Lucky Camille Won the Pumpkin

I had 35 people sign up to be in the "win the pumpkin" drawing at the Maker's Fair yesterday, and, of course, Camille won! How crazy things always turn out to be.

Happy Halloween to all.

Just for Halloween: Pumpkin Salsa

Wanted to take something special to Ted and Nicole's Halloween get-together, so am going for the traditional salsa with a seasonal twist. But of course, my Kroger didn't have pie pumpkins. Not to be deterred from a great idea, I'm making it with cubed Acorn Squash instead:

Half and seed squash. Roast until soft in 400 degree oven.
In same pan, half six or seven tomatillos and roast. This will take 45 minutes or so. During last 10 minutes, roast one or two tomatoes.

Cool and cube squash, roughly chop tomatillos and peel and chop tomatoes.

Add roughly chopped cilantro, about 1/4 cup, a small can of chipolte peppers chopped and a small can of pumpkin.

Add salt to taste and some hot pepper sauce if it isn't quite hot enough for you.

Serve with favorite chips, or it can be used as a glaze for roasted chicken or any other way you like to use salsa.

April 5th, Day five of NaPoWriMo

Another Easter poem:

Riding the Scooter to the Country Club for Easter Lunch

maybe I should have been suspect
when he asked me to check the weather
"no rain till Wednesday," I reported
thinking of the shed project

thinking it was another joke
I was, after all, dressed for lunch
had painted my toenails purple
to match the tie-dyed skirt
enough of a statement there
no need to don a helmet

but we all know by now
he was serious
so I buttoned my long-sleeved
over-shirt, hiked my skirt
above my knees
and grabbed him around the waist

there were many ways I was lucky
it was Easter Sunday
little traffic
we took back roads
not the interstate
the roads were dry
it was warm
the road was not too bumpy

but still I held tight
gripped him with my thighs
moved with his body
contemplated a fall

he was easy, confident
I asked if he felt me
holding tight
but no, he thought
me fearless
and on the way home
I almost was

April 4th, Easter
Day 4 of NaPoWriMo

Jack sent me to the store so that he could keep working on the shed renovation project. Any inspiration while I'm in the grip of this project. The title sort of says it all I guess.

Real Poets Should Not Go to WalMart at 8:00 on Easter Saturday Doing a Last Minute Errand for the Husband

because to get that latex
gap filler ($2.00, what a deal
get four he says when I call
to make sure it is the right stuff)
way in the back
in Hardware

there are all those
aisles up front

picked over Easter baskets
(imported from China
bamboo baskets, $.99)
and cello grass all
pink and purple gone, lots
of green and yellow
for some reason

stacks and stacks
of plastic tubs in all
colors, pastel towers
and plastic eggs by the dozen

the cute stuff, little
puff ball chicks
and bean bag rabbits
soft as baby down
gone

every bit of this
made in China
an Easter village
where all year
everyone except
the butch, the baker
and the internet cafe manager
makes Easter eggs, strips
and dies bamboo
shreds cello

everyday pastel
and down fluff
so that at 8:00
the night before
the holiest of holy holidays
last minute shoppers
can choose

how best to keep
the children believing
against hope
that the Bunny has not
forgotten them

April 3rd, Day Three

I sit on my side porch and watch the same scenery each day while I write. Guess that helps to get me in the zone. I am seeing the same things each time. Perhaps this is good?

Rhythm of This Day

days blend one to one
as notes on the diachronic scale
this one a bit higher
a sharp before the whole
or lower, flattening

the individual days
accept a new tempo
cymbal crash
orchestrating a turn
piccolo or bassoonish
twist

we are arms around each other
for a slow waltz
or kicking heels
in a country dance

impossible to tell
in the cool morning
what noon will bring

time, key signature
all at the behest
of some unconcerned
non-judgmental conductor
who flaps his arms
and lets me work out
the tune for myself

Woo, Woo, Day Two

April 2

Day two of NaPoWriMo, and I have a second poem. Crazy.



Trimmed

the well crafted poem
is nothing like this lived life
wild erratic
swing escapade
now noticeably staid
now whistling wild whipped
bouncing from metaphor to metaphor

not reason bound or language tied
nothing pinned
I sew with abandon
dance without style or preformed rhythm
a never to be repeated samba
the untrimmed seams of the untrained seamstress

can't sell this
no one would buy
but do I want to sell, really

if I could work a miracle
with a watercolor pencil
and fine line pen

if I could train my life
into beginning, middle, end

where would I say
this finds me

mid-stitch, deep in a dip
can I even sort the meteoric twists

can't slow down now
tuck a dew rag into my shorts
and take off once again

how the street does change
mid-morning to mid-night

wisteria blooms
forsythia blossoms fall

the rain washes pollen
from the front porch

NaPoWriMo
April 1, 2010

April is National Poetry Month and as part of the celebration, poets are challenged to write a poem a day for the whole month. Sort of appropriate that this begins on April Fools Day I think, 'cause I'm just crazy to even try.

Now, a poem a day means nothing will be polished or even edited at all, or at least mine will not. So anyone reading this has to look at it as a repository of ideas, not anything that is even near the finished product.

That said, I will give it a go.

When Did Becoming

when did becoming turn became
this path, once random
a genuine pleasant ramble
the imagined destination
a pinprick on the horizon
a gambol across a desert even
lighthearted

now my feet are heavy
lead filled wings
unable to lift
a bare inch forward
each step a slog

there is interest, still
at each juncture
a blade of grass a wonder
the bee that stops
mid-flight to watch
me, of all things
interested, in his short life
with my old bag

an instant for him
then a flit and he has forgotten
while I, slow, steady
contend with the discontent
of mystery

when did I miss that boat
that sailed to the middle
of Green Lake
caught the tide
ever so small

even that boat I missed
now, meant to be content
with this pace
this place
or maybe a day trip out
but always back to nearly here

where I started

Cheese at the Farmer's Market

Finally we have cheese at the Farmer's Market in Shreveport. I am so excited.

The cheese makers come from south of Dallas, which seems like a very far piece to come, so I hope they had an excellent day and will be back. They sell artisan cheeses made from milk from their own cows, so this is the real thing.

I got some nice feta, which I am using for supper tonight mixed with tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, also from the marker. I added just a hint of ground Jalapeno Pepper, a market find and some oil, also market available. It will be a wonderful addition to the cucumber salad I made with the other half of the one I cut up with the feta. Had to use Greek Yogurt from Kroger, as there is no yogurt at the market yet. As the main dish, a spinach pie (just warm it up in the oven). How do I survive without the market?

Have some cheddar, which will go well with cauliflower to make a cheese soup, and, for school lunch next week, pepper jack. The market just makes Saturday as far as I am concerned.

Thanks to Noma for seeking and finding some interesting vendors.

Pumpkin & Lentil Soup

It has been raining here for the past 20 hours, so the perfect time to make some comfort food. What could be more comforting than soup?


I got pie pumpkins at Kroger last week, 2 for $4, which was a bargain I think and today was the perfect day to use one of them. What I love about this kind of soup is that the only waste is the stem. Very eco-friendly and healthy.


First cut the pumpkin in half and scooped out the seeds. Put the seeds into a small pan with a bit of oil, salt and various spices. I personally like Indian. Coat the inside of the pumpkin with a bit of oil, salt, pepper and spices. Indian again for me, though even sweet spices might be good. It depends on your taste. Bake both seeds and pumpkin in a 325 oven for an hour or so, until the seeds are crunchy and the pumpkin is soft.


Meanwhile, start some yellow lentils with salt (not much), cayenne pepper, and some onion powder. Also brown some onion and two stalks of celery. Add these to the lentils, and, when it is baked nicely, add the pumpkin, skin and all. Boil the whole in water just to cover and then shut it down to cool.


I worked the Revel of an hour or so and when I got home put the soup into the blender a bit at a time to make it creamy. Serve with a nice big spoonful of plain yogurt on top. Splendid.


Will take the seeds to school for a snack tomorrow. Lots of soup left for an easy Monday.

Natchitoches Meat Pie Fish

I am the "Artist for a Day" in the children's section of the Red River Revel on Monday and as such needed a project to teach. Came up with a new way to make fish, or at least I cannot find the idea anywhere on the web, so it is new to me. There is one thing I have learned, however, and that is that no matter how novel the idea seems, there is probably someone out there in art idea land someplace who has had the same brain storm before.


The fish I am teaching are made from a pancake of self-drying clay with a triangle cut tail section. The rest is then brought together much like a meat pie. The mouth is left open and eyes and fins are added. The nice thing about self-drying clay is that in a day or two it gets hard enough to paint with watercolors, tempera or acrylic.


I like this idea for the regional appeal. Plus, it is so easy that even a three year old can do it with a little bit of help. Perfect for the Revel.

Quilt on Second Thought

After thinking for a week that I really didn't have, my chioce is...

This is the location of a drum roll, or one verse of "Scotland the Brave"-

To just go ahead and do what I was going to do anyway before I went around hunting up compliments from my husband and justification from Kaye, my quilting expert.

Decided to use the photo option this time just to spice up the blog a bit. It is not sewn together yet, so this is just an approximation.

I don't really care anymore what anyone thinks. The beauty of this blog is that no one reads it, so I can say anything I want and get things out without critical worry. Where I live a blog can spark tons of criticism and many arguments. Right now there is a big debate going on about authentic criticism of local theater. Lots of raw feelings about this. Don't think personal feelings about my quilting decisions will have quite the ability to spark a fire.

Of all the uses for blogs, I think this one is best. Say what I want for anyone to read, so not just writing a letter then burning it, but knowing that it will remain a rant!

Baby Quilt

Sooooo, haven't done a quilt since the one I made for Edward when he was still a twinkle, and now, too late, I find that quilting has come into the 21st century along with everything else. But me? I'm stuck in the 80's. However, my newest grand-baby will be strictly up to date.

Could be worse, I'm thinking, as I could be stuck in the 70's or 60's, but back in the 80's good scissors were still a tool that was cool. Now, if you don't own a roto-cutter and a self healing cutting board, you are in the dust. A 21st century quilt is expected to be exact. A 21st century quilter is expected to be precise.

Additionally I'm told that the squares, well, nearly squares, that I made are not really baby appropriate and my expert would rip most of it apart, down to the size a baby would appreciate.

So my conundrum: Should I just start over and save the really nice, even if I do say so myself, sort-of-squares for an interesting, if unfortunately skewed, larger quilt? Or do as she suggests and rip, rip rip? I'm leaning to a new start with new tools. After all I have learned tons from this and I like what I have done.

I like unfortunately skewed anyhow, sort of a metaphor for life. Anytime I have to explain my metaphors, they are probably not that effective. Story of...

A week of painting

Going with the process not product theme that I started this year, we have had a week of nothing but painting. Started with monochromatic work. Kids got one primary color tempera and mixed a shade and a tint. Nice results.

Then tempera again, but all three primary colors plus white and black. Kids got a six section palette to mix colors.

Finally watercolors. We did a wash the first day to give a nice painting base. Adding details to the wash for two days with smaller brushes.

I'm blown away with the fun, but hard work keeping all ten classes clean and done in half-an-hour!

Lots of pictures on the school web page!

Portfolios and Graffiti

Started work on the cover of portfolios with the kids today. Using "Tag" graffiti, so have to explain all about when and where it is all right to use graffiti. Hope that message got through.

Some of the children caught on right away and it was exciting to see the art they did. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Used the Banksy art in New Orleans as an intro to graffiti. Amazing stuff! And the kids really did get the message. Here is the link:

http://www.banksy.co.uk/outdoors/horizontal_1.htm

WWDVD

First day of school:
That's right, the little chicklets are starting to follow us around and listen to every word we have in the old brain bank.

It just amazes me that the wisdom from one teacher is sometimes soundly trounced and contradicted the next year, but I'm in the lucky position that no one cares too much what I teach, so no one tries to impart their wayward ways over the jewels of knowledge I impart.

In this vein, I had a WWDVD day today as daVinci is going to be our artistic go-to player this year. I say "Mona," you say "Lisa."

Beet Greens and Mint Chutney

This may be a bit oxymoronic, but the beet greens turned out very tasty, simple as they were, with a rosy red pot-liquor to boot. No need to make them into soup, though they would be a good soup add-on. I think beet greens are my favorite of all greens! Who'd-a-thunk-it.

Beet salad: extremely red and just the right amount of seasoning. We will see in the morning if we have an energy boost as advertised. Had lots left for another energetic supper tomorrow and the next day too. We should be leaping tall buildings by Wednesday, which is very lucky as that is my first day with kidos and I always need a little something extra until I get swinging.

Made mint chutney as well using all three kinds of mint from the herb garden, where it is trying like mad to take over. Experimented two ways: one with yogurt and one with red onions. Found a nice spice mix at the Indian Market, so that made it quite easy. Used the mortar and pestle to blend the rough chopped leaves. After watching the Julia movie, thought it only right to go at things the traditional way, even though I sort of cheated with the mix. Jack liked the oniony one, so that is probably the way to go. Keep the troops happy is my motto.

Raw Beet Salad

Ever since we read on the BBC site that beetroot juice can increase stamina, Jack and I have been trying to find this rare commodity. We haven't tried too hard as we have only been to the Farmer's Market (closes Sept. 5th) and three different grocery stores, so it may be available at the healthy food store. That place is just a little off my normal shopping route, so I will have to make a special trip.

In the meantime, I finally found fresh organic beets, with the greens attached at the "good" Kroger. "Good" meaning the one in the strip mall in the middle of the higher rent section of town. After managing to find beetroot and educating the staff that radishes were not just really small beets, brought the beets home, trimmed the greens and set them to cook independently in a bit of water with salt and pepper. I think this will be all they need. I really hate to throw things away. If this doesn't work, they will definitely be part of the next pot of vegi soup. All good!

I peeled the beets, though if it were just me, I would have probably just scrubbed them really well and grated the whole. There were three in the bunch which was a big bit for salad so we will have plenty. Then I grated a carrot and some ginger. To this I added fresh squeezed lemon and a drizzle of olive oil. Salt and pepper topped the whole off. It is marinating in the fridge just now, all ready for supper.

I'll see if we have extra energy for tomorrow's run, and if the greens and salad are up to JACK'S STANDARDS.

Edward Cooks

No more figs, thank goodness. I will be sorry about that soon I'll bet.

The good news is that Edward, the twenty year old, soon to be legal, son at school down in Natchitoches, is learning to cook; well teaching himself more exactly.

Last week he picture-texted me twice. The first time he made lasagna and the next stuffed manicotti. Pasta all the way.

By the time he graduates (one more year) he will have a whole recipe book. Wonder if you can do them short enough for twitter. That would be a good trick.

Respectable Doings with Figs

Here is the best one yet:

Fig, rosemary and goat cheese spread on Market bread.

Slice the tomato-basil bread from the market thinly and toast. Mix mashed figs with chopped rosemary and goat cheese. Spread on the toast and broil for a few.

Lovely.

The fig chutney turned out great by the way! Very nice with chopped fresh ginger. I have a small container in the fridge and several small freezer baggies for a time when figs are not taking over.

Fig bread, on the other hand, not so good. Pudding again...

Going Figgy

I have given away almost as many figs as my friends can stand, and still count them among my friends, so I'm thinkin' of ways to save figs for the future...

Ideas:
Dry them. My state of the art oven has a drying feature and they will be ready in a day or two. Oven isn't really state of the art, but I'm trying to keep the oven on my good side.

Fig bread. But not too much, and follow the recipe closely. Sometimes I play just a bit too much and it turns out more like pudding. Maybe some muffins, too.

Fig Chutney. This sounds really good to me. I'm not much of a canner, but I'm a-thinking I can get some of those little freezer bags and freeze up a few batches.

We will see what happens.

Figs for the Future. Has a certain ring.