29 May 2015

Home Gallery

New Mexico is certainly full of galleries! I decided I needed my own...

Sandia Sunset, Island Sunset, Abstract Sky, plus Dad's Colorado River

Another Abstract

Cordi Winery, French Courtyard, and Ginger Fan, plus Dad's Mirror Lake and Asea*

Iris, French Poppies, and "New Beginnings" California Poppy - with room for another (in the works)

Mountain Cornflower and tropicals, with room for another on the right (I'm still thinking about what to paint for this)

~~~
* This is the USS Nicholas, the ship Dad served on during the Korean War

24 May 2015

Santa Fe Day Trip

We took a day trip to Santa Fe today - our excuse was the Indian Arts Festival at the Santa Fe Convention Center.

My eyes got a real treat, AND I even got to touch some sculpture. We stopped to talk to a couple of the artists, and got some backstory on sculpture, jewlery, and some amazingly evocative and personally important photographs. The bad news - no photos allowed.


It seems there is always something happening at the plaza! This time, there was a car show (and music)...




Strolling around, we saw some tents, and then this sign!


Again, no photos :-( . But! Check out Greg Gawlowski's stuff! He gets great shots, then prints them to metal - they are so luminous and just amazing!

ABQ Civic Plaza

Today's stroll took us to the Albuquerque Civic Center - the convention center and the Civic Plaza.  I particularly like this fountain...


This is the view from the second floor breezeway of the convention center.  I guess I'm still looking for new view of the Sandias :-)

There is a lot going on here, especially in summer!  Check out this calendar :-)
Just to whet your appetite:
On Friday afternoons and evenings in Summer, the Civic Plaza hosts ABQ Food Fridays, a foodie and music event.
And next Saturday (May 30), the Creative 505 ("Creative 505 is a free collaborative celebration of Albuquerque’s art, theater, tech, start-up, crafting and music communities and bringing them together as one creative community.") will be from 4 - 10pm.

22 May 2015

Painting a Sandia Sunset

It's not my normal thing (and yes, I find that I am developing a "normal thing"), but I wanted to take a stab at painting the Sandias at sunset. Dad had paper and paint to spare...


And he even framed it for me! :-)

21 May 2015

Pozole Revisit

I've been playing around with my Pozole recipe for while now; I definitely like my red  sauce, and the ratio of ingredients is pretty good.

However, a recent visit to California gave me proof positive that "Hot New Mexico Red Chile Powder" is not always as hot as New Mexico red chile powder. Yes, that sentence makes sense to people who cook. I simply could not amp up my red sauce with the chile available.  So, my advice - once you find a combination you like, stick with it! (And next time, I'm bringing chile powder with me)

For me, the big eye-opener was the huge difference in corn! In my original recipe, I didn't see much difference between canned hominy and dried; cooking with dried was extremely time consuming, requiring multiple boil/rinse cycles. However, I read about a different technique, and decided to give it a try.

OMG! I am officially a convert!

Preparing the corn:
First (and MOST important), select the right corn.  This is the good stuff:

This is most definitely NOT:

The no-good stuff is still processed like hominy (con cal, in Spanish), but it *ruined* my dish -  just ask my family, who had piles and piles of corn peels left from the bowls of stew I forced them to eat.
For some reason, the good stuff "pops" and the outer skin of the corn is soft (aka edible); the bad stuff, not so much. See that "skin" near the handle of the spoon? That will end up in someone's napkin...

OK, back to it...
Once you have the right corn, the second part of the process is to soak it overnight in water. If you have cooked dried beans, then you know what to do. The next day, drain and rinse the corn, then cook in a big pot with enough water to cover the corn. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for several hours (I let mine go all afternoon) - make sure you don't boil off the water!

This process is much less involved than the boil/rinse/repeat method for dried corn, and it is much more flavorful and tactilely satisfying than the canned version.

One thing that I do (but only when I'm sure of my corn!), is to make the sauce first, then add water and pre-soaked corn, then the other ingredients - this means I only use one pot, and everything cooks together for hours (seasonings fully infuse everything, and the pork is incredibly tender).

19 May 2015

Pork Mango Rollups

I wanted to do these Pork Rollups, but switch out the fruit. Then Rick wanted a different cheese, then I had to be careful of the nut mixture, then...

Well, I decided that this was just an entirely different recipe :-)

Pork Mango Rollups

6 Pork tenderloin or shoulder boneless steaks, thin; I ask the butcher to run it through the tenderizer in both directions - this thins it pretty well, and I don't have to pound it thin at home!

Roll up with a small handful of these fillings (use *wooden* toothpicks if needed):
- dried mango, chopped
- feta cheese, crumbled

Coat the rolls in this order:
- 1 beaten egg with 1- 2 TB smoked paprika (it will seem like a lot)
- 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped cashews

Place in casserole pan
Spray top with cooking spray/oil/butter (optional)
Bake @400 ~30 min
- 20 min covered
- 10-15 min uncovered

Serve with:
- Lightly cooked green vegetables
- Green salad

Goes well with family ;-)

06 May 2015

Memory Lane

We took a walk down Memory Lane today :-)

This is the cliff where we got married, and just a couple of blocks from where we started our life together...



And here is a part of the Enchanted Forest