Spring Madness

Not too long ago, my Baby Boy was sitting at deaths' door.  He lost a quarter of his weight, wasn't eating, wasn't moving, always sleeping and keeping to himself.  It's a horrible story about coming to mistrust in doctors that I don't really want to get into right now.  But it all started a downward spiral.  I am happy to announce that Astraeus is doing much, much better!  He's back to his chipper self, with the exception of some feather loss.  He's singing and carrying on, he's excited to see people again, and he has gained back all the lost weight!

After this ordeal, it was great that the weather was warm and the sun was high in the sky!  John & I took a good friend and his lady out to Nockamixon State Park for a round of disk golf.  It turned into nature adventure!  We saw frogs, toads, butterflies, snakes, and turtles throughout our hike of the back nine.

Then the weather turned cold and rainy again.  I'm not going to complain, this is standard for Spring in my neck of the woods.  Even though it's expected, it can get you down to a place where you don't want to leave the comfort of your blanket on the couch in front of the tele.  It was a tough week of struggling to find the motivation to move!  Life happens sometimes in a way we don't like.  This past couple weeks felt like everything was working against me.  However, I did make some progress towards goals and I need to celebrate them, no matter how small.  

THAT is how we survive, by celebrating any reason we can think of.  I took some online webinars about running a photo business.  I finally ordered business cards!  We watched Deadpool for the second and third time ;)  I cuddled with my boys, Astraeus and Smokey.  I sold my last in-stock large canvas print!  I made a To-Do List so I can track my progress, and feel more accomplished in working towards my goals.  

I have an amazing support system, especially my John.  Everyone needs to have one person who will be there to tell you that things will get better.  If you don't, you just haven't realized it.  Think about who you know and how they make you feel.  I bet that one person will stick out for happiness, or for great advice.  I also have a great mom.  I know I can call her any time, day or night for whatever emergency I have.  She makes time to be there for me when I need her.  I am lucky and grateful.  

If you still don't know who you can turn to when you need encouragement, please feel free to turn to me.  Or at least to a Facebook Group I admin: Saving Someone, One Talk at a Time.  This crazy weather gets us all from time to time.  If you need a support person, we are around.  You need only ask.

Adventure: New Hatchy

When John and I moved in together, he had a new hobby: raising and breeding insects. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of seeing several insects I normally would not have had the chance to see up close. I love tiny creatures.

The other day, we had a new hatchy: Hyalophora Cecropia! I know that sounds scary, but really it is quite beautiful. This is a moth native to PA. We had a male hatch, we released him after a couple days. Then another male hatched. The day he passed away, a female hatched from her cocoon.

It is sad that they did not hatch together so they could mate. We set the female outside at night in hopes that her pheromones will attract a mate. However, either it is too early in the season or we are no longer a region of their natural habitat as no mates have come to her yard.

Most moths are nocturnal, so you wouldn't see them about in the day like you see butterflies. But they are just as beautiful.  

Say hello to the Cecropia Moth.

 

The AB Method

I found an amazing recipe for making buffalo wings on Alton Browns' website and tweaked it to our preference over a couple of times making chicken.  Yes, I said making chicken, as I apply this method to a few different cuts of chicken, not just wings.  You see, we like our chicken buffalo style but don't always have wings on hand.  Also, wings are more expensive than drumsticks or thighs.

(You can also roast your chicken this way and sauce them however you want, I'm doing a little bit of BBQ sauce too.)

With this method, you can render most of the fat from your meat which
1) is more healthy
2) allows the skin to get crisp and
3) means less smoke in your kitchen when you open the oven

What You'll Need:

FOOD

-Enough chicken to feed two people

-3oz Butter

-1 Large Clove Garlic (or 2 Medium Cloves)

-1/8 Cup Hot Sauce

-1/8 Cup Wing Sauce

-Sriracha (to taste)

HARDWARE

-Large Pot

-Steamer Basket

-Small Saucepan

-Medium Bowl

-Cutting Board

-2 Cookie Sheets

-2 Cooling Racks

-Paper Towels

-Parchment Paper

-Knife

-Tongs 

We start by steaming the chicken drumsticks for 20 minutes.  Just take a large pot and put an inch or two of water in it, then set a steamer basket in the pot.  Add chicken, cover, turn burner to medium low.  Once you see water start to collect in the lid, set timer for 20 minutes.  Bigger cuts of chicken will require longer steaming.

While the chicken steams: 

-Set aside 3oz of butter, a large clove of garlic, and a small saucepan.

-Set out a cookie sheet and line it with paper towel, then place a cooling rack on the paper towel.

-Make space in your refrigerator on the bottom for the cookie sheet to fit in.

Once the chicken is finished steaming, transfer to the cooling rack on the cookie sheet lined with paper towels and place in fridge for at least 20 minutes.

During this chill time, preheat the oven to 425˚F.  Chop the garlic, and slice the butter so it melts better.  Put both ingredients into the small saucepan and turn to lowest heat setting on your stove top.

 

Prepare a secondary cookie sheet, this time lined with parchment paper, and topped with a cooling rack.  Check on your butter once in a while to make sure it is melting, and not getting to the point of burning.  We want to keep it melty and warm until we need it, and we want to let that garlic flavor meld into the butter as long as possible.

Now, according to AB (who is, by the way, my most favorite culinary genius of all time), Frank's Red Hot is the original sauce brand used when buffalo wings were invented.  So, needless to say, that is the brand of hot sauce and wing sauce we use.  Feel free to substitute your favorite, but know that results will vary.

You can combine the following ingredients into your bowl at this time, or wait until the chicken is in the oven:
1/8 cup hot sauce, 1/8 cup wing sauce, and drizzle in the sriracha sauce.  Mine looks like the following image

Once the oven is heated to the correct temperature and the chicken has completed its chill time, transfer to your secondary cookie sheet and cooling rack, placing the chicken skin side down.  Pop into the oven and set a timer for 20 minutes.  Once the timer goes off, turn the chicken over and set your timer for an additional 20 minutes.  The chicken should now be roasting skin side up.

When the timer is a few minutes from going off, you'll want to mix your garlic butter into your sauce bowl.  If you're like me (and in this case you really should be like me), I wash my tongs between uses so I'm not touching cooked chicken or anything else with tongs that have touched raw chicken.  I use my clean tongs to mix it up thoroughly, and it does take a few minutes to fully combine the sauces with the butter.

As the timer sounds, take the chicken out and individually toss in the sauce and place back on the rack.  Stick the chicken back in the oven for 5 minutes.  You can go ahead and turn the oven off, the residual heat will bake the sauce onto your chicken.

Pour the extra sauce into a ramekin or other small dish for dipping and serve alongside the buffalo chicken.  Enjoy!

If you try this method the next time you're in the mood for buffalo wings, let me know how it turns out!  Also, feel free to get creative with sauces and share those ideas in the comments.

You can see ABs' original recipe here: http://altonbrown.com/buffalo-wings/

Getting Started

I grew up with a love of art and creating art.  For a long time my passions were drawing and painting.  My parents always fostered and nurtured my creativity and urged me to continue with my art.  They always told me I could be whatever I wanted to be when I grew up, even an artist.

But there were too many things I wanted to try and do and see, so I struggled for a long time with finding myself and a path for life that would be happy.  I have had many adventures along the way to where I am now.

Among them was my move to Chicago, IL to attend Harrington College of Design for a degree in Digital Photography.  I graduated with an AAS in August of 2011.  I was about to be turning thirty.

By this time I had spent several years away from my family, and when I graduated with my degree I decided to move back to Pennsylvania and cultivate my family relationships.  I wanted my niece and nephew to know me, and I wanted to know them!

With bills needing to be paid, and struggling to find employment in my field near my family, I settled for a job outside of photography after four months.  I threw myself into my new work, striving for success and advancement.  I did advance quickly, and so I stayed with this company for four years.  I was completely miserable working behind a desk for eight hours a day.

I am no longer with that company, and have set out to launch my photography business: Karmic Images this May 2016.  I am excited and freaked out to be giving this a go.  I love photography.  I love food.  I love to travel and have adventures.  I love my boys and my family.

This blog is where I will keep my story of trying to live life to the fullest and not starve in the process of starting my business.  I hope you'll tag along for the ride!

Astraeus aka Baby Boy

Smokey aka Sweet Boy

Mid-Atlantic Air Museum
World War II Weekend
A-Day June 2015