Abstract Watercolor Painting

 I used watercolor inks for this painting.

Dd's Coca Cola Carnitas

COCA COLA CARNITAS

 

2 # boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 ½ c. Coca-Cola

1 c. beef stock

2 medium onions, thinly sliced, divided

6 cloves garlic, smashed

1 ½ tsp. kosher salt

3 tsp. chili powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. cayenne pepper, as desired

Garnish: cilantro, guacamole, pickled red onions, shredded Jalapeno Monterey Jack cheese

 

In a mixing bowl toss together pork, salt, chili powder, cumin, oregano and cayenne pepper. 

In a large saucepot over medium heat brown pork pieces in oil. Add cola, broth, ½ of onions and garlic. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cover, cook 1 hour. Add remaining sliced onion. Continue cooking an additional hour until meat is tender. Shred meat with 2 forks stirring to coat meat with reduction.

Serve with tortillas, Mexican rice and garnishes as desired. Serves 3-4.

 

Intruder

One of our security cameras caught an intruder last month.  We never saw that dog before.  Don't know where it came from.

Cheesecake Bars

Long story short,  Times had cream cheese on sale for $1.  😂

 

CLETA'S CHEESECAKE BARS

CRUST:

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2 cups flour

½ tsp salt

CHEESECAKE LAYER: 

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, room temp

½ cup sugar 

1 large egg, room temp

1 tsp vanilla extract

FILLING OF CHOICE- no more than 2 cups 

STREUSEL TOPPING:

1-1/2 cups flour

1-1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

¾ cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

¼ tsp. salt

¼ cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  
2. You can use an electric mixer but I just used my hand to combine the crust ingredients together.  Transfer to an ungreased 13x9 inch baking pan, pat the crust in and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool completely.
3. In a bowl, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth on medium speed.  Add the egg and vanilla and continue beating until combined.  Set aside.
4. In another bowl, combine the Streusel ingredients until the mixture comes together and forms coarse crumbs.  
5. Once the crust has cooled, spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the top of the crust leaving a ¼ inch edge all around.  Spread a thin layer of filling over the cream cheese then sprinkle the streusel topping over the entire top.  Bake for 40 minutes, remove and cool completely.  Cover with plastic wrap and let it set overnight before cutting into squares.
6. Makes about 24 pieces.

Sales Tactics

Landon and Wendell have been into golfing lately, so these balls at the swap meet caught my eye.  The seller is a nice guy who goes way back to Kam Swap Meet days. 

As I studied the package he said, "Ask me if I'd sell them to you for $2."

I said, "Will you sell these to me for $2?"

He said, "Yes."

And so I bought um.

Then there's this radio/CD player.  It sat at the corner of a table with other items that looked like they had come out of a storage locker.  I had been wanting a small CD player, and this one looked perfect.  It was going for $5.  I asked the seller if he had tested it out.  He admitted that he hadn't.

But he guaranteed me that there was a 99.9% probability that it would work.  I hesitated a little.  He lowered the price to $3.

I took the chance.  Especially after seeing this notice still attached inside the CD player which led me to believe that it had never been used.

One of the first things that I did when I got home was to plug in the player.  Guess what happened.

Nothing.  It doesn't work.  Kinda funny, yah.

So, I've been watching How To Fix a CD Player videos on YouTube.   I'm pretty certain that there's a 0.1% probability that I'll be able to fix it. 

Mrs. Hane

Wendell was a kids' baseball coach for many years, and Mrs. Hane was one of my favorite moms.  She was always so sweet and thoughtful.

Before Covid I used to see her all the time at Ross, especially on Tutu Tuesdays.  She would usually have a stash of homemade chocolate chip cookies in her purse to give away. 

I saw Mrs. Hane yesterday at Ross.  I'd been watching out for her ever since I started Ross-shopping again.

She was at the end of the food aisle looking in my direction.  I waved and went over to talk to her.  Turns out she was wondering if it was me.  She said that she couldn't tell because of my mask.  I also have a ponytail now, and I don't wear makeup anymore, so I can see why she was unsure.

After chit-chatting for a little bit, she reached into her purse.  She said that she didn't have any cookies, but she did have some flowers for me. 

As usual, Mrs. Hane brightened up my day.  I wish I could be as thoughtful as her.

Continuous Line Drawing

There is a drawing exercise where you complete a drawing without taking your pencil off the paper.  It's said to help develop eye-hand coordination and observational skills.

I tried the technique using the photo below.

It's fun.  Go try!

Wendell's Skillet Mushroom Chicken

Wendell made this sometime last month, and it was so, so good!  The recipe is from Damn Delicious site.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 5 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour, divided
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

DIRECTIONS:

1. Season chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Dredge chicken in 4 tablespoons flour until evenly coated.
2. Heat canola oil and butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.
3. Working in batches, add chicken to the skillet in a single layer and cook until golden brown and cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 4-5 minutes per side; set aside. Reduce heat to medium low.
4. Add garlic, shallot and mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender and browned, about 4 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Whisk in remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
6. Gradually whisk in chicken stock and thyme. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Return chicken to the skillet.
7. Serve immediately.

Swap Meet 05-16-2021

 Here's a short slideshow video for you.

Negative Painting - Hearts

 Here's a video of me painting with my favorite negative-painting technique. 

I used music from this Journey CD that I got at the swap meet. 

Swap Meet Grinds

Thought I'd share the food stuff I bought at the swap meet recently. 

On the left are scones from Aloha Bakehouse - blueberry, banana and strawberry/white chocolate.  Cheesecake on the top and joong on the lower right were made by a Chinese couple.  Dean and Deluca Prosciutto Pasta and Rum Raisin Bread are also on the top.  They're at the swap meet every third Sunday. Bottom row Spaghetti and Lechon were made by Bebot's Filipino Fast Food. Bebot's is there every Sunday.

The spaghetti was too sweet for me.  Wasn't a fan.  Everything else was good!

Dd's Mushroom Risotto

Here's what Didi made with some of the oyster mushrooms which she grew herself.  

  

MUSHROOM RISOTTO

 

4 ½-5 c. chicken broth, as needed

1 TB olive oil

2 TB butter

½ c. shallots, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

12 oz. oyster mushrooms, thinly sliced

4 oz. cremini mushrooms, coarsely chopped

2 c. arborio rice

½ tsp. dried thyme

1 c. white wine

Salt, freshly cracked black pepper

¼-½ c. heavy cream, as needed

¾ c. parmesan cheese, grated, divided

 

In a medium saucepan over medium heat simmer broth. In a large saucepan over medium heat saute shallots and garlic in oil and butter. Add mushrooms; cook until slightly browned. Remove half of oyster mushrooms; set aside. 

Stir in rice until opaque, about 1 minute. Add thyme and wine. Stir until completely evaporated. Add 3/4 cup of stock, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until stock is nearly all evaporated. Continue adding stock 1/2 cup at a time until previous addition is nearly absorbed, until rice is tender and risotto is creamy, 18-20 minutes. 

Stir in cream, 1/2 cup of cheese. Remove from heat. Taste for seasoning.  Serve immediately. Top with reserved oyster mushrooms and remaining cheese. Serves 4.

 

Ross's Tutu Tuesday

How's my name for Ross's senior day?  Actually, I guess it should be "Kupuna", but "Tutu" goes better with Tuesday.

Anyway, I went to Ross early yesterday.  Right after they opened up.  I had my mind set on getting more of the Shiseido Bio Performance before they run out.  I can't help it.  Good deals make me hoard. 

This is what I got.

I had a great plan for the Simple Function freezer bin.  You see how I can't reach items in the back of the top shelf of my 'fridge?  I always have to use tongs.  

Lookeee!!!  Now I can just slide the bin out!  Good idea, hah?

And it was only $3.99 plus my discount for being old!

Growing Mushrooms

Here are the mushrooms!

This is Colin's. 

And here it is just before harvesting.

This is Didi's.

And here it is before harvesting!

Very coooool!!

Mushroom Grow Kit

Hi Peoples!!  Hope you're doing okay.  Me?  I'm good, and I think it's time to do this blogging thing already.  

Doesn't this look interesting?  Anybody ever tried?  It says 100% guaranteed to grow!  It was on Amazon Deal recently for $7.25 (about half-price) so I bought a few to share.

I'll show you the results later!

Here's an instructional video which shows you how to set up your "farm":

Hi!

Just a quick check in to say, "Hi!"  Here's my view at 6:30 a.m. mostly every morning.  Doing some art "on da desk" with Amazon shopping and a YouTube tutorial on my monitor.  Multitasking. 😂

Been enjoying my break.  I did film a few videos awhile back, but got real lazy since then.

Hope you peoples are doing okay.  Times are getting scarier and scarier to me.  My doorbell rang yesterday, and I was nervous to go check.  It was just my neighbor, but still . . . 

I'm planning on making Cleta's OMG So Ono Cheesecake Bars today.  Wish me luck!

K den.  Bye.  Take care and Stay Safe!

Good Deals at Fisher

 Good morning!  Sale starts today and lasts all month!