I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Winter Beach






Hi! Let's go for a walk!
I was watching treasure hunter videos on You Tube the other night! Very inspirational, lol. And since the wind died down a little I could get out with my cameras.



You can see the path to the beach is already rebuilding itself, above.




My town is helping the dunes rebuild by piling up discarded Christmas trees. The branches attract sand and the dunes repair themselves naturally.
I was surprised to see so many trees.  I often think I am the only person around who buys a real once-live Christmas tree, in this age of prelighted green plastic. It's also kind of nice to think one's tree, once admired and treasured, then just tossed aside, can have a second life rebuilding the beach. Cool.



This isn't a very pretty picture, below---unless you think about what was here just a month ago. This is where that huge storm debris garbage dump was! Many trucks came just before Christmas and hauled the junk away in only a couple days. It was many football fields' worth of, sadly, the remnants of peoples' homes.




....

Heading west, far away, I could see this red thing! [just to the right of the brilliant security light which is actually another mile or two beyond and marks a washed out dangerous stretch of beach.]
See it? Big as a mom-van...whatever could it be?


 
 


No! It is the red channel buoy, still here. There is a red flasher out 10 miles in the shipping lane, so I thought this one had been hauled back out to sea.



But no. Either it isn't ours, or it was easier/ faster right after Sandy to just put a new one there. Its timed red flasher warns large ships away and marks the entrance, to my east, to the inner bay and fishermen's marinas. It contains a computer operated light sequence, and broadcasts information like wave height, air and water temperature, wind velocity. 
It sends out information to ships that lets them locate their safe routes in our surprisingly treacherouse water.
You'd think it was valuable enough to salvage, wouldn't you? Well unless it is from South Jersey or somewhere far....


 
 


Then the early winter sunset began, catching me by surprise a couple miles from home.
You'll notice the sky and beach get lighter again as the sun peeks beneath the snow clouds, before the final dusk.
.
I'll just let the pictures talk, enjoy!


 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 



And then...the full moon, the January Wolf Moon, rose in the eastern sky...



 
 

 
 


And as I headed home in the near dark the first fluffy snowflakes began to fall. Pink snowflakes....happy sigh.



And hot tea...

love

        lizzie

           gone to the beach

PS   This was the only treasure:




Isn't it so cute? But too heavy to drag home. Look at the darling handpainted bows---even on the seats!--- 
and white weathered wood.



They seem to be old stadium seats that someone redid as a country kitsch, shabby chic bench. .  Too bad I have nowhere to put it...


 
***don't forget to click and supersize the photos!

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Green Chili / Chili Verde





Hi! Isn't this perfect weather for chili! It is suddenly so cold. And so windy. And a pot of fragrant chili warms are hearts as well as our tummies.



Admit it, doesn't cold weather make you extra hungry? I know I am starving,lol, after a long cold beach walk. And my family loves chili, especially chili made with lots and lots of colorful veggies. So when my Colorado internet friend Lise mentioned, oh so casually, that she was making GREEN chili, I was intrigued. And you know me, always with the Crock Pot experiments.



I'll put a couple recipe links for green chili at the end because it seems that Lise is a ''toss some in the pot'' cook like me. You know, all little of this , a little of that. She did kindly send directions though..and a wonderful link for the spices which I cannot buy here. Savory Seaonings



Aren't they beautiful! And great fast shipping too. For the Chili Verde I needed the green adobo and the green chili powder.




Lise pan sears everything first. I was too lazy.  I cut boneless pork cutlets into strips;




I also used some leftover ground beef, mostly just to use it up...sauteed with a diced Vidalia/ sweet onion and garlic.



That went in the slow cooker, along with a can of fire roasted tomatoes, four small cans of diced green chilies [mild, not hot],  2/3 of a box of chicken broth.



Added cut up peppers, carrots, squash...
 [summer yellow Plus butternut.



My family really loves their veggies.]
Fresh cilantro.





Lise told me not to add okra but I did it anyway. Was fine....and I added a bag of frozen corn towards the end of the cooking time.





Seasonings to taste: besides the green adobo and green chili powder I added a bit if  Savory Seasonings black chili powder, a T. of  ''sugar''[Splenda], salt , pepper, cumin, paprika, Mexican spiced chocolate-chili powder, a hint of cinnamon. This is a mild favorful chili. If you like your chili hot, you could add some jalapeno peppers or hot chili power. Be careful, though. I notice the slow cooker enhances spicy peppers and things get too hot to eat.





More fresh cilantro added at the end.






Lise mentioned her onions weren't quite as cooked as she'd have liked, so I cooked the Crock Pot on high for two hours then 6 hours on low.





Serve  on a bed of shaved lettuce, with cheese and sour cream.




Trader Joe's Veggie-Flax seed taco chips for a bit of crunch.





I have no idea why these not-corn chips are ''healthier''---or even if they are?--but we love flax seed and these were great, very tasty and so thin and crisp.




Verdict: wonderful chili!

It got yummied up and eaten before I could freeze half. A wonderful winter [or summer!] easy meal. Only drawback..it would have been better, more caramelized and richer tasting, if it had been cooked in my le Creuset dutch oven, in the regular oven...instead of the Crock Pot. The Crock Pot steams instead of roasting. Next time: into the oven for this new favorite.



PS Good for Super Bowl Sunday? You can serve this to your football fans and feel happy they are eating something delicious and healthy.

Thank you, Lise!

for recipes, try: Martha Stewart's Green Chili 

                          http://mexicanfood.about.com

                          The Soup Chick's Green Chili Stew

 

 


 
I read over half a dozen recipes, via Google search. Bottom line, you put everything in the pot, add seasonings, and voila~ easy-peasy!





love

           lizzy

            gone to the beach.....


 
 
 
 
 
pls enlarge the photos by clicking on any one pix.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Bunny!





Hi! Look who came to my house!



The Valentine Bunny? Easter Bunny? He is certainly an adorable  breath of spring on this suddenly frigid day in January.





Bunny is from Olde Farmhouse Simple's Michelle, one of her folk art creations.



Look at that face! I love him!




See his tiny toes! (and beautiful grungy patina!)....


And his overalls! Cute!

He has a sweet punch needle heart. Like a tiny hooked rug...and you all know I love hearts. Michelle specializes in punchneedle pieces. like this group




Michelle makes exceptional primitive folkart and she also sells great Maine rusty musty farmhouse prim antiques. She sells both on her eBay site: here

Here's a neat bluebird make-do: here I have my eye on that birdie!

And another bunny: here (sold but I believe Michelle takes orders)

I always want ALL! But sometimes I just visit her selling pages to enjoy her great photos and funny descriptions.



And now Michelle has a wonderful blog, filled with great prim how-tos, shopping details---supplies and antiques...and updates on her newest creations and finds. It's such a fun blog to visit--if you love primitive Armericana or just want to have a taste of an old fashioned simpler creative way of living...join Michelle in snowy Maine.  Check it out! Farm Simples blog


Oh and from me, here at the beach...a couple of funny little Cupids. Definitely Valentine guys: Cutey Pie and Honey Bunch!
 




Thanks Michelle! I love Bunny! And he'll have a wonderful home here with my other Spring prims from you too.




love

lizzy

..........gone to the beach


pink sand at sunset
 
 
 

                                                       a snowy day

   
 
 
                     
                          another treasured heart from my internet dear friend LN.

blogger update: yay! They fixed the download system! Boo..they still don't allow more than two photo enlargements. Or embedded cations. So pls click on the pix for full screen versions, so you can enjoy Bunny's sweet sad face [not a beach guy, B?] and my snowy sunset!

l