2012 ARTWALK IS AROUND THE CORNER!!!!

It's that time again, Sat and Sun Sept 28-29 at the beautiful Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

Here are a few items from last year's show. I hope that you all come by for a visit and to see what I've been up to this year.

 

How did it get to be September?

I'm really confused this year. Today I wrapped a Christmas present. It's 80 degrees outside and I'm planning on where to put the Christmas tree in my new place. Where has this year gone to? Back in April I was all ready to move to a new address and had to shift plans a little. Upon further study and inspection the moblie home I was buying had too much for me to take on in repairs. Decorating what I WANT to do, yes, bathrooms because they need to be re-done? No. So plan B went into action and I'm happy to say that after a little more searching, I've now joined the club of mobile home owners.

Never in a million years would I have pictured myself in a double-wide. Here I am, in 1500 sq. ft. of wood and aluminum. Horrible cellphone reception, but a wonderful sunny yard and all the space I could ever want. Upside, it's mine. Downside, NONE!

I haven't really gotten used to the kitchen and the grill still isn't gassed up. It will happen soon. What is amazing is that in the small front and side gardens there are 54 rose bushes. Most are beautiful and fragrant. The gardener starts tomorrow!

Best of all, Roberto likes it and it's just a few yards further from his trolley stop to take him into Carpinteria. It's still within walking range to downtown and all of that. Now, I'm getting organized and settled in. Roberto was here 2 weeks in August and Suzi was right behind him for 10 days. I wasn't up to entertaining yet, so there haven't been any Summer parties. It's a pitty since the weather has been incredible. That will happen soon too, I'm not planning on going anywhere!

Another milestone was reached on September 1st. It's now been two years since my cancerous cyst was removed and I started treatments for Ovarian Cancer. Truthfully, I didn't think I would be here today to share any of this with you, so it's a very good day. Photos to follow.

So I've been way off the radar these days...

Wow, is all I can say as to what's been happening in my life. It's been getting pretty hot in the kitchen these days!
Biggest news of all is that I'll be moving into my very own place in about a month. No landlord, no more moving, my own decorating----finally!
Carpinteria will still be home and it will be the start of a whole new chapter of my life. One of the big projects will be a kitchen upgrade, not a complete remodel, more cosmetic changes that I'll be tackling right away. The best part of my new kitchen is the layout! I'll be able to really get to cooking and sharing my concoctions with my island stove! I can't tell you all how exciting this is. Scary, but exciting. So for now, I'll be packing, tossing, donating and designing.
Can't wait to post the process. Ciao tutti, K

Experimental Risotto----if it's in the pantry, I can cook it! Right?

Ok, so I've neglected this site and haven't posted a thing in weeks. It's been a bit hectic in the retail world and my health has been a bit dicey as well. Now that everything has settled down and I've gotten another all-clear I'm playing in the kitchen.

Last night I was craving risotto Milanese. You know, the traditional saffron and parmesean, tart and tangy risotto. My version always had quite a dose of vino bianco and shallots and loads of cheese. Well, I went to the pantry to find Risotto,  very little Parmesean and Old Amsterdam aged Gouda(mmmmm) peas, shallots, NO white wine, onion and garlic conserves and lets see, what else, oh, cream cheese. I'll just be exotic and call it Panna della Cucina. There was a little red wine involved too, chef's perogative.

After assembling the basics I got the butter and the finely chopped shallots---2 med sized---in the pan ready for the Arborio rice. In went a cup and a 1/2 and off we went! Stirring constantly, once the rice was a bit clear from the oils I began to add the heated fat-free chicken stock, yes I did really use fat-free. Save the calories when you can. The cheese will more than make up for it! 20 minutes later and all the stock 4 cups was absorbed and I added the cubed Gouda(should have shredded it) incorporated that, added 1/2 cup of shredded parmesean and finally the cream cheese. One small bustina of saffron and a pinch of salt and a pinch of white pepper. MMMMMMMM.

Finally, I realized that there was a bit too much cheese(I used about a cup of the cubed Gouda) but I really didn't mind. The original plan was to add peas, but when I saw the jar of onion and garlic preserves I thought, hmmmm. So as not to ruin an entire weeks worth of Risotto, I divided and added 1/4 cup of the onion mixture to the risotto. The creamy nutty flavor from the Gouda was incredible with the sweet and smoky conserve.

All of this went down really well with a 2004 Chianti from "PALLADIO" It's imported by Leonardo Locascio. Liked it very much. Weird label, since the Palladian "Villa Barbaro" is in the Veneto and nowhere near Tuscany. I'll have to look into that. This would make a great gift for an architect!

Enjoy the pics of my culinary adventure. Tonite I'll add the peas to bowl number one and finish that Chianti! Buon Appetito!