Be The Lenoir!!!!! Franklin's Cheap Sangria

I haven't had many people in my life who understand me. For that reason it is sometimes difficult for me to see beyond myself as I am still trying to grasp the reality of my own dysfunction. If I don't know what the issue is with someone else I create my own scenario as my anxiety and my insecurities kick in and I wage war upon myself with every single fiber of my being. 

My anxiety is my dragon. It dwells inside and and strengthens as my thoughts wander off somewhere down a long dusty road in my soul. I can't see the direction nor the crossroads but I seem to take the narrowest of paths that lead to nowhere only the self mutilation of my heart. Why can't I just stop somewhere and ask directions? There aren't any. You see you have to chart out your course ahead of time when you have anxiety. You have to make sure you won't end up somewhere you don't want to be. You have to have a comfort zone and surround yourself with those that have a calming effect on you when you feel you just have to dip away but shouldn't. Everything has to be structured and go as planned. If you have to take a detour it can awaken the dragon and cause a huge shift in the space time continuum.....well maybe not that drastic but that's what it feels like when you have anxiety. Like your ship is sinking and you want to jump off. Fuck the life jacket just JUMP!!!!

Many of my friends here in Key West don't know I worked as an apprentice winemaker in Texas because here I am just a wine drinker. I worked at Dry Comal Creek Vineyards under Franklin Houser and one of the best consulting winemakers in the world Dr. Enrique Ferro, founder of Ferro Family Wines. I learned a lot about charting your course from Dr. Farro and Mr. Houser. There were very few detours in the winemaking business. I worked in the fields, the lab, in the office procuring juices, the tasting room, I helped bottle and I managed sales and the best part was I learned the business from the ground to the bottle to the glass. I learned how to blend varietals to create an immense Meritage. I learned how to season barrels for port wine production and know just when it's time to add the right elements that enhance the process. I gained the expertise in choosing varietals when outsourcing juices for further development. But the most important thing I learned that taught me the most about myself was about Pierce's Disease (PD). PD is primarily caused by the glassy-winged sharpshooter (that's a bug) that carries a bacterium and feeds on tender tissues of the vine and much like anxiety does to human beings it destroys the plant from root to fruit. It will take out a vineyard with only one exception being the Black Spanish grape, better known as the Lenoir which appears to be Pierce's Disease resistant. The vines can become infected with the disease but still survive and produce the most incredible wine grape that is now used in many of the US crafted port wines. That is me!  I am a Lenoir! I can be infected with negativity, sick with anxiety that has crippled me but still rise to produce a high quality product that is revered by many as one of the finest wine grapes that are high in acidity and tannins, difficult to manage but smooth on the palate with strong legs and a tremendous bouquet.

So with this being said I am a survivor, and every day I have to learn to have strong legs, incredibly strong resistance and a smooth and easy finish much like a bottle of fine Red Lenoir. Be Strong and Be the Lenoir! Cheers!

Tasty Tastings Everyone!

Franklin's Cheap Sangria

Ingredients

• 1 6 oz can frozen concentrate limeade mixed with one can of water
• 1 6 oz frozen concentrate orange juice mixed with one can of water
• 1 liter chilled Grapefruit Soda
• 1 bottle Dry Comal Creek Black Spanish Red Wine

Recipe Info

1. Blend frozen limeade and orange juice, add bottle of Black Spanish. Put in freezer until slushy. Add chilled grapefruit soda just before serving. Garnish with orange and lemon slices.

The Goddess Speaks: "Nothing Quite Like The Feel Of Something New"

Happy New Year Everyone! I survived ten days of being out and about.

Now I am perplexed. I met someone very special a couple of weeks ago, mind you it was an interesting scenario, it didn't go further than conversation and I could slowly feel the wall around my heart being chipped away like a sculptor as he starts working on a new piece of stone. Things take time, things with me just can't be rushed. I am an introvert that only comes out when her inner Goddess is summoned to glorify her existence. I always hide behind my camouflage of smiles in public when deep down I would rather be sitting at home writing my heart out, cooking for those I love, dancing around the house to the deep beats of NIN, immersing myself in a mindless movie to forget my awkward social anxieties or holding someone so close after making love and I can feel their heart beat in time with my own. 

You see I am a rare breed, suffering from both anxiety and depression from PTSD is like living inside a personal hell. It takes a special person to see it for what it is and hold my hand through the storm and reassure me it'll be over soon. I am a runner and a pusher, I run away when taunted and never take the time to justify my reactions so i push you away so you don't find out my secret. It is easier for me to hide then walk into a room with my head held high and my light shining bright. I've shined like the north fucking star these past few weeks. Something or someone lit me on fire and it felt good. Then it stopped, out of nowhere, no reasoning, no explanation. Dead silence like a deluge of water that extinguished the raging fire with no warning. WTF!

Maybe I need to jaunt about town tonight and drink a cocaine rimmed espresso martini to allow me to dance my demons out like a coven of seductive pagans during a full moon. Maybe I should just stay home and over think this shit some more placing the blame solely on me as I have done so many times before. When someone doesn't take the leap of faith to get to know another's soul it becomes their loss. 

In some cases I wish I could be like the person Trent Reznor's lyrics "I'm drunk and right now I'm so in love with you, and I don't want to think too much about what we should or shouldn't do. Lay my hands on heaven and the sun and the moon and the stars while the devil wants to fuck me in the back of his car. Nothing quite like the feel of something new," Maybe that is the only time I feel alive, Maybe meaningless, random encounters are the answer as so many of my sistas have told me. Unattached emotionally, physically satisfied but still void of any depth...that's not who I am. I am a one man woman. The stress of multiple engagements would send me over the edge like a broken cuckoo clock stuck on midnight. 

Relationships are like wine, it takes time to develop legs, intensity, depth and substance.

Much like an avocado I start out hard and in need of being slowly ripened. Give it some time and you find the soft meat under the thick skin is as smooth as butter and the heart is big.


My recipe is for my Avocado Poblano Soup. This can be served hot or cold kind of like me.
Tasty Tastings Everyone!!!

Sheri's Heart Avocado Poblano Soup

Makes 10 servings

1 pound poblano chiles, washed, seeded and coarsely chopped (skin on)

2 carrots, washed, peeled and roughly chopped

1 white onion, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/3 cup flour

1/2 gallon (8 cups) fresh chicken stock

2 avocados, halved, seeded and peeled (pebbly-skinned brown-black Hass are preferred)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 cup heavy cream

Pepper, to taste 

Salt, to taste

Corn tortillas, cut in strips and fried in hot oil, for garnish

Instructions: In large stock pot, sauté poblanos, carrots and onion in canola oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add flour, mix well and saute for 5 more minutes. Stir occasionally.

Add chicken stock and mix well. Simmer over medium low heat for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add avocado. Puree with wand blender or in batches in blender. Add cilantro and cream, and blend until thoroughly mixed. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm or chilled, topped with fried corn tortilla strips.

My Dark Passenger/ Pan Crisped Fish with Spinach in a Lemon Tarragon Sauce

My dark passenger exists within. It is the one who protects me from the world and only comes out when provoked. My dark passenger is the one who you see when you look through my eyes into my soul, she is fearless, unemotional and can conquer the world. She is the one who will turn your head and drop your jaw, she is the one who will protect me from pain and shield me from the contempt of others. She lays in darkness and feeds on light, but she has been dormant for some time. Maybe it was to see if I could stand on my own two feet and conquer the world only to fall into a pit of despair and need to summon her yet again for wisdom and protection. Maybe she is the one who can fix what has been broken. 

My dark passenger is curious. She wants to rule the world whether it be global or her own. She is the only one who truly sees the truth in others as within herself. She feeds of the satirical side of life and her wit and sarcasm are not to be compared to another. She is strong and can defeat her enemies. She will never look back at the carnage she leaves behind only smile and strut away. She doesn't care about the destruction she leaves in her wake. She will destroy all those who trespass against her with the truth and will bring down your house of cards that was once strategically built if you betray her. She is a righteous beast who only wants peace,

My dark passenger looks to right so many wrongs, she looks to change the world and end the violence that we see so much of today. The endless wars over Gods and beliefs that have so many trying to destroy each other. Why? Why do we keep fighting the same wars, that's insanity afterall.

My dark passenger is a sexy beast. She is the one who will leave you craving for more. She is a passionate vixen who will cast her spell for those to fall under. She is the one who will excite and arouse you to your highest peak. She will remain faithful to the ones that believe in her but once they stray she will extinguish the flames and kill your fire. She is the one she is your one and only. She is a goddess, a fiery creature from my soul. Her heart is not someone's sacrifice to be left at the altar for a dark force to engulf in it's cold, steel digestive tract. She is the epitome of Aphrodite...at least for someone if not for myself. 

My dark passenger is the one I need to cast upon the world to leave my mark then recoil back into the dark depths of my soul until her services are needed again. 

My dark passenger is here, Not for your enjoyment but for your fear. The one who needs her the most is me and it's time for her to set me free.


Dragons Herb

The name Tarragon is a corruption of the French Esdragon, derived from the Latin Dracunculus (a little dragon), which also serves as its specific name. It was sometimes called little Dragon Mugwort and in French has also the name Herbe au Dragon. To this, as to other Dragon herbs, was ascribed the faculty of curing the bites and stings of venomous beasts and of mad dogs. The name is practically the same in most countries. Pan Crisped Fish with Spinach and Lemon Tarragon Sauce ingredients:  1/4 cup Unsalted butter 2 teaspoon Shallots, fresh, minced 1 tablespoon Parsley, fresh, minced 2 teaspoon Fresh tarragon, finely minced 2 tablespoon Freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 tablespoon Olive oil 1 each Garlic clove, minced 14 oz Baby Spinach 1/4 cup Flour 1 teaspoon Salt 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper, freshly ground 2 each Eggs, slightly beaten 11/2 cup Panko bread crumbs 4 each Flounder fillets, fresh directions: 1. Prepare sauce. Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Melt butter, then saute shallots until lightly golden, stirring often, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off heat. Add parsley and tarragon, and then lemon juice. Pour sauce into a small bowl, removing all sauce from pan with a rubber spatula. Set aside. 2. Prepare spinach. Heat 1 tsp. olive oil over medium heat in same skillet you used for sauce. Saute garlic for about 30 seconds. Add spinach, cover, and cook until wilted (stirring several times), 3 to 4 minutes. Remove spinach to a plate and set aside. 3. Prepare fish. Set out three wide, shallow bowls. Place flour, salt, and pepper in one bowl and stir to combine. Place lightly beaten eggs in second bowl, and bread crumbs in third. Dip each piece of fish into flour, then eggs, and then bread crumbs. Press bread crumbs lightly onto both sides of fish, then place on a plate or sheet pan. 4. Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in skillet over medium heat. You may have to cook fish in two batches. Sauti fish until coating is golden on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Repeat with a second batch, if necessary, adding additional oil to pan if needed. 5. Check that sauce is still liquid; if it has started to solidify, reheat in microwave for a few seconds and stir until smooth. When fish is ready, divide spinach among four plates, top with fish, and spoon a quarter of the sauce around (not on top of) spinach and fish on each plate. Serve immediately. Suggestions: Fresh tarragon can be substituted for 3/4 tsp. dried. Large fillets should be about 1 to 1 1/4 lb. each.

Wine Erotica

Wine Erotica

Opening a new bottle of wine is like going on a first date, you look at the label and read all about it but you never truly know what is on the inside until you taste it. This is my version of what I call WineErotica.

The First Date: You select that special bottle from a vast array of others. You don't know what you are going to get on the inside as you have only the pretty outside to look at. You read the label and you see the winemakers description on the flavors, vintage, soil and region. You make your choice from the assortment and you begin your date with hopes of having a good time and that the chemistry is right. Now that you have the bottle home you feel the smooth texture of the glass vessel that holds the precious juices that so many labored to make. You realize that someones heart and soul went into this bottle and you are ready to take the next step and look inside. You open the cork and pour a bit in a glass. The first thing you do is hold the glass up to the candlelight to see the rich colors and flecks that vibrate within, much like looking into someones eyes for the first time and trying to see into their soul. You then take a smell of the fruit and all your senses go wild wondering "what is that". You try and dissect the aroma to see what this wine is made of much like you do a person you are meeting face to face for the first time. The uncertainty is there but you want it to go further so you can see what makes this complex creation worth your while. You take a sip........you hold that sip in your mouth much like that first passionate kiss. You now can get distinct flavors of blackberry,cherry, moss and lavender. You are learning more and more on this first date and deciding if there should be a second.........and you pour more into the glass. The finish or as I prefer to say climax of the first date is the taste that is left in your mouth after you swallow. is it fruity, floral, metallic or sweet. By the time you have finished your second glass the decision has been made and the chemistry is either there or not. If it is you move on to purchasing another bottle, if not you have not lost anything but have learned this one is not for you. That is what I call The WineErotica First Date.

The Blind Tasting: By now you and your intimate partner from the first date have learned you have many things in common. I like to initiate my partner in something call the Blind Tasting. Now mind you this is very arousing and can lead to other things but lets concentrate on the wine for now. First I believe in the practice of sensory deprivation when doing this exercise. I use a blindfold to help enhance the learning process. I place the blindfold over my partners eyes and straddle him ever so lightly. I open the bottle and hold the cork under his nose so he can gain some perspective of the exercise. I ask him to smell and tell me what he thinks. The sense of smell is a huge part of any relationship with wine, just as in humans, Pheromones are released that will enhance the experience and create arousal. I then pour some into a glass and bring it to his mouth to drink. I ask him to hold it in his mouth while the flavors open up. Now swallow and tell me what you taste. This is called mouth feel. Now it is time for a passionate kiss to further the senses of arousal. I then pour another glass and tell him how to reach a climax. Hold that taste in your mouth and tell me how it feels, tell me how it moves you, tell me how your taste buds view it. Tell me how you want more of the juices from the bottle and how it is something you want to do again. I then pour him another glass. Now by this time your partner has a good view of what is inside that bottle and what is inside of you. It's up to you however as what to do next......................... blindfold optional



I have to thank the person that has asked me a lot of questions lately as i do not think I could have started questioning myself without your persistence to give you an answer. It's not always what is on the label but is what is in the bottle, the heart and soul of a person, just like a bottle of wine.

tasty tastings everyone!

My Island of Misfit Toys

Misfit:(msft, ms-ft)  One who is unable to adjust to one's environment or circumstances or is considered to be different from others.

Welcome to my island of misfit toys. Things are kind of different here, everyone marches to their own beat, there are souls floating above us all that we sometimes capture in our personalities if only for a few minutes.This is a joyous place if you take it all in for what it is.

The vibe of my island home is one like no other, the heartbeat of island life is either 3 beats forward or 10 beats back depending on the splendor of the sunset. Sometimes it feels like my island is as busy as Times Square, trains, trolleys and taxis congest the streets with knowledge thirsty tourists that still think we drive down from Miami everyday to work as they only see our historic downtown and not our sleepy residential neighborhoods filled with a melting pot of residents. Other times it is ours, a place where the locals frolic and bask in the silence of the tumbleweeds rolling down Duval Street. We live like we are kings on a servants budget who have a variety of jesters at their beck and call. 

On any given night you can enjoy a jester that tells jokes for a dollar, "what do you call a fly with no wings.....A WALK"! Then there is the man with the cats who fly, who dazzles you with his french accent and an occasional "WOOHOO". We have the one who conjurers spirits, his name is Sloan he tells tales of lovers and and others who've been wronged. Their spirits haunt the bars and old dance halls and on any given night you'll learn about Robert the Doll. There are the minstrels that fill the air full of light by playing sweet songs as we dance through the night. Then there are the ladies in drag that will stop traffic but you better not dare call them a fag, As we are a peaceful island who embraces everyone as their own. It's place where you can be you and realize you're home. (a little prose)

To say we are misfits is an accurate description. We are all here because we're not all there is a slogan often said and it's true. Everyone was someone else and had a different life on the mainland. One day cancer research doctor, POOF in Key West dinner boat chef/captain, One day lawyer, POOF in Key West you are now a bartender. You never know who is sitting next to you at the bar in the straw hat, ragged shirt and flip flops. He may be a millionaire, he may own the bar or he may be a treasure seeker with his sights on the prize. But the reality is you have never fit in anywhere like you fit in here.

No recipe with this one, it is an old draft I decided to finish tonight

Morning Sex and Pancakes

There are some things in life that I will never understand one of those is love. 

How does something so good go so bad?

How does someone wake up one morning and say oh I am not in love with you any more? 

How does someone to whom you have given your heart just suddenly throw your love away?

Here's my take on this. Morning sex and pancakes when you really want it with bacon and sausage, 

There's your answer.

 You give someone what they want and what they need without regard for your own needs. You develop into this sub person of which was once yourself. You give your heart, your soul and your mind to this person and yet it is not enough for them. You try to be the person they want you to be but all along forgetting who you are. The metamorphosis of a relationship is sometimes one sided. You evolve into this version of yourself that isn't really you. I remember who I was when I first fell in love and the person he fell in love with. I was out every night being the dragon I am. Then he suddenly decides to tame the dragon and when he does POOF it's over. What the fuck is that? 

I desire sex before bed his answer no I really can't get into it until the morning. But what about me? My needs my wants my desires don't matter. I didn't want to be selfish so I played his game. I let him make the rules. What's for breakfast? He wants pancakes I make them, I eat them I gain weight and become undesirable to him. Please note he gained 40 pounds and hasn't seen his cock in a year other than the mirror or when he's looking for a safe place to "whack off" at a charity event to some girl over the phone. And that's my fault? HELL NO!!!!!!!  It is all smoke and mirrors with him.

He fell out of love with himself!!! He feels that he needs to recharge his ego by feeling desired by random women who really don't know who he is. Some woman he will eventually fall out of love with or get bored with.

He told me when we first met that his ex-wife was the angriest person he ever met, about a year later it was me....hmmmm common denominator is him. He is the one who no longer desires himself so he needs to feed his monster within by creating fantasies with others.

So with this being said it is time to let my dragon out of it's cage and it's time to become myself again. It's time to take care of me without worrying about him. It is time to emerge from my lair and become that girl again. The happy, fun loving woman I have always been inside that never needed a man to justify her existence. 

So if someone ever says that my needs don't matter I will remind myself that morning sex and pancakes ain't all it's cracked up to be if you can't get your bacon and sausage as well.

Lesson Fucking Learned!!!!

Banana Pancakes with Bacon

Ingredients

• 2oz butter, cubed 
• 10 oz self rising flour 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 free-range eggs
• 2 tbsp soft light brown sugar
• ½ pint whole milk
• 1 large banana, roughly chopped
• 1-2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 8 slices rind less bacon bacon
• maple or golden syrup, to serve

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 225 F.
2. Melt 1oz of the butter in a small pan over a low heat and leave to cool for five minutes.
3. Put the melted butter, flour, baking powder, eggs, sugar and milk in a food processor and blend until smooth.
4. Pour into a large bowl and mash the banana into the batter with a potato masher.
5. Melt a little of the oil with a cube of butter in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Wipe around the base of the pan with a thick wad of kitchen paper.
6. Drop four large serving spoonfuls of the banana pancake mixture into the frying pan, spacing well apart. Cook for three minutes, or until the pancakes rise, bubbles appear and the surface appears dry.
7. Flip over with a palette knife and cook on the other side for a further 2-3 minutes, or until pale golden-brown.
8. Transfer to a heatproof plate and keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining eight pancakes in exactly the same way.
9. Return the frying pan to the heat and add the streaky bacon. Cook for about three minutes on each side until golden and crisp, turning once. Add a splash of oil if the rashers begin to stick.
10. Pile the pancakes onto four warmed plates and top with the fried bacon. Drizzle with a little maple syrup (or golden syrup) and serve the rest separately.

"Cayo Hueso Time & Grilled Snapper with Mango Salsa"

It's been a long time since I left my friends and followers and I must say it's good to be back. When we talk about our lives we talk in great definition of how events have shaped our way of thinking or how we react to others in relationships. I myself have been experiencing both the noun and verb form of pain for the past few months and it had taken my body over like a virus. I didn't know who "I" was anymore nor did I understand what I had become. I recently discovered me again and I now know I am the only person that can define myself. When I define myself I try to remember the hard times I have had recently and how I am overcoming them with professionalism and a positive attitude. I hold my head up high knowing that getting out of a bad relationship with my head held high in honor and knowing it wasn't me that caused the inevitable helps me move forward in life. I have been raked over the hot coals one too many times, thrown under the bus and backed up over and now that I have grown from the experience I will say I am sorry to those hurt along the way. It was all a journey and lesson in life that brought me to this point....the turning point in my life's compass that led me home and as we all know home is where the heart is.

Cayo Hueso is my home and here is where I grew up, not so much as a child does but as a strong woman does. I learned a work ethic here that is ingrained in my head. I learned things here that most mainlanders will never understand. It's a small island and one must work hard to stay afloat. The prices are high as well as the locals and the food here is inspirational. I cast my line out in the potpourri of seafood and always come home with a vast array of flavorful bounties of the ocean. It soothes my soul knowing I hunted and gathered my nightly feast and I can share that feast proudly with friends and family. It is a great sense of self worth knowing that you can finish what you started, knowing no one is gong to drag you down if you fail but help pick you back up and encourage you to try again. I have a dear friend here whose wisdom is appreciated and constantly asked for in good times and bad. She has been a major inspiration to me whether she knows it or not and after writing this I am sure she will know I am speaking of her. My dear chica, she will pick me up when I am down and kick my ass if I am wrong. She will offer advice and experience but the one thing she does not do that I appreciate her for is judging others. So to my dear chica I must say thank you for being here for me as I am here for you. You are a true sista from another mista and loyal to your peers. A chica who will tell me when I try on the "F Me Boots" that she will kill me if I don't buy them because she knows they will lift my spirits as well as my self esteem, she also knows when I am lost and need that emotional backing to help my life's compass point in the right direction. So dear friend thank you for your unconditional love and amazing spirit, you help define me as a woman.
I have made another change in direction as well, I have gone home to find my passion again after it was stripped from my soul this past Christmas. The reason why I started in the culinary profession is the satisfaction I get seeing those who consume my creations enjoy what they have experienced. If you haven't eaten my food before you wouldn't understand the love I put into every step I make in the kitchen. The past few weeks I have soul searched for that love again and I am happy to say it's back and as bad ass as ever. The goddess inside feels renewed and appreciated. My palate once again is alive for flavor and I have been creating some amazing dishes that are uncompromised by the past. New, exciting and creative are good adjectives to describe what's been happening in my life lately and it shined through in the dishes I create. The artist inside still needs some coaxing out of her shell but it's happening and I will be at the top of my game once again. The physical pain sometimes is unbearable but the emotional pain has diminished into mere memories and lessons in life as to what not to do. They say the definition of insanity is to keep making the same mistakes over and over and expect a different result,well the course direction I have taken has made me a better person and I truly have learned from the past. The inspiration I have found here in Cayo Hueso is bountiful and the love I have in my heart has been renewed. I again have let the walls down and have accepted the fact that I am not perfect nor is anyone. Relationships will have their ups and downs but when you start with a solid foundation nothing or no one will ever get in growths way. The mistakes of the past are just that, mistakes, and I refuse to go down that road again. No one in my life will ever strip me of who I am and inspire to be and those I choose to let in will help shape me and guide me into being a better and stronger woman, mother, partner and chef. Now I do want to leave you with a little sample of what's been cooking in my heart, mind and kitchen....Enjoy and Tasty Tastings Everyone.


"Grilled Snapper with Mango Salsa"

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups diced mango
3/4 cup diced peeled, halved and seeded cucumber
1/2 cup diced red onion
2 tsp minced, seeded serrano chile pepper
2 tsp grated key lime zest
3 Tbsp key lime juice
1/2 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp chipotle powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 red snapper fillets (6 oz each)
2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. Make salsa: Mix ingredients gently but thoroughly. Refrigerate at least 20 minutes for flavors to blend.
2. Heat outdoor grill or stove top grill pan. Mix ancho chile powder, cinnamon and salt in a cup until blended.
3. Place fish, skin side down, on a baking sheet. Brush top with 1/2 the oil; sprinkle with 1/2 the spice mixture.
4. Place fish on grill skin side up; brush with remaining oil; sprinkle with rest of spices.
5. Grill for 4 minutes on one side then flip and continue grilling for 4 minutes until center is opaque.
6. Remove from grill an serve topped with Mango Salsa

"When The Walls, Came Tumbling Down" "Cindia's Sunday Chicken DInner"

Ok so I have 4 blogs drafted and this is where my head and heart are first and foremost. I have some eager with anticipation of the previous 3 but I really have to throw this out there first. Hope you can understand..

My heart has been trampled on more than a time or two and thus fore I have built a strongest, tallest wall around it. Kryptonite couldn’t weaken the concrete and iron structure my inner demons have constructed to protect me from those malicious, heinous creatures known as men.

My life has been a consistent run of “bad boys” in one way or another. It would always start off nice but then our dark sides would collide and it would be a tumultuous ride on a year long roller coaster as I would try to fix things in every way. Tried to make things right and not seek the truth in any form. I would keep working on re-building the past and never look ahead and say “what’s gonna change this time”? Well this time I am going to change. This time I am the one working on myself and how I control the goddess we all know and love. My goddess is a rambunctious one. She likes to be the center of attention and adored by many. She is the one who shields my inside from those who don’t know me and plasters the fake smile across my face that you see in public. Those who know me see the pain behind that smile and the loneliness in my heart that is yearning to be touched by someone that will fill it with love and emotional stability.

Then all at once he walked into my life like the cyclone of emotions I have imagined and written about so many times. Now please don’t think I am rushing into things, but this is the most emotional and spiritual relationship high one could ever imagine. It’s the one time in life that you just go with your gut and swallow up every other bad experience and realize that this is the one you have been waiting for to make the bad ones worthwhile.

Sometimes it just feels right and damn it you just have to take a leap of faith and let the decaying walls start slowly crumbling to the ground and fill your heart with air and light. Take the darkness of monsters that lie internally and remove the chains that kept them hidden and bound. Show them the love that fills your soul and allow them to sleep soundly as the return inside, as they will always be there for you when you summon them for protection.

Yes, I have let someone in where I swore I wouldn’t. Yes, he has touched me in so many ways that to sit here and write them down would take hours. Yes, the feelings are mutual and growing everyday in leaps and bounds. I am actually convinced this is the reality I am destined for….and I am happy. Happier then I have been in years and when I am in his arms no one can ever come between us…….ever. Then there is the passion, I just don’t think I can get into that with you now but it’s there and it’s real. No man has ever made me feel the ways he does when we are together. I am serious about that friends, I have had my fair share of relationships, most long-term, these feelings are different, they are effortless and natural and when he touches me everything and everyone around us goes away.

 So if you dare to ask this goddess if she is in love, well I may have to say I think so......oh heck Yes! There I admitted it. I am "in love" with someone who fills in all of the blanks on my application.

So for today's recipe I put a pure classic out there dedicated to my sister Cindia June Cannon, who I love with all of my heart and soul. This is the only recipe my sis keeps bugging me to post so I am and at the most perfect time in my life to post this perfect classic.  ENJOY and TASTY TASTINGS EVERYONE!!!

"Cindia's Sunday Chicken with Vegetables"

Enjoy the inviting aroma of roasted chicken infused with a subtle zest of lemon and fragrant rosemary. Yam, carrots and red potatoes bring seasonal color and nutrition to this deliciously tender chicken dish. Serve with a fresh green salad and dinner rolls, if you like.

Ingredients

1 lemon
2 sprigs rosemary
1 (4- to 5-pound) whole chicken
10 small red potatoes, halved
3 large carrots, cut into large chunks
1 yellow onion, cut in 6 wedges
1 (1/2-pound) yam, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Pierce lemon all over with a fork. Place whole lemon and rosemary sprigs into cavity of chicken. Truss chicken with butchers' twine and place breast-side up in a large roasting pan. Arrange potatoes, carrots, onions, and yams around the chicken. Pour both and wine over chicken and vegetables, then drizzle chicken with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover chicken tightly with foil and roast chicken and vegetables for 30 minutes.

Reduce to 350°F. Remove foil and set aside for later use. Continue to roast chicken, basting periodically, for 1 1/2 hours more. Transfer chicken to a platter and set aside to let rest for 20 minutes. While chicken is resting, cover vegetables with reserved foil and continue to roast for 20 minutes more.

Carve chicken and serve alongside the roasted vegetables, drizzled with pan juices, if you like.

"Don't Misunderstand Me" "The Goddess Drinks Pinot Noir" and "What The F--k Duck in a Pinot Noir Pop My Cherry Sauce"

Please don’t misunderstand me when I say I love you as being something other than genuine. But you see, the key is to love yourself enough to be able to share the overflow of your heart with others. I don’t fall in love easily nor do I allow the steel walls to buckle. My heart has been laid out on the altar for sacrifice too many times that I have learned to safe guard it with care and summon the inner demons to protect it as needed. As much as we all enjoy the idea of being in love we only see one part of the story. One side of an intricate pattern on a lace tablecloth like the one your grandmother would pull out on special occasions ONLY. The one with the distinct smell of either cedar or mothballs. That tablecloth was guarded just like my heart. Kept safe from ruin and age. 


Please don't misunderstand me as I often find it difficult to express my true feelings as I have learned that someone is always going to take it the wrong way and use it to destroy me, or at least try to. Recently that happened to me, I admitted my feelings to someone. It was not love in any way other than friendship as I knew his situation from the start. It was just telling him that I cared enough about him to let him follow his heart....that's if he had one. I started to carry on with my life and decided to take on something else to another level, but not with him. The outrage and disgust I could see in his eyes when I came home that day. I don't know why he would ever feel that way as he claimed he didn't care. It has been difficult to deal with his unholy terror he unleashed on me subsequently in the past 2 weeks but I am having to re-structure everything and everyone around me. His lies and deceit have hurt my reputation and made my life a living hell......until today. Today is the first day I actually felt human in 10 days. I felt stable and secure as I am making sure the good girl rides away and finishes this blog........  it may take a few more days but I am calm in my decisions today that fact speaks louder than fiction and my life will be much better off as will my heart for even having to go through this kind of pain and emotional torture. I am a better person and will rise out of the ashes like a phoenix. I am the goddess I write as, she is my protector and always keeps me safe from harm. With a sheath draped across her shoulder and the thorny crown that is bestowed atop her head as her love shines down and forgives those that intend to harm me. That goddess is me and lives and breaths inside my heart as my heart is open and accepting to my friends who truly understand my purpose in their lives. My heart understands imperfection and realizes that no one is genuinely without flaw as I am not. 


So please don't misunderstand me when I tell you that I am the person you thought you knew, the person that you gravitated to as you spun around in my orbit and lost sight of the stars above as you watched me fall into a black hole. As I lay dying you breathed life back into my soul and filled my heart with light and hope. You are my true friends the ones that saw this person falling and caught me in yours arms and showed your love and trust for me. This goddess is blessed to have those in her life that through words of light made me realize that this is temporary and will get better and helped me acquire the tools to fix what was broken in my life. Those that made me realize the person I trusted was out to harm me and make me trip and fall even though he would passionately hold me at night. Wife, fiance, girlfriend.....were was I in this mix? I just knew I needed to get out and not be caught under his domain but it was too late. 


So please don't misunderstand me when I say I am sorry. Not just for what he did to me and those I love but for what I allowed him to do to me that caused the spiral downward. I was a sitting duck left saying WTF!


And now the goddess speaks Pinot!


Why do I have such a passion for Pinot Noir. Why does it speak to me in only a language the two of us can understand and engulf my body in it's warm and berrylike essence. I would lay in a claw foot tube full of Pinot Noir and suck it dry with a straw if given a chance (hint to potential beau's). The love and care put into a quality Oregon Pinot makes my heart light and my palate orgasm. The nose itself hits me like the way the room smells after a night of passion and lust, deliciously satisfying. The first taste in my mouth just arouses my passion for this varietal even more and sends a current through my body that fills my mouth with joy and makes me crave more.
I savor every drop of Pinot Noir like it's the last on earth. The first rain after a summer's drought is the refreshing finish to this delicate varietal's appeal. Yes I am a Pinot whore and I am proud. 


It took me a couple of days to perfect the "Pop My Cherry Pinot Sauce" on my "What The F--K Duck" but I hope you enjoy. Duck has always been my favorite members of the poultry family and although I never back down from a kitchen challenge it has sometimes been difficult for me to master. 


Here we go peeps, life goes on and WTF DUCK!!!!


Enjoy and Tasty Tasting Everyone!!!!!!




"What The F--k Duck in a Pinot Noir Pop My Cherry Sauce"


Ingredients


3 tbsp Sugar
3 tbsp water
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tspn salt
1 pinch fresh ground black pepper
24oz Fresh Duck Breast boned, halved and skinned
1/4 cup shallots
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 cup Pinot Noir
1/2 cup chicken broth (organic)
1/4 cup whipping cream (not whipped cream)


Combine sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until sugar dissolves, stirring gently as needed to dissolve sugar evenly (about 1 minute). Continue cooking 5 minutes or until golden (do not stir). Remove from heat; carefully stir in cherries and vinegar (caramelized sugar will harden and stick to spoon). Place pan over low heat until caramelized sugar melts


Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper over duck. Add duck to pan; cook 5 minutes. Turn duck over; cook 4 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from pan; let stand 5 minutes. Cut duck across the grain into thin slices
Return skillet to medium heat. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil, shallots, and garlic to pan; cook 1 minute or until tender, stirring frequently. Add wine to pan; increase heat to medium-high. Bring mixture to a boil; cook until reduced to 3/4 cup (about 6 minutes). Add broth; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 6 minutes). Pour wine mixture through a fine sieve into cherry mixture; discard solids. Bring cherry mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in cream; simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt. Serve sauce over duck.