A Jeanne in the Kitchen

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I love sunflowers.  They are so beautiful.  They are like little bits of the sun shining brightly here on earth.  I love this quote from the movie Calendar Girls, by Helen Mirren too.  It just kind of says it all.

Here in Colorado, sunflowers are in full bloom, both in our gardens and in the wild.  I am seeing sunflowers everywhere.

In the wild.

Sunflowers that have been “tamed” in the gardens, although I don’t think you can ever fully “tame” a sunflower.  Maybe that’s why I love them so much.  I too am a wildflower that flourishes best when left alone.

The sunflowers in my garden are just beginning to bloom.  They are are little more shy than some of the others though, so it is taking them longer to open up.

As beautiful as all these sunflowers are, they are nothing in comparison to what I saw today.  I was supposed to meet a friend for breakfast, but our wires got crossed and she had to cancel.  I did not get the message until I was already where I was supposed to meet her.  But it all worked out, as things usually do.  If I had received her message I would not have discovered this absolutely AMAZING sunflower garden.  Other than the streams and fields of sunflowers in Nebraska, this is the most spectacular array of sunflowers I have ever seen, and they were in someone’s front yard, for everyone to see.

Their whole yard was nothing but sunflowers, with the exception of one little tiny patch of purple.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone.  Let the sunshine in.  ‘Til next time.

We have a ton of meat to go through from when Larry last had the smoker out, so I am creatively coming up with some new and tasty ways to use it all.  Our 4th of July Feast  This time, I was getting creative with his smoked turkey breast.  I came up with a delicious crepe cake recipe using the turkey, along with spinach and mushrooms.  When I told Larry I was planning on making crepes, he expected them in the normal, rolled up way.  He was more than a little surprised when he came home and found them made as a savory crepe “cake” instead.  But it was pleasant surprise.

Turkey, Mushroom and Spinach Crepe Cake

The Crepes

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup water

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 TBSP melted butter, plus more for cooking.

2 tsp chives

Mix the flour, salt and chives together and set aside.

Mix the eggs, milk, water and melted butter together thoroughly.  Then mix in with the flour.  Cover and let the batter sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before using.  When ready to make the crepes, heat a small skillet and add a dollop of butter before adding the crepe batter.  Then quickly swirly the batter in the pan to fill the pan and cook for about 1 minute.  Carefully flip the crepe over and continue to cook for another minute, or until the crepe is golden brown.  Repeat until all the batter is cooked and the crepes are all made.  Sundried Tomato Crepes with Chicken, Corn and Red Peppers

When the crepes are made, set them aside and make the filling.

Spray an 8″ cake pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.

The Filling

1 1/2 lbs of diced turkey or chicken, cooked

1 shallot, diced fine

1 TBSP garlic

1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms

3 cups fresh spinach, stems removed and chiffonade or chopped

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp cayenne pepper

salt & pepper to taste

2 TBSP butter

4 TBSP flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1  cup chicken broth

4 oz pepper jack cheese, or light cheese of your choice

Saute the mushrooms, spinach, shallots and garlic together, along with the herbs and seasonings.  Cook for about 3 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.  Once they are cooked, removed them from the pan and set them aside.

Add the butter and the flour and cook to make a roux.

Whisk in the milk and the chicken broth until smooth and creamy.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 3-4 minutes.  Add the cheese and mix in thoroughly and let the cheese completely melt into the mixture. If the sauce is too thick add more milk as needed.

Add the vegetables and the diced turkey and mix everything together well.

Let the mixture cool for a bit.

Preheat the oven to 375* F or about 200* C.

Add one crepe to the cake pan, then add a layer of the filling.  Repeat until all the crepes have been used.  Top it all with a layer of the filling.  Bake for about 30 minutes.

Let the crepe cake cook for a few minutes before slicing.  Then serve with your favorite side dishes.  I served it with red beans and rice and cool, crisp chardonnay.  C’est tres manifique!  Bon Appetit!

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

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Life around the lakes were “hopping”.  We saw a lot of our feathered and furry friends out and about.  They were all hanging out and cooling off, enjoying the cool of the evening after a hot, hot day.  Even though we saw a lot of our “friends” the ducks and the bunnies are the stars of the day.

The lone duck.

At the water’s edge.

Instead of “sittin’ on the dock by the bay” they are sittin’ in the grass by the lake.

Their were a lot of ducks out today, but there were also a lot of bunnies out too.  Usually we only see one or two, but we saw a bunch today.

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

We are still enjoying Larry’s smoked meats, and will be for quite a few meals to come.   We had the burnt ends this time, with some Brussels sprout salad Brussels Sprouts Salad with Chicken  (minus the chicken) and some speckled potato cakes made from some leftover mashed potatoes.

These potato cakes were crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.  The just melted in our mouth with every bite.  I threw in all the little bits of vegetables I had into my leftover mashed potatoes and, voila!  Speckled potato cakes were created.  I find I am at my most creative when “The Queen” pays my a visit and we are just trying to use up little bits and pieces of things that aren’t enough for a meal, but I don’t want to throw away.  I just HATE throwing away food, so I always do my best to find other ways of recreating with what I have left, especially if it is only little bits and pieces of this and that.  The Queen and I make a good pair.  We always come up with some fun and delicious ways to use up all the leftovers.

Speckled Potato Cakes

2 cups cooked mashed potatoes

1/4 red onion, diced fine

1/2 jalapeno, diced fine

2-3 TBSP corn

1/4 bell pepper, diced fine, any color is fine

1 egg, slightly beaten

3/4 flour

salt & pepper to taste

canola or vegetable oil for cooking

Dice all the vegetables into a fine dice and saute in olive oil until tender, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the salt & pepper.  Then let them cool for a few minutes before adding to the potatoes.

Add the vegetables to the mashed potatoes along with the egg and the flour and mix together thoroughly.  You want a thick, firm dough.  If you need more flour, add a little bit at a time until the dough gets to your desired thickness.

Divide the dough into equally sized balls and flatten them out with your hand on a piece of parchment paper.

Place the potato cakes in the refrigerator for at least one hour before cooking, to allow them to set.

Heat your oil to 350* F or 180* C and then carefully place the potato cakes into the hot oil.  Cook for about 5 minutes per side, or until they are golden brown on each side.

These crispy-creamy potato cakes are now ready to enjoy either on their own or served as a side dish to something else.  They are the perfect balance of crispy and creamy and will just melt in your mouth.

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

Summer time is salad weather.  As the temperatures start to soar, we cool down by eating a lot more salads.  Sometimes we eat them as a main dish and other times we eat them as a side dish.   Either way, there are usually a lot of cool, fresh vegetables involved, making them both healthy and delicious.

The other day, I made my green bean Caesar salad, which is always a winner, no matter what.  It is cool, refreshing and full of flavor, not to mention very colorful.  Cool Green Bean Caesar Salad

There were plenty of leftovers, and I could have easily served it the exact same way and we would have been very happy with it.  But where’s the fun in that?  So I took the basics, and just added a few extra ingredients and changed it up a bit to make it something entirely different.

I had some leftover dressing for the salad that I mixed with some Miracle Whip, then I cooked up some bacon and pasta to turn this into the pasta salad we enjoyed as part of our 4th of July feast.  Our 4th of July Feast

I started with one salad and we enjoyed it two completely different ways.  I love it when I can changes things around like this.  It makes things so much more interesting and fun.  🙂

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

We thought we were being smart today and went on our walk-about before it got too hot outside.  Which means we took Vinnie on a longer walk too.  We tried to beat the beat, but we were still a bit too late.  It was still pretty hot out, and is going to get even hotter still.  But as always, we made the most of it and saw lots of our friendly “neighbors” who were also out before it got too hot.

The prairie dogs checking everything out.

A turtle our for a leisurely swim.

A swallow perched high above the world.

An egret dancing on the water.

And not one,

Not 2,

But 3 cormorants.  I have never seen 3 together before.  I always thought they were a bit on the solitary side.  I learn something new everyday.

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

Our 4th of July celebrations were small and low key, probably like most everyone’s this year.  We celebrated with Janet and Bob, and even though it was just the four of us, we had enough food to feed a small army, which is usually the case anyway.   Our feast was a combined effort.  Janet made the salad, the potatoes and the cherry pie (the cherries were from her tree) for dessert and I made the BBQ sauce for the meats and the pasta salad, but the meats were all Larry.  I’ve trained him well.

Once again, Larry pulled out the smoker and filled it full of meat.  He smoked brisket, ribs and turkey.  The smoker was completely full, with about 30 lbs of meat.  He is becoming quite the smoker.  It took a few tries, but now he seems to be mastering it quite well.

He started with the beef brisket, coating it with salt, pepper and garlic salt, then smoked it for about 8 hours.

Next came the turkey, that he coated with a Cajun rub that I found the recipe for.  He put that on the smoker for about 4 hours.

The last thing to go in the smoker were the ribs, that he smoked for about 2-3 hours.

And the end results …..  We all agreed, everything came out just perfect.  Larry did a really great job with all the meats.

The brisket.

He cut off the tips to make burnt ends that he coated with my homemade BBQ sauce.

The turkey.

Everything comes together to make the feast.

The meal was made complete by Janet’s fresh cherry pie and a cuppa.

We were going to play a friendly game of Farkle too, but the fireworks were loudly being fired off, and we had to make it back home before Vinnie had a nervous breakdown.  For being such a big boy, he is really very scared of loud noises.  The game of Farkle will just have to wait for another day.

Hope you all enjoyed your holiday.   Stay safe and stay well Everyone.  ‘Til next time.