The Watcher

This makes me laugh every day.  It's not first event of the day and it seems to come after the sun is over the mountains but several times a day Min goes to stare at the chickens.

Perhaps a better view right at the very corner

No chickens on this side but maybe a quail?

What startled me, well really shocked me today was to see her jump up against the fence to try to get one of the chickens who had fluttered up to a "shelf." Twice!  Jumping is not on our list of preferred activities yet.

QOTD

Comparison is the thief of joy

- Angela Waters

I'm Calling It The Kermit

Now that the CSA farm is in full swing and we are adjusting to all the fresh produce, smoothies are back in a big way.  Here's what I had this morning sitting on the deck reading and watching Min as well as the neighbor's roof being reshingled.

The Kermit

1 apple, cored and cut into large chunks
1 handful of fresh spinach or tatsoi
1/2 of an avocado
3 apple juice ice cubes
apple juice to desired consistancy, I start with half a cup

Blend and drink with a happy smile!

New Neighbors and Two Very Good Recipes

Chickens, 6 of them, right there on the other side of my fence.

Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken – Skinny Ms.

Yields 10 Cups | Serving size: 1 Cup | Calories: 190 | Previous Points: 4 | Points Plus: 4 | Fat: 6g | Saturated fat: 1 g | Trans fat: 0 g | Cholesterol: 53 mg | Sodium: 121 mg | Carbohydrate: 5 g | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 3 g | Protein 26 g

• 4-6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (about 40 ounces)
• 2 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 medium onion thinly sliced (Not chopped)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp each: dried oregano, basil, and rosemary
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• ground black pepper and salt to taste

Pour the olive oil in bottom of slow cooker, add chicken breasts, salt and pepper each breast, put sliced onion on top of chicken then put in all the dried herbs and garlic cloves. Pour in vinegar and top with tomatoes.

Cook on high 4 hours, serve over angel hair pasta, brown rice, or quinoa.

Leftovers? This balsamic chicken is a great addition to salads or can be wrapped in a tortilla for a quick, healthy lunch.

Balsamic Chicken Wrap

• 1 tomato and herb wrap
• 1 Tbsp prepared pesto, no sugar added
• 1 handful of baby spinach leaves
• Leftover pieces of Balsamic Chicken

Place wrap on plate, spread with prepared pesto, add spinach leaves and top with chicken.

Wrap, slice in half and enjoy.

Chicken Tikka Masala

America's Test Kitchen - season 8, episode 20, Indian Favorites, Simplified
serves 6

Ingredients

Chicken
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 tsp)
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt [you can use low-fat if you don’t have whole]
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat

Masala Sauce
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 medium onion, diced fine (about 1 1/4 cups)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 tsp)
1 fresh jalapeno chile, ribs and seeds removed, flesh 1 (28-oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp table salt
2 tsp sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions

1. FOR THE CHICKEN: Combine salt, cayenne, coriander, cumin and in small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with spice mixture, pressing gently so mixture adheres. Place chicken on plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes. In large bowl, whisk together ginger, garlic, oil, and yogurt; set aside.

2. FOR THE MASALA SAUCE: Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until light golden, 8 to 10 mins. Add ginger, garlic, tomato paste, chile, and garam masala; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 mins. Add salt, sugar, and crushed tomatoes; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 mins, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream and return to simmer. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm.

3. While sauce simmers, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (about 6 inches from heating element) and heat broiler. Using tongs, dip chicken into yogurt mixture (chicken should be coated with thick layer of yogurt) and arrange on wire rack set in foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture. Broil chicken until thickest parts register 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer and exterior is lightly charred in spots, 10 to 18 mins, flipping chicken halfway through cooking.

4. Let chicken rest 5 mins, then cut into 1-inch chunks and stir into warm sauce (do not simmer chicken in sauce). Stir in cilantro, adjust seasoning with salt, and serve. 

Happy Day!!

All geared up for our first walk in a month!  Wow.  We were so ready and thankfully Dr. Stephan was very pleased with her healing progress at our visit yesterday and gave us the go ahead.

Here's the schedule: 10 minutes twice a day for the first four days and then we can increase the time by five minutes every day until we get back to our regular walks.

Min did a fabulous job.  The harness makes it easy for me to grab her if she stumbles or needs any help.  I used the hip lifter part of it to make sure she got down the steps.  I walk very close to her and on her right side, which is opposite of how we usually walk but if she were to fall she would fall into me.  Pretty much every driver in every vehicle that passed us turned to look.  Not sure if they were looking at her legs from the back or if they thought she was leading a blind woman or if it was just all the equipment.

Notice the timer.  I thought that was a very convenient spot for it to keep us from going too long.  It beeped at us at 5 minutes and we turned around and headed back.

A very happy day!

1 Done, Two To Go

The new gate is a perfect spot for a baby quilt photo

The original pieced duvet cover, circa 1996 for the first big boy bed

Charming prints, finished squares are 3"

A fair amount of stitch picking

The pieced center of the top was 15 squares across by 24 squares down.  I thought there would be a lot more picking out of stitches but the math worked out so that I could separate that piece at the 10 squares across all the way down.  Then I separated at the halfway point, 12 squares down which left me with 2 sections 10 by 12 squares and two pieces 5 by 12 squares which I resewed so that the final size was the same 10 x 12 as the other two sections.  Amazing.

Because the original had 8 1/2 inch borders, I cut those down to 4 1/4 and have enough to border each section.  I was only able to get enough binding for one quilt though.

Finished quit size is 36 by 41.5 inches. 
Hobbs 80/20 batting
Quilted with the serpentine stitch diagonally in two directions.

Perfect.

(Stash update for April- - -  still on course!  Each week this year has remained in the negative, more out than in.  Feels good!)

Yippee!

I finally got around to asking a neighbor to fix the gate directly in line from the back door.  He's a champ and also assembled the swing for me last year.  The gate has a metal frame component which includes a turnbuckle and keeps the gate from twisting as the wood dries/ages.  I have one on the gate by the garage and that gate is still square and hangs true after many years.

I walked out this gate this morning to toss the kitchen waste into the green can for composting.  Yay!

(I know, another picture just slightly out of focus.  Perhaps this will help my campaign for a new anti wiggle camera.)