TAD with Rain Farm Land

 Greetings!

Don't know why I have such a problem reading Rain's list of themes. I am a week off again.

Today is Farm Land with TAD over at Rain's.

I am going to tell you a true story. When I was 22 years old I was the second cook at a huge hospital in the San Fransisco Bay Area. My babies were 5 and 3 years old. One of my neighbors was a semi truck driver that told me about a job opening for a cook 50 miles outside of Winnemucca, NV. It was a 10,000 acre ranch with 30 (real) cowboys. There were buffalo, Charolais cattle, horses, chickens, and alfalfa with a mill to make rabbit feed among other things. They had a trailer for me and the kids and I was in charge. In 1974 Winnemucca was a nothing of town and 50 miles out was more of nothing. I love it!!!! My neighbor with the semi truck moved me from SF to the ranch. However, one look at the trailer and my heart fell out of my chest. It had no living room floor, and the kitchen was.... well there wasn't one. I found the foreman and within a day that trailer was removed and a new one sat in it's place. The cook house was the worst kind of mess. It took me 2 days to get it clean along with the dinning room.  During the 2 days of cleaning the cowboys were not allowed in. I am not sure what or where they ate but it wasn't in my kitchen. On day 1 I got up at 4Am to get the best breakfast prepared. I remember standing out on the porch watching the sun come up over the mountains and the fragrance of clean air mixed with wild sage and alfalfa. Then I rang the big bell for the cowboys to come eat. It was amazing! Come lunch, I rang the bell and 30 filthy men started to come in. Ohhhh Nooo! I handed them towels and pointed to the big wash sink outside. Some of them were reluctant but they all washed before they came in. Lunch was the big meal of the day and I never got so many compliments in my life. The cowboys loved my kids and me for that matter. Respect from some old cowboys that were trying to keep their way of life alive. If the ranch hadn't closed a few years later, I would still be working there. Riding horses with my kids, teaching them to shoot and hunting rabbits for our dinner. The cowboys playing silly tricks on us and camp fires with singing and laughter echoing through the valley. Yes, I was young but it was a life I loved. I am sad to say that I do not have one photo of this time of my life. Taking photos was just not easy and there was always so much work on the ranch.

These are the types of cattle on the ranch.

From ranches to raunchy. I finished the drawing I started while waiting for Mr M. at the doctor's

 

And for some great news, for me anyway. Some of you may know that a few years ago I hurt my back pretty severely. This year it is not doing well at all. I truly thought I would not be able to garden. Mr. M. helped me put up a few containers to make a small garden. This summer Mr. M. is building me an elevated garden section where I don't have to bend over and I don't have to take it all down for the winter. Just cover it. So I will be happy with a small garden this year.

I made a small greenhouse. Works great. I have lettuce growing inside.	I got these buckets of potatoes planted last week.
I will have 5 more buckets set up tomorrow.	I couldn't believe the sun came out today.
The onions on the table I grew from the ends of green onions. The next plant is black bean that I started in the house.	I have 5 buckets of squash on the fence side. I Germinated them in the house and they are already showing after one day.

Growing food makes me happy!

Have a great day today.

Nicole

Food Wednesday

 Greetings!

Today is Food Wednesday with Kathy over at Hummingbird Studio at the Lake.

The other day I wanted to play with some Aquafaba. So I opened a can of Chick peas drained the juice. But now, I have to make something with the Chick peas. I love hummus so that was an easy decision. First, Aquafaba is not a new idea just pretty new to me. 3T equals 1 egg. I wanted to see how that would work is some sugar cookies. OMG!!!!! So good and beautifully baked. 

I used this recipe.

2 sticks of butter, 2/3C sugar, 2t vanilla, 1/4C aquafaba at room temp. 2 1/2C APF (all purpose flour) 1/2t salt 1/2t baking powder.

Cream butter and sugar. Add aquabab and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Add dry ingredients.

Spoon dough onto cookie sheet. I pressed the dough down with my fingers. Now for the cooking. I was told that using aquafaba you want to bake at a lower temp 325°F 164°C for 10 minutes. I started out with that but in my oven the cookies were taking too long to bake. That would make them tough. So I went with the normal 350°F 177°C and they turned out just fine. These cookies have a slight crunch on the outside and soft inside. If you want crisp cookies back 5 minutes longer. Next, making Tahini and Hummus.

We start with Chick peas and Aquafaba.	Use the Aquafaba to make cookies.
Click on the photo to see how flaky these are	Making the Tahini. Brown 1/2 cup of sesame seeds in a hot pan.
Pour out on a cookie sheet to cool thoroughly.	Pour into blender and pulse until a bit crumbly.
Add 2T of grapeseed or olive oil and blend.	Add 1 more T of oil and 1T water.
You may have to add a bit more water. Make sure it is cold water, to get to this consistency. Where it will drip off the spoon. I don't season my Tahini but add any that you might like.	Now to make the Hummus. In a blender add 1 can of Chick Peas, 1/4C of Tahini, 1t each of garlic and onion powder. 1T lemon juice.
Blend until the Chick Peas are smooth. Add more seasoning if you like.	I like a bit of Dill on top.
The perfect snack or dip at a gathering. We top all sorts of veggies with hummus including baked potatoes.	I made Lasagna last week. I don't care how hard I try there is always enough to feed the block. Some goes to our elderly neighbors and the rest goes into the freezer. This has meat but I do make a veggie version of it.

A note on the hummus. I like mine plain with the seasoning I shared. There are so many things to add to hummus, use your imagination and have fun with it.

Also you can freeze Aquafaba and use it later.

Nicole

T Stands for long drive

 Hi Everyone!

Today is T stands for long drive over at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's. Ya know, it's T- party time. This is going to be short. I had to drive Mr. M. to Salem today. It's such a long drive and we always stop in Albany (this is Oregon) to shop at Costco and Winco. Much better prices than in Florence. Sooooo needless to say it is a very long day. 6 hours total on the road, shopping, home, put everything away and then for me beer thirty. LOL Mr. M. has fallen to sleep on the couch and I am getting ready to go upstairs to watch a movie and probably fall to sleep before it gets going. Sighhhh... 

getting old is hard. LOL

While I waited in the car for Mr. M. I started this creature. I will have it finished tomorrow or the next day.

To get into the T-Party I have to show some sort of drink.

I mentioned earlier that I had a beer when I got home. I could have had a few but only had one left in the fridg. Ha ha ha. I never have more than one. Coors Light in a bottle is my beer of choice.

 

I hope you all have a lovely Tuesday.

 

Nicole
 

Movie Monday

 Hi Everyone!

It's been an all day cooking day and I am not done yet. I will share what my kitchen endeavors have been on Food Wednesday. 

Right now it's Movie Monday.

Saturday evening Mr. M. and I watched a movie that we haven't seen in many years. It's call The Invitation. 

While attending a dinner party at his former house, a man (Logan Marshall-Green) starts to believe that his ex-wife (Tammy Blanchard) and her new husband (Michiel Huisman) have sinister plans for the guests. In this taut psychological thriller. The tension is palpable when Will shows up to his ex-wife and new husband David's dinner party. The pair’s tragic past haunts an equally spooky present: Amid Eden’s suspicious behavior and her mysterious house guests, Will becomes convinced that his invitation was extended with a hidden agenda. Unfolding over one dark evening in the Hollywood Hills, The Invitation blurs layers of mounting paranoia, mystery, and horror until both Will—and the audience—are unsure what threats are real or imagined. The ending is brilliant.

We watched this free on the Roku channel but it is free on Tubi as well. I have to admit the commercials on these channels are not bad at all. You can also stream this on Netflix, however it is leaving on July 7th there.

Have a great day today.

Nicole

Friday Face Off

 Hi Everyone!

Today is Friday Face Off. A fun challenge that I am doing with  

Barbara over at Artistic Living 

The face I made this week is going to go onto a piece of Maple wood. In fact, several faces are going on the wood to make a wall hanging. I will show it when it is finished. 

The colors are a bit different in real life.

Taking photos with my hands full of clay is difficult and working with air dry clay I have to work a bit faster than with polymer. Plus I get on a roll and forget to take photos.

To this point, I shaped the face, cut out a piece, marked out features, placed in the eyes and mad a brow.	Shaping in the nose area.
Smoothing the clay.	Using a ball stylus to shape in nostrils.
These are soft tip shapers. I also have another set that I use for pastels and powdered graphite.	These are ball syluses. Good for making dents and shaping. Not sure what the plural is for sylus. LOL
Shaping in the mouth.	I have placed in the horns and put a big mole on the chin.
Finished.	Another view.

Next week I will show you all the tools I use. Some are just ordinary household items.

Wishing you a good day today.

 

Nicole