A Jeanne in the Kitchen

Bread and butter are some of my favorite things. If bread and butter were all I had to eat, I would be a very happy camper indeed. I love all kinds of bread; it doesn’t matter what kind.

The other day I made some milk bread rolls. They didn’t quite come out how they were supposed to according to the picture, but they were still very good and a definite do-over. I followed the recipe exactly, and I literally mean exactly this time, something I rarely do, but …. Sometimes things just happen that way. 🙂

When I think of breads and rolls, I don’t think of Japan, but believe it or not, these delicious, airy rolls were first made in Japan of all places, during the Meiji Era (1868-1912): Japan opened to the West, and Western-style bread was introduced as an alternative to rice. A British baker named Robert Clarke opened the Yokohama Bakery in 1862, and his bakery is often cited as a possible point of origin for milk bread, though this is unconfirmed. After WWII, when Japan experienced rice shortages, these milk bread rolls once again gained in popularity, and the soft white loaf known as shokupan became a Japanese staple. The key to their signature softness is the tangzhong method, a Chinese technique of pre-cooking flour and liquid into a paste that is then added to the dough. This technique, combined with the use of milk and butter, creates the rich, soft, and fluffy texture of modern milk bread rolls.

Milk Bread Rolls

1/3 cup water

1 1/3 cups milk

3 1/2-5 cups bread flour

4 1/2 tsp dry active yeast

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 tsp salt

2 eggs

egg wash

Whisk the water, 1/3 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of flour together in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over a medium heat until the mixtures forms into a thick roux or paste. It will resemble a pate a choux paste. Remove from the heat and let rest for 30 minutes.

While the flour and milk paste is resting, combine 2 1/2 cups flour, yeast, and 1 cup of milk, sugar, butter, cut into smaller portions and salt in a saucepan and heat and stir until it reaches about 120-130*F or until the butter is almost completely melted.

Whisk in the flour/milk paste until it is all mixed in and the batter is completely smooth.

Add two eggs and mix again until everything is thoroughly blended together and smooth once again. This will form a very soft dough. Turn it onto a floured surface and incorporate as much of the flour as the dough will hold while still remaining a very soft dough. DO NOT over work the dough.

Put the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl, cover and let rise for about an hour, or until it doubles in size.

Punch the dough down and let rest for about 10 minutes. Then form the dough into equally portioned balls. You should get 20. Place the dough balls onto a greased baking pan. Cover and let rise again for about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350*F or 1810*C.

Make an egg wash – 1 egg and 1 tsp water, lightly beaten, and brush the rolls with the egg wash right before placing in the oven.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. If you like, brush with melted butter immediately after removing from the oven. Eat while still hot, fresh out of the oven. Delicious!!!!

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

Flamenco originated in southern Spain, particularly Andalusia, from a fusion of cultures including Andalusian, Romani (Gypsy), Moorish, and Jewish influences, beginning around the 15th century. The art form evolved from an intimate, family-based tradition to being showcased in public venues, and by the 19th century, it had spread globally. Its evolution includes periods of singing dominance in the 18th and 19th centuries, followed by the rise of professional cafés cantantes, and later the integration of more complex choreographies in the 20th century. Flamenco is a live, musical, oral, gestural and social art.

When the word “flamenco” is used today, it evokes a dance, the playing of a flamenco guitar, the rhythm of clapping palms and the cry of flamenco voices. Flamenco is a whole musical and expressive universe unequivocally associated with the territory of Southern Spain. There is no doubt about this place of origin. Flamenco was first and foremost singing and rhythm, solo. Its creators were those who alone and anonymously sang while working in the fields, threshing, tilling, walking; or the miner who sang coming and going from the mine; the blacksmith in the forge; the tavern goer who livened up the atmosphere or shared his feelings with those around him in the bar; or the women working or celebrating any family event. Its origin is in the moment when a singer feels something and sings it out. The individualistic and rebellious personality of the Andalusian and the gypsy and their adverse social circumstances, in the face of injustice and despair, lead them to liberate themselves through singing, expressing their sorrows and joys. Flamenco is the voice of the people.

I love Spain and I love Flamenco. I love the music, the dance and the passion. We have been lucky enough to see Flamenco performances in Madrid, Barcelona and now in Westminster and Denver, CO too. Last night we had a night of Flamenco at Kingman Winery, one of our nearby, local wineries. The New Kingman Winery, Another Fun Night At Kingman Winery. The local Flamenco dance company, StudiOle Flamenco performed for a small group of very lucky guests. They were fantastico! Before we were entertained by the bailar and musica, we enjoyed some locally prepared paella and of course, some delicious Kingman Petit Verdot wine.

The Petit Verdot paired perfectly with the paella.

After the dinner plates were cleared, the performers took the stage. What happened next was magical. The dancers performed a lot of different numbers, all telling different stories about love, passion and life’s struggles. They had numerous authentically colorful outfits for each story too. Last night’s story:

~Sabores y Sonidos~

Flavors and Sounds

~Entre vino y palmas, la vida regresa, se encienden de nuevo las lucas de fiesta.~

Between wine and the rhythms, life rises once more, the lights of the fiesta shine brighter than before.

I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. It was hard to get good photos of the dancers as they were dancing.

The whole ensemble – 1 guitar/singer, 1 percussionist, and 4 lovely dancers.

It was a very fun and festive evening. We thoroughly enjoyed our romantic date night. We are already looking forward to spending another romantic evening with StudiOle Flamenco, and of course more fun times at Kingman Winery.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment you can. And when life gives you struggles, turn it into la musica Flamenco. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

It is so nice to see all my feathered friends back on my lakes. I missed them, but I know they all like to travel to other places, just as I do. I don’t mind them traveling, but I love it when they return. All my feathered friends are coming back, including a lot of my Hooded Mergansers.

Mr. and Mrs. Merganser are enjoying a nice fall swim.

Riding the waves, having some girl time without the boys.

They’re having a swim party.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Always make time to enjoy your days with friends of all kinds. 🙂

A tamale is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of a corn-based dough (masa) that is filled with various ingredients, wrapped in a corn husk or banana leaf, and steamed. The filling can include meats, cheeses, or other ingredients, and the wrapping is discarded before eating. I love tamales. They are a traditional dish usually served around the holidays or for special occasions, mainly because they are labor intensive and take a lot of time and effort to prepare. You can fill them with anything you like from sweet to savory.

If you like tamales but you don’t have the time to make them, a good alternative is either a tamale pie or a tamale meatloaf. I am getting into my Texas and Tex-Mex frame of mind since we are heading out to Texas for Thanksgiving with some of my cousins. Ground beef was in our weekly meat rotation, so I made a tamale meatloaf. It had all the goodness of a tamale without the hassle. It was all baked underneath the cornbread topping. 🙂

Tamale Meatloaf

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

Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.

1- 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

1 egg

1 onion, chopped

1/2 cup salsa

2 TBSP chili powder

salt & pepper to taste

4-5 tomatoes, chopped

1 jalapeno, diced fine

1 Anaheim pepper, diced

1 TBSP garlic

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, plus more for topping

1-2 tsp dried oregano

1 8.5 oz package corn muffin mix

1/2 cup shredded cheese

Saute the onions, peppers and garlic for about 3 minutes or until softened and the onions are translucent.

Combine all the ingredients together, except for the corn muffin mix and mix together thoroughly. Put it all in the prepared loaf pan and pat down firmly. Bake for about 40 minutes.

Remove from the oven after it has cooked and drain off the excess grease. Prepare the muffin mix according to the package directions and spread on top of the meat mixture.

Bake again for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until the cornbread is cooked and golden brown. Immediately top with the shredded cheese, salsa and a little more fresh cilantro and serve next to your favorite Mexican side dishes. Esta mui rico!

The cornbread muffin mix I got was very sweet, which I think took away from the dish itself. I don’t like my cornbread sweet. You can easily make your own cornbread too, and I should have, but I ran out of time and “cheated”. Next time, I will make my own cornbread. But it is nice to know you can use a mix in a pinch. 🙂

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

My lakes have been pretty quiet for the last fee months, but now all friends are beginning to come back and come back in droves too. I had a lot of American Widgeons on the water too. More than we usually have, and that is perfectly OK by me. 🙂

I love it when all my friends come back to my lakes. 🙂

We ate a lot of French and French inspired foods while on our Canada trip. Since we’ve been home, I have continued with that theme a bit too. Although, to be fair, we eat a lot of different ethnically inspired foods all the time. 🙂 Canada, even Quebec, is a blend of French, Irish, Scottish and British influences, and these different cultures are all still represented in their foods and culture today.

While up in Canada, I purchased a French/English cookbook too, to help me to continue to learn more about more French inspired foods from our neighbors north east of us.

One of the dishes I made was a seafood pie, similar to the seafood cassoulet I enjoyed while dining at Chateau Frontenac. Great Eats In the Great North – Part 7 – Chateau Frontenac

Seafood pies, also known as fishermen’s pie, or stargazer’s pie, have their origins dating back to the Medieval times, where most religious people were abstaining from eating meat on Fridays. Seafood pies were popular both in British and Celtic regions specifically, though they were also popular anywhere along a coastline. Legend has it that 500d years ago, on a cold and stormy eve in the Cornish village of Mousehole, the sea was so violent that no fish could be caught for the community. Unable to watch the village starve, fisherman Tom Bawcock braved the elements and brought home a catch so large that no one went hungry.  Originally they were made with cheaper leftover pieces of fish that was readily available to the masses; seven types of fish were used in the pies made: sand eels, horse mackerel, pilchards, herring, dogfish, ling and an unknown seventh fish. They were also very popular in WWII as well, when people would eat whatever was available. Today, things have changed and they are made with a variety of good quality fish. Originally they were made with a pastry crust, like how I made mine, but today, they are also made with a mashed potato or cheese “crust” like what is used to top a Shepherd’s pie.

Some believe eating seafood and seafood pies were made popular after Julius Caesar and the Romans were in Britain as early as 55 BC. Fish was eaten to honor the Roman goddess Venus.

Seafood Pie

For my seafood pie, I used large prawns and some of my Cole’s Tinned Salmon and and Smoked Muscles. I was definitely not skimping when it came to quality or amounts of seafood in my pies. But then I never skimp on anything I cook. 🙂

I started off making my go-to dough for the crust.

The Crust

1 1/2 cups flour

6 TBSP cold butter, cubed small

1 tsp salt

1 egg

5-6 TBSP heavy whipping cream

In a food processor, blend the flour, salt and butter together until it resembles a coarse sand. Then add the egg and the cream and blend again until it all comes together in a dough ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.

The Seafood Filling

You can use any kind of seafood you like. I used what I had. Juneau and Dorrie were happy too, because they got the fish oil mixed in with their food too. Nothing goes to waste in our house and we are all happy. 🙂

1- 1 1/2 lbs large shrimp or prawns, peeled, rinsed and deveined

1 can Cole’s Tinned Smoked Muscles, drained

1 can Cole’s Tinned Smoked Salmon, drained

3-5 slices of bacon, cooked and cut into small pieces.

1-2 potatoes, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 cup peas

3-4 green onions, sliced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1-1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup flour

salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 tsp dried thyme

olive oil for cooking

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

Spray medium ramekins with cooking sporay.

Cut the shrimp into pieces and cook in olive oil for about 3 minutes, or until completely cooked. Remove and set aside.

Cook the bacon to a medium-crisp. Let cool for a bit until it is cool enough to work with, then cut into small pieces.

Cook the carrots, potatoes and peas until softened. I used leftover potatoes that were already cooked. When done, add the cooked shrimp, cream, flour and seasonings. You are looking for a sauce with a medium consistency, like a bechamel sauce.

Mix together well and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tinned fish, bacon and green onions. Mix together thoroughly once again and turn off the heat.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out nice and thin to cover the ramekins.

Fill the prepared ramekins with the seafood mixture. Top with the dough and pinch around the edges to make a tight seal. With a sharp serrated knife, make some slits in the top of the dough.

Brush the tops with an egg wash then place in the oven to bake. Bake for about an hour or until the crusts are golden brown and crisp and flaky.

This is a hearty meal in and of itself. No need for anything extra except a glass or two of a cool, crisp white wine. Enjoy.

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

I see hawks all the time. Mostly they are perched up high so they can scan the area, but I see them flying all around too, usually moving in after they have spotted their prey. Red-tailed Hawks are the most prevalent hawks we have here, but we do see a lot of other types of hawks as well. I love all the birds of prey, bus especially the hawks. They are so proud and majestic, and of course very beautiful.

When we went over to Jonathan and Priscilla’s to make a batch of caramels together A Whole Lot Of Caramels we also enjoyed a delicious dinner and great company too, as we always do. When Priscilla and I get together, we always share the food preparations and menu. She told me was she was going to make, and I asked what she wanted me to bring. She said she was going to buy some bread, and I offered to make some instead. I love baking bread. There is something very therapeutic about it to me. I will find and make any opportunity to bake bread. Having dinner with great friends is a great opportunity for me to bake some bread. I chose to make a garlic and herb swirl bread for the occasion. It went perfectly with the steak, smashed potatoes and salad that Priscilla had made.

Garlic & Herb Swirl Bread

3 1/2-4 cups flour

2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast

3/4 cup warmed milk

6 TBSP butter

2 TBSP sugar

1 tsp salt

3 eggs lightly beaten

1-2 tsp each dried basil, oregano, thyme & marjoram – You can also use fresh herbs, but it would be about 1 TBSP of each herb

1/4 cup shredded Parmigiano cheese

2 TBSP sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped fine

1 TBSP garlic

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

melted butter

Mix the dry ingredients together, including the yeast. In a small saucepan, add the milk, 2 TBSP of butter, sugar and salt and bring to about 120-130* F or 48-54*C. Then add to the flour mixture. Add the eggs, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and garlic. Stir in as much as you can. This will be a very soft, sticky dough.

Turn the flour mixture onto a floured surface with the remaining flour and start kneading it all together to make a soft dough. Shape into a ball and rub a large bowl with olive oil and add the dough. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour or until the dough doubles in size.

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Then turn it onto a lightly floured surface once again and roll into a rectangle about 18″ long.

Roll it up and pinch the seam tightly to seal. With a sharp serrated knife, slice down the center of the roll, leaving the ends connected. Then start twisting the dough in a braided fashion.

Once the dough is braided, start forming into an “S” shape, rolling both ends to the center in the opposite direction. Tuck the ends in at the bottom.

Place the loaf on a parchment lined baking pan, cover and let rise once again for about 45-60 minutes.

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

Brush some melted butter on the top of the bread and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and hollow when tapped on the bottom.

If you like, you can add more melted butter as soon as the bread comes out of the oven and top with fresh chopped herbs right before serving.

This bread was so soft, tender and moist and was a huge hit. All of us loved it. I need to make some more again real soon too. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is always better when served with great friends and great food. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

I am FINALLY done with my caramels for this year! PHEW!!!!! I have been busy working on them since just a few days after I returned home from Canada. I just just finished the last batch a little while ago. This year I made 4 different batches and 4 different flavors. Each batch (double batch, which we make) makes 8 lbs of caramels, so that means I made 32 lbs this year. Every caramel has been hand cut and hand wrapped. This is definitely a labor of love. And silly me, I am already talking about adding another flavor/batch next year too. I guess I will just have to start earlier. 🙂

Priscilla and I made a batch of plain caramels together, just like we’ve been doing for years.

I also made a batch of chocolate pecan,

a batch of this year’s new flavor, Mexican spice, or chocolate and cinnamon,

and a batch of mocha caramels.

Just in case you have ever wondered what 32 lbs of caramels looks like, now you know.

This year, both Priscilla and I had our challenges in getting the temperatures just right, even though we have been making our caramels for years and years. After all these years, we are still trying to perfect the recipe. 🙂 If the caramel does not get hot enough at the boil stages, the caramels will not set, and you have to reboil them again. If the boiling temperature gets too high, the caramels will get too hard, making them difficult to cut. I experienced both issues this year. I would love to say there is a set temperature that we are aiming for, and maybe there is else where, but here in our high and dry altitude, nothing is predictable, and you always have to readjust things as you cook. You have to adjust temperatures and cooking times, and how much of certain ingredients you use, such as flour and baking soda and/or powder, and liquids, and all kinds of other things too. There are specific cookbooks dedicated to high altitude cooking. I even have a few. But with all the challenges I faced, they are now ALL DONE! WHOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!! I am done with caramels until this time next year. 🙂

The basic caramel recipe only requires 4 ingredients. This makes a double batch, or 8 lbs, and fills 1 9×13 baking pan.

4 cups sugar

4 cups Karo dark syrup

1 lb or 4 sticks of butter

4 cups of heavy whipping cream, divided

Put all the ingredients together, except only 2 cups of the cream, into a very large, heavy pot. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until you reach your first boil, at about 235* F or 113*C, using a candy thermometer. Then add the rest of the cream, and whatever other flavorings you are using and bring the temperature back to the same temperature once again, then immediately pour into a greased baking dish. I usually rub soft butter into my baking dish and spray it with cooking spray. Let the caramels sit overnight at a minimum before you start cutting them. As I mentioned above, you are just going to have to play around with the actual temperatures, and they will vary from place to place, and in different climates. Needless to say, they are very temperamental, but worth all the effort in the end. Everyone who is lucky enough to receive our caramels always rave that they are the best caramels they’ve ever tasted and they just melt in your mouth.

Try your hand at caramel making and let me know your results. 🙂

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

I just never know what I am going to run into on my walks. Everyday is a surprise. Sometimes I don’t see anything, and other times I see a whole lot of things. And sometimes, I discover new things, or at least things that are new to me.

We have lived in our house almost 19 years, and I had never seen a Pie-Billed Grebe before now. I only saw the one, but he was happily swimming along, without a care in the world. Because I had never seen one before, I checked my bird book as soon as I got back home to see what it was. Now I know. He is a little guy, much smaller than our normal resident Mallards.

Life is full of surprises. I love it! 🙂