Blackbirds and Corn Chowder

Another snowy, blustery day. Really! Look at what I saw out of the front window. These are red winged blackbirds.

You can see the lake is starting to have open leads. Steve's new ice out prediction is Friday, I predict Sunday.
Today is supposed to still be snowy and cold, but it's supposed to warm up into the 50's again by the weekend.

So, what to do on a cold, blustery day? Make a pot of soup!

I bought some more of that yummy corn from Northland Market. The produce person said this is the best corn she gets all year and it's from Georgia.

I decided to make "Harvest Corn Chowder with Bacon" from my green Gourmet cookbook. I used some Dancing Bull wine to cook with:

Harvest Corn Chowder with Bacon


1/4 cup diced bacon (about 2 ounces)
2 cups diced sweet onion
2 large carrots, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/4 inch dice
1/2 pound yellow-fleshed potatoes (2 small) peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 medium sweet potato peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice
5 cups chicken stock (I use "Better than Bouillon" stock)
2 fresh thyme sprigs (we didn't have those so I used rosemary - really good!)
3 cups corn (from about 6 ears)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

GARNISH: 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced; finely chopped fresh chives

Cook bacon in a stock pot stirring frequently until crisp (about 5 minutes), transfer to paper towels to drain.
Add onions, carrots, and bell pepper to bacon fat remaining in pot and cook, stirring, until onion is softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add both potatoes, stock, and thyme, bring to a simmer, and simmer, covered, until potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes.

Add corn and cream and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper and stir in bacon.

Serve sprinkled with tomatoes and chives.

This was so good! Be careful or you will eat the whole pot.

Sushi and Homebrew

Steve held one of his famous beer making workshops today. Prior to the actual beer making lesson, we sipped samples of his homebrew and ate sushi!

To make sushi, you first need good sushi rice. It's short grain and quite starchy, which helps when you need it to stick together in the roll. Rinse the rice until the water is not so cloudy, and then cook it in your rice cooker (or on the stove - read the package directions for that). When it is done, toss it with rice vinegar (1T per 4 cups of rice) and 1 teaspoon of sugar (if you use seasoned rice vinegar, it has the sugar already in it).

Here are some of the fixings, carrots, scallions, red pepper, and cream cheese. I also made a spicy shrimp mix and put flying fish roe (tobiko) in some of the rolls.

To make spicy shrimp, cook some shrimp (or buy pre-cooked). Chop it quite small and then add 1/2 cup mayonaise and 1 Tablespoon siracha sauce or any other sauce that you like that is hot.

Lay out the rice on the lower half of the roll. Add some scallions, carrots, cream cheese, tobiko (any combination you like!). Gently roll the ingredients inside the nori sheet. Wet your finger and run your finger along that top edge before you get the roll all the way rolled up. The wet edge will then seal itself to the rest of the roll. Cut the roll into sections and you're done!

Here's what they looked like all ready to eat. The red on top is the tobiko.

We ate them with wasabi, soy sauce, and edamame. YUM!

Steve is the one who will have to tell you how to make beer. Here are some of the now empty bottles from the sampling that was done as the new batches were getting made.

Now if we could just get the snow to stop falling and the ice to go out of the lake. The new beer will be ready to drink in about three weeks. We'll see if the ice is out and the dock is in by then.

Day Seven - Oops - How about Thai Food

Day Seven was supposed to be about finding something in the ditch and using it to make something new. Guess what? We have inches of snow in the ditch and all of the treasures are buried! I promise to do the project when I can see the ditch again (maybe in July).

Meanwhile, what do you do on a day where you are so sick of winter and the routine and argghh. Bake a cake! And then invite friends over for a Thai feast. Look at this cake!

It literally has a whole cup of poppy seeds!

I made some steamed wonton bundles for appetizers (no photo of them) and we dipped them into a spicy dipping sauce made with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, hot sauce, and scallions.

On to the salad.

It's a cucumber salad made with rice wine vinegar, sugar, chopped jalapeño, cilantro, and crushed peanuts.

Dinner was Pad Thai. I had these rice noodles and I wasn't too happy about their texture. Be very, very careful when you cook noodles like this, a little too long in the boiling water and you'll have mush!

Here's how to make Pad Thai. It's a whole lot of chopping and prepping up front and then it cooks in a jif.

Pad Thai

2 T Tamarind concentrate (or reconstitute tamarind paste, or if you really can't find it, use juice of one lime)

3 T fish sauce

1 T rice vinegar

3 T sugar

3/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 T peanut or vegetable oil

8 oz rice stick noodles

2 large eggs

12 oz medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion minced

2 T dried shrimp chopped fine (optional)

2 T chopped Thai salted preserved radish (optional)

6 T chopped roasted peanuts

3 C bean sprouts

5 medium scallions, green parts only sliced thin

1/4 cup cilantro chopped

Make the sauce: Mix tamarind concentrate, fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, cayenne and oil in a small bowl and set aside.

Cook rice sticks until just soft - this is tricky, just keep an eye on them and test often. Drain and set aside

Beat the eggs in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat 1 T oil in a skillet over high heat until just beginning to smoke. Add shrimp and sprinkle with salt; cook, tossing occasionally, until shrimp are opaque and browned about the edges (about 3 minutes). Transfer shrimp to a plate and set aside.

Add 1 T oil to the pan and saute the onions and garlic over medium heat until light golden, add eggs to skillet and stir vigorously until scrambled and barely moist (about 30 seconds). Add noodles, dried shrimp, and salted radish (if using) to the pan. Toss with 2 wooden spoons to combine. Pour fish sauce mixture over noodles and toss to coat. Add the peanuts, bean sprouts, scallions and cooked shrimp to the noodles and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Here's the wine we cooked (and ate) with:

I think I'll find something else new to make today. That was fun.

Day Six - Glue Little Things to Bigger Things

Day six of the "7 Projects to Snap You Out of a Slump" is


Find a bunch of little things (dry beans, pebbles, beads, sesame seeds). Find a bigger thing and glue the little things to the big thing. Paint it, shellac it, put some glitter on it. What did you make? Put a photo on your blog.


Of course, the first things we think of are those kindergarten projects. Or adult projects that look like kindergarten projects. My first thoughts were along the lines of some buttons I was cutting off a shirt Steve decided to throw out.

After fiddling with those for a little while, I decided to glue some washers to a piece of metal I cut and then hammered. I glued Swarovski crystals inside each washer. The one in the middle is a copper washer that I also hammered:

I really liked it, so I made another one using more of the copper washers:

While I was waiting for glue to dry I made this wristlet out of some new fabric I got:

And I finished the Lion King necktie purse I had been making:

Overall, quite a productive day (and it's still early!). Well, not much else to do today given we woke up to five inches of snow on the ground with another three predicted for the day. I think that glimpse of spring was just a dream.

Day Five - My Shape is Paisley

Day five of the "7 Projects to Snap You Out of a Slump" is


Choose a shape as your muse for the day. Any artwork you do should incorporate that shape as your predominant theme (rectangle, stripes, circles, paisley, etc.)


I chose paisley as my shape!


I stopped by Dafne's house for a few minutes this morning and she has a paisley mirror in her entrance way! Funny how you notice those things when you have a word in the front of your mind (like on Monday I couldn't believe all of the things I saw that were yellow).


I cheated a little and went back to sewing today. I say cheated because it's the kind of artwork that I do a lot of and the whole point of this week is to break out of the routine. But look what I made!

I absolutely LOVE it! See the handle?  My new machine makes this nice stitch.

Then I made a zipper pouch and made a paisley shape on the fabric with a suede-like cloth.

The paisley shape looked like a pond, and guess what my new sewing machine can make? Turtles!

Too fun. I also started this purse but I sewed the inside lining in backwards and I'm through for the day. I'll have to take that one apart and turn it around another day.

Day Four - Collage

Day four of "7 Projects to Snap you out of a Slump" - the project is:

Take some magazines or newspapers that you are throwing out and cut stuff out of them. Use those cut things to make a collage on paper or canvas. You may also incorporate paint, other things, writings, etc. As you make this art play an album over and over until your collage is finished. Talk about how the music influenced the collage.


I chose Laurie Anderson's "Strange Angels" CD to play while I did my artwork today. An excerpt of lyrics from her song "Monkey's Paw" say, Well I stopped in at the body shop and said to the guy, "I want stereo FM installed in my teeth and take this mole off my back and put it on my cheek. And uh...while I'm here, why don't you give me some of those high-heeled feet?"

I knew I wanted to expand on an idea I did in my journal - Here's the journal page:

I just can't understand high heel shoes (unless you never intend to actually walk in them). And this year my foot hurts, so I'm a little fixated on feet, sore feet, and the wonder of what in the world makes women wear high heels. Read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan for an interesting book. It is set in China during a period when foot binding is prevalent.

What is the difference from foot binding to high heeled shoes? I would like to ask Oprah this. She can't walk at all when she has those heels on.

So here is my collage:

I repainted that painting from yesterday in a pinkish lavendar (because it's a girl color). And then used mod podge to affix images of foot binding that I found on the web. I cut the shoes out of magazines. And I added the emaciated, angry looking model. Poor thing. She needs food.

Day Three - Chimney, Story, Nodule

Day three of the "7 Projects to Snap You Out of a Slump" is

Randomly point to three words in the dictionary. Use those three words and create something that incorporates the words or is inspired by the words. (No fair changing the words if you don’t like them – break out of your comfort zone!)


I randomly opened the dictionary and pointed. I got CHIMNEY, STORY, and NODULE as my words for the day. Hmmmm.

I decided to try another painting. I started with an old painting that I didn't like and because I had to repaint the top of the bathroom vanity, anyway, I went with the same black I was using for the vanity:

My first word was "chimney" so I used the Kauffman survey card (see in photo above) to scrape off some paint in a brick pattern:

It needed brightening up, so I added more bricks with a hard, nubby eraser dipped in paint. I also wrote on the painting in black magic marker because my second word was STORY. Then I used some lavender colored paint and made little NODULES of paint on some of the bricks. After that, you could no longer see the words I wrote in magic marker, so I wrote "Once upon a time" in ocher colored paint in big globs.

I didn't like that very much, so I squished all of that with the eraser and then I drizzled the pinkish lavender paint on top:

Here's a closeup:

Well, I didn't like that much, either. So I kind of washed it off with a wet paper towel.

Here's a closeup:

Now it's a little washed out. I'll tuck this one away and some day when I'm looking for something goofy to do I'll add some paint - or cover it right back up with some gesso and start fresh.

The moral of this story is that you should do these projects even if you end up with JUNK! Who cares? You learned some stuff, or maybe not, but at least you tried something new.

Day Two - Graffiti

Today's "7 Projects to Snap You Out of a Slump" was:

Study graffiti on the web. Make a painting or drawing in graffiti style. Okay to use collage, too, but the end result should look graffiti-like. (Optional:  Listen to urban music as you do this.)


I looked at graffiti pictures on the web and read the wikipedia article. The article said that graffiti these days is typically done using spray paint and markers. No way am I going to be able to make graffiti like Bansky which is really art in the outdoors (watch the movie "Exit Through the Gift Shop" for an interesting graffiti documentary).

I took an old painting of mine that I never liked (I did a series over Christmas once):

And I took some gesso:

Squirted it all over the old painting and brushed it on to cover up the old painting. I wanted the old painting's texture to remain because I thought it would give the piece an urban wall feeling.

Today is a fantastic day! Our temperatures made it to over 60 degrees. So I took my canvas outside and gathered together a bunch of spray paint:

I put the canvas on some old metal that we had used to cover the wood pile this winter (all of the wood is gone - it was a long winter). Painting on the old metal and wood made me feel as if I were in a train yard getting ready to paint on a box car's old metal.

I put layers of spray paint on the canvas to give it an old wall look. Then I started spraying the spray paint into my name! I added a peace sign for fun. Later I took acrylic and latex paints and embellished the letters. I like it! It's very gritty.

I photographed it against the wood shed - the railroad rail steel added to my rail car feeling (we had used it to hold down the tin covering the wood pile - this was a different wood pile, again, all gone. Long winter!).

I'm really happy I did the project. I haven't been painting in a while and it forced me to paint. And what a great way to paint! You really don't have to be all neat and clean and worried that it won't look good or be perfect. It's graffiti!!

Here's a close-up of it in the house. I think Steve will like it as part of our decor!

Day One - YELLOW and Chickpea Curry

Day one of the "7 Projects to Snap You out of a Creative Slump"

Today's project is: 
Choose a theme color for the day. Most of what you wear should be that color. Use that color predominantly in any artwork you do. (Do at least one project (or start one) so you have something to post on your blog.)

I chose YELLOW! I chose yellow because it had been raining and was very grey for a while. The first thing I noticed when daylight came was the yellow stripe in the road!

To those of you in the southern states like Wisconsin and Illinois, yes, we still have snow. You see the lake in the background, still frozen. We'll be taking dates for ice-out guesses here soon.

It's amazing how many things are yellow when yellow is in the front of your thoughts.

And then I thought, "What should I make for dinner tonight?" I looked at my cookbooks - guess which one I picked?

Yes, the At Home with Madhur Jaffrey Indian cookbook. I made chickpeas yesterday and used some of them for a happy hour snack (our neighbors just got home from Texas and we had happy hour). I found a recipe in Madhur Jaffrey's cookbook for "Spicy Chickpeas with Potatoes", which is simmering as I write this.

I had to run some errands in town. Here are a few things I got at the grocery store:

CORN! It's from Florida, peppers, and bananas - all yellow. I also bought some plastic storage bins so that I can more efficiently store and transport my purses and bags to the farmers' market this summer. I wasn't even thinking about it, but they're yellow! I guess yellow worked its way into my subconscious.

I made a new necktie purse. My mom found me some really, really cool old vintage wide polyester neckties. I chose one that had mustard yellow stripes. I lined it with a vintage bed sheet cotton lining in yellow and added a bright yellow waffle weave pocket.

I put it in my Etsy shop. If anyone following my blog this week would like to buy something from my Etsy shop, I'm giving a 20% off coupon - use "YELLOW" code at checkout! (does not apply to shipping)

I took in the recycling today. Remember from one of my older posts that we just finished remodeling our bathroom? Well, we want to keep water stains off the tile and someone threw out a squeegee!! And guess what?!! It's yellow!

Now on to supper. I found this wine which had a yellow label to cook with:

Spicy Chickpeas with Potatoes


2 T ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
4 T olive or canola oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup finely chopped tomatoes
4 cups drained chickpeas
1 1/2 cups water
2 medium boiling potatoes, cut into 3/4 inch dice
salt

Mix together the coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, and 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl.

Saute the onions in oil until lightly browned. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for a minute. Put in the spice mixture and stir for a few seconds. Add the tomatoes. Stir and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the chickpeas and water. Add the potatoes and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low and simmer gently until potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Look at these potatoes - Klondike Rose, they're yellow inside!:

I like to eat this kind of food with parathas. A friend of mine, Pritika, showed me once that if you don't want to make your own parathas, you can substitute lefse!! How cool is that?

Put a litttle bit of ghee in your non-stick skillet:

Once hot, put a sheet of lefse in the pan and let it cook a little to give it that Indian flavor. Flip it to give the other side flavor. Do as many of these as you like. YUM!

And there concludes my day of yellow.

Tomorrow - graffiti!