Weekend Get-Away, Los Poblanos

Weekend getaway! This time at Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm--really just a hop, skip, and a jump away from where my husband and I live, but different enough from our living room to provide a much-needed respite. 

Situated on a leafy, semi-rural road, the farm dates back to 1934 and is famous for its lavender fields as well as its many lavender-based products. I love lavender anyway, but the Los Poblanos variety has a unique (to me, at any rate) scent that borders on another of my favorites, anise, and after years of driving past the entrance it was a thrill to get to stay right there on the premises.

Not that it was easy to get there, mind you. Thanks to the endless road works currently plaguing Albuquerque, the alternate route we chose to travel down was blocked by a massive SWAT situation, then yet another road was blocked because a driver had passed out in the middle of the street, and then after several more twists and turns we got lost. Lost in our very own neighborhood! Finally and after what felt like the very worst of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, it was a huge relief to get out of the car and be greeted by this gorgeous guardian to our casita:

Other than the peacocks, our main reason for choosing the inn was for its farm-fresh menu with plenty of vegetarian offerings. Starting with a champagne lavender cocktail, my entree consisted of what I can best describe as a New Mexican vegetable pot pie. It was delicious with just the right touch of green chile, crispy tortilla strips, and buttery parsnips. Paired with a New Zealand Pinot Noir, rosemary bread rolls, and peach and lavender gelato for dessert, I ate every bite without an ounce of guilt.

Our vintage-style room was cozy and cute with high wooden ceilings, a spacious bath and even a kitchen area. The marshmallow-soft mattress was a bit too soft--several times I woke up during the night thinking I was being smothered by clouds, but the sheets were heavenly, so silky soft that I soon fell back to sleep, no problem. My only true complaint about the room was that the TV didn't work. And, believe me, I know how shallow that sounds. But my husband and I had our hearts set on watching the Melbourne Grand Prix, the first Formula One race of the season, and we couldn't get the darn thing to work . The hotel staff tried to help, but technology eluded us all and we had to give up, remotes in hand and that weird "I don't know what to do now" look on our faces. Oh, well. Fortunately we had the recorder set back at home, but it was disappointing to miss out on that initial viewing of what was a very good race. (We did see it later at home.)

Not to be deterred, we got the excellent fireplace going and I settled onto the couch to read my latest find, yet another of my beloved Phyllis Whitney novels, The Stone Bull, this one from 1977. To my mind, Whitney is THE master of Gothic romantic suspense, and nothing could have been better for a stormy night snuggled up in one of the hotel's dressing gowns while listening to the peacocks' shrill cries battling over the wind.

The next morning after bathing and shampooing in as many lavender gels as possible, we had a small but nice breakfast before we went exploring and came across one of the greenhouses:

 And more scenic views:

Including this little courtyard:

Followed by a trip to the Farm shop:

Naturally I had to get some lavender lotion, as well as some pinon incense (which smells exactly like the firewood provided for our room), and surprise, surprise: a Palomino Blackwing pencil, something I've heard about for years but never purchased. Apparently these pencils were the top choice of back-in-the-day Hollywood script writers, animators, and musical directors and were considered superior to any other writing instrument of the time. The logo printed on the pencil claims it will work with "Half the pressure, twice the speed." Sounds good to me. Right now I can't decide whether I want to use it for writing, drawing, or just looking pretty on my desk. Whatever, all I know is I'll have to order at least a dozen so I can start making some decent sketches of Mr. Peacock in all his glory:

Tip of the Day: You don't have to travel far to go on a vacation; sometimes just up the road is good enough. Best of all, new settings, sounds, meals, and experiences can go into your next manuscript or sketchbook without enduring hours of travel or jet lag. Whoever said "there's no place like home," got it right--being a tourist in your own town has all the benefits of "Half the pressure, twice the speed!"

S is for Sunset Vegetarian Cookbook

 

The real title of today's keeper selection is: Sunset Menus & Recipes for Vegetarian Cooking; Entertaining Specialties, International Favorites. But to keep life simple, I just call  it the "Sunset Vegetarian Book."

It's the only cookbook I own, and I've had it for years and years. I don't think there's a recipe  in it that I haven't changed, altered, substituted, rewritten . . . whatever works, right? After all, you can't really go wrong with vegetables! 

But the real reason I've kept the book so long is for a recipe that isn't even part of the book. Instead, it's one I've handwritten onto the inside front cover, and its a recipe I do follow (pretty much) to the letter. And that is for:

THE COLONEL'S MUESLI!

This is a recipe I got from my late father-in-law, a larger-than-life character straight from the pages of any runaway bestseller of a novel. Heck, they could make an entire mini-series from his life: hunting tigers in India for his 21st birthday (yes, yes--it was a different world back then); fighting with distinction in the second World War and being highly honored for his service; continuing to serve in Libya and Malaysia (where he took my husband and his siblings into the Malaysian jungle to meet with headhunters) . . . 

Eventually he moved to New Zealand where he became a strict vegetarian, one of the reasons he could go on yearly European skiing vacations well into his eighties. (He was also very kind to cats of all shapes and sizes.)

One of his daily rituals was to eat a bowl of his own homemade muesli every morning. He gave me the recipe when he was staying with my husband and me in California one year, and I wasn't able to find ANY kind of muesli for him to eat. I could find Fruit Loops, Coco Pops, cornflakes--but noooo muesli. 

After searching every store in my area, I realized I was going to need help and just make some myself, hence the need for a recipe. The Colonel scribbled one down for me, and guess what? It was so good, I've continued making it to this day:

The Colonel’s Muesli

4 cups of oatmeal

3 cups of bran

3 cups of wheatgerm

1½ cups coconut

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup sesame seed

1 cup stoneground wheat flour

2/3 cup honey

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Melt the oil and honey together in a saucepan over low heat. 

Mix the remaining ingredients in a deep oven-proof casserole dish. 

Add the honey and oil. Stir well.

Bake at 350 degrees for half an hour, checking occasionally, 

stirring to rotate the ingredients.  

When cool, place into a large lidded container.

 Lastly, add 1-2 bags of your favorite trail mix. (You have to open the lid for this.)

Note: be careful not to overcook. This isn't granola

so you don't want it too dark or crunchy.

"Lightly-toasted" is what you're going for.

And there you are! Now just keep an eye out for those tigers . . . 

Thankful, and a Splash Ink Update

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Got all your shopping done? I did mine yesterday, and it was wonderful to avoid the crowds and tick everything off my list. As always, we are having a vegetarian celebration, and this year I'm going to especially enjoy the day by writing more NaNoWriMo pages while my kiln fires a couple of new pots--time to celebrate, indeed!

For some reason this also seemed like a good time to share some of my latest splash ink efforts, maybe because they are so misty and reminiscent of autumn and the beauty of the season. I'm still using gouache on top of the initial watercolor background, a medium I'm finally learning to understand (thank goodness). As I've been painting, it's made me think how thankful I am for, well, everything!

But if I narrowed it down to just my creative life, these would have to be my top 12 thank-you's:

1. I am grateful for my writing tools: computers, Alphasmart, fountain pen.
2. Grateful for my Sunday morning writer's group! Best in the whole world.
3. My art supplies: I have enough to stock a small store, and I'm grateful that I have been able to buy them.
4. Books!! What would my life be without books? I love books more than just about anything. I love the way they feel in my hands. I don't care if e-books are amazing; they will never duplicate the thrill of opening those real-world pages.
5. Social networking--now here's where the Internet is fun for me. I'm so grateful for my Twitter, Facebook, and JacketFlap friends. They make me smile every single day.
6. I'm very, very grateful that I have a day job that is flexible and allows me to write or draw whenever possible.
7. And gives me a nice studio-office where I can spread out my manuscripts, my art journals, my mess!
8. I'm super grateful that I have my own little kiln--it's tiny but it works and allows me to  experiment and play with complete freedom (and zero worries about destroying anyone else's work--a huge bonus after some early traumas when my pieces would blow up in a shared kiln . . . don't ask . . . ).
9. The library--forget Disneyland. The library is truly the happiest place on earth. And they give you free magazines for cut-outs. How good is that?
10. Ideas! I have no idea where they come from--but where would I be without them?
11. Art teachers. I would not be painting or potting or even writing without them. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
12. Living in Albuquerque for the last ten years. New Mexico is not called "The Land of Enchantment" for nothing. The landscape is inspiring; every single kind of art supply or bookstore is within easy reach; and the amount of classes, groups, professional organizations for writers and artists is overwhelming. Sometimes it's nearly impossible to choose which one to attend--but each one I go to is always the right choice.

Last but not least, I want to thank everyone who follows and/or reads my blog posts. Every day I am stunned by how many readers I have and where they all come from: Egypt, Connecticut, New Zealand, Romania, Illinois--it's wonderful! You are all my pool of inspiration:

Tip of the Day: If you haven't already, do start a dedicated Gratitude Journal. To me this is one of the most valuable journals you will ever write. Writing a simple list of just 12 items that made your day special can often be enough. Some days will be more difficult than others to find those 12 incidents, but I can promise if you dig deep they will be there. Enjoy your holiday weekend wherever you will be, and remember, I am grateful for YOU! Thanks again, dear friends.

Food for Thought (and other Creative Work-outs)

My husband and I are vegetarians. Which doesn’t mean we don’t like chocolate, red wine, foreign food, exotic cheese… In other words, we don’t live on lettuce alone, much to the surprise of our meat-eating friends who constantly ask: “But how do you SURVIVE?" 

The whole idea of survival must have been on my husband’s mind the other night when I came home from writer’s group only to be greeted by the words: “You have to save Josh’s life!” After my initial scare (What? CPR? Give blood? Huh??) I learned he was referring to the 12-year-old son of a good friend. Josh has apparently made the decision to go vegetarian (yay, Josh!) but his family has no idea what to feed him. The poor kid is bored to tears for lack of yummy meals, and his mother needed a list of quick and things she could prepare alongside the rest of the family’s meat dishes. 

As I was making my list, I couldn’t help but think about how often I am asked how I juggle writing, work, and cooking dinner every night. One answer is that I keep things pretty simple on weeknights, mostly preparing the meals I suggested Josh’s mother try. Then I thought you might like a copy of the list too. Not only does a vegetarian diet save a ton of time in both preparation and clean-up (thereby allowing for more writing/creative time), but I believe it’s the perfect diet for what is, let’s face it, the writer’s sedentary lifestyle. So here’s what I sent Josh’s mom,   

THINGS FOR JOSH TO EAT: 

1. Salad made up of dozens of things, not just lettuce. In fact, leave out the lettuce sometimes or use spinach instead. Good ingredients are canned pinto, kidney, garbanzo, or green beans (just cold from the can); bell peppers; radishes; cilantro; parsley; celery; roma tomatoes; grated carrot; grated or sliced cheese; walnuts; pecans; raisins; cottage cheese; cooked beets. Use any kind of dressing. 

2. With a main meal salad you can then include: boiled, mashed, roast, or baked potato. Can do the same with sweet potato. French fries (sweet potato ones, too). Hardboiled egg. Fried or scrambled egg(s). 

3. Any kind of pasta with any kind of bottled sauce that doesn’t include meat. There are so many,  from tomato sauces to Alfredo/mushroom recipes, etc. Plain pasta tossed with a little pesto sauce is good. Or gently cooking some garlic in olive oil and then pouring hot oil over the pasta. Top with a spoon of peanut butter (!). 

4. Frozen cheese raviolis or tortellini are excellent to always have on hand. For a change after cooking the usual way, lightly fry them on both sides to turn them crispy. 

5. So many great veggie burger/hot dog brands. My favorites are Morningstar Prime Grillers and Tofu Pups. With the Tofu Pups you can slice them lengthwise and just fry them. They become almost like bacon. (I like to treat all these in the same way you would prepare a serving of meat with sauces, gravy, vegetables, salad, etc.) 

6. Omelettes/frittatas. For one portion, just use 2 beaten eggs with a spoonful of water and dash of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (a healthier alternative to soy sauce). In a small frying pan, stir fry either chopped zucchini, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, spinach, left over cold potatoes (or any combination) until cooked. Then pour the egg mixture on top. Cook until lightly set; top with sliced or grated cheese and put pan under the grill until cheese is melted. If you make a larger portion using more eggs and a larger pan, cold omelette can be kept in the fridge and either reheated or eaten cold, even sliced up for a sandwich filling. 

7. You can add extra vegetables such as carrots, onions, zucchini, or celery to Progresso Lentil Soup for an amazing casserole-type meal. Serve with rice or potatoes. Same with any brand of vegetarian baked beans, or vegetarian chili. Of course, any one of these is just fine on its own without added ingredients. 

8. Quesadillas. I just put salsa or similar on a tortilla, add cheese, any leftovers, top with another tortilla (or fold a single tortilla in half) and cook on hot griddle (no oil).  Take it a step further and you can make any kind of bean/cheese burrito or enchilada depending on your type of tortilla and choice of sauce. (Note: use vegetarian refried beans; the regular ones have lard.) 

9. Macaroni cheese. Grilled cheese sandwiches with extra things inside like corn or tomatoes, or smoked/roasted chilis. 

10. Pizza without meat. You can make individual ones with a Boboli base from the grocery store—they have small sizes. You can do all kinds of interesting things with them just with vegetables and cheese. 

11. For added texture with all these meals, rough grainy bread can help a lot for something to “bite.” Add cream cheese spreads to make great vegetarian sandwiches, especially when you add sliced tomato, cucumber, or pickles.  

12. For more easy ideas, Sunset Vegetarian Cooking is the best vegetarian cookbook ever written. It’s filled with recipes that are sensible and don’t require difficult-to-find ingredients. 

Tip of the Day: Eat your veggies! I find a meat-free diet helps avoid that “heavy” feeling after eating that can interfere with creativity, making me want to sleep or read instead of write or draw. Even a few meat-free meals a week can make a big difference in your energy levels.