

Get a large skillet or wok very hot, then add the oil(s). Add the shrimp and cook for about 3-5 minutes, or until it is completely pink, turning them over at about the half way mark. Once the shrimp are cooked, remove from the heat and set aside. Combine the marinade with the cornstarch and chicken broth mixture and set aside.

Add the mushrooms and red peppers and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, or until the peppers are tender. My asparagus was already cooked, so I added it later. I prefer to cook my asparagus first and add it later, however, you can add it when you add the mushrooms and peppers too.

Re-add the shrimp, black beans and asparagus if it has been cooked before hand as well as the sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about for about 3-5 minutes. Serve over either cooked rice or pasta and enjoy. Top with green onions, parsley and/or cilantro.

This is not a spicy sauce. It can pair well with either a dry or sweeter white wine or a very light-bodied red wine. It’s your choice and your preference.

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

I am using up leftovers again. WHOOO HOOOO!!!!!! You know I get so happy when I can do that. This time I was using up some pulled pork we had taken out of the freezer. I turned it into pork pillows that I deep-fried and served along side the main meal. They are very similar to both Indian samosas or Argentine empanadas.

My original recipe called for beef. You can use beef, chicken or pork and it will all be good. In fact, change it up a bit and make them different every time you make them. I had pork down that I wanted to use, so I made them pork. I only made a small amount since it was just as a side dish for dinner for just the two of us.

I started with my basic go-to-dough.

Jeanne’s Basic Go-To-Dough

1 1/2 cups flour

6 TBSP cold bitter, cubed

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

5-6 TBSP heavy whipping cream

Mix the flour, butter and salt together in the food processor until it resembles coarse sand. You can also do this by hand with a pastry cutter too.

Then add the egg and cream and mix again until it all forms into a ball. Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour before using.

Pork Filling

1 lb cooked pulled pork, diced into small pieces

1 medium onion, diced fine

2 small leeks, rinses and chopped fine

1 TBSP garlic

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp curry powder

red pepper flakes to taste

salt to taste

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

olive oil

Get a skillet very hot and add the onions and spices and cook for about 1-2 minutes, or until they become aromatic.

Add the pork, garlic, leeks and cilantro and continue to cook for about 2-3 minutes.

Roll the dough out very thin and cut it into rectangles. Add about 1 TBSP of the pork filling to the center of each piece, then fold the ends in together to make a square. Pinch then ends tight, then crimp with a fork. I also used an egg wash to “glue” everything together.

Once the pillows were filled, I put them in the refrigerator to set for about an hour before deep frying them in hot oil that was 350* F or 190*C. I fried them for about 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. These are best when eaten hot and a good flavorful sauce will really make them come to life. You can also bake them, but I prefer them fried.

I served these pork pillows along side some Asian shrimp and asparagus (more on that later) and dipped the pork pillows in the sauce. YUMMY!

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

Every now and then we are visited by different ducks that don’t usually stop by. Yesterday was one such day. We had a Blue Winged Teal just casually swimming on the lake. We’ve seen them before, but they don’t tend to make us a regular stop. I was glad he stopped by to say hi though, and to allow for a few pictures before taking off.

He was even catching up a bit with Mr. Mallard.

It’s always fun catching up with old friends. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.