Progressive!

Isn't this exciting!  I found a good progressive photo for us.  This should be a fun one that, if we want, we can follow for months.  Seven days ago (that is what he tells me anyway), Kirby planted seed in these little containers.  There is Swiss Chard, Tomatoes and Bell Peppers.  The peppers haven't come up yet.  But just look at those little guys after just seven days!  And just guess where they are sitting?  Yup, you guessed it - in the new Sun Room!

No Progressives

I was going to post my new progressive pictures but they look just like they did last week - boring!  I guess I am anxious for them to show little leaves budding and pretty flowers.  Winter has been very mild and allergies are going to be brutal but my trees and weeds are not getting green yet.

I am really really tired and I think it must be allergies as there is just no reason for this.  I wish I had a picture to offer you but I don't so, well, maybe tomorrow.  Have a good evening, everyone!

If you want, you can visit my friend, Joan's blog.  She is much more interesting than I am. :)

The Sun Room - Done!

OK, you have seen this view before.  We are getting there on this room.  Of course all of Kirby's work has been finished for some time now.  We have just been waiting on me to select furniture and buy it.

Today I finally found something for the window wall.  It just looked so plain without something there.  I still haven't decided what to do for window treatment, if anything at all.  Or pictures on the walls.  So, I guess for now - DONE!!

This is the whole thing - a fun little room!  (with a decorator doggie door and doggie rug!)  And a warm room. 

I just realized that I never took a picture of the air conditioner that Kirby installed.  I will do that next.  He did a great job...it will cool my whole kitchen in the summer too and I will LOVE that!!

One Day Vacation Part 2

I guess I should have at least given you a sampling of my pictures from our One Day Vacation on Saturday.  This is a lovely old split rail fence near the entrance of Hampton Plantation.

And - a picture of the waterfront at Georgetown.  Enjoy!

Progressive 1

I am doing progressive photos as we head into spring and summer and well maybe even fall.  The problem is that I can't decide what to take pictures of.  I take my camera to work with me every Monday morning.  I park in a wired little spot just before I get to work and take this picture of the train - if the train is there that day.

Then I go on to my usual parking place and take this picture of the flag in front of the building.  It is really hard to remember exactly where to stand and where to focus the camera!

So, after taking the "flag" (can you see it?), I turn just a little and take a picture of the front door of our building.  It is interesting to see what cars are there each time and to watch the sky.

Then after work I take a picture of the pear tree in the neighbors yard.  So, which one do you think will end up being the most interesting as the season's change?  We will find out!

A One Day Vacation

I have started putting my pictures on Smugmug - mostly to keep them safe, but I really do like the way they present the pictures.   They just seem to look better than on something like Picasa.  So, I will give you the link every now and then.  Here is today's link.  We went to Hampton Plantation yesterday and then on to Georgetown for lunch and a walkabout.  It was a one day vacation and it worked.  I came home relaxed, took a nap, rested for the remainder of the evening and today I felt much better.  Yea for one day vacations!  They work!

Pablano Sauce

This is a great little sauce to do so many things with.  It is simple and easy to make, spicy and versatile.  I put it over pork loin but you could put it on chicken also.  You could brown the chicken and then pour the sauce over and bake it.  Kirby thought I should make it into soup and I agreed as I found myself eating it by spoonfuls after dinner as I was cleaning up.  I know, shame on me!  ( add some chicken broth and chopped chicken and I think you might have a winner!)


OK, here it is -

2 large poblano chiles
1/4 C. milk
1/4 C. butter
1 T. Flour
1 C. heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt

Fire the chiles to remove the skin.  There are a couple of ways to do this.  You could use the broiler in your oven - especially if you have an electric stove.  Place them on a broiler pan and cook close to the heat.  Keep a close eye on them and turn as needed.  I prefer to cook them over an open flame.  Just put them at the end of a big fork and hold them over the flame on your stovetop.  Turn frequently so that they will cook evenly.

Cook until they are black and chard looking.  Place them in a plastic bag to cool.  After 15 minutes peel the burned skin off.

Remove the stem, seeds and membrane and put the peeled chiles into a food processor with the 1/4 cup of milk and process until smooth.

In a sauce pan melt the butter and and the flour.  Stir until smooth.  Add the chile puree and stir.  Add the cream and stir constantly over low heat until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from the heat and add the salt.  You can let it sit for a few hours if you want to make it ahead of time.  Just reheat it over low heat.

You could make it look nice instead of so plain like I did it. Sprinkle on some chopped parsley or cilantro. Even some chopped pimento would be nice. I was lazy!

Mexican Pozole

I guess this was just a day for food and cooking.  It was cold today and when I am cold there is nothing that sounds better than hot soup.  A few years ago I got a big hunger for Pozole which I had enjoyed in Mexico.  I went searching the internet where of course you can find a recipe for ANYTHING and then I combined the ingredients and processes of a few different ones and came up with this.

Pozole is a Mexican Pork Stew made with hominy.  In Mexico you can buy hominy in the refrigerated section of the store and you have to cook it like beans - a couple of hours.  I have never seen it in the states that way.  I think that maybe in some areas of the country you might be able to find it frozen but certainly not in South Carolina. (I had trouble even finding the canned variety)  I also would have preferred dried chilies but we don't have those either.  This is a spicy and hearty soup that is perfect for a cold evening!  (I forgot to get a picture!)

• 6-8 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1½ pounds pork shoulder
• 1 T. dried oregano flakes
• 1/3 C. flour
• 2-3 T. canola oil
• ¼ C. olive oil
• 64 oz chicken broth
• 2 cans of hominy, drained
• 4 canned chipotle chilies including seeds, chopped fine.

1. Cut the pork into ¾ inch cubes.  Put the flour in a plastic bag and add the pork cubes.  Shake to coat well.
2. Heat the canola oil in a large stock pot and add the pork.  Cook and stir over medium heat until the pork is browned.  Add the olive oil and the onion and garlic.  Cook another 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent.
3. Add the chicken broth, oregano and the chilies.
4. Simmer covered until the pork is tender.  Add the drained hominy and heat through.

Optional – top with one or more of the following:

• Grated cheese
• Chopped onion
• Chopped radish
• Shredded cabbage
• Crushed tortilla chips

Sunday Brunch - At Home

We thought about going out to brunch but the place we wanted to go doesn't open until 11:30 and by then half the day is over.  So, we decided, again, to have brunch at home.  Yum...Mimosas!!

I scrambled up some farm fresh eggs (that I get from a friend at work), hot Jimmy Dean Sausage, onion,  and bell pepper.  I topped that with pepper jack cheese.  I found some little potatoes that Kirby had bought and chopped them up and then fried them with onion (Like my moma used to do). Some toast and the mimosa and it was pure success! 

Oh, and we had Les Paul and Mary Ford join us.  I especially loved "Tennessee Waltz" and my all time favorite "Mockingbird Hill". We found ourselves reminiscing about being eight years old and how we both were in love with our 3rd grade teachers.  I wonder if that is common........

Tilt Shift

I used an online photo tool on this picture.  It is called Tilt Shift and it really is pretty fun.

Sewee Shell Mound

Jake (my dog) and I visited Sewee Shell Mound (or Ring) on Sunday.  It was a warm and dry day so we set off for the 15 minute drive to the Francis Marion National Forest.  Finding streets and roads in South Carolina can be a challenge if you were not born and raised here so of course I took the wrong road but somehow it got me there anyway.  I did notice that one of the roads they showed on the map was closed and even if it was open you wouldn't be able to drive it even with a 4-wheeler - it was totally grown up with trees in it!

The trail immediately leads to the dense brown winter woods.  I missed the green of summer but not the bugs of summer so winter really is a good time for the forests.  Jake enjoyed being off leash as there were no others on the trail.  He instinctively knew to stay on the trail which he said was littered with wonderful smells.

With all the brown, this palmetto gave a little relief, but doesn't it look kind of lonely all by itself?

Suddenly we were in a small area that was totally pine trees and it looked like an accumulation of pine needles from the centuries.  I loved it.  Enlarge the picture to enjoy it.

'Notice' that the sign refers to 'Prehistoric' objects.  That's right!  The ruins are believed to be over 4,000 years old!

 This is the Shell Ring or Shell Mound which is believed to have hosted ceremonies for the ancient Indians.

After the woods we came out to a huge marsh.  Why do I always seem to time it at low tide?

 Check it out sometime.  (If you live in the area of course)  We both enjoyed it very much.  But keep in mind when you do go that there is NO bathroom!!

Banana Cake with Pale Ale and Cream Cheese Frosting

As usual, we didn't eat the bananas.  So there I was with 4 ripe bananas and my daughter and her husband coming to dinner.  I needed to make a dessert so of course I went online in search of the perfect Banana Cake recipe.  I ended up at Tasty Kitchen and found a great recipe!  What makes it so good is the ALE!  Yes, ale in the cake.  It makes it so rich and moist and you don't taste the ale...just the yum!

Of course I changed it just a bit but I have to give credit where credit is due - I didn't make this up!  And the good part is that it is the best banana cake ever! Try it next time you buy too many bananas and don't eat them! 

2 sticks of butter
1 cup Pale Ale
4-5 very ripe bananas
2 cups of sugar, divided
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt


1 stick butter, softened
1 8-oz block of cream cheese, softened
2-3 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla

 

Preheat your oven to 350.  In a saucepan combine the 2 sticks of butter and 1 cup of ale over low heat and bring to a simmer.  

In the meantime thoroughly mash, with a fork, bananas with 1/3 cup of sugar.  When the butter/ale mixture has simmered 1 minute, remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.  Stir in banana mixture.  

In a bowl combine the remaining 1 2/3 cups of sugar with the two eggs and vanilla.  With the mixer on low slowly pour in the butter/ale/banana mixture to help temper everything together.  Continue mixing for another 2 minutes.

 

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; add to the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Pour batter into a 9x13 inch pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes (test with a toothpick for doneness).

For the frosting simply cream together the softened stick of butter and softened cream cheese, then add the vanilla.  Add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time until desired consistency is reached.  Spread on the cake and decorate with chopped walnuts if desired.

1