Tiger Swallowtail on Joe Pye Weed

Tiger Swallowtail on Joe Pye Weed

Cabbage Casserole

Cabbage Casserole

1 napa cabbage cut into bite sized pieces

1 small onion chopped
1 scant tablespoon olive oil to coat baking dish
4 eggs beaten
1 cup sour cream
4 garlic cloves minced fine
8 oz melting cheese grated
4 ounces asiago cheese grated, reserved
1/2  cup gluten free flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon ground mustard powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon fennel seed, ground
1 tablespoon chopped dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Oil a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Toss chopped cabbage, grated melting cheese, chopped onion and spread into baking dish, patting down slightly. In a separate bowl beat eggs, add sour cream and whisk. Next add all remaining ingredients and whisk well. Reserve asiago cheese. Preheat oven to 350 F. Pour egg and flour mixture over cabbage and toss gently. Sprinkle grated asiago cheese over the top and bake for 50 minutes till top just starts to brown. Let sit for 15 minutes and cut into squares to serve. Just another way to prepare cabbage. Enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

3 large red bell peppers or 12 mini red peppers
1 tablespoon olive oil for sauteing 
1 yellow onion chopped fine
3 roma tomatoes chopped

2 peaches skinned and chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon agave syrup
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Seed and cut in quarters all the peppers. Roast open side down in 375 F oven till starting to brown. Set aside to cool. When peppers are cool enough to handle chop them into small pieces. Meanwhile saute onion in olive oil. When onions are soft and translucent, add the chopped peppers, tomatoes, tomato paste, peaches, agave, and seasonings. When mixture has cooked down, let cool slightly and whirl in blender till smooth. Rewarm and either add 1/2 cup heavy cream or serve as is. This soup is so delicious and beautiful with its vibrant red color.

Enjoy!

Gary's Grandfather's Log Cabin

Gary's Grandfather's Log Cabin

Gary's grandfather was a carpenter;
he made this log cabin.
Notice the door opens and closes.

The cabin sits on our mantle

and we cherish it every day.

We've both always had an affinity 
for living in the mountains.
Nowadays, living in another state
we're still in the mountains.
Thankful.

Whole Roasted Red Snapper

Whole Roasted Red Snapper

1 whole red snapper, gutted and fins removed
olive oil to brush on fish
1 medium yellow onion sliced thin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon fine pink salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 lemons cut into slices
fresh bunch of dill
fresh bunch of mint

Wash snapper and pat dry. Brush fish with olive oil on both sides.
Cut criss cross sections into meat of fish on both sides.
Cut just down to the bone but not into the bone.

Here's an example of how I cut the fish.
My cuts are made in the direction of the tail on an angle.
When eating the fish use back of fork tines and
tease meat off the bone from sections previously cut.

Prepare a large sheet pan covering it with aluminum foil.
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Slice onion and sprinkle over the aluminum foil
covering the portion the fish will sit upon.
Sprinkle interior and both sides of fish with the
garlic powder, thyme, salt, paprika, and pepper.
Stuff interior of fish with fresh mint and dill.
Add lemon slices to fish cavity.
place any remaining lemon slices on the onions.
Place fish on bed of onions and lemons.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Place on serving platter and eat directly from the fish.
An experienced chef/waiter could remove the meat,
but, hey, we just eat it the easy for the two of us.
Fish cooked this way is so delicious.
Gary kept saying the fish tasted so good. A keeper,
both my husband and the fish recipe.

Fresh Corn Casserole/Pudding

Fresh Corn Casserole/Pudding

4 ears of fresh corn

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs beaten slightly

1 cup sour cream
4 ounces melting cheese grated
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup 1:1 gluten free flour
1 small 4 ounce can green chiles

1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 7 x 11 inch baking dish.
Remove corn from cob and add half to butter and eggs.
Puree this mixture in a blender.
Add remaining ingredients to other half of corn.
Last stir in creamed corn mixture.

Pour into greased pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes.
Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into squares and serve.
This turned out quite tasty, might even need some spice.

Orange Sorbet

Orange Sorbet

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
zest of two oranges
3 cups of orange juice
2 tablespoons orange liquor

1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
scant pinch of pink salt

In a non-reactive medium saucepan heat sugar and water over high heat till boiling, then boil for two minutes. Set aside. Zest two oranges and add zest to sugar water (simple syrup) while it is cooling. Stir sugar water so it doesn't stick to the sides of the pan with the zest. Juice enough oranges to make 3 cups or add bottled orange juice to make up the difference. Add juice and remaining ingredients of liquor, lemon juice, vanilla and salt to the saucepan. Stir well and freeze. Every half hour break up/stir mixture with a fork to ensure all liquid is freezing uniformly. When almost frozen pour into individual freezer proof containers or freeze in a freezer proof dish to scoop out to serve later.

So refreshiing and easy to make and not really that sweet.

I'm wondering about other sorbet flavors.
What about peach, mint, chocolate or coffee?

What would you make?

Alternatives to Sugar

Alternatives to Sugar

Beet and Peach Salad

Beet and Peach Salad

6 small beets, roasted whole then peeled, chopped
2 freestone peaches chopped into bite sized pieces.
6 ounces of fresh blackberries
4 roma tomatoes, sliced crosswise

4 ounces of pine nuts
3 ounces of feta cheese, hand crumbled
small bunch of fresh dill finely chopped
small head of savoy cabbage chopped small

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
4 drops of agave syrup
salt and pepper to taste

Straight from the farmers market were the beets and peaches.
Inspired me to make this salad utilizing both,
may sound strange but somehow both go together.
Place whole beets in aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil,
wrap up till complete covered and bake at 400 F for 50 minutes.
When beets are cool, remove stem ends, peel, and chop bite sized.
Chop peaches into bite sized pieces

Place bed of chopped cabbage on salad plate,
Add beets, peaches, blackberries, feta cheese,
tomatoes, dill, and pine nuts. Whisk remaining ingredients
and drizzle dressing over salad just before serving.
This is a very refreshing salad for a hot summer day.

By the way the lemon sorbet was delicious,
coming up soon I'm going to try an orange sorbet.

Lemon Sorbet

Lemon Sorbet

4 lemons, zested then juiced
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups water
1 egg white (optional)
fresh mint leaves for garnish

Heat sugar and water in small sauce pan.
Boil for 2 minutes. Set aside and elt cool completely.
Meanwhile zest then juice the 4 lemons.
Add half of the zest to the cooling sugar water (simple syrup).
Add lemon juice to sugar water and whirl in a blender till frothy.
Add egg white to mixture and blend for one more minute.
Place mixture in stainless bowl and freeze.
After 30 minutes stir freezing mixture and then continue to freeze.
When mixture becomes soft and partially solidified.
Place in individual serving dishes,
keep in freezer till ready to serve.
Garnish with remaining lemon zest and mint leaves.
What a treat to have for dessert or a palate cleanser on these hot days.

Big Fat Hornworm

Big Fat Hornworm

The moth that lays the hornworm eggs.

Parasitic wasp c0coons which will kill the hornworm.

First hornworms we've seen in 3 years.
Rainy and cool, now dry and hot.
Hornworms strip a tomato plant of leaves overnight.
Careful if you squish a hornworm, they splatter green stuff everywhere.
If you see one with those white cocoons, leave them be.
Parasitic wasps hatch from the cocoons and kill the hornworms.
Nature has it's own balance scales when we let it happen.

Fresh Fig Shortbread Bars

Fresh Fig Shortbread Bars

scant quart of fresh figs, I used Adriatic variety
10 dried black mission figs
juice and zest of one lemon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water

2 sticks un salbutter room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg room temperature

2 cups 1:1 gluten free flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine pink salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup chopped nuts of your choice chopped well

 I found the fresh figs at the farmers market in Blairsville and couldn't resist. Figs are very nutritious. Cut fresh figs in half. Cut dried figs in small pieces. Juice and zest one lemon. Add figs, lemon zest, juice, and water to sauce pan. Cook till softened and mash to desired consistency. I kept mine slightly lumpy. Set aside and let cool.

Cream butter, then add sugar a little at a time and continue to cream, add vanilla and then egg and blend till incorporated. Preheat oven to 350 F. In a separate bowl measure dry ingredients and whisk till blended. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, a little at a time.

Divide dough in half. Press half of dough into bottom of 9x12 or 7x12 inch baking dish and bake for 15 minutes. Add nuts to remaining dough blending with a spatula. I used pecans. When bottom layer is baked. Remove from over, let cool slightly and spread fig mixture over the top. Next dollop nut flour mixture over the top. Bake in oven for 35 to 45 more minutes. Dry on a wire rack, Cut into squares when cool. Crumbly but so delicious.

Bodie Ghost Town

Bodie Ghost Town

Years ago Gary and I used to visit ghost towns
in the Western United States.

The thing about building there they dry heat
keeps them from deteriorating as quickly as the East.

One of the things I miss about the living in the West.
Ah, memories from the past.

Zucchini Casserole

Zucchini Casserole

3 very large zucchini sliced thin on mandolin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, sliced thin and sauteed till soft
8 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese, hand grated
2 large red heirloom tomatoes sliced thin
5 eggs beaten

1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons original Mrs Dash
2 teaspoons ground thyme
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces of asiago cheese, hand grated
1/2 cup gluten free bread crumbs
about 10 cherry tomatoes cut in half

Saute sliced onion, then remove from heat and set aside. While onion is sauteing grate sharp cheddar cheese and asiago cheese. Keep cheeses separate. Slice zucchini very thin on a mandolin. Brush 9 x 13 inch glass or ceramic baking dish with olive oil. In a separate bowl beat eggs and add sour cream and cream. Place one layer of zucchini slices overlapping on the bottom of baking dish. Sprinkle some of the onion over zucchini, Place half of tomato slices over the zucchini and onions. Sprinkle half of the spices. Then sprinkle half of the cheddar cheese over the top. Pour half of the egg and cream mixture over the top.

Start another layer of the zucchini slices, then remaining onions, tomato slices, spices, then other half of the cheddar cheese. Pour other half of the egg and cream mixture over the top of second layer. Place one more layer of the zucchini slices. Next sprinkle the asiago cheese over the top and then the bread crumbs. Add the halved cherry tomatoes over the top spread out evenly. Bake in preheated 350 F oven for 45 minutes. Let casserole cool for 15 minutes before slicing into squares to serve.

So very delicious. Takes a bit of time to layer the concoction but well worth it in the end. I am limiting my salt intake, hence the use of Mrs. Dash instead. Feel free to omit but decrease any salt amount. Mrs Dash is a blend of spices and I find the generous amount is great with zucchini because they are rather bland if not spiced liberally.

A Wedding Gift

A Wedding Gift

The two pillows at the head of the bed,
I made as a wedding gift for Gary 
when we were first married.

Our two cats at the time, Binky and Butter,
have long since gone to cat heaven.
They are taking an afternoon nap.

Once Gary said he like down pillows.
I remember special ordering actual down feathers

from a magazine ad I saw to make the pillows.
 The outer pieced covers, which I designed,

have a velcro opening so they can be washed.
There is an inner plain cotton cover containing the down.

At the time we moved to the California mountains 
from the San Francisco Bay Area.
We both loved the Sierra Mountains.
The two pillow symbolized that move.
We bought a house in the mountains,

and were married in the backyard
forty one years ago.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Bells I made several years ago.
Been thinking of a wind chime for the porch.

Have a good one.

Not Just Another Cabbage Salad

 

Not Just Another Cabbage Salad

1 head of Napa cabbage shredded fine
5 hard boiled eggs
5 kiwi cut into small bite sized pieces
6 mini peppers, seeded, chopped small
1 English cucumber, peeled and chopped small
3 scallions chopped small

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons rive vinegar
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon agave syrup
1 tablespoon aminos (gluten free soy)
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare first group of ingredients and toss gently. Whisk second group of ingredients and pour over salad. Let sit for several hours and ingredients will meld themselves into a cohesive tasting salad. You can't go wrong with a napa cabbage salad in my estimation. Maybe even add some fresh herbs like mint or chives or cilantro to the mix. Enjoy! 

Queen Anne's Lace

Queen Anne's Lace

Growing on the roadsides right now.
A wild carrot with beautiful flowers
in a vase I made some time ago.

Butter Beans or Lima Beans

Butter Beans or Lima Beans

Before you discount these beans,
they're completely different when cooked from fresh.

I bought a full pint of them at the farmers market.

1 pint of butter beans
1 large yellow onion chopped medium
4 garlic cloves minced
1 scant tablespoon olive oil
5 hot pork sausages, skins removed and chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 small can diced tomatoes
1 large can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water if needed
4 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
4 tablespoons fresh basil chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fine pink salt

In a large stock pot, saute chopped onion, add sausage and when slightly browned add garlic. Cook for one minute longer. Add butter beans and tomatoes. Cook bean mixture till soft, adding water if it becomes too dry. So delicious and good for you too.

Homeless at 70

Homeless at 70

Worth a listen, a bit over one hour.
Topic hit home with our property taxes assessment
 up 40 K this year alone, which we have appealed.
We know folks whose tax assessment didn't increase at all,
 and others with one million dollar plus lake homes
and theirs didn't increase either.
There's much inequity in who had increases and who did not
in this county. We have a homestead exemption but
not much help with the huge increase this year,
and every year since we moved here.
Tax on unrealized gains is what it is.
Folks all over this country are up in arms about this topic.
Stocks and bonds, there is no unrealized gain taxation with those.

Then we get the bill for house and vehicle insurances
which also continue to go up. No accidents or tickets
and driving old cars. As we age our vehicle insurance goes up
according to the insurance company to pay for all the
old folks who supposedly contribute to the overall accident rate.
Then there are medical bills, the golden years, where are they?