Bee Magnet

A couple of years ago I planted a Russian sage in my garden. This is the first year that the plant has topped 6 feet. The lovely lavender blossoms are a magnet for not only honeybees but bumblers too. I took some time the other day trying to capture some of these bees. So, today I share with you what I caught.

Russian sage attracts the bees

Heading to a blossom

Some sweet nectar

Seeing all parts

Harvesting

I wish you could smell the aroma of the plant. It is heady! Thanks for stopping by today and be well… ^..^

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Ginger Orange Short Ribs – Tasty Tuesday

I love cooking in my crock pot and today’s recipe adds another one to the list of crock pot recipes that I have shared with you. Today I feature another tasty beef short rib recipe that is rich and flavorful! Let’s stop for a preview.

Short Rib Preview

For this easy recipe, plan on a half hour of prep time and 10 hours of cooking. This recipe serves 8. Are you ready to head into the kitchen? Let’s go!

Ingredients
2 packages of short ribs, there will be 7-8 ribs
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper
3 small leeks, greens trimmed off and discarded
5 large cloves of garlic
1 1/4″ slice of fresh garlic, skin peeled off
1 star anise
2 chile de arbol
even mix of sherry and brandy, poured to 1/3 cup total
2 oranges, juiced, and skins cut into strips
1/4 cup of light brown sugar, packed tight
fresh cilantro
4 oranges to serve with the dish

Rub the ribs with the salt and pepper.

Ribs are ready to brown

Pre-cook them under the broiler until brown on all sides. While these are browning, let’s get the remaining ingredients ready. Take the leeks and cut into thick slices. Remove the papery skin off the garlic and slice thinly. Set aside the star anise and the chiles. Pour out the sherry and brandy. Juice the oranges and cut the skin into strips and measure out the soy sauce and brown sugar.

Now put the leeks into the crock pot.

Leeks are added to the crock pot

Place the browned short ribs over the leeks.

Browned ribs are added to the crock pot

Now add the garlic and ginger slices and the chiles. Break up the star anise as you add it.

Add in the garlic, ginger, chiles and star anise

In a bowl combine the sherry, brandy, orange juice, orange rind (give these a bit of a twist so that the essential oils get added), soy sauce and brown sugar. Stir well to combine. Then pour this over the ribs.

Mix the sherry, brandy, orange juice, soy sauce, brown sugar and orange rinds together

Pour the mixture over the ribs

These are now ready to cook! Set the crock pot on low heat, set the timer for 10 hours, cover it and let it do its thing.

When the timer goes off, remove the lid, remove the ribs from the crock pot. The bones should slide right out of the meat. Set the meat aside. Toss the chiles, orange peels, and skim the fat. Slice up the oranges. Wash and chop up a good fistful of cilantro. Serve the ribs over rice, spoon a little juice over the meat then top with cilantro and serve with some sliced orange.

Serve the short ribs over rice

I think that you will enjoy the amazing flavors of this dish. Please let me know if you try this dish.

Thanks for stopping by today and stay tuned for another amazing recipe coming to you next week! Be well… ^..^

Now place the

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Pretty Feet Contest 2015!

It is past time that I feature, as I do every year, the pretty feet contest! This year we have a number of exciting contenders! You get to vote on whose feet you like the best and in a couple of weeks I will announce the winner! Are you ready to check out some really pretty feet? Let’s go!

Contestant #1 – Buffalo

Buffalo

Contestant #2 – Cougar

Cougar

Contestant #3 – Elephant

Elephant

Contestant #4 – Flamingo

Flamingo

Contestant #5 – Frog

Frog

Contestant #6 – Koala

Koala

Contestant #7 – Meerkat

Meerkat

Contestant #8 – Wallaby

Wallaby

There are the contestants for 2015, and now you get to vote! Just click on the button to register your vote.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend! Be well… ^..^

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Symbols – A WordPress Photo Challenge

This week Jen H. over at WordPress Photo Challenge has chosen the subject “symbol” for this week’s photo challenge. I kept thinking of the symbols that I have seen throughout my travels. Here we go!

An Alaskan native art symbol…

Native art

The lines shapes and designs in this glass roof, painted by Native Americans, are were found in the desert of AZ.

Lines, shapes, designs – Geometry!

Petroglyphs certainly tell a story! Click on this photo twice to get a close up of something that is thousands of years old.

Petroglyphs

Stained glass created to re-create a symbol.

Stained Glass – 2

Symbolic art…

Another piece of art on the outside of the building

There you have it! A variety of symbols…Have a terrific Friday and be well!

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A Local Native – The Hazelnut

Years ago, when I was in the Big Trees State Park, there were loads of hazelnut trees. I thought that the leaves on this tree were very pretty. I attended a native plant sale at our county fair grounds years ago, and the master gardeners had hazelnuts for sale. I bought one. It has not produced nuts, which was disappointing. I was surprised this year when upon inspection I discovered that it finally has nuts. Here are photos of the developing nuts…

This is what first caught my eye.

Developing hazelnuts

Looking around my bush, I noticed that there were a lot of them hiding under the leaves.

Hiding under the leaves

There were single nuts.

A single hazelnut

And, a pair.

A pair of hazelnuts

Even triplets!

Triplets

Here is what the bush looks like.

My hazelnut

I am really excited that this shrub is producing. Stay tuned as I wait for the husks to dry and the nuts to fall. Hopefully I will get to them before the squirrels!

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Lemon Pepper Scallops – Tasty Tuesday!

Welcome back for another edition of Tasty Tuesday. This is the day that I devote to sharing an easy to prepare recipe that is chock full of flavor. Today is no exception. The secret ingredient to this recipe is fresh cilantro. Are you ready to head into the kitchen? Let’s go!

Ingredients
8 large fresh scallops
1 TBS lemon pepper
1 1/2 TBS butter
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine
handful of fresh cilantro

Let’s start with the scallops. Looking at them you will notice that on one side there is lighter colored piece that runs from top to bottom. This is this is a ligament. You need to remove this. It actually peels off fairly easily. If you leave this on, that area of the scallop will be very tough to chew. The actual scallop that you eat is called the abductor muscle.

Now let’s get the rest of the ingredients ready. Add the butter to you fry pan. Chop up the garlic, measure out the wine and the lemon pepper. Wash the cilantro very well. They grow this in a sandy soil, and you need to get that off the cilantro before using it in any dish.

Now turn the heat up on your skillet to medium heat and let’s get that butter melted.

Melt the butter

When it has melted, add the garlic.

Add the garlic

As the aroma of the garlic rises, take a deep breath in and enjoy that amazing fragrance. Let this cook for about 2 minutes. Then add in the wine.

Add in the wine and reduce

Bring the heat up to medium high and reduce until the fluid to half. Turn the heat back to medium and then add the scallops.

Add the scallops

Let this cook without disturbing them for about 4 minutes. Watch the scallops as they cook. You will notice that from the bottom the color of the scallops changes from a fluid white to a bright white. When that color hits the middle of the scallops, turn them.

Ready to turn

Turn the scallops

Now turn off the heat and cover the pan. Let this sit for 5 minutes. While they sit, get out your plate and cover the middle with the chopped cilantro. After the scallops have sat for the 5 minutes, they are ready to serve. Center them over the cilantro, and spoon some of the pan juices over the scallops.

Serve them up on a bed of cilantro

Serve some french bread with this dish and use the bread to dip into the sauce. You can serve this as an appetizer or as a main dish. The flavors of this dish are amazing, and your guests will think that you worked hard making this dish.

I hope that you enjoyed being in the kitchen with me today, and that you try this easy and flavorful dish. Stay tuned for another exciting recipe coming up next week. Be well… ^..^

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They’re Back!

In the late summer, early fall, the praying mantis lay their eggs. Over the winter to late spring, they do their thing inside the hard casing and finally emerge. They grace my garden and eat the pesky bugs no one wants on their plants.

Let’s start by checking out a praying mantis egg casing.

Praying mantis egg case

Weird looking isn’t it? This casing was on the bottom side of one of the branches on my liquid amber tree.

Here is the praying mantis that I discovered, which let me know that they are back!

The praying mantis is back!

This is a baby and is about the size of a quarter. It will grow to a length of 3-3 1/2 inches long.

This is a baby

Now about the size of a quarter

If you look closely at the photos you will see lots of detail. This little guy is watching me. Click on the photo so you can see the pupils in his eyes.

It watches me

This one looks funny with its butt up in the air.

Sticking its butt up in the air

Because this is just a baby, it has not yet developed its wings.

You can tell the sex of the mantis by the wings. This next photo shows the typical stance of the praying mantis.

Typical stance of a mantis

It has been watching me the entire time I took these photos, and as I try to get closer, it moves away from me.

It moves away

I hope that you enjoyed today’s photos. Thanks for dropping by, and have a splendid Saturday. Be well… ^..^

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10 Doors – A WordPress Photo Challenge

Cheri Lucas Rowlands over at WordPress has chosen “Doors” as this week’s photo challenge. Show us your doors! So here they are!

We all know what the moon in a door means, don’t we?

Everyone knows this door

A door in the side of a Georgetown building.

A lone door on the side of a building

These doors are typical doors in buildings constructed in the mid 1800’s.

Metal and wood doors of a building in a mining town

At Fort Apache, we found two intricate doors on officers quarters.

Two green doors in an old house

Here is the door of an old rail car. Famous people in many movies walked through this door.

Door on an old rail car

This is the door of the Columbia Gazette, a newspaper from the 1800’s.

Door to the Columbia Gazette

The doors on a saloon should be swinging doors. Maybe these doors at this saloon in Sutter, CA once were.

Saloon doors in Sutter

We started with a bathroom. It only seems appropriate to end with one. This is the public restroom door in the town of Placerville.

Door to a restroom

Thanks for dropping on by, and have a safe weekend. Happy Birthday to the US of A tomorrow, celebrating 239 years.
Be well… ^..^

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Oh Deer Me!

Today I wanted to share some photos taken yesterday morning. We had a jack rabbit in the yard, then a doe came along, followed by a turkey. Only in the foothills can you see such wonders! Ready to check out the doe? Here we go!

Hello!

She hears a sound

She has something to say

Got any apples?

What’s that over there?

Look – a lovely apple!

Found one!

Licking her lips

Wasn’t that fun? Have a great day! Be well… ^..^

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3 Cheese Garlic Potatoes – Tasty Tuesday

Today for Tasty Tuesday, we head into the kitchen to make another easy and flavorful potato side dish. It is easy to prepare, and sure to please those around your dinner table. Are you ready to head into the kitchen? Let’s go!

Ingredients
3 russet potatoes
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
2 tsp Italian seasoning
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 cup shredded cheese – I used the Stella 3 cheese blend

Ingredients

Turn your oven on to preheat and set the temperature to 375 degrees. Get out a baking sheet. Use your silpat or line the pan with foil. If using foil, then grease the pan with either cooking spray or a bit of butter.

Wash the potatoes really well and leave the skin on. Cut the potato in half. Then cut in half again and cut into wedges. Add them to a mixing bowl.

Potato wedges with olive oil

Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes and mix. Add in the cheese, mixing it really well so that the cheese sticks to the potatoes.

Add the cheese

Next, grind some fresh salt and pepper over the potatoes, and then add the Italian seasoning, garlic and onion powders. Mix this up really well so that the potatoes are coated with the oil, herb and spice.

Herbs and spices added

Place your wedges on your baking sheet. Any cheese that remains in the bowl, sprinkle over the potatoes.

The wedges on the silpat

Bake for about 30 minutes until golden brown.

Crispy, cheesy potatoes

Serve it up!

Serve them up!

Don’t they look really good? The flavors are amazing and my family wanted more!

Thank you for stopping by today. Stay tuned for next week’s Tasty Tuesday. I will be featuring an amazing scallop dish that is easy to make and chock full of amazing flavor! Be well… ^..^

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