Ramon Vilanova, Chili Recipe

Here is another unfinished painting I am going to start on tomorrow. Carp Or Japanese Koy fish --I always love to see them in Japanese gardens. You can usually feed them by hand - they can become quite tame.

Speaking of painting- my favorite living painter has been for a long time Ramon Vilanova, from Spain. He sometimes comes over to his galleries in America and gives demonstrations and such- I have yet to be so luck to attend one.
Here is are some links to his work: here and here

Some people may notice that my list of blogs that I author has dwindled. In an effort to focus on one blog and just plain creating art -I decided that I had bit off more than I could handle keeping up with this blog, and a landscape specific blog, and a still life blog, and a faith blog and two other blogs that had my name on them -but I was not using...and then there is the art league blog which I am not author to-- but have permission to post. TOO MUCH! Especially with Facebook, Twitter, and any online selling sites that I have not even begun to start stocking and oh... the website. Sometimes its important to simplify, pare down and just focus on whats important --and a by product of this conversion is online sanity!


So you will see still lifes and landscapes and whatever else my muse decides to put forth right here... I don't think anyone is interested in searching or going to more than one area in the blog world to find art created by me. Some might say that I should stick with landscapes OR still life OR abstracts. There are plenty of successful artists that get away with doing what they want to do. And so that is what I am going to do ;)

One of My Chili Recipe's

Any one that knows me and has eaten at my home just knows that I LOVE chili. That said, I love all kinds of chili recipes including various concoctions I have made and have tasted at Chili cook- offs too.

Here is one that I made yesterday. This is a minimum 2 hour cook chili- its a cook down style- frequently I will cook on very low all day long with the lid slightly eschew.

2 pounds of ground beef (chuck or whatever you have)

1/2 large green bell pepper chopped

1 large onion chopped

1 heaping tablespoon of minced garlic

1 package of any chili mix that requires only one pound of hamburger

2-3 bay leaves

2 heaping tablespoons of chili powder- less if you don't want spicy

2 heaping tablespoons of cumin- less if you don't want spicy

1 tablespoon of dried cilantro-- or fresh if you have it

1 tablespoon of liquid smoke

1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

2 -14.5 ounce cans of black beans

2-14.5 ounce cans of dark red kidney beans

1-14.5 ounce can of stewed tomatoes

1-14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes

1 cup of left over spaghetti sauce (or a cup of canned)

1/2 can of tomato paste

water

You need a big pot- preferably with a heavy bottom to prevent burning. (Or after you brown the meat and veggies put it all in a crock pot 10-12 hours with the LID ON.)

Start out by adding the garlic, onions and green pepper and set the burner on medium.

Add ground beef- break it up and cook this mixture till brown.

Drain the fat off.

Add the rest of the ingredients except water and stir.

The water amount is determined by adding a cup or so at a time till you get a soupy mixture rather than a thick stew. I think I added the equivalent of 3 cups of water to mine.

Stir it in and mix well. Keep the pot on med and stir frequently to keep it from burning on the bottom and lid off - till the mixture is starting to bubble.

Then turn down the heat to LOW and put the lid on with just a crack open so the steam can escape.

Now all you have to do is go check and stir every half hour -45 minutes ( the best part) By "check" I mean taste it and adjust seasonings little by little. Don't add salt or pepper. There is plenty of natural salt in garlic and salt in the packaged sauce as well as in the canned vegetables. (By the way, if you are using a slow cooker/crock pot- don't check or stir- it lets too much of the heat out and that's very bad- which is why I don't often make chili in a crock pot ...:)

Then get all the fixings out: shredded cheese, chopped onions, olives, more fresh cilantro, sour cream, crackers, cornbread, french bread, chilies-- whatever!

Serve chili over rice or a baked potato or spaghetti or eat it as is and pile on your favorite toppings

Freeze the left over and make sure you label it- I have defrosted chili that I thought was spaghetti sauce lots of times-- doesn't work in Ziti unless your are doing Mexican style ziti--- hmmmmm that sounds good:)

WIP Palms and Chicken Curry Recipe

Drastic changes have occurred to the Palms painting! Some palms have gone and the sky was lightened in anticipation of the palm fronds being put back in. Other than the "highlight" from the camera flash there are no real lights or shadows yet. There is a lot of paint on there and there is texture underneath all that paint which makes the piece rather interesting to me. I am going to let this layer dry and see what hits my muse tomorrow. Here is my recipe for chicken curry I spoke about on Facebook for those who like to cook!

My Chicken Curry Recipe
3 to 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts -cut up into 1 inch pieces

2 Tablespoons of butter or margarine

1 large onion - cut up into 1 inch pieces

1 large green bell pepper - cut up in to 1 inch pieces

1 chicken or vegetable bullion cube

2 Tablespoons of curry powder (to taste)

1 cup of water

1 can of sweet peas drained or a 16 oz frozen fresh peas

2 tablespoons cornstarch

I start out with a large fry pan and melt the butter med - low heat

add the onions, green pepper and cook till just tender

add the chicken pieces and brown lightly

add the bullion cube and cup of water

(after a few minutes you can crush the cube and it will disperse with the stirring)

add curry powder and stir.

Stir in the peas.

Put a lid on it and turn on low cook for 20 to 30 minutes

sprinkle the cornstarch on there the last 5 minutes and stir - this will thicken the sauce

Serve with rice and naan bread (this is available in most stores now or make your own!)

Makes 4- 6 servings

Palms My Meat Loaf Recipe

I have had this painting sitting in my studio maybe forever- I am sure other artists have paintings that they put down and don't pick up the brush for as well.

Every year my brother and sister-in-law come over some time during the holidays and state - "We want that painting!". To which I reply "It's not finished" and my sister-in-law states "Who cares!" Then they get my pat reply "I do".
And then the painting hangs on the wall for another year...
So in the interest of another holiday season starting this month--- I had better get busy today as this one has a buyer already!

I had received some wonderful critiques on a lot of my unfinished paintings from my dear friend Linda Blondheim early in this 2009 year. Critiques of your art finished or unfinished is really the only way to learn. I don't care if you are the best painter in the world -we all need a second pair of eyes like an editor for writers. Sometimes the critique is used and the painting or writing gets improved or sometimes it is filed for "future reference" in creating a new piece. In my case some of Linda's discerning eye work is going to finally be put to use today.

I made this recipe last week and spoke about it on Facebook and Twitter -here it is!

My Meat Loaf Recipe

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

2 pounds of ground hamburger (chuck or lean will work)

4 slices of bread with the crusts cut off and chopped into little pieces (sometimes I don't cut the crusts off...)

1 large onion peeled and grated (sometimes I just chop the onions into tiny bits)

2 eggs

1-2 Tablespoons black strap molasses

1 cup of non fat milk

Mix all of this together with your hands (wash them first!)

Put the mixture into a large enough greased baking dish or pan and gently form it into a loaf with out compressing it too much--there must be room for it to expand and there is sauce to put on top too!

Put the pan in the oven for 20 minutes at 450 degrees (to brown)

Meanwhile get a sauce pan out and put 1 cup of ketchup

1 beef bullion cube broken up

1/2 cup of water

1 tsp - 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce (to your taste)

Mix this together and bring to a boil then reduce the heat to very low until the first 20 minutes of meat loaf has finished cooking.

At the end of 20 minutes- pour half the sauce on top and around the meatloaf and put the meatloaf back in the oven on 325 degrees to cook for 1 hour.

At the end take you meat loaf out of the oven and let it set for approx. 5 min. You can use the rest of your sauce for individual servings.

This recipe freezes well as long as you pack it well for the freezer and is even better the next day sliced and used for sandwiches.... You may have to make another batch of sauce as it runs out quick! Makes about 8-10 servings - give or take how generous with the slices ;)

Inspired To Clean My Studio

I WISH my studio was as clean, neat, and uncluttered as it was several months ago... Right now there is a chandelier, boxes, and bags of stuff in the middle of the room on the floor, and more boxes and bags of stuff on the counters and tables...It's going to take super human effort on my part to clear all of it and find a place for it today. I have had the "clean studio" on several "to do" lists this last couple of months- and now it just has to be done. Why? Because on my "to do" lists is also PAINT- which I can't do until this first task gets finished...sort of fall cleaning and putting the last of the moving boxes and bags from the old home and studios.

My inspiration to really do this today came after I received my copy of "The Artist's Magazine" -my favorite issue December's annual "The Year's Best Art Competition" winners. The art is as varied as the locals of the artists that enter.

This magazine is the one little art splurge in this down economy that I permit myself to renew every year. It inspires and gives me some art and business education, and just plain old hope for a successful career as an artist- before I am a dead artist lol... I admire all the artists that are featured in this magazine even if I don't care for the particular style or medium of art they are known for. It takes courage and hard work to get where they are- displayed in a magazine for others to discover, admire and learn from.

I congratulate this years winners as well as the judges for their picks and thank them all for inspiring me to clean up my studio and paint!

The Casselberry Art House

While back on the road to reconnect with creating- clearing out the cobwebs along the way I have been reconnecting on Facebook - check out the widget on this page! "Friend me" I would like to get to know my readers!
I also have restarted the Twittering... follow me at: http://twitter.com/tlwestart

Three of my art pieces art being displayed at this very moment at The Casselberry Art House. I am among 12 artists selected for the Annual Casselberry Rotary Club Calendar- which I am very honored to have been picked! Come on by and see the beautiful new facility as well as all the other talented artists on display this month. There is a nice reception planned for November 20, 2009. If you can make it- come by and get your free calendar- All the artists will be there to sign the calendars!
Rotary Club of Casselberry's 2010 Calendar Artists The Casselberry Art House exhibit will feature 12 local artists that have been selected to be featured in this year’s Rotary Club of Casselberry 2010 Community Calendar. Since 1998, this brightly colored calendar has been provided free to community residents and distributed to schools, city offices, banks, and several community organizations. Come enjoy a free closing artist reception featuring other works by these artists and get your own calendar signed by the artists.
Exhibit Dates:
November 2 – November 30
Hours:
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday – Friday
Location:
Casselberry Art House, Map
Cost:
Free
Free Reception:
November 20, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Our Exercise Class Will Be Starting Soon...

Gifts From Artists to Artists

I received some little gifts from two artists just recently- It is so wonderful to open the mail box and discover that someone thought of you! The picture is of two pieces of little art from some my favorite artists: The top is a little acrylic landscape from Linda Blondheim and the lower one is a print of a painting from Lynette Clay. Both of these artists are extremely busy and prolific so if you are a collector- consider this a recommendation to get collecting! Thank you so much Linda and Lynette!

The other two photos are of my back yard - specifically plants that may be dead or just struggling from the recent freezes we had here. The top is of two bougainvilleas -I want to cry over these as they are so gorgeous when blooming and the vines them selves are quite old- we shall see if they come back. The other is of the peace lily that is at the edge of the deck- it at least looks like it is trying to live...

Today I am editing pictures from the Creative Spirit Art Gallery reception last Friday night and pictures from the Lake Baldwin Park Art Festival that I went to on Saturday. I saw Brad Biggs, Megan Pacquette, Marle E, Robin Pedrero, and Jason Lee at the Festival on Saturday. If you are in the art scene in the Orlando area, chances are you know at least one of these people. It was a gorgeous sunny day and people were enjoying the art experience! Blessings to all