From the Studio

I added a few new pieces to my online gallery:

Noteworthy

Wow, I was blogged! I just came across this blog post about an art and coffee event with artlovemagic last month. Still trying to finish the painting, though.

Lentil Curry

Cooked a modified version of the Lentil Curry recipe from The Classic 1000 Indian Recipes (Classic 1000 Cookbook)
for dinner tonight. Had to leave a couple of things out that I didn't have on hand, but it turned out pretty okay, I think. Definitely would make it again. Very similar to this one I found on recipezaar.com: Red Lentil Curry, except instead of the curry seasoning, I used a combination of turmeric, cinnamon, bay leaves, salt, pepper and garlic.

edited version below

Ingredients
1 cup red lentil (I used brown)
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon oil or butter or margarine (for frying)
1/2 teaspoon mustard (didn't put in this one)
2 teaspoons prepared curry powder (or your own selection of curry spices. mine being 1 teas. turmeric, 3/4 teas. cinnamon, 2 bay leaves, dash of pepper)
1 teaspoon chili powder (not big into spice, so I skipped this one)
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup milk (skipped on this one, too)
1-2 cup water (actually, used 3 cups here)
1 can diced tomatoes
spices that should have been added but didn't: 3 cloves, 1/2" ginger root

Directions
1. Wash lentils several times. Boil in pot of 3 cups water with curry powder or seasonings for 20 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a pot and add chopped onion and garlic.
3. When onion is light brown in colour, add to the lentils.
4. Mix in can of diced tomatos.
5. Simmer until lentils are cooked, adding more water of needed.
6. (opt) Add milk about 5 minutes before removeing pot from the stove. Split peas can be used instead of lentils.

Makes 2-3 servings. Serve with rice.

Sicilian Lentil Soup

1. Fry onion, celery, carrots, and garlic in olive oil.
2. Add 4-1/2 cups of water (or add a mix of broth and water to equal 4-1/2 cups), 1 cup of dry lentils, diced tomato, parsley, oregano, basil, turmeric. (opt: diced ham, bacon or chicken)
3. Cook for 30 minutes on medium-low.
4. Add 1/2 cup pasta and cook until tender.

Optional: stir in a handful of raw spinach and some parmesan cheese.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Try these, too:
Lentil Soup, Recipezaar.com #16662
Barley and Lentil Soup, La Cucina Italiana Magazine

Steamed Artichokes

Rinse artichoke and put in a pot. Fill water to cover lower half of artichoke. Cover and steam (medium heat) for about 20-25 minutes. Artichoke will be ready when you can easily pull of a leaf. Melt 1/4 cup of butter for dipping the leaves and soaking the artichoke heart. Enjoy!

Cobb Salad with Chicken

A late night supper tonight ... this time it was Cobb Salad with Chicken

Dressing:
3/4 c olive oil
1/4 c vinegar
1 garlic clove, cut into very small pieces
1 teas. sugar
1 teas Worchestershire sauce
1 teas stone ground mustard
dash of pepper
couple squirts of lemon juice

Mix the dressing in a jar and shake well. Will keep for a week.

Salad:
· Romaine Lettuce
· Crumbled cheese, I had Feta cheese, used about 1/4 cup or so
· Grilled or precooked chicken pieces, I had leftover seasoned chicken
· 1/2 of an avocado, diced
· 5 or 6 cherry tomatoes
· an artichoke heart, because artichokes make anything better
· Cilantro and Parsley seasonings
· dash of salt
· Bacon bits, this probably would be better if you just cook some bacon and crumble over the salad
· a small handful of sesame seeds, for the additional crunch ... I just happened to have some on hand so I threw these in, but I don't think normal Cobb salads actually call for this.

Assemble the salad in the order that the ingredients are listed. Pour some of dressing on top. Serves one.

From the Studio

As I am transitioning my web site off of Geocities, I added a couple of pieces to my collection. See them on my new site ...

Whirlpool

Ship on the Stormy Seas

Fort Worth road trip

I took a short road trip to Fort Worth for the weekend to see my sis and her fam. Here is a random collection of shots taken during today's trip ...

FW, May 09

Project Read, Extraordinary Faith

My sister loaned me her copy of Extraordinary Faith by Sheila Walsh, and she insisted that I read it. So, after much delay and procrastination, I picked it up the other day and began. I still have quite a ways to go before finishing it, but already it has been a good book, and here is quote that I wanted to write here and remember ...

On page xiv (yes, that's still in the Introduction chapter), Walsh refers to a quote from Charles Spurgeon, "It is not thy hold on Christ that saves thee; it is Christ. It is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee; it is Christ. It is not even thy faith in Christ that saves thee, though that be the instrument. It is Christ's blood and merit."

Anyways, there will be more to come, as I proceed further through the book ...


Other recent reads:

The Solitary Envoy T. Davis & Isabella Bunn ** :: I read this book more for the fact that it was a very light, easy read and set in one of my favorite time periods, the 1700s. There were some good messages in it.

Timeline, Michael Crichton **** :: why have I waited so long to read a Crichton book?! This book was excellent!!

Twilight, Stephanie Meyer ** :: Sorry to those who are fans, but I was a little bored with this book. Perhaps, the 2nd book will be better, but I am taking a break for awhile before continuing my journey though this series.

Various Recipes

I've been experimenting a lot in the kitchen lately, mainly because I have an assortment of foods that need to be used and lots of lentils (hence the 3rd recipe and also because they are a good inexpensive source of protein):

*PASTA SOUP WITH CHICKEN*
(sopa de fideos con pollo)

ingredients:
1" pieces of spaghetti style pasta, salt, chicken, sugar, onion, garlic, parsley, celery seed, turmeric, ital. dressing, cilantro

1. boil chicken for 15 minutes to cook through, used 4 cups of water for this. dice chicken. add 4 more cups of water. bring water to a boil.
2. stir in pasta. add chicken, various veggies (broccoli, celery, carrots, onion, garlic, green pepper) and seasonings: salt, sugar, parsley, celery seed, turmeric, basil, italian dressing. all seasonings to taste, approx. 1-2 teas ea.
3. bring to boil. then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, ten minutes.
4. Serve with a garnish of cilantro.



*LEMON HERB RICE*
a good side dish for fish

Ingredients: Long Grain Parboiled Rice, Lemon Flavor, Sugar, Salt, Marjoram, Thyme, Rosemary, and Turmeric (for color)

1. Combine rice, 1-1/2c water, *seasoning-see ingred* and 1 T of margarine in a small saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat (low, med-low), simmer 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat, seat aside 5 minutes.

55 min | 15 min prep
Serves 3-4.

other suggested ingredients/recipe from Recipezaar.com #224188
1/2 cup brown basmati rice
1 cup vegetarian chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest, grated
1 teaspoon marjoram

In saucepan, bring broth & lemon juice to simmer.
In heavy skillet heat oil. Add garlic and cook until softened.
Add rice & stir, cooking 1-2 minutes.
Add broth, salt & pepper and bring to boil.
Lower heat and simmer 30-40 minutes until all liquid is absorbed & rice is soft. (Note: Rice may take more or less time depending on temperature, so check periodically until done).
Remove from heat, stir in herbs & lemon zest. Add additional salt & pepper if desired.



*LENTILS AND RICE*
(a combo of Egyptian Koshary recipezaar #232836 with Spanish Rice recipezaar #140550)

30 min | 5 min prep
SERVES 6
1 cup lentils
1 cup rice

(probably should double the remaining ingredients next time)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups chicken broth or beef broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
16 ounces canned pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup salsa
1/4 cup sliced green onion

1. Heat oil in a 2 quart saucepan, add lentils. Fry for about 2-3 minutes.
2. Add rice and garlic until rice is lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes. *maybe this step needs to be combined with step one.
3. Add broth, cumin, and oregano; bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and cover tightly. Simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and stir in beans.
6. Let stand until all liquid is reabsorbed, about 5 minutes.
7. Stir in salsa (mine was homemade) and green onions (didn't inc this one, as it wasn't available at the time).


I thought these tasted good, but I will probably make some alterations for next and repost the new versions.

From the Studio

I've recently made some updates to my web site, and have added a few paintings. See them online: