Month: January 2017

It never ceases to amaze me that imported shrimp is available in the supermarkets here when we are so close to the Gulf of Mexico and its wild shrimp. And the price difference is really not that notable.

Another staple of Gulf Coast living is crawfish season, which seems to go on a really long time. I was sent to the grocery store to buy a couple of pounds for a certain someone who eats them like they are going out of style. Oh well, the store only had a 15-lb. sack the fish counter guy said they don’t split. Instead, I resorted to 2 lbs. of wild Gulf shrimp, a lobster tail and a cluster of snow crab. Terrible, right?

Anyhoo, my work was nearly done because my man was going to boil the seafood. I did intervene to vote again putting corn and potatoes in the seafood boil. If you do that the spices concentrate in the corn and potato, rendering them nearly inedible, even for spicy food lovers like me. I allowed the corn to go in the boil, but not potatoes.

Instead, I used the same red potatoes to make potato salad with a local twist: Meyer lemon juice. This time of year is all about the citrus in this region and we are blessed with a Meyer lemon tree.

I got to work on the tater salad while Byron organized his shrimp boil. Ahem, meaning he got the water, a lemon and some Cajun spices ready.

I boiled a separate pot of water with the potatoes in it. It was a 2 lb. bag of red potatoes. The timing depends on the size of the potatoes. Try waiting 20 minutes and test a potato with a toothpick. You can use a slotted spoon to place the potato in a spoon rest.

While the water boils and potatoes cook, collect your salad dressing ingredients (see below). Start by chopping garlic and the fresh dill. Cut the stem off the jalapeno and seed it. Then dice. Mix all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Use a whisk and place the bowl in the fridge. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them in a colander and let them cool. When they are cool, fold the creamy dressing in with the potatoes in a large serving bowl and enjoy.

Preferably serve with a seafood boil! The ranch dressing cools your palate while eating spicy seafood.

Jalapeno-Garlic-Meyer Lemon-Dill Ranch Dressing Ingredients:

• 1 cup buttermilk
• ¼ sour cream
• ¼ Duke’s light mayonnaise
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• Handful of dill (about 4-6 tablespoons chopped)
• Half a jalapeno, seeded and diced
• 2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed Meyer lemon
• freshly ground black pepper
• freshly ground pink salt

Enjoy!

The Sage Leopard

Lemon pesto on pasta is downright divine. You can eat a big bowl of pasta while enjoying the refreshing aura of citrus flavor.

What makes it pesto? It contains pine nuts, just like basil pesto, as well as garlic an Parmesan cheese.

Pasta happiness: Meyer lemon pesto, spaghetti, chèvre and basil.

Before I tell you how I came to make lemon pesto, courtesy of a Pinterest search and a Tasty Kitchen recipe, I want to tell you why I find lemons so romantic.

Shortly after my boyfriend of several years started dating, we walked around his yard and he showed me where he thought about planting trees, shrubs or flowers. In the side yard where he considered planting vegetables, I asked about a little plant, maybe 18 inches high. He did not know what it was. Well, it was a Meyer lemon tree that grew and grew and grew.

It grew so big, that at one point it toppled over under its own weight during a massive rainstorm. But that moment when we first examined it and wondered, Byron found a ladybug on one of the tree’s leaves. I told him it was good luck to find a ladybug. Now, I associate the Meyer lemons with good luck.

We have found many uses for all the lemon juice. It is wonderful for deglazing a pan or marinating chicken. What surprised me was our lemon juice wasn’t great for baking.

At least that was the case with the juice from our first couple of Meyer lemon harvests. I’m going to try again. I started keeping an eye out on Pinterest for savory lemon recipes in addition to lemon desserts.

I have always loved lemon cake and always asked for one for my childhood birthday parties. It became a running joke during family slide shows if one of my birthday parties popped up for my sisters to bemoan yet another lemon cake. My mom even ordered a lemon cake from a local bakery in my college town for my 21^st birthday.

I was totally intrigued by the lemon pesto idea. Why not? Lemon piccata chicken tastes great with a side of pasta. Now, I will insist you try this with a real Meyer lemon, not anything else.

Ingredients (based on the Tasty Kitchen recipe linked above)

• 1 Meyer lemon
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ cup shredded Parmesan
• ¼ cup pine nuts (or a little bit more)
• ½ teaspoon honey (I used my honey dipper to place a bit more)

(I also had fresh basil and goat cheese on hand to add to the dish.)

To prepare the pesto, I simply placed the ingredients in my old Cuisinart food processor. But before placing in the lemon, I also had slice the tips off, quartered it and removed the seeds. I hit pulse, saw that it was nicely mixing and let her rip. Voila, lemon pesto.

I cooked a pound of spaghetti and tossed it with half of the pesto. That was just the right amount. The pasta was served with chevre goat cheese and basil. The leftovers were delicious too. The pesto was originally made Saturday night. Tuesday night, I pulled it out of the fridge and tossed it with bucatini. Again, I added chevre and some drizzles of olive oil.

To finish it, I sprinkled in more Parmesan, basil leaves, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. Once again, I’ll have lemon pesto pasta leftovers and look forward to eating it on my birthday!

Can you determine your own fate? Before extrapolating a lifetime, contemplate how you decide the fate of your day, any given day.

Happiness is Something You Decide Ahead of Time

I bought a sign that tells me so at a craft store. It rests on my bathroom vanity to remind me in the mornings who is in charge of my day’s outcome. That would be me.

A mantra sign in my bathroom!

Granted, something you cannot control can happen, but how you react is up to you too. How hard is this in practice? Very, especially when we get into routines and forget our own advice.

Last night, a friend shared a postcard on Instagram that reads:

Imagine If We Obsessed about the Things We Loved About Ourselves

Wow, I needed that reminder. I tend to create to-do lists with unattainable schedules and then beat myself up for not meeting goals. To be sure, these objectives need to be identified before anything can be accomplished with purpose and results. But, I must be mindful to reflect on accomplishments and experiences, large and small. How often do we celebrate the small moments? The incremental change?

This morning, I awoke with my to-do list front of mind and raced to the office to get going on it. I also reviewed affirmations of what I like about myself. What attributes do I have to contribute? What little things do I like? How do I shape my days? The day progress and things popped up unexpectedly, but things that are most welcome.

I had new experiences and met new people. I got back to my office and knocked out some work too. I’m mostly prepared for tomorrow, but not completely, and that’s OK.

My big goal for tomorrow is to carve out a little time in the afternoon for me, to stretch, to think, to smile.

Mr. Higgins, a.k.a., The Sage Leopard

I started this blog as a passion project to celebrate what I love most, including my dog, my cooking and my quality time outdoors. Life is ever evolving, which is wonderful. There are also constants, which for me include great cooking, dogs and laughter. Those are things I choose to celebrate.

What do I love about myself? Admittedly, it seems like a cringe-worthy contemplation, of someone self-centered and vain. Remember, though, we become what we choose and so to better ourselves we should visualize what we appreciate and what we want.

Our puppy knows how to be happy.

Good luck,

The Sage Leopard