What's for Dinner? 12-04-10

Corky's special treats are little carrots which come in one pound bags - enough carrots to last for a couple months! Obviously, a Poodle Prince can't eat ageing carrots, so... what to do? I keep trying different carrot recipes since I like cooked carrots. This time I had about one and a half pounds of both ageing and fresh carrots, so I tried one of Molly Wizenberg's recipes, posted in November. http://orangette.blogspot.com/2010/11/she-got-out-skillet.html

Molly cuts her carrots into 1/4" rounds, but I just cut the fatter ones vertically in half. Other than that I followed her recipe exactly. The carrots are delicious. Of course, there are waaaay too many for me, so when I return Corky to his parents on Monday I will take them a container. And maybe Carol and Dick Bednar will enjoy trying them. I'll cut the recipe in half (or more) in the future. And I'll still have enough for a week of meals! I suppose they will freeze okay.

This is my 10-inch cast iron skillet, but I think I should have used the 11.25-incher. Definitely if I every have to cook a full two pounds of carrots.

Delicious!

When I stopped for gas I noticed this billboard. I didn't immediately see that the large word is PLAN and then it took me some minutes to translate the Spanish to English. I only have English, but can figure out some Spanish, French and Italian if I really work at it. The sign says, "Prepare[ing] now reduces the effects of a disaster tomorrow." We all live with the threat of a major earthquake, no matter what language we speak/read.

What's For Lunch? 12-03-10

I do like to try different foods. Sometimes I am disappointed, but usually I discover something I enjoy a lot. Trader Joe's is a good source of new discoveries.

When I saw "Brussels Sprout Salad in the refrigerated case I didn't react with joy - I thought it sounded a little strange, even though I do like Brussels sprouts cooked. But, hey, it was something I had never tried.

The ingredients are cooked tiny Brussels sprouts, dried cranberries, bits of bacon, roasted hazelnuts, Manchego cheese and honey Dijon mustard vinaigrette.

It was DELICIOUS! The Brussels sprouts were very tender and very mild, the bacon was subtle and the vinaigrette was a perfect balance of sharp, sour and sweet. I may stop tomorrow for another box when I go to LBeach to pick up the Poodle Prince. It has to be a seasonal product, so I will enjoy it while it is "in".

Speaking of 'seasonal', the manager at my local TJ's admitted to me that they will not be carrying cranberry chutney this year. I guess I will have to dig out my recipe and make my own. Although I do so little cooking I'm not sure I now know any longer!

Those posts 12-02-10

These posts are not so interesting if they aren't lined up and photographed from the right angle.

This pet supply store is bright and garish, even for Southern California. And maybe that is why it is always so busy - it attracts attention. Just in the time I was there taking pictures I think about twenty cars pulled in. It almost always has a crammed parking lot.

If you are looking for a Xmas gift for someone special - check out Rayna Gillman's scarf sale: http://studio78notes.blogspot.com/2010/12/holiday-scarf-sale.html I have several of her scarves and whenever I wear them people compliment me on how great they are. And now I will have another to show off. When I am not wearing them I hang them on a rod in my dressing area so I can admire them.

You might enjoy this early look at Bergdorf's holiday windows: http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/first-look-bergdorfs-holiday-windows/?ref=womens-fashion

Wordless Wednesday 12-01-10

The Parking Lot 11-30-10

Most parking lots are just big lots with lots of cars parked fender to fender, nose to nose. But some are places where things happen - meetings, exchanges, conversations... who knows what! The lot at my favorite Starbuck's is one of the latter. There is an El Pollo Loco sharing the lot which backs up onto Anaheim Lakes which is a popular place for locals to fish off the banks - I don't know what they catch, I've never seen anyone catch anything! I drive to the fence , park and drink my coffee while I watch the birds, there are always rafts of seagulls and sometimes more interesting species.

If Corky is with me I have to go to the drive-thru window and be greeted by one of these guys (or gals) in the red aprons. I'd rather go inside so I can doctor my latte with a little milk if it is too bitter, but they won't let Corky in! They used to give treats out to dogs at the drive-thru, but after the business about harmful ingredients in some dog treats the corporate office put a stop to it. Now I always carry treats because Corky doesn't understand about corporate edicts.

Bicyle clubs need rendezvous at the beginning and end of a ride, and sometimes a few stops along the way. The support vehicles park way back in the lot and set up tables with water and snacks for the riders. This club does work for charity, but I didn't quite understand who they were or what they do. Their van is easy to pick out in its bright paint - and the bikes on the top!

This is one of our resident Ospreys. There are several man-made osprey nesting platforms at the less visited end of the lake and the birds go fishing anywhere they like. They are raptors who pull fish from the water to eat. Quite fascinating in this very populated area.

It is hard to see the top line on this license plate frame (click to enlarge), but it is the best of three images I took. The next best view would be if I reclined on the parking lot pavement, but I knew I wouldn't be able to get up without help! And surely not in time to keep someone from running over me.

As for the 'exchanging' - this is the lot where I meet the Poodle Parents when they need to drop off or pick up Corky; convenient for both of us and convenient for others. There is a lady who takes care of her daughter's dog when the daughter travels, so they meet here to do the "exchange". I frequently see children being exchanged by (presumably divorced) parents - it doesn't always go smoothly. Sometimes there are small groups of scouts going off or returning from a camping trip. And then there are the exchanges of kisses! One could, I suppose, write a novel about adventures in the Starbuck's parking lot - no violence, no gratuitous sex. It would never sell.

Walking with Corky 11-29-10

Corky's parents dropped him off with me when they drove home from the desert on Saturday. He was really tired - all those people, all that excitement, and another visiting dog. It has been quite cold (for SCalifornia) and very windy - he has mostly just slept, curled up in his beds. But he does need a walk every day, so we tried a new walking spot at an industrial complex which is mostly empty. It isn't quite so deserted as where we have walked before - there is a residential inn that shares the parking lot, so there are business people coming and going. He prefers to not double back and at this place we can walk entirely around the building. We walked around twice yesterday about 4:30pm. It was a good walk, despite the wind.

There is the "Gold Standard", the only car in the parking lot, although while we were walking someone else parked a few spots away. I could see the light of a computer screen through the tinted windows of the building, someone was inside keeping an eye on the building and us!

Lots of leaves being blown around - mostly sweet gum/liquidamber - and the trees on the other side of the building were pretty bare.

As I have said, I like to check in on http://www.dooce.com/ to see the "Daily Chuck". I have been amazed at the things Heather can get Chuck to wear on his head while she takes his picture. http://www.dooce.com/daily-chuck/2010/10/06/got-it I've tried a few things on Corky, but he hasn't tolerated them well. I guess this big Sycamore leaf is light enough - he seemed to not know it was there.

But it works better when the stem is facing front. Reminds me of the palm frond hat the lovely ladies at Westside Quilters gave me http://delquilts.blogspot.com/search/label/Hats when they had the program in the garden in August. It seems that Corky has the same stunned look on his face as Chuck sometimes does. And as I probably did when I tried on the palm frond hat!

Quilt by Pamela Allen in TCQC 11-28-10

Here is another quilt I purchased at the Alliance For American Quilts online auction earlier this month. A big contrast to the quilt I posted last Sunday. When I started collecting the term "Art Quilt", if it existed, was not in common use - thus the "Contemporary" in TCQC. I think of the word as encompassing quilts made in the last quarter of the 20th C and the first quarter of the 21st C. They are, in other words, contemporary to me.

"Can't Piece Geese. Can Do A Loose Goose." Pamela Allen 2010 16" x 16"
Recycled and commercial fabric. Raw edge, hand applique.
Pamela had this to say about this quilt: "I confess I was stumped at this year’s theme as I know almost nothing about traditional quilting and certainly have no fragments from early patterns. I hardly know the names of patterns! However, I DID know the flying geese one which requires piecing triangles . . . thus my title as I couldn’t piece anything to save my life! I have adapted a goose from Inuit imagery that I admire for its quirky shape and humorous distortions."

And I admired the quirkiness also and bid on the quilt.

Pamela uses a lot of recycled/preused/reused fabric and has a great eye for putting the fabrics together. She uses a collage technique rather than piecing and doesn't pre-plan her designs.

She does a great deal of hand stitching using embroidery thread, perle cotton or whatever she feels will work best to stitch the applique pieces to the background.

She has developed a great talent for machine quilting

The plain back shows the quilting very well.

The label Pamela applied.

The label the Alliance applied.

I admire Pamela's work and there are now four of her quilts in the TCQC. Since I carry quilts around to show at different venues I must avoid quilts that have heavy or thick embellishments, or I would have more Pamela quilts. I took a class with her in winter 2008 at Empty Spools at Asilomar and found she is an excellent teacher. I may never make a "Pamela Allen" type quilt, but the lessons I learned have become a part of my library of techniques which will serve me well as long as I can make quilts. I recommend her classes and her teaching skills.
http://pamelart2.homestead.com/newquilts.html