Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Photos for Wednesday

Not a whole lot going on in my head today (it was raining all day and kind of dreary) so I thought I'd share some of my recent photos taken at a friend's horse farm.

On a side note - one of my floorcloths at Bellefonte Arts sold on Sunday!!  The one on top with the Jacks.  I'm so very excited!

And now for your viewing pleasure . . .

Juan the Farrier's anvil and hammer

Juan doing his thing

Setting the shoe


Reclaimed lumber waiting to be re-purposed into furniture

Berry the Cat

   
Chair - in repose
Peace out, yall!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

For the love of scallions

Hey Ya'll!

I came across a blog a few weeks ago (sorry that I didn't keep track of it) where the poster showed that you can regrow scallion greens.  Yep - your heard me right!  Cut the green part, place the white part with the roots in a glass/jar/bottle of water on your windowsill and watch the magic happen. 

I find this to be a fascinating what to get the most out of a bag of scallions and it is kind of nice to have a little green on the windowsill during the winter months.  I know - winter hasn't been all that plentiful in along the mid-Atlantic coast this year but . . . it's the thought that counts. 

Please see the photos below for my humble attempt to provide a photographic log of my own personal scallion revolution!  (I have since realized the error of my back-lighting ways.)

First cut and submersion in water

A few days and several scallions later.  I have also changed the water about every three days to keep things fresh.

This is the progress about 9 days out.



This is just a really cool picture . . .

Peace out, Ya'll!!

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Welcome to Bellefonte Arts!!!


 
 Hey ya'll!  I now have my floor cloths for sale in an artists' gallery - Bellefonte Arts in the historic Bellefonte section of Wilmington DE.   http://www.bellefontearts.com/#!

Check the photos below for a quick walkabout in the gallery and some photos of "my wall"!  Please leave a comment if you are interested in ordering a custom floor cloth!!
 
And please stop by if you are in the area . . . and be sure to hit the First Friday Shop Hop - every first Friday of the month in downtown Bellefonte.  Whoo Hoo!



Entering the gallery

That's the coolest headboard in the first room - hand painted with three rabbits playing instruments. There are also photographs, paintings, jewelry and other goodies throughout the gallery.
This is the room I am in . . .

Taa daa!!

Taa daa . . . again!


Peace out, ya'll!

Friday, February 24, 2012

New exercise regime . . .

I think I'm on to something here . . .

Move 1 - Sit at computer in 2nd floor office
Move 2 - Think of something I need in basement
Move 3 - Go down two flights to basement
Move 4 - Move laundry from washer to dryer
Move 5 - Apply poly acrylic to two floor cloths
Move 6 - Go up one flight to kitchen and make tea
Move 7 - Put dishes away from dishwasher
Move 8 - Go up one flight to office
Move 9 - Sit in front of computer
Move 10 - Remember tea in kitchen
Move 11 - Go down one flight to kitchen to get tea
Move 12 - Go up one flight to office
Move 13 - Sit in front of computer
Move 14 - Remember item not retrieved from basement
Repeat series starting at Move 3

Peace out, ya'll!!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Can you say Satay??

Oh My Gosh!  
Last night, G and I collaborated on creating Satay Chicken with Peanut Sauce.  Let's just say . . . great googilie moogilie, it was good.
We started with a Pork Satay and Peanut Sauce recipe from Food Lover's Asian - a great little cookbook that Sister and B gave to G for Christmas.  We modified a bit to suit our taste and prepared it with . . . chicken.  We devoured it with brown rice that was cooked with a bit of coconut milk, chicken broth and Thai red curry paste along with broccoli steamed in chicken broth with slivered garlic.  Are you drooling yet?  It was all I could to not to have thirds!!


Chicken Satay
1 lb chicken breasts or thighs - cut into 3/4" strips
4 minced garlic cloves (the recipe called for 2)
1 tbsp minced fresh chili pepper of your choice - we used a jalapeno
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 c coconut milk
2 tbsp oil
Salt & pepper

Cut the chicken into 3/4 inch strips.  (I pounded them flat with the side of my chef's knife for more even cooking - see photo below.)   
Mix the remaining ingredients to make marinate, mix well with chicken strips and marinate for 1 hour - or up to 24 hours.

Meanwhile - prepare your sauce
Peanut Sauce
2 tbsp oil
4 minced garlic cloves (the recipe called for minced shallot but we're BIG garlic fans so we switched it up)
1 c peanut butter
1 heaping Tbsp Thai Red Curry paste
1 lime - 1 Tbsp zest and juice
Pinch of sugar - or splash of mirin (sweet Japanese cooking wine)
1/4 c coconut milk
1/4 c chicken broth

Heat oil in pan over medium heat.  Cook garlic until translucent and beginning to brown.  Stir in peanut butter, curry paste, lime zest and juice and sugar / mirin.  The mixture will be very thick at this point.  Stir in enough coconut milk and chicken broth to produce a creamy sauce.  This will thicken as it sits so be prepared to thin with more chicken broth or coconut milk - to taste.

Back to the chicken . . . 

Remove from the marinade and either thread on water soaked skewers.  Grill or broil briefly on each side until cooked through - turning frequently.  (I didn't have skewers so I broiled on a foil covered pan.  Still delicious!!)

Serve with peanut sauce.

2 notes - (1) We didn't do the peanut sauce in the same order as the recipe but it was still delish and (2) you can use pressed tofu in place of the chicken or pork and skewer then grill or broil as directed.  Also delish!


Chicken Strips
Flattened chicken strips
Mincing garlic for marinade and peanut sauce
Ingredients for peanut sauce - the wine in the juice glass went into the chef rather than the sauce

Adding garlic for peanut sauce
Peanut butter lusciousness

Coconut milk going in

Chicken broth going in
Lime zest going in
Lime juice . . . yep . . . going in
Stirring . . .
Too thick . . . adding more chicken stock
Mmmmmmm . . .
Broiled and delicious - pieces on the left have garlic and peppers from the marinade while pieces on the right . . . don't
Broccoli steamed with slivered garlic
Yummm!
It was delish!!

Peace out, ya'll!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Teaser . . . 


The plan for dinner tomorrow is Chicken Satay.  I will take photos and post tomorrow (Saturday) or the next.  It should be scrumptious!!


Peace out, Ya'll!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day, Ya'll!


What could be better than Bacon Hearts for Valentine's Day?  I know its a little late but these would be a cute way to wake your bacon lovers any weekend morning.  : )  Check them out at   http://thepapermama.com/2012/02/bacon-hearts.html and ENJOY!! 

Peace out!!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

What is Celeriac??

What is Celeriac??



 Pretty, isn't it?  No, not really.  But it is delicious.  
Celeriac is also known as Celery Root and it tastes of raw celery
with that tang you often get at the back of the throat
from eating a stalk of raw celery.

This beauty is worth looking for.  When you find it, 
be sure that it is heavy for it's size and firm.
You don't want one that looks dried out.

This evening I made it into a celery root / potato mash
with a bit of butter, milk and salt. 



This is the inside.  It is often a bit "pithy" in the center but still delish.  
Looks almost like a brain with a stem doesn't it? 
Maybe it makes you smarter . . . 


Peeled and ready to dice . . . 


Diced with an equal-ish amount of potatoes.

Follow your favorite mashed potato recipe and
enjoy the slightly tangy, earthy flavor of this delightful vegetable.
I guarantee that none but your foodie-est friends will be
able to tell what you've included to make this mash so amazing!

I apologize here as I missed a photo of the final dish -
it was inhaled for dinner with pulled pork and broccoli.  
Mashed celery root and potatoes looks amazingly like
mashed potatoes without celery root. 
If anyone desires a photo of mashed potatoes for comparison,
just leave a comment and I will get one posted for you right away.
LOL

Peace out, ya'll!!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Philosophy Day . . .



Here's the story - I paint floor cloths.  They are available through our shop on eBay - Umeboshi Dress.

That's Remy over there with my "first" > > >

Many of the designs are ones that I have recreated and I can make adjustments as requested.  And it's fun.  And I can, and have, gotten it done quickly.  Then a customer requested a floor cloth runner with a complicated geometric design that someone else had created.  It took me a good bit to figure out the spacing and things to recreate the original design.  But I did it.  And I made the runner.  And it was good.

And then  . . . a customer requested that runner in a different size.

The fallout of this special request was me sitting at my design (aka "dining") table with a pencil and graph paper and a ruler and a big old eraser doing that tap-the-pencil-on-the-desk-and-stare-off-into-space thing that the folks in the movies do right before inspiration hits.  At some point, this scene morphed into me sitting quietly in a corner . . . rocking back and forth . . . and mumbling something akin to "Fer the love of all that is holy in the universe . . . what do they want from me . . . how am I supposed to figure this out?!?!?"

And then I pulled my self together and I redesigned the runner.  And it was bad.  And I redesigned the runner again.  And it was worse.  And I had to walk away.  I went up to bed, read and fell asleep.  It occurred to me in my morning post-dream-pre-wake zone that perhaps the runner was not turning out the way I thought it should because the way that I thought it should was perhaps not the way the runner needed to be.  Hello . . . light bulb!


So when I was fully awake and standing in the shower I recalled this early morning inspiration and realized . . . da da da daaaaah . . . there are many things in life that are not the way that we think they should be.  (Pssst . . . . here's where the philosophy part comes in . . . )  And many times we can change something of who we are in relation to a situation and the situation - or our perception of it - will change.  Perhaps it is taking a moment to see things from the other side or remembering that there is an "other" side and moving forward with that knowledge.

Anyhew . . . I re-redesigned the runner and it works.  It's supposed to be gloomy weather tomorrow but I will be in my cozy, well lit basement making floor cloth magic.  I wish the same for you . . . in whatever "magic" makes you happy.  And let's all try to look on the bright ("other") side of life . . .

Peace out, ya'll!!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Recipe Day! : )




I woke up this morning and decided to share my dinner from last night with you all.  Well - you know, not the actual dinner from last night but a recreated version because is was so tasty.  And the good new is - I remembered to grab the camera and take pictures of the process.




You will need zucchini, mushrooms, garlic, leftover pork (I used pork butt but you can use tenderloin, rib meat or pork chops that you've sliced thin), some of the pork juice or chicken broth/wine/water and your cheese of choice.

Zucchini and mushrooms halved and thinly sliced.  Garlic is waiting to be chopped.


Garlic has been roughly chopped.  See below for details on the garlic and why it looks mysteriously unlike fresh chopped garlic.

Oil in the pan (because it looks so pretty) with a sprinkle of sea salt.

 Mushrooms and garlic added to the hot pot and oil.

Mushrooms are ready for the addition of the zucchini.

The zucchini has been added and tossed.

 See that piece of zucchini to the left below the mushroom and garlic - that's browned and carmelized.

 The pork and juice (which is gelatinized) have been added.

 
This is the warmed deliciousness all ready for the cheese.

By the time I turned around with the camera, the thinly sliced cheese had started to melt.


Served in a tortilla . . . last night was over buttered noodles but mashed potatoes, baked potato, rice or pilaf would all be delish!


Pork and Veggies with Cheese
(not a very inventive name but yummy none the less)
Serves one - can be multiplied into infinity and is only limited by your quantity of ingredients

Ingredients:
Half of a small zucchini - halved longways and sliced thin
3 or 4 mushrooms - sliced thin
2 to 4 cloves of garlic - minced
1/2 c leftover pork - I used pork butt that I cooked in the crock pot this weekend, you can use any leftover
1/4 c cheese of your choice - I had American
1 T pork juice if available (you can use chicken broth, white wine or water)
Teaspoon of butter or olive oil

Saute the mushrooms and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat until the garlic is tender - about 3 minutes.  Add the zucchini and continue to saute until the zucchini begins to brown.  Add the pork and liquid (pork juice, broth, etc) and toss for a minute or so until heated through.  Top with cheese and cover until melted.

Serve in tortilla or with your starch of choice.  Also delish on a plate or topping a salad if you're going low carb.

Garlic Details:
I buy my peeled garlic in bulk at one of the 'big box stores' and then freeze the whole container.  If you look closely, you can see small ice crystals on the garlic.  Anyhew - I swear to you that the garlic cooks up white and looks just like fresh peeled.  I love this!!  As Martha would say - It's a good thing.  But if you ever meet her, please don't tell her that I freeze my garlic.  She'd never understand!


Peace out, ya'll!