Madeleine in watercolor

Madelaine, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Oh my it has been a long time since I picked up my pen and watercolor. Plus I have been intimidated by sketching my chickens. They are hard to capture. This is Madelaine. She is a 9 months old Buff Orpington chicken that lives with her "sisters" in my back yard urban farm. Reina named her. The funny thing about Madeleine is that she talks to me. Every time I walk through a door whether it be coming home from work through the garage door or in the day when I walk through the French doors to the backyard......she greets me with a gurggly shreak. "Good morning, Madeleine!

Snow sculpture competition in Breckenridge

Snow sculpture, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

The international snow sculpting competition is going on in Breckenridge...about an hour and a half up the mountains and we decided to check it out today. Thirteen entrants started with a twelve foot cube of snow (snow is opaque, ice is clear) and had three days to create their sculpture. They were all finished today with judging tomorrow.
Breckenridge is an old gold mining town. Today it is a cute little ski town in the winter with lots of summer things to do too. This was my first visit.
The sculptures were amazing.

Snow sculpture, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

girls, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Kate, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Ella and Ryan, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Gabriela turns "2"

Gabriela and birthday cheesecake, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Last weekend was a trip up to Seattle to celebrate Gabriela's 2nd birthday. I got out my raingear and left my snow boots at home but that was a mistake. This trip we needed snow gear as I'm sure all has heard on the weather news.
Amber made a delicious cheesecake topped with blueberries for the cake. It was delicious! Then on Monday before the biggest part of the storm we sneaked a trip to the gymnastics studio. Reina is really very good on the trampoline (too far for pics) and balance beam. Gabriela just loves everything....including blueberries! Happy Birthday, little one

Cheesecake with blueberries, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Seattle-20120116-00293, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Gabriela at gymnastics, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Gabriela, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Reina in the Seattle snow, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Gabriela, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Victor and Reina, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

National Western Stock Show Denver

Red Angus showing, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

The National Stock Show is in town. First there is the County Fair, then the State Fair, followed by the regional and now the granddaddy The National Western Stock Show this time each year in Denver. It's big. last Thursday opened with a parade in downtown Denver of steer Brahmas Clydesdales and cowgirl queens. Then 2 weeks of competition and rodeo events. Monday I went for the first time. We entered the show by walking "over" the stockyards. Beautiful varieties of steer--showered , coiffed and ready to compete. We watched the judging of the red angus and wandered around until we found my favorite: the chickens and the children farm. Yee Haw! or what we used to say, "Shit Howdy"

stockyard

Untitled, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

stockyard, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Kate and the kids

Kate and the kids, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Kate and the kids.  Shall we add a couple to our own farm?

HAPPY 2012! soup, salad and bread

pumpkin soup, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

It's Sunday, it's January and it's cold outside so what's to do? I'll spend the day in the kitchen and then watch the Bronco game.
The soup is a winter squash variation of butternut squash. The salad is a fresh and crunchy coleslaw and the bread is a variation of Amy's bakery (NYC) famous Semolina bread with fennel and golden raisins.
These recipes all have a common threads: lots of spices that overlap: fennel, chili, sage and pumpkin seeds. And the pumpkin, cabbage and sage all came from my garden. Did I mention it is January?
The recipes are just slight variations from Paula Deen and Michael Chiarello. The bread recipe is a basic bread with 2 Tbs fennel seed and 3/4 cup green raisins added before the final rise.
Happy New Year

sweet and spicy coleslaw

sweet and spicy coleslaw, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Semolina with golden raisins and fennel bread

fennel and green raisin bread, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

cabbage, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

a very young cabbage...photo taken in July......cabbage head which weighed 4 lbs at harvest in late October.

sweet and spicy coleslaw

sweet and spicy coleslaw, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

The very last of my cabbage patch. I am amazed that it was still fresh and tasty. This is a yummy combination of sweet and spicy, fruit and vegetables using a recipe by Paula Deen that uses pepper jelly, apple cider vinegar and topped with pumpkin seeds. I hope you try it

More cooking with pumpkin

Pumpkin, Galeux D'eysines Squash, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Thanks to a great harvest and a very cool cellar I still have about 6 pumpkins to change into something yummy to eat. So yesterday I searched for a new winter squash soup. I chose a recipe by Michael Chiarello. If you know his recipes you know that they are layered...many steps and lots of herbs and spices. First I made the toasted spice rub, rich with spices that include chili and cinnamon, then I roasted the squash with a syrup of spices, vinegar and fresh sage. Finally after pureeing the squash and adding it to the soup base it was ready to serve with Marscapone cheese a pumpkin seeds. The kitchen smelled fabulous all day and it made a great meal for football watching.. How 'bout them Broncos?
Bon Appetit!

pumpkin ready for the oven

pumpkin ready for the oven, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

roasted glazed pumpkin

roasted glazed pumpkin, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

roasted pumpkin puree

roasted pumpkin puree, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

pumpkin soup

pumpkin soup, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.