I am in my hammock...
9:29 PM... the wind is blowing out of the southwest, pushing a heat lightning storm across the palouse. I can feel the pressure change, laying here outside on my deck. It is weird, almost like waves that give me the sensation that I am falling or spinning. But then a cool breeze will push it past me and I will feel normal again. To the west I see the flash of light across the horizon, but I can't hear the thunder. It's almost unnatural, to think that there can be lightning without thunder. Growing up in the south, the two went together... but not here.
I am trying to relax, but I can't. Darius's surgery date looms on the horizon, it feels unnatural too. Distant like the lightning but in fact is just 7 days away. The lightning is close now too.
9:45 PM... Our neighbor's little dog is barking, anxious, because of the coming storm most likely. I feel the same way, anxious. It is not just the little dog, a pack of coyotes has taken up the call, they are all around... baying from all sides, they feel it to, the nervous energy before a storm.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
Lime and Cilantro Rice
I whipped this recipe out the other day for a Cinco de Mayo party (Thanks Stacy and Steve!). It is a basmatti rice with lime and cilantro.
3 cups basmatti rice
1 onion
1 lime
1 bunch of cilantro
salt to taste
olive oil
Soak rice for 1/2 hour, drain several times till water runs clear. Cook rice in large pot with excess water (salt the water with 2-3 Tbsp of salt) till the rice is almost done. You want to be able to bit into it and have a bit of hardness still. Drain rice and wash with water. This will blanch the rice and remove the excess salt water. Slice onion, chop cilantro, cut lime in half. In pot that you cooked the rice, pour 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil and layer sliced onion so it covers the bottom of the pot. Turn on stove to med-high heat. Put half the rice into the pot and add half the cilantro and lime, add salt to taste. Mix and repeat with the remaining rice, cilantro and lime, again add a little salt to taste. Turn down the stove top to low heat and cover the pot, cook for additional 15 minutes or so. This will steam the rice to completion and create a nice fried onion crust on the bottom.
Enjoy!
3 cups basmatti rice
1 onion
1 lime
1 bunch of cilantro
salt to taste
olive oil
Soak rice for 1/2 hour, drain several times till water runs clear. Cook rice in large pot with excess water (salt the water with 2-3 Tbsp of salt) till the rice is almost done. You want to be able to bit into it and have a bit of hardness still. Drain rice and wash with water. This will blanch the rice and remove the excess salt water. Slice onion, chop cilantro, cut lime in half. In pot that you cooked the rice, pour 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil and layer sliced onion so it covers the bottom of the pot. Turn on stove to med-high heat. Put half the rice into the pot and add half the cilantro and lime, add salt to taste. Mix and repeat with the remaining rice, cilantro and lime, again add a little salt to taste. Turn down the stove top to low heat and cover the pot, cook for additional 15 minutes or so. This will steam the rice to completion and create a nice fried onion crust on the bottom.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Remodel, Part 2
Spring is finally upon the palouse and our bonus room remodel is going well. I have removed all the ceiling cross beams and added a small wall to create a walk in closet. Hopefully, this weekend I will finish framing the peak in the center of the room and frame in the wall book cases. Tomorrow I am going to stop by PBS and get the 2x4 needed to finish the peak. We got out quote for insulation from MBS and JJs, which we will need to evaluate and decide if we want to install the insulation ourselves, and save $400 or have MBS do it and save ourselves a weekend. Right now I am leaning towards installing it on my own. I can probably get some help from a couple of friends one evening and get most of it done then. I have never put in insulation, so I will probably learn something in the process... All of this remodeling has us thinking about finishing off the house and doing the addition this summer. This would be a pretty major project, adding on about 800 square feet to the house. The financial side of things makes this project a bit scary, but in the long run it will add tremendous value to the house and ease some of the issues we are having because all the boys sleep in one room right now. The addition will include a living room (18 x 26) and a master bedroom suite. We would convert our existing living room into a formal dining room as part of the addition/remodel. Pretty soon it will be time to till the garden and get some plants growing, I am excited about this as usual. I love fresh veggies from the garden. My plan is to get some lettuce, spinach, bok choi, and carrots into the ground by Vivi's birthday (April 15), so that by WSU graduation we will have a steady supply of salad veggies. In May, I will start the rest of the crops. Mostly from seed, but also from the starts at the farmers market. Fun spring projects!
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