Monthly Archives: May 2013

Red "Curry" Kale

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My Early Spring CSA from Brad’s Produce started and I have an endless supply of greens.  Around this time of year, my diet turns virtually vegetarian.  My favorite veggies are spring veggies:  asparagus, kale, spinach, spring lettuce, spring onion, etc.  Since we have been getting a bag full of kale every week, I’ve been eating kale in some way, shape, or form, almost every day.  One of the great things about kale is that it’s so versatile and the leaves cling to any sauce that you toss with it.

Because it’s still very chilly in MD at the moment (come on, Arizona girl here!  60s is COLD!), I thought that a nice warm curry would be awesome.  There was one catch.  I had everything in my pantry for Red Curry Kale…except the coconut milk.  I had cream and wanted to use the cream in place of coconut milk.  “But Jessica,” you say, “You can’t have curry without coconut milk!” 

I know.  I was in a conundrum.

Knowing that a lot of the flavor in curry comes from the coconut milk, I knew that I had to make up the coconut flavor somehow.  So, I used coconut oil and coconut flakes in the recipe to make up for the lack of coconut milk.  I also made rice with coconut oil and coconut flakes to help oomph the flavor of the coconut in the complete dish.

It came out really well.  Making up for the lost coconut by using coconut oil and coconut flakes really helped to add that necessary flavor to the “curry”.  Of course, if you would like to make this a REAL curry, subsitute coconut milk in the recipe.

Curry & Kale make for a yummy dinner
 
Red “Curry” Kale
 
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 onion, halved and sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup coconut flakes
2 Tablespoons red curry paste (I use more cuz I’m a hot head)
1 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup cream (or coconut milk)
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
Handful of cilantro, chopped
3 cups kale, torn
1 lime, divided
 
  1. Heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil over medium high heat.  Add the onion and sautee.  Once the onion starts to wilt, add the garlic and the coconut flakes.  Sautee until onion, garlic, and coconut flakes are caramelized.
  2. Add 2 Tablespoons of red curry paste and sautee into the onion mixture.  Slowly pour in 1 cup vegetable broth and stir until the paste is dissolved into the broth.  Add cream (or coconut milk) and brown sugar.  Bring to a boil, turn heat down and simmer.
  3. Add kale, cilantro, and zest of one lime.  Cover.  Once kale begins to wilt, stir to cover the greens in the curry.  Add the juice of half a lime.  Stir.
  4. Serve with coconut rice and half a sliced lime.


Mexican Taqueria Pickles

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Do you know how you know you are in a *real* taqueria?  Or at a *real* taqueria food truck?

I’ll tell you.  Always look for the salsa bar but that’s not it.  Go to the salsa bar and look for one thing:  taqueria pickles.  Do you know the type?  The mix of carrots, radishes, onion, and peppers that you can put in those little plastic condiment bowls.  If the taqueria has those pickles, you know you’ve picked the right spot.  These pickles complete any taco…especially a carne asada taco.

Being from Arizona, I could find these pickles everywhere.  Whenever I would get a craving, just go to the grocery store!  They are always there and always in abundance.

Living in MD it’s hard enough to find a Mexican restaurant, let alone a place that serves something that resembles taqueria pickles. 

I was homesick and went to the grocery store and bought a couple out-of-season radishes, peppers, and carrots.  I know, I know. I broke a huge rule of mine but sometimes you have to fill a hole in your soul.

Generally, this mix is only made with jalapenos but since my friends out here in MD are wimps (love you guys!), I bought 4 different peppers to lower the heat index a little bit.  I also thought that they would add different layers of flavor and heat.  I bought banana, serrano, poblano, and jalapeno.

Thinly slice everything, half and slice the onions, and stuff into two clean quart jars.  I can’t remember exactly how many radishes and carrots I sliced.  I just sliced and sliced until I filled up the quart jars.  I ensured that all the peppers and onions were mixed evenly in the two quart jars.

 To make the brine, bring 3 cups of water , 2 cups of white vinegar, 1 Tablespoon salt to a simmer.  Add 1 teaspoon dried oregano (mexican oregano if you want to get super authentic) , 1 tablespoon peppercorn, and one bay leaf to each quart jar.  Stuff each quart jar, layering, between peppers, onions, carrots, and radishes.  Ensure that all the peppers and onions are divided between the jars.  You may have some carrots and radishes left over. Pour brine over the vegetables.  Cover and refrigerate.  This is a refrigerator pickle and it will keep for months and months.

Whenever you make tacos, fajitas, carne asada, or pollo asado, grab a jar and lay a few of these pickles over the meat.  Put some country or spanish music on, make yourself a margarita, and pretend you are sitting on a sunny Arizonan (or Texan or New Mexican or Southern Californian) patio.

I have country music and carne asada on my mind!  YEE HAW!

Taqueria Pickles

Yield:  Two quarts

Carrots
Radishes
Peppers
Onions
3 cups water
2 cups white vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons dried oregano (mexican oregano, if you have it)
2 tablespoons peppercorn
2 bay leaves

  1. Thinly slice carrots, radishes and peppers.  Half and thinly slice onions. 
  2. In each quart jar add a teaspoon of dried oregano, a tablespoon of peppercorn, and a bay leaf.
  3. Layer peppers, onions, carrots, and radishes into the quart jars.  Ensure that all the pepper and onion get used up.  You may have some carrots and radishes left over.
  4. Bring water, white vinegar, and salt to a simmer.  Pour over vegetables.  Let cool and refridgerate.  These will keep in the fridge for a few months.

Don’t Waste That: Mushroom & Persillade Stuffed Chicken

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Now *this* recipe was *not* a miscalculation!  This was yummy.  Really yummy.

I had a handful of mushrooms rolling around in my fridge.  These were the remaining few from a package that I had bought at the farmers market and I had to do something with them before they dried out.  Thinking of how bright and nutty I found the persillade, I though that it would go great with the woody flavor of the mushrooms.  However, I didn’t have enough mushrooms to make a big enough side -and- I had only one lone chicken breast defrosted in the fridge (which needed to get used up too before it went bad).  I thought that I could oomph the serving of the chicken by making it a stuffed chicken.

Preheat your oven to 375F.  Chop the mushrooms into quarters.  In a medium sized, oven proof skillet, add chopped mushrooms and cook over medium heat with olive oil.  You don’t want to cook the mushrooms too much, you really just want them to sweat, because they are going to be cooked again when we bake the chicken.  This should only take about 5 minutes.

 

Pour the mushrooms into a small bowl and toss with 1 heaping tablespoon of persillade and a sprinkle of mozzarella (or whatever cheese you have in your fridge).
 
Slice down the thickest part of the chicken breast, leaving the chicken breast intact.  Open up the chicken breast and pound out the breast until it is about an inch thick.
 
Add the mushroom and persillade filling to one side and roll the chicken breast up like a burrito.  Once you have it rolled, slide toothpicks through the chicken breast to keep it rolled up.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
 

In the same oven proof skillet that you cooked the mushrooms, add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet and heat to medium-high heat.  Brown the chicken on both sides.  Quickly, put the skillet in the oven to bake the chicken.  Bake the chicken about 15 minutes. 

 
Once the chicken is done baking, let it rest on a cutting board. Cut the chicken in half; one half is one serving.  Serve over collard greens and quinoa!

 
Mushroom & Persillade Stuffed Chicken
 
1 handful of mushrooms, quartered
1 heaping Tablespoon of Persillade
Pinch of mozzarella
1 large chicken breast, pounded out to 1 inch thickness
  1. Preheat your oven to 375F
  2. In an oven proof skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the quartered mushrooms and cook the mushrooms until they just start to sweat, about 5 minutes.
  3. In a small bowl, toss mushrooms, persillade, and mozzarella.
  4. Add to one side of the chicken and roll up the chicken, securing with toothpicks
  5. In the same oven proof skillet used to sweat the mushrooms, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat.  Brown the chicken on both sides.
  6. Add the skillet to the oven and bake at 375F for about 15 minutes.
  7. Let chicken rest on a cutting board.  Cut in half and serve.
    8.  
 


My Appalling Miscalculation: Chicken Liver Pasta

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I’m always up for trying something different so when I came across Martha Stewart’s recipe for Rigatoni with Chicken Livers, I was intrigued.  Mister loves fried chicken gizzards so I thought that I would surprise him with Chicken Liver Pasta for dinner.  Gizzards, liver, same difference right?

The Nutless Wonder, back there, is eyeballing my Chicken Livers!
 

When Mister came over for dinner after work, he asked what was for dinner.  I proudly responded, “I came across a Martha Stewart recipe that looked pretty good and that I thought you may like:  Chicken Liver Pasta”. 

 
The look of total and complete horror on his face told me that I had made an appalling miscalculation.
 
It has wine in it.  Wine makes everything better.
Right?!?!
 
“I THOUGHT YOU LIKED LIVER!” I exclaimed horrified, “YOU LIKE GIZZARDS!”
 
“YA!  GIZZARDS!  FRIED!” He chimes back.
 
“Don’t worry, babe,” I ensure, taking his hands in mine, “I’m scared too.  We’ll be scared together, Ok?  Besides, maybe it will be really, really good.  Afterall, it is a Martha Stewart recipe!”
 
He responded only with a stealy stare.  I could just tell he was thinking, “I swear, if you mess up my dinner woman…”
 
It has lots & lots of butter too.  Butter makes everything better!
Right?!?!?!

 

While I nervously cook this dinner, my spirits rise in that it actually smells really good.  The liver has cooked up nice, the onions caramelized perfectly, and everything is waiting to be tossed with the pasta.  The pasta gets done cooking and I toss everything together.  It all looks kind of…grey.  I plate dinner and bring it to the table.  Mister pours two big glasses of wine.  We toast, “To trying new things!”.  We look at each other nervously, I close my eyes, and we take our first bite.

It wasn’t so bad.  Mister actually went back for seconds.  I ate as much as I could but just couldn’t finish my first serving.  True to Martha Stewart, the recipe was solid.  There was a lot of flavor; the onion played well with the liver.  The butter and wine came through lovely  The sauce was creamy and coated the pasta well.  I guess I just don’t like liver.  The weird thing with liver is that it’s not that it tastes all that bad; it’s the texture.  The texture is crumbly.  It’s a different texture that I’m just  not used to and it’s hard to explain.  It doesn’t “melt” like filet mignon or fatty tuna belly; and it’s not really chewy, like octopus.  It’s just completely…different. 

The Nutless Wonder and Belladini Houdini got servings of Chicken Liver Pasta mixed in with their dinner for 3 nights in a row. 

I’m posting this recipe because I know there are people out there that like liver and if you do, you should really try this recipe.  Like I said above, it’s a solid recipe…I just learned that I don’t like liver!

Chicken Liver Pasta

From Martha Stewart

1 pound rigatoni
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound chicken livers, any sinew removed, patted dry
3 T unsalted butter, divided
1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise (about 1 cup)
1 T finely chopped sage leaves
2/3 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 oz parmesan, grated (about 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

  1. Cook pasta in a large pot of generously salted water until very al dente.  Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
  2. Season livers witth salt and pepper.  Melt 2 T butter in a large sautee pan over medium-high heat.  Cook livers, flipping once, until plump and golden brown, about 4 minutes; transfer to cutting board.  Reduce heat to medium and melt remaining tablespoon of butter.  Add onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook until golden, about 8 minutes. Chop livers and reurn to pan, along with any juices and sage.  Increase heat to medium-high.  Add wine, simmer until liquid is reduced by half.
  3. Add pasta and 1/2 cup reserved pasta water.  Simmer until sauce coats pasta; remove from heat.  Toss with parmesan and parsley.  If dry, toss with more pasta water, a bit at a time.  Divide among 6 bowls; drizzle with oil and sprinkle with parmesan.

Persillade

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I went to the farmer’s market this past weekend and came across a smoking deal for some parsley.  Two bunches for five dollars!  So many things were running through my head on what I could do with that parsley.  One of them was Persillade.

Persillade is similar to a pesto except instead of basil you use parsley and there are no nuts.  Parsley has a peppery and nutty flavor and when captured in this paste it has many wonderful uses.  I’ve made everything from pasta sauce & salad dressing to tossing it with steamed veggies & spreading it on french bread…and it’s very easy to make.

 In a food processor, add one and a half bunches of parsley, 10 cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup white vinegar, and 4 slices of preserved lemon (rind and pulp).  Blend this up until it is well mixed.  Then you will slowly add half cup to 1 cup of olive oil until you get the consistency you want.  I only added half a cup of oil because I like this paste to be thick (easier to scoop and spread on a piece of bread…or cheese).  You can always thin it out for a recipe later.

This is not a recipe that can be canned and has to be frozen.  I divided it up into three quarter pint jars.  Two of the jars went into the freezer and one jar went into the fridge.  This will last in the fridge for a couple of weeks…if it lasts that long.  You may eat it all before the 2 weeks are up!

Since we only used one and a half bunches for this recipe, dry the other half bunch.  I have a surprise for the dried parsley from that half bunch!
Persillade
About 3 quarter pint jars
1 1/2 bunches of parsley, picked
1/4 cup white vinegar
10 cloves garlic
4 slices preserved lemon, rind and pulp
1/2 – 1 cup olive oil
  1. In food processor, add parsley, garlic, and preserved lemons.  Process until well chopped.
  2. Slowly add white vinegar and process until well mixed.
  3. While processing, slowly add olive oil until the persillade becomes the consistency that you like.
  4. Pour into 3 quarter pint jars and cover.  Add 2 jars to the freezer and one jar in the fridge.  Thawed persillade will last about 2 weeks in the fridge.


Vegetable Plants

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OH.

MY.

GOD.

What did I just do?  I came home from Home Depot with this:

What the heck got into me?  I’m a city girl, damn it!

 
…Because I came home from the Farmers Market with vegetables…vegetable PLANTS.  I started my own container garden.  What did I just get myself into?  I’m known to kill the most heartiest plants.  I’ve killed cactus before.  I have two black thumbs…but yet, at the farmers market, I couldn’t help myself.  They were all over the place.  Staring at me with their beady little eyes telling me, “Take me!  Take me home and plant me!”  So I did…and now I have this:
 
Lettuce!  I’ve never planted before and I chose lettuce!
 
And this:
 
Tomatoes.  Everyone says tomatoes grow well in MD.
 
And this:
 
Cabbage.  Why did I pick cabbage?
 
Wish me luck.  Better yet, wish the plants luck…they need it more than I do!





Chardonnay Kumquat Marmalade

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From a distance, it may seem like I really love me some kumquats.  I mean, kumquats are tiny little fruit and I’ve already posted many recipes about them…but, while I do enjoy kumquats I do not luuurrrrvvvvvvveeeeee kumquats.  Let me tell you a little story about this batch. 
 
This batch of kumquats was the “original” batch of kumquats that I ordered.  I ordered them through a certain online distribution company (not a farm) and when I received an email back confirming my order I was extremely excited, “Kumquats!  I will finally get kumquats!”.  So I anxiously waited and waited…and waited…and waited.  After the first week and a half I tried to send an email to the distribution company to ask when my fruit would be delivered.  The email was bounced back as not deliverable.  Hm.
 
oh sweet kumquats, you have been on quite an adventure!
 
I thought that was odd, so then I tried to contact them through their online chat application.  I waited and waited while the chat application tried to contact a customer service representative.  After 30 minutes and no communication, I closed the chat.  Hm. 

 
I picked up the phone.  I called their customer service number and it was busy.  I tried to call again.  It was busy.  Hm. 
 
Apparently I had been had by fraudsters!  “BAH!  I WANT MY KUMQUATS,” I yelled as I shaked my fist in the air.
 
I call my bank to tell them that this particular website was a fraudulent website.  Well, because the automatically generated email from my order did not specify a date when the product would be delivered, by law, I have to give the company 30 days to deliver my product.  I waited…and waited…and finally, I got tired of waiting and ordered my second batch of kumquats directly from a farm and received those within 5 days. 
 
Two weeks later, I recieve an automatically generated email from that distribution company informing me that my kumquats have been shipped.  I figured that it was a faux email to get my hopes up into thinking that a product was on it’s way.  Lo-and-behold, 3 days later I had a neat little package at my doorstep.  The kumquats!  THOSE BASTARDS!  So, I gave them a good washing and turned them into Chardonnay Kumquat marmalade!
 
This marmalade is broken down into 2 days.  First I cut them in half and then thinly sliced them.  I kept one pile of the kumquat fruit and kept one pile of the seeds.  I sliced 4 cups of fruit.
 
 
Place 4 cups of fruit in a medium sized pot and add 2 cups of chardonnay and cover.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes and then turn off the heat.  Let it rest for about 10-15 minutes.  Do this two more times for a total of three times.  Let cool and then place in the fridge overnight.  Ensure that you are stirring constantly, you do not want to burn the fruit.
 
Put the seeds in half a cup of water and place that in the fridge overnight.  The seeds have all the pectin and when you soak the seeds in water overnight, the pectin will leach out of the seeds and into the water.
 


 
The next day, over the pot of kumquat syrup, pour the seeds and water into fine cheesecloth and tie it up.  Place this in the pot.  At this point, using your best judgement, if the syrup looks too thick go ahead and add water and/or chardonnay to loosen it up.  Add 2 cups sugar, bring to a boil, lower to simmer, and cook until the thermometer reaches 220.  

 
Process in BWB for 10 minutes.  Yield should be about 3 half pints.


 
Chardonnay Kumquat Marmalade
 
Yield:  3 half pints
 
4 cups kumquats, half and thinly sliced
2 cups chardonnay
1/2 cup water
2 cups sugar
 
  1. Half and thinly slice kumquats until you have 4 cups of sliced fruit.  While slicing the fruit, be sure to reserve the seeds.
  2. Place fruit in a medium sized pot with 2 cups of chardonnay.  Cover, bring to a boil, simmer, and cook for 10 minutes.  Take off the heat and let rest for 10-15 minutes.  Repeat this 2 more times for a total of 3 times.  Let cool and place in the fridge to rest overnight.
  3. Place the seeds in 1/2 cup of water and place in the fridge to rest overnight.
  4. When you are ready to finish the marmalade, over the pot pour the seeds into a fine cheesecloth and place in the kumquat syrup.  At this point, you may need to add more water or chardonnay to the syrup if it’s too viscous.  I had to add about a cup of water.  Use your best judgement.
  5. Add 2 cups of sugar.
  6. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer until your thermometer reaches 220.
  7. Following Kitchen Tactics:  Boiling Water Bath Canning, prepare 3 half pints and process for 10 minutes.

Triple Sec

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I came across this recipe just in time.  I was fresh out of Triple Sec and down to my last dash of Cointreau and I was going to go out and buy an orange liqueur when I came across this gem.  I love, love, love margaritas and since I love making my own homemade liqueurs I decided, “why not?” (if you’ve been following me from the inception of this blog, you probably have realized that I just go for it when it comes to making my own food.)  I had just gotten my crate of oranges from Pearson Ranch California Oranges and wanted to use a few for this liqueur and am I glad I did.

Homemade Triple Sec!  Can’t wait to try this!

It’s ridiculous how excited I am to share this liqueur recipe with you.  It’s just so, so yummy and if you start it now it will be ready by summer.   Can you say MARGARITAVILLE?  Eat your heart out Buffet!  These help make *the best* homemade margaritas – ever!

 
Also, did you know that it’s International Scurvy Awareness Day?  Limestrong is a non-profit organization who’s focus is to “eradicate” scurvy.  Now, we know that scurvy will never be eradicated but through awareness we hope to reduce any new develpments.  Scurvy is a condition caused by the lack of Vitamin C and a way to combat ever getting scurvy is by eating fresh fruits and veggies, especially citrus!  So, yes, go make a margarita with your new homemade triple sec!  Your body will thank you!
 
 
 To make the Triple Sec you want 10 oranges.  Using a vegetable peeler, you want to peel the zest from 4 oranges (much like we did for the limoncello) and put them in a half gallon jar.  Next you want to juice the oranges until you have 2 cups of juice.  In a large pan, you want to heat sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved, then, while stirring, you want to add the orange juice.  Cool the syrup completely and add it to your half gallon jar.  Then add the vodka.  You can also use everclear but since only four cups is used in this recipe, I decided to use vodka.  Cover and place in a cool spot for at least a month.  Strain and bottle.

I see soooooooo many margaritas in my future!
 
Triple Sec
 
From Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Kitchen
 
Yield:  about one and a half 750ml bottles
 
10 oranges
4 cups sugar
1 cup water
4 cups vodka or grain alcohol
 
  1. Using a potato peeler, zest 4 oranges, much like we did for limoncello.  Add the peel to a half gallon jar.
  2. Juice all the oranges until you have 2 cups.
  3. In a large pot, heat sugar and water until all the sugar is dissolved.  Once the sugar is dissolved, slowly pour in the orange juice while stirring. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.  Take off heat and let cool completely.
  4. Once the syrup is completely cooled, pour into the half gallon jar over the orange zest.
  5. Add vodka or grain alcohol.
  6. Cover and let steep in a cool spot for at least a month.
  7. Strain and bottle
  8. Enjoy summertime margaritas!

Beer Brats & Kraut

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One of my most favorite – favorite – winter dishes (ok, I’ll eat it no matter the season!) is Beer Brats & Kraut.  I was first introduced to this method of cooking brats and kraut by my college boyfriend who was the stereotypical Johnny America.  Tall, blond hair, blue eyes, and from small town USA; Keokuk, Iowa to be exact.  I was never a big fan of bratwursts until he made them for me this way.  Apparently, this is the main way they make bratwursts in Keokuk, Iowa (he also taught me how to eat steak but that’s another story for another day.  Apparently my whole life, up until I met him, I was eating steak the wrong way and was he ever right.  Those Iowa boys know two things very well:  corn and beef!)

It’s very easy to make this dish.  It’s basically a one pot meal.  First you want to poke holes in your brats all over with a fork.  Then, in a large pan, dump in your can of sauerkraut, a bottle/can (12oz) of beer, and nestle your brats on top of the kraut.  Cover and simmer, low and slow, anywhere between 30 – 40 minutes.  After they have simmered, you want to place the brats under your broiler – or grill them up.  The brats are already cooked so all you want to do is brown them up.  While the brats are browning, turn the heat on the beer & kraut on high and let the beer boil out; this makes the kraut super flavorful.

You don’t need much for a yummy meal:  beer, brats, & kraut.

To assemble your meal, slather toasted bread (in this case beer bread) with your most yummiest mustard, top with a wonderful layer of kraut, and top that with your brat!  Enjoy!

Beer bread, beer kraut, and beer brats.  Did I mention beer?

Beer Brats & Kraut

1 pint of sauerkraut
1 bottle/can (12oz) of beer
1 package of bratwursts
mustard
bread

  1. Poke bratwursts all over with a fork
  2. In a large pan with sides, dump in the sauerkraut, beer, and nestle the bratwursts in the sauerkraut.  Cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
  3. Once brats are done simmering, remove from the pan and brown under a broiler or grill (or even pan fry). 
  4. While brats are browning, turn heat on the sauerkraut and beer on high and boil until the beer has evaporated.
  5. Toast bread, slather with mustard, top with beer kraut, and top that with brats.
  6. Enjoy!