A Jeanne in the Kitchen

This year, our church decided to do something different for the New Year’s Day service. Instead of the normal cakes, cookies and breakfast treats, they decided to do a breakfast for everyone. Even though I will not be there, I am still cooking and providing some of the goodies for everyone to enjoy. Per request, I made my pumpkin, spinach and chorizo tortelets. I have made those before, and as you can tell by them being requested, they were a popular item. Spinach, Pumpkin and Sausage Tortelets

I made 4 dozen of these delicious, hearty tortelets for everyone to enjoy and to ring in the New Year with. These will be served with a variety of other goodies that will be provided by some of our other patrons.

Happy New Year Everyone. I hope 2023 is a good year for all. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

It has only officially been winter for about 10 days now, and we have already had 3 winter storms, each dropping a lot of snow. This is actually our 4th or 5th snow already, but a couple were still technically in fall. It started snowing again about 5-6 PM last night, and we got about 8-9 inches out of it. Everything looks so beautiful in it’s heavy winter blanket of white. Larry was just out clearing the sidewalk and driveways before going in to work.

This is from our back deck last night.

And this is what I woke up to this morning. This is from my bedroom window.

And this is from my office, on the other side of the house.

It is truly a winter wonderland. I think it is supposed to snow again this weekend too.

We are leaving for Hays, KS early tomorrow morning, weather providing. From what I understand, it should be OK going out, but we are expected get more snow and heavy winds coming back, which means we would be leaving earlier to come home. We are definitely leaving 2022 with a blast; a big blast of snow and cold weather that is.

Happy New Year Everyone. Stay warm, stay well and stay safe. ‘Til next time.

We have such a wide variety of critters and birds around our lakes. I love seeing them all and I get really excited when either I “meet” new friends or see those that don’t frequent our lakes much. We do have Northern Shovelers around here, but we don’t see them all that often, and I see the females even less. Yesterday, when I was out on walk-about, I saw a female Northern Shoveler enjoying our waters. The males are brightly colored, but like a lot of bird and duck species, the females are more subdued and not as colorful. It was a cold, cloudy overcast day, so the colors are not that great.

The Shovelers are known for their long, spoonlike beaks. It helps them “shovel” in their food and “shovel” the waters around to get to the food.

Have a great day Everyone. ‘Til next time.

With a new year coming just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to see how other countries celebrate. There are some pretty interesting ways of ringing in the new year too.

1. Ecuador – Citizens parade around the city with scarecrows built to look like popular politicians and cultural icons—and at the stroke of midnight, said scarecrows are burnt to a crisp to cleanse the new year of everything evil.

2. Brazil – It’s customary to light candles and throw white flowers into the water as an offering for Yemoja, the Queen of the Ocean, who is a major water deity and is said to control the seas, to elicit her blessings for the year to come.

3. Spain –  Locals will eat exactly 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight to honor a tradition that started in the late 19th century. Back in the 1800s, vine growers in the Alicante area came up with this tradition as a means of selling more grapes toward the end of the year, but the sweet celebration quickly caught on. Today, Spaniards enjoy eating one grape for each of the first 12 bell strikes after midnight in the hopes that this will bring about a year of good fortune and prosperity. 

4. The Netherlands – They eat Oliebollen. Ancient Germanic tribes would eat these pieces of deep-fried dough during the Yule so that when Germanic goddess Perchta, better known as Perchta the Belly Slitter, tried to cut their stomachs open and fill them with trash (a punishment for those who hadn’t sufficiently partaken in yuletide cheer), the fat from the dough would cause her sword to slide right off. Today, oliebollen are enjoyed on New Year’s Eve, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a Dutch food vendor in the winter months who isn’t selling these doughnut-like balls.

5. Russia – They plant underwater trees in the freezing water. For the past 25 years or so, it has been a Russian holiday tradition for two divers, aptly named Father Frost and the Ice Maiden, to venture into a frozen Lake Baikal, the world’s largest freshwater lake, and take a New Year Tree—typically a decorated spruce—more than 100 feet below the surface. Though the temperature is normally well below freezing in Russia on New Year’s Eve, people travel from all over the world to partake in this frozen fête.

6. Italy – Italians wear red underwear. Italians have a tradition of wearing red underwear to ring in the new year. In Italian culture, the color red is associated with fertility, and so people wear it under their clothes in the hopes that it will help them conceive in the coming year.

7. Greece – The Greeks hang onions on their front door in order to promote growth throughout the new year. Greek culture has long associated this food with the idea of development, seeing as all the odorous onion ever seemingly wants is to plant its roots and keep growing. Onions are a symbol of rebirth to the Greeks.

8. Chili – New Year’s services are not held in churches, but are instead held in cemeteries. This change of scenery allows for people to sit with their deceased family members and include them in the New Year’s Eve festivities.

9. Japan – In Japanese culture, it is customary to welcome the new year with a bowl of soba noodles in a ritual known as toshikoshi soba, or year-crossing noodles. Though nobody is entirely sure where toshikoshi soba first came from, it is believed that the soba’s thin shape and long length is meant to signify a long and healthy life. Many folks also believe that because the buckwheat plant used to make soba noodles is so resilient, people eat the pasta on New Year’s Eve to signify their strength. 

10. Denmark – In Denmark they smash plates against people’s front doors. People take pride in the number of broken dishes outside of their door by the end of New Year’s Eve. It’s a Danish tradition to throw china at your friends’ and neighbors’ front doors on New Year’s Eve—some say it’s a means of leaving any aggression and ill-will behind before the New Year begins—and it is said that the bigger your pile of broken dishes, the more luck you will have in the upcoming year.

Some of these traditions sound fun, others are a bit to out there for me. But do whatever floats your boat. I personally enjoy the way we celebrate here in the United States, England and Australia, with the big ball dropping, the countdown and fireworks, but most importantly, celebrating with family and friends.

No matter where you are in the world or how you celebrate, I hope 2023 is indeed a Happy New Year for all. May you be safe, healthy and prosperous all throughout the upcoming new year. Happy New Year Everyone.

The squirrels are out playin and having fun. the snow and colder weather has eased up just a bit, and they are outside taking advantage of the slightly warmer weather.

I tried to get more pictures of the two squirrels, but one quickly ran up the tree then disappeared. The other one was having fun posing for the camera.

Have a great day Everyone, even if it is a bit squirrely. 🙂

I am taking a wee bit of a break from cooking at the moment. I have been in the kitchen non-stop, pretty much all day, since Thanksgiving. So I am taking it easy for a few days.

For Christmas Day, after we had breakfast with Janet and Bob Merry Christmas – 2022, it was just the two of us, so it was just a simple dinner made from our Christmas Eve leftovers. I had made my Argentine salad The Empanada Party – Part 3 – Una Gran Ensalada Latina and we had just enough leftover to recreate it into a pasta dish. I used some of the chicken Larry had smoked and served it all over pasta to make a festive Christmas pasta dish.

The salad was roasted peppers with artichoke hearts and hearts of palm with an herbed vinaigrette. So all I needed to do was to add some cream and protein and a starch, and it was transformed into something completely different. It went from this

to this is just a matter of minutes.

Larry is always amazed at how I can recreate so many different leftovers out of my firstovers. He said he never would have thought of turning it into a pasta dish, but he was very pleased with the results. I am a Jeanne in the kitchen after all. Never underestimate what I can do with my magic wooden spoon. And, I am the Queen of Leftovers too. 🙂

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. Now it is time to start focusing on the new year that is about to come. Happy 2023 Everyone. ‘Til next time.

On Friday, Christmas Eve’s Eve, our church had two services. That is why I was so busy making so many cookies. The two services were both very well attended and the cookies were all a big hit. After the two services, a few of us all went out for our own little Christmas celebration. As always, there was a lot of fun, a lot of laughs and a lot of love.

The Christmas Gang 2022

Zoe and Anthony

Wendy and Marc

Karen and Chris

Lauren and Mike

Jeanne & Larry

Christmas Day has now come and gone, but it is still the Christmas season, and Larry and I still have a bit more celebrating left to do before we call this season a wrap. We will be leaving for Hays, KS., to spend a belated Christmas with Larry’s family on Friday. Then we can call this very busy, very festive season officially over for us.

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and I wish you all a very Happy, Healthy New Year. I hope 2023 is a great year for all. Out with the old and in with the new.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. We had a very busy Christmas season. We got together for breakfast burritos as Janet and Bob’s this morning and then it was very quite for the rest of the day.

Last night we celebrated at my house and I cooked up a simple feast. Larry had the smoker going again and smoked prime rib as well as some chicken and a pork loin. I made everything else. It was just a simple meal that we shared with friends who have become family.

Larry preparing the prime rib with an herbed garlic butter I made for him.

The smoker is full of meats.

I made an Argentine roasted pepper, artichoke heart and hearts of palm salad, The Empanada Party – Part 3 – Una Gran Ensalada Latina along with some smashed potatoes, bread, and a creamy horseradish sauce for the prime rib and brie topped with a sour cherry sauce and crackers for a light appetizer..

The horseradish sauce was super easy to make and Larry said it came out really good. I am not a horseradish sauce person because I am not a fan of sour cream. So I will take his word for it. He said it is a definite do-over though.

Easy Creamy Horseradish Sauce

1/2 cup sour cream

1 TBSP horseradish

1 TBSP Dijon mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 TBSP white wine vinegar or Proseco vinegar

sliced green onions for the topping

Just mix everything together well and chill until you are ready to use it.

After dinner and some free flowing wine, we all played some games and laughed and enjoyed each other’s company for the rest of the evening. It as a very casual and fun evening. We all had a very nice time together.

Merry Christmas Everyone. Happy Chanukkah and Happy Holidays. ‘Til next time.

My cookies are ALL DONE!!!!! WHOOOO HOOOO!!!! I must have made about 20+ dozen. All of my cookies this year were courtesy of Martha Stewart. I just go through all my cookbooks and make whatever tickles my fancy at the time. This year, Martha and I were best friends. Of course, I added my own twist to things, but her recipes were my inspiration for all of my 2022 Christmas cookies.

My last batch was a batch of cranberry pistachio biscotti.

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

1 3/4 cup dried cranberries, reconstituted in warm water or liqueur

3/4 cup chopped pistachios

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 TBSP or 1/2 stick of softened butter

1 cup sugar

3 eggs + 1 for the egg wash

2 tsp vanilla

melted white chocolate for the topping, optional

Preheat the oven to 325* F or about 165* C.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix all the dry ingredients together and set aside.

Mix the sugar and butter together, then add the eggs 1 at a time, mixing in between each addition. Add the vanilla. Then add the dry ingredients 1/2 at a time, mixing in between each addition.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and fold in the pistachios and cranberries. I reconstituted mine in a little grenadine mixed with water. Knead everything together until blended. I doubled my recipe, so I made two batches.

Once everything is well incorporated, cut the dough in half and roll each half into a log about 12 inches long.

Brush them with the egg wash then place in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes, then rotate and continue baking for about another 20-25 minutes.

Allow the logs to cool slightly, then slice at an angle with a sharp serrated knife. You should get about 18 slices per log. Place the slices back onto the parchment paper and rebake for about 8-10 minutes, then flip the slices over for another 8-10 minutes. This dries out the cookies and makes them nice and crispy. biscotti, after all, is a twice baked hard cookie. It is meant to be dipped in coffee or tea or hot cocoa.

Let the biscotti cool completely before drizzling with white chocolate, if you are using it. Melt the white chocolate until it is all melted and is smooth any creamy, then just drizzle it all over the cookies with a spoon. I also added some Christmas sprinkles to make them even more festive, though they probably didn’t need it.

We had both of our Christmas services last night, and all the cookies were a huge success. As I mentioned above, I made about 20+ dozen, which is a lot. We went through most of them. I only brought about 4 dozen home with me, which of course will be enjoyed tonight and throughout the rest of the holidays.

I am not done with the holiday cooking just yet though. I am cooking Christmas dinner tonight for a few friends, and then we are going to Hays, KS for a belated Christmas with Larry’s family, so of course whatever is left will travel to Hays with us.

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukkah and Happy Holidays to one and to all, and to all a good night. ‘Til next time.

I laugh every time I see a meme or a post saying “keep your dogs inside during the cold weather”. For most dogs, I completely, whole heartedly agree. However, if you have snow dogs like I do, the colder the better for them. They LOVE the cold, snowy weather. Malamutes and Huskies, as well as Saint Bernards and Bernese Mountain dogs in particular, all have a double coat of fur, and they were made for the extreme cold weather.

Juneau was thoroughly enjoying herself in the snow and did NOT want to come in at all. It was just a perfect day for her. She couldn’t understand why I didn’t want to join her outside.

Eventually she did come in, but you can tell she wasn’t too happy about it. Vinnie was quite comfortable just lying on the floor, next to the door, where he could see all that snow, but he wasn’t about to move. Besides, Mommy was cooking. There might be goodies that fall on the floor and he would volunteer to clean them all up. He’s such a good boy. 🙂

Make the most out of every day. Live life to the fullest and take it all in stride.