Tag Archives: food

Sliding squirrels, creamy shrimp and disgruntled chucks.

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Our grey squirrels are determined fellows. As evidenced by the never give up attitude of this little guy during a recent rainy morning attempt at reaching the bird feeder.

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Wet poles be slippery.

🤣

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If you like shrimp?

Give this recipe a try.

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In a large stainless steel skillet over medium heat, melt 1 Tbsp. butter. Pat shrimp dry; season all over with Old Bay.

Arrange shrimp in a single layer in skillet and cook, turning halfway through, until translucent, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a plate.

In same skillet over medium heat, melt remaining 1 Tbsp. butter. Add shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, 2 to 3 minutes .

Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add wine to deglaze skillet, scraping up any browned bits, and cook, stirring, until liquid is almost completely evaporated,

Stir in broth and bring to a boil over high heat.

Stir in orzo and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until orzo has absorbed most of the broth and is almost cooked through,

Add cream and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened and reduced,

Return shrimp to skillet along with any accumulated juices.

Stir in lemon zest and lemon juice; season with salt. Top with parsley.

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My tweaks – I didn’t have vegetable broth but used low sodium chicken broth and it was lovely. I used salted butter, so I left off the salt at the end. And since my husband isn’t a spicy food lover, I ignored the red pepper flakes. There was plenty of flavor so I think that was overkill anyway.

Use large or jumbo shrimp. You won’t be disappointed.

Yum!

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Mother Chuck is back and her runt from last year’s litter is still here.

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Though not for lack of trying to kick him to the curb.

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There are daily squabbles over food and squealing arguments over bolt holes.

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Momma isn’t subtle, but Junior refuses to take the hint.

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Sunset, tots and Momma Chuck.

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There’s beauty in living in wide open spaces.

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Sunrises out your back door and sunsets like this out your front.

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❤️

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We tried a new pub recently.

Front Street Tavern and Grill in historic downtown Bath, Maine.

The building was old but lovingly restored with lots of exposed brick.

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The garlic Parmesan wings were so good we had to order two batches.

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And sometimes you just have to go for the tots with your turkey club.

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Sadly the menu was a bit too “pub food” heavy for my full meal wanting husband so I doubt it will be on our regulars list, but they made a nice raspberry margarita and I’d recommend it for lunch.

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Momma Chuck is back.

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And making up for lost winter meals.

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She’s a great salad/veggie scraps recycler.

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We don’t throw much away when she’s in town.

❤️

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Random food related nonsense.

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Because I like to share tasty recipes.

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This one is quick, easy and delicious. Use fresh ginger and fresh lemons for juice and zest… you won’t be disappointed. I used chicken tenderloins because I didn’t have breasts and served it on a bed of jasmine rice with fresh steamed green beans. Yum!

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Being a born and bred Yankee I’d never heard of this.

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And while I don’t drink soda very often, I admit I was intrigued.

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A steep price to pay for a six pack, but curiosity got the better of me.

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As did the Amazon seller who bought a local 12 pack out west and cut it in half for the idiot New Englander who was willing to overpay.

🥴

And while I’ll probably never buy another one, I did like the flavor. Not overly sweet with a nice pineapple tang. Guilty confession? My first thought was… add some vodka for a nice summer cooler.

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I don’t know why, but I’m always searching for meatloaf variations. It’s a humble but satisfying meal if done correctly and this one sounded interesting.

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While it was tasty, if I make it again I’d ditch the crock pot and just bake it instead. Way too difficult to remove once it was cooked.

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April Fools! But not…

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Two things happened yesterday that should have been April Fools Day pranks but weren’t.

First… we had our taxes done. This is always cause for mutual grumbling and groaning because we never see a refund and always pay, pay, pay.

So when the preparer tallied everything up and handed us this?

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We were stunned.

Yes, it cost us $410 to find out, but … refunds! Not one, but two. We almost fell off our chairs.

It was also the first time my husband had to admit that this full time retirement thing might not be so bad.

😉

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The second thing that I was sure was a prank was this…

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Okay Oreo, ha ha. Funny joke.

But no….

They actually sold this monstrosity.

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For one day only. On April 1st.

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Blech!

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A complete abomination and one that is sure to kick my dormant pickle algorithm into high gear.

Sigh.

🥒

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Dinner out, and in.

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After running some errands the other afternoon we ducked into one of our favorite spots for an early dinner.

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Every time we go I try and talk the husband into getting a giant free floating raffia fish for our dining area, but he always says no.

Such a killjoy.

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Round one for me…

To drink – a Cran-apple margarita with cranberry infused tequila, triple sec, apple cider, cranberry juice, sour mix & dehydrated lime.

As appetizer – some arancini. Those crispy stuffed risotto spheres with slow-braised beef, parmesan, mozzarella, tomato vodka sauce & pea tendrils were scrumptious.

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Husband started with a rich and creamy bisque…Maine lobster, cream, sherry, smoked paprika and chives.

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My second round cocktail was a winter spiced sangria with blended red & white wines, spiced brandy, pama liquer, orange infused simple, topped with lemon lime soda.

Then I went with the prosciutto tartufo brick oven pizza which was positively decadent.

Alfredo, stracciatella, truffled pecorino, prosciutto & baby arugula… it was so good I forgot to take a picture of the husband’s bolognese.

On a more down home note, I tried this copycat recipe recently.

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Putting milk in a meatloaf seemed a little odd, but it was surprisingly tasty.

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I haven’t tried this cake yet, but it sounds right up my alley.

As did this.. though I’m happily married so we’ll skip the proposal part.

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Have I made y’all hungry yet?

🍽️

P.S…. I tried this orzo dish and was disappointed. It wasn’t nearly as creamy as I’d hoped and even though I chopped the broccoli in small pieces, it didn’t steam properly. Good flavor, but it might need a little tweaking for a repeat.

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Old photos and frog balls.

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I enjoy Brussels sprouts for dinner now and then, and have had tasty shaved sprouts salads….

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But no.

To the name and the idea.

🤢

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I beg to differ.

Has anyone measured our President?

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I found this old picture of us on the back of a lobster boat in a drawer the other day. Taken a few years after we were married, maybe 1988? My hair was a mess from being on the water, but I fondly remember having two fully functional (and thin!) knees.

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I can see that.

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Am I the only one who never knew this?

🥴

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You’d better hurry.

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In keeping with my annual ridiculous Valentines Day gift suggestions, I bring you something new and in limited quantities … so don’t waste any time.

Get yours now.

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Because nothing says I love you like nuggets.

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I have yet to attend a dinner party where nuggets and caviar has been served. Clearly I travel in the wrong social circles.

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I’m confused.

They’re free of charge… but will sell out quickly?

Only McDonalds marketing could come up with that.

🥴

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Cabbage knees, chicken soup and lickable elements.

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Fat shaming is wrong.

Even if it’s directed towards those of feline persuasion.

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Poor Fred.

I feel you buddy.

💕

Since I posted about my knee troubles two weeks ago? I’ve been inundated with ads for bamboo wraps, pain creams and Velcro braces.

But yesterday?

Things went a little south..

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For the record I won’t be wrapping myself in cabbage… no matter how blog worthy the photos might be.

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Our buck, having dinner.

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He still has his rack, which is rather odd.

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But it does make him easier to identify.

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Posted for those who have always wondered.

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After too many awful internet crock pot recipes to count, I finally found a good one. This was easy and quite tasty, though I had to leave out the red pepper flakes for my spice averse spouse. When I make it again I’m going to halve the amount of chicken, once shredded it was a little too meaty for me.

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In case you didn’t realize.

😊

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The world’s best pork chop.

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We headed back down to Windham recently because my husband was craving the world’s best pork chop.

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Christmas decorations were still up.

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And the chickens were still watching me drink.

This cocktail was called Hibernation and was delicious. Simple, fresh… and probably worth spending the winter in a cave.

Vodka, cardamom simple, lime, blackberry puree.

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The husband started with carrot ginger soup and loved it.

Bumbleroot Farm carrots, onion, garlic, ginger, coconut milk, maple syrup, pepitas.

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My next cocktail was a spiced clementine margarita. Ooh la la!.. that was tasty.

Reposado, spiced clementine syrup, lime, Cointreau.

My appetizer of corn and spicy chicken egg rolls were equally as good.

Maine Family Farms chicken, roasted corn, cumin, Monterey jack cheese, chili powder, egg roll wrapper, chipotle aioli, pico-slaw.

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And there it is. Unassuming to view… but this cider brined chop is next level good and perfectly grilled. You’ve never had pork like this, it’s melt in your mouth tender.

Prime center cut chop, French green beans, butternut puree, Ricker Hill Honeycrisp apple, caramelized onion.

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I went with the chicken cordon bleu which was wonderful as well.

Maine Family Farms chicken breast, egg, flour, Bumbleroot Farm spinach, Pineland Farms Swiss cheese, Canadian bacon, cream, parmesan, Waxwing Bakery breadcrumbs.

We’ve come to the realization it’s impossible to have a bad meal at Yolked. Oh, you’ll pay for the privilege… but what’s life without a little splurging?

😊

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A series of cat and squirrel segues … with zucchini.

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Reading, with cat.

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It’s cute, but not always easy.

And speaking of cats…

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I’m wearing my fair share of battle armor myself and should probably eat healthier.

And speaking of eating healthier, I found this recipe…

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A good for you snack.

And speaking of that…

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I never knew this.

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And am glad I’ve only ever fed our squirrels raw nuts.

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And speaking of squirrels…

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They’ve been driving His Lordship crazy.

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Knowing he can’t reach them…

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They’ve been mercilessly cavorting on our deck providing hours of free kitty entertainment… as well as frustration.

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😊

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