L and I enjoyed some positively stellar rides.
We still haven't sorted out our canter. Oh, of course she can run like the wind but we need to work on transitions and collection. That will just have to stay on this year's "to do" list. Our "thing" is trail riding but that's no excuse. She can do schooling exercises as well as just about anyone. And those are important. I learned an important lesson just yesterday. I'll have to blog about it.
I have roughly 3650 pictures from 2011. And those were the keepers. If you take that many pictures you're gonna have a good picture here and there.
Many of them are just moments from daily life
Someday all the daily life pictures will be just fascinating to someone I'm sure. We take the things in our daily lives so much for granted. You realize of course, sometime very soon, many people won't even know what this is:
Sometimes I tried to go "poetic" and "artistic"
And I just like to document my favorite things
Old favorites...
New favorites...
I discovered Spanish wine in 2011!
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I discovered the wine (and cuisine) of Puglia.
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I made Spring Rolls! I never made Spring Rolls before. These were my very first Spring Rolls. It takes a little practice.
And the leftover vegetables inspired me to make something I call "matchstick salad". Cut carrots, pickling cucumbers, celery, green and red bell pepper along with a jalapeño or a Serrano pepper into matchsticks, mix with some chopped lettuce and dress with an Asian dipping sauce. It's light, it's healthy and satisfying.
I have another new favorite. A friend of mine says this doesn't look very good. I dunno. I can't agree. I should really give credit to where I found this but I just don't recall. It's not an original recipe but..it is a deceptively simple, declicious tartine.
Marinate some red onions and carrot curls in extra virgin olive oil with a pinch of salt and rosemary.
Crumble some goat cheese on a slice of your favorite rustic bread. This is a whole wheat Tuscan pane from a local bakery. Lay some snow peas on top of the goat cheese. Then add the marinated onion and carrot. This is a delicious sandwich I have all the time during the Summer. I think Chianti goes great with it. But I think Chianti goes great with everything.
These guys made for a huge surprise in 2011.
I've had all kinds of salsa verde and I never really liked any of it. But along around September I had a *ton* of garden fresh tomatillos.
I researched tomatillo recipes and found that basically...the *only* thing you make with tomatillos is...salsa verde.
So I was faced with kind of a problem. I would have really hated to waste them. I wasn't about to chuck 'em out. And I don't like salsa verde. And nobody I know even knows what they are so I couldn't give them away.
So I picked a salsa verde recipe at random. I roasted the tomatillos, chopped them by hand, and made some salsa verde.
Much to my surprise, I just *loved* my homemade salsa verde. So did everyone who tried it. I honestly don't know what made the difference. Garden fresh tomatillos? The way I roasted them? Hand chopping them? The simple recipe? I just don't know. But here's how you make delicious salsa verde:
- Peel the papery outer layer off your tomatillos and rinse them thoroughly in warm water. They have a sticky coating on them under the paper. You need some warm water to get that off. Not all of it comes off though. It's harmless.
- Coat them in olive oil and roast them in a 350 degree oven oven for 30 to 40 minutes
- When the tomatillos have cooled put them in a bowl and give them a few strokes with a potato masher. Then, a handful at a time, chop the mashed tomatillos on a cutting board and transfer to another bowl. This is going to be messy. It's worth the trouble.
- Add a pinch of salt, chopped red onion, minced garlic and your favorite chopped chili peppers. I was lucky. I just happened to have garden fresh Cayenne peppers all season long. They were a treat.
I don't know if I'd call this my picture of the year but there is something I really like about this picture. Funny, I don't know exactly what it is. I just like it a lot. Maybe it was the time of year. Or the time of day. L and I ride out here all the time. This is our road to the woods. Looking at this picture I can feel the breeze. I can hear the crickets. I can smell the hay. Everything is just right with the world here.
Great post and some beautiful pictures! I need to take more "everyday" pictures because they really are fun to look back upon.
ReplyDeleteIt's so easy with digital cameras now. I almost always have a pocket camera handy.
ReplyDeleteAnd lots of cell phones have good cameras in them these days.
Lovely post. It's obvious what your passions are - your beautiful horse and cooking. Thanks for sharing. Your recipes are always a motivation. :-)
ReplyDeleteWell I'm very pleased you enjoy my blog!
ReplyDeleteI think one has to really indulge their passions. Whatever they are.