Wednesday, January 30, 2013

CHORIZO STUFFED DATES WRAPPED IN BACON

There's this great restaurant in town, that I love, because they serve food that's Farm To Table.  Meaning, they shop at the farmer's market like me and they buy locally, they call that a locavore. That's me, that's this restaurant.  5 Stars, in my opinion. Sontes. And they also have my art hanging up in there. : )

So when they first opened 6 years ago, they had on their menu Chorizo Stuffed Dates.  They were wrapped in bacon and served with a simple tomato sauce.  They took them off a few years ago and brought them back on on their anniversary date this year.  Well, since I had some left over dates from the Date, Goat Cheese, Proscuitto and Caramelized Onion pizza and some Chorizo and Enchilada Sauce from the Chorizo and Bison Enchiladas, I thought I would try my own version.

CHORIZO STUFFED DATES WRAPPED IN BACON











8 oz chorizo
8 Medjool Dates
8 slices of bacon
1 cup leftover (or not) enchilada sauce


Cook chorizo in a frying pan.










Cut dates in half.









Remove pit and separate.














Fill date with cooked chorizo.









Wrap with bacon and secure with a toothpick.











Place a little sauce in a baking dish and place filled dates in.  I put some sauce on top and then after baking it realized it would be better to pour some heated sauce over the top after broiling.















Broil in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until nicely browned.








Enjoy!
 CHORIZO STUFFED DATES WRAPPED IN BACON

8 oz chorizo
8 Medjool Dates
8 slices of bacon
1 cup leftover (or not) enchilada sauce

Cook chorizo in a frying pan
Cut dates in half.
Remove pit and separate.
Fill date with cooked chorizo.
Wrap with bacon and secure with a toothpick.
Place a little sauce in a baking dish and place filled dates in.
Broil in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until nicely browned.
Pour some heated sauce over the top after broiling.

Enjoy! 











Tuesday, January 29, 2013

MY SHOULDERS ARE STUCK TO MY EARLOBES

earlobes. shoulders. stuck. together.

Yes, this is what is happening to me right now.  It's not like I really live a stressful life, but something very stressful happened last week to me.  So stressful that I thought my entire reputation could have been ruined and that led to the glueing of my shoulders to my earlobes.  You know what I mean, when your shoulders keep rising closer and closer to your ears as you are stressing out?  I'm clinching my teeth and fuming, scrambling to save my reputation from being flushed down the toilet, all because I trusted someone, and I probably shouldn't have.  Oh well, live and learn in that matter.

However when it leads to one being so stressed out that my entire body goes into shock and I can't move my neck and the pain is so excruciating that even double doses of Tylenol with Codeine don't stop the pain, then you know you are in trouble. And it's time to take a break. I work hard to try and stay in homeostasis - on a daily basis really - but this incident really hurt.  I've been a victim of stress since I was a teenager, suffering from an estranged esophagus when I when 17, so I do my best to keep some down time on my agenda as much as possible, meditate and take long trial rides when possible to forget about reality.

So I made an appointment to see my chiropractor today.  He unglued my earlobes form the top of my shoulders and I feel a little better and get to go back tomorrow, although I'm not heeding most of his advice: stay off the computer, don't ride a horse, and drink some wine.  One out of three ain't bad.  Ok, two, I just am on the computer.

So this one will be short because I can already feel the tension coming back into my shoulders and my health means more to me then most things.  And maybe I'll save myself if my editor from Fuel Your Photography reads this, he'll understand why I didn't get that article written yet.



THE CHAT - WITH JEN AND PAM

We did another chat last week, Jen, Pam and I and it was grand fun.  How can you not have fun chatting with two beautiful, witty women talking about the cold barren, Minnesota winter blahs???  The Post Bulletin decided to use my image for the on-line version - IDK why, but they did. So there I am - all aglow, egads!

Having a sunny outlook on winter:


Sunday, January 27, 2013

SCARRED BY OATMEAL

 I was scarred as a child.  Several times, but the worst was the oatmeal incident.

Let me explain. I was in middle school, on a week long camp, staying in a cabin with five other girls.  It was torture really.  Except for the nature hikes and the cooking of some of our meals in the great outdoors.  If I remember correctly, it was organized by the school and cost quite a bit of money to sign up for it.  But I guess I thought it would be more fun at the time.  Really, it wasn't that bad.  Just … well… it was the oatmeal.

We had a couple meals that the camp counselors took us out in the woods to cook over an open fire, which was great, especially when we made tacos the one night.  Our counselor, Karen led the pack that night and assigned each one of us a task at preparing the meal.  "Dawn, you chop the lettuce, and Stacy, you prepare the meat, and Steve, you cut the cheese."

A round of murmured giggles ensued.

She didn't get it.

 So she kept saying that, "Steve, you cut the cheese."  After each statement the volume of our giggles became increasingly louder.

She still didn't get it.

Until we finally burst out in full blown laughter did she finally ask, "What?  What is so funny?"

I took us nearly an hour to contain our laughter long enough to spit out the explanation, "You keep saying Steve cut the cheese!"  and more laughter would ensue. On the ground rolling laughter.

"What?  What does that mean?"  Karen asked.

"It means …. (giggle, giggle)  that he ….(giggle)  FARTED!"

The uproarious laughter echoed throughout the forest.


(Middle school humor)











So for the rare exception of cutting the cheese and making tacos, most of the meals were prepared by the kitchen staff in a great big dining hall.  Several mornings we had great breakfasts consisting of eggs and sausage, one day there were pancakes, and one day there even was bacon!  Oh, be still my heart! Then there was Thursday morning breakfast.

I came into the dining hall waiting eagerly for some tasty things to inhale after not eating for 12 hours (another scary part of not being in a place where you can have food anytime you want - I need to eat every few hours, it's my metabolism).  As I walked into the hall and took my seat at the cool kids table (just kidding, I was never the cool kid), I noticed what looked to be a mushy type of rice in the middle of the dining table.  There were bowls of brown sugar, regular sugar, honey and some small glasses of cream.  I turned to the girl beside me and asked, "What is it?"  She answered, "Oh awesome!  It's oatmeal!"  I didn't want to sound stupid so I agreed, "Awesome, oatmeal."  Still not sure what the heck it was or what I should do with it.

I sat there quietly for a moment, adjusting my shirt and napkin, waiting to see what others would do with the rancid looking oatmeal.  They took a bowl, filled it up with the pasty white stuff and proceeded to pour all kinds of crap into it.  Trying to appear like I knew what I was doing, I did the same thing, grabbed a bowl and slowly filled it with the white glop.  I wanted to see if it was edible before I added anything to the mixture, because I felt that adding more stuff would really waste the good stuff - like the sugar.  I have a problem with wasting food.  Probably has something to do with another childhood incident.

Then it happened.  I opened my mouth, placed the spoon with the pasty, white glob of rancid goo on it into my mouth.  As I sat there for  moment, I thought to myself, "I could spit this out across the room and be made fun of for the entire remainder of the week at camp and be the laughing stock in school for the remainder of the year, or I could swallow it and gag til the cows came home."  I chose the latter.  I sacrificed myself.

When I finished washing that crap down with an entire glass of water, I looked around the room for some saving grace - a piece of fruit, a saltine cracker - anything that would curve my hunger pangs and allow me to get the heck of sight of this white glob and sucky oatmeal.  Nothing.  NOTHING!

So to save face, I decided to try what others were doing:  adding stuff to it.  First I tried some milk, that just watered it down and made it appear to be tapioca pudding, which in my opinion is the most disgusting creation known to man.  So I held back another gagging episode and went in for the brown sugar.  And then I added butter, then some honey.  At this point the food in my bowl no longer resembled food, it resembled baby shit.  That was all I could take.  I ran from the room, out the back door and hurled.

And then starved until lunchtime.

So this is why, when I read that oatmeal was excellent for controlling cholesterol, I revisited the notion of eating the crap.

Bob has been eating it for years in his cereal, so we had some in the house.  I have made many a good oatmeal cookie over the years too, so  it's not like I banned oatmeal from the premises in a attempt to remove the permanent scar I incurred on the fateful day back at the camp.

I opened the cupboard, found the oatmeal and read the directions.  Poured some water in the bowl and added the instant oats and nuked it for a minute.  I pulled it out of the microwave and began having flashbacks!  I stood there looking at the glob and light brown goo and started to feel nauseous.  But I braved on.  I took a spoon, closed my eyes, and with all the might I could muster - and with the occasional pause and shake - I put the goo in my mouth.

Suddenly I knew.  That the middle school camp chefs had no idea how to cook oatmeal! I had suffered in that moment from childhood for no reason but probably to the quiet pleasure of the camp counselors watching me barf out the back door. This tasted like warm, wonderful oats!  No more thoughts of baby poop, no more thoughts of upchucking!  I had found something that actually tasted - well -ok. I added a little salt and pepper and some butter and all was well with the world.

Now I think that if everyone could conquer their fears of oatmeal like I did, the world would be freed of all their burdens.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

SUNDAY: EGGS AND BISCUITS

It was Sunday the other day.  Oh, you probably knew that!  Silly me!  But It's winter, it's time for comfort food and in spite of my cholesterol problem, I still wanted some biscuits and eggs.  So I made some.  There.  My bad.  I believe in eating well bit I also believe in doing things in moderation.  Moderation is the key to a healthy life.  The only thing you shouldn't eat in moderation is fruits and veggies.  And Chocolate.  And red wine.

Yes, it's true: red wine and chocolate, they say it's good for reducing cholesterol and I'm stickin' to this!

Plus if you use real, farm-raised eggs, not the factory farm eggs, they have:
 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene


Read more at Mother Earth News.

So there.  Take that cholesterol!


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

THE ENERGIZER BUNNY STRIKES AGAIN!

I have been feeling so good lately!  So good that I have more energy then I have had in a long time.  I was depressed. It's winter. Its 0 outside and there's hardly any sun.  My vitamin D necessity was at an all time high. I miss my kids.  I miss the warmth of the sun on my face and a horse between my legs. I miss….

Oh well, I snapped out of it!  Or something came over me - or it's so boring being inside all the time that I just have to do something!

So I cleaned.

SHOCKING!  I know.  But I do this every winter it seems.  Like when I cleaned out the closet that winter.

So now I'm seeing a pattern.  I have patterns.  Wow.

The other day, I not only cleaned out the drawers in the kitchen that were, like, not done for what seemed like years, like the plastic container drawer, the junk drawer and the utensil drawer, I also cleaned out under the bathroom sink, my desk 'in-box', my hall closet again, the drawers in my dresser AND took a bunch of clothes to GoodWill!  Phew!  Now it's time for wine.

I didn't take before pics, that would be inappropriate for blogging.  But here's the 'after' shots:
The plastic container drawer now has room to add more.


This is what came out of the junk drawer
So it now looks like this

and I can find the utensils I need for cooking. Finally

Monday, January 21, 2013

CHICKEN LEFTOVERS

I love using leftovers and creating new dishes from them.  A couple days ago, I took some leftover chicken, sautéed some julienne cut zucchini and topped it off with some of the leftover enchilada sauce from the Chorizo and Ground Bison Enchiladas I made the other day and added some cheese.  This is what lunch looks like in my house:

Friday, January 18, 2013

CHATS AND SOCK MONKEYS

So, I have my friend Jen Koski, that is a writer and editor for a couple of Rochester's publications:  The Post Bulletin and Rochester Magazine.  She's about as cute as a bug in a rug.  A while back she asked if I would teach her how to make cheese, and I did.  That was a fun day!

Actually the funny part about how we met Jen was in direct correlation of what a small town Rochester really is and what a small world is.  And the fact that all the cool people end up meeting each other, eventually. And because Jen knows all the cool people in town, and we don't.

So Jen was at a fundraiser for  - I don't know what - and Bob's Theatre Group, Vertigo Theatre Factory, donated for the the silent auction: A CHANCE TO BE AN EXTRA ON A YOU TUBE VIDEO SERIES - THE BARN BAR.

Silly Jen, she bid on it and won. Little did she know what she was getting into.  But that's another story.

So after that, Jen learned to appreciate our craziness and occasionally asks me to do stuff with her as fodder for her articles.  Which I am totally fine with that.  I have  blog, about my life, and I have several Facebook pages:  I'm already really exposed.

So Jen asked me and our dear friend Pam Whitfield to join in on her new column idea for the paper- THE CHAT. The concept was to be a little like The View, on TV, ya know the show, with Barbara, Whoopi, Joy, Elisabeth and  Sherri?

Me either.  I don't watch TV but I have kinds heard of it.  So I was game for a good time!

This is the first article.


Now I searched online at the PB and couldn't find the link.  It disappeared.  well, I'll get Jen on the task.

We did a couple the other night, back to back and I think we did even better.  When I am with a couple of funny, witty women, I can whip out the funny, but I really am not a 'fly by the seat of my pants' humorist.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

CATS DO NOT LIKE TO SHARE - JUST SAYIN'

No, not when it's your beddy-bye basket.  And little ol' Cashew just wanted to stick up for his sister, Bear.

Winky was inside again.  I really can tell she's getting older now.  She is not comfortable with the cold air outside, even though she does have a great little place to hang out thats' heated; my old office!  It's still my workshop for food images and framing so it is comfortable, heated and has a couch.  But she has chosen to come inside, for now.

But back to the beddy-bye basket.  Winky saw the basket and couldn't help herself.  I mean, who could, right?  It's  a beddy-bye basket with a burlap blankie!









So there she was:  Winky - in the basket!










Then Cashew awoke from his deep slumber and noticed her:









It took him a moment to realize the intensity of this faux pas at beddy-bye basket etiquette, but once noticed he quickly responded with a strike to the head!









Winky retaliated with several power punches to the face!

and then it was over.  Statement made.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

CHORIZO & GROUND BISON ENCHILADAS

I felt a little like I needed some more comfort food the other day.  It's winter. It's 10 degrees outside.  Comfort food is the way to go when it's like this, don't you think?

I wanted something kinda quick too. So I pulled out some packages outta the cupboard.  Like packaged enchilada sauce and Spanish rice.  I always encourage looking at ingredient labels.  I did for the rice and enchilada sauce and neither had anything in it I couldn't pronounce so we're good.

I was thinking that enchiladas are filled with just one ingredient or two, but I like my veggies and added them as well.  The more veggies you can consume the better off you are.  GO VEGGIES!

But I did some research an look at all the varieties of enchiladas there are:

Varieties include (from Wikipedia):
  • Enchiladas con chile colorado (with red chile) are made with traditional red enchilada sauce, composed of dried red chili peppers soaked and ground into a sauce with otherseasonings. However, red enchilada sauce may also be tomato-based with red chilis added.[15]
  • Enchiladas con mole, instead of chili sauce, are served with mole,[16] and are also known as enmoladas.[17]
  • Enchiladas placera are Michoacán plaza-style, made with vegetables and poultry.[18]
  • Enchiladas poblanas are soft corn tortillas filled with chicken and poblano peppers, topped with oaxaca cheese.[19]
  • Enchiladas potosinas originate from San Luis Potosi, Mexico and are made with cheese-filled, chili-spiced masa.[20]
  • Enchiladas San Miguel are San Miguel de Allende-style enchiladas flavored with guajillo chilies by searing the flavor into the tortillas in a frying pan.[4]
  • Enchiladas suizas (Swiss-style) are topped with a white, milk or cream-based sauce, such as béchamel. This appellation is derived from Swiss immigrants to Mexico who established dairies to produce cream and cheese.[21]
  • Enchiladas verdes (green enchiladas) are made with green enchilada sauce composed of tomatillos and green chilis.
  • Enfrijoladas are topped with refried beans rather than chili sauce; their name come from frijol, meaning "bean".[22][23]
  • Entomatadas are made with tomato sauce instead of chile sauce.[1]
  • Gravy-style enchiladas are the dominant variety found throughout South and Central Texas. These have a gravy-like chili sauce over either cheese-filled or beef-filled corn tortillas, and are topped with a layer of cheese.[citation needed]
  • Enchiladas montadas, stacked enchiladas, are a New Mexico variation in which corn tortillas are fried flat until softened but not tough, then stacked with red or green sauce, chopped onion and shredded cheese between the layers and on top of the stack. Ground beef or chicken can be added to the filling, but meat is not traditional. The stack is often topped (montada) with a fried egg. Shredded lettuce and sliced black olives may be added as a garnish.[24]


So here we go:

CHORIZO & GROUND BISON ENCHILADAS

Ingredients:
4 oz chorizo
4 oz ground bison
1 can of refried beans (I went with the no-fat kind - since cholesterol seems to be my problem lately)
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz shredded pepper jack cheese (Ok, no comments on the fat filled cheese!)
1 red pepper - chopped (or I used those tiny little sweet red and yellow peppers)
1 onion - chopped
6-8 corn tortillas

1 package enchilada sauce - made to package directions
1 package Spanish rice - made to package directions

first add some oil to the skillet and saute the chopped peppers and onions

 add the chorizo and ground bison.  Cook thoroughly.  Remember, some chorizo does not brown like ground bison/beef, so it will stay red.  Why?  That's a mystery yet to be solved.













Layer some refried beans on the tortilla.















Then some of the chorizo/bison/pepper mixture.
















then some of both cheeses.















roll up and place into a baking dish.














add some more cheese



pour some enchilada sauce on top


















then some more cheese (if you already ate most of the cheese like I did, grate some more)

and more cheese
















Bake in a 375 degree oven until heated through and cheese is all melted and gooey.
















Serve with rice and extra sauce on top if you like.
















and eat lots of guac with corn chips while waiting for the enchiladas to bake.


















CHORIZO & GROUND BISON ENCHILADAS

Ingredients:
4 oz chorizo
4 oz ground bison
1 can of refried beans
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz shredded pepper jack cheese
1 red pepper - chopped (or I used those tiny little sweet red and yellow peppers)
1 onion - chopped
6-8 corn tortillas

1 package enchilada sauce - made to package directions
1 package Spanish rice - made to package directions

1.    First add some oil to the skillet and sauté the chopped peppers and onion.
2.    Add the chorizo and ground bison.  Cook thoroughly.  Remember, some chorizo does not brown like ground bison/beef, so it will stay red.  Why?  That's a mystery yet to be solved.
3.    Layer some refried beans on the tortilla.
4.    Layer some of the chorizo/bison/pepper mixture.
5.    Top with some of both cheeses.
6.    Roll up and place into a baking dish.
7.    Add some more cheese.
8.    Pour some enchilada sauce on top
9.    Then sprinkle some more cheese on top.

Bake in a 375-degree oven until heated through and cheese is all melted and gooey. About 20 minutes.

Serve with rice and extra sauce on top if you like.



Monday, January 14, 2013

WE GOT OUR JOHN DEERE HATS!

Yessiree!  We did!  After the purchase of our John Deere tractor, we received a survey in the mail.  After filling out this survey and returning it to John Deere, they stated they would send us a John Deere hat of our choice for free as compensation for our time. I like free stuff. So I filled out the survey. And since Bob already got a hat at the dealership when we purchased the tractor, I decided I needed one too.  However, John Deere is stereotypical in their understanding of men and women and assume that a women should were pink. Men green, women pink.

 I haven't worn pink, ever.

My main reasoning for this is just because of this concept of gender sterotypes. Blue for boys, pink for girls.  I used to dress my girls in the most vibrant, splashy bright colors I could, never pink and never pastels.  Down with gender bias! Ugh!

But… I didn't want the same hat as Bob, I had to be different, so maybe now I'll wear pink.  But only when I am driving the tractor!  Well, maybe only in the summer, because it will clash with my new purple Carhardtt jacket.

So here's my new hat:

It super cool, it says, "Owners Edition" on the brim.















Bob's doesn't.














And here they are side by side.  Mine is still pink.  Bob's is still green.









and here's the best part - mine has their tagline on the back, "Nothing runs like a deere."









I win!!  Even if I have to wear pink.