A Jeanne in the Kitchen

We still have an abundance of colorful summer flowers all around. I thought I would share with you while I still can. Enjoy.

I hope you are enjoying your summer and staying out of the heat and staying cool.

Other than delicious, I don’t really know what to call this simple dish. It would have made my Aunt Gloria very proud though. It would have been a dish she would have created, using what she had and just throwing it all together. And that’s exactly what I did too. This is how I learned to cook, and I often go back to this deliciously fun way of cooking.

I had some leftover Costco chicken I wanted to use and I felt like pasta. I always love throwing in as many vegetables into a dish as I can too. So I just tossed everything in and this is what I came up with. 🙂

1 lb of cooked chicken, cut into strips

6-7 tomatoes diced – I used both vine ripened and Campari tomatoes

4-5 mushrooms, sliced

1 cup frozen corn

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into thin matchsticks

1/2 orange bell pepper, sliced into thin matchsticks

1/4 onion, sliced thin

1 TBSP garlic

1 cup green beans, tips removed and cut into pieces about 1 inch long

salt & pepper to taste

1-2 tsp each dried oregano, basil, thyme and Herbs de Provence

1 tsp red pepper flakes or to taste

1 cup dry white wine

olive oil for cooking

penne pasta

The hardier vegetables were cooked first in a hot skillet with olive oil. Cook them for about 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until softened a bit.

Add the tomatoes and spices and mix everything together well.

Add the wine and bring everything to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the chicken slices.

Cook at a low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently until the vegetables are tender, but still a little al dente. Serve over cooked penne pasta and top with Parmigiano cheese if you like. I served some of my famous garlic, herb cheese bread on the side, with a cool, crisp Italian white wine to complete the meal. I went with a white wine instead of a red because the sauce is a light sauce with chicken. If I was serving it with a heavier red sauce, I would have served it with a medium-full bodied red wine.

In no time at all, I had a quick, easy-peasy, healthy and delicious meal. It was loaded with all kinds of fresh vegetables and goodness. You can easily substitute shrimp or add the shrimp with the chicken. Or if you like, you can have it with just the vegetables. Either way, I promise you’re going to love this one. !Mangia!

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay cool, stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

European Starlings are not native to Colorado, but like so many other transplants, myself included, they love it here. You can see them pretty much all year round, but they really come out in droves in the cooler weather offered by the fall and winter. Again, just like me. 🙂 They are beautiful birds, and when the sunlight hits them just right, you can see all their beautiful colors.

You all know how I like to shake things up. You just never know what to expect with me, and that’s exactly how I like it too. 🙂 This time, I am giving you more famous food quotes. These are a good way to start off the week, right?! Enjoy! 🙂

Food is our common ground, a universal experience.

~James Beard~ American chef, cookbook author, teacher, and television personality. He’s known for popularizing simple American and English dishes and was a pioneer of television cooking shows. He’s also the namesake of the James Beard Foundation, which honors culinary professionals through awards and other programs.

Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.

~Ernestine Ulmer~ American author from the 1800s well known not for her literature work but her stance on desserts.

Food brings people together on many different levels. It’s nourishment of the soul and body; it’s truly love.

~Gina de Laurentiis~ Television personality and chef Giada De Laurentiis

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.

~Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin~ In 1825, the French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin published this now celebrated quote in his masterpiece book Physiology of Taste.

~Charles Schultz~ American cartoonist Charles Schulz , creator of the Peanuts comic strip series

First we eat, then we do everything else.

~M.F.K. Fisher~ American Food Writer

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Remember all the babies we had early in the season? The baby goslings and ducklings? They were so little and so cute.

The ducklings.

The goslings.

Well, those cute little babies have all grown up now. Right now, they are all still together as families, but soon, they will be out, making families of their own. This is what they look like now. Same babies, just all grown up.

How quickly times flies. One minute they are cute little babies, and then blink your eyes, and they are all grown up.

Yesterday, Kingman Winery had their grand opening celebration for their new, permanent location. They used to be located in Denver, but decided to move “out west” a bit to Brighton. The new location has land for them to grow and land to grow some vines in the future as well.

I had been to the old location of Kingman Winery in Denver, but that was years ago, though I was still on their email list. That’s how I found out about their new location and their grand opening celebration.

Kingman Winery offers a very nice selection of award winning Colorado wines, all grown and produced from Colorado grapes from the Western Slope and the Palisade area. The winery started with a dream and 10 acres and a barn in the Grand Valley of the Colorado River, near Palisade. [But it ] really started with a dream and a strong desire to create Colorado Wines that are equal to, or better, than wines from other great wine producing regions throughout the world. [Kingman Winery is] proud to be among the wineries in Colorado that serve authentic, handcrafted wines made right here in [their] facility.

The proud owners and vintners, Doug and Karen Kingman.

We arrived around 3:00 PM, before the crowd got there, though it was already hopping by that time. We got to sample 3 of their delicious wines for free as part of the welcome to the party celebration.

Mike and Lauren are lining up to get their samples.

Once we sampled, we made our selections for our glasses, then went outside to enjoy the band, West Hwy 7, a country band that played classics by Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, and many more. They were great. A lot of people were dancing as they were belting out the tunes.

Mike and Lauren were up showing off their dancing skills too. I danced a little with a stranger, but we both decided it was too hot to really be cutting the rug.

By the time we left, Kingman was full of people who were there to help celebrate the day. It was a very good turn out indeed. There was lots of laughter and good cheer flowing freely all throughout.

The new home of Kingman Winery actually has two wineries housed under the same roof. It is also the new home of Turquoise Mesa Winery, formerly located in Broomfield, that I also went to frequently. I kind of of got a sense of what things were like when the California wineries were just getting started, where all the vintners stood by each other and helped each out, with the understanding that if one succeeds, they all succeed.

Winemaker Tom Bueb started making wine as an amateur with two other families. During the past twelve years as a bonded winery [they] still rely on good friends from the community and their support to develop a following for [their] wines. [They] are so grateful for all of them, and [they] look forward to meeting new friends and customers.

Ancient people considered turquoise to be a sacred stone with the power to help one find good and loyal friends. [Turquoise Mesa has] found excellent friends through [their] love of wine, and [they] hope [their] wines will be shared at your table in good fortune among such friends.

It was definitely a fun celebration. Brighton isn’t too far from us, and Kingman Winery/Turquoise Mesa are easy for us to get to. It’s always fun to try new wines and new wineries, and if they are close to home, well, that’s even better. It’s a win/win all the way around. 🙂

Owner/Vintner Doug Kingman and me.

Good seats were hard to find, so we shared our table with another foursome. They bought a bottle of Cab Sauv that they were kind enough to let me photograph. Cheers!

Kingman Winery/Turquoise Mesa Winery are both located at 7865 County Road 2, in Brighton, CO. They are open only on the weekends right now, Sat/Sun from 12-5 PM, with hopes of opening up more in the very near future. You can call ahead or go to their websites, or better yet, just visit in person.

Kingman Winery – (720) 560-7270 https://kingmanwine.com/

Turquoise Mesa Winery – (303) 653-3822 turquoisemesawinery@gmail.com

When visiting one winery, you actually get the chance to visit two. Lucky you!

Cheers! You will always have a good time when celebrating with good wine and good friends. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Barn Swallows fly all over the place here. They are such beautiful little birds, with their deep blue and rust colors. Barn Swallows are just one of our many different species of swallows that call Colorado home. They certainly like my area too. I see them all the time, from April through the end of September or October, but I never getting tired of seeing them fly around.

I think the key to happiness is to find a way to turn the ordinary into something EXTRA ordinary everyday. Have a great day and make everyday great. 🙂

Once again, another shout out to The Ohio Cook at My Meals Are on Wheels at https://beatcancer2010.wordpress.com/ for this delicious inspiration. I love zucchini and potatoes, but never would have thought of putting them together in a muffin before. What a great idea. 🙂

I served this as a side dish for dinner, but they would be great anytime, breakfast, lunch or dinner, or just as a snack on their own.

Zucchini Potato Parmigiano Crisps

I followed the recipe almost exactly, but mine did not crisp up the way they looked on the original recipe. I used a shallot instead of onions. I think that was the only change I made. They still tasted great though. I just need to work on them some more. No matter how good you are, or how much experience you have, there is always room for improvement. 🙂

1 zucchini, grated

1 medium potato, grated

1 cup Parmigiano shredded cheese

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup green onions,sliced

1/2 tsp garlic

1 shallot, minced

salt & pepper to taste

1/4 tsp paprika

Preheat the oven to 375* F or 191*C.

Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray.

Shred both the potato and zucchini with either a food processor or a cheese grater and push through cheesecloth to get all the excess liquid out.

Combine all the ingredients together and mix together just until everything is blended. Do not over mix.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup 3/4 full. Then pat down with the back of a spoon.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. They are similar to baked latkes. If you like, you can even top them with a dollop of either sour cream or yogurt too.

I think the next time I make them, and there will definitely be a next time, I am going to slice the potatoes into thin slices rather than shredding them. Let’s see if that makes a difference in the crispiness.

I served them as a side dish, with chicken wild rice and green beans, but you can enjoy them however you like, with whatever you like. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

It was a hawky kind of day. No, not hockey, but hawky. I tried a new trail today. Again, it was very close to our house, but a new trail that offered lots of new findings. I found out it that it actually is a new trail too, and has only been around, in its current state, for about 6 months or so and is still being constructed. It was a beautiful trail with lots of nature to explore.

I love my hawks, and I saw so many hawks along this trail. Again, I saw a couple different kinds too.

I saw this Red-tailed hawk fly in and land on someone’s roof. He let me get some good shots before moving on.

As I continued down my trail, there were many more hawks that came my way as well.

This is just one very lucky shot. I have never had a shot like this before.

This is a Ferruginous Hawk. He was perched up high on the wires.

He can almost turn his head completely around in a circle. He was definitely on the lookout and on the hunt.

Seeing these hawks alone definitely made my day, but I wasn’t done yet. No, no. Far from it. On my loop back, I saw another hawk in the tree.

And one quickly became two.

Besides all my beautiful hawks, hawks are some of my absolute favorite birds, I also saw another type of “bird” in flight. I took a picture of a drone, probably taking pictures of my taking pictures if it. It was a little freaky, especially since he was so close, and whizzed passed my head way too many times.

It was definitely an interesting walk, on many levels. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. You just never know what you’ll see. Take it all in. 🙂

Typical side dishes for Mexican and Southwestern cuisines are rice, beans and corn. These are served with everything and have been for generations. But things are changing, and now, due to better irrigation methods and farming methods, more and more varieties of vegetables are abundantly available.

Sweet potatoes are another favorite used in Southwestern and Latino cooking. They are one of the oldest cultivated crops, grown as early as 2500-1850 BCE in South and Central America. Sweet potatoes are nutritious, high in fiber, very filling, and delicious. They can be eaten boiled, baked, steamed, or fried. Sweet potatoes are usually orange but also found in other colors, such as white, red, pink, violet, yellow, and purple. In some parts of North America, sweet potatoes are called yams (though they are very similar, they are different too). Just one sweet potato gives you 102% of the vitamin A you need each day.

When I made my pork loin with mole sauce, Lomo de Cerda Con Mole I served it over shredded pan fried sweet potatoes, with a lime, tequila and brown sugar sauce. YUMMY!

Sweet Potatoes with Tequila & Lime

This is a deliciously simple dish to prepare, but is different and unique. It will definitely make your guests take notice and say “WOW!”

2 lbs shredded sweet potatoes

3/4 cup butter

2 TBSP brown sugar

2 TBSP tequila

1 TBSP lime juice

salt & pepper to taste

fresh chopped cilantro or parsley as a topping

Peel and shred the sweet potatoes. Add to a hot skillet with the butter, brown sugar and salt & pepper.

Cook for about 15 minutes to let the sweet potatoes caramelize and get slightly translucent, stirring frequently.

Add the tequila and lime juice and continue to cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently once again. Top with the chopped cilantro or parsley right at the end, right before serving.

Serve with your favorite Mexican or Southwestern foods, or just enjoy it on its own. Either way, it will make you realize side dishes today don’t take second place on your plate anymore. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.