Wishing everyone a happy holiday!!!!!!!!
I'll be back in 2010!!!!

Flounder In Jalapeno Sauce

Since the holidays are next week, I've decided to add a delicious fish recipe to my blog.

A few years ago, while at my brother's home in Albany he whipped up this great fish dish that everyone loved. I had to get the recipe from him before I left and I've been making since then. I serve this more often in the summer, because I can pick my jalapenos growing in the garden.

Ingredients;

2 scallions, white parts finely chopped and greens reserved for another use.

1 tbs unsalted butter

1 to 2 tbs finely chopped jalapeno including seeds.

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp sea salt

4 (6 to 8 oz) Flounder fillets( can be substituted with Tilepia)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup quartered grape tomatoes

1 tbs fresh chopped cilantro cook chopped scallions in butter in a 10 inch skillet over moderate heat, stirring until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add jalapeno( to taste), cream, and 1/4 tsp salt and bring to a simmer.

Pat fish dry, then sprinkle with remaining 1/4 salt. Fold each fillet in half crosswise. Put folded fish in sauce in skillet and cook on simmer, covered, until fish is just cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer fish to a platter and keep warm, covered with foil.

Add tomatoes and cilantro to sauce in skillet, along with any fish juices on the platter, and cook over moderately low heat until heated through, about 1 minute. Spoon fish over sauce and serve.

Applesauce With Raisins And Honey

Applesauce makes a perfect non fat dessert when craving something sweet. Adding raisins will it makes it even sweeter. Using honey as a sweetener is much healthier and adds a better flavor than refined sugar.

The other night I made a very satisfying, naturally sweet applesauce, mixed with raisins and honey.

This guiltless dish is very easy to make and it also has added health benefits.

Ingredients;

15 medium apples (sweet variety), peeled, cored and chopped

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tbs honey

1/2 cup of raisins

Place chopped apples in a medium sauce pan. Add spices and honey to the apples. cook over medium high heat stirring frequently. When apples begin to soften reduce the heat to medium and cover. Stir through out the cooking process and mash while stirring. Once apples are almost finished add the raisins and cook five minutes longer.

When done remove from heat. This apple sauce can either be served warm or cold.

Garlic Spread

Here's a delicious recipe for garlic spread. This tastes great served with Italian bread and roasted peppers.
4 large heads of garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Thyme
Basil
Pre heat oven to 375.
Place the garlic bulbs in a baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes at most.
Once done remove from oven and let cool. Remove the peels and mash the cloves into a dish. Add extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, fresh thyme and dry or fresh basil. Mix all ingredients together well.
Serve as a garlic spread. Refrigerate leftover spread.

MY THOUGHTS

Being part of a team, or engaging in group mentality is not the best route for us to take in life. History as proved this.
Instead, one should always follow their own thoughts and ideas that reflect on their own personal values.
In other words never follow others, but lead yourself.

OLIVE OIL

(Olive trees under a full moon)

As a food olive oil is a wonderful source of vitamins and minerals. It is easily absorbed by the body and can be used to treat indigestion and constipation. Olive oil provides the heart with enough fat to lubricate it without congesting it. Mixing olive oil with lemon and garlic, makes a perfect heart tonic for flushing the liver.
Heated olive oil rubbed onto the skin is both a beauty tonic and a calmant. When massaged regularly into joints, it relieves pains and aches of arthritis.

It offers relief for eye, ear and skin irritations and is a great medicine for sores and wounds.

Olive oil acts as a base carrier for essential oils.

Esoteric meaning; The smoothness of life.

Olive oil represents a smooth untroubled path. It allows our lives to change easily and constantly. It symbolizes our capacity to have an easy transit from one stage of life to another. It makes us more able to manage the next step in our lives by incorporating the life skills that we have learned along the way.

Affirmation: My path in life is smooth and easy.

BUDDHA QUOTE

On life's journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.

Coffee

Coffee not only stimulates and satisfies, but it's also a medicine with powerful properties.
Coffee is added to many medications as a stimulant to relieve menstrual cramps, constipation and headaches. It raises blood pressure and increases the pulse rate.
It's said that strong, hot, black coffee is an antidote for poisons. It's also a great diuretic.
In homeopathy, coffee, known as coffea, is used to stimulate the function of all organs and to increase the nervous activity of the body.
Esoteric meaning; The stimulation of life.
Esoterically coffee represents our desire for stimulation. It is the part of us that enjoys excitement, surprises and a change of habits or patterns. Coffee is a great pick-me-up when our energy is low. In order for us to thrive we need pleasure and fun in our lives. If we deprive ourselves of the things that give us joy, we punish ourselves.
Affirmation; Life excites and delights me.