Sunquats - Virtual Sketch Date

In my profile, I mentioned that my husband and I are artists. Well, more like, he has long been an artist and I have been learning from him (and learning with him too). Last month, he got involved in a Virtual Sketch Date, where once a month, a group of artists spend a week drawing from the same reference image, then post their entries on their blogs. This month, he convinced me to get involved, and since I don't yet have an art blog set up, you get to see my entry here. But I figured it works for now, since this month's reference photo was of fruit! I'm told that these are not oranges, they are Sunquats. I'd never heard of a Sunquat, so I did a quick Google search and learned that they are a cross between a lemon and a kumquat, with an edible rind. There doesn't seem to be much consensus on whether they taste good or not. I might have to find some and taste them for myself. :)


I did this with Derwent Watercolour pencils and Prismacolor pencils on peach-colored Strathmore Art Paper, and used Photoshop to adjust the colors of the image to match the original as closely as possible (though there is a little bit of a dark band where the paper was curling a bit when I took the photo).

California Dreamin'

We've been in Missouri for about 7 weeks now, and we've decided that California spoiled us. Not only with weather and beaches, but with restaurants.

See, for one thing, in California there is no smoking allowed in restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, etc. To a life-long non-smoker married to an ex-smoker (who quit about 15 years ago), that's a wonderful thing. In Missouri, they still have smoking sections in most restaurants (and nearly all bars and bowling alleys are smoke-filled). In the part of the state where we are, the smoking section takes up the majority of the restaurant, usually the part right by the only entrance so that non-smokers have to walk through the smoke to get to the non-smoking section. Or worse, if you go to the truck stop "down the road a piece", the buffet is in the smoking section. So your food is sitting in smoke for god knows how long before you get it. Or in places like the cafe across the street, there is no ventilation to speak of, so the entire place reeks of smoke. Even sitting in the "non-smoking section" (which is in no way closed off from the smoking section), if you spend 20 minutes or more in the cafe, you come out smelling like an old ash tray.

The next thing is price vs. quantity. Sure, there are restaurants in California (as well as other places in this country) that will cost you $30 and up for an entree. But there are plenty of others that run about the same prices as here in Missouri, with entrees on one menu ranging from $5 to $15. The difference is, in California, if you go to one of those places, two people can split one entree and sometimes still leave with leftovers. In Missouri, you can bet on both of you getting a separate entree (unless you're just wanting a real light snack), and you might not have any leftovers.

And lastly, taste. Yeah, there are a few things that are hit and miss in California, mostly gravy-based things like biscuits and gravy or chicken fried steak. But on the whole, everything just tastes like it is fresher there. You would think that in the middle of farm country, everything would be fresher here. But that's not how it tastes. I think it stems from the way people cook. In California, veggies tend to be steamed, blanched or stir-fried and served still a little al dente, or "tender-crisp". In Missouri, the tendency is to boil veggies, sometimes until they are almost soggy. And often times, meat dishes are greasier and sauces heavier in the mid-west.

So, yeah, California spoiled us. As much as I love a good thunderstorm and the fresh "green" smell of Missouri in spring/early summer, I do miss California.

Mulligan Lasagne

Well, I still do not have pictures of my new kitchen. We have had numerous little problems with our new rig. Things like discovering several roof and window leaks when we had major thunderstorms come through, which resulted in spending 2 days prepping and coating the roof, then another day after the next storm getting the spots I missed the first time. And a toilet that sprang a leak about a week and a half after we bought the rig, which resulted in driving 40 miles east one day, then driving 45 miles west the next day to try to get parts and then buying a new toilet instead, then a third day removing the old toilet and installing the new one. And in between, helping my in-laws with a few projects – like moving old living room furniture out and new furniture in, and cutting fabric for new drapes and throw pillows. So, yeah, I’ve been pretty busy and still haven’t gotten the kitchen to a state I feel comfortable sharing with the world. But I’ve made a lot of progress and may have pictures soon. Hopefully.

In the meantime, a recipe; I actually managed to cook something for lunch today, and I even managed to take a picture of the result. Not a very good picture, mind you (would this be amateur food porn?), but a picture nonetheless. Notice the "fine china" that I served it in. :-) I’m calling this recipe Mulligan Lasagne, because (1) it has ingredients similar to lasagne, and (2) where I grew up, we called any stew made from assorted leftovers “Mulligan Stew” and I came up with this dish by thinking about what I could do with the various leftovers I had in the fridge. So, without further ado, as I cooked it today:

Mulligan Lasagne

All amounts are approximate. Adjust according to taste, or according to what you have on hand.

16 oz. mini shells pasta
10 oz. pizza sauce
¾ cup cottage cheese
2 oz. shredded Colby/Jack cheese
1 beer bratwurst, fully cooked
2 tsp basil
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, cut/crumble bratwurst, discarding casing. Drain cooked pasta, return to pan and combine all ingredients. Stir continuously over low heat until heated through and cheese is melted. Serve hot; makes about 4 servings.