A Jeanne in the Kitchen

My neighbor Hanaa is always so sweet and so thoughtful. Once again she delivered some of her Middle Eastern cooking at our door. This time she brought over some Middle Eastern lentil soup. It wasn’t nearly enough for Larry and I to both have as a meal, so I added little bits of this and little bits of that to enhance it. It came out very good. I used her dish as a base then added to it from there.

I cut up some cooked chicken, carrots and peas, and added some cumin and a few red pepper flakes and chicken broth, as well as some more seasonings. So instead of having this as a soup, as I think it was intended, I turned it into more of a hearty stew.

See, I don’t only recreate from my just own leftovers. No, no, no. I recreate from ALL leftovers. 🙂

I served it all over some couscous with warmed pita bread, and turned something simple into some something more hearty and filling. It was made just perfect with a glass or two of white wine to accompany the meal too.

As I always say play with your food. Be creative. You never know what can happen. 🙂

I have been out playing all weekend and it has been just too damn hot to be in cooking, so simple things like this have been a perfect way to still eat healthy meals. It’s a delicious, healthy meal without have to slave away over a hot stove on these dogs days of summer. Count me in. 🙂

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

As you all know, we just finished this year’s Great Bloggers’ Bake-Off. Once again, hats off to everyone who participated. Everyone did such an amazing job and there was so much participation for this ever-growing annual event. The results have been posted and everyone is celebrating. That includes me. I am celebrating too. I am going to take the day off and go play, but you know I will once again be back in the kitchen, cooking up all kinds of goodness.

All week, I have been sharing all the fabulous recipes from our ever-growing family of bloggers. Today I am going to share some more kitchen thoughts on what goes on behind the scenes, or as we in the industry like to say, in the back of the house.

We all know perfection takes time, and most chefs are perfectionists. We only make and serve the best.

As we always say in diving, plan your dive and dive your plan. The same is true in a kitchen when planning your recipes, meals and events too.

Yes indeed.

Oh we are most definitely an imperfect bunch of misfits, that’s for sure. 🙂

To paraphrase Thomas Edison, it only took 10,000 failures before I found success. Practice, practice, practice. We all know, practice makes perfect, and we all know chefs are perfectionists.

Play with your food. Be creative, and NEVER, NEVER give up!

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

First of all, I just want to give a big round of applause to EVERYONE who participated in this year’s 2023 Great Bloggers’ Bake-Off. Everyone did an amazing job. There were so many fantastic entries and everything looked FABULOUS!!!!!! It made my job as judge very difficult indeed. But, I have made my decisions and it is now time for me to share them with all of you.

Let’s start with Most Improved Baker. He started as a novice baker back when we first started this event, and he just keeps getting better and better every year. I am so proud of all his efforts. This is his 2nd time for this award, and deseredly so. He is well on his way to being Star Baker one day. This award goes to Gary Metcalf from https://bereavedsingledad.blog/ for his Sponge. This looks so good and so moist too. Perfectly delicious!

Well done Gary!

This year, because we had 3 different flapjack entries, we have a special flapjack category too. These are British flapjacks. In America, flapjacks are another name for pancakes. Flapjacks in the UK are totally different. In the UK flapjacks are cereal bars, oat bars, or oat slices) are golden oat-packed, hand-held triangles, often enjoyed for breakfast or as a snack. So, our award for best Flapjacks go to Jacob Nyamak for his Tropical Flapjacks. You can congratulate Jacob at https://jakeinthecity.wordpress.com/

AWESOME job Jacob!!!!!!

Our next award is for Best Cookie. If I could, I would give you the moon and the stars, but I don’t have too. Babitha has already done that for us with her fantastic moon and stars cookies for Ramadan. Babitha from My Peppermint Kitchen at https://mypeppermintkitchen.wordpress.com/ These crescent moons and stars are orange laced soft crumbly sugar coffees.

WHOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!! I LOVE cookies!!!!!!

Next we have our bread category. I LOVE bread; breads of all kinds. This bread is a sweet bread made with Bischoff, which is something I had never heard of before. Again, it is a British thing. Bischoff is a creamy spread, similar to the consistency of peanut butter from what I can tell, with hints of the winter spices of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. It is a spread made from crushed speculoos biscuits. The texture is similar to smooth peanut butter but with a spicy cinnamon flavor. See, even old dogs like me can still learn something new. 🙂 Our speculoos or Bischoff Bread comes to us from Nadine Briars. Again, you can congratulate her via Mel at https://crushedcaramel.wordpress.com/

This beautiful snowflake bread is just in time for the first snow (at least in my neck of the woods, although we still have patches of last year’s snow way up in the mountains right now). It even looks like it is dusted with snow. YUMMY! Congrats Nadine.

No baking contest would be complete without pies and tarts, and yes, we had plenty of those too. Everything looked so good. As with all of our other delectables, this was a hard choice to make, since I could only choose one. The award for Best Pie goes to Michiel and Jeen, the creators of Cook and Drink at https://cookanddrink.org/ for their Pear and Almond Pie. In a word, this pie is PERFECT! Michiel and Jeen are all about using the best ingredients and techniques in their foods, and it definitely shows too. C’est manifique!

Our next category is for savory baked goods. Again, oh my! There was some fierce competition. I think I actually have a tie here, since I had two totally outstanding recipes. First is Kevin’s Spicy Veggie Strudel from A Different Kitchen at https://adifferentkitchen.org/2023/05/24/spicy-veg-strudel/. Oh yum! I could easily eat this whole strudel all by myself. Oh, was I supposed to save some for you? 🙂

And next we have our creative genius and event planner extradonairre, our very own Mel from https://crushedcaramel.wordpress.com/ for her Courgette and Mint Tart. Isn’t this tart gorgeous????? Each one of these courgette or zucchini spirals is rolled and placed in the tart individually. I have never seen something like this before, but I guarantee I will do my best to replicate it soon. It’s almost too pretty to eat. Almost. 🙂

Hats off to both Kevin and Mel for their beautiful creations of edible art.

Again, there was some very fierce competition here. Everything was AMAZING!!!!!!

Our 3rd Runner Up is Annette, aka Lady Lewis, for her Umami Streak Torte. Annette describing this decadent cake in her own words – Annette said she thinks this bake shares a little of her character – generally sweet, lots going on (roasted hazelnuts, an abundance of dark and milk chocolate, miso, Biscoff, bourbon biscuits, gold lustre spray) – just enough trendiness without losing her respectability, a little bit bling bling without over doing it, generous and warm, not really minding that she has an umami streak – where people don’t know if she is being serious or teasing them.

Congratulations Annette. What a decadently gorgeous torte.

Our 2nd Runner Up award goes to Robert Lewis for his Torta Caprese with Amaretto cream. HMMMMMM! There is definitely a little husband and wife baking rivalry going on at this house, and a lot of chocolate. 🙂 As you can see, both Robert and Annette are amazing bakers.

This is a flourless cake, made with roasted whole almonds that have then been blitzed in a food processor (Robert insists that means a very different taste from buying a packet of ground almonds) melted chocolate, cocoa, eggs, and more.

Our 1st Runner Up is Reuben for is Baklava Cheesecake. Apparently Reuben is shy and a bit on the modest side, which also makes him mysterious. I don’t know anything about Reuben except that he is a very creative and talented baker. To find out more, you need to contact Mel at https://crushedcaramel.wordpress.com/. Maybe she knows a bit more about our mystery man Reuben. 🙂

And now ….. the moment you have all been waiting for …. Who will be this year’s STAR BAKER?????

Our Star Baker for the 2023 Great Bloggers’ Bake-Off is Sheree from View From The Back athttps://viewfromtheback.com/ for her Classic French Frasier. A Frasier cake is a classic French strawberry cake made with two layers of genoise sponge, simple syrup, Crème Mousseline and the iconic strawberry halves along the sides. Sheree made if for the birthday of a friend. It is such an elegant showstopper of a cake. Seriously, the French really do know how to do showstopping cakes – don’t they! On her website, Sheree shares some stunning French desserts including the FRAISIER, so do take a look – it will make you super hungry though!

Sheree has been here before, a couple of times, actually. She is hard to beat. She is extremely talented, and someone I am lucky enough to call “friend”. If only she would save some of her desserts for me too. 🙂 Sheree won our first ever STAR BAKER award back in 2019 and also scooped up another STAR BAKER award in 2022 for her vegan phenomenon.

Once again, AWESOME JOB Sheree!!!!!!!

And thank you to ALL of you. We had so many amazing entries this year. You all did a FABULOUS JOB!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS and a big round of applause to all of you for a job, or jobs, very well done. This is possible every year because of all of you, your efforts and your support. We all got into the world of blogging to help support each other and this is a spectacular way of showing our love and support for all our fellow bloggers out there. Let’s keep this annual tradition going. I look forward to seeing all of your creative efforts once again next year. Keep up all your great works in the kitchen!

And special thanks to both Mel from Caramel https://crushedcaramel.wordpress.com/ and Gary Metcalf from Bereaved Single Dad at https://bereavedsingledad.blog/. There is so much work and effort that goes on behind the scenes to make this wonderful event happen. Mel and Gary both spend countless hours putting all of this together and they do a fabulous job. Every year it just keeps getting better and better, thanks to both of these two working tirelessly behind the scenes.

Thank you once again for allowing me the great honor of being the judge for this fabulous annual event. Even though my job gets harder and harder each year, because each year we we get more and more scrumptious, mouthwatering entries, I LOVE every bit of it. I am already looking forward to next year and all the delicious treats that we will see. Until then, stay safe, stay well, and I will see you again soon. ‘Til next time, Jeanne.

I love peaches, and our Palisade peaches from the Western Slope are the best peaches I have ever tasted. They are so sweet and juicy. You could almost make them a meal by themselves. But I didn’t. I used them for a peaches and cream cake instead.

Peaches and Cream Cake

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

Spray a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray.

1 1/3 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

6 TBSP melted butter

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp ginger

4 cups chopped peaches

Mix all the dry ingredients together, including the sugar, and set aside.

Combine the milk, eggs and melted butter and beat a bit, then add to the dry ingredients and mix just until everything is blended together. Pour into the prepared baking pan. Top with the chopped peaches.

Bake for about 35-45 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool completely before removing from the pan and adding the frosting.

The Frosting

1 8-oz package whipped cream cheese

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

3 TBSP peach juice

aout 2 cups chopped peaches, optional

Combine all the ingredients together except the peaches, then spread evenly over the cake. Top with the chopped peaches. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

As soon as you put this delicious cake out, don’t turn your back on it, or it will be gone before you know it. 🙂

Life is just peachy, especially if you are using Palisade peaches. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

I have made my decisions on the the winners of the 2023 Great Bloggers’ Bake-Off, but now I am just going to tease you for another day. 🙂 Anticipation! It’s a good thing. I also want to share a few more of the wonderful entries with you first before I share the results. But I promise I won’t make you wait to much longer.

Again, these are just a sampling of all the fantastic recipes that came in this year. So many fabulous recipes to go through. I will have the final results to you tomorrow. Enjoy! 🙂

I am getting closer to making my decisions for this year’s winners of the 2023 Great Bloggers’ Bake-Off. I have narrowed some things down and have made some decisions, but have a few more to make. I should have the results very, very soon. In the mean time though, I will continue to share some more of our fabulous entries. We have a lot of very talented bakers in our midst. 🙂

And another great interview with Mel. This time she interviewed Sadje from https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/

There are two words that we have heard again and again when talking to WordPressers about why they stick with WordPress and why they like this community of writers so much. The first was INSPIRATION, but equally important is ENCOURAGEMENT.

We all know that ENCOURAGEMENT can be a powerful motivator. Like sunshine and water to a seedling, the positive feedback we give and receive within WordPress can be a huge spur to us growing creatively and becoming more confident in expressing ourselves.

When we thought about the power of ENCOURAGEMENT on WordPress many names came to mind – but top of the list was Sadje. She has a reputation from being one of the friendliest and most encouraging of writers. Some of us remember Sadje when she was new to WordPress, and we have seen her flourish and grow and admire at what a creative force she has steadily become.

Sadje, it is a true pleasure to be able to feature you as one of our INPSIRATIONAL WORDPRESSERS this weekend. We have some questions for you, and we are sure that your answers will be a great source of encouragement for us.

When did you start out on WordPress and what has motivated you to continue publishing online?

I started my blog on 6th September 2018. It was a spur of the moment decision and I never imagined where it would take me. 

It was fun and exciting to connect with so many like-minded people on WordPress and make friends with them. The act of putting my words and thoughts out there in the world was cathartic, exhilarating, and inspiring. When I saw the response of many of my readers I kept on writing!

How do writing prompts help you to develop your creativity?

I think it was early on in my blogging journey that I discovered the various prompts and challenges different people were hosting. Once I started writing for them, I got addicted to doing the daily challenges. These words would be so different from each other that combining them in one post would be a challenging task. I loved doing that. 

I also started writing poetry, which I hadn’t done before but now I can proudly say that I can write different forms of poetry too. 

Sadje, we know everyone will agree that you have been one of the most encouraging WordPressers out there – why is it so important to you to encourage others with their creativity?

Thank you Mel for your kind words. I think I wanted to repay in kind what was gifted to me when I started my blog. 

I used to make many mistakes initially, both in spellings and grammar and some very kind and generous people would correct me in a manner that would be encouraging and never put me down.  So I also wanted to be that sort of support to new bloggers in WordPress. I also believe that the real spirit of blogging lies in the interaction between bloggers. So I try my best to engage with the people I follow. A positive feedback brings out the best in us all.

We know that you host at least one prompt. Could you let us know how we can find your prompts and give us an idea of what they involve please?

I host a weekly image-based challenge that is posted every Monday. I took over when a very dear friend/ blogger Helene passed away in 2019. This challenge is called, “WHAT DO YOU SEE?”  Every Sunday, I also ask a question in my, “SUNDAY POSER” The question can be related to life in general or sometimes to blogging. 

We know some of us have at times encountered challenges in using WordPress, but what would you say is the best thing about WordPress?

I feel the best thing about WordPress is its community and the community spirit. People here are helpful, kind, and supportive. So despite the various technical difficulties/ glitches we all have experienced on this platform, we all are still around because of our awesome community. 

Thank you Sadje – for this interview and also for all that you have contributed to WordPress. You have encouraged so many other writers, and become a very precious part of a thriving WordPress community, We are so glad for all that you are and all that you do.

And thank you Mel for ALL your amazing work every year on this fabulously fun event. You make it all happen. 🙂

It’s getting harder and harder to spontaneously enjoy nature, at least in our neck of the woods. Now you have to schedule an appointment for many of the National Parks before you can get in, at least during peak seasons. But schedule an appointment we did, and boy what a fabulous day we had too.

We had scheduled our day at RMNP a few weeks ago. Saturday, we packed a picnic lunch and headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) with Mike and Lauren. It was a perfect day. A little cooler and cloudy at first, but it was perfect. At times we were driving through the clouds, and then we were above the clouds, looking down into them. It was very dreamlike.

And believe it or not, there were still some patches of snow at the higher elevations. When we entered the park, the elevation was 8200 feet. The highest part, or peak was 12,000 feet.

We saw a lot of pretty mountain wildflowers. You all know how much I love my flowers.

We hiked down to a gorgeous water fall that flowed heavily down the mountain.

We had some very playful and curious crows who decided to entertain us through lunch.

And best of all, we saw LOTS and LOTS of critters. I always look for critters, and this time they were all over the place. WHOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!! It totally made our day. 🙂

First we saw a momma deer and her baby. I didn’t get any good pictures of the baby. She was shy and stayed protected behind the trees. But momma was curious.

I would have been happy if these two were all we saw, but we were in for a real treat. There were so many elk all around. It is elk season and they were definitely out and about. We even saw two young bucks rutting, and showing off a bit.

Then a little further down the road we saw a much bigger buck who couldn’t be bothered with the youngsters. He was so majestic and gorgeous, and he definitely knew it too.

Again, this would have made my day, but there were still so many more to see as well. We saw another big buck presiding over his herd. We saw 6 all together in a higher meadow, including at least 1 calf.

We even saw him bugling to is herd just to let them all know where he was, and that they were safe.

We were all thrilled!!!!!! It was a fantastic day. I can’t believe how many elk we saw. Sometimes we just get lucky like this. Most of the time though, we don’t see any. But it’s always exciting when we do. 🙂

I have been looking at all of your fabulous entries once again, and WOW!!!!! Holy cow!!!! Everyone did such an amazing job baking this year. Everything looks so good. 🙂

I haven’t made my final decisions yet, but I am getting closer. You are all really making me work this year. And I LOVE every minute of it too. 🙂

Again, I am going to share some of this year’s entries and another bit of inspiration from Punam.

Here is Mel’s interview with Punam:

We knew that this year, we wanted to feature a WordPress treasure, a writer and poet who has been a key part of THE GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF every year. It is always a joy to share with you Punam, the creator of PAEANSUNPLUGGEDBLOG!

Punam, you have a treasure trove of poetry on your website – going back over seven and a half years. We have regularly seen your brilliant interpretation of writing prompts on WordPress and wondered how you keep on coming up with so many great poems. We wanted to ask you about your creativity because you are such an inspirational WordPresser.

Hi Mel. Before I answer your questions, I would like to thank you for inviting me to share my blogging journey.

Our honour Punam!

When did you start out on WordPress and how has your personal creativity developed since you began publishing online?

I started my blog on 28th February 2016 as a birthday gift to my childhood best friend. She had been very insistent that I start blogging and gave me the ultimatum that as a birthday gift she wanted me to start a blog!
I had started writing poems in high school, wrote a few in college and then lost interest in writing.

Years later I started writing again and shared sporadically in a WhatsApp group of school friends who were very encouraging.
It has made a huge difference to my writing since I went online. I have learnt so much about forms, rhyme and rhythm, syllable counting and so much more from my very accomplished fellow bloggers. Being on WordPress has taught me so much more about poetry than what I learnt in school or college.

Punam, how does having a creative outlet to express yourself help you to cope with challenges in life?

Believe me, Mel, it is very helpful. Whether I am ranting, despairing or writing about my joys and sorrows, putting my thoughts into words always helps me de-stress.

Moreover the comments from the community are always uplifting and supportive. My interactions with fellow bloggers reaffirms my faith in humanity. So yes, having a creative outlet definitely helps in facing life’s challenges.

How have writing prompts been a source of inspiration?

I started off by responding to the daily prompt by WordPress. That is where I got in touch with so many bloggers who are friends now. Responding to different prompts not only helps me exercise my creative muscles, I get to meet new bloggers and I also learn so much from fellow bloggers who are so creative. The added bonus is this community feels like family.

Have you ever encountered “writer’s block”? What do you do to ignite inspiration?

I haven’t really encountered “writer’s block” till now. If a prompt leads me to a topic I have already written about a number of times, I do reread my own poems so that I don’t repeat myself. Or if when I have written something that I feel is not worth posting, I leave it and come back to it later and that usually helps.

We know that at times some of us have encountered challenges using WordPress, but what would you say is the best thing about using WordPress?

The best thing about WordPress is certainly the community it has created. I am not very tech savvy, as a result I often struggle with glitches on WP, yet I can’t think of quitting this platform because of the beautiful unconditional bonds we have created here and how it helps me hone my creativity.

Thank you so much Punam – we think you have captured perfectly exactly what we have been celebrating all weekend. How proud we are of this great community on WordPress that has provided a constant flow of inspiration and encouragement and you are a lynchpin of this community. How grateful we are to you for your replies to our questions – full of inspirationan and encouragement for all of us.

And now for some more of our fabulous creations.

See why my job as judge is so challenging this year? And there are still so many more. Everything just looks so delicious!!!!! Gob job everyone. Well done!!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Always let your creative juices flow freely. You never know what can happen when you just let yourself be free. 🙂 Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

OMG!!!!!!! A huge round of applause to all of you bakers out there. I just saw the entries. All I can say is WOW!!!!! Everyone did such an amazing job this year. You all totally out did yourselves. Now, my job as judge is even harder than ever. Everyone is most definitely a winner though, no matter what the final results turn out to be. Thank you ALL so much for participating and submitting so many wonderful recipes. Hopefully I will have made my final decisions within a few days. I have to really look at everything and put my thinking cap on.

In the mean time, I will share some of our entries we received this year, as well as the interview with Mel and Irene. Everything looks so delicious!!!!!! Thanks. I just gained another 10 or so lbs just by looking at everything. 🙂

Irene won The Star Baker Award last year for her Nova Scotia Style Oatcakes. https://mysliceofmexico.ca/2022/10/15/nova-scotia-style-oatcakes/.

One of our favorite features of THE GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF is the chance to share with you one of our incredible baking creatives who has made a very delicious contribution to THE GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF over the years.

Irene, we are thrilled to be featuring you. On so many levels, you are a shining example of the very best of the WordPress community – the international, multi-cultural, creative talent that has been a phenomenally positive force on WordPress. We would love to know about your online publishing and your experience when it comes to INSPIRATION and ENCOURAGEMENT.

WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO START OUT PUBLISHING ONLINE AND TO STICK AT IT?

Growing up in Mexico, my friends and teachers frequently asked me about my Japanese background, so I got used to asking my parents if some particular food, word or tradition was Japanese, Mexican, or a blend. When I came to Canada as a young grown-up, I found myself talking again about food, words and traditions, but the questions had mostly turned to Mexico, my country of origin. I knew some answers, but sometimes it was hard to put them into context or, shamefully, there were many I simply did not know. That motivated me to find meaningful answers to those questions, and what started as brushing up on colloquial Spanish, Mexican history and its food, became a new experience, and stuff I learned in school or took for granted, acquired a new dimension. 

Throughout the years, I have shared those findings with my husband and daughters, friends, teachers, colleagues, and even curious strangers, so five years ago, I was very excited to begin documenting them in a blog.  What motivates me to continue publishing is the kind feedback I receive from readers and fellow bloggers, especially when someone has tried (and liked) a recipe, or finds a story relevant or interesting.

HOW HAVE YOU PUT YOUR OWN UNIQUE TWIST ON YOUR WORDPRESS SITE AND THE POSTS YOU PUBLISH?

I read and follow many great blogs about cooking, literature, Mexican history, Spanish language, gardening, and personal stories.  I have found that in general, Mexican cuisine sites sometimes incorporate one of the other aspects, but not in great detail, and history, literature and gardening sites may talk about Mexican food, but if a recipe is included, it is not fully developed or explained.  I enjoy following the background of a recipe, many times finding fun facts or unexpected twists that put ingredients and methods into context, then testing and sharing full recipes with directions; or sometimes, I start with a personal memory, a piece of history or a gardening tip, and it leads me to a dish that has significance and enhances the story.  I really think I have found a niche that allows me to share recipes and reach, and engage with, readers interested in food, but also one or more of the other topics concerning the dishes. 

HOW HAS PUBLISHING HELPED YOU TO DEVELOP AND EXPRESS YOUR CREATIVITY?

Publishing a recipe requires more than copying ingredients from my notes. I check the background, see if ingredients will be readily available outside Mexico, and find sources or substitutions; then, I test the recipe, and try to find ways to photograph the cooking process so the steps will be easy to follow, and to showcase the final product.  Staging the food is a lot of fun, and I never use fake props or inedible enhancers.  I also credit the word prompts and other challenges provided by fellow bloggers; since English is my second language, it is always a welcomed exercise to try and make the prompts fit in my stories.

WHEN READERS VISIT YOUR SITE OR READ YOUR POSTS – WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE THEM TO REMEMBER OR TAKE AWAY?

Anything that is relevant to them; it could be a story that brought back a memory of their own, a recipe that calls for their favourite ingredients (or the forgotten veggies that were mutating in their fridge, LOL), a tip that will help in their garden, or a photo of a flower or dish that made them smile.

WHAT KIND OF BAKE WOULD REPRESENT YOUR PERSONALITY?

I think maybe small cakes, like squares or petit fours.  They are versatile (sweet or savory, decadent or lean, etc.), neat and orderly (perfectly aligned or arranged on a tray), and require precision and creativity. 

IS THERE A DISH OR RECIPE ON YOUR SITE THAT HAS A SPECIAL PERSONAL CONNECTION OR IS VERY CLOSE TO YOUR HEART?

I think because of the nature of my website, in which almost every dish has a backstory, there are many recipes that connect to my childhood, or cooking and sharing with my daughters.  One at the top is my banana bread, because it reminds me of both my late brother, and my mom, with whom I developed the recipe with our secret ingredient, one time she was visiting here in Canada.

HOW HAS THE WAY OTHER WORDPRESS USERS EXPRESS THEMSELVES ENCOURAGED YOU?

When bloggers share their personal stories, traditions, and memories, they make their websites special and unique, regardless of the topics they cover (fiction, bio, travel, gardening, or of course, cooking).  That model encouraged me to pursue mine as an account of my own way of experiencing Mexico (hence the name “My Slice of Mexico”), and the support, comments and feedback I receive is what keeps me going. 

Thank you all, and especially the awesome GBBO organizers for giving everyone an opportunity to share their bakes, widen audiences, and discover new sites through this epic contest. This year’s theme “Express Yourself” promises to be another great platform for showcasing all bakers’ creativity; I am looking forward to joining the fun, and discovering new websites and baked creations!

Irene, thank you so much for this wonderful interview, and for the extraordinary work you put into your website MY SLICE OF MEXICO. It’s an honor to be able to share your story here to stir our excitement for THE 2023 “EXPRESS YOURSELF” GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF. And thank you Mel, for putting all of this together for a deliciously fun event every year. You do an amazing job pulling us all together through food and baking.

Stay tuned. I am only just beginning. We have lots more still yet to discover. 🙂

No matter how much we know about something, there is always more to learn. This is true about everything. I am a good cook, and I know a lot about cooking, baking, preparing foods, and service, etc., but I too am always still learning new things.

I was a culinary student once again, learning something new about something I had never done before. I went to a pickling class that was offered at my favorite spice shop in Denver, Savory Spice. Savory Spices of Denver

I have cooked and prepared many things in my life, and I do so everyday, but I have never pickled or canned anything before, other than salsas and things like that. I am on Savory Spice‘s email list, and the other day I received an email for a pickling class. I checked the calendar and it was clear. I asked Lauren if she wanted to go with me, since learning new things is always more fun when you have a friend with you, and she was clear too, so off we went. We learned a quick and simple way to pickle vegetables.

Rebecca was our leader for the day. She had everything all prepared and demonstrated before letting us novice picklers try it out. She had fresh, organic green beans, carrots, and cucumbers all cut up and ready for us to pick and choose what we wanted, along with all the pickling spices laid out and the warmed brine ready to go. She also had some elephant garlic and fresh dill and dried jalapenos. We could pick and choose and customize our vegetable jars however we wanted. All of us created our own unique jar of pickled vegetables that we got to take home with us. There were 9 of us who attended the class. It was just the right size too; not too small and definitely not too big. I think we all learned something new and had a good time in the process.

Lauren and I showing off our pickled jars.

I am not exactly sure what Lauren put in hers, but I put a little bit of everything in mine. I filled it with green beans and carrots, then added some of the elephant garlic, fresh dill, dried jalapeno slices, and about 3-4 tsp of pickling spices, which included black peppercorns, mustard seed and coriander seeds.

Elephant garlic is a HUGE garlic bulb, that can often weigh up to 1 lb each. It has a milder flavor than regular, smaller garlic cloves and can be used for just about anything you would use regular garlic for as well.

Simple Pickling Brine

A brine is necessary to pickle vegetables. Without a brine, your vegetables will just wilt, and won’t be preserved or “pickle”. A good pickling brine has the proper ratio of water, vinegar, salt and sugar. This same brine can be used for any kinds of vegetables.

1 cup distilled white viegar

2 TBSP kosher salt

2 tsp sugar

2-4 TBSP pickling spices

2 cups water

Combine everything together in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Boil until all the salt and sugar have completely dissolved.

Pack your choice of vegetables in a mason jar with a tight fitting lid. Pack it as full as you can, then add your finishing touches. More is better for this one. A nice little tip Rebecca pointed out, is that sometimes it is best to add your pickling spices directly into each jar as well, to make sure they are evenly distributed throughout the batch. Once your vegetables are packed the way you want them, pour the vinegar mixture over them and fill the jar. Then seal the jar tightly and flip it over a few times to mix everything up. Allow the vegetables to sit at room temperature for 24 hours, then you can store them in the refrigerator. They will last for months in the refrigerator, especially if unopened.

Our pickling class proudly displaying our creations. Thank you Rebecca. It was a fun, new learning experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the class.

And of course I didn’t just come home with a jar of pickled vegetables. No, no, no. I bought some other fun goodies too, that you know I will put to good use very soon. 🙂 I LOVE Savory Spice. I have been hooked ever since my friend Janet introduced me to them a a few years ago. They offer so many unique and different spices that you won’t find anywhere else.

This time my haul included dried mustard, dried lemon peel, candied orange peels, candied ginger and espresso powder, and because I spent over $40, I got another jar of spices for free. I chose some California citrus rub, that I used in my pork quesadillas last night for dinner. YUMMY!

Savory Spice is a local Denver spice store, owned and operated here in Denver, but they ship anywhere in the United States. I am not sure if they ship out of the country or not, but then you never know until you try, right?! Savory Spice has a few locations in the Denver Metro area, but the one we went to was located at 1537 Platte Street, Denver, CO 80202. You can contact them either by phone at (303) 477-3322 or online at http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/denver-platte-08 or denver@savorysoiceshop.com. If you have never been in a spice shop before, you definitely have to try it. You will be in for an unforgettable experience in the world of spices. 🙂

Learn something new and have fun too. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.