Portrait Wall

This has been a long and painful year.  Part of the healing process for me was to keep busy and create some projects for myself - a couple of which were creating a memory garden for my Dad and working on a portrait wall in our bedroom.

We have one large wall in our bedroom that can't have furniture in front of it.  I have always been inspired by home decor images of portrait walls along staircases or in hallways that are jam-packed with family photographs.  I started collecting photographs of my immediate family and then portraits of my Grandparents and Great-Grandparents, Uncles, Aunts and cousins on both sides of my family.  Photographs of my close friends and of Tim and myself.  I decided to stick with black and white images and mounted them all in black and silver frames.  What images weren't in black and white  - I photoshopped them and/or blew them up.

The wall is quite large, in addition to family and friends images, I started to add black and white photographs that I have collected from vacation travel.  A mix of the people and places that have influenced my life.  

The wall was almost complete. After hanging the last few frames, I still had this hole on the wall for one more image but couldn't figure out what to put there?  I didn't think I had anything else when I walked through our kitchen and eyed a framed vintage map of Bovina. It was exactly the size needed and fit right into the space available.  It was as if the wall was waiting for this last image.  I suddenly realized why the Bovina map was perfect to finish the wall.  Bovina has been one of the most important characters in my life over the last 10 years.  It has been my safe haven and life for the last decade and is as important to me as my family and Tim   I have created a life here and Tim and I have been so happy here.  It was the perfect item to complete a project that was emotional at times as I looked through photos trying to pick the best images.  My Dad and me as a kid sitting together in a lawn chair in our backyard.  My brother, Chris, and me dressed in cowboy costumes together as kids. My Mom holding me as an infant. Tim and I together at Fiesta in San Antonio.  The project is finished and I feel when I lay in bed at night that I can look up at the wall and feel surrounded by all those I love and the places that I have experienced that have made me who I am. Done.

Apple Pie Bars

Cold fall days are perfect for staying inside and baking.  We had a couple chores outdoors, putting away a couple more plant pots, a birdhouse and Aquaspikes and then we spent the rest of the day baking.  Tim tried a new recipe - and it was so good.  Just a variation on Apple Pie.

Apple Pie Bars

Crust:
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Filling:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
12 Granny Smith apples ( about 6 pounds) - peeled cored and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup water, as necessary

Topping:
3/4 cup walnuts
3 cups quick cooking oats
2 cups all - purpose flour
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes and chilled

1. Make the crust.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 15 by 17 inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper in a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter with the sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 minutes.  At low speed, beat in the flour and salt until a soft dough forms,  Press the dough over the bottom of the sheet and 1/2 inch up the side.  Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes until the crust is golden.  Let cool on a rack.

2. Make the filling.  In each of 2 large skillets, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter with 1/4 cup of the light brown sugar.  Add the apples to the skillets and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally until softened, about 10 minutes.  Stir half of the cinnamon and nutmeg into each skillet.  Cook until the apples are caramelized and very tender and the liquid is evaporated about 10 minutes longer, scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the skillets and add up to 1/2 cup of water to each pan to prevent scorching .  Let cool.

3. Make the topping.  Spread the walnuts in a pie plate and toast until golden and fragrant., about 8 minutes.  Let cook, then coarsely chop the walnuts.  In a large bowl, mix the oats with the flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.  Using a pastry blender or two knives. cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Stir in the walnuts and press the mixture into clumps.

4. Spread the apple filling over the crust.  Scatter the crumbs on top, pressing them lightly into an even layer.  Bake in the center of the oven for about 1 hour until the topping is golden; rotate the pan halfway through baking.  Let cool completely on a rack before cutting into 2 inch bars.

Orange Is The New Black

We drive from our home to go to the post office downtown and as we drive down our farm road - there are several lone men with hipster Duck Dynasty beards, camouflage, and guns walking down the street and in pairs driving down the road in trucks.  If you didn't know better - you would think you were smack dab in the middle of a terrorist incident.  Men with guns walking randomly down our street and in the back fields behind our property just unnerves me.  At what point, is it right to allow people to just  wander aimlessly with no supervision with guns and shoot wherever they deem appropriate?

We stopped by the post office and I walked into say hello to Janet, our post mistress, and grab our mail.  As I walk up the stairs to the post office, the newspaper headlines catch my eye  calling out - "Wear Your Orange!" I walk in and start chatting with Janet - our normal Saturday morning banter - "So Janet, when did Hunting season start?" Janet replies - "Today."  I knew it!  That explains the gun shots we keep hearing and bearded men on our street.  I walk back out to the truck to drive us to the grocery store.  I tell him - "You better find some orange to wear if you are going to be out in the yard, Hunting season started!"  Tim is already engaged pouring through the William Sonoma cooking catalog but manages a quip "Orange is the New Black."  ( Sorry Netflix.)  I hate Hunting season.  Seeing the guns just makes me nervous.  We have so many deer and I wouldn't mind seeing fewer of them since it takes so many weeks to fence in the yard to keep them from eating our entire yard.  However, killing anything freaks me out.

As we drive back from grocery shopping in Delhi, we see these 3 poor little fawns scrambling across the highway obviously scared and alone and confused.  I look at Tim and all we can think about is that they have been separated from their mother probably because she has been shot.  I HATE hunting season.

Pork Scaloppine

Damp, cool fall day.  It warmed up in the afternoon and it was lovely sitting in the living room with all the sunlight flooding the room.  We had the most beautiful moon and clear night sky last night.  Despite the chill, we stood out on our front porch and just gazed at the moon and the way the light flooded the yard with this eery blue glow.  It was incredibly beautiful and there are nights that are just as beautiful as the daylight can be.  We baked all day in preparation for the holidays.  Tim made a new pork recipe which was great.

Pork Scaloppine

4 medium sized pork chops
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon salt -packed capers, rinsed and chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine

1. Season pork chops with salt and pepper, and dredge in flour, shaking off excess.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saute pan over medium - high heat, and then add 1 tablespoon butter and melt, swirling to coat bottom of pan.  Add pork chops in a single layer and cook, flipping once, until both sides are golden brown and pork is cooked through, about 4 minutes total.  Transfer to a serving platter and loosely cover with foil.  Repeat.  Add capers and herbs and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, just until fragrant, less then 30 seconds.  Add wine and cook until reduced by half.  Stir in remaining tablespoon of butter and pour sauce over pork.  

Pan-Seared Chicken Cutlets with Tarragon-Mustard Cream Sauce

We can't get enough of braised cabbage these days so we have had it for 3 weekends in a row - just switching out our main dish.  This was simply delicious!

Pan-Seared Chicken Cutlets with Tarragon-Mustard Cream Sauce

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon sat
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (4 ounce) chicken breast cutlets
2 teaspoons olive oil
Cooking spray
3/4 cup fat free, lower sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup half and half
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
2 teaspoons stone-ground mustard

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; add chicken.  Seal bag; shake to coat chicken.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat pan and chicken with cooking spray.  Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned.

3. Combine broth and next 3 ingredients, stirring with a whisk.  Add broth mixture to pan; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and simmer 6 minutes or until chicken is done and sauce is slightly thick.

Winter is Coming

Fall goes so quickly.  We had been preparing by putting up deer fencing and wrapping exposed trees and shrubs with burlap.  However, we always get an early snowfall in  late October and November.  We got a light dusting this weekend and it was so pretty clinging to the last remnants of summer.  I love the snow on the fern leaves and seed pods.

Black Bean and Avocado Salsa

Always looking for a new variation on guacamole!

Black Bean and Avocado Salsa

1 1/2 cups chopped tomato
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 times)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 (15 ounce ) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 ripe peeled avocados, chopped

1. Place first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir well. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Add chopped avocado just before serving; toss gently.  Serve with tortilla chips or chopped celery, cucumber or carrots.