An Explorers Kitchen

07/02/2026

06/28/2026

Beautiful breakfast delivered to our apartment in Porto every morning. Working on my plating .

06/25/2026

06/08/2026

The Best White Sangria ever! We just had this in an adorable Tapas bar next to the Alcazar in Seville. It's very hot here, so this was very refreshing. Recipe below:

Ingredients for Sangria de Sevilla :

1 bottle dry, crisp white w**e
1 bottle Frizzante (Prosecco or other sparkling w**e or Club Soda) This is for topping
1/4 cup White Rum
1/4 cup Brandy
1/4 cup Vermouth
1/4 cup Simple Syrup
3 cups fruit (oranges chopped into ½ inch squares with peel and peeled apples cut the same size)

Directions:
1. Pour the simple syrup into a pitcher, add the fruit and muddle. 2. Pour the rum, brandy, vermouth over the fruit . 3. Pour the w**e into pitcher. 4. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours. 4. Pour into glasses over ice and top with frizzante . Enjoy, it's amazing!

06/01/2026

One chef will win $25k, a feature in Taste of Home, and a cooking experience with Carla hall.

04/17/2026

This cake is from a wedding shower we hosted this weekend. I have really gotten into the habit of buying cakes and decorating them at home. Their vanilla cakes filled with raspberry jam are divine. I bought wired satin ribbon on Amazon and decorated with country roses from . I own a beautiful flower cake crown I purchased on Amazon years ago. It's basically a cake stand surrounded by a circle of test tubes to fill with flowers . The result, prettier than what I could have bought from a professional cake company and a fraction of the price.

04/04/2026

This salad feels like spring. A bed of baby arugula , with whole fresh mint leaves , peas and a chiffonade of basil leaves tossed in . Then topped it with crunchy sweet pea pods sliced in half. Burrata nestled in between and for the final touch, a fresh lemon, olive oil, mint and honey drizzle with basil and Dijon. Easy to make Assembled and ready in 20 minutes. Recipe below. We have made it twice already this month. From the garden.

Salad
5 cups organic baby arugula
½ cup whole mint leaves
½ cup shredded basil leaves
1 cup peas, frozen, thawed, rinsed
1 - 8 oz bag sweet pea pods sliced in half lengthwise to reveal seeds
4 large or 8 small balls burrata

Lemon mint dressing:
1/3 cup good Olive oil
3 Tbs Fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Grainy Dijon mustard
3 tbs Honey
1/2 cup Mint leaves, minced fine
1/2 cup Basil leaves , minced fine
1/2 tsp Salt, 1/2 tsp pepper
Lemon zest

Directions:
1. Make dressing. Combine all wet ingredients in a blender with salt and pepper, or whisk briskly. Stir in lemon zest and finely chopped herbs. Set aside. Or refrigerate day in advance. Real olive oil will congeal so if you make the dressing in advance, then set out thirty minutes before serving.

2. Arrange arugula on platter. Toss with chiffonade of basil leaves (sliced thinly ).
Pour peas evenly over the top. Nestle burrata throughout salad. Sprinkle on whole mint leaves and place pea pods in a decorative pattern on top . Drizzle dressing on before serving. We added sliced watermelon radishes from our garden for color and crunch.

02/16/2026

Decided to use kumquats from my tree and flowers from my backyard vines to wrap a present today. Just tuck them amidst the ribbon.

02/14/2026

This morning's squash blossoms in my gardens. I got the seeds in Italy last summer. Thinking of stuffing them with ricotta, fresh mozzarella and a touch of nutmeg, then frying them up in a light batter of rice flour and Perrier.

02/08/2026

Creamy Hungarian Mushroom Soup. Even in Miami , we are in need of some warming soup occasionally. An easy, quick recipe. Thicken left over soup with cornstarch & serve over pasta.

Ingredients:
1 lg onion, chopped
1.5 lbs sliced mushrooms
5 Tbs butter
4 cups bone broth
3/4 cup milk
¼ cup white w**e
1 Tbs tamari
3 Tbs flour
1 tsp dried thyme or 1 Tbs fresh
1 Tbs sweet Hungarian Paprika
½ cup sour cream
1 Tbs chopped fresh dill
2 Tbs fresh chopped parsley
1 tsp lemon juice
Dash of cayenne
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh chives, parsley and dill for topping & Bread for serving

Directions:
1. Melt butter. 2. Saute onions until translucent. 3. Add sliced mushrooms, saute until golden 4. Add Paprika and Thyme and flour, stir well one minute. 5. Add broth, w**e, milk and whisk well. 6. Whisk in sour cream. 7. Stir in fresh herbs before serving.