Good Friends and Too Short Visits

Nothing is better than having wonderful friends come visit after a lengthy separation.  But having my wonderful sweet special friend Priscilla come in and spend Wednesday through Sunday with us here in Prescott, leaving hubby Bill in Santa Cruz to hold down the fort and get some needed chores accomplished prior to their leaving for their summer place in Silverton, BC Canada in June, was a very very special occassion.

I picked her up at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix on Wednesday, and we proceeded North on I-17 to Rock Springs, where we had lunch. I was sad to see a change in menu—both in prices and in offerings--seems they are concentrating on pies these days and lots of fried and heavy food when I was looking forward to the hand dipped fried zucchini that I have often enjoyed there. But we had a leisurely lunch with more catching up and sharing, and then back on the road to Prescott.  We arrived and were greeted by Roy & Guayo, both happy to see us.

During the next few days, we played, shopped, saw the sites of Prescott, and enjoyed being together and talking, catching up on our lives since the last time we had been together.  We went out to Willow Lake and hiked around the lake, taking in the outrageous rock formations. They absolutely look alien to me!  She also helped with some gardening chores—as if they ever end whether you have company or not!  And gave me some valuable information for the garden. The biggest being, if I want a bunch of pesto in the freezer for the winter, I’d best plant more than the 7 basil plants that are in the garden. So, off to Home Depot, and 8 more plants came home with me, along with large planters to put them in. When we stopped at Mortimer earlier in the day, I finally found tarragon and purchased 3 plants, putting them into new pots also.  We sat in the garden in the warmth of the sun, talked, and just relaxed and enjoyed being together on Thursday as I was a bit under the weather.

But Friday and Saturday I was my old self, so we took off leaving Roy & Guayo to keep the home safe from marauding burglars and javelina. We scoured the nooks and crannies of the Habitat For Humanity shop, Yavapai Humane Society Thrift Shop, Edelweiss, antique shops, mini-malls downtown, walked around the beautiful shaded Courthouse Square, went to my favorite consignment shop, Under The Eaves (whoo hooo...I found an arbor that is even more spectacular than I'd been dreaming of..thanks Laura & Jean!), and of course I spent more than Priscilla!  She did purchase a gorgeous linen blouse with flower cutouts on the side in front that looked adorable on her at Sam & London’s, along with some fabric and a little glass bluebird. Did I say Priscilla and Bill and fantastic birders, loving sightings and findings of our little furry friends while treking here in there in a number of wilderness areas around the U.S.?  Well, they are!

Guayo Jane & Roy in dining room

We ate at LaBruzza’s on her last night with us, enjoying the good food and the fact that we could walk there and back with no problem, thus avoiding the ever burgeoning parking lot. But the rest of the week  meals at home.  One breakfast was an omelete with goat cheese and chives along with crispy croissants; we had a homemade Chicken Pot Pie, filled with chunks of chicken that had been marinated in Agua Negra marinade and grilled whole on the grill outside and in which I used rice flour to thicken the sauce. The addition of some Herbs de Provence and Fines Herbs gave it a richness that everyone truly enjoyed.

Using the rest of the chicken, I made Crunchy Chicken Salad on croissants from Pangaea Bakery that I had crisped up in the oven. Yum!!!   These are the best croissants. And even though the wheat gives me a bit of a stomach ache, I just HAD to have some!  Both Roy and Priscilla enjoyed the chicken dishes, so recipes are included.

Roy & Jane in front garden

But tonight she’s back home in her wonderful house with her best guy Bill, sitting in front of the fire listening to the rain on the roof; glad for the visit but happy to be home.  I miss her already, but friends forever withstand distance and the test of time, and that’s what we are and will always be. Thank you for a lovely visit my dear friend…there will be more in the future!  

Crunchy Chicken Salad on Crispy Croissants

3 cups diced cooked chicken

3 ribs Celery--diced

½  c.  Radish sprouts, chopped

½ c. Sunflower sprouts, chopped

1/3 c. chopped Walnuts

1/3 c. Dried Cranberries

1/3 c. Mayonnaise

1/3 c. Miracle whip

1/3 c. Trader Joe’s Champagne Pear Dressing

½ t. Fines Herbs

2 T. chopped Chives

Salt

Pepper

4 large croissants

Mix all ingredients together.  Bake croissants in oven until crispy. Cut in half horizontally, remove top portion and pile high with chicken salad. Put top back on.  Makes 4 large sandwiches or 8 regular sandwiches, if you cut the croissants in half vertically after filling.

Gardening Mania Continues

Guayo checking out the roses

shallots, Chinese cabbage red cabbage

Finally warmth!  After two weeks of temperatures fluctuating madly, going from 46 to 28 degrees at night, forecasts show a steady warming trend and none too soon.  The seedlings have about had it being indoors and outdoors, back and forth, night after night. Plus they took a beating this past weekend as we were out of town for two days and the temp dropped to 28.  The green beans, a couple tomato plants and a couple of poblano pepper plants aren't looking so great, but  hopefully with continued care and warmth, they will come back.

row of raised beds

     So now is the weekend for getting everything in the ground or in pots.  Purchased the final (hopefully) 30 cubic feet of  organic garden soil yesterday afternoon, and today will disburse it.  Roy and I (mostly Roy) built a wonderful 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 raised bed which will be filled with strawberries; plus have 12 more pots to fill and plant with various items....cucumbers being the first, edamame, chervil, tarragon, wheat grass (for smoothies), poblanos, Big Jim peppers, and Asian Greens. Also putting the jalapenos, and red, yellow, and green bell peppers into the ground, along with basil and cilantro. The tomatoes are already in buckets as are a few of the poblanos.  The rest--delicata squash, sweet pumpkin squash, more beets, etc. will be disbursed where I can find or make a place for them.  It's going to be a full and diverse garden and I hope it goes crazy so we can preserve it and use the abundance all winter.

peas and columbine in pots

     And I can't wait to start harvesting the greens for fresh crisp salads.  There's nothing like going outside, cutting some greens and herbs, picking a tomato and cucumber, and coming inside and making a wonderful salad with the bounty from your garden.  We've already been able to sample some of the upcoming deliciousness---partaking in the rich bursting flavor of cherry tomatoes a week ago, first ones to come on the bushes and ripen.  There are more there and can't wait to see them turn red.  Even have a pretty good sized yellow bell pepper on one of the plants. That's the joy of gardening.  This year it won't pay off---setting up organic soil and amendments and putting together raised beds and planters is not cheap. But now that it's in place (or almost complete) it will be a perpetual joy from season to season, and I'm sure will more than pay for itself by next year.

Come on basil!!  Pesto in the raw.

    Checking out our  new trees yesterday, found that the Red Bartlett Pear has pears all over it!  This was a huge and wonderful surprise. The nectarine had a lot of blossoms, but don't think we'll get anything off of it this year.  The plum and apple trees showed great buds, but not seeing any fruit yet, so hope the late frost didn't get them. Last year we had a bumper crop of both, but only got to take advantage of the apples (apple slices, apple sauce, apple butter, spiced apple slices, etc) as we were moving in and renovating when the plums ripened, so didn't have time to deal with them. The javelina were delighted....fresh fruit snacks each and every day for several weeks, were distributed on a daily basis all over the ground!  Hopefully this year they can be harvested and dried for prunes and made into plum jelly, plum sauce.....hmmmm, plum wine???
     The thing we have to watch is water usage.  To try to offset that cost, Roy has begun putting together our first rain barrel to be used as a catch basin for rain runoff.  Did you know (do I sound like a game show host?) that 1" of rain on a 1000 square foot roof produces 600 gallons of water?  That's a lot of free watering if it can be caught and contained. We are not so presumptuous as to think we will be catching that much, but we're shooting for 5--55 gallon barrels total before the end of summer. Hopefully before monsoons.  So 275 gallons of free water seems pretty good to us. Wish us luck is getting it set up, and in getting some rain to fill them.  It may be a dry summer...not sure how the weather patterns are going to work out. Will keep you apprised.
     In our quest for some self-sufficiency and a bit of relief from the ever rising costs at the grocery store (case in point...the protein powder I have used for 2 1/2 years just went up $10 a bag!!!!) we are still considering getting 4-5 laying hens. Spoke to 3 of our neighbors, and as long as we share any over-abundance or meals with them, they have no objections. So don't be surprised if in an upcoming blog you see us building a chicken coop!!!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail….Happy Easter!

           Happy Easter all.  The Pagan rituals of spring, filled with eggs, rabbits, greens…all symbols of fertility and rebirth is a joyous occasion after the long cold winter.  And after working the gardens for 2 days prior to this holiday, I’m praying fertility, growth and not snow and freezing temps stay in the forefront.  Six inches of snow two weeks ago shriveled the blossoms on my Banksias’ roses, and one sage plant, but the cabbages, onions, garlic, all survived well. And the other plants were all brought inside the house, making it look and smell a bit like a hot house. OH well, at least they didn’t freeze.

          Now after planting Blue Lake Beans, lettuce seeds, beet and turnip seeds, mache, shelling peas, stevia, Boxwood basil, petunias and nasturtium, I’m hoping the weather report is correct and it doesn’t go down to below 35 in the upcoming week.

   But today there’s no gardening. Today there’s a drive over to the Verde Valley where it will be warmer and welcoming, to Middle Verde and the beautiful home of friends Kenny & Ryna. Located along the ditch near the Verde River, surrounded by mulberry, apple, sycamore, pine, and other large shading trees, budding out into their green summer foliage, and filled with ponds, raised garden beds, pots of growth, statues of Buddha and Shiva, tubs and tanks encased in walls of stacked flagstone, mosaics, antiques, old stoves….a fabulous mish-mash of collected and made artistic creation, it is a magic and wonderful place to be.  

Today, multi generations filled the house and yards, with delicious smells of hot rolls and baking quiche coming from the house, and tables with bunnies, bags of goodies, baskets, trees trimmed in big eggs and flowing streamers making the yard a joyous spring time fantasy land.  Billiards was being played in the carport, soon to be finished into a billiards room; people sat in the outside chairs around the tables warming themselves in the sun while chatting and getting to know each other or reuniting with those who hadn’t been seen in a long time. Sariah played in her sand box, enjoying the animal statues and just pouring sand on her legs and wiggling her toes in the warmth.  Guayo, our pup, loved the freedom of running and playing, chasing Hershey and running from Sariah.  It was a free and easy day for all with good conversation, good food, and meeting friends new and old.  A big thanks to Kenny & Ryna for inviting us to be a part of their family and celebration.

Francesco & Kaileena for Lunch—Not Cannibalism

           We miss the Sacred Bean, a quaint little coffee shop serving organic coffees and teas and delightful coffee drinks, along with some coma-inducing pastries. Team that with local artwork,  Psychic Sunday, open mic nights, poetry slams, local musicians, singers, and songwriters playing harmonicas, drums of all variety, guitars, saxophone, pan flutes…you name it and you can see it at the Sacred Bean. Or at least you could, but alas New Year’s Eve 2011 never happened as The Bean closed on December 30.  It is a loss to the community, and a great loss to Roy and I.  But the friendships we made there continue.

          Two of the best, owner Francesco and barista extraordinaire, musican, singer, songwriter Kaileena, are still in our lives and hearts, so their coming to lunch was a significant event.  And to commemorate the homecoming, a proper luncheon was served.

          Homemade Cream of Mushroom soup, loaded with chopped white button, crimini, and shitake mushrooms, sautéed in bacon renderings (bacon being crumbled into the soup), with tarragon, thyme, onion, garlic, butter, and cream, started the meal off with a round of moans of delight from all.

          Also served were deviled eggs with thyme & capers; Chicken Salad on toasted bagel slices; boiled red potatoes quartered and seasoned with butter, sea salt and dill; an assortment of pickles and olives; and for a sweet ending Pumpkin Cranberry Pecan scones. After filling up on the eats, everyone retired to the front porch for cigarettes, relaxation, digestion, and more conversation. Francesco is looking for a location for the reincarnation of the Sacred Bean, and at this time it looks like that reincarnation will take place in Tucson in the up and coming 4^th Street area. Patience is the word now. Gentrifying, the 4^th Street area is now hot property, and to get the location and ambience he demands, he will have to wait for the proper opening. So now it’s the waiting game, but someday soon The Bean will have a new and hopefully better home in Tucson. Great for Francesco (and Marcello his beautiful Italian Greyhound who HATES being cold), but sad for me and Roy as we live in Prescott and not Tucson. But with our friend living there, and Goddaughter Olivia, and friend Robert Prater, visiting should be easy enough to do!

          Kaileena says the scones are perfect.  Not quite so dry as many she has eaten, but spicy and delicious. So when you make these, think of Francesco and The Sacred Bean…and in a few months, check out 4^th Street in Tucson and see if you can find this delightful establishment. And if you do, tell Francesco Jane says hi!

PUMPKIN SPICE SCONES

2 cup flour                   7 Tablespoons sugar                1 Tablespoon baking powder

½ tsp salt                     ½ tsp cinnamon                       ¼  tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground ginger    6 Tablespoons cold butter       3 Tablespoons half n half

½ cup pumpkin—fresh cooked & smashed or canned     1 large egg

Powdered Sugar Glaze—

            1 c. powdered sugar    1 Tblspoon powdered sugar    2 Tbspns whole milk

Spiced Glaze—

            1 c. powdered sugar    3 Tblspns powdered sugar      2 Tbspns milk

            ¼ tsp cinnamon           1/8 tsp ground nutmeg            1 pinch ground ginger

            1 pinch ground cloves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet and line with parchment paper.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or food processor, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk pumpkin, half n half and egg. Pour into dry ingredients and mix well. Form dough into a ball.  Pat dough out on a lightly floured surface and form into a 9x3” rectangle. Use a large knife to slice the dough across the width into 3 equal pieces.  Cut those rectangles into halves diagonally so you have 6 triangular pieces (you can cut them into 4 triangular pieces for smaller scones). Place on baking sheet previously prepared.

Bake for 14-16 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

Make plain glaze—mix the powdered sugar and 2 Tbsp milk together until smooth. When the scones are cool, use a brush to pain the glaze over the top of each scone. Let dry for at least 1 hour before completing.

Make Spice Glaze—when the plain glaze is completely dry, mix all the ingredients for the spice glaze together. Put into small sandwich zip bag, snip off a tiny piece of one corner of the bag, and drizzle the spice glaze back and forth over the top of the scone.  Or you can use a squirt bottle to do this portion. Let dry again prior to serving. 

Canadians and Mexican Food, Great Friends Old and New

           Good friends, great conversation, lots of laughter, and sharing new friends with old…put that together with some fabulous Mexican food, and how could you not have a good time.  And that’s what we had at the Carlson household, marrying my 30 year long friendship with Jackie Bear, with our friends Darla & Jeff Holtke and neighbor Gary. Conversations range from food, to politics, to spirituality, to nonsense, but it’s all good and rolls from topic to topic like a sleek steel ball in a pinball machine.

          So after being out and about most of the day, from quilt shop to quilt shop, and having a wonderful lunch at the Firehouse Restaurant, we came home and did some quilting, with Jackie showing me a fabulous strip quilt technique she learned at 3 Dudes quilt shop in Tempe.  We made 2 squares to show me how, but I WILL be finishing up more of these and soon you'll see a fabulous outrageously colorful new quilt top! Then while she worked on the quilt she'd brought with her, I began filling the house with the smells of Mexico.

          Having had a Mexican food restaurant for 10 years, whipping up a plethora of South of the Border deliciousness is my forte. By the time dinner was served, the table groaned under platters and bowls of Chicken Enchiladas, Red and Green Chilie burritos, carnitas tacos, Spanish rice and refried beans, while the smells permeated the entire house.  And everyone filled up to their satiated best.

          The carnitas are a new recipe that I never used at the restaurant. We used a shredded beef in our tacos, and while it was delicious, I truly love carnitas and they are my new go-to taco filling. With the hot juicy carnitas shredded into a fresh fried crispy taco shell, topped with freshly chopped cilantro and tiny diced onion, along with a scattering of shredded Colby cheese, there is not a better taco in the world as far as I’m concerned.

          While the carnitas take a bit of time, they're not a difficult recipe. It has layers of flavor and scents that are amazing. Spices, citrus, onion, garlic…and the melting goodness of the pork and pork fat are the reason I love this recipe. Try it…it’s not hard, and in just a little more than 24 hours you too can be enjoying this buttery spicy goodness.

JUANA’S CARNITAS

Ingredients

            3# pork butt or shoulder

            1 orange, quartered

            1 t. garlic chopped

            1 ½ t. ground cumin

            1 t. black pepper

            1 c. Pepsi, plus more as needed

            ¾ cup oil or shortening

            2 medium onions, sliced

Fuego Spice Mix…yields 1 cup--use 1 Tablespoon

¼ c. paprika

2 t. cayenne

2 T. salt

2 t. white pepper

2 T ground black pepper

2 T garlic granules

2T chili powder

2 T oregano

Agua Negra Marinade..yields 3 ¼ cup--use 1 cup

1 c. soy sauce

2 c. pineapple-orange juice

2 T. cumin

2 t. garlic, minced

¼ c. fresh lime juice

Directions—

            Make fuego spice mix.  Can be stored in air tight container up to 6 months.

            Make Auga Negra Marinade..stores in refrigerator 2 days

            Trim away excess fat from pork and cut into large pieces. Dust meat with fuego spice mix and press to adhere well. Squeeze juice from oranges into an airtight non reactive container, add peels, garlic pepper, pepsie & Agua Negra marinade…mix to combine. Add seasoned meat and refrigerate over night.

            Remove meat from marinade (reserve marinade) the next day when ready to cook.  Heat oil in large heavy skillet over high heat. Add pork & brown completely on all sides, about 15 minutes. DO NOT      crowd the skillet or meat will stew in its juices instead of brown. Add reserved marinade and simmer about 3 hours or until pork is tender, falling apart and dark brown (or after browning put all ingredients into a crock pot on high for 3-4 hours…then you don’t have to keep watching it and it will cook beautifully on its own). Add additional pepsi as needed while cooking to keep meat covered.  

            Remove meat and chop or shred. Traditionally, the meat is crisped under a broiler or in a hot skillet prior to serving, but this step is up to you. Serve as taco filling with shredded cheese, chopped fresh cilantro, diced green onions, and shredded lettuce or cabbage, salsa, guacamole, or other toppings you prefer. Also makes great burritos, or just eat with a fork and some hot tortillas, with sides of Spanish rice and frejoles enteros. Delicioso!!!

Reality and Bill Gates...Maybe He Should Run For President

Just read this as an email and it's so true and so concise. The world will be a better place when a bit more reality is given out and less politically correct impractical nonsense. Thanks Bill...I hope they were listening!

This should be posted in every school or kid's bedroom.

Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this!

 

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about

eleven (11) things they did not and will not learn in school.

He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings

created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and

how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

 Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it! 
 
Rule 2 : The world doesn't care about your self-esteem.

The world will expect you to accomplish something

BEFORE you feel good about yourself.


Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school.

You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both. 


Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss  


Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity.

Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping:

They called it opportunity.

 Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault,

so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

 Rule 7 : Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring

as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills,

cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were

So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation,

try delousing the closet in your own room..

 Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers,

but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades

and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer.

*This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

 Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF.

Do that on your own time. 


Rule 10 : Television is NOT real life.

In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

 Rule 11 : Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

 

 

Ribs--The Best Food In The World

            Ribs. Succulent, bbq, falling off the bone, juicy pork ribs. Baby back, country style---doesn’t matter as long as it’s ribs with the bones. You have to have those bones in there. They keep the ribs moist and keep the flavor in the meat. Ribs are the best food in the world. 
          My friend Gigi would dispute this statement, as she believes bacon is the best, most perfect food in the world. Bacon is outrageously good [again, pig meat] and on a lot of days I might just cross over the fence and vote bacon…but not today. Although I did make some yummy appetizers with bacon---take pitted Medjool dates and make a slit down the side, fill with a little bit of goat cheese (I put some chives in mine), then wrap some bacon around the date. Put into a 450 degree oven for 12 minutes and serve. The crispy, salty smokiness of the bacon with the tang of the melty goat cheese and the warm sweetness of the dates is a perfectly amazing burst of flavor and deliciousness in your mouth! So while bacon is fabulous, it's back to the ribs.

          So today it was rib day.  Had some baby back rib racks in the freezer from a great sale a few weeks ago, so defrosted them, rubbed them with my special country style rub, and wrapped them in aluminum foil. I put the packet in a big roasting pan and put it all into the oven at 250 degrees for 6 hours.  Then I unwrapped the foil, brushed them with Mom’s BBQ Sauce, turned up the temp to 500 degrees and put them back in to brown up. 

          Here’s the visual for you….me with bbq sauce all over my cheeks, under my nose, and in my hair, and a great big smile on my face.  Ribs….they're fabulous!  And here’s my dry rub and Mom’s bbq sauce recipes so you too can go to rib nirvana.  Peace, love and bbq ribs to all!

JANE'S COUNTRY TIME DRY BBQ RIB RUB

     ¼ c. sugar               ¼ c. brown sugar     ¼ c. paprika

     1 T. garlic powder      1 T. chili powder     1 T. onion powder

     1 t. cayenne            3 T. coarse salt      1 t. black pepper

     1 T. mustard powder

Mix well.  Rinse ribs and pat dry with paper toweling. Generously rub the dry rub over both sides of ribs so that is sticks well, making sure ribs are completely covered so no meat shows through.

MOM’S SPICY BBQ SAUCE

1 T butter                         ½ c. finely chopped onions

¼ c. white vinegar                 2 beef boullion cubes

½ c. log cabin syrup               1 T. Worcestershire sauce

¾ c. water                         1/8 t. pepper

1 ½ t. salt                         1 ¼ c.  catsup

3 T. brown sugar                  2 T Tabasco—more or less to taste

½ t. dry mustard                  1 t. liquid smoke

1 T. sweet chili sauce (found in Asian Markets, NOT the catsup based chili sauce)

Melt butter and add onions. Saute until light brown. Add rest of ingredients and stir well. Simmer slowly over medium low heat for 15-30  minutes or until sauce is glossy & thick.