WEEKENDER

This week end my husband and I were chatting at our kitchen table and he asked me if I wanted to drink something. I asked what would he like to drink and he said "something to end the week...!" What would that be???  I guess it should be something  bitter and sweet to end the week. With that in mind  I went to our mini  liqour cabinet and came up with this "Weekender".

2 Shots of white Rum
Juice of one squeezed orange
Splash of Curacao
Splash of Grenadine Syrup
4-5 cubes of ice
1-2 drops of  Angustra bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaker, shake well, strain contents into tall glasses and garnish with slice of orange and red Maraschino cherries. Salud.

EASY BREAKFAST TREAT

 I woke up quite hungry this morning. Looking around what to make, I thought to myself how about a healthy omelet that is going to be easy to make. It turned out to be very tasty.

2 Eggs (1 whole and 1 scrambled with 1 tsp. milk)

4 Slices of bacon fried 

1 Medium tomato roughly chopped

2-3 Stems of chives chopped

1 Tsp basil

Butter or buttery spray to coat the baking dish.

Lightly fry the bacon and place it on a paper towel. Discard the bacon  fat from the frying pan and combine the vegetables in the same pan. Stir  gently until tomatoes are just soft but not mushy. Put everything in the prepared oven proof dish and pour the scrambled egg over the vegetable mixture but don't mix. Break the whole egg on the other side of the dish and place it in a 350 degree preheated oven until  eggs are cooked.

(I prefer soft egg to scrambled egg. I tried to kill two birds with one stone. Ha! Ha!)

 

IN HONOR OF ALL MOTHERS

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL

CARROT MARMALADE

 Looking through recipes with my mother we came across an old recipe of carrot jam that my grandmother used to make. She used to make the best fresh fig jam, persimmon jam I've ever had. She is long gone but her legacy still stands. Her legendary cookies were passed unto younger generations. She also loved to cook and her cooking was divine. As a child I used to sleep over at her house so that I could have those delicious jellies and cookies. Aah, I still remember the delicious aroma of toasting bread wafting from her kitchen and the nice table setting with all the goodies she prepared just for me.

Anyway so much for nostalgia, here is my adaptation of carrot jelly from her recipe:

3 Medium size carrots cleaned and grated

1 Large orange 

3 Cups of Sugar

1/4 Tsp ground cloves 
1 1/2 Cups of water
1 Tbsp lemon juice

In a large pot over medium heat place the grated carrots, sugar, cloves and water. Wash and zest the orange and add the zest into the pot. Remove  the remaining peel, pith and pits, if any, of the orange and dice it into smaller pieces and add to the pot. Stir  in lemon juice and boil for approximately 1-1/12 hours. After cooling blend everything with the infusion blender and place them in sterile jars. Voila, carrot marmalade.

ASPARAGUS ROLL

 Last night while driving back home I was thinking about what I would prepare for supper. As we all know at this time of the year asparagus is at its best and I had some in the fridge. Let's see what else did I have in my refrigerator...???  
Oh, refrigerated biscuit dough, feta cheese and red peppers... Great.  I decided to try my own recipe.  My husband was very happy with the results and ate one half of the roll with accolades to the chef.... Here's my recipe for two (and remember: you'll put your salt and pepper according to your taste): 

      1 Bunch of Asparagus (10-12)

      1 Small onion finely chopped

      2 Tbsp olive oil

      1/2  Cup finely diced red pepper

      1/3 Cup chopped cilantro

      1 Cup Feta cheese

      1 Egg separated

      2 Scallions chopped

      2 Sheets of Puff pastry dough (I used 4 refrigerated biscuit dough-rolled out 1 1/2 inch thickness) .

Roll out the two sheets of dough separately on floured surface. Place one on a greased sheet.  Saute onions and asparagus in a pan until just soft. Set aside. In a medium bowl mash feta cheese and egg white with a fork and add all the other ingredients. Stir. With a spatula spread this mixture on the 1st piece of dough. Put the asparagus pieces side by side on top of this mixture. Cover it with the second sheet of dough, sealing each corner tightly. Brush with egg yolk and bake in  350 degree preheated oven for 15-20 minutes (or until it is golden brown). Enjoy..... and have a nice glass of  wine to wash it down...

APRIL SHOWERS AND MY FLOWERS

I recently recieved these flowers I couldn't help but fall in love with their colors. Aren't they amazing????

Just look at these colors...

Have you seen two (2)  tulips on one stem????? Look carefully and you'll see that not only that they grew on one stem,  their colors are different too..... 

My husband gave me this beautiful African Violet. Look at their delicate lavender border

 

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This wild violet is from my back yard. It draws a lot of attention from the rabbit who lives in the neighborhood

SPLIT PEA SOUP

After the Easter dinner I decided to save the ham bone for our long time favorite split pea soup. You know after such a big meal one doesn't look forward to eating but when you are hungry then you look for some stick to your ribs good food. Well this recipe is just that, down home with all the aromas and taste.  Anyway I'm glad that I froze the bone along with a few ham  slices. I made wheat pasta salad with diced ham as accompaniment to our tasty soup. Nothing fancy just nutritious. I also freeze chicken and turkey bones for making delicious broths.  You can add salt and pepper to your liking. 

 Anyway here is the recipe for the soup.

2 1/2 Cups dried split peas

5 Cups of water

Ham bone with some meat on it (mine was probably 1 pound)   

2 medium size onions quartered

2 cloves of garlic roughly chopped

1 large stalk of celery, ribs removed and chopped

1 large carrot chopped

1 teaspoon dried thyme crushed

1 teaspoon dried mint crushed

1 large bay leaf

Rinse dried peas and set aside. In a large pot combine all ingredients with water including rinsed peas. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1.5  hours stirring occasionally until peas are soft. Remove the bone and the bay leaf and discard. When cool enoug, using a regular blender or infusion blender blend until silky smooth. Return to pot and boil for an extra 10-15 minutes. Garnish with croutons and diced ham. ( I used left over ham pieces from the bone and crispy tortilla chips instead of bread).  You can freeze the extra soup in the freezer until next time. 

And here is my wheat spiral pasta salad with extra ham pieces and red peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers,  dressed with home made vinaigrette dressing . Enjoy...