Salad of Black Beans and Rice

This is a love it or hate it dish at my house. I love it. (-: So, this will be my lunch for a week or I may share some with a neighbor.

3 c. cooked rice, 1 c. raw (I use white but you can use brown, if you prefer.)
1/2 c. chopped onion
1-16 oz. can black beans, rinsed (If I feel industrious, I cook dried beans.)
1 c. chopped sweet pepper (Red and green mixed are good.)
1/4 c. chopped parsley (Can use dry. This evening, I chopped a bunch in the food processor and dried the remainder for later use in a 200 degree oven.)

Dressing:

1/3 c. salad oil
1/4 c. fresh lime juice
1 t. ground coriander
Salt and pepper to taste

Garnishes:

Avocado
Chopped parsley
Paprika

Cure for the Rainy Day Blues

This would have been a good day to finish the ceramic tile inside since it is raining cats & dogs outside. Hoping the flooring contractor comes next week so that we can move furniture back into place.

While we wait for a normal pace of life amidst home, studio & yard restoration & remodeling, interactions of color help with the rainy day blues. I am washing out Moonlight Stroll (pictured), Atlantic Moonglow & Peacock Iridescence 8/2 tencel today.

Feeling a Need for Cool Colors

Although the temps have been delightful the last several days, I'm feeling a need for cool, soothing colors. It's probably the rest I feel when surrounded by cool colors. It's been a while since I dyed Blue Bayou in a tencel skein so, I thought it would be a nice break.

Tornado Pictures

We're finally coming up for a breather after two months of trials beginning with the loss of our sweet Labrador, Lady, on March 18, followed by the loss of an aunt, two dear friends, Jerry Tucker & Tina Bradford, & a tornado that struck our house & studio on April 4. God has shown us His faithfulness in countless ways through all of this & we are so thankful. We appreciate all of your kind emails & your patience while we were without power, telephone & internet access.

Fortunately, there was very little damage from the tornado compared to many around us whose homes were totaled. The studio sustained roof damage but not a drop of water. There was hardly any damage in the first photograph. The tree you see in the first picture was caught by a double tree in front of the studio (now cut, stump shown in this photo) & it appeared there would be no more damage. However, the tree services were in high demand & gravity further damaged the roof so that we moved out on tree-cutting day a week later. I am currently working from a POD while repairs & improvements are being made.


Trees & branches have been picked up at the street so that our house is visible again.
Very visible! Our once shady, low-canopied yard is a sunny yard. I always wanted to grow tomatoes! LOL. The three houses on that side of our house are vacant. Two will be rebuilt. The fountain & stumps are gone as are the dogwoods. The live oak, 7 water oaks & magnolia came through the storm. The Bobcat & other tree removal equipment took care of what little grass we had. So, we get to start with a brand new yard & fence.

This picture was taken on our patio on April 2, 2 days prior to the tornado. Getting ready to enjoy a cool evening.





Taken on the patio minutes after the tornado on April 4.




This should be entitled, "A Close Call!" This picture was taken looking the other direction toward the street. The brick fountain was torn down in order to have enough brick to replace the masonry around the patio. The tree that is standing is the other half of the one on the ground. It has since been cut. The house seen in the background has been been torn down as 5 trees fell on it. He is a building contractor & has begun construction on a new house. Check out the flower pot & grinding stone sitting on the masonry ledge of the patio & the makeshift bird feeder sitting on the fountain. Vibration from the falling tree did not move them...

Hopefully, we have rounded the corner to "normal." Last week marked the first week of dyeing to include Summer Haze, Blue Bayou & Tallahatchee Bridge. Look for these in 8/2 tencel first of next week.

I tried this on a Sunday afternoon for play time. It's really quite fun! I think I'll try to go back and beat my spped.

76 words

Speedtest

Braised Collard Greens

My friend, Sandi, gave me this recipe. We had it for supper tonight and it is very good. It came from Cook Right 4 Your Type.

3 T. olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 large bunch fresh collard grens, washed well, tips of stems removed
2 T. soy sauce or tamari sauce
Small amount of water, as needed

Heat oil in a very large skillet or saucepan. Add onion anc cook 5 minutes. Meanwhile, slice colalrds by rolling them into 1 large bunch, then butting across the leaves in 1-inch intervals. Wash them and with water on their leaves, add all the collards to the pot at once, cover and reduce heat. After 5 minutes, turn the collards so the wilted greens are on top. Add soy sauce or tamari, if using, and replace cover. Cook another 40 minutes, turning collards occasionally to make sure they cook evenly. Add a tablespoon or two of water at a time, as needed. Unlike other greens, collards are tastier if allowed to cook longer.

Serves 4

Sandi's Modifications and a few of my own:

>>We both used a large bag of collard greens and pulled out the large stems.

>>Put in a bit of minced garlic with the onion. (Garlic in a jar works just fine.)

>>Like a good southern girl, Sandi added the collards in small batches, turning after each addition. I rinsed the collards off in a large colander and dumped them all in at once. It does require a very large skillet.

>>Sandi uses up to 1/4 c. soy sauce (low sodium) for a plastic bag of greens. I goofed and bought regular soy sauce and used 3 T. They were a bit salty but both of us agreed, good regardless.

>>Sandi's note: "And for crying out loud, any GRITS (that's Girls Raised in the South (-;) knows it takes longer than 40 minutes!" Actually, I didn't find that it did but I also cooked them on higher heat until they stuck. In a Calphelon skillet and adding water, that wasn't a problem. It only helped to caramelize the onions a little more.

>>At the end, add about 1/2 t. sugar (raw is great!) and some red pepper in some form or other. (We've got every variety so, I threw in some flakes.) Yum!

Happy Birthday to me - yesterday

My, oh, my... how did I ever get to this date? The watch date shows that I have made it another decade by 14 minutes! Well, I certainly don't feel any older in my mind and not much in my body. Though, occasionally my mind tends to write checks that my body can't cash. Sometimes, it happens when it's been a while since I did a particular thing (like paint cabinets) and remember suddenly that I was much younger when I did that before. It was a pleasant day overall with calls, cards, emails and gifts from family and friends. Thank you all for a lovely day.