Poppy Seed Cases

Dried seed pods and cases remind me that autumn is just around the corner.

Dried poppy seed cases

Watercolor sketch of poppy seed cases

Watercolor sketch of poppy seed cases

“Learning to draw . . . is not a matter of knowing but a matter of practice.”
– Peter Steinhart, The Undressed Art:  Why We Draw

 

Green with Envy

I was drawn to the unusual colors of these flowers, which I believe are Echinacea purpurea, or “Green Envy” coneflowers.

Green Envy coneflower

Echinacea purpurea

Green Envy coneflowers

Ink drawing of coneflowers

My watercolor sketch of a Green Envy coneflower

Another watercolor painting of Green Envy Coneflowers

Highland Jigs and Mexican Dancing Horses

Young dancer in the Tieton Highland Days Parade

Who doesn’t love a parade?  Seattle has several huge parades every year such as the Gay Pride Parade and the Seafair Torchlight Parade.  People stake out spots along the parade route 24-hours ahead of time, and these parades mean thick crowds and traffic congestion — two headaches that I generally try to avoid in my home city.

So I was simply delighted by this weekend’s Highland Days Parade in the small eastern Washington community of Tieton (population about 1,200).  Tieton is situated amidst apple orchards, and its parade reflected the influence of its Scottish and Mexican settlers.

I had forgotten what small town parades are like.  The thrill of snatching up a piece of tossed penny candy, the excruciatingly loud sirens from the police car (Moms covering the ears of their toddlers), the respect for the passing flag (everyone stood up as the flag bearers passed by).  Families lined the curb of the parade route — most choosing the shady side of the streets.  There were shiny fire trucks from neighboring fire districts, jeeps with military veterans, a truckload of players from the town’s football team, the high school marching band and dance troupe, and a few visiting bands.  And clowns, of course, as well as a few teenage princesses wearing tiaras. All paraded around three sides of the Tieton town square.

Families sit on the curb awaiting the start of the parade.

Flag bearers, color guard

Drums

Honoring veterans

Kids on parade

One of several clowns

Highland High School marching band

Highland High School dance troupe

Highland dancers

Highland Scotties dancers

Highland Scotties dancers

Visiting bagpipe performers from the Tacoma Scots Pipe Band

Young Mexican dancers in traditional dress

Young dancers

Mexican dancers in the Tieton Highland Days Parade

The biggest surprise for me was seeing the Mexican dancing horses, which were the grande finale.  I had never heard of this part of Mexican culture.  Some of the riders were garbed in exquisitely and richly decorated regalia.  The command of their horses was awesome.  My still photos do not capture the movements of the dancing horses, so you might want to check out some of these amazing animals on YouTube (you and link to one here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_99edao868&NR=1)

Horses and riders line up in the staging area before entering the parade route.

Mexican regalia -- lovely details

Two young riders

Mexican regalia

Mexican dancing horse

Hooves in mid-dance step

Mexican riders on parade

Exquisitely embroidered jacket and hat

Corn and Chili Chowder

Corn and Chile Chowder

One memorable meal on my recent Colorado vacation was the Corn Chili Chowder at the Buen Tiempo restaurant in Ouray.  They wouldn’t part with the recipe, so upon my return I tried to find a comparable recipe on the internet. I found one on the food network website (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bbq-with-bobby-flay/corn-and-green-chile-chowder-recipe/index.html).  This one is also very tasty and a great way to use any leftover fresh sweet corn.

Fresh Olathe sweet corn

Slicing the kernels off the cob

Hearty bowl of Corn and Green Chile Chowder

I’ve copied the recipe here for your convenience:

Corn and Green Chile Chowder
from www.foodnetwork.com

3 slices of bacon, fried crisp and diced
1 large onion, minced
3 c fresh corn kernels
3 c whole milk (I used 1-percent milk)
1 pound baking potatoes, peeled and diced (I left the skins on and used leftovers that had already been baked)
1 tsp salt
1/2 c whipping cream (I used half ‘n’ half)
1 c roasted, peeled, and chopped mild green New Mexican, Anaheim, or Poblano chiles
Fresh ground pepper
2 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped (I omitted because I did not have on hand)

Fry the bacon until crisp.  Remove the bacon and reserve for garnish.  Stir the onion into the bacon drippings and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.  Puree 1 cup of corn with 1 cup of milk in a blender.  Pour the mixture into the pan and add the remaining milk and corn, along with the potatoes and salt.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook 10 to 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender.  Stir in the cream and the green chiles.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Ladle the chowder into bowls, garnish with chives and diced bacon, and serve.

 

Morning Glory

“A morning glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.”
– Walt Whitman

Blue morning glory at the Center for Urban Horticulture

Blue morning glory, Center for Urban Horticulture

I saw these shockingly brilliant blue morning glories in a pot at the Center for Urban Horticulture.  I see that Georgia O’Keeffe couldn’t resist them either.  Here are two of her paintings of blue morning glories:

Blue Morning Glories by Georgia O'Keeffe, 1938

Ram's Head, Blue Morning Glory by Georgia O'Keeffe, 1938

And here are my watercolor sketches:

Watercolor sketch of blue morning glories

Another watercolor sketch of blue morning glories

Summer Sweet Peas

Sweet peas growing wild in my bushes

“Here are sweet-peas, on tiptoe for a flight,
With wings of gentle flush, o’er delicate white,
And taper fingers catching at all things,
To bind them all about with tiny rings.”
– John Keats

The sweet peas are growing wild in my bushes.  Unfortunately, they do not have a scent.  I do love the smell of cultivated sweet peas.

Ink sketch of sweet peas

Watercolor sketch of sweet peas

My watercolor sketch of sweet peas

Another ink drawing of sweet peas

I painted this one

Another watercolor sketch of sweet peas

Thoreau Thursdays (19): One in a Million

“The millions are awake enough for physical labor; but only one in a million is awake enough for effective intellectual exertion, only one in a hundred millions to a poetic or divine life.”
– Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Sunrise over the Rockies from Estes Park, CO

Why is it so difficult to think?  I certainly am guilty of sleep-walking through my days.  It’s very easy to wake up and immediately formulate the day’s “To-Do” list in my mind — the list of things to be done is always longer than the hours in a day.  All this physical busyness is satisfying in a way.  But does it add up to a good life?

Who has time to think?  I can’t remember the last time (or only time) I  had an original thought.  And no wonder, given that I rarely, if ever, allow unstructured (free) time for reflection.  Being instead of doing.  Challenging myself to think, ponder, and consider rather than taking the easier path of reading other people’s thoughts or listening to any number of analysts on the radio and television.

I do aspire to a more poetic life.  Thoreau points out how rare that is.  But working toward that goal is a worthy journey, I think.  Each day is a new step on the path.

Individual Peach Cobblers

Fresh peaches -- a taste of summer

I love fresh peaches.  In my mind, nothing beats biting into fresh, fragrant peach flesh.  I savor the fresh taste so much that I rarely bake or cook with them.

But when I recently came across a recipe for “Peach Cobbler for One” on a blog I subscribe to, I thought I’d give it a try.  What I especially liked about this recipe is that you don’t have to make a whole big pan of cobbler.  You can make just two, individual cobblers using one fresh peach cut in half.  I’ve copied the recipe below for you, or you can find it by linking here:  http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2011/08/peach-cobbler-for-one-or-two-if-youre-nice/

Peach halves for six individual cobblers

Peach Cobbler for One
by Joy the Baker

1 ripe peach

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3 tablespoons old-fashioned oats

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon shredded coconut

1 tablespoon slivered almonds

2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed

Place a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice a peach in half and remove the pit. With a small spoon, scoop out the the dark red pit center, creating just a bit more room for the crumble topping.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, coconut, and almonds. Add butter and, with your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients. Quickly break up the butter until it is well combined. Some of the butter bits will be the size of oat flakes, others will be the size of small peas.

Place peach halves, cut side up, in a small, oven-safe dish. Top each peach half with a generous portion of crumble topping. Heap it on!

Bake for 20 minutes, until topping is golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve warm with vanilla ice cream or cold milk. Peaches are best served warm from the oven.

Dividing the cobbler among the peach halves

Ready for the oven

One peach cobbler, ready to eat

This dessert rated a thumbs up!

Still Life with Peaches

Still life with Peach

I was inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe to attempt to paint a still life with peaches.  Here’s her magnificent painting:

Peaches and Glass, Georgia O'Keeffe, 1927

And here’s my watercolor sketch:

Peaches and Jug

Watercolor sketch of peaches and jug

Summer Evening

“That beautiful season the summer!”
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Nearing sunset on the beach at Golden Gardens

Weekend temperatures in Seattle finally reached 85 degrees for the first time this year.  And it finally felt like summer.

Sunset over Elliott Bay on Puget Sound, from the beach at Golden Gardens

Sailing into the sunset