HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY AMERICA!

Recipe: Manhattan Fish Chowder

Our local grocery store has this great bag of seafood mix that they sell in the freezer isle. The page includes squid, shrimp, muscles and clams included. I've made it into a fish stew and a stir fry with vegetables in the past, so when I thought of making a Manhattan Clam Chowder, I decided to try to use the seafood mix instead of clams.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely diced onion
1 cup finely diced cored fennel bulb
2 tablespoons chopped fronds
4 minced garlic cloves
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend
½ teaspoon Mrs. Dash
1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
Dash of Cayenne pepper liquid sauce to taste
2 cups precooked diced potatoes
2 14-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes
1 pound frozen seafood mix

Directions:
In a medium frying pan heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, fennel bulb, garlic, Italian seasoning, Mrs. Dash and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are just starting to brown.

Add broth and potatoes; bring to a boil. Stir in tomatoes, Cayenne pepper sauce, seafood and fennel fronds. Return to a boil. Seafood will cook up quickly. When seafood is cooked remove from heat and serve.

Serve with French bread or crackers.

Don't need to be an artist to add a little fun to your walls

I like arts and crafts, but I am far from an expert when it comes to them. There is a lot of trial and error in all my projects. This last week I finally got a chance to paint one of my bathroom's walls. This bathroom has no windows, so of course the first thing I thought was it needed light paint. It is the bathroom my son uses so light paint always gets dirty fast. That left me wondering what to do.

A few years ago I did faux painting in the living room. I got all the expensive faux paint products and went to town. I liked the way it came out, so I thought that was the answer in my bathroom. The only problem was that the room is so small I didn't think I would even uses a quart much less the gallon you need to buy the faux paint in at the hardware store.

After speaking with the sales clerk I found that you don't need to use the special faux paint to give you the faux paint look. The steps are simple and everyone can do it, even the kids, and have fun with it.

For this project you need:
Two complimentary shades of paint.
This can be very easy as the hardware store has paint sample cards in complimentary colors. Pick one color dark and another two shades lighter. I used a gloss paint for the bathroom. Semi-gloss paint or gloss is apparently the best for this project.
Paint roller and brushes
One natural sea sponge—These can be found in the hardware paint department
One brown grocery paper bag
One plastic grocery bag

Step 1:
All the normal rules of painting a wall apply. Make sure the wall is clean of grease and dirt, etc. Then plaster any holes as desired. Wait for the plaster to dry. Apply the base or darker coat of paint to the wall first. Allow the base coat to completely dry. Depending on the the weather this can take up to 24 hours.

Step 2:
Completely wet the sea sponge with water. Ring out the excess water. Using the lighter color of paint, dip the sponge into the light colored paint. Pat the excess paint on the paper bag then lightly sponge onto the wall in a 2 feet by 2 feet area, rotating the directions of the sponge to create a random effect. Scrunch up the plastic bag in your hand and go over the sponge painted area lightly to press in the paint. Reload the sponge until the walls are completely sponged, again using the paper bag and the plastic bag as described.

Step 3: 
Let the wall dry at least 24 hours before putting anything on the walls.

That is all there is too it. There really isn't any artist talent needed and it will spruce up your plain walls.

Rainbow Bridge Poem

 Princess Ariel

April 1992 - April 1, 2010

RIP Sweet Girl

There is a bridge connecting heaven and earth. It is called Rainbow Bridge because of its many colours.

Just this side of the Rainbow Bridge there is a land of meadows, hills, valleys with lush green grass.

When a beloved pet dies , the pet goes to this special place. There is always food and water and warm spring weather.

The old and frail are young again. Those who are maimed are made whole again.

They play all day with each other. There is only one thing missing.

They are not with their special person who loved them on Earth.

So each day they run and play until the day comes when one suddenly stops playing and looks up!

The nose twitches!

The ears are up!

The eyes are staring!

And this one suddenly runs from the group!

You have been seen, and when you and your special friend meet, you take him or her into your arms and embrace.

Your face is kissed again and again, and you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet.

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together, never again to be separated.

~Author Unknown

Spicy Hot Hamburgers

How hot can you eat it? Last week watching a marathon of Man v. Food, my husband decided he wanted to try one of the contests that the show's host Adam tried. The contest had Adam eating a really hot hamburger. The burger had a couple of different chilis on it, plus some hot sauces.

I couldn't find the exact recipe or even the name of the burger, but we tried to find all the ingredients we thought they put on it. Unfortunately we couldn't find the hottest chili, the ghost chili, so we didn't get a fair test. Here is the recipe anyway.

Ingredients:
2 jalepeno chili peppers
1 ghost chili pepper
Cayenne pepper sauce (to desired taste)
Habanero pepper sauce (to desired taste)
4 hamburger patties
4 slices of cheese (your choice of cheese)
4 hamburger buns
10 button mushrooms

Directions:
Grill or fry hamburgers to taste. In the meantime, saute jalepeno and ghost chillis in a frying pan until lightly browned. Place hamburger on bun top with cheese, chilis. Dash on Cayenne and Habanero pepper sauces. Place mushrooms on top and then top with bun.

In the contest Adam had to eat the whole hamburger in 15 minutes and not drink anything until 5 minutes after he was done with the food. The ghost chilis are what really makes it hot. I'll be watching to see if I can find them anywhere and try this again.

The Elvis Sandwich

Last week my husband found a blog that listed a peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich which they referred to as The Elvis sandwich. I have no idea wether Elvis really liked this sandwich at all or if some cafe just thought it was a good idea to name a sandwich after the King of Rock and Roll.

I found several references to the sandwich online. Generally this is how the recipe goes.

Ingredients:
Butter or margarine
White bread, 2 slices sandwich
Peanut butter
1/2 large, ripe banana, sliced per sandwich
Honey
3 slices of crispy cooked bacon, per sandwich

Directions:
Spread the butter/margarine on 1 side of each slice of bread. Turn over each slice and spread peanut butter. Place banana slices on top of peanut butter. Drizzle honey over bananas. Place the 3 bacon slices on top of the banana. Cover with remaining bread slices, butter-side-out.

Place sandwiches on a preheated frying pan. Flip them over when they become golden brown. This makes one sandwich, but you can make as many as you like.

Juicy Lucy or is Jucy Lucy

This past weekend watching a marathon on Man v. Food, the host Adam visited Minneapolis, Minnesota and took the Jucy Lucy/Juicy Lucy challenge. In the South area of Minneapolis there are two restaurants competing for the best specially made Jucy Lucy/Juicy Lucy cheeseburger. The two restaurants are Matt's Bar and just down the street is The 5-8 Club. The difference in the burgers is the way the two establishments spell the name and one offers more of a variety of cheese.

The burgers looked great, so we decided to try our own version of the cheese stuffed burgers.

Ingredients:
8 pre-made packaged hamburger patties
2 T. olive oil
8 slices of cheese—cut in fours (we used Monterey Pepper Jack cheese)
1/2 chopped onion
Mrs. Dash to taste (or salt and pepper your choice)
4 Hamburger buns

Directions:
Place 8 of the quarter slices of cheese and place it into the middle of 2 of the hamburger patties. Press the edges of the patties tightly together to keep the cheese inside. Do the same for three more patties to make a total of four hamburger.

Add olive oil to frying pan and heat. Add chopped onions. Place all four hamburgers into pan and cook to taste. I covered the pan to make sure that it cooked all the way through. Important to cook until the cheese melts.

Place patties in hamburger buns, top with cooked onions and add your favorite dressing i.e. catsup, mustard, mayo, pickles, etc.

Mother-In-Law Sandwich

My husband saw this blog that had some sandwiches from famous restaurants from around the country, but they didn't have any recipes so we thought we'd try to figure it out and make our own.

The Mother-In-Law Sandwich was apparently from this famous restaurant in Chicago. Here's what we came up with, but it you have another idea of what goes inside let me know.

Ingredients:
4 prepackaged frozen tamales
1 14 oz can of chili
diced onion (if desired)
shredded Mexican cheese (as desired)
4 hot dog buns

Direction:
Cook tamales as instructed on package. Meanwhile heat chili on stove. Set hot dog buns on a plate and fill with tamales, top with chili, onion and cheese. Enjoy.

My Meatball Sub Recipe

This weekend we watch a marathon of the Man v. Food television show and decided to try and make up our own versions of the food items that the host Adam got to taste test.

Here is an old fashioned meatball sub sandwich.
We cheated a little so that we wouldn't have to make a lot of food ahead of time.

Ingredients:
1 pound of ground chuck or beef (lowfat content of course)

1/2 chopped onion
1 T Italian seasoning
1 T Mrs. Dash (or salt and pepper if you prefer)
2 T olive oil
1 jar of pre-prepared tomato sauce (Classico was the kind we used)
4 large sandwich buns (we used Italian subs style)
Shredded Mozzarella cheese as desired

Directions:
In a large bowl combine ground meat, onions and seasoning. Roll meat into 1-2 inch balls. Heat olive oil in a skillet carefully add meatballs into skillet, cover and let cook for 3 to 5 minutes over medium heat. Then turn over meatballs. This time varies depending on how you like your ground beef cooked.

When meat is done add tomato sauce over top and cook for 3 more minutes.

Place opened breads on individual plates and spoon in meatballs. Top with Mozzarella cheese.

Magic Bars

From Eagle Brand Website
This is a favorite of my husband's from his childhood.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts
Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees for glass dish). Coat 13x9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Press down firmly with a fork.

Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store covered at room temperature.

Bird question answered

Thanks to my brother-in-law's roommate I have identified the mystery bird found on our Big Break Trail walk as a Caspian Tern.

Here is some information I found on line at: http://bit.ly/UHN2N

The largest of the terns, the Caspian Tern is one of the most widespread tern species in the world, occurring on every continent except Antarctica. It is white with a light gray mantle and white undersides. The breast and face are also white. The legs and eyes are black, and the bill is large, heavy, and bright red-orange. It has a shallowly forked tail and a slight crest that gives the head a squared-off look. In breeding plumage, the Caspian Tern sports a solid black cap, which recedes in the non-breeding season, resulting in a spray of white at the face mixing with black. Juveniles appear similar to adults in non-breeding plumage but have a lighter mantle that is mottled with light tan.

What kind of bird is this?

At first we thought they might be seagulls, which we have several varieties, but I've never seen this type before. Any ideas what it is?

Like Romance Novels?

News and Reviews on Romance Books for romance book fans by a romance book fan.

www.RomanceBookScene.com
RomanceBookScene.blogspot.com

Recipe: Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Note: This isn't my recipe. It is from Hershey's Cocoa website. My husband really had a craving for this one day a few years back and I searched the web to try and find it. Took hours to find it, since we had no idea what it was called. Low and behold there it was right in the place we should have looked first for it.

Now my husband prefers this to cake for his birthday.

Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1-1/4 cups hot water
Ice Cream

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, butter and vanilla; beat until smooth.

2. Pour batter into ungreased 9-inch square baking pan. Stir together remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa; sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Pour hot water over top; do not stir.

3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes. Serve in dessert dishes, spooning sauce from bottom of pan over top. Top with ice cream. About 8 servings.

Recipe: Salmon and Asparagus Quiche

Ingredients:
1 frozen pie shell
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups fat free milk
1 tablespoon Italian spices
1 tablespoons butter
7 to 8 stalks asparagus, frozen or fresh
1/2 cup non-fat cream cheese
1/8 pound smoked salmon

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Prick the bottom of the pie shell liberally with a fork then bake for 7 to 8 minutes, until the pie shell begins to feel firm.

Prepare filling by mix together eggs, non-fat milk and spices in a medium size bowl.

Melt butter in a medium size skillet over medium heat. Add the asparagus and cook until tender.

In the pie shell arrange the asparagus like the spokes of a wheel. Pour the rest of the egg mixture over the asparagus. Cut cream cheese into cubs and spread around inside egg mixture. Crumble salmon and spread around inside egg mixture. Bake for about 40 minutes, until puffed and brown. Make sure to put a folk inside to check and see if quiche is firm all the way through.

Very Tall Sunflower from my backyard

Summer Sun Flower

Recipe: Italian Baked Pasta and Chicken

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked pasta (any small pasta will do)
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
½ cup diced red onion
1 clove garlic, minced
4 large tomatoes diced
½ cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
¼ cup bread crumbs
¼ cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, spices and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes.

Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta add mozzarella cheese. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

The Reuben Sandwich

After watching a History Channel episode on the History of Favorite Foods, my husband and I started craving some of the old favorites. The episode went was dedicated to such foods as hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, as well as talked about the history of McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's. Pizza from New York and Chicago and all the little hot dog venues around the world including Nathan's Hot Dogs.

The one that caught our eye, though, was the Reuben sandwich. There are so many variation on the history of the Reuben sandwich. Some say hit haled from Germany others say it was the sole inspiration of a New York deli in the early 1900s called Reubens.

There are also as many variations of recipes as there are stories of its history. I remember Reuben sandwiches from when I lived in New York as a kid. I haven't been able to find the like in California since I've lived here.

Generally a Reuben is made with corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing. I actually rather have mine made with pastrami instead of corn beef, which is how I remember it from when I was a kid.

As I remember it the important thing about the sandwich was that it needed to be heaped high with meat, whether corn beef or pastrami, then piled high with sauerkraut then layered thick with Swiss cheese. I don't much remember the Russian dressing. My memory was a spicy mustard. The bread used was toasted or grilled rye bread.

Here was what we finally came up with for our recipe:
Roni's Reubens
Ingredients:
1 lb. deli pastrami
Classic Claussen Sauerkraut
1 pound thickly sliced Swiss Cheese
Rye bread (toasted)
Horseradish mustard (optional)

Directions:
Place four toasted rye bread slices on a cookie sheet. Pile high with pastrami, drain sauerkraut well and place desired amount on top of pastrami (some like a lot, some like a little). Add 1 to 2 slices of Swiss cheese on top. Place in oven at 425˙ until cheese is melted about five to eight minutes. Serves 4.

Here are a few recipes I was able to find on the web with different variations of the Reuben Sandwich.

All Recipes:
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
8 slices rye bread
8 slices deli sliced corned beef
8 slices Swiss cheese
1 cup sauerkraut, drained
1/2 cup Thousand Island dressing

Directions:
Preheat a large skillet or griddle on medium heat.
Lightly butter one side of bread slices. Spread non-buttered sides with Thousand Island dressing. On 4 bread slices, layer 1 slice Swiss cheese, 2 slices corned beef, 1/4 cup sauerkraut and second slice of Swiss cheese. Top with remaining bread slices, buttered sides out.
Grill sandwiches until both sides are golden brown, about 15 minutes per side. Serve hot.

Real Restaurant Recipes:
Traditional Reuben Sandwich

Preparation time: 10 minutes if ingredients are ready and at hand. Makes one sandwich.
Ingredients:
2 slices of Rye bread
2 tablespoons Thousand Island dressing (or to taste)
Corned beef (5-6 ounces, thin sliced)
1/3 cup Sauerkraut
Swiss cheese (2 slices of quality cheese)
Butter at room temperature

Instructions:
Spread 2 slices of rye bread lightly with Thousand Island dressing
Top one slice with a slice of Swiss cheese
Put a layer of sauerkraut over the cheese, then top with sliced corned beef and then a slice of Swiss cheese
Top with the second slice of rye bread, dressing side down
Butter the rye bread on the outside with soft butter and grill the sandwich in a skillet until both sides are golden brown and the cheese is melted
Remove from skillet, cut sandwich in half and serve

Sister Sandwich to the Reuben
Preparation: 10 minutes. Serves 1.
Ingredients:
2 slices Rye bread
2 tablespoons (or to taste) Thousand Island salad dressing (or substitute Russian salad dressing)
1/4 pound thinly sliced pastrami
Swiss cheese (2 slices of quality Swiss)
1/3 cup cole slaw
Butter at room temperature

Instructions:
Spread 2 slices of rye bread lightly with Thousand Island dressing
Top one slice with a slice of Swiss cheese
Put a layer of cole slaw over the cheese, then top with sliced Pastrami and then a slice of Swiss cheese
Top with the second slice of rye bread, dressing side down
Butter the rye bread on the outside with soft butter and grill the sandwich in a skillet until both sides are golden brown and the cheese is melted
Remove from skillet, cut sandwich in half and serve

Betty Crocker Recipes:
Ingredients:
1 package (2 pounds) refrigerated sauerkraut
1 package (2 to 3 pounds) corned beef brisket
1 cup Thousand Island dressing
16 slices pumpernickel rye bread, toasted
8 slices (1 ounce each) Swiss cheese

Directions:
1. Place sauerkraut in 3- to 4-quart slow cooker. Place beef brisket on sauerkraut. (If brisket includes packet of spices, sprinkle spices over brisket.)
2. Cover and cook on Low heat setting 9 to 11 hours.
3. Remove beef from cooker; place on cutting board. Cut beef into slices. To serve, spread 1 tablespoon dressing on each toast slice. Using slotted spoon to remove sauerkraut from cooker, top 8 slices toast with 1/2 cup sauerkraut each. Top sauerkraut with beef slices and cheese slice. Top with remaining toast.

Note: This recipe was tested in slow cookers with heating elements in the side and bottom of the cooker, not in cookers that stand only on a heated base. For slow cookers with just a heated base, follow the manufacturer’s directions for layering ingredients and choosing a temperature.

If you have a favorite reuben sandwich recipe send it over, we'd love to try it.

Baby Doves in the planter outside my patio window

These little guys are getting ready to leave the nest. In the past day or so they have been testing their wings in the wind.

We actually placed this empty wicker basket on the patio in hopes that they would make their nest inside. We had another larger basket on the patio that we had planned to put a plant in hanging there a few years back and every year the doves found their way and nested there. That one kept falling in the high spring winds, so we decided to try this one instead and see what happened. This is the result.

They will probably be gone in the next day or so, but they are fun to have around while they last.