Little Bits

April 7, 2026 in Cooking + Baking by Colleen | Permalink

I am a big lover of deviled eggs and an equal “disliker” of their preparation, so I landed upon a nice “hack” where I mix mayo, mustard, and pickle relish in a jar, to my best estimate of topping a dozen eggs, and keep it in the fridge. When I get a hankering, I peel however many I like, smear a little or a lot on the halves, and I am good to go. So simple, yet so pleasing. I sometimes add a slice of cowboy candy for that chef’s kiss.

On car outings, we arrive home through the garage, which is right next to the kitchen, and my first stop, though I probably ought to take the additional 20 steps to the door knob of usual storage, is the countertop where I plop my purse. Lucky me, that on this particular day, it was such a nice photo moment! The purse is my very favorite in color and cross-body style, bought several years ago from a company in Ukraine. I have another, as well, in equally beautiful tooled brown leather, a little more hippie, with oak leaves and acorns. I pray for the makers health and safety every time I wear them. Slava Ukraini!

At the store one day they had frozen mussels out of the shells on sale! I made a bouillabaisse kind of soup with fennel and saffron, a little rouille, and we slathered and dipped bread to our heart’s content.

A jazzed up ramen, where I added gochujang to the broth and made bite-size pork meatballs. The tops!

The first of spring brought robin season and their penchant for mass gatherings. It is a very happy time to watch them hopping about and waiting mostly patiently for their kin to take a bath before their own turn comes up.

We’ve also had a daily visit from a crow with a wonky leg, dipping food in the water and taking sweet, slow sips. I love wildlife!

Also, your eyes are not wonky, that circle in the middle is one of the myriad reflectors that keep all manner of bird from bashing into the windows.

Grapes sprinkled with pulverized dried rosemary, salt, and olive oil, waiting for the oven to heat up and be roasted to perfection.

Sweetness at the very end, a lemon cake with vanilla frosting. Happy day to you, gentle reader…

Old Beauty

April 2, 2026 in Quoting by Colleen | Permalink

Be not the slave of your own past – plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep, and swim far, so you shall come back with new self-respect, with new power, and with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Edibles and Blossoms

March 30, 2026 in Cooking + Baking, Gardening + Nature by Colleen | Permalink

Hiya, hiya – Happy Almost April! To quote Han Solo, “We’re all fine here, now, thank you. How are you?”

I’m listening to Joe Cocker, singing about friends, which is never a bad thing, the sun is shining, and my spirits are high. A dog walk is imminent. Life is also a bit weird, honestly. We are full on spring after the least wintery winter of my Colorado memory. It snowed three times, two of which were quite substantial, and the other, a lovely sugar coating that melted in an instant. Life in the wild weather west, my friends.

As our usual good luck would have it, we continue to eat delicious, home cooked meals, love each other the best way we possibly can, and exercise our bodies strong.

The highlights:

Pizza! We are loving our oven and the perfect crustiness of it.

Do you know about the trick where you whip instant coffee crystals, sugar, and water into the most delectable foam? I don’t understand the chemistry behind it requiring instant, but I am on board, especially when, on an unseasonably warm afternoon, we are craving something a little bitter, a little sweet, and cold, cold, cold.

When we lived in Portland, and well before my intestines rejected wholesale any minimally processed garbanzo bean in a wail of agonizing pain, I LOVED the Caravan Platter at Dot’s Diner. It very closely resembled our homemade version above, but with the addition of pita, and damn, was it good. This was equally so, maybe even better with the addition of cilantro, and made my heart positively soar. And the garbanzos? Absolutely impotent after much soaking, instant potting, and peeling.

Finally, a roasted grape salad with chicken and feta, because what better use for the wrinkly ones at the bottom of the bowl?

And now, the garden! We’ve spent two lovely mornings cutting back the old and gathering yet more leaves to make room for all that is lovely and colorful. Happy Spring!

Edited to add one adorable Juper-Dog:

Metal

March 5, 2026 in Quoting by Colleen | Permalink

Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.

Eliza Tabor

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A Rosehip

February 26, 2026 in Quoting by Colleen | Permalink

Open the door of nature; enter inside; forget yourself; think nothing; be the nature itself and now you are a heron, a river, a rosehip, you are the shadow of a fox, sweet fruit of a tree, you are the silence of a lake! When you forget yourself, when you stop thinking, you become everything, you become the universe itself!

Mehmet Murat Ildan

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