davepolaschek

Not entirely traditional, but not entirely untraditional, either. It takes about 75-90 minutes from first heating the pan to eating. Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil or bacon grease
• 2 chorizo sausages, sliced in 1cm pieces
• 1 lb ground chicken or turkey
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 pound ham steak, cubed
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
• ½ C dried tomato dices, or 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups rice
• 1 quart chicken stock
• Pinch saffron threads
• 15 oz can green beans, drained
• ½ C frozen peas
• ½ C frozen sweet corn
• 6 scallops (½ pound or so)

Directions

1. Put oil or bacon fat in a large sauté pan and heat
2. Sauté chorizo, then set aside in a bowl
3. Sauté chicken or turkey with oregano and paprika, then set aside
4. Sauté ham, then set aside
5. Sauté onions, celery, parsley and tomatoes (sofrito), then set aside
6. Briefly sauté rice
7. Add chicken stock to rice and bring to a boil
8. Add meats, sofrito, and saffron, stir and bring back to a boil
9. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes
10. Stir mix, simmer for 10 more minutes
11. Add scallops and stir, simmer for another 10-15 minutes until all liquid is absorbed
12. Stir to fluff, let cool a bit (5 minutes), and serve.

There is probably enough salt in the chorizo, chicken stock, and ham that you won’t need to add any to the dish. A little black pepper won’t be wrong. Serve with salad or fruit on the side to make a lighter meal.

#recipe #paella

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It’s been a few weeks since my most recent Rocks on the Fence post and almost two months since the first one and needing a bit of a rest after my morning walk today (3500 steps, but in snow with a bit of a crust on it, or ruts from the cars in the street), it seems like a good time to write an update.

Also since I finished the previous post with a snowy day, having the next big snow ending this one seems fitting (though I missed taking a walk and getting photos the past few days).

We’ve continued adding a new rock, or picking up one that had fallen down every day we walk to the mailbox.

And we haven’t seen all the rocks knocked off again this month.

We did even meet a guy and his dogs one morning, and then put a rock up on the fence and took a picture as he was walking away. He didn’t seem curious about the rocks, though.

In spite of it feeling sunny here a lot of the time, we’ve had quite a few clouds in the morning rock picture this month. I think that’s partly due to it being cloudier here in the winter.

It I think it’s also due to mornings having clouds, and us getting out pretty early most days.

As we get closer to summer, the sun will move north, which will be left in the frame.

But I don’t think I’ll ever have a morning shot with the sun in the frame. I guess we’ll see. Sunrise is pretty early in midsummer though, and I generally don’t get out the door until after 7 at the earliest.

And while the number of rocks on the fence is slowly growing, there are plenty of mornings when we find a bunch of them knocked down, either by the wind or by someone walking on the path.

It’s all part of the process, I figure.

Over time, rocks that aren’t very stable get knocked off more often, and then I’ll stack them with the flatter, more stable rocks on the bottom.

So I figure over time, the row of rocks will become more stable, and will probably grow.

But there are only so many that the fence will hold. I’m not sure what I’ll do if we hit that point. Maybe start a pile on the ground.

But for now, it’s something to do after checking the mailbox each morning.

And hopefully someone else in the neighborhood gets a kick out of the rocks.

Or maybe someone reading this thinks it’s neat and will be encouraged to do their own little project.

Have a great day!

#photography #rock #NewMexico #fence

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I’ve continued setting rocks on the fence since my first post, though not every day.

It seems I’m mostly the only one playing with the rocks this time of year, but there are very few other footprints walking past the fence now, too.

I suspect I’ll see more activity once the weather gets warmer.

Then again, it may be that everyone will figure that I’ve got so much work into setting up rocks that they won’t want to mess with them.

I guess we’ll see what happens.

For now, I’m happy to add a rock most mornings, and if I didn’t find a good rock on the way to the mailbox, I either rearrange those that are there, or pick one up that’s fallen to the ground.

It takes a pretty good wind to blow the rocks off the fence (more than 30mph, I think), but people also bump the fence as they walk past. That’ll topple a few rocks.

In any case, it’s just a pile of rocks. On a fence, but still.

I have been thinking that I have enough pictures that maybe it would be interesting to make a time-lapse movie from them at some point.

But I’ve tried that before. Aligning all the pictures is conceptually simple, but complicated if you do too many. And while I’m pretty sure I could convince Photoshop to do that, it would take some scripting I have never had much enthusiasm for.

Meanwhile, I’ll keep adding or rearranging a rock most mornings, and then taking a photo from roughly the same point-of-view.

I am looking forward to warmer weather, though. It’ll be interesting to see if I pick up any collaborators.

Maybe I’ll get a dozen years like Ted did with his Lake George series. Or maybe not.

#photography #rock #NewMexico

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Ingredients

• ½ cup chopped onions
• ½ cup chopped celery
• ¾ pound carrots, cut into half-inch cubes
• ¾ pound potatoes, same
• cup of frozen peas
• 13 oz can of coconut milk
• pint jar of Jon’s awesome yellow curry
• pound of cooked, frozen shrimp

Directions

• Carrots, taters, onions and celery get sautéed in oil for about 10 minutes
• add peas, coconut milk and curry sauce, bring to a simmer
• simmer for 10 minutes, then add frozen shrimp
• bring back to a simmer
• serve over rice

#recipe #IAteThis

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On windy days, the northern flicker who hangs out in our neighborhood will fly up to the corner of our portale, and cling to the stucco wall, right near the roof, getting out of the wind. He seems to like the spot, as he’ll spend hours there.

It can be disconcerting if one of us heads outside, though. He gets frightened and takes off, and we almost always get surprised by the sudden movement. Sorry, buddy.

#photography #birb

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Made some enchilada sauce the other day, and my sweetie wanted to know what went into it, so here’s the #recipe before I forget.

Ingredients:

• 1 qt tomatoes, fresh or frozen
• 3-6 chiles, pulled off the ristra, stems & seeds removed
• 2 tsp Better Than Bouillon roasted chicken flavor
• 1 tsp onion powder
• pinch salt
• 1 tsp smoked paprika or ½ tsp liquid smoke

Directions:

• Throw everything into a blender, and blend until smooth.
• Put into a pan, and simmer until it’s reduced down to about a pint (by half)
• Enjoy

Edited to add: Our rule for the chiles is “about one chile per medium-large tomato.” That seems to work out to four-five per quart, but we need to make sure we’re not missing seeds at that rate.

#sauce

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Every morning (except Mondays) I walk to the mailbox to pick up the mail that was delivered the previous evening.

There’s a fence on the Berm Path that I take home from the mailbox to keep cars, motorcycles, and mostly horses from using the path.

A couple weeks ago, I picked up a couple rocks that had been sitting on the path, and set them on the fence.

Most every morning, I either add a new rock, or rearrange the ones that are already there.

Lately, someone else has been adding rocks, as well.

It seems we’ve got something of a community art installation going. I wonder who my mystery co-artist is.

Even on days when there isn’t any mail, now I’ve got something to look forward to on my walk to the mailbox now.

I wonder how long we’ll keep it going.

At least a few more days...

#photography #NewMexico #rock

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This is the third bowl I turned, and the second made of birch. I managed to get the sides a little thinner, and the bottom thinner as well. I almost avoided tear-out on the end-grain sides of the bowl, only using the bowl gouge, but there was a little, so I sanded to clean things up.

Turned this one in a single session in the shop. Maybe three hours total, including cutting it octagonal on the bandsaw, mounting it on the plate, cutting it free, and using the belt-sander to take off the last nubbin on the bottom.

It’s a little over 5 inches in diameter, and about 1-¼ inches tall.

Six coats of shellac, with some light sanding with 400 grit between the fourth and fifth coats. I’m trying to decide if I should pull out my French polishing kit and try to really put a nice finish on it, or whether this is good enough.

Thanks for looking!

#woodworking #woodturning #bowl

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This morning, my sweetie noticed a couple bluebirds sitting in the juniper by our corner. I got out the camera, and noticed there’s also a house finch sitting lower in the foliage. Cute!

#photography #birb

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We went out this evening to look at some of our neighbors’ Christmas lights. There are a couple pretty spectacular displays. We’ll be looking for more over the next couple weeks, too.

#photography #lights

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