A Robin’s Nest
I watched the robins building their nest in my backyard. The pair let me photograph the eggs while they watched from the tree limbs above me and a week later, I discovered four baby birds. I’ll keep you posted on their progress. 
Success
Roy’s Chile Relleno Casserole
Roy’s Chile Relleno Casserole
Ingredients
4 large or 8 small Fresh Poblano Peppers
1 cup crumbled Queso Fresco mexican cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce (Spanish style if you like it hot)
2 eggs
1 cup half and half
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
What to do:
Preheat oven to 400º
Wash, dry and rub olive oil on whole fresh pablano peppers. Place on baking sheet and roast in oven for 45 minutes turning 1/2 way through cooking time. Let cool before removing seeds and skins. Rinse and dry and quarter lengthwise.
Combine half & half, eggs and flour – beat til smooth. Set egg mix aside.
Combine the fresh Mexican cheese (Quesa Fresco), 1/2 cup cheddar, chopped red onion, cilantro. Set cheese mix aside.
Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce in an 8 inch square pan followed by peppers, cheese mix, egg mix, and repeat to make three layers.
Pour tomato sauce on top evenly and the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese.
Bake uncovered for 1 hour at 375º
Soigné
Soigné – Also soignée, an adjective, pronounced (swän-yā’)
It’s a French word, according to the dictionary, that means:
- Showing sophisticated elegance; fashionable: a soigné little club.
- Well-groomed; polished: The soigné celebrity granted a brief interview.
“Soigné dining”, a phrase my father often used while my brothers and I were growing up, to describe the meal and table set before him in the dining room. It was such a compliment to my mother on an exotic dinner she had made, fit for a king, cut glass dishes for the condiments, fine china and fancy serving bowls.
In 1994, after 50 years of marriage, my parents both passed away, three months apart from cancer, and it was while writing the eulogy for their memorial service that I realized I had no idea how to spell this word, soigné. And for almost 10 years, no one I asked had ever heard of this word.
The phrase “soigné dining”, passed down to my husband and I along with the cut glass and fancy serving bowls, would make me smile whenever either of us would say it, thinking my father must have made the word up.
Until 2004, I was watching a show I had taped on VHS and at the end, the last half of an old episode of Frazier was playing. Niles had gotten a good deal on some beluga caviar and the brothers were so excited. I was just about to hit the Stop button when I heard Frazier say, “Oh Niles, won’t this make our soiree soigné?”. I played it back several times. I couldn’t believe it! More determined than ever, knowing then that it was a real word, I searched the internet for the spelling and definition again and came up with nothing.
And then one day, I passed this woman coming into the building where I worked. She had overheard me tell this story about my father and the word, soigné, and she looked right at me and said, “Soigné, it’s a French word. Did you ever figure out how it is spelled?” No, I hadn’t, I told her. She wrote it on a post it note and handed it to me. The search and mystery had ended. Since then, I have heard the word used on Project Runway and in a song by The Pine Leaf Boys and on a few other occasions and it makes me smile every time.
Newport Beach
I am so ready for a vacation from all this cold Jersey weather. Just saying…
This photo was taken from the jetty on the other side of the inlet in Corona Del Mar. Didn’t catch any fish but the sunset was spectacular.
Cigar Box Ukuleles
Cigar Box Ukulele Hand Made with Wendell Hall Red Head Neck
Roy has made another one of his Cigar Box Ukuleles. This one is a real nice player made from vintage parts. He started out with a vintage Wendell Hall Red Head neck that needed a body. The House of Windsor cigar box I had picked up at Berlin Flea Market a week or two earlier was nice wood with a grooved design and a perfect match for the neck. With a little imagination and help from a couple of reliable sources, Roy was able to assemble a fine, collectible and very playable ukulele. This Wendall Hall Red Head Cigar Box Ukulele has been SOLD.
Black Eyed Susan Vine
One of my favorite plants for hanging baskets and trellises is the Thunbergia Alata. Sometimes called the Black-Eyed Susan Vine, this perennial is native to Africa but can be grown as an annual here in South Jersey and will bloom all spring and summer if kept watered and fertilized every few weeks. I buy one of these hanging baskets every spring.
