Here are the tastingspoons players. I’m in the middle (Carolyn). Daughter Sara on the right, and daughter-in-law Karen on the left. I started the blog in 2007, as a way to share recipes with my family. I’m still doing 99% of the blogging and holding out hope that these two lovely and excellent cooks will participate. They both lead very busy lives, so we’ll see.
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BOOK READING (from Carolyn):
Music of Bees, Eileen Garvin. Absolutely charming book about a woman in midlife, lonely, who raises bees, also makes unlikely friends. Heart-warming and very interesting about beekeeping.
A Postcard from Paris, Alex Brown. Really cute story. Dual time line, 1940s and present day about renovating an old apartment in Paris, things discovered.
Time of the Child, Niall Williams. Oh such a good book. Very small village in Ireland, 1960s. A baby is left on the doorstep. The town all whispers and helps. I listened to an interview of the author, which made me like him and his books even more.
Sipsworth, Simon Van Booy. If you like animals you’ll swoon. An old woman who really wants to die finds a tiny mouse in her house and befriends it and finds a reason to live. Utterly charming book.
The Forger’s Spell, Edward Dolnick. True story. For seven years a no-account painter named Han van Meegeren managed to pass off his paintings as those of Johannes Vermeer.
If You Lived Here, You’d be Home by Now, Christopher Ingraham. Could hardly put it down – about a journalist who takes on a challenge to move to small town in Minnesota and write about it. He expects to hate it and the people and place, but he doesn’t. Absolutely wonderful true story.
The River We Remember, William Kent Kreuger. 1950s, Minnesota. A murder and the aftermath. Could hardly put it down. Kreuger has such a vivid imagination and writing style.
How the Lights Gets In, Joyce Maynard. An older woman returns to New Hampshire to help care for her brain-injured son. Siblings and family, lots of angst and resentments.
The Filling Station, Vanessa Miller. Every American should read this book. A novelized retelling of the Tulsa massacre in 1921. Absolutely riveting.
The Story She Left Behind, Patti Callahan Henry. Love this author. Based on a true story. A famous author simply vanishes, leaving her husband and daughter behind. She had invented a mystical language no one could translate. Present day, someone thinks he’s solved the riddle, contacts the family. Really interesting read.
The Girl from Berlin, Ronald Balson. Love anything about Tuscany. An elderly woman is being evicted from a villa there, with odd deed provenance. Two young folks go there to help unravel the mystery. Loved it.
The Island of the Colorblind, Oliver Sacks, M.D. Nonfiction. The dr is intrigued by a remote Pacific island where most of the inhabitants are colorblind. He also unravels a mystery on Guam of people born with a strange neurological problem. Medical mysteries unveiled. Very interesting.
The Bookbinder, Pip Williams. Post 1914 London. Two sisters work at a bookbindery. They’re told to not read the books. One does and one doesn’t. One has visions beyond her narrow world; the other does not. Eventually the one gets into Oxford. Lovely story.
The Paris Express, Emma Donoghue. 1895 on a train to Paris, a disaster happens. You’ll delve into the lives of many people who survived and died in the crash.
A Race to the Bottom of Crazy, Richard Grant. This is about Arizona. Author, wife and child move back to Arizona where they once lived. Part memoir, research, and reporting in a quest to understand what makes Arizona such a confounding and irresistible place.
The Scarlet Thread, Francine Rivers. A woman’s life turned upside down when she discovers the handcrafted quilt and journal of her ancestor Mary Kathryn McMurray, a young woman who was uprooted from her home only to endure harsh frontier conditions on the Oregon Trail.
A Place to Hide, Ronald Balson. 1939 Amsterdam, an ambassador has the ability to save the lives of many Jewish children. Heartwarming.
Homeseeking, Karissa Chen. Two young Chinese teens are deeply in love, but in China. Then their families are separated. Jump to current day and the two meet again in Los Angeles.
North River, Pete Hammill. He always writes such a good story. A doctor works diligently healing people from all walks of life. His wife and daughter left him years before. One day his 3-yr old grandson arrives on his doorstep.
A Very Typical Family, Sierra Godfrey. A very messed-up family. Three adult children are given a home in Santa Cruz, Calif, but only if the siblings meet up and live in the house together. A very untypical scenario but makes for lots of messes.
Three Days in June, Anne Tyler. The usual Anne Tyler grit. Family angst. This wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was entertaining and very short.
Saved, Benjamin Hall. Author is a veteran war reporter. Ukraine, 2022, he nearly loses his life to a Russian strike. Riveting story – he survives, barely.
Grey Wolf, Louise Penny. Another Inspector Gamache mystery in Quebec. She is such an incredible mystery writer.
All the Colors of the Dark, Chris Whitaker. A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each. Could hardly put it down.
Orbital, Samantha Harvey. Winner of 2024 Booker Prize. I don’t usually like those, but I heard the author interviewed and she hooked me. This is not a normal book with a beginning, a story and an end. It’s several chapters of the day in the life of various astronauts at the ISS (Int’l Space Station). All fictional. She’s been praised by several real astronauts for “getting it” about space station everyday life.
The Blue Hour, Paula Hawkins. An island off Scotland. Inaccessible except when the tide is out. Weird goings on. An artist. A present day mystery too.
Iron Lake, William Kent Krueger. A judge is murdered and a boy is missing. Riveting mystery.
Tell the Wolves I’m Home, Carol Ricks Brunt. 1980s. A 14-yr old girl loses her beloved uncle. Yet a new friendship arises, someone she never knew about.
Four Treasures of the Sky, Jenny Zhang. 1880s, a young girl is kidnapped in China and brought to the United States. She survives with many hurdles in the path.
The Boy Who Fell out of the Sky, Ken Dornstein. Memoir, 1988. The author’s brother died in the PanAm flight that went down in Lockerbie, Scotland. A decade later he tries to solve “the riddle of his older brother’s life.”
Worse Care Scenario, T.J. Newman. Oh my. Interesting analysis of what could/might happen if a jet crashed into a nuclear plant. Un-put-downable.
Song of the Lark, Willa Cather. Complicated weave of a story about a young woman in about 1900, who has a gifted voice (singing) and about her journey to success, not without its ups and downs.
Crow Talk, Eileen Garvin. Charming story which takes place at a remote lake in Washington State, about a few people who inhabit it, the friendships made, but also revolving around the rescue of a baby crow.
The Story Collector, Evie Woods. Sweet story about some dark secrets from an area in Ireland, a bit magical, faerie life, but solving a mystery too.
A Sea of Unspoken Things, Adrienne Young. A woman investigates her twin brother’s mysterious death. She goes to a small town in California to figure it out, to figure HIM out.
The King’s Messenger, Susanna Kearsley. 1600s England, King James. About one of his trusted “messengers,” and his relationship with a young woman also of “the court.” Lots of intrigue.
In the Shadow of the Greenbrier, Emily Matchar. Interesting mystery in/around the area of the famous resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
Isola, Allegra Goodman. Hard to describe, survival story on an island in the 1600s.
Save the Date, Allison Raskin. Rom-com, witty, LOL funny. Clever.
The Sirens, Emilia Hart. Numerous time-lines, Australia. Mysteries abound, nightmares, abandoned baby, weird allergies.
Red Clay, Charles Fancher. LOVED this book. Mostly post-Civil War story about the lives of slaves in Alabama during Reconstruction.
Stars in an Italian Sky, Jill Santopolo. Dual time line, 1946 and recent time. Love stories and a mystery.
Battle Mountain, C.J. Box. Another one of Box’s riveting mysteries. Love his descriptions of the land.
Something Beautiful Happened, Yvette Corporon. A memoir of sorts in Greece, tiny island of Erikousa, where the locals hid Jews during WWII. All elusive stories told by the author’s grandmother.
The Jackal’s Mistress, Chris Bohjalian. 1860s Virginia, about a woman who saves the life of a Union soldier. Really good story.
Song of the Magpie, Louise Mayberry. Really interesting story about Australia back in the days when it was mostly a penal colony. Gritty strength of a woman trying to thrive with her farm.
The Boomerang, Robert Bailey. A thriller that will have you gripping the book. About a lot of secrets surrounding the president (fictional novel, remember) and his chief of staff and about cancer. A cure. Such a good story.
Care and Feeding, Laurie Woolever. Really interesting memoir of a woman driven to succeed in the restaurant business. She worked for Mario Batali and then Anthony Bourdain. Gritty stories.
Everything is Tuberculosis, John Green. Maybe not a book for everyone. A real deep dive into the deadly tuberculosis infection, its history. I heard the author interviewed and found the book very interesting.
The Book Lovers Library, Madeline Martin. Fascinating read about Boots’ drug stores’ lending library. And the people who worked in them.
The Arrivals, Meg Mitchell Moore. LOL funny, about a middle-aged couple whose children (and their various family members) return to the family home and the chaos that ensues.
My Life as a Silent Movie, Jesse Lee Kercheval. About grief. A big move to Paris, finding herself a new life with a new set of real blood family.
Escape, Carolyn Jessop. Another memoir about a woman really in bondage in Utah, Mormon plural marriage.
My blog's namesake - small, old and some very dented engraved silver plated tea spoons that belonged to my mother-in-law, and I use them to taste my food as I'm cooking.
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Posted in Uncategorized, on January 13th, 2026.
My apologies to any of you readers if you tried to leave a comment and it said nope, no can do! Some switch somewhere was in the on position (not by me, of course). I’ve wondered why I haven’t received a single comment from anyone in months and months. Now you can. Thanks to all of you for being my readers.
Carolyn T/tastingspoons.com
Posted in Salads, Uncategorized, Veggies/sides, on January 9th, 2026.
If you’re a lemon lover, as I am, you’ll love this couscous salad. If you’ve never used Israeli couscous (it’s larger than what we normally buy in our supermarkets) it makes for a nice side salad.
I’m still sorting through the recipes everyone made at the cookbook club event at my granddaughter’s home, when I was invited to attend. Taylor’s friend Laura made this salad. What’s unique here is preserved lemon and pistachios. You can use any kind of dried fruit (dried cranberries are called for but Laura used raisins), or use dried apricots or prunes. Notice the 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. An unusual addition, and you couldn’t really taste it, but the flavors in this just blended beautifully. The other interesting element is butter. It’s added to the hot couscous (so it will melt) and it rounds out the flavors too. Since the preserved lemon is salty, you may not need additional salt, but definitely add pepper.
What’s GOOD: lovely, piquant flavors, from the preserved lemon (and its juice), the crunchy pistachios, the sweetness of the dried fruit. Really delicious. Would go well with a plain grilled meat, chicken steak, even a burger.
What’s NOT: nothing, really. Easy to make, a bit of chopping.
David Lebovitz, My Paris Kitchen
Serves: 5
1 whole preserved lemon
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons salted or unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup dried cranberries, apricots, prunes, or raisins
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
3/4 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups Israeli couscous. or other pasta
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1. Start by trimming the stem end from the preserved lemon and cut into quarters. Scoop out pulp and then press through a strainer into a medium-sized bowl to extract the juices, then dice the preserved lemon rind and add to bowl along with the parsley, butter, dried fruit, pistachios, salt and cinnamon.
2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the couscous and cook according to the package instructions. Drain and add it to the bowl of fruits and nuts, stirring until the butter is melted and all the ingredients are well mixed. Season with black pepper and serve.
Posted in Uncategorized, on July 9th, 2025.
As I mentioned recently, there are all kinds of things, code and such, that run the background of a blog. One of them is a forwarding service, meaning once I press the button to “publish,” the system sees it and grabs it and sends it via email to everyone on the subscriber list. I ran into a problem with FollowIt, the service I’d been using – they began showing advertising that implied I was endorsing their [advertised] products. You probably got one or more of those. I had some “words” with the people at that webmail forwarding customer service! Not okay in my book!
So now I have paid for a different service. Probably this post will come via that new forwarder – I’m not sure exactly how it will show up at your end, but it might say DadaMail. I’m hoping it will go smoothly. Thanks for all of you, the subscribers to TastingSpoons all these years. . . Because of this problem I haven’t been sending any posts, but I do have about 5 posts in the queue to send in the next week or so, so stay tuned. . . . Carolyn T
Posted in Uncategorized, on May 14th, 2025.
Most of you won’t have even noticed that my website had a blip. There is so much programming and other stuff that goes on behind the scenes of any website. A few years ago everybody got all uptight about security and all websites were encouraged to pay for SSL certification. More expense. Annually. So I upgraded tastingspoons with SSL security. But it has to be renewed, and every year it’s a pain in the neck. And costly. This year I thought, oh, heck, I don’t do any commerce on this site, why do I need security? But you can’t just decide to do that – I would need to have a programmer go back into the code and change everything (back), AND every time you accessed the site it would tell you – oh this could be a dangerous website because it’s not secure. So, I renewed it. Then that took 24 hours, then even though it was recertified, it wasn’t working. Fortunately there are people to talk to at all hours or day or night, albeit in India, I think. Finally, a few minutes ago my site got re-established. So, my apologies if you tried to get to an old recipe, or something. Hopefully everything will run smoothly now until next year . . . Carolyn T
Posted in Uncategorized, on January 8th, 2024.
At Thanksgiving and Christmas every year I make a few things that I’ve made for decades. I suppose I could go to all the trouble of creating new, cropped photos of all these things, and write up a new blurb about them. But if you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you may have already seen them in years past. I’m not going to do that this time – it’s a ton of work. I’m just going to list them, in blog-style conversation and if you’re interested, you can click on the link.
At Thanksgiving, I made my usual cranberry relish. It’s different because it contains apple, a whole orange (including the skin and pith) and some fresh ginger (that you’d not know was there except I’m telling you). It keeps for about a month.
Early in December I made Bishop’s Bread, something I learned to make back in the 1960s and it’s filled with chocolate chips, walnuts and maraschino cherries. So it’s a fruitcake, but doesn’t have all those citron things in it. As I write this I still have part of a loaf that I nibble on with coffee or tea every few days.
Several of us gathered together to make Christmas cookies this year. Each person brought one cookie (already made, or mostly made) that was shared with our group of four. And we baked several throughout the day. We tried a couple of new recipes. Cranberry Moscow Mule Cookies are different, all the flavors of a Moscow mule, but in cookie form. They’re quite sweet. Not certain we’ll make them again. We always make Chocolate Almond Saltine Bars, and this year we made a double batch as one batch didn’t give each of us enough.
We tried a new snowball cookie called Bee’s Knees, and although they were fine, they weren’t as good as the ones we usually make, so we’ll go back to our original next year, I think. I made a double batch of Chocolate Salami, which is a real treat for me. It’s a mixture of bittersweet chocolate, cookie crumbs (this time I used graham crackers although I think the Biscoff cookie crumbs are better) and nuts, rolled into a log, chilled, then you slice them and they look kinda-sorta like salami.
We’d talked about making potato chip cookies (they were a winner last year) but we ran out of time. As it was, we baked nearly all day and since all of us are “of a certain age,” we were TIRED. Next year we’ll go back to the Cranberry Noels that have been a favorite for many years.
We also made Bushwhacker Bars (similar to the cocktail, but a cookie, obviously). I don’t think we liked them that much, so I didn’t write up the recipe to share. If anyone wants the recipe, click the link and it goes to Food & Wine magazine. If you make them, cut back on the sugar.
Nearly all the cookies are gone now – I gifted some, took some when I went to someone’s house, and I ate a lot of them myself. There are a few of the Cranberry Moscow Mule cookies left, but they’re not a favorite so they languish in the freezer.
Lots of baking . . . lots of dishes, and thanks to Jackie and Dianne for washing up dishes a jillion times that day. I made some soup, my Dad’s lentil soup, for us so we wouldn’t eat too much cookie dough, and we dashed out to visit a local store that was all decked out for Christmas. We had a really nice time of it. We skipped our usual cookie baking one of the years during Covid, but it’s nice to be back in the cookie groove again. At the end of the day we divided up everything so we all went home with about 6 different cookies, I think.
Posted in Uncategorized, on June 13th, 2022.
With great interest I read an article in Food & Wine magazine. About Kewpie brand Japanese mayonnaise, and why it’s an integral part of making this egg salad sandwich. And no, that’s not a lettuce leaf peeping out on the left, it’s the green measuring cup I used for the mayo. LOL.
A post from Carolyn. I have way too many recipes waiting to post – I must have 7-8 waiting to be written up and now this one. Ever since I handed over my gavel in PEO to a new president, I’ve had a lot more time on my hands. Good time. Time to read, to wind down the pile of magazines I have sitting in my family room, and time to cook. So, as I leafed through an issue of the magazine I stopped at this one, about a particular style of egg salad, from a 7-Eleven stores in Japan. The writer was on a mission of sorts – he’d spent some years in Japan and frequented a nearby store and often bought sandwiches there. He didn’t realize how much he loved them until he wasn’t living in Japan anymore. So he set about trying to recreate the sandwich.
I’m such a sucker for those kinds of stories, they just pull me in. I do love egg salad sandwiches and rarely eat them (since I try not to eat bread). I had some soft potato bread in the freezer. No, I didn’t have any of the specialty Japanese milk bread (although I have a local bakery that makes it and I love it), but the potato bread would suffice. But first, I had to find the Kewpie mayo. I could have taken a drive to a local Asian market about 7-8 miles away, but with the price of gasoline these days I opted to get it on amazon.
What’s different about this mayo? Well, having taken a little tiny taste of it, I’d say it’s a bit more acidic – maybe vinegar or more lemon juice. Since I WILL be making this egg salad mixture again in the future, I have some more Kewpie mayo to use. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup, so this little bottle will keep me stocked for several iterations. This recipe supposedly makes enough for ONE sandwich. Gee whiz. Five eggs (well, yolks plus half the whites) in one sandwich? I think it makes enough for two, and since I’ll be making them in half-sandwich portions from now on, I might make 2/3 of a recipe next time, so with three eggs. Or heck, make the full recipe and you’ll have enough for a couple of leftover servings.
Start off with some hard boiled eggs. I do mine in the instant pot, as I’ve mentioned here before, the 2-10-2 method (2 minutes on high pressure, 10 to cool down inside the Instant Pot, then 2 minutes in an ice bath). Keeping the eggs moist when you store them is also a key to success, to keep that membrane inside sort of wet – makes for easier peeling. I keep mine in a refrigerator container with a paper towel inside that stays very damp. Anyway, separate the eggs. All the yolks go in a bowl. The whites, well, you’ll only use half of them. And they need to be chopped up VERY fine. Mine weren’t done near finely enough, as you can see with the egg salad kind of seeping out of the sandwich up top.
Then to the yolks you add the mayo, salt, pepper and a little bit of sugar. Yes, sugar. It’s an important ingredient – the author said he knew his copycat recipe wasn’t quite right until someone suggested he add some sugar. That did it – he felt this recipe was spot on. One of the tricks to this is letting it rest in the frig for an hour. I didn’t have time to do that, and I think the mixture needs that resting time to firm up. Mine was too loose. After firming up you add in two teaspoons of heavy cream. Yes, really. Then the bread is spread with a thin film of butter, and the egg salad added. Close the sandwich carefully and also very gently slice with a serrated knife, cutting the sandwich in half. I’m just saying this sandwich for one, will serve two.
What’s GOOD: loved every mouthful of this sandwich, even though it oozed. It has a very smooth texture, nothing to distract you (like pickle relish or celery or onion, or even celery seed that I might ordinarily add). I LOVED this. And yes, I’ll be making it again. I might even try it when I next make deviled eggs. Do seek out the Kewpie mayo, though.
What’s NOT: only that you do need Kewpie mayo to make it authentically. And a nice, soft (not sweet) bread. Ideally the Japanese milk bread. Next time I will go buy some of the milk bread.
printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook recipe (click link to open recipe)
* Exported from MasterCook *
Recipe By: Food & Wine
Servings: 2
5 large eggs
1/4 cup Kewpie mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt — plus more to taste (use less if using table salt)
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter — softened
2 slices white bread — soft type, Japanese milk bread preferred
1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over medium-high. Using a slotted spoon, carefully lower eggs into boiling water; cook 11 minutes. Remove eggs using a slotted spoon, or carefully drain into a sink. Plunge eggs into a bowl filled with ice water, and let stand until cool, about 15 minutes. Drain well. Carefully peel eggs.
2. Using your hands, split eggs open; separate yolks and whites. Place yolks in a medium bowl, and mash using the back of a fork until broken down and a few chunks remain; set aside. Finely chop egg whites; place in a small bowl, and set aside.
3. Add mayonnaise, salt, sugar, and pepper to mashed yolks in bowl; gently stir until mixture is combined and some chunks remain. (Mixture should not be too chunky or a paste.)
4. Add half of the chopped egg whites to yolk mixture in medium bowl; reserve remaining egg whites for another use. Gently fold whites into yolk mixture until just coated. Chill 1 hour.
5. Stir cream into chilled egg mixture; season with additional salt to taste. Set aside. Spread butter evenly over one side of each bread slice. Top 1 slice, butter side up, with egg salad. Cover with remaining slice, butter side down. Trim off and discard crust; cut sandwich in half diagonally so you have 2 triangles. Serve.
Per Serving: 534 Calories; 42g Fat (74.3% calories from fat); 18g Protein; 15g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 535mg Cholesterol; 1088mg Sodium; 3g Total Sugars; 3mcg Vitamin D; 112mg Calcium; 3mg Iron; 212mg Potassium; 277mg Phosphorus.
Posted in Lamb, Pork, Uncategorized, on October 25th, 2021.
A tasty way to use up that summer zucchini!
A post from Karen. Among the things I loved about this creation is it is one of the few ways I can get my son to eat zucchini. He not only ate it…he went back for seconds! And that was my motivation for coming up with this. My fruit truck guy, Roberto, visits every Thursday morning in our neighborhood with his picks of the freshest and most tasty produce. On this day he had gorgeous-looking zucchini. I couldn’t resist, even though I knew it would be tough going to convince my son to enjoy it with us. So I started thinking about what I could pair with the veggie to make it more palatable to him. Sausage was a good starting point. I looked online for existing recipes for zucchini casseroles, but on this particular day, nothing looked like something that would tempt my son. So, it was time to get creative.
I’m all for making your own sauce, but if you need to save time, we really liked the Vero Gusto Calabrian Marinara.
In addition to the sausage, I had some stale ciabatta bread that I didn’t want going to waste. I also had cottage cheese and started thinking about layering ingredients like lasagna. So that was the impetus for cutting the zucchini lengthwise instead of in rounds. Among the recipes I had read on casseroles, more than one mentioned taking the time after slicing to salt the zucchini to draw out the extra moisture so you would avoid an overly mushy casserole. sounded sensible to me, so I incorporated that step.
I hadn’t made a lot of casseroles using bread cubes but knew I wanted to make sure they absorbed enough flavors and moisture, so I decided I would try folding them in with the cheese, egg, and cream mixture. This ended up working really well. I have made this recipe more than once experimenting with different types of bread. We have decided the ciabatta has both a nice chew texture and savory flavor profile that we prefer. The Savory Spice “Limnos Lamb Rub” was a wonderful blend of herbs to add to both the white sauce and for topping off
the casserole. If you need to select a different rub or make your own, this particular rub is a blend of coarse sea salt, garlic, lemon peel, onion, black pepper, fennel, rosemary, Mediterranean thyme, sage, basil, parsley, Greek oregano, spearmint, marjoram. As for the different sausage choices, we enjoyed both the Hot Italian Sausage and the Lamb Merguez, so I’m content to let my mood or freezer dictate which one I use. Speaking of the freezer, I have tested freezing the leftovers into individual portions and it worked really well!
What’s Good: My son will willingly eat this dish. Paired well with a lite salad for a complete meal. It’s a great way to use up some bread that is past its prime.
What’s Not: Only that I have to be organized enough to make sure I have the ingredients on hand.
Printer-Friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)
* Exported from MasterCook *
Recipe By: Original by Karen
Serving Size: 12
28 ounces zucchini slices — about 1/4 inch slice, length wise vs. rounds
1 pound hot Italian sausage — no casing, or a lamb merquez sausage
1 large onion — chopped
20 ounces tomato sauce — Vera Gusto (Medium Heat)
8 ounces cottage cheese
2 eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 cups bread cubes — dried thick cut,1 inch cubes, I prefer Ciabatta, crust removed
1 tablespoon herb rub — I use Limnos Lamb rub from Savory Spice or similar
1 pound mozzarella cheese — low moisture, shredded
1/4 cup parmesan cheese — grated
kosher salt — for sprinkling
1. Place sliced zucchini on clean kitchen towels and sprinkle with kosher salt. Let sit at least 30 minutes to draw out moisture. Then wipe dry with a clean towel.
2. Preheat oven to 350*
3. Saute loose and broken up sausage – let brown on one side then add onions and continue to saute until onions are soft, 5-10 minutes.
4. Mix egg into cottage cheese (or can substitute Ricotta) with 1 TBS. Limnos Lamb Rub and heavy cream. Pour mixture over dried bread cubes and mix well.
5. Grease a 9×13 casserole pan and pour in 1/2 the red sauce. Place 1/2 the zucchini slices in an overlapping layer over the sauce. Pour bread mixture on next and spread evenly. Sprinkle sausage and onion mixture and then 1/2 of the shredded Mozzarella cheese. Create another overlapping layer with the remaining zucchini. Spread remaining red sauce over zucchini, followed by remaining Mozzarella. Top with 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese and sprinkle with more Limnos Lamb rub if desired.
6. Bake for 1 hr or until bubbling and nicely browned on top.
Per Serving: 377 Calories; 26g Fat (62.0% calories from fat); 21g Protein; 15g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 109mg Cholesterol; 597mg Sodium; 6g Total Sugars; 1mcg Vitamin D; 326mg Calcium; 2mg Iron; 503mg Potassium; 321mg Phosphorus.
Posted in Uncategorized, on August 9th, 2021.
Isn’t that just the prettiest cocktail you’ve ever seen?
A post from Carolyn. For my birthday my granddaughter Taylor (the one who is living with me) gave me a bottle of lavender-colored gin. From the Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC. So, we began searching for some recipes to use it. As we perused many, they required simple syrup (which I could have made, but it wouldn’t have had time to cool down and we wanted these cocktails right then). Many suggested items we didn’t have on hand. So, as they say, ingenuity is the mother of invention. What I did have was a bottle of Crème de Violette – a gift daughter Sara gave me a couple of years ago after we had enjoyed an Aviation cocktail in Asheville, NC. We made a kind of a variation on the Aviation cocktail.
The Empress Gin is a gin, but with perhaps some other botanical flavors in it: In addition to the butterfly pea blossom and requisite juniper, the gin uses blended tea from Victoria’s own Fairmont Empress Hotel. Other botanicals used are grapefruit peel, coriander seed, rose petal, ginger root, and cinnamon bark.
Taylor and I began with a recipe, but because we veered off with more than one item, I guess this is my own invention of an Empress Gin Cocktail with Violette & Tonic. The recipe called for soda water, but I had Fever Tree tonic (that I really like – see picture) so I added that. I popped out to my kitchen garden and grabbed some fresh lavender and a sprig of rosemary and added those to the mix.
There at left – the short bottle is the Empress Gin, the tall one the Crème de Violette, and the short turquoise bottle is the Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic.
What’s GOOD: oh, so refreshing. Lovely flavors and gosh, isn’t the color just beautiful? I’m a sucker, I guess, for a lavender colored cocktail! Not too sweet, but it did have some sweetness from the liqueur. I’m looking forward to having another one. We’re having a family celebration (3 birthdays within a few days of one another) and I’ll offer to make these for anyone who wants one.
What’s NOT: well, you need the Crème de Violette (do get the Rothman & Winter brand – Sara had to mail order it). And you’ll need to buy the Empress Gin too. Search out the tonic.
printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)
* Exported from MasterCook *
Recipe By: My own invention, loosely based on an Aviation cocktail
Serving Size: 1
1 1/2 ounces Empress gin
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 ounce Crème de Violette liqueur
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh lavender
2 ounces Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic water
ice cubes
1. Combine the gin, lemon juice and Crème de Violette, in a glass.
2. Add the sprig of rosemary and lavender. Then add ice.
3. Add a couple of ounces of tonic. Stir and serve immediately.
Posted in Uncategorized, on July 28th, 2021.
More road trip from Carolyn. Whenever I dig out my suitcases, my kitty, Angel, is ever so curious. He’s blind, but hey, it doesn’t bother him one bit, he’s just as inclined to jump into boxes. He was all over this suitcase, pawing the corners, for bugs? Who knows what cats think sometimes.
These photos aren’t in any particular order, so I’ll just give you a little bit of commentary. I love big flower arrangements outside, this one at Big Sky, at the golf course restaurant.
Big Sky, Montana, is surrounded by mountains, these were on the east side.
Other than the scenery in Big Sky, on one of my days returning to California I drove from Klamath Falls to the north east side of Mt. Shasta. This was a view as I was driving. It was a gorgeous day, bright blue sky, and no fires or smoke anywhere to be seen there.
This was actually on my first day out, driving up the “old” 395 highway with a view of the Sierra Nevada. It was crystal-clear that day (and beastly hot too) but the views were beautiful.
At Big Sky, the small private lake there serves lunch from a food truck, with a small set of tables set amidst the sand. This beautiful group of flowers graced one side of that area.
At Powell & Karen’s condo, this picture hangs on the wall in one of the guest rooms. It just riveted my eye, how curious the dog was, about to sniff that lovely trout.
One of my favorite pictures of the whole trip, a view of the lake at Big Sky, through the trees. My grandson, Vaughan, went out into the lake in a kayak for awhile.
Posted in Uncategorized, on July 16th, 2021.
Snapshot I took of the Sierra/Nevada mountains (California) as I was driving.
Last year, my son and his wife Karen bought a condo in Big Sky, Montana. They’d vacationed there for several years, and decided they wanted to have their own place to ski and summer vacation. For the month of July Karen and grandson Vaughan are here, with Powell flitting in and out when he can get away from work. So, several months ago when they invited me to come visit during July, I said yes. And I’d make a road trip out of it. Having never been to Big Sky, I didn’t really know what to expect, other than photos I’d seen. Big Sky is located about 1 1/4 hour drive south of Bozeman, and about an hour north of the western gate to Yellowstone. Set nestled in between very tall peaks and valleys. 
That picture was taken from the restaurant at the golf course near the Big Sky Resort. As you can see, there is smoke in the air, but we enjoyed a really nice lunch, sitting outside.
As I’m writing this, I AM in Big Sky, and have been for several days, enjoying the alpine location (7200 feet), the wonderful pine tree smell that pervades, the good food (both out and at home). And not enjoying the altitude sensitivity I have. I won’t be here long enough to acclimate to the altitude, so I’m just being careful by not exerting myself too much. I had a low grade headache for the first two days, but that finally went away. Walking much at all is out of the question as I get winded. But going in and out of various restaurants is certainly do-able!
That’s the view from their living room window. Ski slopes abound in every direction and that ramp you can see on the right is a ski-on, ski-off way to get down the hill to the ski lifts.
And again, as I write this, I’m having to re-adjust my itinerary as my next stop was going to be in Lolo National Forest (near Missoula, Montana), which is currently under fire evacuation orders. So, scratch that long day trip of driving in the Bitterroot Valley. In a few days I’ll head back to Coeur d’Alene, where I’m staying with my friend Ann (you’ve seen photos of her when she visited SoCal over several winters for a week in Palm Desert with me – we couldn’t do it that last Jan/Feb because of Covid, but hopefully this next winter she’ll be able to fly south).
My plan is to do some wine tasting in Walla Walla, Washington and if I find anything I really like I’ll have it shipped to home. I don’t want to cart cases of wine in my car trunk through hot summer weather. I have encountered lots of high temps on this trip (over 100 degrees, driving up the old 395 highway along the eastern edge of California). I had just driven through the area that was hit with a 5.9 earthquake that tumbled boulders down onto the highway. And yes, my car tipped left and right – I thought it was an uneven road . . . no, it was the earthquake! I stayed at a hotel nearby and was awakened several times during the night with aftershocks. Good thing I’m used to those kinds of tremors.
Once I arrived in Idaho it was about 100 degrees every day. Oh my goodness, is that ever hot! During my drive in California I encountered one day at 109 degrees, but I was comfortable in my air conditioned car, thankfully! I enjoyed the three days of driving to get from Southern California to northern Idaho, and I’ve been listening to a couple of books as I go. I’ve subscribed to Chirp, a discounted website for audio books. They don’t offer very many books at the lower prices, but I’ve found a few to keep me entertained. My car doesn’t have a CD/DVD slot anymore (my newest car that’s now 1 1/2 years old and still had less than 10,000 miles on it because of Covid) so I can’t use books on CD anymore from the library as I’d done in the past.
FYI, last night I made those vegetarian enchiladas that were posted about a week ago. Karen and Vaughan really enjoyed them, and me too. That recipe is a real keeper. I’ll post again in coming days if I have time.
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