I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
This is the latest from Mel about our upcoming 2022 Great Blogger’s bake-Off. EVERYONE is welcome to participate. We want to see what’s baking in your kitchen. 🙂
By now many of you will have read that THE 2022 GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE -OFF has a marvellous theme:
The Joy Of Baking
Undeniably, the greatest joy that comes with baking is sharing our creations with others.
So this year, we are asking you to share with us who you bake with or who you bake for. It could be your:
family
friends
neighbours
co-workers
congregation members
club members
We would love to hear how you share the joy of baking and who you share it with!
Although there is a completely open choice with regards to your baking – bread, cakes, biscuits, pastries, sweet or savoury – this year we are going to be drawing attention to three areas that will help us to taste the JOY OF BAKING throughout the dark, cold winter ahead.
We are so excited to be sharing THE JOY OF BAKING with you again for another fabulous GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF!!!
Please send in your photos to:
cushedcaramel@gmail.com
We are already preparing the posts to feature our GREAT BLOGGERS on WordPress which will be paraded on BAKE OFF weekend:
This is my last post, other than maybe the flowers, from our recent trip to Bonaire.
On one of our last nights, we ventured into Kralendijk one more time for a delicious dinner. This time we went to a Peruvian Steakhouse called The Tasty Bar.
So far, other than restaurants, we have never been to Peru, but with so many other countries, it is definitely on our one-day list. Rather than shrining down our list, it only seems to keep growing instead, and that is perfectly OK by me. 🙂 I know by the food alone, we are going to thoroughly enjoy Peru when we do make it there, but so far, Bonaire, and the Dutch Antilles are the closest we have ever come to South America. We are not far, only less than 50 miles off the coast of Venezuela, but we haven’t made it there yet.
We had just completed our last dive and our last night dive of this trip, and we were all tired and hungry. It takes a lot out of you when you do 26 dives, or more in Nancy’s case, in one week. We needed to just sit down and relax and enjoy the evening. And enjoy it we did too. The food was so good.
We ordered another batch of fresh ceviche and a seafood soup to start off with. Both were excellent, and just loaded with fresh seafood. All the shrimp, mussels and scallops are hidden in the soup.
Nancy was done with seafood and ordered a steak. She said it was really good, but she said her potatoes were even better.
Larry and I were still in a seafood frame of mind, so we ordered and shared the Arroz de Mariscos, or seafood and rice. This was very good too.
With very full tummies, and lots and lots of diving done, we were winding down our trip. Sad to say, the vacation was quickly coming to an end, and it was soon time to go home, back to reality.
This concludes my series on our Bonairian adventures. I hope you have enjoyed it as much I enjoyed sharing it with you. There are always more adventures ahead, you just have to make everyday an adventure and seize the day. Carpe diem.
Bob and Janet’s garden went wild this season. They had so many tomatoes, and different varieties of tomatoes too, as well as peppers and beets. Bob called and asked if I would take some more tomatoes off their hands, since Janet was “sick of tomatoes”. Of course I am going to take this tasty gift. We LOVE tomatoes. This was my second “harvest” of their very prolific season this year. I can always find plenty of good uses for fresh veggies and tomatoes.
The first thig that came to mind was a tomato tart, drizzled with fresh pesto sauce.
Of course, this only used a handful of tomatoes, but it was a start. I used a few more as part of my Tuscan topping for our steak too. The steak was leftover, but it become new again by adding the Tuscan topping. So, a few more of the tomatoes were used up. Though it doesn’t even look like I made a dent in the tomato box.
I have a sneaky feeling that there will be more tomato recipes coming your way in the very near future. Thank you Janet and Bob for this delicious box of goodies. You know I will always take them and put them to good use. 🙂
Have a great day Everyone. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.
Goats have inhabited the island of Bonaire since the 16th century. In 1526, Juan de Ampues, governor of Bonaire, Curacao, and Aruba, began to raise cattle on the island. He brought in a number of Caiquetios and some Indians from Venezuela as laborers, and within a few years cows, sheep, goats, pigs, donkeys, and horses were being raised on the island. Valued less for their meat than for their hides, the animals needed little tending and were generally let loose to wander freely around the island. Before long they greatly outnumbered the human inhabitants, and today the island counts substantial populations of donkeys and goats among itswildlife.
Goat populations on Bonaire have remained high in recent decades, often causing irreversible damage to columnar cacti. Wild, free-roaming goats are the 2nd most invasive species on the island. The problem of roaming livestock is particularly acute in the Caribbean Netherlands.
As harmful as the wild goats may be to the island and to the indigenous cacti, I have to admit, I loved seeing them. As with many things though, the free- roaming goats and donkeys Bonaire – The Donkeys of Bonaire are a double-edged sword, bringing both good and bad results.
Run free and run wild for as long as you can. Stay wild, stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.
Donkeys have been living on Bonaire for hundreds of years. The animals were originally brought over by the Spaniards in the 17th century and used to perform hard labor. Once modern transport made these animals superfluous to requirements they were left to their lot. Because these donkeys have been left and abandoned, there are many who just roam the areas looking for food where they can. Many are sick and need medical assistance. In 1993, a Dutch couple, Marina Melis and her husband Ed Coopman, established the Donkey Sanctuary of Bonaire. Today, there are over 400 donkeys who call the Donkey Sanctuary home. They are healthy and are thriving.
Not only are there over 400 donkeys who reside at the Donkey Sanctuary, but you can still see many roaming around freely too. Bonaire’s donkeys are world famous. These free roaming, wild donkeys can be found roaming wild on the island and are a perfect “vacation memory” for the island visitors. But island residents also have much love for the island’s “historic donkeys”. The donkeys are an integral part of Bonaire, its eco-system, and heritage and have always been naturally free and wild. When man interfered, the problems started. The donkeys have been identified as a “unique genetic resource” and a “unique legacy from past generations”. Bonaire’s wild donkeys have co-existed with man on Bonaire for close to 500 years.
We saw a lot of the donkeys. We also had some very curious ones come right up to the car window, looking for love and looking for whatever goodies we had to share. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any goodies, but we did offer them some much needed love and attention. They seemed very happy with that. These donkeys are right outside the airport.
What ya doin? Do you have something yummy for me to eat?
Let me give you some donkey kisses.
The donkeys were fun to see. We kept seeing them when of course we didn’t have our cameras with us, but as you can now see, we finally caught them with our lens. I had no idea about their history with the island, but now, we all do. I just love to learn new things, and better yet, to share them with all of you.
Have a great day. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.
Mel and Gary are hard at work planning our upcoming Great Blogger’s bake-Off for 2022. This year, one of the themes is “Baking On A Budget”.
HOW TO BAKE ON A BUDGET
During 2022 we have heard certain phrases over and over in the media:
the cost of living
the energy crisis
do we eat? or heat?
Horrible – isn’t it! Anybody who has tasted anxiety knows that sometimes mounting worries can eat into our joy of life. The 2022 GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF has a special theme:
The Joy Of Baking
Although there is a completely open choice with regards to your baking – bread, cakes, biscuits, pastries, sweet or savoury – this year we are going to be drawing attention to three areas that will help us to taste the JOY OF BAKING throughout the dark, cold winter ahead.
One of our special features this year is:
BUDGET BAKING
BUDGET BAKING
We would absolutely love to see your budget friendly recipes. If you have a bake that you know is cost effective, please do send in your photos. We are giving out special accolade badges to any bakers who can show us how to taste the JOY OF BAKING without spending a fortune.
Please send in your photos to:
cushedcaramel@gmail.com
We are already preparing the posts to feature our GREAT BLOGGERS on WordPress which will be paraded on BAKE OFF weekend:
I have a couple more posts about Bonaire, and then just like our vacation, it will soon be gone. As you know, we had a fantastic time, and did mostly diving. We could not dive on our last day however, because you have to wait about 24 hours or even more sometimes, after diving before flying. Because we could not dive on our last full day on the island, we took an island tour instead.
We started our island tour by going up to the northern part of the island and took the tour of the Washington Slagbaai National Park. Washington Slagbaai National Park was opened to the public on May 9, 1969, and was the first National Park in the Dutch Antilles. A veritable bird-watcher’s paradise, Washington Slagbaai National Park’s nearly 14,000-acre desert oasis plays host to more than 200 different types of birds. Several beaches, outdoor exhibits, and snorkeling and diving spots are also available. The park also offers ample hiking trails suited for both amateur and expert trekkers.
The views are incredible in Slagbaai. It truly is a place where the desert meets the ocean. The whole island of Bonaire is basically a desert, with dry, arid weather, but the northern part is even more of a desert. Big beautiful cacti are everywhere. Many of which were just about ready to bloom as well, and would have been beautiful to see, but we were a couple of weeks to early for that.
A large piece of driftwood we all liked.
At the entrance to the park there is a large skeleton of a juvenile Bryde’s baleen whale that had been impaled on a cruise ship in 2000. It was about 11 meters long and weighed about 13 metric tons before it met its unfortunate demise. A local youth group reconstructed it and it is now on permanent display at Slagbaai.
We saw lots of birds and here is where we saw the bulk of the flamingos too. Bonaire – Pink Flamingos
Other than the flamingoes, we also saw a couple of Bonairian ducks, I believe these are called Lesser Grebes, as well as some sandpipers too. I thought I had some pictures of the sandpipers, but apparently I don’t.
This is the lighthouse at Slagbaai, which is at the highest point of the island.
As we were driving around through Slagbaai, we felt as if we had been off-roading because of all the bouncing around we did on the bumpy dirt roads. Once we left the park region, we were on a mission to find a place to eat, of course still taking in all the sights along the way.
This is the Piedra Krus. Legend has it that as the island was emerging from the seas, a large coral T shaped cross was formed in the rocks. Villagers from nearby Rincon would come to worship at this cross, however in 1966, the original coral cross was destroyed by some drunken non-believers and the cross was replaced by a wooden cross, that is constantly maintained by the locals. The locals believe the non-believers who destroyed the original coral cross were struck down by a bolt of lightening and were punished right on the spot. The custom is to remove your hats and to make a sign of the cross as you pass by the Piedra Krus.
We also came across a land sailing course as we were driving down, venturing further south. This looks like so much fun. I would definitely do this.
Eventually, we found something to eat, back in Kralendijk. One of the local churches was having a big BBQ as a fundraiser, and the smells were so inviting, we just had to stop. So not only did we get a fantastic lunch, all for only $12, but we helped out for a local cause too. Our local feast was comprised of some Caribbean BBQ chicken and pork, a macaroni salad, rice and beans and a peanut sauce. It was delicious!
We took our street side lunch to our local beach and had a seaside picnic. This is our friend Nancy proudly displaying a big smile after lunch.
We were watching the local kids play in the water
as well as the birds feasting alongside us as we dined on our local delights.
After lunch, we were able to check into our hotel for one last night on the island. After checking in, we were off and running again, this time exploring the southern parts of the island.
Our last digs for the this trip. We stayed at the Ocean Breeze just for one night, but it was a beautiful little two-bedroom apartment located on the marina. I wish we had more time to to enjoy it.
I will end this piece here and continue on with more later. Believe it or not, you have already seen most of the southern parts of the island from my other pictures and posts, but I do still have a bit more to share.
Stay cool, stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.
OK all you great bakers out there. Get ready to bake once again. It is that time of year once more. it’s time for our annual Great Blogger’s Bake-off. It just keeps getting bigger and better every year.
Once again, Mel from Caramel and Gary are hard at work putting the contest together. All YOU need to do is do your baking and submit your pictures and/or recipes to Mel at crushedcaramel@gmail.com. We will take care of all the rest. Good luck to EVERYEONE! We look forward to seeing all yourdelicious creations.
I have a feeling that time is going to race by over the next few weeks. You are going to see lots of promotional post sharing the news that the 2022 GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF is right on the doorstep…and lots of details will follow. But first of all, it seems right to share the date has been set…as it is baking season already, we would love you to take photographs of anything and everything you are baking.
This years’s GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF will be….
15th & 16th October 2022
We have a wonderful theme for you, and also some special features that we are hoping might influence your baking choices.
But if you have already baked and snapped photos of your creations, by all means start sending your pictures in to:
crushedcaramel@gmail.com
I have a recipe ready…and the ingredients…I am just waiting for Jack’s return as it is exactly the kind of cake he will love! It is a Swedish cake and I cannot wait to bake and photograph the results (I can see that it has potential disaster written all over it!)
I have been reminiscing about my bakes over the past three years…and I am so keen to excel myself! As for Gary….there is already hazard tape around the entire county of Yorkshire and his town are being asked to keep their doors and windows shut tightly until the danger has passed. Thank goodness Jeanne is ready for the challenge of perusing all of our baking photographs and awarding the STAR BAKER accolade.
We see all three, lizards, iguanas and geckos all the time, almost everywhere we travel. We see small ones and very large, colorful ones too. They are always cool to see, at least to me. The iguanas come in so many different colors, and many of them change colors to help camouflage themselves as well. They are all over the island of Bonaire just as you would expect too.
Lizards have around 5,500 species all over the world where gecko has about 1000 species, and iguana has approximately 30 species spread over the region. Lizards can be found all over the world. Geckos are typically found in the southern United States, northwest Mexico, southeast Asia, North, Central and South America, the Caribbean islands and the Mediterranean area of southern France to north Africa. One can see Iguanas in southern Asia, Australia, North and South Americaand the islands of the West Pacific. Lizards can be found all over the world. Lizards can be tropical, nocturnal or ideal for any region depending on the nature of the species. Gecko is mainly nocturnal Lizard. Iguana is a tropical lizard. Lizard has four legs, external ear openings, and moveable eyelids. Gecko has soft, smooth skin, thin tail, short, stout body, large head, and well-developed limbs with adhesive pads on toes. This particular pad helps gecko to climb in the glass and makes gecko unique among the others. Iguana has a thick, scaly skin, sharp nail and teeth. It has spines down its back. Its size is larger compared to others in the same suborder. The females weigh half of the males.
This colorful iguana was just chilling and hanging in the shade outside C’est La Vie. Bonaire – C’est La Vie I went walk-about with my camera, playing tourist, as I was waiting for our lunch to be prepared. These are different iguanas and lizards.
This big guy was listening to our initial mandatory dive briefing, at The Divi.
These are the geckos we tend to see most often on our travels.
And of course, we see all kinds of fun pictures of these critters as well.
Keep it real. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.
During our visit to Bonaire, they were supposedly having the Bonaire Day celebrations, to recognize their independence. We tried and tried, though unsuccessfully, to find all the festivities that were “supposed” to be taking place, but other than seeing a large bike parade (motorcycles), we didn’t really see anything. Better luck next time I guess. However, during that time, we did discover a fabulous little restaurant called C’est La Vie. What caught our eye about this restaurant at first, was they were advertising they had lionfish ceviche. If you have never had lionfish ceviche, you should definitely try it if you ever get the opportunity. It is so good!
Lionfish are beautiful fish, but they are NOT indigenous to the Caribbean waters and one lionfish can kill a whole reef if left unchecked. In recent years, there has been a lionfish pandemic in the Caribbean waters so the locals were coming up with creative ways to eliminate them. One of those ways was by creating cooking contests on how to cook them. Lionfish ceviche is a definite winner, though there are many other ways to enjoy this fish too. We have been fortunate enough to try lionfish prepared in many different ways, all of which have been delicious.
We dive all over the Caribbean, and for quite a few years, lionfish were a huge problem everywhere from Mexico to the ABC’s, and everywhere in between. Though we saw quite a few of them, and every time I saw one, I pretended to spear it with my imaginary spear gun, it seems as though the problem is in control and is not nearly as problematic as it used to be, which is very good news.
We went to C’est La Vie the next day, still hoping to dine on some delicious lionfish ceviche, only to find that they only had it for the one day of Bonaire Day, and even then they ran out of it within a couple of hours. But we were not disappointed in the slightest. The lunch we had was scrumptious, and we could see everything, as the chef was preparing it right in front of us.
C’est La Vie is a little tiny restaurant located just outside the main part of Kralendijk, closer to where the cruise ships dock. It was within walking distance of where we were staying too.
C’est La Vie is a charming little restaurant with a big personality. This is it. This is the whole restaurant. But don’t let its small size deceive you. There were a lot of big flavors coming out of this tiny little kitchen.
The menu is written on the chalkboard. Once we made our choices, we cozied up to the counter and could see everything.
The chef and has assistant were hard at work preparing our delicious lunch.
As our lunch was being prepared, we were given some delicious French bread with a tomato tapenade and the creamiest butter I have ever tasted to hold us over until our lunch arrived.
Nancy and I both ordered the scallops en papillote (cooked in paper). The scallops just melted in our mouths. They were cooked to perfection and served atop some julienned vegetables.
Larry ordered the fresh catch of the day. I think it was mahi mahi, but I don’t really remember. I was too focused on my scallops. His was every bit as good as my scallops were though, and it came with some roasted potatoes and sauteed vegetables.
We walked around a bit and let our lunch settle, then it was once again time to get wet again and go back to our diving. The water was definitely calling out to us.
I just love being a tourist. The things we see and the things we learn is just oh so fascinating. 🙂
Never loose your sense of adventure. Be open to anything and everything and you will have some amazing experiences.
A Jeanne in the Kitchen 