Picture a Day #89 – The Promise of Spring

Posted on March 29, 2012 by joanienaz

It’s raining again. I keep my eye on the two tulips that are starting to bloom, to remind myself that spring will arrive eventually. In the meantime, I have captured some springtime with watercolor paper and Prismacolor pencil.

This is the first step in my most recent watercolor project. Rather than sit in the rain and wind in front of my house, I took a photo in between showers, loaded it onto my computer, and set it as my desktop background. Not exactly en plein air, but I can see the real thing out my window. Does that count? Hopefully, tomorrow I will be ready to paint!

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Picture a Day #88 – March Pumpkin

Posted on March 28, 2012 by joanienaz

Today I read about a culinary adventure involving a pumpkin scone on this blog. How fortuitous! I have been looking at recipes the last few days, wondering how I will use my leftover pumpkin puree from last week’s baking adventure. Here is the recipe that I adapted. They are pretty healthy as scones go, not too sweet. I have more puree left, so I may continue to experiment.

Pumpkin Raisin Scones

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Mix 1 1/2 cups unbleached wheat flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, and 1 tablespoon sugar in a large bowl.

Add 4 tablespoons olive oil, blending evenly with a fork. Add 1/4 cup milk, 1 beaten egg, and 1/2 cup pumpkin puree and blend.

Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead 1 minute, incorporating 1/2 cup golden raisins.

Pat or roll 3/4 inch thick and cut into wedges. I made 8 scones. Bake about 15 minutes.

I put blackberry preserves on mine. Mmm!

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Picture a Day #87 – Rainy Day Lunch: A Snappy Sandwich

Posted on March 27, 2012 by joanienaz

Rainy Day Lunch conjures up images in my mind of elementary school: A classroom full of noisy, sweaty kids, dripping umbrellas, etc. Today we are having March winds and April showers simultaneously. I anticipate a short spring. I suspect that the summer heat will pounce on us when we least expect it.

That is my prediction. But you know what they say, only fools and weatherpersons make predictions about the weather. I’ll let you guess which I am!

Let’s talk about today’s lunch. It was such a bleak day, I tried to liven it up. I took some leftover red snapper, mixed it with some mayo, a little olive oil, and some paprika. You might want to add your favorite seasonings.

Then I scooped some of it onto a toasted potato roll (I love potato rolls!) and sliced some avocado onto it. I like salad on my sandwiches, so I topped it with lots of lettuce. Add the beverage of your choice, and enjoy!

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Picture a Day #86 – And Now for Something Completely Different!

Posted on March 26, 2012 by joanienaz

While I was gazing at my unbloomed tulips, I decided to photograph moss on a tree. Why not? When was the last time you took a close look at moss? Why would you do such a thing? Because it’s pretty cool stuff!

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Picture a Day #85 – Morning Cereal with Something Extra

Posted on March 25, 2012 by joanienaz

Morning cereal is a tradition in many households. I remember the corn flakes from my childhood. I also remember “hot cereal” for those times when you needed a little something extra.

We never had hot oatmeal at my house. My husband eats oatmeal. As a child I ate Cream of Wheat. Recently, when I was in search of something quick to get me started, I returned to this family tradition.

But naturally, I had to turn it into designer cereal. So after adding water and heating my cereal in the microwave, I added some fruit. First I used golden raisins. Then I switched to cooked apples, and then pears. Finally, I began mixing blueberries with apples or pears. Aha! What a treat! I also added the brown sugar which was a tradition from my childhood, and a little milk.

While I was microwaving and stirring in between, I did some stretching exercises. They wake you up, and feel pretty good, too. It’s less boring than just watching the microwave. So this morning cereal experience is a complete diet and fitness program. How does “Stretch and Stir” sound to you?

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Picture a Day #84 – A Pinch of California Snow

Posted on March 24, 2012 by joanienaz

Just before I crawled into bed late last night, I peaked out the window to see if it was raining. It seemed to be, but it sounded “funny.” So I went to the front door and turned on the light. It wasn’t snowing. The forecast called for 3-6 inches above 3000 feet between midnight and noon today. We are at 1400 feet.

Before I fell asleep, the wind blew a tremendous gust against the fence which adjoins our bedroom wall. Not very good planning on the builder’s part. The whole wall shook. When I stopped shaking I fell asleep. But I woke early and couldn’t sleep. So I got up, and when I peaked out the window there was snow. What a surprise! Not quite as much as last March, but it was snowing.

Before I saw the forecast I had already decided that the sun was going to shine and my tulip buds were going to bloom. Oh well…

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Picture a Day #83 – Oatmeal Cookie Rewind

Posted on March 23, 2012 by joanienaz

Two months ago, back in January, I posted a recipe for oatmeal cookie bars. I had gotten creative with it, and now I’ve done it again!

Last week I wanted to make them, and I didn’t have any applesauce, a key ingredient. Rather than head to the store, I decided to use grated apple. With the peel still on.

I tell myself it’s healthier, and makes up for all that sugar. Of course there’s sugar in the apple. But the peel cancels it out, right?

Anyway, I like this recipe so much better, because it has a wonderful apply flavor. I used 1 large grated apple instead of 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce. I also used 1 cup unbleached wheat flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour instead of all unbleached flour. I baked them 30 minutes, due to extra moisture.

Those cookie bars are all gone now, and they were yummy!

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Picture a Day #82 – Let me eat Cake…I mean Bread!

Posted on March 22, 2012 by joanienaz

It’s not exactly the time of year when thoughts turn to pumpkin. But I used my pumpkin bread recipe to make zucchini bread, and I thought it might be nice to make pumpkin bread. But I also wanted to make cookies. So I created a new recipe. It’s technically bread (the recipe in Fanny Farmer says so). But after adding cocoa powder and chocolate chips, it tastes more like cake. Anyway, I think it’s just what the March winds called for in the way of comfort food. You decide for yourselves!

Chocolate Pumpkin Raisin Nut Bars

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together 3/4 cup unbleached wheat flour, 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup sweet ground chocolate and cocoa, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon each of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ginger.

Mix together 1 cup pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup water, and 2 beaten eggs. Add this to the first mixture, but do not mix too thoroughly. Stir in 3/4 cup golden raisins, 1/2 cup walnuts, and 1/2 cup chocolate chips.

Pour batter into an oiled 13 x 9 x 2 inch glass baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool. Cut into 24 pieces.

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Picture a Day #81 – Spring Sunshine

Posted on March 21, 2012 by joanienaz

Welcome to spring! If you are in my neck of the woods, yesterday was the Vernal Equinox, the first official day of spring, and there was no sign of the sun. So I decided to create my own sunshine, at least on paper. Still no sign of sun today, so here goes!

Yellow has never been a  favorite color of mine. But a pale, buttery yellow can be lovely. It is a starting point for me, and leads to other fabulous shades. If you have been watching both of my blogs you will notice the presence of yellow. I guess I’ve been anxious for the sunshine lately!

I began this painting with a Cadmium Yellow graded wash. Then I added layers of Ultramarine.

I had in mind to make this a sunrise landscape. I was thinking hills with trees. My husband saw sand dunes. We’ll see how it evolves…

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Picture a Day #80 – Welcome to Spring!

Posted on March 20, 2012 by joanienaz

I took this photo on Sunday, when the sun was actually showing itself, hence the shadow. Today it drizzled all day. It’s a bit goofy, but isn’t that what spring is all about?

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