Ahhh, morning

>> Sunday, June 27, 2010

This is what I love in the mornings: a fresh & pipping hot cup of coffee, flowers (grown by me) in a recycled glass milk jar, the porch swing Ryan built with his own two hands, and beautiful sunshine. Looking forward to this inspirational start tomorrow!

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Followed by a Lovely Morning

>> Thursday, June 24, 2010


I present...the garden! Ryan and I planted our first garden this year. We also built the concrete retaining wall next to the garden this spring. We still need to stain the wall, but I think it's looking pretty good. Ryan is so darn handy! Above is the whole garden and a head of cabbage, to the right is an Asian lily from one of my flower beds, below is about half of our garden, bottom left is our first tomato, and the bottom right shows our blossoming scarlet runner beans. The owl was gift from my mom. I love it.

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A Wonderful Evening

The sun was out and so were we! I made some ribs, melon salad, and was determined to enjoy my evening with Ryan. Enjoy we did. Ryan took the pictures below as evidence. (Featured:our wedding china, Lucy, and Alley Cat.)


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>> Monday, June 21, 2010

People will let you down-they will.
I will let you down. Not intentionally,
but I will.
You may not tell me when I do
You're that kind of person.

For now,
I will revel in the way you look at me.
I know you won't always have that contentment
in your eyes, however,
I may loose the ability to see it before it disappears.

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Winding down

>> Tuesday, June 15, 2010

School is winding down. I have finished all my coursework for my certification, and I only have three days of class left. I then present my research (702 project) for my Master's degree. I love the feeling of finishing, but am adjusting to the reality of no longer being a student, sigh, and entering the "real world". I know I will always be a "student", but it will be a change for me.

Also big news, I am going to be an aunt! Ryan's brother and wife are expecting their first child this Christmas. We are so excited!

I have a feeling this year will bring many things to be thankful and excited for. The roller coaster of landing a teaching position continues, however, hopes are high this week. Next week could be a different story.

For now, my thoughts are on my research. I'm discovering the effects of integrating art into an English classroom. So far, so good. The best part: all evidence collected is from the students I taught. I've been gathering surveys, interviews, and examples of their work. This means I get to visit the school. Hopefully, I won't be just a visitor next year:-).

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Seriously

>> Tuesday, June 8, 2010

I'm not one to "discover" great music online. My good friend, Abby, so gracefully accepts the challenge of introducing new music to me. However, I stumbled across this blog complete with this music. LOVING IT! Check it out.

P.S.
My favorite is "Ride". So soulful and inspiring.

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A Frida Fiesta!

>> Sunday, June 6, 2010

Thursday night was my Friday night, and I was determined to party like in Mexico. I called Ryan and told him to plan for a fiesta for two... he was intrigued. Little did he know I would be in the kitchen for half the night preparing a meal that would be devoured in silence in less that fifteen minuets. This was a good thing.

I would love to knit or paint, but my creativity seems to burst out in my good old 1950's kitchen. I'm always surprised that the oven turns on. Anyway, with all this school work I needed to let loose, open some sangria, and make Frida Kahlo's "Chiles in Walnut Sauce". This recipe calls for 28 ingredients, 11 kitchen gadgets/utensils, and 2.5 hours. Don't be intimidated. This dish is amazing.

I found the recipe in this cookbook:


























The end result:






































Oh my! I made up some Mexican rice, red beans, and set the table with fresh flowers from the garden. We used our wedding china and enjoyed the fruits of my labor. Below is the recipe. I only made up six chiles for our dinner, so I froze the remainder of the walnut sauce and filling for another time. When that time comes, the process will only include roasting the peppers, making the egg batter, and frying the chiles up.

A few tips:

-Make the walnut sauce first and put it in the fridge while you're fussing with everything else. (You will need extra 1/2 and 1/2)

-Use your food processor, if you have one, for the walnut sauce. (Thanks Dad and Carey)

-Have someone help with the coating, dipping, and frying of the peppers. Chances are the peppers will split a little, and a spatula comes in handy when delicately putting the delicious peppers in the pipping hot corn oil.

-Use corn oil. It's the right thing to do.

-Don't be afraid if the peppers split a little or a lot. They are supposed to be tender. The egg batter will really help hold it all together.

-Read all the directions before you begin.

-Have fun and realize you are creating a dish from Frida Kahlo's recipe box! Simply amazing.

Enjoy and let me know what happens...or doesn't. It's always good to hear feedback.

Chiles in Walnut Sauce:


12 poblano chiles, roasted, seeded, and deveined
Flour
6 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon salt
Corn oil
3 pomegranates, seeded
Parsley

FILLING


2 pounds ground pork
1 onion, quartered
2 garlic cloves
8 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cups tomato puree
1 apple, peeled and finely chopped
2 peaches, peeled and finely chopped
2 plantains, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 cup candied citron, finely chopped
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup blanched almonds, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and pepper

WALNUT SAUCE

2 cups walnut halves
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1 cup queso fresco (or feta)
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup sherry
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Rinse the chiles and pat them dry. Spoon some of the filling inside each one, being careful not to overstuff. Spread the flour on a plate and turn each chile in the flour to coat lightly. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Beat the egg yolks with the salt. Gently fold the yolks and whites together to make a batter. Dip the chiles into the batter to cover completely.

Heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a heavy skillet. Fry the chiles, one or two at a time, until lightly browned. Drain on brown paper.

The chiles can be served cold or at room temperature. Dip the chiles in the Walnut Sauce until completely covered. Arrange the chiles on a platter. Cover with a little more sauce, if needed. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and sprigs of parsley.

To make the filling, place the pork, quartered onion, and garlic in a saucepan. Cover with water and boil for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside, discarding the onion and garlic.

Heat the butter in a large skillet and saute the chopped onion for about 4 minutes, until translucent. Add the tomato puree and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the meat, fruit, citron, raisins, almonds, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

To make the Walnut Sauce, puree all the ingredients. If the sauce is too thick, add more half-and-half.

Here's Frida bidding you good luck...at least I imagine she is. Isn't she lovely?

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