A Jeanne in the Kitchen

Summer time = picnics and summer concerts in the park. We are certainly making the most of both. It was time for another concert in the park, but before the concert, we packed another picnic, that was really more like a feast. Picnic are supposed to be simple, but not ours. 🙂 Lauren brought a lot of food and so did I. Of course we had way too much food. But, we had a wide variety of tasty things and had our pick of whatever we wanted to eat.

One of the dishes I brought was a colorful Caribbean Cole Slaw Caribbean Cole Slaw. I’ve made it before, many times, but it’s been a while. It was long over due, and I had both the green and the purple cabbage, so it was definitely time to make it again.

Colorful Caribbean Cole Slaw

This colorful cole slaw has just about everything Caribbean you can think of. It’s loaded with all kinds of color and texture and taste.

First, I candied the cashews with a little butter, brown sugar and jerk sauce.

1 1/4 cups cashews

2 tsp jerk sauce

salt to taste

1 TBSP butter

3 TBSP brown sugar

Throw everything together and either roast in the oven or in a skillet on top of the stove for a few minutes, or until the cashews are golden brown. Then spread out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to let harden for a few minutes, while preparing the rest of the salad.

The Dressing

1/4 cup coconut milk

1 TBSP liquid lemongrass

2 TBSP hot honey

2 TBSP honey ginger vinegar, optional

1 TBSP brown sugar

2 TBSP sesame oil

1 tsp soy sauce

salt & pepper to taste

6 TBSP lime juice

Mix everything together and set aside.

The Cole Slaw

1/2 head red cabbage, shedded

1/2 head green cabbage, shredded

1-2 jalapenos, diced fine

1/2 red and yellow bell pepper, cut into thin matchsticks

1 carrot, shredded

1 cup fresh pineapple, diced

1/2 red onion, sliced very thin

1/3 cup cup green onions, sliced Asian style or at an angle

1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

1/3 cup toasted coconut

Add the candied cashews and toss everything together. Add the sauce and toss again to thoroughly coat all the vegetables and cashews.

Cover and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use. No matter where you take this delicious and colorful dish, you will be taking a little bit of the Caribbean with you. Enjoy! It is a different kind of a cole slaw, with a very definitive Caribbean flair to it.

The band was great, and had a large horn section. They played a wide variety of great tunes. The bongo player was another friend of Mike and Lauren’s. Once again, we were rockin’ out and singing to all the songs. It was yet another fun and delicious picnic in the park. That’s what summer is for, right?! 🙂

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

We have Magpies all over the place here. When you look at them, they are quite beautiful birds, with their distinct black and white colorings and various shades of greens and blue mixed in. Because I see them so often, I don’t take too many pictures of them, but they are beautiful and deserve some recognition too.

There is beauty all around, even in the everyday things we sometimes take for granted. Sometimes all we need to do is to take another look at things we see everyday. We will be amazed at what we actually might see.

Ground beef was the next in line for our weekly meat rotation. I didn’t want to make hamburgers, since we just had hamburgers not that long ago. I didn’t want to make anything that required any baking or having the oven on because it has been so HOT. So I came up the idea to turn it into a beef bowl instead.

Korean Ground Beef Bowl with Vegetables

This meal is delicious and doesn’t take much time at all to make. You can make it with either ground beef or steak cut into thin strips.

1-1 1/2 lbs ground beef or steak

1 TBSP garlic

1 TBSP ginger

2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/2 red and/or orange bell peppers, cut into thin matchsticks

1/4 lb green beans, ends removed

green onions, sliced Asian style or at an angle

toasted sesame seeds for topping

crunchy garlic crisps, optional for topping

Combine the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar and red pepper flakes together and set aside.

I par -boiled my green beans first to make them more tender. Cut them into pieces about 1/2-1 inch long. Then set them aside.

Start browning the meat in a hot skillet or wok with the sesame oil. After a couple of minutes, add the vegetables and continue to cook for an additional 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently, or until they vegetables are tender and the meat is completely cooked.

Add the soy sauce mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add some of the green onions and mix in right before serving.

Serve over either cooked brown rice or like I did, arroz verde, rice with green onions, cilantro and jalapenos, and top with more green onions, toasted sesame seeds and a touch of crispy garlic if you like. I added some potstickers on the side with a light-medium bodied red wine to complete the meal.

This quick and easy-peasy meal will definitely please your hungry crowd, and it is something a little different too.

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

Because we are a very dry climate, and at a very high altitude, we do not have an abundance of butterflies in the wild here. But lucky for us, we have a beautiful place called The Butterfly Pavilion close by that is a learning center for all butterflies, bugs, insects and various other invertebrates.

At first, I was only going to walk around the gardens, but then after doing that, I decided to go inside as well. The Butterfly Pavilion is very close to us and I have been there many times, but it always a fun place to check out. I discovered yesterday, that the gardens also back right into the Westminster City Park trails too. Nature Walks – The Trails of Westminster City Park

The gardens.

This is the back of the Butterfly Pavilion leading to the trails of Westminster City Park .

More bee hives.

And the stars themselves – the Butterflies.

The butterflies and all their friends are inside the Pavilion, and the butterflies are kept in a very hot, humid, tropical enclosure.

The butterflies were very active and were flitting all over the place, but many posed for some great pictures too. You have to be very careful where you walk because the butterflies are everywhere.

These are the butterfly larvae, waiting to hatch or break free from their cocoons.

We do have some of our own natural butterflies and moths, but we mostly have Monarchs and these big yellow ones. I have seen these big yellow ones flying all around my backyard for weeks now. My mother loved butterflies, so I always say she is flying around and coming to visit me whenever I see them.

Color your world beautiful and have a great day. 🙂

We were watching Erik and Shannon’s kitties for them while they were on a little mini vacation. As a thank you, they brought us some smoked salmon from Seattle. So of course I had to use it in some delicious way.

Erik says he likes to eat this salmon as lox, with bagels and cream cheese. It was another HOT, HOT, HOT day, so a salad was on the menu. I used the smoked salmon for a salad that I will call a lox salad, though because the salmon is smoked, it is not a true lox.

Lox is a type of cured salmon, traditionally made by dry-curing salmon belly with salt. It is not smoked, though it’s often confused with smoked salmon. The term “lox” comes from the Yiddish word for salmon, “laks”. It’s typically thinly sliced and served on bagels with cream cheese, onions, and capers. Brining salmon is a Scandanavian tradition, but it was also popular among Eastern European Jews. Some of these people immigrated to the U.S. and brought their affinity for brined, cured, and smoked fish with them.

Lox Salad

I used this “lox” in a salad, and used feta cheese instead of cream cheese.

1 smoked salmon filet, shredded

1 head of Romaine lettuce, shredded

1/4 red onion, sliced very thin

1/2 cucumber, peeled and seeded, sliced

1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in 1/2

1 cup cooked asparagus, cut into pieces about 1/2 inch long

1 TBSP capers

3 oz feta cheese crumbles

lemon vinaigrette Spinach Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

1/4 cup sliced green onions

hard boiled egg slices for topping

Assemble all the components together and enjoy. This salad is quick, easy-peasy and delicious. You can make the salad ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator. Add the dressing right before serving. I served some rosemary focaccia on the side along with a chilled white wine. it was perfect for a hot summer day.

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

Open spaces are big here in Colorado. We have them everywhere. They are like parks, but have lots of connecting trails for walkers, runners, and bicyclists and are always connected with nature. My favorite one is literally right behind my house, adjacent to my back yard, and that is our lakes. But I like to vary them too, and try different places. The Westminster City Park has some very nice trails as well. There is abundant wildlife, both in flora and fauna all around. You are right in the city, but you would never know. These open spaces allow you to connect with nature and offer a little escape from the reality that is just a heart beat away.

Can you believe this is right in the middle of our city?

The bridges are colorfully decorated too, depicting life in our area, and Nature’s beautiful gifts right here in our own backyard.

Often times, the open spaces lead into different trails and pathways too. Yesterday, I took a trail that had old fashioned farm equipment scattered throughout the trails.

We even have have nesting areas for our own honey bees nestled into the park.

You just never know what you will find, even in your backyard. You just have to open to new experiences and open your eyes and your heart to new experiences. They are all around.

Corn is one of those vegetables that is good anytime of year. You can eat it cold or hot and it will always be good. When I made my Mole Poblano Mole Poblano Chicken With Corn Salsa I also made some corn salsa to go with it. It was a perfect combination.

Corn salsa is a relatively new culinary creation, but it was inspired from its ancient Mesoamerican roots and traditions. Its roots lie in the domestication of corn by the Aztecs and other indigenous peoples, who used it in various dishes, including sauces. The concept of salsa, a flavorful sauce made with chilies, tomatoes, and other ingredients, also originates from this period. While corn salsa as we know it is a more recent development, it builds upon these historical foundations. Corn (maize) was a staple crop, and the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas cultivated it extensively. These ancient civilizations also developed early forms of salsa, using ingredients like tomatoes, chilies, and squash seeds. These were used to enhance the flavor of meats and other dishes. The Spanish conquistadors encountered these salsas after their arrival in Mexico, and the term “salsa” (meaning “sauce” in Spanish) was eventually applied to these flavorful concoctions. Today, there are no limits to making salsas. Use your imagination and see what happens. 🙂

Corn Salsa

One of my favorite summer salads is a simple corn and tomato salad. I make it all the time, though, this new corn salsa may take it’s place as one of my favorites. 🙂 This corn salsa is very similar to my corn and tomato salad, with only a few minor changes.

3 cups corn, thawed if using frozed

1/4 red onion, diced fine

1 jalapeno, diced fine

12 oz cherry tomatoes, quartered

2 tsp garlic

3 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP lime juice

salt to taste

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Mix everything together well and chill until ready to use. It goes well with anything you want to serve it next to.

This cool, refreshing, colorful salad or salsa is perfect for a hot summer’s day. It will definitely help you beat the heat. 🙂

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

Again, it is supposed to be HOT, HOT, HOT, so I took my walk early in the morning. I changed it up and walked the trails in Westminster City Park. Yesterday, I saw lots of Herons Nature Walks – Early Morning Herons. Today, I saw lots of bunnies hopping all around. Some of them thought if they hid themselves in the grass or bushes I wouldn’t see them. 🙂

One tried to just lie down as low as possible, hoping I wouldn’t see him or her.

Others were posing out in the open for me.

It was a bunny kind of day. 🙂

Mole sauce is a cornerstone of Mexican cuisine. It boasts of a rich history with roots in pre-Columbian civilizations. The word “mole” itself comes from the Nahuatl word “molli,” meaning sauce or concoction. It literally means “a bunch of ingredients ground up. It is simply a mixture of ingredients that typically include some combination of chilies, spices or herbs, tomatoes or tomatillos, sometimes, seeds or nuts. If the mixture is made mostly of nuts or seeds, it is called a pipiane”. (p. 150 Truly Mexican by Roberto Santibanez). There are so many different varieties of moles. They can be red or green or dark brown or even black, thick or thin and brothy. The ingredients in moles “combine in such a way that they give up their individual identities and create one entirely new flavor”. (p. 151 Truly Mexican). Mole’s story begins with the indigenous peoples of Mexico, including the Aztecs and Maya, who crafted intricate sauces using ingredients like chili peppers, chocolate, and spices together.

The most popular type of mole sauce, at least in the United States, is the thick, dark, velvety chocolate brown mole, or Mole Poblano. It is most often served with chicken or pork. Moles are always served with other things, from vegetables to meats to grains. A couple of years ago, I made an apple mole sauce, Pollo con Mole de Manzana con Pasilla and gave some to an acquaintance of mine who is Mexican. She had no idea that there was any other kind of mole sauce other than Mole Poblano. We can all learn and try new things. 🙂

In the early years, peppers, seeds, nuts and chocolate were the main ingredients to moles. But when the Spanish came, they added other ingredients like almonds, cinnamon and sugar to the mix. This cultural exchange led to the development of the diverse mole varieties found today, with each region and family often having its own unique recipe. Today, mole is considered to be one of Mexico’s national dishes.

Yesterday, when I did my deep dive into chocolate Chocolate Lovers Unite, I told you something chocolate would be on the dinner menu. And sure enough it was. I made Mole Poblano chicken, that I served over arroz verde with a corn salsa on top. More on the corn salsa later though.

Mole Poblano Chicken with Corn Salsa

I only had two small chicken breasts, so I coated them in my spicy chocolate rub that we brought back from Belize and pan-fried them instead of a slow cooked them in the sauce. If you are using bone-in chicken pieces, brown them first on all sides, then you can add them to the sauce to cook slowly if you like.

Of course, I had a recipe that I used as a base, but then I personalized it, as I always do. 🙂 Years ago, when still back in California, one of my chefs used to tell me all the time that ” Yo no estes americana. Tu corazón esta mexicano“, or that I was not a gringo. My heart was Mexican. When it comes to food, he may have been right on the money. 🙂

2 lbs chicken

spicy chocolate rub, optional

1/4 red onion, diced fine

2 TBSP olive oil

1 TBSP garlic

1/4 cup peanut, almond or cashew butter – This time I used cashew butter.

1-2 tsp cinnamon

salt & pepper to taste

1 chipotle pepper, with sauce, diced fine

1/4-1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup cocoa powder or Mexican cocoa powder

1/4 tsp cloves

1 TBSP sugar

2 tomatoes, diced fine

1-2 tsp ground achiote peppers

1 can chicken broth

1 TBSP toasted sesame seeds, for topping

Generously coat the chicken with the spicy chocolate rub on both sides. Cook in a hot skillet with olive oil, for about 3 minutes per side, or until the chicken is cooked. Remove from the heat and set aside and keep warm.

Combine all the seasonings, chipotle pepper and garlic together with the cashew butter and chocolate and mix together well.

Cook the onions in the oil for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the chocolate spice mixture and mix together throughly.

Add the chicken broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for an additional 20-30 minutes, stirring often. This is the time to add the chicken pieces, if using.

When everything is cooked down, and the sauce is thick, place it all in a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth.

Once everything is cooked, serve it up. I served it all over a layer of arroz verde topped with a little mole sauce, then more sauce on top of the chicken, and finished with the corn salsa, avocado slices and toasted sesame seeds.

Instead of wine this time, I made an adult version of a cherry lemonade to serve on the side. !Esta mui delicioso! Disfruitar! It was so cool and refreshing.

Have a great day and make everyday great o que tengas un gran dia y haz que casa sea grandioso. Stay cool, stay safe and stay well. Mantén la calma, mantente seguro y mantente bien. ‘Til next time.

I went walk-about early this morning to avoid the heat once again. I saw so many Grey Herons out today. I think I saw about 16 or so. They were definitely the stars of today’s walk.

I was even lucky enough to get some good shots of them in flight too. 🙂

Every day is different. I just never know what to expect. I like it that way too. It keeps me on my toes and keeps me alert, with eyes wide open.

Have a great day and make everyday great.