A Jeanne in the Kitchen

This is the last of Cozumel series for now.  And of course, I saved the best for last.  🙂  We dive all over the world, but mostly in the Caribbean.  Hands down, the diving in Cozumel is the best!  It has everything we look for when diving – beautiful clear blue/turquoise  warm water; a very healthy reef system; lots of marine life, both large and small; beautiful corals; gorgeous swim throughs and topography and oh so much more.  We encounter divers all the time, and everywhere we go, everyone agrees, Cozumel is the best.

Diving with Julio.  Julio, along with his partner Ishi, are the best divemasters in Cozumel.  They know the water like no one else.   They are so passionate about their diving and it comes through with everything they do.  Julio and Ishi are the ONLY divemasters  we dive with while diving in Cozumel.

Cozumel is located in the Northwestern portion of the Caribbean.  It is the same reef system that runs through Belize and Roatan, Honduras as well.   The same fish and sealife is found all throughout the Caribbean waters.  When we dive these waters, it is like coming home to all the “familiar and friendly faces” and it is very comforting to see all my “old friends” from the sea.  This is a trumpet fish.  They come in yellow and blue as well.

Beautiful French angel fish.

A porcupine fish just cruisin’ along.

Spotfin butterfly fish.

A lemon ray.

A big grande barracuda at a cleaning station.

A friendly hawksbill turtle.  He was a big guy.  Usually turtles in the Caribbean are not nearly as big as they are in Hawai’i and the pacific waters, but we saw some very big turtles this trip.

A large resting nurse shark.  He was probably about 8 feet long.  The nurse sharks are the “puppies” of the sea.  They are so friendly and gentle.  I love the sharks.  In Belize, I was dubbed the shark whisperer because they always came right up to me to say hi.

A beautiful eagle ray.  We saw quite a few, very large eagle rays even though it is very late in the season for them.  I love the eagle rays.  They are so graceful and majestic.

A very large green moray.  We saw a whole bunch of very large green morays.

One of my favorites, a juvenile spotted drum.

A school of French grunts.

I could go on and on and on, ad nauseam since diving and the life underwater is my passion, but I will not.  I will spare you all my fishey friends.  Even my own husband doesn’t understand this passion of mine.  He says I am “a frustrated marine biologist wanna-be”.  I definitely think he is on to something too.  There are plenty more dive trips in my future, which means there will be plenty more opportunities for me to share my other passion, without overwhelming you and/or boring you to death.  So I will leave you with a couple of fun pictures that are of a fish of a different kind.

The kiss.

We found a hat at the bottom, and just couldn’t resist having some fun with it before bringing it back up to the surface.  And so ends my series on Cozumel.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed sharing with all of you.  Until next time ….

 

 

 

We were in Cozumel for a week, so there was a week’s worth of good eats.  I only got you through the first half of the week, and stopped when Larry got his bout of whatever bug was going around.  I did not want to overwhelm everyone with all the great foods; I wanted to give you some time to savor the flavors, and hopefully keep you hungering for more.

Casa del Mar is further south from where we stayed.  Larry wanted something relatively light, since this was his first real meal after his bout with the bug.  Casa del Mar is down towards the southern cruise terminals.  Their specialty is seafood, and very good seafood at that, though they offer other delicious dishes as well.

Pan-fried grouper with a garlic-butter sauce.  YUM!

Chicken and spinach with mashed potatoes.  Very tasty.

A trip to Cozumel would not be complete without also including a trip to our favorite restaurant on the island, Jeanie’s.  It is spelled differently than how I spell my name, (I spell mine Jeanne) but that’s OK; I think good food just must be synonymous with the name.  🙂  Normally we get the big seafood platter for two, but this time we wanted something a little lighter, especially since lobster is out of season right now, and usually there are two lobster tails that come on the platter.  We have enjoyed this delicious seafood platter many times, and have had it as our Thanksgiving meal quite a few times too.  Jeanie’s is located at the very most southern tip of town, just before getting to all the shops and tourist attractions.

The fisherman’s platter.

The shrimp burrito.

Larry had his bout with the bug earlier in the week, and I got mine later in the week.  Larry had a mild version compared to what I had, but of course, I never take the easy way for anything, so I had the grand version of whatever nasty bug was going around.  The part that bothered me most, even more so than being sick, was that fact that it was a HUGE inconvenience and cut my diving short.  You know I have something bad if it cuts into my diving time.  I was incapacitated for the next day and food was the absolute last thing on my mind.  Keeping it down was more what I was concerned about at the time.

We did, however, enjoy one last great meal on the island before our vacation ended and it was time to come home.  Our last island meal for this trip was at Ferrilli’s, a restaurant located right on the beach.

I played it safe, and just had pollo a la planchar, or grilled chicken.  I needed something safe and light on my stomach, and even at that, Larry still ate about half of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spicy Grouper

Alas, our 2019 food adventures of Cozumel come to an end.  It’s back home from here; back to Jeanne’s kitchen (that’s Jeanne with 2 “n’s” and an “e” and no “i”).  I hope you all enjoyed eating your virtual eating tour of Cozumel with us.  Until next time ……

 

To me, the best part of traveling is experiencing the surroundings and taking in the culture of wherever you happen to be at the time.  That includes eating all the local and traditional foods of the area too, which is definitely right up my alley.  The foods in Cozumel are the traditional Mexican foods you see all throughout the country, but they have more of an emphasis on seafood than a lot of other Mexican foods coming from more inland regions or states.  Every region has its own style and recipes, which adds more variety to the menu, and just means there is that much more to try later.  We can’t try everything all it once now, can we? 🙂   We love Mexican food and eat it quite often.  We also love seafood, so for us, it’s all good, and all will be delicious.

Steak, chicken and fish tacos from and Blackened Grouper, accompanied with a tasty margarita from The Thirsty Cougar.  This was our first night in Cozumel.  We are up in the northern end of town.  The food was delicious and the margarita really hit the spot after a long day of traveling.

 

Day #2 –  Once again we found ourselves in the northern part of town, in the main  plaza.  This time, we tried Dorados de Villa.   More delicious bebitas y comida that we really enjoyed.  This time, we feasted on pork fajitas and a Mayan pork dish called itacates, that was with a delicious salsa verde.

Day #3 –  Larry started getting the bug and could not eat anything, so I sent him off to bed and stayed on the grounds of our hotel, rather than going anywhere else.  Whenever we go to Cozumel, which is fairly often, we stay at the Villablanca Hotel, located right across the street from the ocean.  It used to be right next door to the dive operators we dived with, but they since have moved.  They are still the only people we dive with when in Cozumel though.  We still like to stay at the Villablanca though.  It is a very nice family owned hotel with 50 rooms that was made for scuba divers.  They also have a very good family owned and operated restaurant right on the premises, named Chalos.

 

 

 

 

 

This guy was NOT on the menu, he was just another guest; this time.  However, BBQ’ed iguana is a very popular dish all throughout the Caribbean, so if he isn’t careful, he just might be someone’s dinner soon.

I feasted on delicious pollo mole, or chicken mole.  I took some chicken soup and plain rice to Larry to help him feel better.  I will pause this post, Los Comidas de Cozumel, here to keep you hungering for more in my next post.  Desfruitas!

This plate is a Frieda Kahlo design.  She was one of Mexico’s most famous artists, married to Diego Rivera, another famous artist of Mexico.

Good Evening Everyone!  I’m BAAAAAACK!!!!!  Did you miss me?  We were diving in Cozumel, Mexico.  Cozumel is small island about 25 miles southeast from the shores of Cancun.  Cozumel is our absolute favorite place to dive (dive pictures will come later.  I still have to download them).  It is the northern part of the same reef system as Belize and Roatan, Honduras.  The name Cozumel derives from the Mayan word Cuzamil, meaning land of the swallows.  Rumor has it that both Isla Mujueres (Women’s Island) and Cozumel were the first part of Mexico discovered by the Spanish Conquistadores, back in the 16th Century.  Back when the Mayans ruled supreme in Central America, Cozumel became an important seaport for Mayan trade because it was well positioned in the middle of routes to and from Honduras and Veracruz.  In the 17th century, Cozumel became the land of the pirates due to its isolation.  Other than the pirates and the Mayan women who visited the island to pray to the fertility Gods, Cozumel was relatively uninhabited until 1848, when settlers from the mainland sought refuge there from the Caste War, a fierce war that broke out when the Mayas decided to avenge the wrongs inflicted on them and their lands by the Spanish.  Up until 1961, Cozumel was then just known as a quiet little island for fisherman, but in 1961, the world was introduced to the underwater life of the island by Jacques Cousteau.  From that point on, Cozumel has been a scuba divers mecca.  We dive all over the world, and hands down, by far, Cozumel is our favorite place to dive.  Part of the reason for the attraction to the divers of the world is because the island quickly realized how valuable the sea and marine life was, and made most of the under water portion of the island as a marine park that preserves the wild creatures and fauna from the seas.  You can look and enjoy to your hearts content, but DON’T touch!  Life is very colorful in Cozumel, whether you are above the sea or beneath it.  It is filled with rich culture and traditions.

The still sea plays a very important role to the locals.  It is still the primary source of income for a large majority of the local inhabitants.  A healthy marine life is vital to a prosperous life to all who live on Cozumel.  Cozumel is also one of the most heavily traveled areas in the world by cruise ships.  The number of cruise ships range from 0 on Sundays to up to 10 per day during the rest of the week.

Tourism is the number one industry of the island.  1000’s of tourists visit the island every day.  Some just want to shop, some want to drink and party, and a vast majority want to scuba dive.

 

 

 

 

The kitchen will be closed for awhile.  I’ve gone diving.  It will re-open when I return, if I return home.  🙂

 

Empanadas are hand held pies that are very popular all throughout the Latin and Spanish speaking counties all over the world.  The name empanada comes from the Spanish word empanar, which means to encase in bread.   We think of them as being Spanish in origin, since they are so prevalent in the Spanish world, however, they actually have their beginnings from The Middle East, in what was Persia, or what is now known in the modern day, as Iran.  Empanadas can be traced back as far as 250 BC.  They were used as a way to both preserve the food as well as to make it highly portable for the people on the go.  They were the perfect food for nomadic cultures, shepherds and soldiers alike.  At first, they were made of fillings that were encased in a rustic dough that was not originally meant to be eaten, but that quickly changed and morphed into the whole pocket being edible, as it has been ever since.  Some form of meat pockets are found all over the world, or wherever the Ottoman Empire left its mark.  The British and their “colonies” have pasties.  Italy calls them calzones, Jamaica calls them patties and India knows them as samosas.  In the Middle East, they are called fatays or esfiha, and they are still made in the old traditional ways, with lamb, raisins and spices.  Once these meat pockets found their way into Spain, and from there to all the Spanish speaking lands, they simply became known as empanadas.  They were brought to the Americas in the 1500’s when the Spanish conquistadores first arrived in the New World.  Originally, they were stuffed with the foods found from the land or sea, depending on the location.  Today, they are filled with many types of fillings, both savory and sweet.  They are still loved by all and are eaten everywhere.

I make empandadas all the time.  We love them.  They are easy to make, delicious to eat, and basically anything goes for the filling.  Without even knowing it though, I made them in the very old, traditional way yesterday.  I was just trying to clean out my refrigerator and use up as many leftovers as possible since we leave for vacation tomorrow.  I just started grabbing the leftover little bits of this and the little bits of that and threw everything together to make my filling.  Empanadas can be baked or fried, and I have made them both ways, but I definitely prefer them fried.   They almost melt in your mouth when fried.

I have made them so many different ways.  There is no right or wrong way to make them or to fill them.  This is but one of countless ways.

I just use my basic go-to-dough. Pie for Pi day,  then roll it out and cut it large circles when making empanadas.

As I said above, for my filling, I literally went threw my fridge and used up what I had.  I had some leftover rice, pulled pork and a dash a yellow pepper coulis that were my base.  Then I added some fresh spinach, onions, garlic, fresh herbs, jalapeno, Peruvian peppers, and seasonings to make it complete.

I sauteed the spinach, jalapeno, onions and garlic and seasonings until everything was cooked and the onions were translucent.  Then I combined them with the rest of the filling ingredients and mixed everything together.

Once my filling was made, I cut out my dough circles and filled the empanadas.  Fill about 2 TBSP of filling in the center of the dough (depending on the size you make.  I made mine about 4×4″ in diameter), dab your finger in some egg wash and rub around the edge of one side, then fold the dough over so the two ends meet.  Press the dough firmly, to lock and seal it, and to make sure no liquid or juices can escape from the pocket.  Crimp or press the edges with the prongs of a fork to make sure the emapanada is completely sealed.  When they are all done, brush egg wash over the tops and sides of the meat pockets.  You can either chill them before cooking, or just cook directly.  You can pan fry them in hot oil for about 5 minutes or until they are golden brown all over or you can bake them in the oven at 350* F for about 20 or so minutes, or until the are golden brown and crispy.  I prefer the fried version, but the baked version is a little healthier.

Once the empanadas were done, I topped them with some salsa, served some rice on the side and it was time to eat.  Desfruitas!

 

 

Argentina is famous for its beef and for its steak, just like Texas, Kansas and Colorado are in the United States.  Here in the States, we call the people who tend to the cattle either ranchers or cowboys.  In Argentina, the farmers and farm hands are known as gauchos.  The Argentines are big meat eaters and love to grill their meats.  Very rarely do they eat their grilled meats without some kind of a sauce though.  The most popular sauce to use for their grilled meats is a chimichurri sauce, which is traditionally a mixture of fresh parsley, garlic (lots of garlic) olive oil, oregano, salt and red wine vinegar.  This is the green or verde chimichurri.  There is also a red version, known as chimichurri rojo, which is made by adding smoked paprika, crushed red pepper flakes and cumin.  The chimichurri verde is more popular in both Argentina and Uruguay, where the chimichurri rojo is more popular in Brazil.  Both are used in South America similarly as salsa is used in Mexico.  They are used for everything, and are used often.  Chimichurri is thought of as both a salsa and as a marinade.

The word chimichurri itself is a Spanish word, that is thought to originally come from the Basques, who settled in Argentina and Uruguay in the 19th century.  No one knows exactly how the word came about.  One theory is that the native peoples of both Argentina and Uruguay could not say the English names of Jimmy Curry, or something similar.  However, it is more widely accepted that the word chimichurri comes from the Basque word tximitxurri, which loosely translate to mean a mixture of several things in no particular order.

What is the difference between pesto and chimichurri sauce?   Though they are similar, they are cousins, each with their own characteristics.  Pesto originated in Genoa, Italy and the primary ingredient is basil, and Parmigiano cheese and pine nuts are also used.  The chimichurri hails from both Argentina and Uruguay, and the primary ingredient is parsley.  There is no cheese or pine nuts in chimichurri.  Both are delicious, and both are used a lot in our house.

The gauchos would be proud of this meal.  Steak chimichurri verde , with roasted potatoes, asparagus, and my roasted onion and pepper tart. Roasted Pepper and Onion Tart

Chimichurri Sauce

Traditionally, the parsley is chopped in a rough chop by hand, but I put everything into my food processor and blended it that way.  I did not add red wine vinegar this time, however, I did add red pepper flakes.  As most of you already know, I play with things and change them around all the time.

1 cup parsley, chopped

1-2 TBSP garlic

salt & black pepper to taste

1/3-1/2 cup olive oil

red pepper flakes to taste

 

Mix everything together.  The sauce can be used as both a marinade or as a dipping sauce.  I love it both ways.  This time I used it as a marinade for my steaks.

I let the meat marinade for about 40 minutes before grilling it to a delicious medium rare.  After it was done cooking, I added some sauteed mushrooms, garlic and shallots on top, then added more chimichurri sauce.

Had I been thinking properly, I would have served it with an Argentine Malbec, but alas, I was not.  I did, however, serve the meal with a delicious, smooth red blend, that still accompanied the meal very nicely.

 

 

Well, the first ever Great Bloggers’ Bake-Off has now officially come to an end.  It was a huge success.  I am so honored to have been asked by Mel at crushedcaramel and Gary at  bereavedandbeingasingleparent to participate and to judge this very fun, creative event.  We had so many people send in their cakes along with their fun stories, recipes and photos.  They were all AMAZING!!!  Everyone did a fantastic job.  There were so many creative and delicious cakes. I definitely had my work cut our for me.  I had a tough time deciding the winners.  In my eyes, everyone who participated is a BIG WINNER!!!!!  This could not have been possible without all of you and your delicious entries.  Great job Bakers!

So now …… The moment you have all been waiting for …….

First – For good,valiant efforts, I give the Thumbs Up Awards to:

1.  Our first Thumbs Up Award goes to Gary Metcalf from bereavedandbeingasingleparent for his entry – “Houston, We Have a Problem”.  His kitchen had a lot of gremlins on the day he was baking his cake and they were wreaking havoc on his creation.  But he did not let them beat him.  He overpowered them with his ingenuity and creativity, and created a fun and tasty cake.  Great job Gary!

This was only the beginning, yet it turned out fun and festive.

 

2.  Our second Thumbs Up Award goes to Amanda Cade from amadacade.com for her entry “The Birthday Cake”.   You have to read her post about her cake.  It’s hilarious.  She chronicles her baking adventures in a fun, step-by-step way.  You can find her story at https://amandacade.com/2019/03/24/the-great-bloggers-bake-off-aka-why-i-will-never-be-top-chef/

The end result looks delicious!

3.  Our third Thumbs UP Award goes to SUZE at https://suziland.site/ for her “Hole in one Cake”.  Now this cake can EASILY be doctored up so no one would ever know it was a less than perfect cake.  All you would need to do to make this a BEAUTIFUL cake is to add whipped cream and fruit in the center of the hole, and people would think it was a beautiful, creative masterpiece.  This definitely has potential.  Keep up the good work Suze.

 

Starting from 3rd and finishing with first place, here are the winners of the Great Bloggers’ Bake-Off, 2019.  There are no honorable mentions, because EVERYONE who participated is honorable and should be recognized.  EVERYONE did a fantastic job!  I applaud you all.

Our 3rd Place Winner is Ribana from posiclesociety for her entry “The Naked Cake”

This “Naked Cake” is pure simple elegance and is presented beautifully.  Please check out her blog and read her story about her “Naked Cake” at https://popsiclesociety.com/2019/03/23/my-naked-cake-for-the-great-bloggerss-bake-off/

 

For 2nd Place, we have a tie.  It was so hard to choose, and they both looked fabulous, so, they both get the award.  Our 2nd Place winners are:

 

1.  Carolyn from hawkfeatherstories.com for her Tiramisu Cake.  This cake just looks perfectly decadent.  I LOVE tiramisu.  Carolyn was a little shy about posting her story, but fortunately, Mel from crushedcaramel  wrote about it on her blog post
   

   The Tiramisu Cake

 

2.  Our second 2nd Place winner is  Michelle Thomas from thecatlady’skitchen.com for her entry “Ginger Lime Sponge”.   Ginger and lime ….  a perfect summer cake.  YUM!!!!! You can read all about Michelle’s cake experiences on her blog post http://www.thecatladyskitchen.wordpress.com/.

 

 

Before annoucing the winner for the 2019 Great Bloggers’ Bake-Off, I would like to show  the other cake entries we received and give EVERYONE honorable mention.  As I stated above, I was very impressed by all the entries, and EVERYONE did a fantastic job!  Keep up the good work Bakers.  I am pretty sure there is going to be am upcoming sequel.  So until then, just keep baking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Choosing the 1st place winner was the most difficult decision I had to make for this contest.  There were two cakes I absolutely loved.  They were both perfect and so beautifully presented.  But in the end, there can only be one winner, for this round, and I had to choose.  Both were fabulous.  You are both winners in my book.

The first runner up is Michelle Barry from teacupsandsugarlumps.com for her Lemon Meringue with White Chocolate Chip Ganache Drip Cake.  I live in Denver, which is known as being the “Mile High City”.  This cake is definitely a “Mile High” of pure lemony deliciousness.  It is  mouth-wateringly decadent.  I can almost taste all the lemon and white chocolate now.  YUM!!!!!  Great, great job Michelle.  This is one AWESOME looking cake.

 

And now …….. The moment you have all been waiting for ……  Our 1st Place Winner for the 2019 Great Bloggers’ Bake-Off is …….

Sheree D. Whatley from Viewfromtheback.com for her entry, Gateau du Chocolate et Framboises  (chocolate and raspberries).  The quality of the picture is not the best, but I enhanced it as much as I could on my computer, however, I know exactly what she was trying to present.  This is a very complicated, detailed cake.  Sheree presented it beautifully.  The raspberry colored ribbon is a perfect accoutrement to enhance the raspberries on the cake.    You can read all about Sheree’s beautiful cake on her blog post Great Bloggers’ Bake-Off.  Can you believe Sheree said this “was my first fancy cake and went down a treat”?  WOW!!!!  If this was her first time to ever make such a beautiful cake, she is one very incredibly talented pastry chef.  I don’t know if I could make a cake like this today, but especially not on my first attempt.  This cake is SPECTACULAR!!!!!!  AWESOME job Sheree.

 

 

CONGRATULATIONS to Sheree and to all the other bakers.  You all did a phenomenal job!  Keep up the good work everyone.  And a very special thank you goes out to both Mel at crushedcaramel and Gary at bereavedandbeingasingleparent  for creating and hosting this fun bake-off.  They both did a fantastic job of putting all this together.  It would not have happened without them and all their tremendous efforts.  Until next time ……..

 

I am getting so many wonderful pictures of cakes.  Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the first ever Great Blogger’s Bake-Off.   You have all sent in so many great photos can cakes.  Every single cake is made with the very best ingredient – LOVE!!!!!  I am going through all the entries at the moment, and it is going to take me while to go through them, so I will give you a little extra time.  You have until the end of the day to get your cake pictures in to either me at ajeanneinthekitchen.com, Mel at crushedcaramel@gmail.com or Gary at comment-reply@wordpress.com,  before I make my final decisions.  I will have my results and make the announcements tomorrow, Monday, March 25.   So stay tuned ……. I most definitely have my work cut our for me.  And just by looking at all these fabulous cakes, I have already put on 10 lbs.  Thanks Mel and Gary.  🙂

 

Show us your best, or your worst. Let’s see those masterpieces. Tell us your stories behind them, good or bad. It’s all in good fun. Let’s see what you can do,