Afternoon With Friends

How lucky am I?  I had two buddies to snowshoe with today.

Caryn, on the right, is the landowner (and our friend) that lets me snowshoe on her 80 acres.  Her sister-in-law Judy, on the left, just happened to be visiting this week from Seattle.  Judy told me she is used to snowshoeing only in the mountains in Washington, so this was a treat for her to walk out the door and have access to snowshoeing trails.

So, after two hours of walking through the woods, you have to replenish your body!  Thanks Caryn and Judy for the Merlot, cheese, apples, brie, baguette and olives.  I also brought over a couple savory scones from our local food co-op. Such a nice afternoon to spend with friends and enjoy the warm sunshine.

Bike Man Was in the Kitchen

Polenta Lasagna

Bike man was in the kitchen tonight! I was excited to hear he wanted to make his unusual lasagna dish. I LOVE this lasagna. So tasty, so healthy and so totally different!

He started with sauteing red peppers, onions, garlic, and one jalapeno pepper (optional). Add some fried pork sausage....or not. We've made this lasagna without meat and it's still delicious.

With a jar of marinara sauce or spaghetti sauce, add a little sauce to the bottom of an 8 inch baking pan.

Carefully slice prepared polenta, about 1/2 inch thick slices. We love the basil garlic polenta. Bike man uses a serrated bread knife to cut the polenta.

Place your first layer of sliced polenta in the baking pan with the spaghetti sauce.

Spoon 1/2 of the veggie & pork sausage mixture over the sliced polenta. Carefully spoon some spaghetti sauce over the veggies.

Sprinkle a layer of shredded mozzarella & cheddar cheese over the first layer. Top with a second layer of polenta slices.

Add remaining veggie/sausage mixture, more spaghetti sauce and more shredded cheese. I'm a Penzey's spice freak, so I like to sprinkle a little "Mural of Flavor" herb mix over the top. Cover pan with foil and bake 30 minutes......another 15 minutes or so uncovered, for a total of about 45 minutes. Honestly, this is the best alternative to traditional lasagna. The first time I had this polenta treat, I just feel in love with it. Don't worry, I think the Italian's would approve, despite the lack of pasta!!!

Food Game

I really didn't have a plan, but just decided to use what was in my refrigerator. It's kind of a game I play with myself. What can you make for dinner based on what is in your refrigerator, freezer or pantry? I love this food game.

So I grabbed some sliced red peppers from my freezer, some fresh jalapenos, mushrooms and onions. I sauteed all the veggies in olive oil, adding seasonings to taste. My last step was to add freshly chopped kale!

Decided to make veggie pizza with my special sauteed mix. Added some feta cheese, a little mozzarella, and that's it......a tasty, antioxidant meal. The kale made the pizza extra special with it's sweetness and nice rich green flavor.

Special Treat

She lives a quiet life now and doesn't have a care in the world. Well actually, in her world every day seems like the same day over and over again. My mother-in-law lives with memory loss now, but she's still the same woman I remember from years ago.

I thought my mother-in-law deserved chocolates for Valentine's Day, so Bike man and I stopped by the specialty chocolate shop last weekend. You know, everyone deserves chocolate no matter how young or old you are.

We just happen to visit with my mother-in-law over the weekend, so I presented her with this lovely box of chocolates. " They're too pretty to eat " she says! After hesitation to pick her first candy to eat, I finally picked one for her to try. She only ate half, but I know she was pleased. My mother-in-law won't remember where the chocolates came from, but that's ok, we still love her just the same.

Happy Valentine's Day Grandma Winne.

Birthday Wishes

Can you guess my recent baking project? In my family, I'm known as the cheesecake lady.....hint, hint.

Yup, this was my Sunday night project. I baked another Heath Bar cheesecake, just like the one I baked for Becca's birthday back in November. Well this time, I baked one for the Son. Happy 24th Birthday Chris!!!!! Bike man just happened to be in Minneapolis today for a VA appointment, so he hand-delivered the cheesecake to our son. I wish I could have been there, but my job rules my life, so no such luck.

Speaking of birthday's, I remember my baby experiences very well. After Chris's birth, I remember the nurses bringing all these Valentines into my room. It seems that the elementary children at the local school made Valentine cards for the hospital patients. Since there were only two of us gals in the maternity wing, we were given tons of Valentine cards from the local school kids. How cool is that? I have very fond memories of Becca's birth too. There's nothing comparable to giving birth. As a mom, I will always cherish the moment.....the moment where I went from being a young lady in my mid 20's to an instant mommie!

Hope you enjoyed your birthday Son!

Snow Bikes

We had to take a quick side trip into the bicycle shop tonight so Bike man could show me the "fun" bikes. I especially liked this Salsa bike with it's fat tires.

Bike man had his eye on this nice Surly bike. It really is amazing! Both of these bikes will guarantee a good time biking in the snow. We've been thinking for several years now that it would be fun for each of us to have a snow bike for lake riding during the winter months. We're still thinking..........

Walked across the street to Mona Lisa's for gourmet pizza and a glass of wine. Call it an early Valentines dinner! We had a wonderful time, despite the couple sitting at the table next to us that fought and exchanged words with each other throughout our entire meal. Has that ever happened to you? People never cease to amaze me with their rude behaviors in public places!

No Wind Chill

Manny's a sleeper!

Spent the day in the city attending a meeting and another eBook training session. I'm finally at the point where I feel comfortable teaching my customers how to use eReader devices and how to download eBooks from our library catalog. All I can say is, it's been a long year of learning!

So while I was off learning today, Bike man was busy at home make a scrumptious hearty lasagna. A new recipe he told me, well, actually two new recipes combined into one. Trust me, it was delicious.....he put cheese curds in the lasagna!!!!!

Despite the two inches of snow today, I still managed to get out for a run as the sun was setting. Can you believe the 7 degree temperature felt good to me? No windchill makes a big difference.

Road Trip

Zipped our way east to St. Paul today to visit the Son and his sweetheart Trisha. Jumped back in the car and then we all headed on to Minneapolis to pick up our daughter Becca. I love family day! Spent the afternoon visiting REI, Chipolte Mexican Grill (we were hungry), Cook's on Crocus Hill and then ended with a quick swoop into Penzey's Spices.

I couldn't cook without Penzey's spices and herb mixes.....I use the herbs and spices almost everyday. The three small jars you see in the photo are heading to southwest Wisconsin in a couple weeks. My mom is now on a low-sodium diet due to her heart surgery, so I want her to try the newest favorites of mine. The cinnamon on the left is for one of my co-workers who was looking for a high quality and strong cinnamon.

Oh yah, Bike man bought me some pink Pedro's tire levers today. Guess who needs a lesson on changing a flat bicycle tire?

Who Doesn't Love Popcorn?

We love popcorn, don't you too? Several weeks ago I came across a very simple recipe for microwave popcorn that you prepare yourself. The best part is the skinny price tag for this tasty snack. A bag of popcorn kernels? $1.75!

Measure 1/4 cup popcorn and place in a bowl. Add 1/2 tsp. vegetable oil, or peanut oil and 1/4 tsp. of salt, then stir.

Pour the prepared popcorn into a brown paper bag. The lunch-size bag works great.

Put the bag into the microwave on a plate and cook on high for 2 minutes. Season with addition salt, if desired. Psssst, I'm going to make more popcorn tonight, but this time I'm going to sprinkle Herbes de Provence over the popcorn for a french twist!

Tip: Don't double the recipe amount since I tried that and the popcorn didn't turn out as well as a single recipe.

My Standby

Do you have, a favorite recipe that you consider as your standby when life gets busy? I do and I'm proud of it! Tomorrow night Bike man and I will be taking part in the annual family get-together at Bike man's oldest son's house. This gathering always works out well because we get to see all the grandkitties.

So tonight I made my quinoa salad with all my favorite fresh veggies. Mix in a delicious red wine vinegar dressing, and that's it! A very easy and tasty salad for gatherings.

Bike man surprise me with a special treat for my quinoa salad. He went grocery shopping today and bought me this absolutely amazing sheep's milk feta cheese from France. Wow, the taste is unbelievable.

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but if you want my quinoa salad recipe, go to my Turtle recipes and you will find it there.

The weather is still mild here in Northwest Wisconsin. Got home at sunset tonight and ran my three mile route. I'm loving this snow-less December! And Bike man? He rode his bike on the lake ice this afternoon. Guess he just had to checkout the ice fisherman to see what they were catching.

Furlough

So I told her we were coming to Southwest Wisconsin to check on her progress since her open-heart surgery. Hey mom I said, you can come home from the nursing home for a short visit......"I can" she said!!!! We're calling it her furlough.

So we picked her up this morning around 11 am and then returned her around 7 pm tonight. I truly have to say this was the best Christmas eve for my family. To me, this was what Christmas is all about.

Becca made a delicious soup for lunch and then we made a special Christmas dinner tonight.....comfort food for my mama who has lost a lot of weigh! I made sure we stopped at the Viroqua Food Co-op to stock up on good fresh food for our meal preparations.

Yes, it was hard returning her to the nursing home tonight, but I assured her we will see her tomorrow before we take off for home. She badly wants to come home, so I told her to work especially hard next week during her therapy. She looked amazing today, and to think she had heart surgery two weeks ago. Her incision is healing beautifully, but is still dealing with edema in the legs. Recovery is rough, but she's a trooper (it's that polish blood I swear)!

No need for Christmas presents this year, just the basics for a happy holiday season.

Wishing all my blogger friends a very Merry Christmas.

Delicious

Several days ago Bike man bought some swiss chard. I'm guessing he bought it because it looked so fresh, and so colorful. I'm embarrassed to say this, but I've never eaten swiss chard. I decided tonight that I would get adventurous and cook this lovely green vegetable for dinner.

So several weeks ago, I remember my daughter talking to me about swiss chard and she told me to check out a recipe on carpe season blog. That's exactly what I did, and I found an excellent recipe for using fresh swiss chard that incorporates this leafy green vegetable into a flavorful baked dish.

I was amazed at how delicious swiss chard can be. Of course, this is an enhanced way to use this colorful vegetable, but it's so worth the lengthy preparation. I am certain you will love this recipe too. I served the swiss chard dish with a pan fried hamburger....pretty simple!

Suggestion: I did not have goat cheese on hand, but substituted feta instead. I also did not have fine bread crumbs, but did use panko bread crumbs and also used some homemade croutons that Bike man prepared about a month ago. The extra crunch was well worth it.

Spicy Kimchi

Bike man was out and about today. He stopped by the grocery store and bought everything he needed to make kimchi. Kimchi....really? He said it would be really good for me.....really? I've never had kimchi. All I know is that kimchi is fermented cabbage and contains the good bacteria that we all can benefit from.

So bike man cut up nappa cabbage, and bok choy and added some salt. The cabbage needs to be weighted down with a plate or heavy pan for several hours.

He then used the blender to mix the garlic, fresh ginger, leeks, red chiles, tamari and vinegar. As you can see he blended it into a spicy paste. I took a whiff and my sinuses instantly burned and tingled....wow!

The paste will be mixed with the cabbage and packed into glass jars. The kimchi is suppose to ferment at room temperature for 48 hours and then transfer to the refrigerator, where it will continue to ferment for a month or so.

I can't wait to try the kimchi. I've always heard it's amazingly good and everyone seems to love it. I'll get back to you on this in several weeks!

PS. Ran 4 miles tonight in the moon light.....new flat route, minus icy and snowy roads.

What No Snow?

Yesterday was an amazing Thanksgiving with warm temperatures and sunny skies. Took a little break outside in the afternoon to enjoy the fire that Bike man made while chopping wood. We ended up charcoaling our turkey outdoors since we had such a nice day. Just a great day all around. Truly thankful our kids could come home for Thanksgiving.

Switching gears here, but I didn't want to eat turkey again tonight, so Becca put me on to a new blog that features eating foods in season. Please checkout Carpe Season and enjoy the beautiful photos and wonderful recipes. Tonight, I made the chicken with apple cream sauce (Nov. 16) post and thoroughly enjoyed every single bite......such an easy recipe too. I'm still slowly going through the older posts to find other recipes I want to try. Liz, the blog creator, is from Minneapolis and loves to cook and blog.

No real serious shopping today, except for a trip to Fleet Farm. The kids got motivated this morning and put up some Christmas lights.....looks nice. I was happy to have some help since decorating won't be on my mind a week and a half from now. Bike man and I will be taking my mom to Rochester for heart surgery and will probably spend a week there. Until then, life as normal.........

I Know.....Another Cheesecake???

I know, I know..... I made another cheesecake? Yes, I did make a Health Bar cheesecake about two weeks ago for Becca's birthday, but now

I decided I wanted to make a pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust. The recipe I used called for baking the cheesecake in a water bath for 1 hour and 45 minutes. I'll be sure to let you know tomorrow how the cheesecake tasted.

Staying home for Thanksgiving Day, will be cooking, cooking, cooking for my family.

Good Eats

Made it home as darkness took over and went for a run with my dear friend Joan. We ran like two old women.....slow, but chatting the whole way! Joan brought me a gift too. She gave me a fresh five pound chicken that she just butchered......what a woman! There's nothing like a fresh chicken....totally organic too!

Decided to cook up some kale that Bike man bought for me. Our friend Carol taught me how to sauteed kale, so I wanted to give it a try again. I first added the onions and garlic and sauteed in olive oil, then I added the chopped kale. After a few minutes I threw in some freshly chopped tomatoes.....kept the sauteed momentum going and then added a little cider vinegar and some half'n' half cream. Tossed in my seasonings of choice. What a great side dish, however, the kale wasn't as fresh as I wanted. Turned out not as tender as I wanted, so that's a good indication the kale wasn't totally fresh! The kale was still good.......

Watching the Packer/Viking game tonight. Go cheeseheads!

November Birthday

Someone has a birthday coming up, so I decided to make her a cheesecake, a Heath candy bar cheesecake! After baking for 1 hour and 15 minutes, I turned the oven off and left the cheesecake in the oven to slowly cool. This is what the cheesecake looked after I took it out of the oven. Cooling the cheesecake down slowly will reduce cracking. Tomorrow I will top with caramel topping and small pieces of Heath candy bar pieces.

Our daughter Becca turns 25 on Sunday. Wow, where did the time fly?

Backyard Man

My dad made this wood sculpture years ago and it now sits outside in my folks backyard. Kind of looks like an Australian Aboriginie doesn't it?

I know this will sound funny, but Bike man and I will be bringing home rocks.....Lake Superior rocks! My parents collected rocks they found around Lake Superior, but now they need to move them away from their house since they will be having some landscaping redone. Do you want the Lake Superior rocks my mom asked? Sure why not. We can always find room for rocks in our yard!!!

Heading back home tomorrow.

PS. Check out my Turtle Recipes menu for my Italian Toscana soup recipe.......delicious!

Buttery Love

First things first......the dessert. Is that amazing or what? Simple & beautiful presentation. A little apple, caramel, butter pastry, whipped cream with a touch of strawberry for color. Who cares what I had for my lunch......it's all about the dessert!

Every year I attend the youth services luncheon just so I can listen to the well-known children's author. Of course it's my job to sit there and suffer through the luncheon.....it's a tough job my friends.

Our luncheon today was in the famous Crystal Ballroom at the historic Milwaukee Hilton (downtown). After sitting down at the table, I looked up to see this ornate embossed medal work.....so beautiful.

Full day of excellent sessions and networking with other librarians. Used my iPad today and I'm totally loving the convenience of this lightweight tablet for note taking and wireless Internet. No more lugging around a laptop!

Pie Anyone?

If you don't like apple pie, raise your hand! We had one bag of apples leftover from our apple tree, so after Bike man make dried apple slices and applesauce, the apple pie was the last thing to make. That's where I come in.

Of course if you are from "cheeseland" like we are, you have to have a slice of pie with a nice chunk of sharp cheddar cheese......make that ten-year old cheddar. After purchasing the aged cheddar last spring, our son made us open the cheese this past weekend. Ohhhh my, talk about a little piece of heaven. Aged-aged cheddar is amazing, with it's sharp tang and crystallized textured. Trust me, the high price is worth.