A Jeanne in the Kitchen

For the last few years our lives have been turned completely upside down by COVID, COVID, COVID. It dominates everything. With everything your see and read and hear being so bleak, it is hard to imagine that something good could ever come from these horrible times. But something good DID come out of these COVID times. That something good is Temaki Tornado.

Temaki Tornado is food truck that serves street side sushi and rolls around Boulder and the surrounding areas. It was started by two friends and co-workers who worked at a sushi restaurant and they decided to pool their resources and do what they always wanted to do: start [their] own food truck.

This is Tako Bob, the octopus and mascot of Temaki Tornado.

Temaki Tornado is part of a fleet of food trucks operated by the parent company Roaming Hunger. [They] are the culinary community builders who bring together colleagues, friends, family members and strangers through unexpected and joyful moments. The Agency has nearly a decade of experience leveraging [their] propriety data, network and mobile expertise to create unique brand amplification programs designed to inspire action and engagement. From food trucks to mobile DJs to restaurant pop-ups, [they] connect your brand to the right people at the right time.

We discovered Temaki Tornado by accident, when we went for a pint of local brew at Four Noses Brewery with our friends Mike and Lauren. None of us had really eaten, and Four Noses does not have a menu or a kitchen. Instead, they have a selection of different food trucks that come to them throughout the week, offering a wide variety of delicious types of from which to choose. Temaki Tornado was there the night we went. As it turned out, they were just about ready to pack it up for the evening too, and Larry and I just happened to be their last customers. We ordered some sushi rolls and enjoyed them by the firepit. The sushi rolls were very tasty and were a pleasant surprise. We have been very fortunate and have had some very good foods from food trucks all over. We just never know what we are going to find on our adventures.

We all had a pleasant evening and a good time, unwinding after work and starting the weekend off right.

Keep you mind and heart open, and you just never know what good things you will find. Don’t be afraid to try something new or unexpected. Life is full of good surprises. You just have to look for them, and often that means finding them in unexpected places.

If you are interested in the tasty delicacies of Temaki Tornado or want them to come to you, you can contact them at either temakitornado.com, facebook.com/temaki.tornado.5 or at instagram.temaki_tornado. Their truck rolls around a lot and it can roll around to you too.

The other day I told you about about our baby ducklings. Nature Walks – We Have Babies But now we have baby goslings too. Just like the ducklings, these little babies are just adorable. I saw eight with both Mom and Dad. Mom and dad were both so proud of their babies.

She is one proud momma, as she should be. Here babies are just so darn cute.

SUCCESS! The first time I tried to make these, I ended up with one big giant mess. Fortunately, I was able to recreate them into something else. It’s Always Good To Have A Plan B In case you hadn’t noticed, I am fairly stubborn. So instead of giving up and giving in to defeat, I was bound and determined to make these work. I tried again. This time I was successful, and they were a huge hit, loved by all. I don’t know why they didn’t work the first time. The only thing I did differently was to add the paper cupcake holders to the pan, but hey they worked, and they were successful. I was a happy camper and so was everyone else.

Macaroon Brownie Bites

Sometimes the mixes are the best way to make things. SOMETIMES. In fact, when I was in culinary school, way back when, my pastry instructor, Chef Rudy Rosier, was actually the one who perfected one of the leading cake mixes. I think it was Pillsbury, but I am not positive. I just know he created one of the major brands. He was a Master Pastry Chef, originally from Holland. I learned so much from him too. he was one of my favorite chef instructors. But I digress. Back to this recipe. As you can see, I started off by using the Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix and then followed the recipe they have on the box. Why reinvent the wheel, right?

Brownies

1 pouch brownie mix

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

Preheat oven to 325* F or 170* C.

Spray your muffin pans and fill each cup with a cupcake paper.

Fill the cups to about 2/3 full and set aside.

Macaroon Topping

1 1/3 cups sweetened coconut flakes

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

2 TBSP flour

dash of salt

1/4 tsp vanilla

2 egg whites

Mix everything together until well blended, then spoon on top of the brownie mix.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes. Allow them to cool for a bit before removing them from the pans, and enjoy.

These disappeared very quickly and everyone enjoyed them. WHOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!! I call that a success.

Stay happy, stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

I was outside with Juneau and Vinnie when I saw a few pelicans out swimming on the first lake. So I ran inside and got the camera and took these shots from my deck. There were six pelicans, all swimming together, doing their synchronized swimming for the day. They all turned in the same direction and would follow the leader. If one would dip down for a drink, they all would. If one switched directions, they all did. They did that for quite awhile until one pelican decided he had had enough and was ready to do his own thing instead. There is always one of those individualists in the crowd. Usually it’s me. 🙂

I am forever the rebel, and I always do my own thing. I hate following everyone else. I am nothing if I am not an individual. Be the individual in the crowd. Be unique. Be yourself.

One of the things I love most about both spring and summer is the availability of all the fresh fruits. They are in abundance. So I buy them in abundance too. Unfortunately, Larry is not a big fruit fan, and I can’t eat them all by myself. You would think I would learn to NOT buy so many, but that is a lesson I have committed to memory yet. Anyway, because I buy a ton of fruit, I have to come up with creative ways of using it. This time, it was in a blueberry-lemon pound cake. I served it along side some cream puffs cover with both a chocolate and strawberry ganache.

Once again, it was a big hit, with not much leftover. YAY!!!! I can’t tell you how much that makes my day. 🙂

Pound cake has become such a popular cake that we all love, but we rarely think about how it actually got its name. Originally a pound cake got its name because it was made with a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of flour and a pound of eggs. That’s a lot of everything. They were made in large batches to feed the masses because at the time, it didn’t make much sense to make individual cakes, since most people did not have access to ovens in their homes. Fortunately, we do not bake them in large quantities like that any more, and we bake them one “pound cake” at a time instead.

Blueberry-Lemon Pound Cake

1 container of blueberries

2 cups flour, + more for coating the blueberries

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup or 2 sticks softened butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp lemon extract

Preheat he oven to 325* F or 160* C.

Spray either a loaf or bundt pan with cooking spray and lightly flour it all around.

Add about 1/4 cup of flour to the blueberries and gently coat them. Set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy, then add the eggs one at a time and beat in between each addition. Add the vanilla and lemon extract and beat again.

Once everything is mixed together, add the flour mixture half at a time, mixing in between each addition. When the batter is completely mixed, gently fold in the berries. Then evenly spoon into either a bundt pan or a loaf pan.

Bake for about 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle and the cake is set and lightly golden brown.

Allow the cake to cool slightly, then remove from the pan and cool completely before adding the glaze or dusting with powdered sugar, both of which are optional though.

I added a lemon glaze and then finished it off with some spring colored sprinkles.

Lemon Glaze

1-1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 TBSP lemon juice

Mix everything together until smooth and creamy. Pour over the top of of the cake.

Slice, serve and enjoy.

Stay happy, stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of our baby ducklings and goslings for quite some time now, but hadn’t seen any. I had seen some broken egg shells, so I knew they had to be around. But today, I saw the first of the ducklings, or as a friend’s daughter used to say when she was a baby, “duck-a-lings”. There was Momma Mallard with about 8 little ones following closely behind. Of course there were a couple who were busy doing their own thing too. Momma already looks tired. But she is also very proud of her little babies too.

Mommy, wait for us.

Seeing the little “duckalings” just made my day.

Linger is a fun and funky restaurant in Denver. It is one of 6 restaurants owned by the group, Edible Beats. The Edible Beats Restaurant Group are known as the “renegades of flavor and masters of of remix. [They are also] known for responsibly-grown and innovatively simply sourcing veggie-forward fare.” The restaurants are all creatively named and grouped to spell out L.O.V.E.R.R.

L – Linger

O – Ophelia’s

V – Vital Root

E – El Five or El 5

R – Root Down

R – Root Down DIA

These are special occasion restaurants and we have now shared three special occasions at three out of the six restaurants with our dear friends Janet and Bob. We made a pact that we now have to visit the other three as well so we can complete the set. This time we were celebrating Bob’s birthday.

Linger has been creatively “remixed” from the old Olinger Mortuary into a fun a hip restaurant that is filled with personality. There are lots of fun remnants of the mortuary all around. They even named the restaurant with a macabre spin on the Olinger name. They turned Olinger Mortuaries into Linger Eatuaries. “Housed in a former mortuary, the decor layers macabre remnants with posh details in a window-flanked space overlooking the charming Lower Highland neighborhood. The drink menu features sips and seasonings as savory as the dishes with which they’re paired. While the rooftop patio—outfitted with 1975 GMC RV as bar and repurposed food truck as kitchen— beckons patrons towards adventure.”

Linger is truly a unique and one-of-a-kind place. The motor home behind us is up their rooftop and has converted into the bar, where they serve up the “Daily Pain Killer”.

The inside was just as fun and funky as the roof was. There are pictures all around that poke a little fun at the Grim Reaper. The front desk was actually something they used at the original mortuary.

The elevator door was a large photo of the old movie “Harold and Maude”.

These two are having some fun around the coffin.

My name for the painting of “Dead Man’s Party“, song from Oingo Boingo.

Not everything revolves around the old mortuary though. The bar upstairs is filled with a bunch of items that are definitely a blast to our pasts.

The lights above and on the bar are old Bright Lites that many of us remember from our childhood.

The ambiance and decor are fun and funky, but when it comes to the food, it is serious business. The food was AMAZING. It is locally and humanely grown. “Over 50% of our ingredients are sourced locally (within Colorado) and our network of responsible food sourcing supports over 55 local ranchers, farmers, growers & food artisans. We’re 100% wind-powered and have responsibly-sourced, vegetable-forward menus. All animal proteins are certified humane, pasture-raised and utilize non-GMO, vegetarian feed. All seafood is certified by the Marine Stewardship Council and is a “Best Choice Green” by the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch. We also maintain a 6,000 sf organic garden that supplies 20% of the seasonal herbs and vegetables for our restaurants. That’s what we bring to the table.”

The Birthday Boy started us off with his choice of a bottle of Malbec that we deliciously enjoyed with our dinner.

Very rarely do we eat like this, but when we do, we do. We started off with appetizers to share. We all shared the loaded curried vegetable and potato Dosa and the Bao Bun Trio, with duck, chicken and pork belly.

We could have easily called these two appetizers a meal, but oh no. We were only just getting started. Bob and Janet shared the Wagyu Sliders,

Larry enjoyed the chicken padthai,

while I devoured the tempura chili-ginger shrimp.

Of course we all had to taste and test a little bit of everything, and we all agreed the food was not only colorfully presented, but was deliciously phenomenal as well. But wait. There is still more to come. You can’t have a birthday celebration without dessert right? Once again, we let the Birthday Boy choose, and we all shared a little bit of everything. Bob chose the peanut butter bar topped with pomegranate seeds and the maduros y crema or fried plantains in a cream sauce with pistachios.

Not only were we celebrating Bob’s birthday, but we were also happy that Janet was once again healthy and well and my new upcoming job. Our server, Heather, was fabulous and never missed a bit. She took great care of of us, and just as we thought we were finished, she brought us all a glass of the bubbly to make the celebrations complete.

Needless to say, we left with very full, very satisfied tummies. We had a fantastic meal, the ambiance was so much fun, and we shared a lot of laughs. Thank you for a deliciously fun evening. As I have said many times, life is all about sharing it with the people we love. We have a very good life indeed. Thank you Janet and Bob for including us in so many fun times throughout the many years of friendship and family. We love you lots. Happy Birthday Bob.

Linger is located at 2030 West 30th, Denver, CO. I would definitely call or register online for reservations. Their phone number is (303) 993-3120 or you can reach them online at lingerdenver.com. People are just dying to get in. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

Happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful mothers. It doesn’t matter if your kids all have fur or no fur at all. It doesn’t matter if they have two legs or four. To us, they are all our children and we love them all.

I don’t know if I just seeing more birds, of all varieties out and about or if there really are more birds, but either way, I am loving seeing all the beautiful birds all around. This time, I have another Cassin’s Finch, perched up high in the trees. I think he was posing for the camera. He sure looked like he was having fun. He really made me work for these pictures though. He was so high up in the trees, and I really had to fight steady my camera and focus to get these shots. But they turned out well and were worth my efforts.

Have a great day and a great weekend Everyone. ‘Til next time.

As you all know, we are definitely carnivores, and we love all kinds of meat. Larry is from Kansas, and he is a meat and potatoes kind of guy at heart, steak being his favorite. So, we eat a lot of meat and a lot of steak. I love streak too, don’t get me wrong, but I like a wide variety of foods. That being said, because we eat a lot of steak, I am always looking for new ways of preparing it and/or topping it. This time I found a delicious recipe for an onion marmalade to to use as a steak topper. It would also be good on pork as well.

The steak itself, was leftover from a a previous meal. I know, surprise, surprise, right?! Me, eating and using leftovers. Who would have “thunk it” right? But this onion marmalade just really made the steak pop out. It was sweet and tart and tangy all at once, and very, very good too.

Onion Marmalade

2 TBSP olive oil

3 medium red onions, sliced thin

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 TBSP garlic

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 TBSP fresh thyme leaves

1/4 cup water

salt or Kosher salt to taste

Over a medium-high flame, heat a skillet with the olive oil and add the onions and sugar. Cook for about 35-45 minutes, or until the onions are very brown and caramelized. Stir frequently to make sure the onions do not burn.

Once the onions are completely browned and tender, add the red wine vinegar, garlic, thyme, salt and water.

Continue to cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, or until the remaining liquid starts to thicken. Once the mixture has thickened, it is ready to serve on top of your favorite meats and enjoy. I served it all with some roasted potatoes and green beans, along with my cheesy-pepper bread. Cheese and Pepper Wreath and a smooth, but bold red blend. Delicious!

Stay happy, healthy and well Everyone. ‘Til next time.