Monday, September 30, 2013

Fall Photos and Cars.

I took a couple of pictures on and from our balcony which I am sharing with you today.
Fall 2013 003
This is one of the many trees we can see from our windows and it is busy flaunting its fall colours. Once fall really gets into swing, we have lots of great colours right in our own ‘backyard’.
Much to our surprise our geraniums and basil was still alive and thriving when we got back from vacation.Fall 2013 005 Well, OK there are a couple of brown leaves, but lots of flowers.Fall 2013 006 The brown leaves will soon disappear.
Here again, there are a few dead leaves at the bottom but the top part is thriving and I am planning to make some more tomato soup to use up some of the leaves. Maybe some pesto as well. Considering these plants were not touched in two weeks we were somewhat impressed they were doing so well.

L. Diane Wolfe in her blog Spunk on a Stick discussed all the cars she has owned in her life so far, which, of course, made me think about the cars I have owned. Diane had pictures, I do not, but I do remember my first car was an old Ford and its license plate was RD9295. I called her Jemima (one of my mother’s favourite names, glad she didn’t choose it for me, Victoria was her other favourite and a cousin got lumbered with that, not as bad as Jemima though). I have never had a ‘thing’ about cars, to me there are purely and simply a means for getting from place to place, except – many years ago, in Paris, France, I saw a bright red Mercedes Sports Car and I always wanted that car. Now they would be collectibles I suppose. In fact we did see one on the road recently, although I can’t remember where, probably on our trip to NC and back.

Bowling today again. Keep everything crossed for me please.

These chicken crisps I found from Food and Wine sound delightful and probably very moreish. I am not sure where one would obtain 3 or 4 chicken skins mind you and I suspect their calorie content is NOT low. I love crackly pork rinds too – I bought a bag whilst in NC and I am sure these would be equally delicious.

Chicken Crisps

Contributed by Matthias Merges
SERVINGS: 4

Crispy chicken skins are even better than fried pork rinds. At Yusho in Chicago, chef Matthias Merges bakes them until crackly, then tops them with sweet-and-salty seasonings. The skins are an utterly addictive snack that's especially good with cocktails or beer.Chicken Crisps

  1. 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  2. 5 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
  3. 3/4 pound chicken skin in large pieces (from 3 to 4 chickens), excess fat removed
  4. Kosher salt, for seasoning
  5. Togarashi (Japanese seasoning mix), for seasoning
  6. Whole-grain mustard, for brushing
  7. Honey, for drizzling
  8. Finely grated lime zest, for garnish
  1. Preheat the oven to 375° and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small saucepan, combine the vegetable oil with the sliced garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring often, until the garlic is golden and crisp, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic chips to paper towels to drain.
  2. Spread out the chicken skin in a flat single layer on the prepared baking sheets and season lightly with salt and togarashi. Top the chicken skin with another sheet of parchment paper and another baking sheet to weigh it down. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the skins are golden and crisp; rotate the baking sheets from front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking.
  3. Transfer the crispy chicken skins to paper towels to drain. Lightly brush with whole-grain mustard and transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle lightly with honey, garnish with the garlic chips and lime zest and serve.
Make Ahead The crispy chicken skins and garlic chips can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 hours. Brush with mustard and drizzle with honey before serving.

Have a great day
Jo_thumb[2]

13 comments:

  1. Plants are incredible- My Orchid does the same- it definitely prefers being ignored!

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    1. I have an African violet which is definitely ignored and flowers continuously. Amazing really.

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  2. My wife is a plant guru. She loves and keeps those things year round. She plans on building an English style garden in our backyard in the spring. Well, starting in the spring - it's a multi-year project.

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    1. Don't have a garden any more and even when I did, I was not much use at it. Only once, many years ago when we had a gardener, then I could wander around saying I want this or do that.

      What exactly do you mean by an English style garden Rusty?

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  3. You did good to remember the license plate! One of my first cars was a Ford. And one Ford was enough.

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    1. Dunno why I remember that license plate, its one hell of a long time ago.

      Have had other Fords and been happy with them.

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  4. I've never tried crispy chicken skins. Although I do like the skins on KFC. I only eat there about twice a year because the food is pure junk food. But yeah, crispy chicken skin can be quite tasty.

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    1. I used to eat crispy skins all the time until I first went on a diet many years ago. Emphasis on the many. I would love to try them but as I said, don't have easy access to chicken skins. No, I am not going to buy chickens just for their skins.

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  5. I love fried chicken for the skin...Your basil seems to be doing so well. I love a good tomato basil bisque. Our Safeway makes a really good one, but the cream content makes it outrageously calorific...
    Tina @ Life is Good

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    1. I have my own recipe for tomato soup, no cream, but a good helping of basil. You could add cream if you wanted of course.

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    2. Forgot, they turned up the pressure on my CPAP machine today, going with 12. What's the pressure on yours?

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    3. You have more color than we do Jo, but then you're a LOT further north than we are as well. Sis says that she's getting color up in St. Louis which is a couple hours north of us.

      I have pictures of most of my cars...somewhere. Oh yeah, in our photos strongbox. Most had names too, lol!

      Sia McKye Over Coffee

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    4. Actually, on our way home from NC we saw quite a lot of colour in both Virginia and Pennsylvania.

      You should do a cars blog too.

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