Our First Geocache

A Day in the Life of a Beagle

Today was a great day.

First we laid on the bed for a long time and listened to Brian and Audrey make fun of the news.

Then we got to go out to THE DESERT! SO MANY SMELLS!

First we run like idiots.

Elwood almost always following Jake.




Oh, I think we found something...

(They're supposed to hunt for rabbits. This was the home of a rat.)

Then we run around some more and look really cute.





A little bird's nest, just for fun.

Thanksgiving Pics

I currently don't have access to my Thanksgiving recipes, since my brother-in-law is asleep in the room with all my stuff, but I thought I would go ahead and post some pics for you to drool over.

Titus the Chipotle Turkey
Titus Undone

An Untouched Plate
How it Eats
Pie, Glorious Pie
I will never go back to plain pumpkin pie

I know it's silly to do this much for just Brian and me, but I have so much fun with it. And then I don't have to cook for a whole week after Thanksgiving. I keep telling myself that I'm practicing for someday when people come to my house for Thanksgiving, so I don't have a Griswold Family Experience.

Coming soon!

I have many many updates to do, and thanks to the appearance of my new MAC! I am able to access a computer again. Poor Brian has been so swamped with work lately that I just can't bear to wrench the computer away from him. And my kids have a concert tomorrow -- please pray for me! Rehearsal today was a total disaster. No exaggeration. It made me want to puke. But soon, there will be many many recipes. Thanksgiving! Christmas! Hooray!

Chile Rellenos

For those of you who don't live in New Mexico, I'm very sorry. Every fall we have this wonderful time when the green chiles are picked and all over the state you can smell them roasting. It has to be one of my favorite smells ever. And this year I bought a whole bushel of chiles. It's a major hassle to separate them and freeze them, but I don't think I can live without them. Even when I move I intend to come back every fall and get more.

And every fall around chile roasting time I make lots of things with chile. Some people are crazy and go as far as green chile ice cream, or green chile apple pie. I just can't bring myself to do it. I stick with tradition -- enchiladas, stew, eggs, and rellenos.

This is my first time making rellenos. Rellenos are chiles that are stuffed with something (usually cheese) and then battered and deep fried. It's a beautiful thing. I looked at many recipes and found lots of strange things. Like people who put shrimp or fruit in them. Ick. And I called my friend who is Mexican and a fantastic cook, but she was busy. So I decided to wing it. And look what I got

So, here's my white-girl Mexican recipe for Chile Rellenos
8 whole roasted green chiles, peeled (I leave the seeds in because I like the spice)
Mexican cheese (like asadero) cut in long skinny rectangles to fit inside the chile
3 eggs, separated
Flour
Salt and pepper
Oil for frying

Cut a small slit in the chile. Carefully stuff it with cheese. If you need to, use toothpicks to hold it together. Beat the egg whites until they are fluffy. In a separate bowl, mix the yolks with 1 T flour, and then fold that mixture into the whites. Be careful not to deflate the whites by mixing too much. In a pie pan, sprinkle some flour and mix with salt and pepper. Roll the chiles in the flour, then in the egg mix, and then drop into really hot oil. Fry for a couple of minutes until the chile is beautiful golden brown. Then enjoy! Be careful of any toothpicks!

Possibly the Best Appetizer Ever!

I have recently discovered what I believe to be the best appetizer ever. That is, if you love tomatoes. It seems time consuming, but it's really not so bad. And well worth it, I promise

Oven Roasted Tomatoes
1 Cup of Olive Oil
2 pounds tomatoes, halved lengthwise and seeded (I used a combo of really good canned and the few home-grown that were ready)
Oregano
3/4 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. parsley, minced
Goat cheese (at room temp)
Bread (Baguette or something similar)

Preheat the oven to 250. Cover the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan with olive oil. Lay the tomatoes in the pan, cut side up. Sprinkle with oregano, sugar and salt. Drizzle with about 1/2 cup olive oil. Bake for about an hour. Turn tomatoes over with tongs, and bake for another hour. Turn them over again. Bake a little longer, until they are soft and really dark red. When they are ready, transfer them to a bowl. This last part should take anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes.

When the bottom of the bowl is covered with tomatoes, layer in the garlic and parsley. As you add more layers of tomatoes, add more garlic and parsley. When everybody's in the bowl, pour on whatever oil is in the baking pan, and add more oil to cover the tomatoes. Let them sit for at least two hours at room temp.

Serve with goat cheese and bread slices and red wine. Make sure the cheese is at room temp, or it will be crumbly. When warm it spreads perfectly on the bread. I can't think of anything tastier.

If for some reason you don't finish it all, cover and store for up to 5 days. Bring back to room temp before serving.

Slightly off topic, but still important...

I know this blog is supposed to be about food, but my job is of course a big part of my life, too. I think I have the best job in the world. I get to sing and dance and play all day. I don't really have to grade stuff, I only see the kids for a little while so I don't really have to deal with discipline, and I'm pretty much the most popular teacher at school. Not really through any personal virtues, but what I teach is just so much fun.

I know I am very blessed too in that I have a great job position. Some music teachers have no money to spend on equipment, many don't even have a classroom, and are thought of as a waste of time and money by administrators and fellow teachers. I admit there are a few teachers at the school who think I am just a babysitter, but most are pretty respectful of me. And I have a fantastic administrator who supports what I do, and more money than I know how to spend. Seriously, I have never spent this much money in my life. I have every instrument I could ever desire, plus backups. It's ridiculous and fabulous.

However, I have been pretty discouraged this week. I have been making recordings of students to audition for a choir. And thus far have not found even one that I will send to the judges. Some I might keep just to listen to and laugh over when I've had too much wine. Still, I feel that it reflects poorly on me when my kids can't sing. But then I remind myself that I am a good teacher. I know that. I have LOTS of room to improve, but for my second year I'm doing pretty good. These kids, however, have had only two years of good music instruction, and I guess singing is harder than I thought it was.

I think deep down I always believed most people could sing on pitch without having to work at it. It was never that hard for me. And being a musician I probably surrounded myself with other musical people. I am blessed with a very musical family, too. I don't know if I ever heard someone really awful until I started teaching. So much of musical aptitude has to do with childhood. Growing up I always remember singing. My grandma sang all the time, and my mom. Those are some of my best childhood memories. A kid asked me the other day how I know so many songs, and I said most of them I remember from when I was little. Children aren't sung to anymore, or rocked, they don't listen to music, they're told to be quiet when they sing. And music is quickly becoming a lost art, which terrifies me. So, thanks Granny, and Mom, and Donna, and Dad, for singing to me, for giving me music to listen to, for letting me sing.