The Horse Breeding - Bella Speranza's 2014 Award

This just appeared in the Hanoverian Magazine. She tied for third in the nation!!

" YOUNGER FILLIES, WEANLINGS AND YEARLINGS
1. DANAE MF (84.90%)
(Doctor Wendell-EM Rising Star/Rotspon) Owner/Breeder: Maryanna Haymon Weanling
2. RELEVÉ HTF (78.20%)
(Royal Prince-EM Comtesse/Cordoba) Owner/Breeder: Hilltop Farm Yearling
3. QUARTER SINCLAIRE (78.10%)
(Qredit Hilltop-Lady Lucy/Lord Sinclair) Owner/Breeder: Tawna King Weanling
3. BELLA SPERANZA (78.10%)
(Benidetto-Firenze/Florencio I) Owner/Breeder: Ruth Ann Olson Yearling
5. RUBINIA(74.30%)
(Rubignon-EM Davignia/Davignon) Owner: Cynthia Brown
Breeder: Jess Systo
Yearling
HONORABLE MENTION WHAT A GEM (73.25%)
(Wamberto-Rondalet/Rotspon) Owner: Cara Kettenbach Breeder: Jan Voytilla
Yearling"

Very proud of our Hanoverian girl, coming two next month.

Starting Again

This blog has been neglected as I have struggled with some health issues and changes in my life and work.  It's time to rekindle the discipline of writing here.  Balance is coming back to my life and it's time to document some of the storms and vicissitudes of the last few years as I move forward.

I wrote here about my descent into back pain and disfunction in 2013.  I have not had a bad episode since then.  I don't know why, but I am grateful every day that I do not have back related pain.  I have almost constant numbness in parts of my left leg and foot, though, and when I have talked to my rheumatologist and back specialist, they have both said that "numb is your new normal".    After I got over stubbing my toes all the time and learned where my foot was, even though I can't really feel it, it has been alright.  I think  my left leg is prone to being weaker than my right and I need to keep exercising and stretching it to maintain its functionality.

Other new changes have been challenging.  I was waking several times a night with severe leg cramps in both legs.  I started taking calcium, magnesium and zinc at night with vitamin A and D and drinking a large glass of water before bed.  These things helped a lot.  But I was also having rather debilitating bouts of stomach trouble, starting around Thanksgiving of 2014, and lasting until March of 2015, when I woke up with a blistering itchy burning rash on my trunk and a purple lesion on my lip.  It was a weekend, so I got on google and poked around looking for what might be causing this.  I had been eliminating different things from my diet in an attempt to figure out what was causing my digestive problems.  I had begun to think I was somehow allergic to polysaccharides.  They are in many processed foods. But what I found matching my symptoms was Celiac Disease.  So just as an experiment, I removed all wheat, rye, and barley from diet and saw almost immediate improvement.  Within a week all my acute digestive symptoms were gone.  I have since gotten an official diagnosis of Celiac Disease from my primary care physician and discovered that I am also sensitive to coffee, quinoa, oats, and a polysaccharide called inulin.  These other foods do not contain gluten, but have proteins that are similar to gluten.  Conventional wisdom says that after my insides have healed I may be able to reintroduce them to my diet.

As I have been feeling gradually better and better I have supplemented my new diet with extra vitamins: notably vitamin C for the purpura on my lips and vitamin B12 for an oppressive brain fog that had me thinking I was aging prematurely.  The whole "leaky gut" result of Celiac, of course, was terrible for the reactive arthritis that I have had since I was a teenager.  I am hopeful that by getting the Celiac under control, control of my RA will also be more easily achieved.

And the numbness in my leg, while it is probably caused by the herniated discs in my back, might be a neurological symptom caused by the Celiac.  So maybe that will improve as well.  I have no more leg cramps at night.

While these health dramas were unfolding, we had three new foals on the farm.  They are 3 weeks, one year and two years old, respectively.  There will be more details about them to follow.  We had to put in a new furnace and an new septic pipe (The Big Dig).  The drought has truly ended this spring with record-breaking rains in May.  We have built a round pen.  I retired from my part-time job in Denver.  I am volunteering at a local therapeutic riding center.  My studio is functional and I have started to do some collage work.  We have started two small businesses and a little charity which we run from the farm.  

My food entries will heretofore be geared towards my learning to cook gluten-free.

The training of the horses will include writing about the ground work with the youngsters as well as the work under saddle for the oldsters.

All other entries should be as before, as events occur, and seem fodder for, hopefully, interesting stories.  Sometimes I feel like, while the rest of the world is heading in a certain inexorable direction, I have taken a detour onto this little old turn-of-the-century farm and I am engaged in living an anachronism.  Maybe that in itself has significance.  I have no idea, really.

The Food - Picadillo

Picadillo - This happens to be gluten free

I think this might have originally been in the New York Times, but I think I saw it being prepared on the Today show - but I'm not sure. 

It is easy to make and delicious.

When I saw it being made on TV it reminded me of some wonderful tamales we had in Roatan, an island off of Honduras, several years ago.  I think these spices were what the tamales were seasoned with - but the meat in the tamales was chicken. 

I used garlic stuffed green olives and canned, crushed tomatoes.  I used 1/2 lb. of regular chorizo from our local grocery store.  I did not use capers.

"Picadillo is one of the great dishes of the Cuban diaspora: a soft, fragrant stew of ground beef and tomatoes, with raisins added for sweetness and olives for salt. Versions of it exist across the Caribbean and into Latin America. This one combines ground beef with intensely seasoned dried Spanish chorizo in a sofrito of onions, garlic and tomatoes, and scents it with red-wine vinegar, cinnamon and cumin, along with bay leaves and pinches of ground cloves and nutmeg. For the olives you may experiment with fancy and plain, but rigorous testing here suggests the use of pimento-stuffed green olives is the best practice. A scattering of capers would be welcome as well."

4 5

Ingredients

·         2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

·         2 medium-size yellow onions, peeled and chopped

·         2 ounces dried chorizo, diced

·         4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

·         1 ½ pounds ground beef

·         Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

·         4 ripe tomatoes, chopped, or one 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and crushed

·         2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

·         1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

·         2 teaspoons ground cumin

·         2 bay leaves

·         Pinch of ground cloves

·         Pinch of nutmeg

·         ⅔ cup raisins

·         ⅔ cup pitted stuffed olives.

Preparation

1.     Put the olive oil in a large, heavy pan set over a medium-high flame, and heat until it begins to shimmer. Add onions, chorizo and garlic, stir to combine and cook until the onions have started to soften, approximately 10 minutes.

2.     Add the ground beef, and allow it to brown, crumbling the meat with a fork as it does. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

3.     Add tomatoes, vinegar, cinnamon, cumin, bay leaves, cloves and nutmeg and stir to combine. Lower the heat, and let the stew simmer, covered, for approximately 30 minutes.

4.     Uncover the pan, and add the raisins and the olives. Allow the stew to cook for another 15 minutes or so, then serve, accompanied by white rice.

The Food - Two New Noodly Dishes For Fall

Spaghetti with Mushroom and Tomato Sauce

Serves 4
Use a spoon to scrape the dark brown gills from the portobellos.

Ingredients

1 ounce dried mixed Italian mushrooms, rinsed well

• 1 cup water 


• 8  ounces pancetta, cut into 1/2-inch pieces


• 1/2 pound portobello mushrooms (2 large), stems and gills removed and discarded, caps cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups) (see note)


• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil


• 4 medium garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thin


• 1 tablespoon tomato paste


• 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves 


• 5 whole vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into chunks 


• Table salt and ground black pepper


• 1 pound spaghetti


• Grated Romano, for serving  

Instruction

1.  Place porcini and water in small heat-safe bowl; cover with 1 cup boiling water.   Let stand until mushrooms soften, about 10 minutes. Lift mushrooms from water with fork and finely chop. Strain water through fine-mesh strainer lined with large coffee filter into medium bowl. Set aside mushrooms and water.
   2. Heat pancetta in 12-inch skillet over medium heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until rendered and crisp, 7 to 10 minutes. Add portobellos, chopped porcini, olive oil, garlic, tomato paste, and rosemary; cook, stirring occasionally, until all liquid has evaporated and tomato paste starts to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add reserved mushroom water, crushed tomatoes, and their juices; increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
   3. While sauce simmers, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta; cook until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup cooking water, and return to pot. Add sauce to pasta and toss to combine. Adjust consistency with reserved pasta water and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, passing Pecorino separately.

The above recipe came from America's Test Kitchen, but I made a few minor changes to accommodate my ingredients and methods.  It is absolutely delicious!  It is a great way to showcase great fresh tomatoes as well as fall mushrooms. 

Thai-Style Stir-Fried Noodles with Pork and Broccolini

Serves 4

The flat pad thai–style rice noodles that are used in this recipe can be found in the Asian foods section of most supermarkets. If you can’t find broccolini, you can substitute an equal amount of conventional broccoli, but be sure to trim and peel the stalks before cutting.

Ingredients

• Chile Vinegar

• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 1 serrano chile, stemmed and sliced into thin rings

• Stir-Fry

• 2 (6-ounce) boneless pork chops 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 8 ounces (1/4-inch-wide) rice noodles
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 2  teaspoon molasses
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced thin
• 3 large eggs
• 10 ounces broccolini, florets cut into 1-inch pieces, stalks cut on bias into 1/2-inch pieces (5 cups)

Instructions

1. FOR THE CHILE VINEGAR: Combine vinegar and serrano in bowl. Let stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.2. FOR THE STIR-FRY: Combine chicken with 2 tablespoons water and baking soda in bowl. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Rinse chicken in cold water and drain well.
   
   3. Bring 6 cups water to boil. Place noodles in large bowl. Pour boiling water over noodles. Stir, then soak until noodles are almost tender, about 8 minutes, stirring once halfway through soak. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain well and toss with 2 teaspoons oil.
   4. Whisk oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, molasses, and fish sauce together in bowl.
   5. Heat 2 teaspoons oil and garlic in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat, stirring occasionally, until garlic is deep golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add chicken and 2 tablespoons sauce mixture, toss to coat, and spread chicken into even layer. Cook, without stirring, until chicken begins to brown, 1 to 1½ minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and cook, without stirring, until second side begins to brown, 1 to 1½ minutes. Push chicken to 1 side of skillet. Add 2 teaspoons oil to cleared side of skillet. Add eggs to clearing. Using rubber spatula, stir eggs gently and cook until set but still wet. Stir eggs into chicken and continue to cook, breaking up large pieces of egg, until eggs are fully cooked, 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer chicken mixture to bowl.
   6. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in now-empty skillet until smoking. Add broccolini and 2 tablespoons sauce and toss to coat. Cover skillet and cook for 2 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking. Remove lid and continue to cook until broccolini is crisp and very brown in spots, 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking. Transfer broccolini to bowl with chicken mixture.
   7. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in now-empty skillet until smoking. Add half of noodles and 2 tablespoons sauce and toss to coat. Cook until noodles are starting to brown in spots, about 2 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking. Transfer noodles to bowl with chicken mixture. Repeat with remaining 2 teaspoons oil, noodles, and sauce. When second batch of noodles is cooked, add contents of bowl back to skillet and toss to combine. Cook, without stirring, until everything is warmed through, 1 to 1½ minutes. Transfer to platter and serve immediately, passing chile vinegar separately.

This recipe is also from America's Test Kitchen, and is a super way to use fresh broccolini from the garden.  I changed a couple of ingredients to use what I had on hand. 

 

The Food - Breakfast Today

Mexican Crustless Quiche with Tomatillos and Fire-Roasted Chilies: chipotle sausages and applesauce

The Quiche

Ingredients

olive oil
1/2 cup diced red onion
3/4 cup diced tomatillos
1 fire-roasted medium chili
5 duck eggs (6 chicken large eggs will work)
1/4 cup top goat milk (cows milk half and half will work)
grated Mexican cheese mixture (optional)
salt to taste

Sauté the onion in several tablespoons of olive oil until it begins to wilt.
Add the diced tomatillos. 
Add salt to taste and continue to sauté on low heat until the onions are golden and the tomatillos have softened.
Add the chili and toss over low heat until warmed through.
Set aside.
Whisk the eggs and the milk in a deep dish Pyrex pie pan.
Salt to taste.
Stir in the vegetable mixture.
Microwave on high for 2 minutes.
Stir.
Continue microwaving on high for 3 more minutes.
Add grated cheeses (optional).
Microwave for an additional minute or until the cheese has melted.
Slice as you would a pie and serve.

You can also do the cheese part under the broiler if you want browned, melted cheeses.  That is my favorite, but some members of the family do not like melted cheese, so we do it by the slice at our house. 

The Sausages

Ingredients

ground pork
chipotle seasoning
ground sage
salt

For every pound of ground pork add a teaspoon each of salt, chipotle seasoning and sage. 
Mix with your hands until well blended.
Form into patties.
Fry until done: 20 - 30 minutes depending on your altitude.

The Applesauce

Ingredients

Jonathan Apples, cored, peeled, and cut into 1/8ths
Water

Put the apples in a saucepan with enough water to keep from scorching.
 (This will vary with your climate and altitude.  I need the pan about half full of water after the apples are in the pan.)
Simmer until the desired consistency
(We like ours firm and chunky, which at our altitude takes about a half an hour)

We had the quiche and the sausages hot and the applesauce cold, this morning, which seemed a nice blend.

Sorry I forgot to take a picture ...

The Art/Writing - More Skies

 

More Skies

 

 

 

 

 

 

Approaching Storm

 

 

 

Storm Moving East

 

 

Summer Sunrise

 

 

Clearing After a Storm

 

 

Sunset Through the Trees

 

 

Sunset Looking West

 

 

Sunset Over Lake Lillabondgard

 

 

Sun Setting Behind a Tree

The Art/Writing - Sky Scapes

Sky Scapes

These are still unaltered - as the computer generated them. I never tire of looking at the sky out here. 

 

 

Big Sky 1

 

 

 

Big Sky 2

 

 

Big Sky 3

 

 

 

 

Big Sky 4

 

 

 

 

Storm

 

 

 

 

Storm Coming 1

 

 

 

 

Storm Coming 2

 

 

 

 

Sunset in the West