by Krista | Apr 6, 2010 | Gulliver Tuesday
The sun shone down hot and glistening as we explored Bled Island, a jewel of a spot set in a turquoise lake in the Julian Alps of Slovenia. We had wandered through medieval Bled Castle, been rowed across beautiful Lake Bled, and now, after seeing the ancient church and other buildings, we had time to wander the paths that wended along the island shore.
First we took a breather on some shady stone steps, enjoying the cool breezes that swept up from the water.
My brother Ryan and I took this beguiling pathway, utterly charmed by the lamp posts. 🙂
Around a bend in the path we were thrilled to see these turquoise waters, teeming with fish, the sun shining just right to make the water seem to glow from within.
We loved these boats, and had fun making up stories of the smugglers who most certainly owned them, imagining them rowing silently to the island under cover of darkness to engage in nefarious business dealings. 🙂
As we rounded the island we sighed in delight at this amazing view of the castle, church and mountains we’d explored earlier that day. All our preconceived notions of Slovenia had been obliterated by the beauty and serenity of this wonderful place.
All too soon it was time to clamber aboard our boat and be rowed back to shore. Our regrets at leaving this beautiful island were assuaged as we bobbed our way across the lake, reveling in the stunning views. Much to our delight, we discovered an open air market on the other side, brimming with handmade jewelry, woodwork and other crafts. We spent a happy time there talking with the artists in a nonsensical hodgepodge of English and Russian, and found the most lovely treasures to commemorate our trip to Lake Bled.
Then it was time to load up our 9 passenger van and begin the drive to
Ljubljana. I’ll take you there next time. 🙂
by Krista | Apr 5, 2010 | Bootstrap Monday
How was your weekend, dear ones? 🙂 Mine was beautiful, spent making great memories with all sorts of beloved Canadian rellies. 🙂
Sunday dawned dark and blustery, but I had these oh-so-pretty eggs to make me smile. 🙂
So I turned some of them into scrambled eggs with salmon, chevre, scallions, and tomato. A splendid way to start off a stormy day. 🙂
I had so many grand times with my rellies this weekend. 🙂 Saturday we went to the beach (which I’ll tell you about later), poked around our favorite discount stores and found all sorts of treasures, had coffee and visits at one of our favorite coffee shops, and braved the rain for a trek through the woods to Whatcom Falls Park.
My cousins introduced me to the wonders of sous-vide cooking, and made us amazingly juicy and tender chicken in a cheesy, garlicky butter sauce. Delish!!!
Sunday afternoon before our big family Easter dinner, we puttered around Mum and Dad’s house, talking, napping and …
…helping Mums make a big batch of her delicious Danish Citronfromage Uden Flødeskum. It is a wonderful spring dessert, a light and airy concoction that translates “lemon mousse without whipping cream.” I juiced and zested lemons as she stirred and whipped and beat and simmered.
Then it was ready to be chilled, frothy, warm and oh-so-lemony. Alissa figured we absolutely NEEDED flowers sprinkled atop Mum’s creation (I quite agree!) so we raided Mum’s garden and found pansies and violets and thought they made the dessert oh-so-cheery on a gray, gray day. 🙂
Citronfromage Uden Flødeskum
(Lemon Mousse without Whipped Cream)
Serves 4
Ingredients:
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
Grated rind of 1 1/2 lemons
6 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp water
Directions:
- Beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until white.
- Sprinkle gelatin over lemon juice, water and rind, and let stand for 5 minutes.
- Melt gelatin over boiling water until completely dissolved. Stir into egg mixture.
- Beat egg whites to a peak, add rest of sugar and beat until stiff.
- Fold into egg/lemon mixture when it begins to set.
- Pour into glass bowl, chill for 2 hours and serve.
by Krista | Apr 2, 2010 | Fabulous Friday
I find moving to be a rather emotional endeavor. It is not simply wrapping and unwrapping glassware, books and picture frames, it is unearthing things that have been buried for a while. Some of them are painful, like an unexpected photograph of the man who was going to marry me, and didn’t. Others are delightful: a forgotten candy cane, still in its wrapper, pictures from a dear friend in Germany, a scribbled note from someone who loves me. But all of them draw out emotions, both joyous and sad, and I’m officially tuckered out. 🙂
I was perusing Passage Paradis yesterday, delighting in her photographs of a bird market tucked away in Hong Kong, and it got me thinking about “taking the road less traveled” “getting off the beaten track” and other such things. I love to travel so very much, but I’m too broke to go anywhere for a while, so I’ve tried to look at my current surroundings with new eyes, as if I were a tourist in my own neighborhood.
Over the past week I have learned no less than FOUR different ways to get to my chiropractor up in Canada. 🙂 Two are rather dull consisting mostly of highways, gas stations and McDonalds, but the other two? Ohhh, they’re lovely, meandering past vineyards and hobby farms, through treed hillsides and alongside ditches filled with blackberry bushes.
On one particularly stormy day I had a few spare minutes and turned down a side road to a park I’d never noticed before. I found this:
It thrilled me to pieces and I couldn’t stop grinning, so happy with my discovery, so glad I had turned down that obscure road. 🙂
Thus inspired I got back to work and eagerly dug into my bowl of Kale Barley Gratin. Granted, this is not what you’d call a “pretty” dish, but it’s awfully tasty and so good for you. 🙂 Both barley and kale are simmered separately, then, while the barley drains, you puree the kale with a bit of broth. It turns into a vivid green sauce that is quite astonishing. 🙂 Then you mix it in with the barley, a roux seasoned with allspice and nutmeg, a mounded handful of grated Parmesan, and pour it into a baking dish and bake until it’s nicely browned on top. It’s great served hot from the oven, but is just as tasty reheated a few days later, or even eaten cold.
Kale Barley Gratin
(Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone)
Ingredients:
2/3 cup pearl barley, rinsed
Salt and freshly milled pepper
1 large bunch kale, about 1 1/4 lbs, stems entirely removed
2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour (I used gluten-free)
1 1/2 cups milk or vegetable stock or chicken stock (I like chicken stock)
1/4 tsp allspice (I didn’t have grated, so I added a few whole to the stock while simmering)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup grated Gruyere or provolone (I used Parmesan)
Directions:
- In a saucepan, add barley to 1 quart boiling water with 1/2 tsp salt and simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain.
- While it’s cooking, cook the kale in a skillet of boiling salted water until tender, 6-10 minutes. Drain, then puree with 1/4 cup of the cooking water until smooth.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in a small saucepan, whisk in flour, then add milk. Cook, stirring constantly over medium heat, until thick. Season with allspice, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
- Combine all ingredients, check seasonings, then pour into buttered baking dish or ramekins.
- Bake until lightly browned on top, about 30 minutes.
by Krista | Apr 1, 2010 | Plucky Thursday
I think dandelions are awfully cheerful, particularly when the setting sun makes them glow. This one blazed at me from the roots of a tall cedar outside my window this evening. Isn’t it lovely? 🙂
After days of wild wind, hail, and rain, the sun came out today in all its splendor, brightening landscapes and hearts. Last night I was a whirling dervish of cooking and dish-washing, but tonight I slowed down and rested. I strolled to the creek bank, closing my eyes and breathing deeply as the breezes brought scents of sap and green and flower from the woods. I leaned back against an obliging cedar tree, basking in the warmth of the setting sun.
Then I looked up, marveling at the lacy patterns of tree branches etched against the sky.
All too soon it was time to eat and start working my way through the boxes stacked in my living room. So I poured myself a glass of chilled Aussie white into a Mason jar – I haven’t found my wine glasses yet 🙂 – ate my dinner and got to work.
I’m pleased as punch to have sorted through FOUR boxes and tossed two bags of papers and trash. 🙂 Hooray! It feels so good. 🙂
And now I get to sit down with my tea and write to you dear folks. 🙂 Last week I promised to share the new soup recipe I tried, and today is the day! 🙂 I was in the mood for lentils, so I looked through my cookbooks and found a recipe called “Garlicky Lentil Soup” that sounded good. I was halfway through making it and waiting for the lentils to get soft enough when my eye strayed to the page right next to it and lurched to a halt on “Spiced Lentil Soup.” A quick glance at the ingredient list confirmed that my allegiance was about to sway. 🙂 Thankfully the first few steps were virtually identical, so I hurriedly added in the extra ingredients and was set.
Ohhh, it was GOOD! 🙂 The lentils are simmered with the usual accomplices: garlic, onion, tomato, but then the fun begins with the addition of turmeric, cumin, cardamom and cinnamon. After all that goodness is simmered for a while, you add creamy coconut milk and fresh lime juice and shew, it’s yummy. 🙂
Spiced Lentil Soup with Lime and Cinnamon
(Adapted from Soup: Superb Ways with a Classic Dish)
Ingredients:
2 onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 tomatoes, roughly chopped (I used canned, diced tomatoes)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric (I didn’t have any and it tasted great anyways)
1 tsp ground cumin
6 cardamom pods
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 cup red or green lentils, rinsed and drained
3 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1-2 Tbsp lime juice
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Ground cinnamon or cumin seeds to garnish
Directions:
- Put onions, garlic, tomatoes, turmeric, cumin, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, lentils and water into a saucepan. Bring to boil, lower heat, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes or until lentils are soft.
- Remove cardamom pods and cinnamon stick, then puree mixture in a blender or food processor. Return to soup pot.
- Reserve a little of the coconut milk for garnish, and add remainder, with lime juice, to saucepan. Reheat soup gently without boiling.
- Swirl in reserved coconut milk, garnish with cumin seeds or ground cinnamon and serve piping hot.
by Krista | Mar 31, 2010 | Compatriot Wednesday
It was a wickedly stormy night as we braved hail, torrential rains and high winds to make it to CEC this week. It was well worth the effort though, as we each presented our contributions to Appetizer Night.
We started with my Sweet Hot Grape Jalapeno Meatballs (gluten-free, of course!). They were tasty little morsels, savory meatballs glazed with spicy sweet sauce.
Cameron’s awesome kids joined us for the evening, and made Mortadella Sandwiches with Cream Cheese. They did a GREAT job! 🙂
Deb shared one of her favorite cheese, a wonderfully creamy one from a farm near her parent’s house in California.
She also made her famous Dilled Deviled Eggs. They have a splendid kick from Dijon mustard, and the dill takes it right over the top.
Don shared a bottle of red and these tender and smoky grilled ribs.
Cameron smoked these delicious steak bits, and covered them with his homemade Teriyaki Sauce.
Darren brought a wondrous assortment of seafood: scallops, shrimp and fish…
…and made a wonderful broth to cook them in fondue style.
Selwyn made two kinds of Mexican White Wings, chicken breasts and Serrano chilies wrapped in bacon. The first batch were doused in spicy picante sauce…
…the second received a dusting of caramelized brown sugar. Yum!!
Mike made deliciously plump sweet and sour meatballs.
Jonathan rounded off our meatfest with delicious Citrus Bruschetta grilled with blue cheese. Mmmm.
Deborah’s Dilled Deviled Eggs
Ingredients:
12 large eggs
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
6 tsp Dijon mustard
1 cup mayonnaise and 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp dill weed
Directions:
- Before cooking eggs, use a tack to pierce a hole in the broad end of the egg. This centers the yolk.
- Boil eggs for two minutes, cover and remove from heat for 11 minutes, then place in ice water.
- Peel eggs. Drain, slice in half lengthwise. Remove yolks.
- In separate bowl mash yolks with fork and combine with pepper, mustard, dill, mayonnaise and sugar.
- Fill egg cavities with yolk mixture and serve.
Krista’s Sweet Hot Grape Jalapeno Meatballs (Gluten-free)
Ingredients:
1.5 pounds hamburger
1/2 cup oats, blended into flour
Salt and pepper
1 onion, grated
Parsley, chopped
2 eggs
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 small jar grape jelly
1 small jar hot pepper jelly
1/4 cup water or broth
Directions:
- Mix everything but jellies and broth. Roll into 1-inch balls and place side by side on baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until no longer pink in center.
- In a saucepan combine jellies and water. Heat, stirring constantly, until hot.
- Pour sauce over meatballs and stir gently until coated.
- Sprinkle with leftover parsley and serve.
Selwyn’s Mexican White Wings
Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
2-3 Serrano peppers, washed, seeded and cut into thin strips.
1 pound bacon, cut in half
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 bottle picante sauce
Directions:
- Hold piece of chicken with strip of pepper, wrap in half a slice of bacon and stab with a toothpick.
- Bake on a cookie rack on a baking sheet at 350 for 20 min. Sprinkle with brown sugar and broil on hi for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Toss in a picante sauce and serve.
Jonathan’s Citrus Bruschetta
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 large oranges, chopped
2 grapefruits, chopped
Kosher salt and red pepper to taste
4-6 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
1 loaf Italian or French bread, sliced
Directions:
- In saucepan melt butter, add shallots and sautee until translucent.
- Add oranges, grapefruits and kosher salt and red pepper to taste. Simmer 2-3 minutes.
- Spoon mixture onto bread slices, top with crumbled bleu cheese, and broil for about five minutes.
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