Lunches and Other Stuff Continued - Happy Birthday America!

fireworks on a plate.

Laura Calder of Food Channel TV, of French decent in Canada, had an old cook book from her French Granny with a recipe for carrot jam.  The classic French combo of Carrots and Cumin are  at work in this jamb with some sugar (30%) some fresh ginger and same lemon zest and juice with a pinch of salt - easy as pie even though pie is no piece of cake.

Variety is the spice of life and color is one of its media - a message for sure.  

Thanks Varda. 

Those are Bougainvilla's.  We used to have a pile of them, probably 20 in all kinds of different colors.  Very pretty but I ended up hating them.  They have killer needle like spikes 1-2 " long, all over the stems and make rose bushes and cactus feel like baby pricklies.  They grow like weeds  and have to be trimmed all the time which is when they hurt you.  The flowers were always in the pool, also pretty but a pretty mess to clean up,  we thought there was wedding in our back yard every day!   Finally ripped them all out.  The picture is from one that I trimmed that morning which was growing over the wall from the neighbor's yard.  I'd sue him if he wasn't a lawyer! 

Daughter was sleeping over at a friends college pool party and the wife was in KC visiting her best friend from college.  My apprentice and I ate well and in peace for once!

Glad you liked the post.

Hope you and yours had a nice 4th, are now well and well fed too!

in Lee's Summit, Mo.  Leaving tomorrow, then off to Joplin, Mo. to visit my Dad for a day, he just moved there from the Ozark Mts.  and then off to Houston to visit my brother, (who just moved there),  for a few days.  Not looking forward to 12 hours in the car from KCMO to Houston though.  Should be back in a week or so. 

Should be putting a Joe Ortiz Pain the Champaigne in the oven tonight.  Started making the cumin, milk, water and WW starter  he is famous for nearly 3 days ago and it is pretty fiesty - doubling every 4 hours now.  Saw him making it With Julia Child last week and though what fun.   Worked like a charm.  Might even have time to retard it some :-)  Sweetbird made one recently and posted it .  I looked very nice.  Had to put some sprouts in it since I was making White and Red Rye and WW malt today too.

Your wife's deserts sound tasty too especially the Pecan Chocolate Bar.