Small Kitchen Stories: Meatballs and Lentils

  The first twinges of Spring make their selves known to me when I hear whispers: It is now OK to empty out the Winter Emergency Pantry Supplies.
  Thus it was time to do something with the box of lentil soup and the vacuum packed chicken meatballs.


Lentil Stew with Chicken Meatballs

Chicken Meatballs, pre cooked.  Mine were caramalized onion and delicious.
Lentil Soup Box.  Mine was "organic" and compellingly good.
Cauliflower or any veggy needing to be cooked rather than trashed.
Wine.
Mustard.
Mushrooms.

Ok, it is another Rice Pot dinner.  Into the Rice Cooker add in some olive oil ( forgot to add to the list above; so you get the idea this is a lazy cooking effort ) and heat up to sizzling.  Then add in the mushrooms and the veggys.  Saute a bit.  Add in the Lentil Soup and the Meatballs.  Throw in some wine and a dab or two of the mustard.  Put on the top and let it simmer for 25 minutes or so.

Dessert: sliced blood oranges topped with rice pudding!

Ta Da!

Small Kitchen Stories: Meyer Lemon Compote

  I love it when the Giant surprises me with a little something special as it makes up for all those sad times when my favorite items have been pulled...... for good.
  Did you hear me squeal when I picked up a net-bag of Meyer Lemons?  All the produce staff did!
  This was the very first time I ever bought this Lemon, now made famous by Martha Stewart.  As I drove home I contemplated what this would become.  Winter is when I crave a deeply complex fruity compote.  A compote it would be.
  The Meyer Lemon is a cross of a lemon and a clementine, and thus the flavor goes more tropical than Mediterranean.


Meyer Lemon and Banana Compote


Meyer Lemons, 4, peeled, seeded and cut into small chunks.
Peel from one lemon, cut into tiny-tiny pieces.
Raisins: soaked in white wine or Orange Juice
Bananas, 2, cut into chunks
White Wine and/or Orange Juice
Honey
Cardamom seeds from two or three pods.

    In a nice deep heavy pot combine all of the above, except for the honey and liquids.  Add enough liquid to cover the fruit.  Add honey to taste.  You might need more than you imagine.  Simmer until all fruits are soft and plump.  Remove from the heat and cool.
    Use to top rice pudding, yogurt, cottage cheese, pound cake!


Ta Da!

Lewes and my Teapot Emergency

I am told that once a upon a time Lewes had it's own place to go and enjoy a pot of tea with tea-time refreshments.  Lewes with it's Victorian homes just cries out for taking tea or other stronger libations on these wrap-around porches.  Thus it seemed so perfect that my teapot emergemcy happened here, in Lewes.
  I prepared my morning tea in my 20 year old beloved Brown Betty pot.  She is just the right size for myself.  I always lovingy warmed her up before putting in my special hand blended ( by me ) tea and the boiling water.  In fact I look forward to the morning tea almost as soon as dinner the night before ends!
  I picked up the handle and I did hear the softest "whimper".  I set her down.  I picked her up again, and she was gone.  The handle broke off and left a sad  and mysterious looking hole.
  Although I have about a  dozen tea pots almost all are in storage and as well are too big for a small serrvice.
  The urgency to find my new teapot before the sunset was profound and could not be resisted!
 I determined I would only spend $12.00!
  Off to two thrift stores I went.  I did find a sweet Brit  teapot but marked at $25.00.  But  a lower price was not to be.  A new life, a better teapot was out there for me.
  Two stores later, four in all explored, there she was.  Sweetly decorated with Dogwood Blossoms, with a traditional Ming Dynasty form.
  Yes, she was $12.00!
 Relating this story to a dear friend who knows my lifetime tea-obssesion observed the above story is my perfect metaphor.  I am letting go of the old with great love and affection and seeking the new adored sustance and format for the future.
  Lewes, just ask me and we will do tea-time; anytime.

Beach Blessings,

Small Kitchen Stories: Eggless- Rice Pudding with Ricotta Cheese

  This afternoon I was gifted with a small micro-waveable bowl of pre-cooked brown rice and a packet of dark raisins.
  My weekly shopping at Llyods always includes a small tub of rice pudding.  Ah, it was  time to make my own.
  This recipe is a re-do of a previously posted one.  But this time I use the above prepared rice and my beloved rice cooker.
  I was in shock as to how quickly the pudding came together to make it's plumpy texture..... and this time the recipe is egg-less.

In the Rice Cooker:

Simmer the raisins, milk, and a lump of butter.  Add in the microwaved brown rice.  Add in a handful of walnuts.  Add in a sprinkle of cinnamon.  Let simmer until the proper plumpy texture forms.  Add in a dose of sherry or some suhch libation.  Now turn off the heat and fold in a BIG ladle of ricotta cheese.  Pour into a lovely ceramic dish and cover with plastic wrap to cool.

Berries a top or a dried fruit compote would be lovely.


Beach Blessings,

Small Kitchen Stories: Cranberries and Pomegranate!

 This is a Tale of East Meets West.
  I was gifted a lovely Pomgranate and spent the required 20 minutes preparing it.  There was ony enough for one dessert bowl.  I needed enough for two!
  In the fridge I had some leftover homemade whole cranberry sauce.  Would it work to combine the too?
  This was a meeting of Middle East meets North East!  Or West Coast meets East Coast Bogs!  I contemplated the flavors before combining.  Compatible they would be.  But would the textures work?
  Combine I did!  Then I used it as a topping on sliced bananas.  Then just to make it even crazier East meets West I dolloped around the edges a ring of Eggnog!
  A truly lovely holiday dessert....... healthy too!

Ta DA!

Beach Blessings,  

Small Kitchen Stories: Scallop Pot

  Yet again I am beyond hungry, beyond tired, but needing a soul-warming dinner requiring me not to think or work.
  At the last Farmers Market Saturday I purchased scallops which I divided into small freezer destined portions.  The small pouches thaw out in a flash.
  Rice Pot to the rescue!


Lewes Farmer's Market Scallop Pot

Scallops
Golden Potatoes: small cubes
Carrots: small coins
Tomatoes: chopped
Onions: sliced
Dillweed, Chives
Olive Oil
Vermuth

Into the Rice Pot add a  big tablespoon of olive oil and heat to sizzling.  Throw in the potatoes, carrots and onions.  Stir, put on the top and let it rip until golden brown.
Throw in the tomatoes, and herbs, and let it cook down a bit.
Add in the scallops and a dousing of the Vermuth.  Put on the cover and cook about 5-8 minutes more or until the scallops are perfectly done.

Dessert was sliced pears with a big serving of rice pudding.

Ta DA!

Beach Blessings,

A New Beach Life, A New Washing Machine

  I admit that I am fixated on washing machines, dryers, irons, and ironing boards.  As a child I loved spending time in the laundry room.  The woosh of the steam iron and the whiffs of heated cotton and linen as accompaniment to the background of the "white noise" of the swishing-washing machine and the tumble of the dryer; calmed me.
  As an adult I've always had a laundry or mud room; and it has always been my first task of the day.  If nothing else is accomplished, at least I have clean laundry!
  When I looked at my Lewes home; my real estate agent warned me: it has no laundry room.  Ah, ha.  The screened in porch was transformed into my mud-room, set up with a laundry board and drying racks.  As well as comfy furniture to disguise the room's true function.
 When thankfully the old washing machine died; I seized the moment.  I found a sophisticated Mom and Pop appliance store, and picked out my new washer and dryer; "with only knobs and dials, please".
  Once installed and used my heart was filled with happiness and hope!
  Hope?
  I then realized that my life which seems to play out in distinct cycles is marked by "The New Washing Machine and Dryer".  Marriage.  My baby boy, and moving into a new built home!  Moving into my beach cottage!
  This new washing machine with it's "sensing cycle" and it's locked child-proof lid reverses the sequence of those comforting sounds.  It spins before adding the water!  My senses are trying to adjust.  My heart beats faster just waiting for the filled tub whooshing away.
  A new way to wash?  Anew life ahead.

Beach Blessings,

Small Kitchen Stories: Lloyds and Dinner

How to arrive in Lewes for a weekend and have a weekend of meals?

Llyod's Wonder Chicken with Lima Beans

Llyods is famous for thier Wonder Roast Chicken and local products from produce to Beach Plum jams!  Thus I grabbed the following: roast chicken, shelled limas, rice pudding, and pimento spread cheese, mixed greens, and seedless purple grapes.

First Meal: on a bed of greens top with slices of the warm chicken and the hot boiled limas, with sliced tomatoes.  Slices of sharp cheese...... all drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Dessert: sliced grapes on the rice pudding.

Second Meal: mixed green topped with the cold limas, slices of sharp cheese and chopped tomatoes topped with a favorite dressing.

Third Meal:  In a small covered casserole add in the following:  slices of  the chicken, limas, chopped tomatoes, and sliced mushrooms.  Douse with Vermuth.  Microwave until very hot.  Add in a big dollop of the pimento spread.  Stir around and serve in heated bowls.  Repeat the dessert above!

Ta DA!

Lewes Historical Society 50th Champagne Toasts and Beerfest Dancing.

   Find me another town that in one evening offers these public free events of Champagne Toasts and Beerfest Dancing and I'll buy the next Happy Hour round!
  The Lewes Historical Society (LHS) waited 50 years to do a Lewes Historical Society Complex  tented catered and champagne toasted celebration.  Lifetime service awards were the excuse...... and even those had not been awarded in five years!  Awards that mean something.......... not an annual feel-good award to almost all present.
  Even better were the shared LHS stories of beach life 50 years ago.   We knowingly laughed until we almost cried.
  Even better was marking the celebration with not just Champagne of OK quality....... this was lovely, beautiful Champagne accompanied by a gorgeous meal of Crab Dip with homemade Old Bay Seasoned crackers and more.
  Oh, yes, the Mayor did start off the celebration just after the LHS Director was prompted to yield the floor for a just a minute or two.  We love our Mayor..... he is Our Mayor.......... but it is the Lewes Citizens that do the creation and work of such an important organization.  Ok, we will let the Mayor be our figure-head.
  Champagne drained it was time to find the Beer Fest just two blocks away!
 I loved walking towards the Ompah-pah band sounds....... then entering  the cul-de-sac to find the Bavarian Dancers.
 Hmmn, Beer Fest without the beer? Yes, town regs at play.  Yet, the party worked.  The dancers..... a professional team re-created authentic dances from the 1700's and the early 1900's.  Towards the end of the evening the Dancers opened the floor to the public and choose attendees to join in.
  The City of Lewes can party. 
  Yet, it is in the most precise-classiest-mode I've ever witnessed.

Beach Blessing,

Lewes and Time Traveling

Did you ever want to Time Travel? The City of Lewes is a time travel venue.  I do not want to say "time machine"; as that does not describe the process.
  Just walk the streets and explore the graveyards: One minute you are having a Victorian Tea on a porch; and the next you are attending a 1700's St. Pete's Church funeral.
  Attend the Lewes Historic Farmers Market, winding thru the Complex and now you are in an 1800's market-day.  Don't forget a carrot-treat to feed your patiently waiting horse!
  Attend the Lewes Historic Society's Strawberry Festival, under the shade trees sipping Champagne and devouring a classic Strawberry Shortcake.... you are now in the 1920's.  I wore my big hat but forgot to wear the white kidskin gloves!
  Attend Cape Henlopen's Fort Miles Day...... and you are whistling WW11 tunes!
 When fog curls up against the Cannonball House; hear the War of 1812?
I do.

Beach Blessings,

  

Chautauqua Tent and Blue Hydrangeas

  Lewes-living is the grown-up version of Summer Arts Camp. Chautauqua Tent 1812 re-enactments?
       Sunday I entered the tent for the musical offering: hammer dulcimer, guitar, and the musicians unexpectedly hilarious take on their musical career.  Sitting down I wondered why I felt so happy, so comfortable, and crazy nostalgic.
     Ah, it was Interlochen Arts Camp "deja-vu all over again".  A beautiful outdoor venue, tented, talented musicians, and a wildly enthusiastic audience.  An audience just willing to be: happy!
    Not only did we clap, we danced, we played whatever found instrument we could.  I clacked the freebie fan-handles! One dog was clever enough to bark on the beat!
  At the break I wandered the venue's park garden now in it's Summer phase:  "irrational exuberance".  Impossible electric blue hydrangeas that fade to purple?  A fountain to celebrate it all.
 As I poked my way into the park's neighbor's yard; an invite was called out: come and join me!
Ok, I was convinced to return for the evening's performance.
Cramming in as many performances in the day as possible;  that was Interlochen's key enjoyment now to be found again in Lewes.

Beach Blessings,

Small Kitchen Stories: Rice Pot Pad Thai

Another Sunday found me happy, very hungry and way too tired to cook.  I had a package of stir-fry beef. My kitchen stove elements wobble making stir-fries a not-fun project.  Would the rice pot handle this?  A very delicious "gardener's dinner" ensued!  That is what we do in Lewes: garden!


Rice Pot Pad Thai

Stir Fry Beef Strips
Onion, Green Pepper, Mushrooms, or whatever: all sliced.
Annie Chung's Pad Thai Sauce
Annie Chung's Korean Barbeque Sauce
Peanut Butter, chunky
Toasted Sesame Oil
Mixed Spring Greens

    In the Rice Pot turn the heat to "cook" and add in a big dollop of the sesame oil.  Heat until smoking.  Add in the veggys, stir, put on the top.  You are looking for a soft saute.  There will be too much moisture for a crisp saute; which is OK.
    Stir in the beef strips, add in a bit more oil, and stir.  Put on the top.
    Add in a good dollop of both sauces and the peanut butter.
    Heat until boiling.
    Serve over a plate of mixed Spring Greens.

I followed this with a dessert of rice pudding dolloped on top of sliced peaches with blueberries!

Beach Blessings,

Lewes Farmers Market & The Starboard

 To "Cathect" is a deeply psychological state of being.  It describes one's emotional investment.  It is what happens when one moves from one house to another, one state ( of being ) to another, from Dewey Beach to Lewes!

  With great excitement I attended the Opening Day Lewes Historical Society's Farmers Market!  Was I in Provence?  The offerings were that good!  

  By 8:45 AM the stands had lines, and the throngs were catheticing: milling, hugging, talking, smiling.  New to town, I immediately met up with two friends and made a new one too!

 I surveyed the stands, asked questions and worked out my food foraging strategy.  I can now find my weekend fish at the market without slogging it out on Rte 1!!!!!  Cheap entertainment is to peak in on the on-site kids story-hour.

More than convenience, I was hit hard, recognizing the throngs as so familiar, so Dewey Beach?

Yes, get over it Lewes: the Farmers Market is the Dewey Beach's Starboard equivalent!

Be there or be square! Not show up on a holiday weekend?  You are in trouble and will be found out!

Be SEEN! Be in the know!

The milling masses in line for their covetable consumables!

Yes, all of the above is the signature for the beyond successful Lewes Farmers Market and The Starboard!

Beach Blessings,

  

The Perfect Makeup Palette: Tinkerbell!

    I'm after "sizing down" my makeup routine to suit my new beachy home and bathroom.  Will the  Perfect Makeup Palette solve the problem of having so many little palettes about?
    Pixi by Petra, found at Target caught me with their new "Tinkerbell" palette!
   Tinkerbell!  Oh how I lived for the yearly holiday black and white TV showing of Peter Pan! I lived for  the moment Tinkerbell appears.  I would be Tinkerbell.  I watched the show dressed in my tutu and ballet shoes!
  Yet, I am no Tinkerbell at an AARP range age, 5'8", with long brown hair and hazel-green eyes.
  Ah, this was my chance of a lifetime not to passed up.  My return to the beach is a return to my childhood dreams.
The makeup is soft and glittery.  In the beachy bright sun would I look like a very sad, down and out Las Vegas-has-been?
  I gave it a go!
  The eye-shadows do tend to float about on the eyelids even with use of a primer.  Yet, I did discover to use a darker shadow over the soft glittery ones to good effect.
  Even better I re-purposed the eye shadows into lipstick!  Just use a lip pencil, then layer on the Tinkerbell eyeshadow, and finish with a layer of the palette's lip-color.  This way the lip-color stays on forever! I did the bronzy gold under a wine color to gorgeous effect!
  I am not a bad-ass, I am a good girl: yet I am not a blush-using girl.  Yet again, I adore the supplied blush used to even the skin-tone.  Just swept everywhere including the eyelids; if forgoing the shadow colors.
  I could travel with this palette and need nothing more than a tinted foundation and mascara.
 Tinkerbell, oh how I've missed you!
 Now I need to find-me a tutu. Ballet slippers too!

Beach Blessings,

I Love Dewey Beach: Small Kitchen Stories: Rice Cooker Meat-loaf & Pot...

I Love Dewey Beach: Small Kitchen Stories: Rice Cooker Meat-loaf & Pot...: Small Kitchen Stories: Rice Cooker Meat-loaf & Potato Mess!     Yet again I was chilled to the bone and beyond hungry.   I needed a big c...

Small Kitchen Stories: Rice Cooker Meat-loaf & Potato Mess!

    Yet again I was chilled to the bone and beyond hungry.   I needed a big comforting meal made with no brain power.
    I had a a nice amount of left-over Veal Meat-loaf and potatoes and onions that needed attention.  I smiled and got out the Rival Rice Cooker.
    I am almost too embarrassed to admit this mess of a meal.  Here it is and welcome to my table.


Rice Cooker Meat-loaf & Potato Mess

Veal Meatloaf, leftovers:  diced; I used about 1 cup.
Golden Potatoes: two, peeled and cubed
Onion: chopped
Olive Oil
Dillweed
A small amount of water
A small chunk of Cheddar Cheese

In the Rival Rice Cooker, heat up a big ladle full of olive oil.  Throw in the chopped potatoes and onions. Put on the top.  Let the mess get nice and browned. Add in the Dillweed.  If need be add a small amount of water to steam until done.  I used not even 1/4 cup of water.  Once the potato/onion mixture is done, then add in the diced meat-loaf.  Put on the cover for a few minutes until heated thru.  Throw in the cheese and gently stir until melted.  Serve!

A bowl of sliced grapefruit and strawberries was the perfect dessert.

Ta DA!

Venus and Her Beach Makeup

Sometimes I get a notion to dive into my makeup and find my Summer look. In the past the make-up "dregs and mistakes" did beach time, but never happily. Venus confers a new life, new make-up and thus a new look.

Yet, what works in warm to hot weather with high humidity and still says: Beach Goddess?

Foundation? Not a chance. What is going to work with your ever growing tan and sun-kissed cheeks and nose? A tinted moisturizer can play nicely off what ever color your face has going on: from early season pale-white to late season golden tones.

Eye shadow and mascara: yeah, your eyes that are day-time hidden behind sunglasses want out, bring it on. But forget the smokey eye which looks like you just arrived from "downtown". Seashell shimmer tones work well and say the beach is your playground.

Lipstick: Hell, Yeah! With the big summer hat and sunglasses on what else is there to see? Corals to Pinks to Sandy Beige work wonders. I adore my reds, yet except for Formal State Occasions the reds speak of hard driven ambition and glory: and who cares you are; At The Beach!

Cape May-Lewes Ferry: Enjoy your Kids, not the Laptop.

We had a beautiful but windy day for the ferry crossing, Cape May to Lewes. I settled inside until I recovered from the excitement and thus the exhaustion of the last few days. Later I'd go onto the deck to wonder at the passage-views.

I love to situate myself to watch kids and dogs. I lucked out enjoying a sweet white doggie, a Coton de Tulear of Madagascar, and sitting opposite, a very cool Dad with his 5 and 7 year olds.

The very cool Dad immediately upon getting into the booth revved-up the laptop and put on a kid's movie. The children were quiet and enthralled with their movie.

I was not enthralled; but I did remain quiet. I did not go up to the very cool Dad and suggest the following.

Take your kids onto the deck! Watch Cape May, NJ behind us and at the same time see approaching Lewes, DE! Watch those Herring Gulls work the food-gig possibilities shooting up from the ferry's wake. Does not the Double Crested Cormorant look like a Dinosaur? Take in the breakwaters and the Lighthouses. Is it high tide or low? Will we scrape bottom or make it in?

Smell the scents of the bay-water, gulls, cooking galley foods, diesel fuel, moist air, and even the cigarette smoke!

Find the story!

Did Cape May ghosts hitch a ride and are sitting next to you?

How many sailors have seen what you see now?

Cool Dad: I implore you to show your kids the Natural World! Show them now before the Red Knots and Horseshoe Crabs disappear into extinction.

Show them now so they grow up to want to volunteer for Fish and Wildlife projects.

Show them now so they will take solace in this beautiful DE Bay!

Show them now and I doubt next time they will spend more than a few minutes watching the laptop movie.

Beach Blessings,

Coffee, Tea, beach-walks, Dad & Me.

Early AM, Dad roused out of bed what ever kid he could to accompany him on outings of beach-walks, breakfast on the boardwalk, and a final stop to buy the paper, groceries and the day's fish.

I was sleepy, but I cooperated. Besides having Dad all to myself, the early morning walks yielded great beach-combing finds and a delicious boardwalk breakfast at The Henlopen Hotel.

We always had a table with an ocean view. How I happily remember walking in, seeing and smelling the sea of white starched cloth-covered tables, with white fat china pots full of the morning percolated coffee. Jam pots cluttered the table top.

Therein lies my "problem".

I'm a tea-drinker! Only estate-tea, hand-picked will do! I keep Assam, two types of Darjeeling, and a Ceylon on hand to do my daily blends. All night I await and look forward to my morning pot of tea.

Upon my return to the beach I did drink percolated coffee! It was delicious. The leftovers turned into iced-coffee was even better. This delight had to be given up upon my heart saying: no way.

Oddly, at the beach for me any type of British-style tea (excepting the herbals which I drink by the gallons), tastes "weak and off". I get by with "PG Tips" tea, two bags to a pot; sometimes doped-up with a smattering of loose Assam.

My only explanation is the above story where for me beach-side early mornings demand coffee.

Once in a great while in the morning I find myself near the ocean/bay and coffee! Once in a while I let myself have not even 1/4 cup with some milk. Glorious, glorious it is.

It is not me.

Yet, it is my youthful palette that never drank the coffee, saying a happy !YES! to youthful Summers gone by.

Rehoboth Art League; Schroeder, Mom and Art Classes.

I returned to DE in Fall of 2004. So why did it take me until February 2012 to return to The Rehoboth Art League? I did make a few attempts to locate the Art League; I always got lost in the surrounding development of Henlopen Acres. There I spent many a happy afternoon taking art lessons and hanging with my Mom as she participated in the weekly Sketch Sessions. Certainly Howard Schroeder was teaching and participating. Her early 1962 Sketch Session painting of the nearby Marina hangs in my home. I remember watching my Mom paint this scene.

This very painting shows the "school influence" my Mom's work populated for nearly 50 years. I always assumed much of the painting's structure was her own genius. I never thought to find her influences.

The Howard Schroeder show drew me in, especially so since the gallery collection came from family members; thus showing a very intimate view-point. I was captivated and stunned.

Not only did I fall in love with his work, but I was gob-smacked to find my Mom's key teacher; even if on her part it was unconscious absorption.

Oh, how I wanted to purchase a painting or two! I have my eye on one.

I hope it waits for me and will grace my new Lewes home.