by Krista | Mar 23, 2010 | Spring
We had spent a happy hour exploring Bled Castle in Slovenia, luxuriating in the cool breezes gusting across the terrace, utterly entranced by the exhilarating views of snow covered mountains, forested hills, and the turquoise waters of Lake Bled.
The mountains surrounding Lake Bled, Slovenia
My friend Ben perched far above Lake Bled.
Although we could’ve stayed up there for hours, we reminded ourselves that we still had much to see before driving to Ljubljana that night. So we took one last look at the amazing vista then headed out through the castle doors and hiked down the winding cobbled path to the lake.
The lake was even more beautiful up close, the water clear and cool, the banks bordered with trees and wonderful old homes.
Research beforehand warned us that the only way to the island in the middle of the lake was by rowboat, so we secured ourselves a sturdy craft and a burly oarsman, and began our peaceful journey across Lake Bled.
Our strapping oarsman.
In an age when everything seems to be motorized and streamlined for optimum speed, there was something surreal about bobbing slowly across the lake, the only sounds the splash of the oars and our occasional bursts of amazed laughter at this grand adventure we were having.
Next time I will take you to explore the island and inside an ancient church.:-)
by Krista | Mar 22, 2010 | Spring
I sometimes wish I lived in the Old Days. You know the ones where when you were sick (and rich) they would prescribe 6 months rest at the seaside, or 1 year in a sanatorium where all your meals were cooked, room cleaned and you had nothing to do all day but willingly submit to mud baths and “taking the waters” and sitting on manicured lawns watching the world go by.
As I watch old movies, I find it amusing that I can readily suspend disbelief and believe that the chap the fair maiden just spilled soup on is in fact the Prince of Whatsit who immediately swoons at her “cornflower blue eyes” and proposes undying love and affection. But when I see those scenes where everyone packs up their life for a restful escape to more appropriate climes I think, “Yeah, right!!”
I wonder if those things really happened, or if they were like us, refusing or unable to rest because there are bills to be paid and families to be cared for and functions to make an appearance at. This weekend, as I once again realized that I had optimistically over-committed my recovering self, I thought, “There’s got to be a better way.”
I can’t pull up stakes and head off to the Mediterranean for half a year to get better, but can I not play Sanatorium Director for my own self? Providing moments of respite and healing in the midst of the hustle and bustle? So that’s what I’m trying to do. 🙂
I don’t have the manicured lawns of a beautiful, white sanatorium to enjoy, but I DO have my Mum’s garden to wander through, and we did that Sunday afternoon as a gentle rain fell.
I can’t spend 6 months at the seaside, but I am within an hour of coast, river or lake. So on the next sunny free evening, I’m driving to one of them after work, past the beautiful mountains that surround us, to watch the sunset.
And, last but not least, I don’t have kitchen staff at my beck and call making me the vegetarian meals I must have for a while, but I have fabulous cookbooks with a wealth of nutritious options. This weekend I leafed through my favorite vegetarian cookbook and found Catalan Spinach with Toasted Pine Nuts and Raisins. It was too odd to resist. 🙂
So I washed and dried spinach, toasted garlic, pine nuts and raisins in olive oil, then tossed everything together with the steamed spinach. Mmmm. 🙂 The toasted nuts and warm fruit play beautifully off each other and provide earthy highlights for the spinach. Delish!
Catalan Spinach and Toasted Pine Nuts and Raisins
(From Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone)
Ingredients:
2 bunches spinach, stems removed, leaves steamed then chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large garlic clove, sliced
1/3 cup dark or golden raisins
1/3 cup pine nuts
Salt and freshly milled pepper
Directions:
- Warm the oil with the garlic in a wide skillet over medium heat. When garlic is golden, remove to plate.
- Add raisins and pine nuts to pan and cook until raisins are plumped and pine nuts golden.
- Add spinach and garlic and cook until heated through.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
by Krista | Mar 19, 2010 | Fabulous Friday
Life sure is funny sometimes. I don’t know about you, but it seems to hit me in waves of either catastrophe or loveliness and not much in between. 🙂 But lately, it’s been both, lovely bits of sunshine mingled with the ghastliness. 🙂
Ghastly: docs tell me my immune system is kaput.
Lovely: they’ve got me on excellent supplements that are already rebuilding this ol’ body of mine and I’m feeling better each day. 🙂
Ghastly: I need to fix my car from the accident, put four new tires on my car, and buy meds.
Lovely: I get my tax return AND my damage deposit back from my apartment in time to cover most of it. 🙂
Ghastly: I have eight meals worth of tacos made up and almost nothing else.
Lovely: I really like tacos. 🙂
Ghastly: under strict instructions to rest, rest, rest.
Lovely: free audio books and movies from the library, and friends who drive waaaay out here to visit me. 🙂
Conclusion: I’m a pretty fortunate lassie. 🙂
It’s been a good week. 🙂 Mums and I got to take a stroll on a particularly sunny lunch break and saw the most gorgeous countryside.
My friend Kat came to visit me and brought her marvy homemade tabouli to go with my
Spanakopita.
I got to hear Leahy in concert!! I didn’t think I could make it, but pain pills worked beautifully and I’m so glad I went. 🙂 They’re such a jolly lot and it is quite impossible to not emerge cheery and chipper from one of their performances. 🙂 Mums, Kat and my Office Manager Sharon went with me and it was a splendid Girl’s Night Out. 🙂 Yeah, this was a self-portrait. 🙂
And, last but not least, after much badgering, here’s a shot of the new do. For some reason I can capture food and countryside quite handily, but I can’t take a decent photo of myself to save my life! So, out of my collection of blurry, badly colored, poorly lit photos, here you go. 🙂 Oh, and I DO have two eyes, one just umm, hid. 🙂
Happiest of weekends to you, dear ones. May your lovelies outnumber your ghastlies. 🙂
by Krista | Mar 18, 2010 | Plucky Thursday
“I’m not happy, I’m cheerful. There’s a difference. A happy woman has no cares at all. A cheerful woman has cares but has learned how to deal with them.”
I love this quote by Beverly Sills. It speaks of courage, strength, and clarity of thought and purpose in the midst of any devilry the world may throw at us. It’s the sort of woman I want to be, a ray of sunshine in my own bits of darkness.
I gave a happy little sigh when I arrived home to this view last night. 🙂
I pulled open my blinds, climbed into bed with my heating pad and settled in, basking in a room all glowy from the setting sun, delighting in the play of light on my covers.
One particularly bleak and stormy day this week, I drove home and passed a gorgeous flowering tree, ablaze in cheeky white blossoms braving the bluster.
So even though it was raining something fierce, I hopped out and captured a shot of one blossom, a bit rusty around the edges, but I still think it’s lovely. 🙂
On that same day I got bursts of energy and inspiration, bustling about the kitchen making all sorts of things. I already told you about the Roasted Green Bean Salad with Shredded Chicken, Lime and Cilantro and Roasted Asparagus with Toasted Parmesan, but I promised to tell you what I did with the rest of the shredded chicken. 🙂 So here goes!
They were both quick, simple and healthy. The first was Shredded Chicken Quesadillas With Roasted Green Chilies and Cilantro. A whole wheat tortilla made a suitable base, topped with chicken, roasted green chilies, and sharp cheddar cheese. I broiled them until the cheese was melted and the edges crispy, then sprinkled them liberally with fresh chopped cilantro. Cut into wedges and put in storage containers, a quick heating at work made great lunches for me this week. 🙂
The second was Lemony Chicken Barley Soup. I used the broth from stewing a whole chicken in the crock pot for 8 hours, added onion, celery, carrot, dried cilantro, and sea salt, and let it all simmer. When the veggies were mostly done, I dumped in barley, chicken and a quartered lemon, simmering until the barley was tender. I fished out the lemon wedges, added more lemon juice and some fresh cilantro and voila! A hearty yet bright soup perfect for these blustery spring days we’re having.
I slept almost ten hours last night and feel like a new woman! HOORAY! 🙂 The sun is creeping over the horizon and birds are already twittering outside my window. It’s a new day and I hope it is beautiful for you. 🙂
Lemony Chicken Barley Soup
Ingredients:
8 cups chicken broth
1 large onion, chopped
3 carrots, sliced
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 Tbsp dried cilantro
1 lemon, quartered
1-2 cups, shredded chicken
1 cup barley
1-2 lemons, juiced
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Directions:
- Combine first 5 ingredients in soup pot, bring to boil and simmer until vegetables are tender.
- Add lemon, chicken and barley. Simmer until barley is tender.
- Remove lemon quarters.
- Add fresh lemon juice and cilantro and serve.
by Krista | Mar 17, 2010 | Compatriot Wednesday
We welcomed a bevy of newcomers to CEC this week, and they are delightful! We got along like a house on fire and jabbered on about travel and food and crazy experiences as if we were old friends. I love that. 🙂
It is Don’s birthday this week and we celebrated in style with Cameron and Darren’s amazing smoked prime rib and flank steak. Cameron rubbed in all manner of spices then packed the prime rib in a paste of rock salt and brown rice flour (we try to be gluten-free as much as possible), wrapped it in cheesecloth and smoked it at low heat for HOURS until it was infused with flavor and tender as can be.
Prime rib before slicing.
Cameron fanning the newly sliced prime rib.
Smoked flank steak, hot off the grill.
Flank steak sliced and fork tender.
Selwyn made brightly colored Stuffed Sweet Peppers filled with a decadent mixture of cream cheese, garlic cheddar and bacon.
Don marinated plump spears of asparagus in lemon, olive oil and spices, the grilled them to toasty goodness.
Two of our newbies, Terese and Beka, brought bottles of wine and the other two made stuffed mushrooms. One was gluten-free, filled with cream cheese, Parmesan and garlic, the other was baked and filled with a mixture of finely chopped mushrooms, onions, Parmesan, Vermouth and other deliciousness.
Lara brought chewy, warm Kalamata olive bread.
We closed our birthday meal with not one, but TWO desserts!
I made Espresso Orange Panna Cotta with Chipotle Cocoa Whipped Cream, served in tiny little espresso cups I found in Portugal years ago.
And Kat made a scrumptious Tiramisu Toffee Cake.
Happy Birthday, Don! 🙂
Cameron’s Smoked Prime Rib
Ingredients:
4.5 pound prime rib
For Rub:
garlic flakes
celery seed
onion powder
salt
pepper
Worcestershire sauce
For Crust:
Rock salt
brown rice flour
water
cheesecloth
Directions:
- Combine all of the spices and rub liberally over prime rib.
- Mix rock salt with rice flour and water to form a paste. Coat prime rib and wrap tightly with cheesecloth.
- Smoke at 225-250 degrees for 5.5 hours.
- Remove cheesecloth and brush off extra rock salt/flour mixture.
- Finish off in oven at 300 degrees for one hour to crisp up the outside.
- Let rest at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Baked Stuffed Mushrooms
(From Cooks)
Ingredients:
1 stick butter
1 small onion, minced
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup sweet Vermouth
1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 lb. mushrooms (remove stems and finely chop)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon oregano
Directions:
- Melt butter in skillet. Cook onion until translucent. Add chopped stems.
- Stir in bread crumbs, seasonings, and cheese. Brown lightly.
- Add sweet Vermouth last. Toss lightly to combine well.
- Stuff mushroom caps with mixture.
- Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.
Gluten-Free Mouth-Watering Stuffed Mushrooms
(From All Recipes)
Ingredients:
12 whole fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool.
- When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.
Selwyn’s Stuffed Sweet Peppers
Ingredients:
16 oz of cream cheese, softened
8 oz of shredded garlic cheddar cheese
8 oz of chopped cooked bacon
Paprika or cayenne pepper
15-20 sweet mini-peppers, washed, halved and seeded
Directions:
- Combine cream cheese and cheese and blend until smooth.
- Stir in bacon and mix in until incorporated but still in bits.
- Spoon into halves of sweet peppers and dust with either paprika or cayanne pepper.
- Note: If using plain cheddar, add garlic powder or minced garlic to mixture.
Krista’s Espresso Orange Panna Cotta with Chipotle Cocoa Whipped Cream
(Adapted from Tyler Florence)
Ingredients:
Cocoa Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon cocoa powder (I used cocoa powder with ground chipotle peppers)
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
Espresso Panna Cotta:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon espresso beans, roughly ground
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 orange, peel only
1 teaspoon powdered gelatin
Directions:
- First add the cocoa powder to the heavy cream for the cocoa whipped cream. Stir well to combine then cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Begin preparing the espresso panna cotta by placing the heavy cream, ground espresso beans, sugar and orange peel in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and steep for 6 to 8 minutes.
- Add the powdered gelatin and using a whisk stir over low heat to warm the mixture and dissolve the gelatin. Do not let it simmer. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve (this not only removes the peel and espresso beans, but also any undissolved gelatin) then pour into individual espresso cups. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.
- Once you put these in the refrigerator you can finish preparing the cocoa whipped cream (alternatively, you can do it just before you serve the panna cotta). Whip the cocoa cream until it begins to thicken and then add the confectioners’ sugar. Whip until soft peaks form and serve a spoonful over each of the panna cotta servings.
Kat’s Tiramisu Toffee Cake
(Adapted from All Recipes)
Ingredients
1 (10.75 ounce) package frozen prepared pound cake, thawed and cut into 9 slices
3/4 cup strong brewed coffee
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered English toffee, chopped
Directions
Arrange cake slices on bottom of a rectangular 11×7 inch baking dish, cutting cake slices if necessary to fit the bottom of the dish. Drizzle coffee over cake.
Beat sugar, chocolate syrup, and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add whipping cream; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Spread over cake. Sprinkle with chocolate-covered toffee candy.
Spread frosting over cake. Sprinkle with toffee candy. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but no longer than 24 hours to set dessert and blend flavors.
_logo.svg){kind=logo}
