Miami Vacation

Photo by Frerk. Flickr

Tomorrow morning during the wee hours of dawn, me and my family are heading down to South Beach Miami. Even though I hate flying more than anything else in the world, I'm looking forward to the ocean, sun and sand. When I'm at the ocean, I make it a point to get up while the tide is very low, so I can collect all kinds of interesting shells, sea glass, driftwood and coral. I have a huge collection of shells and other sea treasures from my previous travels. Unfortunately, I won't have access to my blog while I'm away. Happy blogging to all and I'll be back next week.

Tonight, The Brightest Full Moon Of The Year

Anyone who happens to come across my blog this evening, tonight's full moon is supposed to be the biggest and brightest moon of the year. If you remember, take a quick peak up at the sky and see the absolute beauty of the falling leaf moon in full.


Photo by Naked Eyes. Flickr

Talcari

Photo by cwills. Flickr

Our dear friend from St. Lucia invited me and my husband over for some home cooked West Indian cuisine this past weekend. The meal he made us was absolutely incredible. One of the dishes he served for dinner was called "Talcari," which Is made with butternut squash. Talcari is served over basmati rice, or used as a dip with whole wheat pitta bread. We had it both ways and either way is delicious.
Our friend told us of an island tradition behind this butternut squash dish, the St. Lucian locals call "Talcari." He began by telling us, on the anniversary of a loved one's death, this meal is made for dinner, accompanied by sliced pita bread for dipping purposes. At midnight they go the deceased person's grave and place a plate of Talcari on top of the grave. After returning from the cemetery, the family gathers around to eat more Talcari and pita bread, as a way of honoring the soul of the deceased. I love to learn about different cultures and their customs, so I'm very happy he told us of this tradition. Another reason why I'm so thankful to him is, he gave me the recipe, so I could share it with those who may be interested in trying an exotic twist to butternut squash. He was kind enough to give me all the measurements. I decided to make this last night and it turned out perfect.

Ingredients;

1 large butternut squash, peeled and diced in small cubes

Olive Oil

1/4 cup scallions, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp black pepper or more to taste

1 tsp salt or more to taste

1 1/2 tbs curry powder

1 tbs turmeric

1/2 cup of water

1 tbs cumin

In a large skillet, pour enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Heat oil over medium heat. After the oil is heated, add onions and scallions. Saute them for about ten minutes, or until they start to soften. Add the minced garlic to the pan and saute for an additional 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring often. Add the curry powder and turmeric to the pan. Keep stirring the spices into the vegetables, until you start smelling the aroma of the spices. Add the diced squash to everything and cover for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Take 1/2 cup of water and stir it into the squash. Continue to stir often while everything is cooking covering the pan afterwards. Once the squash starts to soften, stir in the cumin and start mashing it. Lower the heat to medium low and let simmer, covered. You'll continue to stir and mash often, until the squash is done. You may need to add more olive oil, salt and pepper, a few times while cooking, to adjust the taste. Talcari is best served over brown basmati rice, on top of whole wheat pita bread, or by itself.

Halloween Stew

Photo by Jacob L. Barr. Flickr

With Halloween just around the corner, it's fun serving a few festive meals to get everyone in the mood to celebrate, when this ghoulish holiday arrives. One recipe that's worth it's prep time, is Halloween stew. Not only is it fun to make, just think of all the antioxidants and vitamin packed nutrients your giving yourself while eating this delicious meal. I would like to share this recipe with you, because I know you won't be sorry you've made it, once you try it.

Ingredients:

4 small pumpkins, with insides cleaned out and their tops set aside

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Large Leek, chopped

2 medium cooking onions

6 medium cloves of garlic

3 medium carrots, chopped

2 medium parsnips, chopped

2 medium celery stalks, chopped

1 tbs dried basil

1 tbs sage

1 tbs Italian seasoning

2/3 cup crushed tomatoes

4 cups of vegetarian vegetable broth

2 bay leaves

1 can cannelloni beans (optional)

Romano cheese (optional)

Shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Clean out each pumpkin, removing the seeds. After they're clean, coat them with olive oil and set them on a baking sheet, sprayed with non stick cooking spray. Place their coated tops in front of them on the sheet. Put the baking sheet in the oven and set your timer for 15 minutes. When the 15 minutes are up remove the pumpkins form the oven and set them aside, until your ready to fill them. Meanwhile, set the stove to medium and pour some olive oil into the bottom of a sauce pan. Heat the oil, then add the chopped leeks and onions. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper and saute uncovered for about 10 minutes. When the onions and leeks have softened, add the chopped garlic, carrots, parsnips, celery, and all the spices to the pan, except for the bay leaves. Continue to saute uncovered over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring often. You may need to add more olive oil along with more salt and pepper to the vegetables. When the vegetables start to become tender, add 4 cups of vegetable stock, 2/3 cups of crushed tomatoes and bay leaves to the mixture. You may also add more salt and pepper to taste if desired. Bring the stew to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and let simmer, uncovered for 25 minutes. When the time is up, remove the pan from the stove and stir in a can of beans if desired. Salt and pepper the insides of each pumpkin and fill the cavity with stew. When they're all full, sprinkle the tops with Romano cheese and pop them in the oven uncovered for 45 minutes, on the middle rack of the oven.

When everything is done, remove the pan from the oven and carefully place each pumpkin into a serving bowl. Sprinkle each pumpkin with mozzarella cheese, then carefully place their cooked tops on them and serve. For some fun ideas on how to decorate the table you'll be serving this witches brew on, try placing a lit jack-o-lantern in the middle of the table, with additional Halloween voltives lit around the room you'll be dining in. This would be a great way to get most people into the spirit of Halloween.

Scalloped Potatoes Italian Style

Photo by Frogmiller. Flickr

On those dark and chilly evenings, when I'm standing in my kitchen deciding what to make for dinner, my mother's scalloped potatoes come to mind. I've always associated potatoes as being a comfort food, because while I was growing up, my mom made them as a side dish to go along with many different entrees during the colder months. In the winter time, she use to wrap potatoes up in tin foil and bake them in our wood burning fireplace. Unfortunately, I can't follow her tradition for baked potatoes cooked in the fireplace at my house, because our fireplace is gas. Most of the time she baked scalloped potatoes with olive oil. I missed it so much after she passed away, that I just had to try and master this dish myself. Well, I believe I've done it. At least my husband says I have. To my happiness and surprise, he was shocked at how I had nailed her potatoes right to a tee. Surely, My motivation was, if I couldn't make them just as she did, I would never be able to savor the fabulous flavors of this dish anymore. Anyway, here's the recipe for this awesome potato dish, Enjoy!

Ingredients;

7 medium white potatoes, washed, peeled and sliced thinly

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 medium plum tomatoes, thinly sliced

4 large cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup olive oil

2 Tbs fresh sage

2 Tbs fresh parsley

1/2 Tbs dried rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup of Romano cheese (optional)

Pre heat oven to 425 degrees. Place all the ingredients in a large baking dish. Mix everything together well, cover and Place the dish into the oven on the middle baking rack. Bake covered for 30 minutes. When 30 minutes are up, remove the cover and bake uncovered for an additional 15 to 20 minutes. There is no need to stir this while it's cooking. When the potatoes are finished remove them from the oven and serve them with your favorite entree. For you carnivores, these potatoes go nicely along side of grilled steak or roasted chicken dishes. For us vegetarians, I enjoy eating these potatoes along side a nice hearty bowl of lentil soup, or vegetable minestrone, scooped over some 2 day old Italian bread.

Abstract Oil Painting

This is an oil painting I did back in 1998, when I was 33 years old and had much more time to paint. The name of this abstract is called "My Life." At the time of this composition, I felt a need to try and describe my life experiences up until that time. This is how I came up with the name and the images in this painting. Maybe in the future, I'll do an updated abstract of my life experiences up until now. Surely it will be much more cluttered than this painting.

A Moonlit Ride

This is a painting I completed in the beginning of the month. October always inspires me to create witches, pumpkins, and black cats, every time I decide to pick up my paintbrush, or charcoals. It took me about three days to complete this watercolor. I'm hoping I can squeeze in a couple more black cat and witch paintings or drawings, before Halloween arrives.

Sauteed Apples With Cinnamon

Photo by Rmrayner. Flickr

Apple season is now in full swing in my part of the world. Researchers say that an apple a day truly does keep the doctor away. Studies have shown that by consuming apples on a regular basis, we can protect ourselves from cancer and diabetes. Apples are also believed to promote lung and cardiovascular health, because they contain a good amount of fiber (most of it comes from the peel) and vitamin C.

There's many apple recipes to choose from. One of my favorites are sauteed apples. Sauteed apples make a nice dessert during the autumn months, when they're the tastiest. For this recipe you can choose any type of apples you desire. Can you believe there's 7,500 varieties world wide? Wow! Now that's a lot of apples.

Ingredients;

4 medium apples, sliced and unpeeled

2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tbs butter

2 tbs honey

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

4 whole cinnamon sticks

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt (optional)

In a medium bowl, toss the apple slices with lemon juice and set aside. In a skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the vanilla and honey. Add the apple slices to the pan and stir well. Sprinkle apples with nutmeg and place the cinnamon sticks in the pan. Cover and heat for an additional 5 to 8 minutes, while stirring a few times in between. When your apples are done, serve them on four small plates, next to a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt if desired. Finish each plate off with one cinnamon stick for a pretty presentation.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Photo by Don Andre. Flickr

Pumpkin seeds are a great autumn snack. Not only are they packed with vitamins B and E, they are also very high in Zinc. Pumpkin seeds have a balanced source of good proteins, making them a good choice for vegans to choose as a snack or an additional topping on their salads. If I haven't convinced you to try these tasty little seeds yet, then I must inform you that in some countries pumpkin seeds are know to be an aphrodisiac. Now that that's said, I strongly encourage you to get yourself to a grocery store, or local farm stand, so you can pick up a pumpkin of any size and start reaping the rewards that this brightly colored autumn squash has to offer you.

By following these very easy roasting instruction you will have a tasty little snack in no time. Pre heat your oven to 400. Cut the top of a pumpkin and clean out the insides. Collect all the seeds you've removed and rinse the pulp off of them in a colander. Reserve the meat of the pumpkin for later use. After you have rinsed the seeds, dry them well with paper towels. Place the dried seeds on a flat baking sheet, then sprinkle with olive oil and sea salt. Mix everything together well before popping them into the oven. While they're baking, you will need to stir them around often to prevent them from burning. Remove your seeds from the oven after ten minutes or until they are nicely browned. Letting them cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to another container, will make them crispier. After removing them from the pan, store them in an airtight container.

Many times I've placed small dishes of pumpkin seeds on the tables where my guests would be socializing . By doing this, I've found many people actually enjoyed picking at them while chatting away.

Tessa My Persian Cat

Last Sunday morning my daughter's girlfriend's mom and her older daughter were kind enough to snap a photo of my Persian Cat Tessa and send it to me later. This old cat will be the big 15 next April. She's a silver Persian and she has out lived her companion Patrick, my other silver Persian and two children. She's a real trooper. She's proves that she's still healthy and very active by leaving half eaten moles on my porch every other day. Tessa also takes no bull from my 2 year old, 110 lb Rottweiler. Our dog respects her and knows who's boss around here.