Practice, practice, practice

some more please!!!

Preparing the beef stew

So this is my first time making beef stew. (gulp…and if it’s rotten, that’s quite a bit of food being wasted…). I know that my grandmother makes everything WONDERFUL, and hopefully during the thanksgiving holidays she might  give me a recipe for beef stew. But as it is, it’s all  from some creative mush element that this stew is being created.

about a pound of stew meat (chuck roast i’m assuming??…not a meat expert here, cut into cubes)

half an onion chopped

2 celery stalks cut into pieces

3 cans of beef broth (I think two is enough, it’s rather soupy)

Worcestershire sauce ( to cook the meat in)

Italian herbs (oregano, basil, and marjoram)

baby carrots (half a bag of them)

can peas

can corn (do you put corn in stew…I don’t know)

2 potatoes peeled and cut into cubes

salt and pepper

I browned the stew meat with the italian herbs (dashes are all I put in there…you know there is no measurements in code mush!) and Worcestershire sauce (if you like it put more of it because it gives the meat a good flavor). I used a slow cooker and put the onion, celery, salt and pepper, and beef broth on low heat. Add the meat and a little more worcestershire (am I even spelling that right?) sauce, carrots, the potatoes, corn and peas.

Although, it’s been simmerin’ for quite some time, I’m not sure if it’s going to taste okay. Last night me and Isaac tasted it, but it just was not quite ready. And…it lacked something.

So, I looked online and a lot of recipes called for garlic, onion soup mix, red wine, butter, etc…

I didn’t feel like going to the store to get any of these things, so I just added a bit of garlic powder, parsley, and red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar. Oh, and a little butter, why not? AND a little more salt and pepper. AND…it’s been on low heat  for a loong time. I had to turn it off while we went shopping yesterday, and turned it back on at 7pm. So …I think it will be ready at 5. I’m putting the time limit to 5!  Okay!!

And to top it all off, I’m baking a cake. Yes, folks, I am baking a cake. Little Susie homemaker with a can of beer in one hand, i-pod blaring some awesome tunes in the other, shakin’ her booty in the kitchen, is making a cake.  But I will post later with the ingredients because I do not know what the heck this is going to taste like.

Any suggestions as to what might go well with beef stew? I was thinking french bread…ooh, la, la! But I don’t want to leave my house and I’m sure as heck not ready to tinker with baking french bread!!

Anatomically incorrect skeleton in profile

CODE MUSH:

something that you don’t see everyday:

an anatomically incorrect skeleton in profile view.

Ahahah…and he’s got such a cheesy grin. But most skeletons do.

A bird that was flying into my gourd !

So I have a gourd that I wanted to make into a bird’s nest. I’ve had it for a while, and I’ve just been keeping it out on my pouch. My dad carved an entrance and a little perch! So it looks like a nice cozy place to nest in right? I would hope so for a bird!

I noticed the other day that there was some rattling on my porch. So I investigated and found a small finch flying away, and my gourd shaking wildly. I guess someone is trying to nest. However, the gourd is too close for comfort for the little thing. I think it would rather have a nest in a tree. I mean, that would probably be the most ideal place.

….Speaking of trees…

they are cutting down the large water oak in my yard as we speak! My boyfriend works at a tree service, and noticed that the crack down the middle of the tree had gotten considerably wider since the last storm we had. Water has been seeping through the crack creating rot. He called the landlord immediately to take this tree down! And sure enough, the landlord took him seriously! I hear chainsaws and branches hitting the roof right now…

Poor Luna…she is the one that is going to be missing that tree more than I am. No more squirrels… It was the first tree I climbed with Isaac to get over my fear of heights. Boy, was that interesting! I had to trust the rope that was holding me, and I think I only got up maybe 20 feet off the ground, just to the first branch I could grab a hold of. But once I did trust the rope, I was hanging like a monkey in a tree. I just didn’t want to go any higher! Isaac sent up a cooler of beer and we shared a six pack of budweiser. That was just a year ago!

Then I remember I made a heaping pot of chili, and he said “I am not going to find a better girl than you,” or something like that. Something romantic. That was just a good memory! Happy days…

We’ve had plenty of good memories with that oak. It’s our comforting shade tree while we’re grilling our guaca-macka burgers. It’s the tree that we chase Luna around or just stare and look up at its beauty.

I didn’t get to hug the tree goodbye…

My first climbing experience!

ideal looking stir fry

Yesterday I was in an energetic mood. I had spent most of the day busy at work but daydreaming about making something goooood for Isaac, which put me in some creative element that left me wanted to do something with my hands, of course! And my stomach! I thought i’d make it fun and make him guess what I was making by the smells emanating from the kitchen, and that there would be a surprise at the end if he got it right. Well, he guessed it before I even started making it (I have to say he started digging in the fridge…sneaky little thing). Well, I did not use a recipe, but I thought that I would soak the beef in some soy sauce, pepper, garlic powder, and voila! I thought that would make it taste like stir fry.

Well yeah, it did, but…I over did it with the soy sauce. Yep, I have accustomed myself to less salty food these days. I don’t know why. I guess that’s a good thing. I used to love putting salt on everything! Granted, soy sauce is a lot more salty than salt, but still…it should have been fine. I know I didn’t put more than a 1/4 cup of soy sauce to a 1/2 lb of beef? I think? I’m not one to use the measuring cups, you know, it’s the power of the mushiness, creative spirit that drives my putting a little of this, and putting a little of that, so…

gag!

Isaac ate it just fine, even it was salty for him.

Oh well…I will remember that I cannot handle salt anymore to my taste buds.

Of course, that picture above is NOT what it looked like, it was covered in that dark syrupy substance…Stir fry is one of my favorite foods and I will have to perfect it! Just like anything that takes skill and creativity, practice, practice, practice! Even if I have to make oodles and oodles of the stuff, and gain 2o or so more pounds. EEEK!

I have definitely made the mental note here.

Oh! and the surprise was a fortune cookie, of course!

Diving into the darkness

I wish that for one day I could focus my thoughts away from the unimagined, useless insecurities, to focus on something better! Why must I torment my mind with these plaguing doubts!

….

This illustration I did was part of diving into the darker parts of my mind, and consequently I kept digging deeper and deeper until I created a sea of fears for myself. Which I reside in heavily, I don’t know why for some reason.

MUGS!

So lately I have been working on drawing what’s in front of me, and it so happens that I always have a coffee mug either in my hand or beside me. It’s always filled with brimming hot coffee or a cup of my favorite green tea. In the afternoons, it’s almost certainly green tea. I love afternoon tea! I should moved to England!…

But I’d like to get in the subject of…MUGS!!

A favorite mug is important. It can add a little happiness to your day, when you notice that it’s been cleaned the night before and it’s staring right at you in the cupboard, saying “hi,” “good mornin’ to ya,” etc. right there in your cupboard. It wants to let you know that its special from all the other coffee mugs you’ve acquired over the years.

You may have woken up in a foul mood, hung over, the dog has been whining in your ear for what seems like hours to you, while you try to get the extra 2o minutes of sleep before your alarm goes off, again! But just the thought of a little mug just made of ceramic, can try to change the course of the day.

I do have a favorite, and it happens to be the one I drew the other day in my sketch book. My Crater Lake mug.

Why is this such a favorite? I guess because it was a souvenir  from the west coast which I intend to go back someday. I think that might have to do with it. I have a yearning to travel, hit the road, do those things that I’ve always dreamed of! Climbing up mountains and hiking long trails into unknown territories, that sort of dream. Just being around nature and its beauty, and not having to hear the hustle and bustle of society and the city life. Can a coffee mug really bring out those yearnings? I guess so…!

Plus, the mug is sort of a replica of camping style mugs, you know, the ones that are dark blue with the white dots on them? Made of tin. Well, this one is not made of tin, but it has the little dots on it, and its rounded with a large handle that you can grip easily while  you’re sitting around a campfire or something. I just like it!

So I can drink from it, and savor the moment when I can get out there and camp out in nature and still enjoy a campfire-made coffee. Ahhh, sounds like heaven!

If the day and the night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more elastic, more starry, more immortal,–that is your success. All nature is your congratulation, and you have cause momentarily to bless yourself.   —Henry David Thoreau

Celebrations require cake!

yellow cake with butter cream frosting and…candy corn pumpkins on top!

OOOkay…so I sound like little  Susie Homemaker! Or even worse…your mother! or an endearing old grandma….I know, I know I shouldn’t worry about such titles, as they will be my title someday, but I can’t help but feel like it. I just wanted to celebrate the wonderful weather we’re having here in Texas, and the fact that I love the fall. The leaves aren’t changing yet, but the weather is just so exciting to me. I can’t help it I love when the weather starts to change! It makes me feel young, and no, I shouldn’t be feeling like an old lady, but like a kid again. I can remember the leaves piling up in the yard and how we would make piles so high full of leaves and run and belly flop down into them! Or figuring out what we’re going to be for Halloween. I was always Punky Brewster or a  Black Cat. And the candy…ohhh, how much I love candy! Especially candy corn. Still, to this day, my mom sends me a package of candy corn. I love that.

Now, as I’m just a little bit older…I have other wonderful wonderfulnesses of fall. I can track the day of the Fall Equinox and the Harvest Moon…I can sit on my porch with a nice cup of coffee in the mornings and feel the wind from the north breeze by, and also hear the wind chimes at night as I carve pumpkins with Isaac. I can put on my favorite sweater that’s been sitting in the far end of the closet all summer long, and put it on as the sun starts to go down and just wrap myself in the happiness of seasons. I’m so glad that the earth is tilted on its axis and the earth spins around the sun…

I guess it wouldn’t be so great if you lived on the equator, although living there does have its perks…because Winter is coming!!!

Yes, winter may follow fall, but don’t fret, we always have Spring to look forward to!

That’s why I’m celebrating with cake! Because a celebration always calls for cake. Even if it is a celebration of the seasons.

I can’t think of anything else to do besides run around outside! Just one second…VVRROOOM…..!! Okay, I just ran outside and it sounded like a car…(hence, VVVROOMMM) and chased my dog Luna around a tree. I have the front door wide open to that wonderful breeze.

What else is there to say? Except get outside! Enjoy the weather!