Homasassa State Park Florida

Homasassa State Park Florida
4150 S. Suncoast Blvd. (US 19)
Homosassa, FL 34446 (352) 628-5343

We visited the park yesterday.  It is the time of the year when the Manatee gather in the largest quantities to stay warm for the season.  Here are some excerpts from the link above, and then the pictures I took will follow.

During the winter months, the gate has been opened at the Long River Bridge, allowing the wild manatees to have access to the warmer waters of the spring. On colder days, you may see dozens of wild manatees in the spring and spring run. 

January starts out with a First Day Hike and ranger guided tour of the Wildlife Walk. On January 26, 2017, we will be celebrating Lu, the hippo’s 57th birthday with a big party. A guided Bird walk on Pepper Creek Trail will be held on Saturday, January 28. Be sure to look at the complete listing of our Park Events for more information on this and other upcoming events.

The park's resident manatees are enjoying a large section of the spring run, including the in-ground rehabilitation pool.

On colder days, you may see dozens of wild manatees in the spring and spring run.

I love this picture for the reflections in the water, and in the center, you can see the fish, giving it a 3-dimensional look!

The reflections of the trees, with the school of fish in the center...

They said last Labor Day, when the Hurricane hit, they found Lu with water up to her shoulders.  They only live to about 60, so she's turning 57, she's pretty old.  They have had her here at the Park since 1964...52 years.

I enhanced this picture, the reflections and colors were so awesome, I couldn't resist!!

This looks like an oil painting!  Wow!!!

Do you see the baby underneath the Pelican on top of the boxes?  

Here is a better picture of the baby Pelican

Original of Picture shown below (with enhancement).  Even without my "enhancing" it, the picture was pretty cool.

He stood there, and I stood there with my camera, waiting for him to show me his stuff...

he finally did show me his stuff...and I let him be.

Hawk, just chillin

This was a great shot, thru the chain link fence, with the reflection of the tree.

Hawks, maybe mates?  

one flew away, and we got to see his/her colors...

All the Eagles and Hawks have been hurt, and cannot survive in the wild

Jim told me one of the Rangers was telling them the story of the Whooping Crane below.  She is the female and was wounded and can't survive in the wild.  They have removed her mate and relocated him as far away as Canada, 3 different times.  3 times he has returned to her.  They have produced 3 separate batches of eggs, but none have hatched.  

He just makes me smile.  Love the feet.Look how teeny tiny his eye is.

This worked out.  Got one standing and one showing me his colors.  

This one worked out also!  Sunning themselves to dry their wings for flight.

Mr Fox.  Cool as a Cucummber.

I just adore these guys.  Sleeping.  

I am so thankful I got to spend a day in the life of all of you!  Thanks to all the great folks at Homasassa State Park.  

Sausage Bread - Homemade By Jim

Our kitchen is a Working Kitchen, and today, Jim made homemade Italian Sausage Bread.  It was his very first attempt.  We both have fond memories of our early years in our marriage, and we would have sausage bread, along with some other wonderful things from the neighborhood Italian Deli.

This recipe come from the Blog:  Proud Italian Cook.  Marie writes at her site:

"This recipe connects me to my childhood, I remember my mom use to make this for special holidays and occasions. When I was a kid I thought making this was such a big ordeal, but when I got married and started making it on my own I realized just how simple it was to put together."

I loved munching away on Sunday's with our friend, on all these wonderful foods.  Here's a picture of Jim's Bread.  I am so proud of him!!

Marie writes in her post:  "You’ll also need the best Italian sausage you can find, I like using hot, it adds so much flavor and honestly rolled up in all that bread dough you can hardly taste the heat."    We used some great Italian Sausage that we purchased from a site called Goldbely.com.  We chose some sausage from Esposito's Sausage, in NYC.  Hand made since 1933.  It is really really good.  So there you go.  The link to this recipe is here.

Egg Bhurji

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This recipe came from The Domestic Man Blog.  I've made this at least a half-dozen times, and it is really good.  You can get the recipe here.

An excerpt from his site:

Egg Bhurji is a recent favorite, as it combines exotic South Asian flavors with an egg scramble for delicious effect. All it takes is a bit of prep to chop and soften the vegetables before adding in the eggs; it’s definitely worth that extra few minutes of effort.

Here's my pic of this mornings Breakfast:

Egg Bhurji (Gluten-free, Paleo, Perfect Health Diet, Whole30)

It took a few times for Jim to get used to the Tumeric, but he now enjoys it.  And it's a great brunch dish.

Homemade Italian Salad Dressing

This recipe is from Cook's Country, and under a subscription to review.  It is well worth the money to join the Cook's Illustrated site, and make all of their great recipes.  I've been making this recipe, and I haven't bought store dressing in months.

Italian Dressing

Each batch of dressing makes about 1/2 cup, enough to dress 16 cups of greens and serve 6 to 8 people. Leftover dressing can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Dry Mix (1 Cup, or 10 Batches)

1/4 cup powdered lemonade mix

3 tablespoons dehydrated minced onion

3 tablespoons dehydrated minced garlic

3 tablespoons pectin (Sure-Jell)

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon salt

Whisk all ingredients in bowl until well combined. Store in airtight container for up to 3 months. 

To make salad dressing:  

whisk in a bowl:

1 1/2 tablespoons Dry Mix

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon water 

Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until garlic and onion are just softened, about 15 seconds. Cool to room temperature, then slowly whisk in 6 tablespoons (if doubling 12 Tbs equals 3/4 C)  olive oil.

Making Your Own Thai Red Curry Paste

This recipe comes from the Blog:  The Domestic Man.  I've made this Curry Paste once before.  It is excellent and not too spicy at all (I make it with a Jalapeno, see recipe choices below).  What is nice about this recipe is that I double it.  I then fill the paste into an ice cube tray, freeze it, and dump the cubes into a ziplock bag.  When I want to have this dish, it takes 2 cubes to equal the 1/4 cup called for in the recipe.

The last time I made this I used Anaheim dried peppers, but today I am using New Mexico.  I removed 1/4 cup and put it in the fridge for tomorrow's dinner, when I'll make it.  I'm going to try making it with lean beef.  I've always used boneless chicken thighs in the past.  The rest I put in the ice cube tray and it fit perfectly.  As you can see I will get 8 meals out of one tray.  Remember:  I double the recipe!

Thai Red Curry (Paleo, Primal, Whole30, Gluten-Free, Perfect Health Diet)

• Servings: 4
• Time: 20 minutes plus time to soak chiles
• Difficulty: Easy

Red Curry Paste (makes 1/2 cup, enough for 2 curries):
4 large dried red chile peppers (Anaheim, Guajillo, or New Mexico), seeds and tops removed
2 dried or fresh Thai (Bird’s Eye) chiles, seeds, tops, and ribs removed (or 1 Jalapeño chili)
10 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp shrimp paste (or 2 tsp fish sauce)
1 tbsp white peppercorns
3 shallots
grated zest of 1/2 lime
1″ fresh galangal or ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
1 stalk lemongrass, white part only, thinly sliced
small handful of fresh cilantro stems

2 tbsp virgin coconut oil
2 lbs lean steak, chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or shrimp, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 (14 oz) can full-fat coconut milk, divided
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
juice of 1/2 lime (1 tbsp)
small handful of Thai basil leaves

sliced Thai chiles to garnish
lime wedges to garnish
fresh cilantro to garnish

1. Soak the dried chiles in warm water for 30 minutes. Place the soaked chiles, 1/4 cup of the water in which you soaked them, and the rest of the curry paste ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth, adding chile water if needed to help the blending process, then set aside.

2. Warm the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add the steak, chicken, or shrimp. Stir-fry until browned and cooked through, in batches if needed, 1 minute for shrimp, 3 minutes for steak, or 6 minutes for chicken. Remove from the skillet and set aside.

3. Reduce the heat to medium and add 1/4 cup of the curry paste to the skillet. Bring to a simmer and sauté until aromatic and darkened, stirring constantly, about 4 minutes.

4. Add half of the coconut milk and stir to incorporate. Simmer until thick and darkened, about 8 minutes, then stir in the steak, chicken, or shrimp and any accumulated juices. Stir in the remaining coconut milk, fish sauce, and bell pepper and cook until the pepper starts to soften, about 1 minute, then add the lime juice and Thai basil leaves. Taste and add salt if needed, then serve, garnished with sliced Thai chiles, lime wedges, and cilantro.

** The curry paste can be kept in the fridge for a month, and freezes really well. Make a double (or triple) batch, separate it into 1/4 cup portions, and freeze it for easy meals – just be sure to use it within six months or so.

** If you’re not up for making your own curry paste, I recommend using the Maesri or Mae Ploy pre-made pastes. The Maesri version has added sugar, but otherwise they both have very clean ingredients lists (but beware that they are a bit spicier than my paste above).

I have become a big fan of his site and have made other recipes as well. Here is the link:
https://thedomesticman.com/2015/12/01/thai-red-curry/#more-12769