Nautical recreation in winter

"Lemony Fresh"

still life
8x10
oil

Snow @ the beach!

Enjoy the following Hipstamatics from my friend Glen at Specialty Color Services

 

Found this one somewhere on the interweb (probably facebook?)

Great pics (not mine, random interweb findings)

German food - German inspiration!

The following dinner was inspired by these two questions: "What is in the fridge that will rot by the end of the week?" and "How can I make more space in my cupboard?"

German culture food

.....because nothing was left in the fridge :)
This German-inspired dinner is dedicated to my friend Ina, in Hamburg.

German food - ingredient list

Here are the critical foodstuffs that framed my decision for tonight's meal:
-1 lb of Buffalo chuck roast (had been defrosting in fridge for 4 days)
-Fresh, green thyme that had been sitting in a moist paper towel for a week
-a misplaced box of spaetzle (b/c the "correct" shelf is currently full)
-a bag of celery that only has a few days left
-A packet of Sweinebraten mix (there are too many packets of German food mixes on the spice rack-which by the way, is the same gift from you, Steph!)
-leftover scallions from last night's dinner

Typical German food

Sweinebraten is a German pork roast, however my parents gave me a ton of buffalo (and it's taking up half the freezer) so I'm making a buffalo roast. HERE GOES!

German Food - Schweinebraten

Brown 2 spoonfuls of scallions in garlic-olive oil, in my Le Creuset dutch oven on med-low. Sprinkle some garlic on the meat-brown both sides & remove from heat. Add 1.5 cups of water (per packet mix instructions). NOW: Since this aint no pork dish, I'll add a spoonful of beef broth for flavor. And heck, even a bay leaf. Stir stir stir, bring to boil.... aha!

Add browned meat to pot. NOW: the husband is a big fan of vegetables. So, like ye olde pot roast I'm going to put in some vegetables! In goes chopped celery, and chopped carrots for kicks. (Avoiding potatoes b/c the accompanying side dish is quite evil...)

Now for some extra flavor: gotta get rid of this thyme! In it goes. Hey, we have a rosemary hedge outside and some fresh parsely.... (If you know my husband, he can't pass up anything rosemary). SO in it all goes.

Add packet of Sweinebraten mix-stir stir stir... let's cook this for 45 min. or so on med-low.

German food - Spaetzle

Spaetzle is cooked like gnocchi: in salt water or broth. Yours truly chose salt water.

Drain out spaetzle into baking dish and reserve 1/8 cup of "pasta water" in pot-. Add the rest of the scallions to "pasta water", added some coursely ground peppercorns for flavor. boil for a minute. Add to spaetzle in the dish- stir it all around really well.

Grate gouda cheese- sprinkle all cheese onto spaetzle & scallions. Add panko bread crumbs to the top. (mine were 'plain'- so I threw on a bit of italian herb spice for flavor). Cook on 375 for 25 minutes. You won't regret it.

German food - the verdicts:

Meat gravy turned out fantastically thick and flavorful.
Gravy goes especially well with spaetzle.

Spaetzle with gouda cheese is freaking awesome.

2 green dinners: >20 minutes, >$20

That's salmon- it came in a frozen packet pre-marinated. Toppings are tomatoes, onions, mangos, a few interesting things. Grill pan on Med-Low: no longer than 15minutes!

Greens- broccolini & spinach.
Add olive oil (enough to coat the pan), add 1 teaspoon of chopped scallions, brown.
Add broccolini ,cook/stir around 5 minutes on med.
Add spinach cook for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth, cook for 5.
Garnish with parmesan cheese


brown basmati rice- cook in rice cooker until done. Garnish with TJ's 21 Seasoning Salute

Saute steak-seasoned (sliced) chicken breast in a wok
Add dried garlic, cumin.
Add vegetables of choice: today's choices include Chop Suey, broccoli & carrot slices.
(i.e., whatever I could find in the fridge that was green)
Cook on med-low.
Add sauce: 1 cup chix broth, 2 juiced key limes, 1 tsp cornstarch & a few drops of soy sauce
bring to boil let simmer for no longer than 10 minutes.

And if your man gives you lip always remember:

Good night!! ;)