The April Blizzard

The April Blizzard

 

When a late snowstorm arrived in April, you flew in too

Not like a whirling blizzard

Ah, no.

Still handsome and warmer than the snow filled streets

Bright like a Californian

Smiles and laughs and my heart thawed yet again.

 

We had dinner at a restaurant that I favor.

A pretty young woman sat us by the window.

We re-engaged in friendly banter.

 

Next to the cold and snow outside,

After years of telephone conversations

Two beings suddenly across the table from one another

Eating a meal together while

Years have passed; separation lifted

Time ceased inside us.

 

At the end of the meal,

The pretty young woman, who served us,

Appreciated our togetherness.

Her innocent suggestion

To return for date night

Hangs in the air like frosty breath.

 

Your head shifts and you looked down

Uncomfortable.

And there it was…

For in reality, to the contrary,

There is no us.

While her sentiment confirmed,

We looked like a couple.

 

Looking at her sweet, fresh face

And not wanting to dispel her hope ~

Pleasure is so fleeting.

A polite smile curved on my lips.

 

Joking together again outside, walking arm in arm

To avoid slipping in the snow, laughing.

Quietly inside I recognized that

Moment a ripple in the continuum appeared,

Which dictated no pretense or illusion between us.

Ah, no.

 

CKatt

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen.

Have a meal with friends to share love wherever you may be.

Linguine with Tuna, Herbs and Lemon Recipe/Spaghetti al Limone

Pasta, pasta, and more pasta is what I like. Over time it’s a challenge to think of new flavors for pastas dishes. Many of the chefs on cooking shows stick to red sauce in their recipes. Who doesn’t like a rich and flavorful red sauce?

Inspirations come and go for cooking.  I thought about tuna and pasta. Hmm. What would go with tuna? My fall back recipe is bechamel sauce for a change of pace. Then I stretched my brain and wondered if lemon, tuna and pasta would work together?! dug around and found Spaghetti al Limone on the Cooking Channel and one recipe from Food and Wine then combined the two…

Ingredients

Linguine with Tuna, Walnuts, Lemon and Herbs

Easy Recipe adapted

Ingredients

3/4 Cup walnuts, chopped

1 pound of linguine

1/3 cup of olive oil

2-6 ounce cans of tuna packed in oil (or fresh tuna steaks cooked and sliced)

2 teaspoons of grated lemon zest – 2 lemons worth

2 teaspoons of lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper

4 cloves minced garlic + 1 tablespoon of olive oil to cook the garlic

1/2 cup of mixed herbs e.g. parsley, chives, and thyme

METHOD

1. Toast the walnuts in a small frying pan over moderate/low heat. Stir frequently until golden brown – 5 minutes
2. Option toast them in the oven at 350 F  for 5 to ten minutes
3. Cook the linguine in a pot of salted boiling water until just done  – About 12 minutes
4. While the linguine cooks:
   1. In a small bowl mix the olive oil and lemon juice – emulsify with a whisk, then  whisk in the herbs
   2. Open the can of tuna – I used Solid White Tuna
   3. in a large frying pan, over low fire, heat the olive oil  and cook the minced garlic for 1 minute stirring all the while.
   4. Stir in tuna and it’s oil. (If you use tuna and water like I did, it still works, but drain the water off first.) Gently break up the tuna into pieces
   5. Drain then add the pasta plus about 1/3 cup of the pasta water into the frying pan.  Stir and blend together the ingredients while they cook add pepper and salt to taste
   6. Add the emulsified blended olive oil and lemon with herbs mixture stirring together gently letting it cook for a few minutes.

That’s it! I made it a second time without the walnuts. Yum. The flavors of  lemon, tuna and the herbs combined are really refreshing.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen.

Have a great weekend!

I’ll be taking this recipe to Fiesta Friday #224. The solo cohost this week is Diann @ Of Goats and Greens. Thanks to all the fine cooks who join the fiesta!

Unlikely – White Shire Horse for Weekly Photo Challenge

Unlikely 

Wednesday’s WordPress Photo Challenge Unlikely allows me to share a few photos from this past Saturday’s  Minnesota Horse Expo 2018. I attend every year to enjoy the horse breeds I would otherwise never see.

2018 at the Minnesota Horse Expo gave me the unlikely opportunity to see a White Shire and Boulonnais horse among many other more familiar breeds of horses.

Top right and left middle: Louis’ the White Shire is a rare color in this breed of Draft horse as compared to a standard colored Shire horse above, which are black with white feathering over the hooves as seen here.

Mid Right: I have included the charming young Paint horse with his owner because he had a little bit of a curly coat that complemented his owner’s locks.

Top Left: The Boulonnais Horse – considered the most elegant draft horse – is: “Found in the Boulogne District of France, this breed is thought to come from the animals imported by Julius Caesar prior to invading Britain.” ~ The Equinest

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen.

Have a happy day wherever you may be!

Lines – Weekly Photo Challenge – Como Conservatory

Lines

This weeks Photo Challenge on Lines fits with a recent visit to St Paul Minnesota’s Como Conservatory. The visit was a way to enjoy spring after the (surprise!) 21 inches of snow accumulation that fell for three days the weekend before …okay then.

There were people there despite the overcast grey sky that hovered overhead.  The cold along with the snow drifts and piles made driving a challenge. Never mind. It was delightful to walk into the warmth and green of the Como Conservatory and snap pictures of the plants and flowers.

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Have a beautiful day!

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen!

French Silk Pie Recipe = Happy Belated Birthday!

UPDATE April 2018:

This confection of French Silk Pie, which I made five years ago for the weekly dinner, where I am often a guest, is fun to make.  In 2013, Chris, the May Groom-to-be and now husband of the lovely Crissy and father to the delightful Sylvester, was promised a chocolate pie for a birthday gift. Chris repeatedly asked me for this scrumptious dessert. This is when the recipe first appeared.

Somewhat belatedly again this year – 2018, I will give the pie to him on Sunday.  Perfectly justifiable for a guy born on April Fools Day.)

Saturday night I made my own graham cracker crust this time. After the crust cooled I put the chocolate ingredients together – all non-fattening – Lie, lie, lie – for this year’s pie.

This is the most decadent recipe for French Silk Pie that will have the chocolate lovers requesting, “Some more, please?” This is not your fluffy chocolate pie, this is some serious chocolate.  I used Baker’s Semisweet chocolate and it never fails.

Ingredients:

1 cup whipping cream

1 6-ounce package semisweet chocolate pieces

1/3 cup butter = 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon

1/3 cup sugar

2 beaten egg yolks

3 tablespoons Creme De Cacao or whipping cream

1 baked 8-or 9-inch pastry shell

Whipped cream (optional)

Chocolate curls or miniature chocolate pieces (optional)

Directions:

• In a heavy 2-quart saucepan combine the 1-cup whipping cream, chocolate pieces, butter, and sugar.
• Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted. This should take about 10 minutes.
• Remove saucepan from heat.

Beat the egg yolks until a lemon yellow color in a bowl. Electric beater used.

Beaten egg yolks

Gradually stir about half of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks.

• Return egg mixture to saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is slightly thickened and nearly bubbly. This should take 3 to 5 minutes.
• Remove saucepan from heat. (Mixture may appear to separate.)
• Stir in Creme De Cacao or whipping cream.

Place saucepan in a bowl of ice water. Stir occasionally until mixture stiffens and becomes hard to stir (20 minutes).

• Transfer chocolate mixture to a medium mixing bowl.
• Beat the cooled chocolate mixture with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
• Spread filling in a baked pastry shell.
• Cover and chill pie about 5 hours or until set, or for up to 24 hours.
• At serving time, top each serving with whipped cream and sprinkle with chocolate curls or pieces, if desired.

Servings: 10

Graham Cracker Crust Recipe

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs (24 squares)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Method

If you have a machine that will atomize the graham crackers…then have at it.

OR  for a a change of pace, slow down:

Crush the graham crackers. By hand break the crackers up to smaller pieces into a flat bottom bowl. Crush with a the flat of a spoon until smaller. Then crush with a rolling pin on a flat surface like a flexible, plastic cutting board, which I find very handy. Continue to add a handful at a time to crush together. It is easily done and less messy, when you put the crackers in between wax  paper and roll from the center.

ASIDE: Making a Graham Cracker crust this way is relaxing. Some of my ‘funner’ ideas come to me while cooking. By slowing down the process of cooking, reaching a Beta Wave state of mind is completely possible. It is a form of meditation.

• In a small bowl, combine the sugar and crumbs; add melted butter and blend well. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-inch pie plate.
• Refrigerate for 30 minutes before filling, or bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack before filling. Yield: 1 pie crust (9 inches).
  

  Baked Graham Cracker Crust April 2018 © CKatt

French Silk Pie Recipe

Retrieved August 10, 2013

Rich Chocolate French Silk Pie – ready for the Fridge! CKatt 2018

Just Add Whipped Cream and Serve!

End of April 2018!

Enjoy May!

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen!