by Krista | Apr 8, 2010 | Plucky Thursday
It was a cold, rainy and stormy day this past weekend when my rellies and I decided we simply had to go to the beach! We donned jackets and scarves and braved the nippy breezes, so happy to be at the seashore breathing deeply of that cold salty air.
This fellow made me grin as he walked jauntily and fearlessly down the beach. 🙂
We strolled the rocky shoreline, stopping to peer into tide pools, pointing out scurrying crabs, tiny shells walking along by themselves, and rocks encrusted with barnacles and mussels.
When we wanted a break just to sit quietly and watch the waves, nearby driftwood provided the perfect perch.
We found all sorts of treasures: pebbles washed smooth by the sea, and these gorgeous purple shells that are now washed and sitting in a bowl on my coffee table.
As the sun sank lower and the temperature dropped, we headed back home for steaming bowls of Mum’s 4-Bean Salsa Soup, and fresh rolls from the Dutch Bakery spread thickly with butter and Danish strawberry jam.
It was a beautiful way to spend a stormy day. 🙂
Mum’s 4-Bean Salsa Soup
Ingredients:
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinquinto beans
1 can green chilies
2 jars salsa
1 can corn, drained
1-2 farmer’s sausage, sliced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 cup cheese (cheddar, pepper jack), shredded
*DO NOT DRAIN BEANS*
Directions:
- Heat soup pot over medium heat and fry sausage until browned. Drain.
- Add rest of ingredients except cilantro and cheese. Bring to boil and simmer 5-10 minutes.
- Scoop into bowls and sprinkle with cilantro and shredded cheese.
by Krista | Apr 7, 2010 | Compatriot Wednesday
The jolly thing about being part of CEC is that whenever it’s your birthday, you get to choose the theme for the menu! This week was Toby’s birthday and, being an island lad, he asked us all to cook Hawaiianish things. We were more than happy to oblige. 🙂
Deborah started the evening with her fantastic Coconut Pineapple Sliders, scrumptiously moist little burgers mixed with coconut and pineapple and served on toasted sweet rolls spread with coconut milk solids.
Darren made us all deeeelicious Mai Tai’s and Jason and Kim served up a cheery bowl of fruit salad made of three different varieties of apples, plus oranges, bananas, pineapple and coconut.
Don whipped up a batch of his “Hawaiian” Guacamole which looked suspiciously like his “Mexican” Guacamole. 🙂 Regardless, it was a marvy mash perfect on the extra salted tortilla chips he brought.
Meanwhile, Toby was working hard over the stove creating two chicken dishes: Shoyu Chicken and Teriyaki Chicken. They were both splendid, the chicken tender and juicy, the sauces distinctive and savory.
Then Cameron emerged from the darkness bearing platters of four different types of smoked Spam (yes, SPAM!!!!) and pork tenderloin. I don’t think I’d ever had Spam before and I was assured that these renditions were the best Spam I would ever taste. 🙂 Cameron smoked plain Spam, Teriyaki Spam, BBQ Spam and “Dry Rub Special Spice” Spam. 🙂 We all agreed that they tasted like greasier, saltier hot dogs, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. 🙂
Cameron’s smoked pork loin was gorgeous and tender, packed with flavor.
Our evening of feasting ended with my creamy Coconut Almond Jelly with Fresh Mangoes, and Jason’s crispy Fried Plantain slices sprinkled with sugar. Delish! 🙂
Happy Birthday, Toby! 🙂
Deborah’s Coconut Pineapple Sliders
Ingredients:
1 pound hamburger
3/4 can pineapple tidbits
1 cup shredded coconut
1-2 Tbsp coconut milk, enough to moisten
King’s Hawaiian Rolls, halved and toasted
3-4 Tbsp coconut milk solids
Directions:
- Mix hamburger, pineapple, coconut and coconut milk together. Let sit in fridge overnight.
- Form small patties with ice cream scoop and grill to desired doneness.
- Spread toasted rolls with coconut milk solids.
- Place burger between rolls and serve immediately.
Don’s “Hawaiian” Guacamole
Ingredients:
4 ripe avocados, halved and flesh scooped out
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped fine
handful fresh cilantro, chopped
lime juice to taste
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions:
- Mash everything in mortar and pestle to desired consistency.
- Serve with salty tortilla chips
Jason and Kim’s Fruit Salad
Ingredients:
3 apples, different varieties
2 oranges
3 bananas
1/2-1 pineapple
1/2-1 cup shredded coconut
Directions:
- Chop all fruit then toss with coconut and serve.
Jason’s Fried Plantain
Ingredients:
Plantains, sliced 1/4 inch thick
Vegetable oil
Granulated sugar
Directions:
- Heat 1/4 cup of vegetable oil in frying pan.
- Add plantains and fry until golden and crispy.
- Transfer to paper towel and drain.
- Sprinkle with sugar while still hot and serve immediately.
Krista’s Coconut Almond Jelly with Fresh Mangoes
Ingredients:
2 pkgs. unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 c. coconut milk
1 tsp. almond extract
2-3 ripe mangoes, cubed
Directions:
- Sprinkle gelatin on cold water in a pot. Put on medium heat.
- Stir constantly until dissolved.
- Add 1 cup sugar, stir to dissolve. Remove from heat.
- Add almond flavoring to the milk and pour into the gelatin mix. Stir to blend.
- Pour into 9″ square glass pan and put in fridge to set.
- When cut in 1/2 -1-inch squares.
- Place a cup full into each bowl. Top with cubed mango and serve.
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.
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