Painting

After looking at houses in different neighborhoods for a few weeks now, we’ve realized that we probably can’t afford what we want, so for the moment at least, we’re back to the idea of adding on to our house.  This suits me just fine.  I love our neighborhood.

September Rain, my version 2012

September Rain, artist's original

I haven’t made anything terribly exciting or photogenic this week since the turkey lettuce wraps I’ve already shared with you.  Last night I went to another Wine and Canvas event with a friend from work.  It was so much fun, and it’s so interesting to see the different versions of the painting that come out of that class.  I learned a few new things about painting in general, and I was pretty pleased with the painting I did.  There are a few details I’d like to improve, but I can see progress in my work since my first one.  I’m looking forward to my oil painting class tomorrow night!  Here’s my latest effort, entitled September Rain, my version.  I’ve also included a photograph of the original by the artist who taught the class.

Simple things

Lettuce Rollups with ground turkey and vegetables

When I was a kid, I used to get such a sense of peace and contentment when I would organize my chest of drawers.  In fact, sometimes when I was supposed to be asleep, I would get my Girl Scout flashlight and just look at an open drawer, marveling at the order.  So I guess I've always known this about myself, but today it became crystal clear that nothing makes me happier than drinking a glass of wine, listening to music while I create a meal for/with friends in my own clean, organized kitchen, where everything is in its place.  It really is the simple things...

Here’s a simple recipe:

Lettuce Rollups

Ingredients

·         1 pound ground chicken, beef, or turkey, or leftover pork roast, minced

·         1 medium carrot, minced or grated

·         1 cup minced leftover broccoli, asparagus, string beans, snow peas, etc.

·         ½ C finely chopped onion

·         ½ C finely chopped celery/bell pepper or other aromatic vegetables

·         1 head romaine lettuce, separated, washed, and dried

·         1 C cooked brown rice

·         Chopped unsalted peanuts or cashews, water chestnuts, jícama and/or green onions for garnish (optional)

Sauce:

·         3 T soy sauce

·         ¼ cup chicken broth or water

·         1 tablespoon cornstarch

·         1 t minced fresh garlic

·         ¼  t grated fresh ginger

·         ¼- ½ t Chinese Five Spice

·         1 T toasted sesame oil

·         Dash of red pepper flakes or Sriracha (optional)

Directions

Preparation: Whisk the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat a large sauté pan or wok on medium-high heat. Cook the meat, untouched, until juices start to be released.

Add the carrot and broccoli or any other vegetables you like.  Break up the meat and continue stirring until the meat is thoroughly cooked.  If the meat is producing a lot of grease, drain it before adding the sauce.

Turn the heat down to medium-low, whisk the sauce again, and add it to the pan. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes more, until well coated.  Add the rice just to heat through.

Serve the meat in a bowl and arrange the lettuce leaves separately on a plate; put the meat mixture in the leaves with a spoon, then sprinkle with whatever garnish you’re using and eat like a taco.

Pantries are Us!

As it turns out, finding a house we can afford with the features we want in a neighborhood we like is no easy endeavor.  We’re going to keep looking, but we’ve decided that in the meantime, if we can address some of the ongoing issues we have with this house, our lives will be simpler, easier, and less annoying.  That can only be good!  So Saturday Derek put together a pantry in the basement from cabinets that were taking up space in the garage. All of our pantry items are now easy to find because they're organized by category, frequency of use and expiration date, and I'm so happy I could wee wee on myself!  Last night I was tempted to get liquored up and just sit downstairs and look at it all night.

Baked penne with mushrooms and broccoli

Last night I made baked penned with chicken, broccoli and mushrooms, and three Italian cheeses: Asiago, Romano and Parmesan.  I had planned to make it on Saturday, but I was too tired from all the organizing, so we ordered Chinese.  I like to use a combination of spinach and whole wheat penne, and we had some leftover broccoli from our garden that’s a lovely bright green.  I used some fresh white mushrooms and an assortment of dried mushroom.  We still have a lot of arugula from our garden, so I made my favorite salad of arugula, tomatoes, red onion, pine nuts and parmesan curls with lemon vinaigrette.  I had every intention of grilling some sliced ciabatta brushed with olive oil, then rubbed with garlic and tomato.  I completely forgot about it!

Earlier this week, I tried Cooks’ Illustrated’s recipe for thin grilled pork chops.  The trick is you pat them dry, salt them and freeze them for a half hour or so, then rub them with a compound butter that has a little brown sugar in it.  Freezing them for a bit keeps them for getting overcooked inside while you’re getting them nicely browned.  This week I’m going to try them again with a black olive tapenade spread on them at the end.  If they look good enough, I’ll post a picture. 

Hope you all had a great weekend.  I think I’m going to go downstairs and gaze at my pantry for a little while.

House hunting

Tilapia Veracruz with Spanish Rice

The weather this weekend has been lovely: cool and crisp, almost like autumn.  Yesterday we met some friends for lunch at our new favorite lunch place, B’s Poboys, that I mentioned last weekend.  Mark and Julie love good food and both are big fans of New Orleans.  They go to New Orleans at least annually, so we were excited to share our new discovery with them.  Before lunch yesterday we drove around looking at houses.  Derek and I need more space, both in the kitchen and in our living areas.  We love our neighborhood and the convenience of it, so we go back and forth about whether to add on to this house and build a new garage, or take advantage of the current low interest rates and buy a new house with more space and more of the features we want.  For me, what is first and foremost is a bigger and more efficient kitchen adjacent to open space for entertaining.  I would also love a swimming pool, but of course, that’s not at the top of Derek’s list.  For him, it would be a Garage Mahal, as he and his dad call it.

Grilled salmon with herb butter and sweet potato grits

Derek's Greek Salad with Lemon Herb vinaigrette

Last night I made Tilapia Veracruz and Spanish rice with peppers and onions.  Before that, we had a simple salad of lettuce from our garden, tomato, avocado and red onion with citrus vinaigrette.  Friday night Derek prepared grilled salmon with herb butter preceded by a Greek salad with Lemon Herb vinaigrette.  So we’ve eaten pretty healthy food this weekend.  Tonight I can have some Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream with no guilt attached.  And tomorrow night is my first of eight oil painting classes.  J