Cornish Game Hen Cooking Class

Cooking Class was fun this month. Randy got to attend as a guest. I think Jude will be letting more guys come to selected classes. Everyone knows what a terrific cook Randy is! He offered to sharpen some of Jude's knives. She was delighted.
We made Risotto with Peas and Dried Mushrooms. Jude got the mushrooms from Costco...several varieties (chanterelles, porcine, morels). She only uses a homemade broth for her dishes...in this one she used a beef broth. You add balsamic vinegar at the end along with fresh mint and thyme. Very good.

She then made two kinds of roasted Cornish Game Hens. One with a tangerine-herb butter and the other with truffle oil, prosciutto and wild mushrooms. She put the stuffing under the skin of each bird.

Jude brines all of her meat first before cooking....chicken, pork, etc. She uses a half cup of Diamond Crystal salt and 4 cups of water and leaves the meat in the brine for 1 hour. She says you can taste the difference.

More Snow!

We got about 8 inches of snow.....I have lost track of how many times it has snowed this winter.

The neighborhood looks beautiful. While walking Cooper I noticed how quiet it was. Not many cars on the streets and everyone inside staying warm.

The sun tried to come out yesterday afternoon but didn't make it. It's overcast today and still 34 degrees at noon.

The sun should be out tomorrow.....hope so......our window washer friend, Justin, is coming to wash all of the windows, inside and out! It's hard to decide the best time to wash the windows.

Sedona Photos

 I thought I would share some of my photos from our recent trip to Sedona with our photography class.

Obviously our assignment was landscapes.

 We had perfect weather...sunshine and clouds. Clouds make all the difference.

There is just nothing like these red rocks. They always amaze me.

Since these photos were taken we have had many inches of snow....three days worth. The highway was closed on Monday and they also had to close the schools and quite a few businesses. We are not complaining as weather in other areas of the U.S. has been so awful.

Artisan Bread

We just purchased a NutriMill grain mill. A friend has one and loves it so Randy decided to give it a try knowing that freshly ground flours offer the most nutritional value. It has a 20 cup capacity, has great reviews and grinds fine or coarse flours.

Randy also bought 25 pounds of organic Hard Red Spring Wheat. You might ask why we are going to all of this trouble for bread. Because there is no good (nutritious) bread in Payson!!

The canister on the left has some of the ground flour in it. The other containers have rye and whole wheat sourdough starter in them. Randy has been using the cookbook, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois for much of his bread baking . His favorite whole wheat recipe is on page 76....100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread. He even made English Muffins with this recipe....they are so good!

Riparian Preserve

Thought I would share some photos from our last photography class field trip.

We drove to Gilbert (Phoenix area...about 95 minutes from Payson) and walked around a number of ponds at the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch.

An adult pair of Blue Herons and a "baby".

The preserve has 110 acres and is a water reclamation project.

This coot is one of 200 birds that have been sighted at the water ranch.

The preserve has an observatory and a variety of programs for school-age children plus regular family bird walks.

Love the colors on this Northern Pintail. (Click on the photo to enlarge.)