A Jeanne in the Kitchen

Scott didn’t have to go to work until later in the day, so we started off with a delicious homemade breakfast a la Scott.

While Scott was at work, it was just us girls and we went touring all around Boise. One of the things I learned is that Boise is pronounced like Boy-Cee rather than Boy-Zee. Traci was an excellent tour guide. We started our tour by heading into Dutch Brothers for some gourmet coffee before starting our adventures for the day. We went all around the downtown area. We went to the old train depot that gave us a beautiful view of the city and the Capital building. We went to two gorgeous parks, and then down by Boise State University. We walked all around downtown. We stopped at The Boise Brewing Company, and then we strolled through the Freak Alley Gallery. We had a very full day before heading home. There was so much to see and I took so many pictures. There is no way I can show you all the pictures I took, but hopefully I can give you a good representation of the things we saw and how much fun we had. Boise is a very pretty city. All the flowers were in bloom too and the city was bursting with color, which made it even prettier.

Dutch Brothers Coffee is a chain of gourmet drive-through coffee shops that offers so many flavors of coffee, teas, and lemonades. You can get almost anything you can imagine. “Dutch Bros Coffee was founded in 1992 by Dane and Travis Boersma. After three generations in the dairy business, the brothers decided to use changes in the industry as motivation to branch out and try something new. The bros bought a double-head espresso machine, cranked up the stereo, threw open the barn doors and started experimenting with 100 pounds of beans.”

“One of the most rewarding things in this change of occupation was going from smelling cow manure to smelling coffee,” said Dane. “You’d open the bag, and it was like heaven.”

“Dutch Bros strives to be a force for good through outstanding customer service and killer coffee. The company is continuing to grow, sharing the Dutch luv and opening new shops throughout the nation.”

“Through the Dutch Bros Foundation and local franchisees, Dutch Bros donates several million dollars to support its customers, local communities and nonprofit organizations.”

With coffees and lemonade in hand, off we went to start the day’s activities. Our first stop was the old train depot.

The view of the city from the old train depot was amazing.

Next, we visited two of the three main parks. We drove through one, and saw dog island, which is a doggie park on a separate little island in the middle of the park, but we did not stop at that park. The other park we went to was the Kathryn Albertson Park. She was one of the heirs to the Albertson Grocery store chain. This park is so beautiful. We saw a lot of geese, the same Canadian geese I have here at home, as well as some red eared slider turtles, again, just like mine here at home. We also saw quite of few of the geese nesting and watching over their eggs.

Can you see all 5 turtles here? Look closely. They are all there.

Our next stop was the area around Boise State University, which is adjacent to the Boise City Zoo. We did not go into the zoo, however, there were a couple of very curious and friendly giraffes that stopped by to say hi to us as we were strolling through the park. There were also a whole bunch of playful squirrels all around too.

This is the Friendship Bridge connecting the park to the university. It was an appropriate place to go, since we three girls are all very good friends indeed.

After leaving the parks, we were ready for something to drink. Next stop was Boise Brewing, but that will be featured in Part 2. 🙂

As soon as we landed in Boise, our first stop was to the Boise Fry Company for dinner. The Boise Fry Company is a fun and funky restaurant that specializes in bikes, burgers, beer and fries. Fries of ALL kinds too. Since Idaho is known for its potatoes, it is only fitting that they have a restaurant or two that specializes in fries. Everything is fresh and homemade, and comes from local vendors. There is NO waste at this restaurant, and everything is re-used and recycled as much as possible.

At Boise Fry Company, you can order and customize both your burgers and your fries any way you want them. You can order any kind of potato, cut in a number of different cuts and cooked how you like them. Traci said they usually offer more varieties too, but to me, this is pretty impressive as it is.

Your burgers can be bison, beef or vegan. It is your choice. The bison is all natural and grassfed, from Brown’s Buffalo Ranch in nearby, Nyssa, Oregon. (One of the many things we learned on this trip is that where Scott and Traci live, they are only about 30 miles away from the Oregon border in one direction and about the same distance from the Nevada border in another direction.) The beef comes from The Double R Ranch, in Boise. The vegan burgers are all handmade from scratch, using black beans, red quinoa and a mixture of various herbs and spices. The buns are brought in from a local bakery, Gaston’s Bakery.

The menu explains about the different varieties of potatoes and what the best or preferred methods of cut and preparation for each particular variety. What a cool concept. Boise Fry Company buys the “freshest potatoes available from the M & M Heath Farms in Buhl, Idaho. All the potatoes are prepared with love and they follow a strict regiment to ensure each fry retains its quality and flavor”.

Even all the sauces used are made from scratch and in house, with a wide variety of flavors and combinations.

When your order is delivered to you, it comes on a customized plate with cup holders for your sauces. I think the sauces I tried were the garlic aioli, the blueberry ketchup and the spicy ranch. All of them were very good.

Karen also ordered the roasted Brussels sprouts with her burger. We all tried them and, once again, they were delicious.

The Boise Fry Company is very friendly to bicyclists and dogs alike. The decor is a bicycle theme, using a lot of old bicycle parts as well.

Even dogs who come to visit have a little place of their own, while their doggie parents are dining.

It was such a gorgeous, beautiful day so we all decided to dine al fresco, on their patio. Starting from the left, Traci, her son Andrew, his fiance Elena, and Karen.

What a delicious and fun way to start our Idaho adventures. 🙂

Currently, there are six Boise Fry Company restaurants located in the Boise area. The one we went to was located in Bown Crossing, at 3083 South Bown Way, Boise, ID 83706. You can also call them at 208 965-1551. They are open from 11:00 AM-8:00 PM. Or if you prefer, you can also order online at info@boisefrycompany.com

This was day one of our whirlwind Boise tour. There are a lot more Idaho adventures coming your way. Stay tuned.

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

I’m back. Did you miss me? I had such a great time visiting with my friends Traci and Scott and Karen. Karen is a mutual friend of ours and we planned our little “girl’s get-away” quite a few months ago. Scott and I have known each other since we were in 7th grade; Traci is Scott’s beautiful wife, and we became great friends; Karen and Traci are besties, and now I am part of this fun girls’ club too.

Traci and Scott shared their new beautiful home with us and took us all over the place. They were great tour guides and Karen and I saw so many beautiful Boise sights. I have a lot of fun things to share from my fun and fabulous trip, but I literally just got home about 1 1/2 hours ago, and have a lot of processing to do first. One of our fun days was a Boise wine tour. We went to 5 different wineries along the Snake River. This is fun little video that Traci and I made to cleanse your pallet a bit and to get you in the mood.

I know I have not made any videos in quite some time, and I will get back into videos again real soon. We have just been very busy lately. This is a little short skit on Traci’s “new vintage” that I just had to share with you. She did a great job with it. I also have a big video in the works too, that I will be sharing very soon, along with all the other fun things we did while up in Idaho.

Stay tuned. Don’t touch that dial.

I will be gone for a few days, visiting with friends up in Idaho. I am so looking forward to it. I definitely need a little get-away, and what better thing to do than to go visit with old friends?! 🙂 I promise you, I will have lots of good things to bring back and share with you from my trip up north. I know one of things we are planning on doing is to taste some Idaho wines. And Scott and I will be busy cooking up some delicious meals, so those will all be featured as well. For the rest …. we will all just have to wait and see.

Stay good, stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

When my friends see and hear about all the foods we eat, they are always asking me “Do you eat like this all the time?” Well, yes, for the most part we do. However, when it is just me and I am not cooking for anyone else, that all changes. A lot of times it is leftovers or pizza, or leftover pizza, or other simple things. Sometimes, it is even just sandwiches. With Larry being out of town these last few days, it was all of the above.

This is a typical meal when it is just me. I made a crab and avocado melt, cut up an apple and served it with some potato chips. It was simple, easy-peasy and delicious.

I had a little crab left, but it wasn’t enough on its own, or so I thought, so I added some krab as well. I mixed it all with some green onions, red bell pepper, mayonnaise and some cracked pepper to make a crab salad. “Krab” is a crab substitute made from a variety of white flaky fish, usually pollack.

After my crab salad was made, I buttered some bread and added a couple of slices of jalapeno jack cheese, then grilled it up.

Grill it buttered side down, and grill it just long enough for the bread to toast up and the cheese to melt.

When my cheese was melted and the bread was toasted to perfection, I added some tomato slices and avocado. Then I added my crab salad and voila. My sandwich was ready.

Add a little wine, and dinner was served. Quick and easy-peasy. Dinner doesn’t always have to be fancy to be good. 🙂

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

Yesterday was the first day I saw the pelicans. I saw about 6 flying in formation up above, but I did not have my camera with me, so I could not take any pictures. I was able to get some pictures today though. These pictures were taken right from my deck.

I love it when all my beloved furried and feathered friends come back for the season. It always makes me so happy.

I LOVE collecting cookbooks. They are my prized possessions. I have well over 650 cookbooks and the number is always growing. And all of you are beginning to recognize how much I love cookbooks too. A lot of you have realized my house is the house where cookbooks end up when needing a new home. People are always giving me either new books or books that they no longer need or have room for. SWEET! You can NEVER have enough cookbooks.

For those of you who follow Julia at https://retirementrvdream.com/ you know she and her husband Bruce are doing some serious downsizing, getting ready for their new life on the road. The other day, Julia brought over a whole bunch of cookbooks that she will no longer have room for in the RV. I have gladly accepted them and rehomed them. They will take a place of honor on the library shelves. Anyone that finds themselves in need of “rehoming” their cookbooks, please know that I will always lovingly adopt them and take good care of them. They will become part of the family. 🙂

Usually when I get new cookbooks, I just have to make something from them IMMEDIATELY. This time, however, I will have to wait a bit. Larry is out of town at the moment, so I am not cooking anything. He comes home tomorrow night. But then I am taking off for a few days on Thursday and Larry will be home, with the “kids”. I was supposed to be with Larry in Las Vegas right now, but we had a last minute conflict of time from our pet sitter, so I stayed home. I will be heading up to Idaho to visit with some friends, leaving Thursday. I promise you though, it will be pleasure mixed with “work”. There will be some fun things coming your way from my time in Idaho once I return home. You’ll just have to wait and see what I come up with and bring back. 🙂

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

Most of our birds are seasonal. They come and stay with us a for awhile then off they go again, moving to their next destination, only to return once more when the time is right. So many of our birds have been gone since the early fall but are now returning to us for the spring and summer. Even our turtles are beginning to come back, but so far, they have been very elusive and will not pose for the camera.

Yesterday was the first time our egrets made their appearance. I only saw two, but soon, there will be many more. They were only up in the trees, and not on the shore or in the reeds as they usually are, but that’s OK. At least they are starting to come back. I love the egrets.

The egrets are not the only ones returning to us. We have one lone double crested cormorant who has found his way back home to us for the season. He has been busy enjoying himself on the 3rd lake. Again, he is the first of many yet to come. They are always welcome too.

This summer block party is just getting started. Soon it will really be hoppin’ and the gang will all be here.

Today, wine is made all over the world, and many of those wines are very, very good. This wasn’t always the case, however. When the Colonists first came to America, back in 1607, they attempted to make some wine in Jamestown, Virginia from some old musty vines they found growing in the region. The wine was atrocious. They sent back for help from the wine masters in Europe and several French winemakers came to their aid. It took quite a while for the vines to start producing good wines, but obviously, they were able to help out considerably, since Thomas Jefferson went on to become one of the first successful wine producers (about 167 years later) from his Monticello Estate in 1774.

Today, the winemaking tradition continues at Monticello, as well as various other places throughout the State of Virginia.

Wine making traditions have evolved considerably over time, and so have the ways of labeling and identifying these wines. Back in the days of Ancient Greece, wine was shipped from place to place in large clay vessels known as amphoras. The handles of the amphoras noted where the wine was produced and by whom. Wine was sold in wooden casks from the days of the Roman Empire, and those casks were marked with identifying stencils or branding irons. By the end of the 18th century, bottles were being made and became the way of containing and shipping wines from place to place. The names and vintages of the wine producers were etched into the glass. Paper labels were introduced in the 19th century and are similar to the wine labels still used around the world today.

The amphoras of Ancient Greece.

The wine casks of old.

Early wine bottles.

Cognac is a type of wine that has been made with the addition of brandy. Originally it was known as a brandewijn or a burnt wine by the Dutch who produced it. The English called this burnt wine brandy. Cognac has been around, in some form or another, since around the 3rd century. Cognac is made from white grapes from the Charante region of France and is named after the town of Cognac. Cognac as we know it today, was started in the 16th century. The Dutch are responsible for this very fine, much beloved adult libation. When wines were being transported from place to place, often times the wines would spoil during the process. So the Dutch started to process the wines in the Netherlands to preserve the flavors and the qualities of the wine. Part of this processing was to add brandy to the wines as a way of preserving them. Cognac and brandies today are considered the creme de la creme of wines and are sought by wine lovers everywhere.

There is much more to wine than just pouring it into a glass for enjoyment. The world of wine has a long, rich tradition and is full of history and intrigue. Today, I have hopefully opened your world to a bit more knowledge and fun facts about our much beloved libation known as the “nectar of the Gods”. Salud! A votre sante! Slainte!

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

My friend and fellow blogger, Julia Sculthorpe, from https://retirementrvdream.com/ is a FABULOUS chef! She loves to cook all kinds of delicious, exotic food from around the world. Last time she had us over for dinner, she prepared an Ethiopian Feast. An Ethiopian Dinner This time, she took us to India and the surrounding areas with her foods. She had prepared a whole host of mouth-watering delicacies for the main meal. I know she told me what everything was, but there was no way I could recite them all. So rather than try to rack my brain for names I will never remember, I will show you all she prepared for yet another fantastic feast and a delightful evening shared with friends both old and new. A picture is worth 1000 words anyway, so I will let the pictures will tell the story.

Julia had been busy prepping and cooking all day. When we arrived she had the appetizers ready and waiting for us while the main meal was roasting to perfection.

She is busy grilling the tandoori lamb. It was cooked to absolute perfection. It was so tender and full of flavor.

These were fried potato cakes make with herbs, peas and onions.

There were three dipping sauces to go with the fried potato cakes. One was a spinach and mint dip, another was a yogurt raita, and the third was a cilantro dip. Again, all three were so good and went perfectly with the potato cakes. We also used them for the main meal as well.

She also made some fried paneer and some pineapple coated with sesame seeds with a bowl of veggie chips. These are all still just the appetizers too and we were already getting full.

The table was beautifully set and filled with so many wonderful, exotic dishes. And we enjoyed them all.

As with so many Indian dishes, there were a lot of vegetables, potatoes and spices of various kinds.

Julia even made her own Naan bread too. We used the Naan bread to dip into our foods.

But we weren’t done here. No, no, no. There was still the lamb too. We ate as much as we could, and between the 8 of us, we made a good dent in all the food, but there was NO WAY we could eat it all.

I brought my Bakewell slices for dessert too. Bakewell Slices Made At Home Needless to say, we were all VERY full and very satisfied at the end of the evening.

In between courses, Larry was making friends with Nox. She likes to be included too.

Bruce and Julia, thank you ever so much for yet another fabulous evening and all the fantastic food. You are very gracious and generous hosts. Life is all about sharing it and enjoying it with good friends and good food, and we certainly did both. A Votre Sante!

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