Beautiful Day

Beautiful day in the neighborhood.  Although Thrashers started out my morning with their "witty wit" call, the kestrels and woodpeckers took the prize for noisiest garden inhabitants today.  They were bickering back and forth, though I'm not sure what the problem was.  Kestrels are roosting in the palm tree skirt and the woodpeckers inhabit the next tree over.  They are not convivial neighbors, always scolding each other.  They out-noised even the Peach-faced Lovebirds which I think are some of the noisiest birds ever created.

My morning was further improved by finding a recipe for Jalapeno Ketchup.  My parents bought a wonderful version in Hatch, New Mexico (Desert Farms Jalapeno Catsup). They travel through there every year on their way to their winter residence in order to replenish their supply.  I found the recipe here: What's Gaby Cooking. So now I can make it myself and keep my parents happy.  I need to work with it a little to get the spicing to the point they like and I'm using fresh jalapenos and dried chipotle instead of red pepper flakes and cayenne. Personal tastes is all.  So as long as I was at the stove I decided to try the reduced basalmic vinegar sauce that I've wanted to experiment with.  A friend brought several types from South Africa but I can't get them here so I've wanted to try and make it myself.  I was trying a jalapeno version since I had the jalapenos out.  I don't know if it was the vinegar or the jalapenos but whichever it was, the fumes made it hard to breathe - in a very delicious way.  Again, I need to tweak it some but it was a good start.  And as long I was still at the stove I decided to do a quinoa salad - triggered by seeing a version on Gaby's blog.  I love quinoa - particularly as a salad with whatever vegetables I happen to have handy.  Next time I have apricots I'll post a recipe for a great quinoa salad with apricots and walnuts. Oh yum!

My day just got better when I turned the TV on and saw that the Rugby World Cup final was being televised.  Although I already know that New Zealand wins... I don't know the score or what kind of game it was.  So I'm happy writing and watching rugby.  And when the game is over I'm going read a few chapters of Vicki Lane's latest novel that just downloaded to my Kindle on Tuesday: Under the Skin.  Vicki is fast becoming one of those authors whose books I devour in a day and then have to wait seemingly forever for the next book.  Put her in the list with Susan Wittig Albert, Nevada Barr and Rick Riordan.  I'll try and get in an hour or two of genealogical research and then I'll start dinner: Chicken Chipotle Tomato Soup.  I even have my daughter interested in this one!  I am SO in a cooking mood today.  Can you tell?