Image: Black Bean Company 

OK, so I’m a little late getting in the swing of things… a friend sent me an email asking if we’ve been to Black Bean Co… a neat little restaurant on James Island (and another location on Spring Street). We’ve heard of it, but had never been. Had heard it was good, but that was coming from healthy food loving people, ha ha… I was assured that the food was good and the yogurt was to die for… we went, we saw, we tasted… we fell in love… went back the next day, and the next day, and the next day… and hopefully today!! It’s FRESH, HEALTHY food that tastes out of this world good. It’s not the healthy food that you have to try to choke down, no my friends, this is pure delight… from the very first to the very last bite… when you leave you can’t help thinking about when you’ll be back, what you’ll be ordering… it’s just all so good!

One of their sides is yogurt… It is a dream come true. My guess is that it’s vanilla bean infused honey added to Greek yogurt. You can definitely see the vanilla beans and you can taste honey, but the combination is to die for, then it comes with a little granola that changes each day, it’s not that overly sweet processed kind, it’s REAL granola… but SHHH! Don’t give the secret away, would hate to know they were out of stock!

We’re working our way down the menu… I only managed to get photos the second day, ha ha… but here they are, just so that you can see how delectable these wraps are. They have more… but this is out of this world!

The wrap above is the SOUTH WEST CHICKEN (Roasted chicken, black beans and jasmine rice, fresh local sweet corn, roasted tomatoes, spicy southwest chipotle sauce, shredded carrots, parmesan cheese, mixed greens) – did you read that description? Oh heavens… To. Die. For. Good. Spicy and perfect in every way!

This one is the BLACK AND BLUE (Chicken, (turkey or tofu), blue cheese, mixed greens, avocado, fig balsamic vinaigrette, black beans and jasmine rice) – oooooh!

The last one we got was the SPRING STREET (sorry no pic, was hungry!) it has chicken, turkey or tofu, hummus, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh homemade tzatziki, mixed greens and sprouts! I think this one was my favorite, but I have a great passion for tzatziki, ha ha… so that may have sealed the deal! They have many vegetarian options (almost everything can be made without meat, with tofu substituted)… and don’t forget about the yogurt, but remember, don’t tell anyone!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Mullions in June by artist Connie Hayes, Image: Dowling Walsh.com

Connie Hayes, an artist from Rockland, Maine, is todays featured artist. You can recognize her paintings from a distance. They are bright, bold and powerful. Magnificent in composition, Connie’s paintings draw you in. Oh, how I wish we knew about PAINTING MAINE, (the book of Connie’s) years ago… We most certainly would have bought it! Those of you who possess it have a treasure. This painting, Mullions in June, is one example of her bold style. I absolutely adore this painting! You must check out her WEBSITE, also check out her work from the Dowling Walsh Gallery in Maine!

“In all respects, Connie Hayes is a fearless, intuitive painter. Her highly colorful, strongly stroked canvases look like the result of an orderly process of sketches, underdrawing and application of paint. In reality, although she sometimes uses such aids before she approaches the easel in her capacious studio, most of the time she starts work on a blank canvas, wielding a 3 to 4-inch wide brush to get going. Then, as she says, she “dives in,” composing the rest of the picture, much of which she may have thought out in her head, balancing images and colors to achieve a satisfactorily aesthetic final result. On some occasions, she says, “the paint speaks to me and I go off in unexpected directions. I like surprises.” This is an extremely intense exercise; Hayes says she gets into a “zone” until the work is finished or set aside for future amendments.

Her subjects range from boats and water to communities viewed from ships or roads, to backyards, house interiors and floral still lifes. “I like not being pigeon-holed, Hayes says.

Her brightly hued colors, which often have nothing to do with the actual look of the original building or boat, are chosen with deliberation, depending on what role she wants the painted object to play in the overall composition. Her radiant blues, blazing reds, and sunny yellows make ordinary scenes come alive and help draw viewers into the painting. Often of late she has utilized more muted colors to achieve the results she seeks.

After a long stint as a teacher and administrator at the Maine College of Art, Hayes has worked at the top of her game since moving from Portland to Rockland in 2005, about half the period covered by this exhibition. Much of her art results from her “Borrowed Views” project, in which she spends up to a week painting in and around the homes of friends all over Maine.

Ever trying new approaches to her art, mindful of art historical precedents and armed with a spirit of adventure, Connie Hayes has many interesting paintings ahead of her. Whether borrowing views or moving about on her own, it will be interesting to see what this thoughtful, gifted painter achieves in the years ahead.”

written by Stephen May

The Microplane Classic Series Zester/Grater

This is one awesome tool. Made by Microplane, this is the Classic Series Zester/Grater. It makes a molehill out of a mountain, so to speak… It takes the toughest job and makes it a snap. Did you know that the smaller garlic is chopped the higher the health benefits? I use my Microplane zester mainly to make a wonderful paste out of garlic and/or ginger. Therefore no big hunks of garlic, just nice and flavorful, AND it only takes a few minutes! I originally bought it years ago to use with Parmesan cheese, but these days it’s all about the ginger and garlic… if you don’t have one, give it a whirl, I’m sure you’ll wonder how you did without it for so long! As they say at Microplane, it’s the woodworking tool that crossed over to the kitchen, and boy am I ever glad someone thought of it!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Portrait of George Washington by artist Robert Joyner

Robert Joyner is painting a few of our presidents and they are outstanding. So far (that I’ve seen), Washington, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt… I love the wild way he portrays each one. You can tell who they are, but it’s that cool abstract version that makes it so interesting. I will feature Robert again at a later date, closer to the Kentucky Derby… he is the official 2012 Kentucky Derby artist. Check out Robert’s website… it’s a good one!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

]]> http://barbarastroud.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/happy-presidents-day-i-will-leave-you-with-an-abstract-presidential-portrait-by-artist-robert-joyner/feed/ 0 bstroud1 GeorgeWashington by RobertJoyner http://barbarastroud.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/i-cannot-wait-to-get-back-here-monhegan-island-me-why-do-so-many-of-us-feel-this-way/ http://barbarastroud.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/i-cannot-wait-to-get-back-here-monhegan-island-me-why-do-so-many-of-us-feel-this-way/#comments Sun, 19 Feb 2012 11:00:34 +0000 Barbara http://barbarastroud.wordpress.com/?p=3047 ]]>

I cannot wait to get back to Monhegan to hike, eat, sit and be merry! WHAT IS IT about this fantastic place? It has such a pull to so many people. You can’t wait to get there and you don’t want to leave…unless you fall into the category of those looking for a mall, a hairdresser, a golf course, or perhaps if you only wear high heels… I could see that the pull just wouldn’t be there for you. However if you fall into the category of those who appreciate nature, are creative (or perhaps just like to be around creative and interesting people) this place becomes an obsession. It’s simply too good to be true. If only for a short time!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Charlie loves to go for a visit to Shem Creek Park in Mt. Pleasant, SC. It’s a nice long dock/walkway with plenty to see and smell… a great place to go to watch the boats, people fishing or just to enjoy a beautiful sunset. If you haven’t made your way there yet, it’s worth it! Near Shem Creek (Mount Pleasant Seafood, etc.) you can’t miss it!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

There are some FANTASTIC artists that have included their work in the show and their work is stunning. There are great deals to be had! It’s a great deal for you and the money goes to the library! Here are a few images taken from an email from Dowling Walsh. I think the paintings are wonderful and this is worth sharing! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Dinner at our friends house… 

We recently had dinner at our friends house… Chana Masala… Hmmm? What? Never heard of it… It’s a vegetarian Indian dish, the main star is chickpeas, and let me tell you… this is TASTY! I’ve since read many recipes for different versions, but I really liked that one so much I got the recipe from Alison. She said it was in the Post and Courier Newspaper years ago (5/28/03), she made a few changes and whatever she changed (their archives skip that period) was perfect… try it, it’s easy, healthy and delicious! When I was reading the Smitten Kitchen blog for her version of Chana Masala she made a good comment, she said the spices aren’t cheap, but go ahead and get them, they’re an investment. I don’t know that I would have spent so much on spices if I didn’t read that first. It made sense. You can make it many times with the number of spices we bought. Above all, it’s HEALTHY. So if you can splurge on the spices, do it! Here goes…

CHANA MASALA (recipe from the Post and Courier newspaper, Alison’s adaptation…)

Chop up one large onion and sauté it in olive oil, some recipes say to sauté until brown… I didn’t let mine get quite that far since it was still going to be cooking…

Now add 4 chopped garlic cloves and 1-2” piece grated fresh ginger, and the way to do that the quickest and easiest is to use a microplane tool, they’re awesome! Rachel Ray pointed that out, apparently the smaller garlic is chopped the better it is for you… well you can’t beat doing it this way, it’s more of a paste so you don’t get any big hunk of garlic.

Now toss in one box of Pomi chopped tomatoes and 1/3 box of Pomi tomato sauce.  (If you can’t find POMI, use canned, but canned tomatoes were one of the foods I featured to never eat because of the BPA, click HERE to read the post from 10/19/11…)

Stir in 2 tsp cumin seeds,   1 cinnamon stick,   3 whole green cardamons,  2 whole black cardamons,   2 bay leaves,   2 cloves,   salt to taste,       (I only had green cardamons and I used 5, it was fantastic)

and 1 chopped jalapeño (I left just some of the seeds for a little heat, for less heat remove membrane and seeds) and 1 tsp turmeric…

Add 2 cups water (or a little more),   2 cans chickpeas (or a brand in a carton like FIG), and 1/2 bunch chopped cilantro stems.

Bring to boil and then add 2 tsp coriander powder and 2 tsp Chana masala (or Garam masala seasoning).

Cook until sauce thickens (at least an hour) and serve over basmati.

The salad we had that night went perfectly with the Chana Masala… Quick and easy…

SALAD

Baby lettuce with  salt, pepper, olive oil and rice wine vinegar. Fresh avocado added right before serving. You could toss baby carrots in Madras curry powder, salt, pepper and olive oil and roasted until tender and put on top of salad.

OK… and here ya go… this is what you end up with! This photo was snapped before we all sat down to enjoy this scrumptious dinner! Guess what’s on the menu this week?? You guessed right!

Here’s the recipe minus the photos and my comments in red…

CHANA MASALA

Sauté 1 large chopped onion in olive oil.

Add 4 chopped garlic cloves and 1-2” piece grated fresh ginger

Add one box of Pomi chopped tomatoes and 1/3 box of Pomi tomato sauce.

Stir in 2 tsp cumin seeds,   1 cinnamon stick,   3 whole green cardamons,  

2 whole black cardamons,   2 bay leaves,   2 cloves,   salt to taste,       

1 chopped jalapeño…I removed some of the seeds to control heat.

1 tsp turmeric,   2 cups water,   2 cans (I like FIG brand in box) chickpeas, 

1/2 bunch chopped cilantro stems.

Bring to boil and then add 2 tsp coriander powder and 2 tsp Chana masala or Garam masala seasoning.

Cook until sauce thickens (at least an hour) and serve over basmati.

OKRA BINDI (I have yet to try this, but am looking forward to making it soon!)

Slice okra or use frozen and sauté with chopped onion, garlic, ginger and turmeric. This is good served alongside Chana Masala.

Give it a whirl, let me know how you like it! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Thanks to Alison Brewer for sharing her recipes…

“Le Chat s’amuse” by artist Jose De Juan / Image(s): JoseDeJuan.com

Don’t you just love this painting? I do! It has all the detail without being tight… I’m not sure how that happens, but it makes a painting spectacular, don’t you think? I love this style home, one of my favorites!

Great job with the shadow and the light… Check out the rest of Jose’s work, it’s fabulous!

Here’s a blip about Jose from his website (great website by the way!):

Catch you back here tomorrow!

A little something from me to you… H A P P Y V A L E N T I N E S D A Y !! What are your plans for Valentine’s Day? Ahhh, the dreaded question for many? Fred and I typically stay in… we save going out to a nice restaurant when we can savor it and not be rushed through it… Flowers… Crazy prices for Valentine’s Day… we usually have something on our table (beautiful “winter” tulips from Whole Foods right now, gorgeous!) – and trust me… I need candy like I need a hole in my head (ok, another really creepy saying…)… so we’ll undoubtedly whip up some fantastic dinner… (last year it was filet mignon, mushrooms, baked potato, hmmm, that’s what I’m remembering anyhow),and have a wonderful Valentine’s Day… but then again, we always manage to have a great time no matter where we go or what we do. Life is what you make it! Or as a card says that my mom sent to me a while back… LIFE’S SHORT… PICK THE FLOWERS!

Enjoy your day!

Did you realize that Valentine’s Day has been celebrated since at least the 1600′s? Get out! Interesting about the history… read HERE…

And a quick I L O V E Y O U F R E D ! I am a very lucky Valentine!

Catch you back here tomorrow!