UFO Sighting :-)

Can you see the UFO in these pictures?!?

I am kind of pulling your leg on this one. However, you are looking at what is commonly called a UFO cloud since the shape resembles one of those flying discs out of a cheesy 1960s SciFi movie.

I'm not a meteorologist, nor do I attempt to play one on the blogosphere. However, if you do a quick search for "UFO clouds" or Lenticular clouds, you will find more information about how these interesting quirks of nature form. 

They are mostly related to higher altitudes with mountains terrain, and are associated with moist winds that blow over the mountains. That would explain why I never saw any of these weather oddities while growing up in Texas.

The clouds and winds the other day made for a glorious sunset
viewed from our back yard in Northern Colorado.

Adorables

When I was growing up in Texas (way back when!), my parents loved loading up the old Oldsmobile and driving northwest to Colorado. I was always amazed that we would leave hot and humid Texas and arrive in dry and cool Colorado. Even in May, there was still snow in the mountains. The snow would sparkle in the sun, and the little me, back then, knew there were diamonds in the snow :-).

I also adored the ground squirrels and chipmunks that would dart from rock to bush at the speed of light. Chipmunks are just so darned cute! Yesterday, we spotted this one strategically positioned at a picnic site in the Rocky Mountain National Park.

No-Bake Chocolate Yumminess!

Trying new foods and recipes is one of the most intriguing aspects of living abroad. The way food is prepared and the ingredients that are used provide further understanding of a country's lifestyle and passed-down cultures.

When living in England, I found the desserts especially diverse and interesting. But first, I had to figure out what to call this category of yumminess. I often heard the terms afters, sweets, desserts, puddings, cakes, biscuits, etc.

Then, I discovered a whole range of new desserts, including meringues, Bakewell tarts, sticky toffee pudding, spotted dick, Eaton mess, trifle, fruit crumble and more! There also were some no-bake delights such as flapjacks (made predominately of oats), chocolate biscuit cake, chocolate caramel slice and chocolate clusters. 

While I loved the chocolate biscuit cake (imagine taking cookies, crushing them up and pouring melted buttery chocolate icing over the top), this concoction is just too sweet for me. The clusters were made by mixing corn flakes and melted chocolate.

I wanted to achieve some kind of hybrid between the biscuit cake and the chocolate clusters that I could slice into small pieces. I looked and looked online, but never found exactly the right mix. There are a number of American “fudge” recipes using melted chocolate morsels and coconut oil, so I tacked that onto my recipe, too.

Let me introduce you to my hybrid “no-bake chocolate cluster slice fudge recipe.” There are so many ways to change it up, depending on your mood or food sensitivities.

I’ve made two different versions, and you can play around with the recipes and personalize them. Here goes.

The Teawife’s No-Bake Chocolate Coconutty Slice

6 to 8 cups Mesa Sunrise GF Flake Cereal (or a similar “sturdy” flake)

1 ½ cups chocolate morsels

½ cup coconut oil

½ cup almond butter (or peanut butter)

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup desiccated coconut (unsweetened)

1 cup chopped pecans (or your favorite nuts)

Use a large bowl and add 6 cups of cereal flakes, coconut and nuts. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate morsels, creamed coconut oil and almond butter (or peanut butter) over very low heat. Stir regularly with a heat-resistant spatula.

Once melted, remove from heat and stir vanilla into the chocolate. Pour melted mixture over dry ingredients in the large bowl. Mix very well. If you want more cereal, you can add an extra cup or two until you achieve your desired consistency.

Scrape mixture into a rectangular or square baking dish, spreading out evenly. If necessary, you can use a large spoon to press down the mixture. Allow to cool. You can speed up cooling by placing dish in the refrigerator (especially helpful on a warm day).

Cut into small pieces once cooled. Eat at room temperature or chilled! These slices will last a long time if stored in the freezer.

The Teawife’s No-Bake Reese's Peanut Buttery Slice

6 to 8 cups Reese’s Puff Cereal, chopped

2 cups chocolate morsels

½ cup crunchy peanut butter or chocolate peanut butter

1 cup sliced almonds or chopped peanuts or another nut

1 tsp. vanilla

Optional – ¼ cup PB2 powdered peanut butter

Begin by chopping up 6 cups of Reese’s Puff cereal balls. I used a Pampered Chef chopper. Don’t over chop! You can leave them whole, if that’s your preference. Add Reese’s Puffs into a large bowl. Also add the cup of nuts.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate morsels and peanut butter over a very low heat. Stir regularly with a heat-resistant spatula. Once melted, remove from heat and stir vanilla and optional PB2 into the chocolate. Pour melted mixture over dry ingredients in the large bowl. Mix very well. If you want more cereal, you can add an extra cup or two until you achieve your desired consistency.

Scrape mixture into a rectangular or square baking dish, spreading out evenly. If necessary, you can use a large spoon to press down the mixture. Allow to cool. You can speed up cooling by placing dish in the refrigerator (especially helpful on a warm day).

Cut into small pieces once cooled. Eat at room temperature or chilled! These slices will last a long time if stored in the freezer.

Bacon Broccoli Frittata

Broccoli Bacon Frittata

6 – 8 strips of bacon, cut into small pieces

Small onion, sliced/chopped thinly

5 eggs (or 3 eggs with 1/3 cup Liquid Egg Whites)

1/2 cup Bisquick or Pamela’s GF Baking Mix

2 – 3 cups of cheese (Swiss, Cheddar, shaved Parmesan, etc.)

1/3 cup half-and-half

1 cup whole milk

2 – 3 cups raw broccoli (or your favorite vegetables)

Seasonings (salt, pepper, paprika, seasoning mix)*


Add eggs, half-and-half, milk, Bisquick and seasoning into a blender/food processor and mix well. Set aside.

Begin by frying the bacon in a pan for about 5 minutes on a low-medium stove. I used a large cast iron pan since I would be able to put the completed quiche into the oven.

Add in onions. Continue to stir and cook the bacon and onions until the onions are tender and translucent (about another 5 minutes).

Add in the broccoli, which I have cut into smallish pieces. Cook the mixture for 3 minutes, stirring to evenly cook the vegetables.**

If you are using a cast iron pan, move the pan from heat and prepare to mix rest of ingredients into the pan. Or, switch to a large pie or tart stoneware or casserole dish.

Add the cheese into the bacon-broccoli-onion mixture; mix well. Pour the egg-milk mixture over the ingredients in pan/casserole dish.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until golden and a knife comes out cleanly from the center. The preheated cast iron pan will cook faster; my quiche took 35 minutes.

*I used 1 tsp paprika and 1 tbs of Strawberry Tree Farm’s Giddya Up Ranch

** If using raw spinach or mushrooms, don’t cook them; instead, remove the pan from heat and stir vegetables into the bacon mixture.