A Jeanne in the Kitchen

We lost our big boy Vinnie in March, which left a huge hole in our hearts. Juneau hasn’t been the same since her big brother passed away either. She is so lonely. We always knew we would be getting another dog, though we can never replace Vinnie. We just had to wait until it was the right dog and the right time. We had hoped for another male, and another Saint, but God had other plans. We are getting another big girl instead, and she is a 9 month old Great Pyrenees. We have always said rescue is our favorite breed, and we have been very lucky in getting quite a few purebreds from rescue. That’s how we got both Vinnie and Lucie, as well as our first Malamute, Kodiak – all purebreds.

We have named our new fur baby Andorra, or Dorrie for short. The way we name our fur babies is to name them after a place of their origins. Great Pyrenees come from the Pyrenees Mountains between Spain and France, and there is a little tiny county in between called Andorra. We will be there in September, so when we found out about our new baby, Larry and I both called out the name Andorra in sync. It’s destiny, and just meant to be. 🙂

Dorrie is coming to us as a rescue from Big Dogs Huge Paws. She is in OK right now, and we are leaving to pick her up today. The half way point between Oklahoma City and us is, believe it or not, Hays, KS, where Larry is from. So we will be visiting with his family today and tomorrow. We pick Dorrie up Saturday evening. We will bring her home with us on Sunday.

Here are some pictures I have that her foster mom sent us. She will melt your heart. She is a big, beautiful fluff ball that loves to cuddle. I hope Juneau loves her and is nice to her too.

And just in case you’ve forgotten what Juneau looks like, here are a couple recent photos of her too.

Dorrie is going to fit into our family very well. We are so excited. 🙂 🙂 🙂

So I will be out of touch for a few days. But have no fear. I’ll be back soon. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

We have had the strangest, wackiest weather this summer. We really haven’t had much of a summer at all yet. It is more fall like, with cool weather, which I absolutely LOVE, and LOTS and LOTS of rain. It is July 6, and our weather today will only be in the mid 70’s at best. Yesterday, it was in the low 60’s. Everything is so green. This is the greenest I’ve ever seen it at this time of year. But NO complaints from me. As I said, I LOVE it!!!!!

That being said, with all this rain, and thunder and lightening, I have not been out walking as much as usual, which means not a lot of new pictures. Fortunately, I have a ton of pictures from previous walks that I can share. Today, I am sharing a juvenile European Starling, at least that’s what I think it is, on the reeds.

Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

The other day, it was a lamb night. I was thinking of all kinds of good ways to prepare it, but I finally decided on marinating in a my tomato vinaigrette Heirloom Tomato, Garlic & Herb Vinaigrette with Steak Salad I had made for a salad a couple of days earlier. It came out delicious. But I also needed an equally delicious side dish to go with the lamb. I came up with an orzo salad made with crab, artichoke hearts and other vegetables.

I went upstairs to my library and started looking for some Greek inspiration. I found a great sounding recipe, but of course, I did what I do best, and I made it even better, at least in our opinion. 🙂 I added more vegetables and more stuff, making it even more Greek.

Greek Crab & Artichoke Salad

1 lb orzo, cooked according to the package directions

1 TBSP garlic

1/2 red onion, diced fine

1/2 red bell pepper, diced fine

1/2 cucumber, diced fine

1 can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and cut in 1/2

1/2 cup green olives, sliced

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

salt & pepper to taste

red pepper flakes to taste

1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar

2-3 TBSP lemon balsamic vinegar, optional

1/2 cup olive oil

4-6 basil leaves, chiffonade

4-6 sprigs fresh oregano, chopped

2- TBSP lemon verbena, chiffonade, optional

feta cheese, optional

Cook the orzo according to the package directions, then drain.

Combine all the herbs, seasonings, vinegar and olive oil together and set aside.

Add all the vegetables and crab into the orzo. Add the dressing and toss together well. Chill until ready to use.

I served this cool Mediterranean/Greek salad as a side dish to my lamb kebabs.

I marinated the lamb in my tomato vinaigrette for about 6 hours before cutting it into cubes and grilling them.

We enjoyed a delicious Greek dinner out on the deck, complete with hummus, pita bread and, of course wine. It was a perfect summer meal.

There was a lot of this delicious salad, so it has already been used a couple of other times since I made it. I served it on our 4th of July feast hat we shared with friends, and then last night I re-created it yet again, into something completely different once more. The Queen paid me yet another visit, but this time she was Greek. I didn’t take pictures of it for the latest remake, but it was yet another big hit. I used the last of my tomato vinaigrette and cooked some shrimp in it, adding more garlic and fresh black pepper, then served it all over the orzo salad, that I heated up this time. It was just as good the second time around as it was the first time, maybe even better. You’ll just have to take my word for it and trust me. 🙂

As I always say, play with your food. Be creative. Have fun. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

The Amish are known as great craftsman and bakers, among many other things. Last year, when we were in Pennsylvania and toured through Amish Country, I bought an Amish cookbook. This is the first recipe I tried from it, and believe me, the cookies were out of this world. If all the recipes are like this, I am really going to enjoy baking from this book. 🙂

I made honey sugar cookies. Usually, if anything, I have to double my recipes when baking for large amounts. This time though, I actually cut the recipe in half and still made 5 dozen. So be prepared for a lot of cookies. These are definitely meant for sharing. 🙂

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE cookies of all kinds, but I think these might just be the most perfect cookies I’ve ever experienced. They were soft and chewy and full of flavor and just melted in my mouth. Believe it or not, I actually had a few leftover from Sunday’s coffee cart. This is a rarity for sure. Everyone raved about them though.

Honey Sugar Cookies

I am giving you the 1/2 portion recipe for these delicious cookies.

1 1/2cups sugar, divided

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup softened butter

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup honey

2 eggs

3 tsp baking soda

4 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

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

Line your baking pans with parchment paper.

Combine all the dry ingredients together and set aside.

Mix 1/2 cup of sugar and the cinnamon together well in a separate bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter, 1 cup of the granulated sugar, the brown sugar, and shortening together. Add the honey and mix again. Add the eggs and mix in between each addition. Then add the flour mixture 1/2 at a time, mixing in between each addition.

Once the dough is made, roll the dough into balls about the size of 1 TBSP, then roll each one into the sugar and cinnamon mixture and coat them completely. Place them about 2 inches apart on the parchment paper. I like to flatten my cookies out a bit before baking them, but this is optional. I have to admit, I am not a fan of puffy cookies. I prefer my cookies a little crispier and crunchier.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until they are golden brown.

The cookies will be slightly puffy as soon as you take them out of the oven, but as they cool, they will flatten out.

Allow them to cool on a baking rack before sharing with friends and family and gobbling them up.

It’s always going to be a great day if cookies are involved. 🙂 Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Today marks the 247th year of America. Home of the FREE because of the BRAVE. May her banner forever wave.

The other day when I was making all my VBS snacks, I had a lot of my crushed Oreo’s left over from my Mud & Worm Pots. More VBS Snacks – #2 – Mud & Worm Pots You all know how much I hate to throw away food, and I LOVE to recreate with it as much as possible. So I used as much of the crushed Oreos as I could to make an Oreo cake. It was a very decadent, but was a HUGE hit!!!! I still have quite a bit leftover too, so there will be something else using crushed Oreo’s upcoming in the future at some point. Stay tuned. 🙂

Oreo Cake

Using my black cocoa made this cake even better and richer. It was so moist.

3 cups flour

1 cup black cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups softened butter, or 3 sticks

2 3/4 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

5 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

roughly 3 cups crushed Oreo cookies, divided

white chocolate ganache

Preheat oven to 350* F or 190* C.

Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray.

Combine all the dry ingredients together and mix well.

Mix the butter and sugar together until creamy, then add the eggs 1 at a time, mixing in between each addition. Add the vanilla. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix, then 1/2 of the milk and mix and repeat until it is all mixed into the batter.

Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly around. Spread about 1/2 of the crushed Oreos all around, then top with the remaining batter.

Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

Allow the cake to cool completely, then remove from the pan. Top with the white chocolate ganache, which is equal parts white chocolate and heavy whipping cream melted together.

Melt the white chocolate with the heavy whipping cream until it is creamy and all the chocolate pieces are melted and mix well. Then drizzle over the top of the cake. Add more of the crushed Oreos all around the top of the cake. If you want, add a few whole Oreo cookies to the top as well, “gluing” them down with a dollop of white chocolate ganache.

This decadent cake got rave reviews today. Pastor Matthew was so funny. He even asked if I had scraped out all the Oreo filling to melt down for the topping. 🙂 Don’t even think about counting calories when eating this cake. This rich cake is decadent through and though, so just eat it and ENJOY!!!!! Start counting calories again AFTER you’ve enjoyed every last crumb of this cake. It’s Ok to walk on the wild side every now and then. 🙂

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

Our turtles are out sunning themselves these days. Sometimes they are out on the rocks, and sometimes they just barely peek their heads above water. These snapping turtles are curious about the world above the water. They are just getting a turtle’s perspective of life on the lakes.

Sometimes you just have to look at life through a new perspective. Sometimes you just need to change your view and you will see things differently.

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted some food funnies, and I thought now is as good a time as any. So here are a few that made me chuckle. I hope you do too. 🙂

Never eat more than you can lift. Miss Piggy

I cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to the food. W.C. Fields

My doctor told me I had to stop throwing intimate dinner parties for four unless there were three other people. Orson Welles

In France, cooking is a serious art form and a national sport. Julia Child

Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie. Jim Davis.

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

With all the rain we have been having lately, our backyard is very green, and there are many things that have gone completely wild. Catnip is one of those things. We never planted it. It was here when we moved in over 16 years ago. But this year it is out of control.

I don’t know what to do with it all. We don’t give it to our kitties, and even if we did, this would be an overdose for sure.

Otis (my puma) and Nicodemus or Nicky (my panther)

Catnip is one of the approximately 250 species in the mint family and has a leafy green appearance. Nepetalactone, an essential oil found in the catnip plant, stimulates cats in ways that are similar to how cannabis affects humans, according to MyPetNaturally.com. When cats ingest or rub themselves with catnip, nepetalactone triggers a euphoric reaction, which makes cats feel good, according to Purina. There are many benefits that come with introducing catnip to your cat’s routine. According to Petnaturally.com, catnip can help reduce stress, depression and anxiety in cats by acting as a sedative. Catnip can also reduce bloating and stomach pain.  According to PetMD, catnip can produce a high in cats similar to highs from marijuana usage. When cats smell catnip and nepetalactone it works its way through their inner opioid system and interacts with cells in their upper airways. This causes the release of endorphins acting as natural opioids, according to a paper in ScienceDirect. 

The most intense catnip experience starts with the nose—one whiff of the stuff and your cat promptly goes nuts. Researchers suspect that the herb targets feline “happy” receptors in the brain. When eaten, however, it tends to have the opposite effect and your cat mellows out.

Most cats react to catnip by rolling, flipping, rubbing, and eventually zoning out. They may meow or growl at the same time. Other cats become hyperactive or downright aggressive, especially if you approach them.

Usually these sessions last about 10 minutes, after which your cat loses interest. It may take as long as two hours for him to “reset” and become susceptible to it again. Be mindful of overindulgence though—cats are unlikely to overdose on catnip, but they can get sick if they eat too much. Trust your kitty to know when they’ve had enough.

Catnip isn’t just for cats though. It’s been grown in medicinal gardens for centuries for its sedative effect on humans. Made into a tea, it has calming properties similar to chamomile. Concentrated nepetalactone also makes for a powerful mosquito repellent. The only hitch is that it lasts just a few hours.

A couple of weeks ago, I got this bright idea to start drying it.

We kept it down in the basement, out of the light for about 10 days. The leaves dried out and it was ready to use. The next step was to process it. I removed all the leaves and placed them in the food processor to grind them up.

This turned out to be quite a chore and my yield just wasn’t worth it. All I got for all my efforts was only 3 bags.

So ….. what do I do with all of it now? I am open to any and all suggestions.

I am always curious, and am always trying new things. Some work, most do not, but I keep trying none the less. I am insatiably curious. It keeps me young and keeps me informed. So, stay curious, and never give up. Never stop trying. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.