Valentine’s Day Chocolate Bourbon Covered Strawberries

Chocolate Covered Strawberries with a twist…Bourbon

Boozy Chocolate Strawberries

Years ago we decided it’s not worth the hassle to go out on Valentine’s Day. After a few disappointing meals, very long wait times and crowded restaurants, we’ve opted to have a nice meal at home. This year it was cold and dreary so we dined in our pajamas! You can’t do that in public. Well, I guess you can but we choose not to.

For dinner we had fresh Mediterranean salmon, asparagus and quinoa. But the highlight of the meal was the dessert – strawberries dipped in chocolate bourbon sauce then rolled in finely chopped walnuts. A couple of weeks ago I made Chocolate Bourbon Cake and I had a small amount of leftover icing that I had drizzled over the cake. I put it in the frig in a small, sealed container thinking I would find a way to put it to good use. It was just too good to throw out! Continue reading “Valentine’s Day Chocolate Bourbon Covered Strawberries”

Our First Kentucky Bourbon Trail

A four-day itinerary of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail

We’ve done the Kentucky Bourbon Trail three times since 2015.

It is one of the most enjoyable things we’ve discovered, obviously, since we’ve done it a few times. We’re planning to do it again this year and will probably do it every other year or so until we can no longer make the drive. We live in southern Illinois, just east of St. Louis, so the drive to Louisville, Kentucky is only about four hours.

We combined our first trip to the Bourbon Trial with another stop we’d wanted to do for a very long time.

So on our way, we took a detour and ended up in Bowling Green, Kentucky – home to the National Corvette Museum and the only factory designed and used exclusively to produce America’s sports car, the Chevrolet Corvette. Continue reading “Our First Kentucky Bourbon Trail”

Soy Milk Overnight Oats

Healthy overnight oats made with soy milk.

This is a simple recipe for a simple breakfast but packed with healthy ingredients for a great tasting and filling breakfast.

These overnight oats are mixed up the night before and placed in the frig overnight. Then the next morning you have a quick, nutritious breakfast ready and waiting. You could make them the same morning that you plan to eat them but they would need to sit for 1-2 hours so that the flavors can meld. Also since you will be using Old Fashioned oats, they will need to soften up a bit. Continue reading “Soy Milk Overnight Oats”

02/02/2020

Palindrome Day February 2/2/2020

February 2, 2020 or 02/02/2020. And that date backwards is: 02/02/2020.

A lot of twos. Groundhog Day, Super Bowl Sunday and, much, much more.

So, I’ve examined the number two and its impact on our lives on this the second day of February, 2020. We’ll start with Ground Hog day. This year Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow so that would indicate an early spring. Here in southern Illinois that would seem the case. It’s in the mid to high sixties today – a great day for a wedding. Continue reading “02/02/2020”

Turkey Chili

Spicy turkey chili made with home-canned tomatoes

We change our chili recipe up around our house quite a bit.

Most of the time there is not a recipe, we just add what sounds good and use ingredients we have on hand.

Paul was always the chili cook until more recently. I wasn’t working and he was working full time and it just made sense for me to do the cooking.

Recently, since he retired he made ‘his’ chili. It was good as always but he kept asking me what ingredients he had used years ago. There again, no recipe. Continue reading “Turkey Chili”

Rustic Barnwood Bourbon Bar

Rustic bourbon bar made from old barnwood.

One of the tasting rooms at Bulleit Distillery.

My wife and I have done the Kentucky Bourbon trail a few times. On our first trip I kept noticing a lot of re-purposing of the bourbon barrels, the barrel staves and even the bottles. I’ve always been interested in the ingenuity some people have in making old things look somehow modern.

Such was the case everywhere we went on the trail. (See our article in the travel section for more information about the Kentucky Bourbon Trail).

An item of inspiration at the Bulleit Distillery gift shop located in Louisville, KY.

On that same trip, I saw a rather unique piece of craftsmanship using what I later learned was made from old barn wood. It was a one of a kind bourbon bar. That piece caused me to think about how I’d like to re-create something similar. I’ve always been handy and am by no means an expert craftsman but do consider myself fairly good at woodworking.

So, I took a few photos and thought I’d probably build something similar one day, but I’d first have to find the right materials to keep the bourbon bar as authentic as possible. Continue reading “Rustic Barnwood Bourbon Bar”