The Jeannine L Big Heart meal #nameadishchallenge

Garden of kindness

When I wrote my first humble piece here, I wasn't expecting anything. It was a piece about a local tradition that wouldn't have been interesting even for me as a reader. Then the welcoming committee arrived to show the unbelievable support that every member of our community gets without questions. But Jeannine L did something that I was not expecting in the slightest - she actually tried my recipe. It almost made me cry! It didn't go well, thanks to my lame unit conversion, but she did it anyways! A person more than 5000 miles away tried to bake something so distant from her own culture, it might as well have been an alien recipe. A gesture of faith that will always make me smile! So the garden is supported by . . zucchini (still don't like that word) . . improvised with her scallops recipe. I say improvised, I mean ruined, because I've screwed the batter mix and it's mostly battered in eggs and not crunchy stuff.

The right amount of spice

The secret of the garden is what lays within the zucchini. A mix of peppers, spices, herbs, eggs and white brined cheese, carefully fried in a wok with some added kick. I've decided to put some Carolina Reaper seeds in the wok to give it some zesty kick. And it usually works great . . as long as you remember not to mix those seeds with what's cooking. Understandably, I did exactly that and totally forgot about it. It's still great and mildly spicy, as long as you don't hit a Reaper seed, in which case you will be on fire - now, later and tomorrow, but from the other end. 😂

A big heart to unite us all

The main feature of Jeannine L (this is turning suspiciously into a review) is her big heart, which has a place for everyone here, no matter who is it, from where is it and what he/she does. She is supportive, generous with her words of encouragement and most importantly - always honest! She's respectful, measured and always appreciative towards everybody's creations. So that big American heart in the middle is a grilled burger with minced meat 60/40 pork/beef, a little bit of grated butter, a drop or two of burger chipotle sauce and some local spices. My personal perfect blend for soft and juicy inside with well done outside. And I haven't screwed this one up in any way! Because the heart is the most important! ❤️