Low-Carb Clam Chowder

Wendell made this the other night, and I was so surprised at how ono it was . . . being low-carb and all.  Maybe it's because of the buttah and bacon, yah!

The recipe is from Peace, Love and Low Carb and can be found here. It's actually a slow-cooker recipe, but Wendell just made it on the stove. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 small leek, cleaned, trimmed, and sliced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 – 10 oz cans of fancy whole baby clams, drained
• 2 cups clam juice
• 1 pound thick cut bacon, cooked crisp, and crumbled
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat slow cooker on low setting.
2. To slow cooker, add chicken stock, garlic, shallot, leek, celery, onions, butter, and salt and pepper. Cover, and cook vegetables on low for 1 hour.
3. To the slow cooker, add clams, clam juice and bacon.
4. Add cream cheese, heavy cream, garlic powder and thyme. Continue mixing until there are no visible clumps of cream cheese and all ingredients are well incorporated.
5. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours

Kid-Time Fun

Kid time we would sometimes spend our day doing this. I wonder how many other kids did it too.



If it doesn't look familiar to you, this is what was at the end of the string. 

We would stun the bee with either cotton and alcohol (Geri's method) or just soak the bee with water (Cy's method), and while the bee was incapacitated, we would tie a string around it. 

After awhile the bee would revive and try to fly away, and we would hang on to the other end of the string. I feel kinda bad now for the poor bee, but back then it was good fun.

Yaki Imo

This was at the entrance of Times Kahala.  While I was waiting for Wendell to check out I saw a lady rush in, grab two bags and go straight to the check-out line. 

I asked her if it was good (uhhh, duh, she bought two bags), and she replied in a Japanese accent, "I like it." 

I'm thinking that next time I'm in the area I'll go buy some . . . and maybe some pastry from Bakery & Table . . . since . . . it's right there.

Bakery & Table

I went to Times in Kahala yesterday and was surprised to see Bakery & Table in the old Saint-Germain spot. 

I only look some quick shots because I was with Wendell and . . . you know . . . "time waits for no man".



















Here's a Frolic Hawaii video:

Thank You, Les!

Leslie gave me a belated birthday gift even though I told her no need. She got me a SketchBox art box, and I looooove it.

SketchBox is a monthly subscription box (or single if you like). There are several companies that provide these boxes and it seems like a good idea, but I've always been leery about them. You never know what you'll get, and I've seen YouTube videos where the subscriber totally got gypped (beware the language if you click on my link to the video).

This box was perfect for me . . . the theme was "Watercolor"!!!  It came with a Winsor and Newton watercolor marker in Pale Rose (I've seen good reviews), a Sennelier (French-made honey-binder) watercolor half pan in Forest Green (I already own five colors . . . no green), a Marabu Graphix Aqua Ink (Dark Violet), Princeton Neptune Script brush (I seriously was looking to buy one of these), a Pentel marker, Legion Stonehenge watercolor paper (I was too scared to use 'cause it's $$$), and my favorite, favorite Daniel Smith dot card.

I painted a scene in my sketchbook using all the supplies. The sketchbook is not really suited for watercolor, but I feel safe (no pressure) using it.

Thank you, Leslie!! 

World's Smallest Flipbook

Crazy, amazing.

My New Chair

I needed an outdoor chair recently and had to borrow Wendell's.  It weighed a ton and took up a lot of trunk space. I decided to look for one of my own.

I found one on Amazon that was on Lightening Deal for $7.50 off. I got it for $22.50.  You can find it here.  It weighs 2 pounds and hardly takes up any space.


It's very easy to assemble. The legs are all held together with a stretchy cord and pops into place by itself.


Here's the seat portion.


It looks kinda flimsy, but it's supposed to be able to support 250 pounds, and it does come with a 12-month money-back guarantee. We'll see. 

It's very comfortable. So far, I like it a lot.

Like Glass

According to the EXIF data for this photo, I took it six years ago on October 2, 2012 at 6:39 a.m. 

If you like you can check out more from that morning here. 

Cleta's Travel Journal

My friend Cleta went to Japan around the same time as I did. She created a hand-drawn travel journal. 

So amazing.

Zentangle Christmas Tree

Our last assignment for drawing class was to design a Christmas card. I made this tree because I couldn't think of anything else.