White Fence Farm

I know I've been taking a lot of photos of food lately, but I'll take a break from that today even though this blog is about a restaurant.
This Sunday, we took our second trip to the White Fence Farm. Last time we went was in January so it was a bit too cold to enjoy the outdoors, so instead, we stayed inside and enjoyed the fabulous fried chicken.
This time, we enjoyed the fried chicken again, however, we were able to spend some more time outside and see the cool attractions.
Outside, they have a petting zoo, playground, and a pond with ducks; all perfect for those with little ones.

How do I turn this thing on?

This one doesn't move!

KISSES!

Inside, they have all the gift shopping you could ask for; they pretty much put Cracker Barrel to shame!

My food reviews = Fried Chicken is YUMMO! I am also a huge fan of the kidney bean salad. Who knew that kidney beans could be so good?
Porter's food reviews = "Look Mom, there are ducks outside"

Overall, it is worth the drive to go and spend a few hours browsing the large grounds. Kudos to the White Fence Farm for making a place that is truly enjoyable for the entire family!

Safeway Select Slow-Cooker Sauce (Alehouse Braising) with Pork and Squished Spuds

So, the other day I found something that looked really yummy at the store and looked perfect for the slow cooker - Safeway Select Slow-Cooker Sauce (Alehouse Braising). On the bottle, it boasts, "An American take on a Belgian pub classic, this braising sauce perfectly blends the flavor of beer with caramelized onions and spices." So there I am, in the grocery store, all excited because I was hopeful that I had found a cheat recipe for Belgian Carbonnade. I've attempted the homemade way of making Carbonnade and had always been pleased with the couple of recipes I've used. But now, I was all excited because I had hopefully found something I could put in the slow cooker, go to work, and come back to a 5 star meal. *fingers crossed*

Here's what I did -

• In the slow cooker, I put the entire bottle of sauce and 3 large pork cutlet
• Turned the slow cooker on low and left for work
• When I returned, I boiled up some potatoes and a sweet potato (I prefer a sweet potato over regular, however, my husband prefers the normal potato - things can never be easy)
• I mashed both potatoes, separately, and served the pork on top with the sauce

My review -

• I didn't get the flavor of beer at all (maybe they didn't use a nice dark beer?)
• The sauce was lacking in a hearty flavor that I'm used to when making it homemade
• The pork was tender and absorbed some of the flavors from the sauce, so it was not bland
• This was not a Belgian Carbonnade, but was acceptable as a "sauce" for pork. To be fair, the bottle DID say it was an "American take on a Belgian pub classic"

What I would do differently?

• Add some beer with flavor, like a Chimey or Aventinus
• Add more garlic and onion
• Find a way to actually braise it AFTER the slow cooker part...that braised, caramel flavor is what was needed

Would I buy it again? - YES. The price was right and everyone ate it with no complaints. For me, that's a win!

Easter Eggs - Take 1

So, this was the first time dying Easter eggs with Porter. I took helpful hints from my sister on how to limit this mess; put down LOTS of newspaper! Also, I needed to lower my cleanliness settings in my brain. I kept panicking because Porter would drop the eggs into the dye and the dye would splash everywhere - GAH - my brain just had a hard time with the splashing. My sister was quick, and calm, to remind me that this is why there is newspaper everywhere.

 Maybe I should line my entire house with newspaper?

Porter learning how to "tie dye" and egg. Notice the GIANT bottle of booze in the background? That was for my nerves :)

E-bug and C-dog showing us how it is done!

Careful!

Dad showed up to "help", too. He was a bit of a Baby Charlotte hog, but who can blame him??? It is so nice to see him and the kids have fun together.

 Now, I just need to get more airline miles so that I can come back and visit more. 

I love you crazy cats!

Global Flooding Video

I've been involved with flooding for most of my professional career...I am not so much now, but I still have a fascination with it. My sister found this link/video that I can't stop watching! Thought I'd share with my community.

What the Earth would look like if all the ice melted

Thanks, Kenda!

Oh, and what Post would be complete without a picture of a cute lil' man?

Langostino with Saffron Road Tikka Masala Simmer Sauce - Review

Oh, sweet langostino, how I love thee!
What is langostino? Good question. I'm no expert on seafood, but if I had to compare it to something, I'd say they are very similar to crawfish. Sweet, delicate, and so easy to use in many meals.

I get mine at Costco. They have a massive bag of them in the frozen fish area and are usually priced around $22 for the large bag. They go well in sautes, soups, quiches, and on top of salads.
Last night, I chose to use mine with the Saffron Road Tikka Masala Sauce. Here's how the recipe went with reviews to follow...

1. Saute in 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
1. 2 cups shredded purple cabbage
2. 3 stalks of sliced celery
3. 1/2 chopped yellow onion
4. 1 inch of minced ginger (Add more if you LOVE ginger)
5. 1 cup shredded carrot
2. Once veggies are becoming soft, add
1. 1 pouch of Saffron Road Tikka Masala Simmer Sauce
2. 2 cups of thawed langostino (add more if you want more langostino happiness in your meal)
3. Let simmer for another 5-7 minutes, stirring here and there
4. Serve with your favorite side...I used Jasmine rice

Reviews -
The sauce on it's own was just OK. It says medium heat and I feel that it was pretty precise. Compared to Saffron Road's Lemongrass Basil Simmer Sauce (which had medium heat) this was much warmer. They may need to double check their heat rankings.

The flavor was mild...not a lot of the flavor I was looking for. I know that there are a ton of variations of tikka masala, but this one just didn't have the coriander and heat I was looking for. Plus, it seemed to be lacking the deep heartiness that I loved so much when I ate it in NZ.

Finished dish with ginger garnish

 Either way, I ate it, and have leftovers for lunch.

Porter's review - loved the langostino and the rice. The spice wasn't too hot since he didn't wince on impact!

To purchase, go here

Review of Saffron Road - Lemongrass Basil Simmer Sauce

So, when I'm "single momming" it, I like to have simple recipes that are both good for you and tasty. Having an almost-three-year-old can make dinnertime tricky. I don't want to keep feeding him mac-n-cheese and pb&j sandwiches, so I try to find things at the store that I think both of us would like. This time, I found Saffron Road's Lemongrass Basil Simmer Sauce at Target. I was drawn to it because it claims to be "all natural ingredients" and "non-GMO".
Here's how I cooked it...then I'll give my reviews of it...

1. sauteed red & green peppers, yellow onion, & garlic in 1 tbsp of coconut oil
2. Added 4 oz of cubed pork tenderloin (was leftover from a previous meal)
3. Added Saffron Road Simmer Sauce
4. Added some cilantro (just because I LOVE cilantro)
5. Simmered all together for about 10-15 minutes
6. Served with a tortilla

Reviews -

1. When adding the simmer sauce, it was kind of lumpy and unapplealing
2. Flavor was just OK. It indicates on the package that it is "medium heat", however, I was struggling to find any heat at all...which may be ok due to my son being so young.

Final product. Doesn't look too bad!

All-on-all, it was just not THAT great on it's own. I may buy it again and try making it into a soup and adding coconut milk, more basil, some peppers, and some sweet curry.


Porter's review - he liked the tortilla.

If you want to purchase this, click here!

Chimichurri With Mint

I love herbs and spices. I LOVE herbs and spices. If I can add flavor to a meal without adding too much fat and calories, I feel I have won a battle. I made this chimichurri last night and was quite pleased. I was even more pleased with it when I added it to my pork tacos!

Chimichurri with mint recipe as follows - 

• 1/4 Cup of Red Wine Vinegar - Give or take depending on your love of vinegar!
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 large garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 small shallot (minced)
• 1 jalapeno (minced) - get your goggles on for this!
• 2 Cups fresh cilantro - finely chopped
• 1 Cup fresh flat-leaf parsley - finely chopped
• 1/2 Cup fresh oregano - finely chopped
• 1/2 Cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large lime - squeezed
• 1/2 cup fresh mint - finely chopped

1. Combine red wine vinegar, salt, garlic, shallot, and jalapeno in a bowl and let in marinate for 10-15 minutes.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend - I used a submersion blender to get the finest texture
3. Add to food  you love!

I added this to my pork tacos. Plus, I added roasted corn with queso fresco and it was KILLER!

Dutch Baby with Kiwi Berry and Lemon Sauce

I've made a million dutch babies in my time. However, this weekend I had a TON of kiwi berries in the fridge and they were close to going bad. So, why not make something with them and pair it with a morning breakfast ritual???

Recipe for the Dutch Baby as follows - 

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• pinch of Cinnamon
• pinch of Nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons of Mexican Vanilla 
• 2 tablespoons of butter

 

1. Place a 10 inch cast iron skillet (I prefer a Porcelain Enameled skillet) inside oven and preheat oven to 450ºF.
2. In a bowl, beat eggs until fluffy. Add milk and stir. Whisk in flour, nutmeg, Cinnamon, Mexican Vanilla, and salt.
3. Remove skillet from oven. Melt butter in hot skillet so that inside of skillet is completely coated with butter. Pour all the batter in the skillet and return skillet to oven. Don't worry about the extra butter in the skillet...it only adds yumminess!
4. Bake until puffed and lightly browned, about 13-15 minutes. The edges will rise up higher than the rest...once those are browned, the baby is done.

 Recipe for the Kiwi Berry and Lemon Sauce as follows - 

• 20-30 kiwi berries
• 1 lemon
• 1 cup of sugar
• 2 cups of water

1. Place kiwi berries in a pot with the 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Let the water reduce a little.
2. Mash the berries in the pan and boil some more...let the water reduce even more.
3. Using a strainer and another bowl, strain the kiwi berries and mash them in the strainer. Catch all the excess juice in the bowl below the strainer. I really mashed the heck out of them to get all the flavor! You want to be sure to use a strainer that won't allow the skin to go through the holes. 
4. Return the kiwi berry juice to the pan and discard the skins and seeds (some seeds may get through the strainer but that's ok.
5. Squeeze the lemon juice into the pan
6. Add sugar and stir constantly!
7. Simmer until you get a nice glaze like sauce. 
8. You can add more water if you feel it is too thick.

Pour the kiwi berry and lemon sauce over the Dutch Baby and Voila! I like to serve with fresh fruit and sometimes some powdered sugar.

Please send any comments or variations my way :)

Similarities

Growing up, I used to obsess about what I would have looked like/acted like if I had been born a boy. Not sure if every kid wonders what they may look like as the other sex or not.

Would I have been better at basketball?
Would I have been afraid of girls?
Would I still have been a smart ass?
Would I have cared so much about what people think?

Yeah, yeah, seems strange to be talking about this stuff; a little boy that I may have been, but was not. But now I have a son and now, I know, what I would have been like as a boy :)

I would have been full of life!
I would have been absolutely stunning!
I would have been a dare devil!
I would have been a smart ass :)

One of my favorites. Uncle Lane :)

I am so eager to have all my
questions answered. As he grows, he's showing me what I would have been as a little boy.

The Fonz and myself

Any similarities?

His monster hat he made

What's in a Name?

I've had a few last names in my time. And, I think I can say that I can best sympathize with those who have names that are easily made fun of...starting with my first name - Kea...let's see, what can I remember being called?

• Kea Diahrrea

• K-K-K-Kea - think of the tune for the chia pet.

• KIA - EVERYONE says, "like the car?" - I just want to punch them in the face.

Now for my last names -
1. Santa - yep
2. Beiningen

• Beginagain
• Bananaskin
• Bennegasco - (after a gas company where I grew up)
• And the many slaughterings of the name from telemarketers! I can't even remember how many versions people thought of.

And now,
3. Morovitz - I actually thought once I got married that the massacre of my last name would stop. Pretty simple, right?

• Moronvitz - This was the name that was written on my name tag for a job interview at a very respected company. I just about puked when I saw it!
• And the one my husband had today...see below
  
  I kinda like it. Goes along with my bra size ;-)

PLEASE put more names up that you remember me being called. Cracks me up!