A Jeanne in the Kitchen

It was a pretty quiet walk around the lakes this time, although I still saw so many nice things.  Even on the quiet days, I am never disappointed with my view and all the beautiful sights to see.  Today, it is all about the flowers and the blooms on the trees.

Beautiful yellow and white daffodils.

Irises of a different color.

These are the first of my irises for the season too.

Pretty potted geraniums.

Tulips and more.

The blooming trees.

 

Some lilacs are in full bloom while others are not.  Mine are just starting to bloom, but no flowers or fragrance yet.

So much beauty.  It makes you just want to sit back and take it all in; to smell the roses, or the lilacs, or the honeysuckle, etc., etc., etc.,

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

 

 

One of the side dishes I made for our virtual trip to Greece was pesto tomato focaccia.  A Trip To Greece  Bread has always been one of my downfalls.  They say “man cannot live on bread alone”, but as long as I had butter or olive oil to go with it, or if the bread was topped with other yummy toppings, I really think I could.  I could easily live on this pesto tomato focaccia, that’s for sure.  It even has vegetables, which makes it even better, right?!

 

Pesto Tomato Focaccia

Focaccia Starter or Sponge

1 tsp dry active yeast

1/2 cup warm water

3/4 cup flour

 

Mix the yeast and the water together and let stand for about 10 minutes or until it becomes frothy.  Add the flour, cover tightly, and let rise for about 45 minutes.  You can also refrigerate this for a day too.

 

The Dough

1 tsp dry active yeast

1 cup warm water

3 TBSP olive oil+ more for coating the bowl and topping the dough

The sponge from above

3 1/4 cups flour + more for kneading

2 tsp salt

 

Add the water to the yeast and let stand just as you did for the sponge.  Slowly mix in the olive oil and the sponge.

Mix the flour and salt together.  Once the sponge and olive oil are combined, start adding the flour, about 1 cup at a time and mix it all together.  You can do this either by hand  or with a mixer.  Once all the flour is incorporated start kneading it all together on a lightly floured surface until it forms into a soft dough ball.  Coat a large bowl with olive oil, and then coat the dough ball with olive oil as well.  Cover and set in a warm place for the first rise.  Let it rise for about 1 1/4 hours.

Line a baking sheet with corn meal.  Start gently pressing and working the dough with your finger tips so it fits into the baking sheet.  If the dough does not want to spread right away, let it rest for about 10 minutes, then continue.

 

Cover and let rise again for about 1 more hour.

Preheat the oven to 400* F or about 200* C.

After the second rise, dimple the dough with your finger tips.  Then spread pesto evenly over the dough.  I made my own pesto, but store bought pesto is just fine too. After the pesto is spread evenly over the dough, add sliced tomatoes.  I used a variety of tomatoes, including Romas, grape tomatoes, sun tomatoes and komatoes.  Any kind of tomatoes will work.  I like making it with a variety of different tomatoes.  It really enhances the flavors and makes it very colorful, almost like a piece of art.

Top the focaccia with shredded Parmagiano cheese.

Place the focaccia in the center of the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the dough is done.  Let cool for about 5-10 minutes before cutting.  This focaccia can be enjoyed with just about any meal, or just by itself, at any time of day.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

The goslings are already growing up.  They are becoming a lot more independent and are venturing further and further away from Mom and Dad.  But they are still absolutely adorable.  The goslings have Mom and Dad on the run, going in all different directions at once.

The goslings are curious about their surroundings.  They are checking everything out.

We’re bored now.  We’re off to explore.

One last look before heading out.

Since I have been doing my Nature Walks series, I have been thinking it might be fun to publish a little book about “Life Around The Lakes“, but I have no idea how to do this.  But I am curious – 1) Is there any interest in this?  2) How much is this going to cost?  3)  Are my shots worthy to be published?  Larry says “they are good shots, but not great shots”.  I don’t know.  I am just having fun with it and capturing things the way I see them.  I am DEFINITELY NOT a pro, by any means of the imagination.  A couple of you have offered some suggestions.  Thank you.  IF I decide to do this, which is a big IF, I would donate the proceeds, assuming there were any, to a charity, preferably a charity that supports nature and the animals.  I have a lot of questions, and am in the very beginning stages of even thinking about this.  What are your thoughts an/or advice?

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

 

Greece has always been on my bucket list, but so far, I have yet to go.  And, with the way things are currently, I am not going anytime soon either, especially with all the lockdowns.  But, I can go to Greece by using my creativity and my imagination, even if only for a day.

We have been doing a lot of puzzles during out confinement, and the last puzzle we did was a picture of Greece.  I am still holding out hope that one day, I will actually be here in person – diving it of course.  But for now, all I can do is a virtual trip.

We bought a box of puzzles that have 10 cityscapes, and this was one of them.  So I thought it would be kind of fun to plan a Greek meal to coincide with our virtual trip to Greece.  I am going to try to plan a meal that matches each city once we finish the corresponding puzzle.

For my Greek dinner, I started off by using the rest of my leftover lemon-basil vinaigrette to make some chicken kebabs.  Building a Salad  I added some mayonnaise to make a marinade for the chicken.  Then I cubed the chicken and let it marinate for about 3-4 hours before putting them on a skewer to grill.

I couldn’t just have chicken though, so I found an interesting recipe for a cool, Spring Greek/Mediterranean sidedish to go with the chicken.  It is a very traditional dish found all throughout the Mediterranean, with slight variations depending on where you are eating it.  The recipe called for fava beans, although I did not have fava beans so I substituted canned butter beans instead, artichoke hearts, onions and garlic.  The combination of fava beans and artichoke hearts is found in almost every Mediterranean country.  In Sicily, they add green peas as well.  I made mine Sicilian style.

Mediterranean Salad with Artichoke Hearts, Butter Beans and Peas

1/2 onion, diced fine

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

1 can butter beans, drained

1-1 1/2 cups frozen peas

1 TBSP garlic

2 tsp dried mint – or 2 TBSP fresh mint

2 tsp dried dill – or 2 TBSP fresh dill

salt & pepper to taste

2 tsp sugar

2 TBSP lemon juice

olive oil

4 TBSP water

 

Saute the peas, onion and garlic in the olive oil for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.

Add the remaining ingredients and combine well.  Bring to a boil, then cover, and reduce the heat to a simmer, and continue to cook for 10 minutes.

It’s now ready to serve.  It is best when served either hot or at room temperature.

The whole meal was grilled chicken kebabs topped with the remaining sauce/marinade, Mediterranean vegetable medley and pesto-tomato focaccia, (coming soon) served with a chilled citrusy white blend.  So even though I was at home, in my heart and certainly my dinner menu, were in the Greek Isles.

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

 

 

 

 

 

Every day, I am just in awe with all the beautiful wildlife that is literally in my backyard.  I never get tired of it.  Every day is different and you never know what you are going to see, or if you are going to see anything at all.  But I always have my camera with me, ready to capture whatever comes into view, just in case.  It would be a shame to miss it.

Don’t worry, there is still more cuteness with the ducklings and the goslings yet to come, but I thought I would share the elegance and beauty of the Snowy Egrets today instead.  They are just pure beauty and grace.

The egrets love hanging out in the reeds.

 

It is so hard for me to get good shots of the egrets in flight.  I am still working on it though.

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

 

 

 

Once again it is salad weather.  In warmer weather, I put away all the heavier, heartier meals, and opt for the lighter meals instead.  We eat a lot of salads in the spring and summer.  And my salads are always loaded with plenty of fresh vegetables and plenty of fresh flavors.

It is also that time of year where my backyard is getting invaded by all the fresh lemon verbena that grows abundantly.  Every year, I find more and more all throughout my yard.  This year, I am even noticing some in the front yard too.  There is absolutely NO way I can ever get through it all, but every year, I try my best to use as much of it as I can.  I just love using it.  I made a lemon-basil vinaigrette to go with our salads, using my lemon verbena for the first time this season.

This is just the beginning of the lemon verbena invasion.  I never complain though.  I love the fresh lemony fragrance and the fresh lemony taste it adds to everything.

When I make salads, I make SALADS!  I always think I am going to make them smaller than I do, and by the time I finish adding little bits of this and little bits of that, my salads end up huge.  One time, one of Larry’s brothers came over for lunch, and we had salads out on the deck.  He made the mistake of thinking it was going to be a small salad and that we were going to be eating light.  Silly Randy.  He quickly learned that was not to be the case.  But, he ate it all anyway.

There is no right or wrong way to make a salad.  Often times I make them with leftover meats.  Sometimes it’s steak, sometimes chicken or shrimp or pork.  But I always use a ton of fresh vegetables.  This time I used some of our leftover steak.  I also added the rest of my shredded carrot slaw, No Fiesta for Cinco de Mayo This year fresh green beans, mushrooms, red and green onions, a large yellow heirloom tomato, cheese (for Larry), avocado and toasted pepitas (for me).  I topped it all with my lemon-basil vinaigrette.

Lemon-Basil Vinaigrette

about 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, stems removed

about 1/3 cup fresh lemon verbena, stems removed, optional

1 TBSP garlic

1-2 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1 TBSP honey

 

Mix everything together, either by hand or in a food processor, until it is all blended together.  If mixing by hand, chop the basil and lemon verbena fine first.

You can use this as either a dressing for salads, or as a marinade for meats.  This time I used it as my dressing for my salads.  I have some left over that I am going to use as a marinade for something different.  Stay tuned.  …….

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

 

 

I saw so much cuteness and so many cool things on today’s walk, but as usual I don’t want to over load you.  So I am only going to focus on the ducklings this time.

Mom and the gang out for a swim.  The ducklings were out swimming a couple of days ago.

Today, they were resting with mom.  It’s tough being that cute.

 

There are always a couple though, who are going to do their own thing, no matter what.  Long live the rebels!

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

 

I was back in the kitchen again.  We had tamales with salsa del norte, that I added corn, chorizo and peppers to as well.  I bought a new kind of chorizo, that I will NOT be buying again, but needed to use.  It is not the normal kind of chorizo that I buy, but it still needed to be used, and it definitely needed to be doctored up as well.  So I turned it into a sauce to top my tamales with.  No, I did not make these tamales, but I certainly can, and do quite often.  For me to make tamales though, since they are labor intensive, I need to be making them for more than just Larry and I.  If it is just the two of us eating them, it is far easier to buy them, and there are so many people who make fabulous tamales all around.

The Spanish call any kind of sauce “salsa”.  However, salsa to the Americans is known as the condiment made from fresh ingredients and is served cold, where as a “chile sauce” is usually cooked and is integral to the dish itself.  To the Spanish, this cold salsa is known as “salsa cruda” or “salsa fresca”.  This salsa del norte is a cooked sauce and is  a traditional sauce that gets its roots from the American Southwest, which is a blending of the traditional Mexican or south of the border, and from the wild west, which is north of the border, or del norte.  Often times, Southwestern foods are roasted or broiled, which gives them a rich, smoky taste.

Salsa del Norte con Maize y Chorizo

2 large tomatoes, roasted with skins on

1/4 cup cilantro

2-3 chipotle peppers with sauce

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 TBSP apple cider vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1 cup corn

1/2 green pepper, diced fine

1/2 red onion, diced fine

1 1/2 TBSP garlic

1 lb ground chorizo

olive oil for cooking

 

Preheat the oven to 375* F or about 190* C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Roast the tomatoes, with their skins on, for about 18 minutes.  You can use any kind of tomatoes you like.  I used a couple of large heirlooms for this.  I just love heirlooms.  Their flavor is just the best.

After the tomatoes are roasted, cut them into smaller pieces and add to a food processor along with the garlic, cilantro, vinegar, sugar and salt and blend everything together until it forms a liquid.

While the tomatoes are roasting, combine the peppers, corn and onions and saute in olive oil for about 5 minutes, or until the peppers and onions are soft and tender.

Then add the chorizo and combine well.  Continue cooking until the chorizo is completely cooked.

Add the tomato mixture.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and continue to cook for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

The salsa del norte is now ready to use.  You can use it to top just about anything.  I topped my tamales with it and served them over arroz verde.  Esta muy delicioso!

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

 

 

 

 

Today’s post is going to be a different post yet again.  This is a long post, but bear with me.   I think you will like it none-the-less.  I will be back in the kitchen today, I promise.  And hopefully we will be out walking again today too, weather permitting.

I was in the kitchen, but only for a bit.  All I made in the kitchen was Lucie and Vinnie’s food.  I make their wet food about once a week.  They are well fed and well loved pups.  They too love it when mommy is in the kitchen, because they know she makes them yummy food.  Larry and I had leftovers, and we each ate something different at that.  We were not out walking for two reasons.  One, the weather was cold and rainy, but two, I was busy taking an online class – more on that in just a bit.  But have no fear, I have plenty more pictures from our walk-abouts.

As much as I love cooking, I love the water even more.  The sea is my true calling and always has been.  I get that from my dad.  You all know scuba diving is my number one passion.  But I have been “dry” since COVID-19 has taken control of the world.  We have cancelled two dive trips because of COVID; one to la Paz, Mexico and the other to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), in Australia.  Even though I am dry, and have not been in the water for far too long, I can still do scuba related classes, and that I did.

One of my scuba goals is to become a master diver, and I am well on my way.  In fact, I am not far from that goal.  I have always loved and connected with both dolphins and whales, but it was not until I started diving that I also learned how much I love and respect the sharks too.  At first, like many people, I had a fear of sharks, but it didn’t take long before I realized how much I actually love them and am very connected to them as well.

My first shark dive was also my first night dive.  That happened when I was still just a beginner diver.  I was more than a little freaked out by both.  We were diving at the GBR and it was my first night dive.  Night dives are very cool.  You see a completely different world than you do when diving in the same spot during the day, but you can only see what your flashlight or torch illuminates.  I was looking in one direction with my flashlight and I felt something poking me on the other side.  Fortunately, I did not react or make any sudden moves or I might not have an arm at this point.  I thought I had bumped into a reef or something.  I turned to see what it was, and to my surprise, it was a white tip reef shark introducing himself, in a not so subtle way.  Fortunately, when I turned, I blinded him for an instant with my flashlight.   We were both stunned and shocked, to say the very least.  I was also told if you see a shark, don’t move.  They like the hunt and the chase, so let them move first.  Believe me, I followed that advice and let the shark make his move first.  He went one way, and I went the other way.  It was much later than I found out that he was actually tasting me.  It was a very good thing that I did not taste good to him, and I still have my left arm.  White tips are not aggressive sharks though, good thing.  The only time they are aggressive is when they are feeding, but we are not a food source for them, so if we leave them alone, they will leave us alone.  This is true of most wild animals and sharks.  The only times they attack are: 1) when they feel threatened or afraid; 2) when you are in their territory and they are defending it; 3) they are protecting their young, or 4) when they are acting out of natural instinct and looking for food.  Most people would have been totally freaked out over this, and many would have stopped diving right then and there.  Not me.  In fact, I did the opposite.  Now, I LOVE the sharks, and I want to learn as much about them as I can to protect them.  I look back today, and this seems like an eternity ago.  Maybe, because it was.

And this brings me back to the present.  I was not cooking or walking because I was busy online getting certified in Shark Ecology.  We dive all over the world, and I see sharks all the time.  They come right up to me “looking for love”.  Maybe it is because they know I am not afraid of them, but they will come and single me out, coming face to face with me, while leaving all the other divers alone.  It was while diving in Belize a few years ago, that I became known as the Shark Whisperer because of this.

Sharks, skates and rays are all part of the same family, although skates and rays are known as Batoids, because of their flat, batlike shape.

This is a male Southern sting ray.

 

Larry and I being trained to handle sting rays.  This is a female Southern sting ray at Sting Ray City in Grand Cayman.  The females tend to be much larger than the males.  We are very conscientious divers, and normally DO NOT touch anything, but these rays are very used to people and we were with trained specialists who were teaching us how to properly handle the rays.

This is one of my favorite shots.  It was pure luck.  I was able to get the Southern sting ray just as she was leaving her sandy area, swimming off into the blue unknown.  This was in Belize.

A beautiful eagle ray in Cozumel.

And now the sharks ….

This is KC, a very friendly young nurse shark who loves attention.  She could stay there being petted all day long.  I am the one with no bling and natural nails at the bottom of the picture.  As we were ascending to get back on the boat, she was not done getting her love, and she started swimming up right along side of me.  This was in Grand Cayman too.  KC is one of the resident nurse sharks who is like a pet.  Again, normally we NEVER touch any of the wild life unless the guides tell us it is OK and they are there with us.

The reefs of Belize are loaded with sharks.  They are mostly nurse sharks and black and white reef tips.  None of these are aggressive.  We swim with them all the time.

I got a picture of Larry taking a picture of these two juvenile nurse sharks.

A quiet moment between me and one of my followers.

This was in Roatan.  There were 16 black tip sharks all around us.  Larry did not do this dive, but then I dive a lot more than he does anyway.  He says he “is quite happy to be an underwater tourist”, whereas I am most definitely the “Aquaholic” and “Dive-a-holic”.

The Shark Whisperer in her element.

This is what I do when I am not in the kitchen.  🙂  But since I am now certified in shark ecology, I just had to share my other love with you all.  I promise I will be back in the kitchen today, cooking up something yummy once again.

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