Kale and Cabbage

Saute thick sliced bacon, diced. Add diced onion. Prepare kale by washing, removing the rib, chop. Add to pan along with sliced cabbage. Add broth (I used leftover corned beef dinner broth). Simmer.
I strained out most of the liquid and added it to finely diced cooked vegetables: potatoes, turnip, parsnip, onion. I will be using it to fill mini-pasties... more later!

Macadamia Citrus Cakes

Having oranges on hand from Arizona, and then getting a package of macadamia nuts from my daughter in Hawaii gave me the opportunity to try out some little poundcakes. I finally broke down and purchased a pan with 8 mini loaves. I googled for a recipe and found one at a Hawaiian site. It's a poundcake that uses whole eggs in the method, with the addition of baking powder to the flour. I used a combination of lemon and orange juice, and used orange zest.

mmm, great with the Kona coffe that arrived in the same goodie box as the nuts!

Citrus Marmalade

I used up the last of the grapefruit and oranges that I brought back from our trip to Arizona. The grapefruit are from a cousin's yard. I added some lemon juice as well, then pretty much followed the recipe that came with the pectin. I zested the fruit, then further chopped it. Instead of chopping up the fruit, I juiced them; I am not fond of chunks! After taking off the heat, I added about 1/4 cup Gran Marnier to the jam, then proceeded to fill jars and process in a water bath canner.

Corned Beef: New England Boiled Dinner

Yep, Guiness. Cooked pretty simply, pour the beer into the slow cooker with the corned beef, along with the spice packet. I added potatoes, carrots, and onions partway through cooking. In a separate pan, heat bacon grease and olive oil. Add chopped kale, then cabbage. Ladle in the cooking broth from the slow cooker (and a slice of corned beef), simmer until done.

Queen Creek Olive Oil Farm

Culinary Souveneirs

We just returned from a fabulous trip to Arizona over spring break. We drove in one heck of a blizzrd in northern Az, and temperatures were cooler than usual, yet we still managed to enjoy the desert southwest.
The citrus was a must-have. While there, I picked lemons for my sister, made two lemon pies, and a few small lemon poundcakes. I shared them with family. When it came time to leave, I plucked one last lemon from the tree, and that was a good thing as I had neglected to pick any other lemons for us to bring home!! We got nice grapefruit from a cousin. I purchased oranges at a local orange grove. While there, I also picked up some orange blossom honey, and a wooden juicer.
On the way to Happy Hour at a family member's, we stopped at Trader Joe's; I had never been in one before. I picked up a small jar of saffron, under $6. Another great market is AJ's where I purchased a tin of Spanish smoked sweet paprika.
One of the highlights of the trip was visiting Queen Creek Olive Oil Farm where we toured the facility, leaning about the process. They had quite a selection of EVOO, as well as flavored oils: Meyer lemon, blood orange, lime, chili, vanilla, roasted garlic to name but a few. I purchased the Tuscan blend, and a white truffle infused oil. They also sold bread, balsamic vinegars, tapenades, olives with many different stuffings, pickled veggies, wine, and many more products. They also had a fabulous to-go restaurant where one takes their orders out to the picnic area in an olive grove.