Nature Walks – Birds In the Trees

So many birds are out and about, and I am meeting new ones all the time. I love the birds. They always remind me of my dad. My dad and I used to bird watch together all the time.

Today is the first time I’ve seen this little guy. He is a Brown-Capped Rosy Finch. Isn’t he gorgeous? When I was looking through my bird book to identify him, I learned that most of the Brown-Capped Rosy Finches breed here in Colorado too. I just love learning new things.

Here are some more feathered friends I saw today too.

The Downey Woodpecker. You met him the other day.

I finally got a good shot of a Blue Jay. Usually they fly off just as I get them in focus.

There were some common grackles out and about too.

And some chickadees too. These guys have been very difficult for me to capture. But I got lucky today.

This Canyon Wren was from awhile ago, but I did not want to put him all by himself, so I waited until I had some more good bird shots.

This European Starling was from awhile ago too, but again, I was waiting to put him with some more birds.

Enjoy your day and don’t let it fly away.

Italian Sausage and Vegetables

I love all kinds of foods, and I have a penchant for ethnic foods. I love the exotic, bold flavors of so many of the ethnic foods from around the world. Italian foods of all kinds are always a favorite too. Lately, I have been in one of my Italian phases, where I am cooking a lot of different Italian foods. I don’t plan it this way; it just kind of happens. Larry will take down something from the freezer and I just go from there. A lot of times, when I am not sure what direction my meal is going to take, it is like an artist staring at a blank canvas, not sure of the the vision or inspiration that will come, not knowing how the final result will turn out. I get bored making the same thing in he same way all the time, so I am always looking for a slightly different take or twist on things, which adds more variety.

This time Larry took down some hot Italian sausage, in the hopes that I would make sausage & peppers. But I cook that a lot and wanted something a little different. So I went to my resources and came up with something similar to sausage & peppers, but different.

This version of sausage and peppers included spinach, butter beans and tomatoes. The emphasis on this version was less on the peppers and more on the other fresh vegetables I used. The sweet peppers and the tomatoes were from my sister-in-law’s garden. They were so fresh and tasty. There is nothing better than fresh vegetables straight out of the garden.

Italian Sausage and Vegetables

1 lb Italian sausage – we like the hot, but either kind will do

3 cups fresh spinach, stems removed and chopped

1/2 onion, diced

1 TBSP garlic

1 cup grape or sweet 100’s tomatoes, cut in half

1 can chicken broth

salt & pepper to taste

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

1 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/2 cup dry white wine

olive oil

1-2 TBSP lemon balsamic vinegar or regular balsamic vinegar

cooked pasta – I used penne this time

Cook the sausage first. After the sausage is cooked, add the lemon balsamic vinegar and the wine to deglaze the pan and a bit more olive oil. Once the sausage is cooked, remove it from the pan and set aside.

Add more olive oil as needed, then add the vegetables and seasonings to the pan and continue to cook until they onions are translucent and the vegetables have softened, about 5-7 minutes.

Add the chicken broth and the butter beans, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about an additional 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. When everything is done, spoon it up over over a hearty cooked pasta, such as penne.

I love bread with dinner, so I added some warmed ciabiatta with an olive oil and lemon balsamic dipping sauce, and a glass or two or a chilled citrusy chardonnay on the side. !Buon Appetito!

Live! Love! Eat! – to quote Wolfgang Puck. After all, that’s what life is all about.

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

Nature Walks – My Ducks and Geese Are Coming Back

For awhile now, my lakes have been pretty quiet. But all that is changing. My ducks and geese are coming back. I love seeing all my ducks and geese. Some geese are residents and stay year round, but most of them travel from Canada and are only here for a short while. But they are coming back for the season too. They are all welcome, for as long as they choose to stay.

Today I saw my Hooded Mergansers.

My Mallards,

And some Common Goldeneyes.

We always have a few Canadians around,

but they are coming back in droves once again.

I even had some Cacklings swimming around today too.

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood and I am so happy all my friends are coming back to visit.

Soup with Chicken Wild Rice and Mushrooms

There is a crisp chill in the air and that means it is the perfect weather for soup. I love soups. They are just great comfort foods that “warm the cockles of your heart”, as my dad always used to say. I think soups of all kinds are some of my favorite comfort foods too. Plus, if you have a lot of little bits of this and that, but not enough for a meal by themselves, you can ALWAYS throw them into a big pot of soup. Back in my restaurant management days, that’s exactly what we did too. Everything got tossed into either the soup pot or the chili pot. It was different all the time.

I made a creamy soup with wild rice, chicken and mushrooms that just hit the spot. I served it with the rest of my pumpkin egg bread Pumpkin Egg Bread and some white wine and we had a simple, yet delicious fall dinner.

I love rice, but I have to admit I don’t use a lot of wild rice, so this was a little different version of chicken and rice soup even for me. But I loved every bite.

Wild rice is actually a wild grass, rather than a rice. It is more like oats rather than more traditional rice found around the world. It is lumped into the rice family more because of its appearances rather than its actual genetic make up. Usually wild rice is cooked with wild game or duck, but more and more recipes are using wild rice too now to give a richer, nuttier taste and texture.

Until about 20 years ago, most wild rice grew naturally in the lakes and slow-moving streams of northern Minnesota and bordering Canada. The crop was harvested by Native Americans, who were members of the Ojibway Indian tribe. They processed it using traditional methods passed down from their ancestors. Today, most of it is now cultivated in commercial paddies.

Wild rice tastes like rice, which is why it’s called rice, even though it’s a completely different species. Like brown rice and other whole grains, wild rice has an outer shell (bran) that gives it a chewy texture. Wild rice has a slightly grassy flavor and a smokiness that comes from the way it’s processed.

There is a difference between wild rice and black rice too. Wild rice is grown in the United States and Canada, and as I said, it is actually a wild grass. Black rice hails from China and Asia. Black rice is sweetish to taste and has a nutty feel about its texture. Black rice is also called the “forbidden rice” because it was originally only for the wealthy and royalty due to its expense, though today, it is on the market for everyone to enjoy. It is also one of the oldest types of rice in the world too. Both the black and wild rice are chewy and nutty in texture. However, they are not so firm like the brown rice wherein it takes almost half an hour or so to cook. Other than wild rice is a wild grass and comes from North America and black rice is actually a rice and comes from China, there are not that many differences between the two grains, either nutritionally or in taste. They can also be interchangeable in recipes as well. Today, it is based on both personal preference and availability.

Chicken, Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

2 lbs cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery

1 lb mushrooms, sliced thick

1-2 TBSP garlic

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil and butter for cooking

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup flour

6 cups chicken broth

1 cup cooked wild or black rice

2 tsp fresh thyme

Get a large Dutch oven or pot hot and add the butter and olive oil. Add the mire poix, or the carrots, onions and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, or until they are softened.

Next, add the chicken, mushrooms and garlic and continue to cook for about 15 minutes.

Add the wine and deglaze the pan, followed by the chicken broth.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently.

While the soup mixture is cooking, combine the cream and the flour and mix together well. Then add to the soup mixture and cook until the soup is slightly thickened.

Add the wild rice and incorporate into the soup thoroughly. Once again, bring to a full, rapid boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the thyme right at the finish and mix in thoroughly.

All that is left to do now is to spoon it up and enjoy. Delicious!

I am going to make a vegan gluten free version of this too for my students. I will omit the chicken and will substitute coconut milk for the heavy whipping cream, leave out the flour and will use vegetable broth in lieu of chicken broth. See simple easy-peasy changes, but the same basic recipe. Cooking vegan isn’t hard at all, like so many people think. It is usually just making simple adjustments.

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

More Fall Color – 21

The fall colors have just been amazing this year. They have fun the full gamete from green to yellow, yellow to gold, gold to orange, orange to red and now red to rust. It has been a breathtaking season and it’s not done yet. There are still a few more beautiful colors left to be seen.

Italian Style Meat & Potatoes

The term meat & potatoes is a very comforting term in many ways. It means getting back to the basics, whether it be food related or just things in general. For food, meat and potatoes means good, basic comfort foods, and is quite literally meat and potatoes. The world has many different versions of this too. We all need comforting and we all have those go-to foods that take us to those safe places we are looking for.

Larry, being a Kansas boy, is very much a meat & potatoes kind of guy, though he allows me to indulge in just about any culinary experience I choose to explore. Me, being the California girl, I get bored with just meat & potatoes. I need something with more flavor and more pizzazz. So I compromised and made an Italian version of meat & potatoes. It was the best of both worlds. 🙂

I started off with a combination of both my own marinara sauce mixed with a store-bought version and went from there.

Italian Meat & Potatoes

4 lbs brisket or London broil

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil

butter

2 celery ribs, diced small

2 carrots, diced small

1/2 onion, diced small

1 jar marianara sauce

3-4 tomatoes, diced

1 TBSP garlic

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp marjoram

1 tsp thyme

1/2 cup dry red wine

Cut the meat into strips and season with salt & pepper to taste. In a hot skillet or a Dutch oven, add the olive oil and a little butter to cook and brown the meat. When the meat is browned, remove it from the heat and set aside.

In the same pan, adding more olive oil and/or butter as needed, add the onions, carrots and celery and cook for about 3 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Then add the tomatoes, garlic and herbs and continue to cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Add the wine and the marinara sauce and mix together well. Then re-add the meat to the mixture cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and continue to simmer for about 3 hours or until the meat is tender. Stir frequently.

When the meat is tender and everything is cooked, serve it all over some creamy mashed potatoes. I also added some garlic and herb cheese bread and a smooth red Malbec to complete the meal. !Perfecto!

Who says the basics have to be boring? Liven them up a bit and make life more interesting. 🙂

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

Nature Walks – I Met a New Friend Today

Everything is in the process of change right now. The leaves that are left are changing their colors once again. The temperature is changing, and now it is a little cooler and crisper than it was just a few days ago. The animals are changing too. I have lived and walked around my lakes for almost 15 years now, and I discovered a new friend today, or at least new to me. Today was the first day I have seen one of these. This is a Downey Woodpecker.

I just love making new friends and discovering and learning about new things. That’s what makes life so interesting.