Distractible me

Banging Blueberry Muffins

August 13, 2020 by Mary Leave a Comment

Blueberry Muffins fresh out of the oven without the crumble.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
baking time 25 minutes
makes 9 large muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (325 grams)
3/4 cup white sugar (160 grams)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup blueberries
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla *add some whipped cream optional

For the Crumble

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cold or frozen butter, grated
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven
Prepare pan. Either grease or use muffin liners.
Combine the dry ingredients. Add the blueberries last and make sure they are dusted in flour (it will prevent them from sinking)
Using a measuring cup, put, the oil in, eggs, and then add enough milk (which is about 1/3 cup worth) until it measures a full cup. Yogurt can be substituted for the milk.
Add the wet ingredients. Do not over mix. Fold in till the flour/blueberry mixture is just incorporated. It’s okay to see a little flour.
Using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffin tins. Typically they say 3/4 full but this recipe has worked well with the muffin tins 90% full.
For the crumble, grate the cold butter into the flour and sugar mixture and then toss with your fingers till combined. Top the muffins. The crumble is optional.
Bake for 25 minutes till the tops are a light golden brown. Cooking time depends on your oven. Let rest for a minute before either tilting or removing from muffin tin. This will allow the steam to escape.

and the story that goes with it.

White Chicken Chili

February 1, 2020 by Mary Leave a Comment

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 medium-sized onion, diced
2 cloves minced garlic
1 Tablespoon Oregano
1 Tablespoon Cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Add:

32-ounce box of chicken broth/stock
12 ounces corn (canned, frozen or fresh)
2 – 15 ounces canned white beans
2 – 4.5-ounce cans green chilies

Add:

3 cups shredded, or cubed chicken
1/2 cup sour cream (or coconut milk)
2 Tablespoons salsa
3 Tablespoons fresh cilantro

Garnish with:

fresh chopped cilantro
sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese
Tortilla chips

Sauté the onion in olive oil till translucent
Add spices and garlic, stir and cook for a minute till fragrant
Add chicken broth, corn, beans and chilies, sour cream, salsa, and cilantro.
Simmer for minimum 10-minutes, ideally for 20-minutes. With soups like this, the flavors tend to marry overnight, so go ahead, make this a day ahead.

Season with S&P to taste.

If it still lacks flavor, you can increase the spices to your liking, add more salsa, a tablespoon of Better than Bouillon, or all of the above. Like it creamier, add more sour cream. Like it hotter, add Tabasco or your choice of hot sauce. If you have chicken to use up, go ahead and add that too. This is a good way to use up a rotisserie chicken.

*Serve the chili with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, a sprinkle of cilantro and a side of Tortilla chips

Quiet Victory Farm: Small Farm, Big Impact

February 21, 2019 by Mary 4 Comments

Quiet Victory Farm is one of the best-kept secrets in Hopewell Valley! Though you can catch a glimpse of the farm from the main road, the entrance is tucked inside a bucolic neighborhood. For many years, I drove past not realizing what a hidden gem it was for the serious equestrian. When I was looking for a new barn a couple of years ago, it was then I decided to see what Quiet Victory had to offer.

My first impression of QVF was that there was a strong sense of order. Blankets were folded on the doors, halters were hung in a precise way and the horses were all in show condition. I was pleased to see my lesson was an older Dutch Warmblood named Captain. He was exactly the type of horse I was looking for. One who had been there and done that. Though Captain had been unsuccessful as a Grand Prix jumper, he did carry his rider well in the Big Eq.division. Captain went through a few more owners before Vicki acquired him and he needed a lot of TLC. Vicki, brought him back and he showed successfully locally before being retired from the show ring. Captain still works regularly because he is happiest when he has a job. Besides, just because your older doesn’t mean you have to let yourself go!

These last two seasons at QVF, I’ve witnessed what Vicki does best– matchmaking riders to horses and then prepping them for the show ring. It’s remarkable how she can take a handful of students to A-shows and consistently place well. It’s a tradition for the ribbons to be hung on the stall doors (so the horses can brag when no one is in earshot) and they make for a colorful Monday morning.

Vicki and a few of her students schooling at Saugerties

One last photo was taken before leaving HITS Saugerties. It was a great week!

Whenever I meet someone who is good at what they do, I’m always curious to learn how they got their start and it was interesting to hear Vicki’s story. She began by saying Thom Hardy was a big mentor during her early years, however, she always had the dream to become a jockey.

At the track, you begin as a groom before you are allowed to ride, and this is exactly what Vicki did. Here she learned how to supple and finesse a horse the correct way to establish fitness and muscle. She also gained valuable experience working with young horses, wrapping legs and everything else that goes on in the backstretch before earning her jockey’s license.

After meeting her need for speed, she left racehorses to manage a barn in New Hope. When the opportunity came to work for Kevin Babington, Vicki jumped at the chance. While he was in Florida on the Sunshine Circuit, she stayed behind and taught the students who stayed home. It was then that she realized how much she enjoyed teaching. After being with Kevin, she managed a few more barns. During this time, she developed her own training program. She left management so she could cultivate her own teaching style. The next barn she was to manage was her own, Quiet Victory Farm.

In thirty years, Vicki has worked with hundreds of riders, from leadline to Intercollegiate. A few of her riders have gone pro, and one is a top Grand Prix rider. Two have won the Cacchione Cup (the highest level of Intercollegiate) and now are trainers at big barns. And of course, she works with a few die-hard older riders who want to continue at the highest level their bodies will allow. Of course, I’m not going to mention names!

The last question I asked Vicki was how did she come up with the name for the farm? My first guess was it was the name of a racehorse but I was wrong. The name came about when Vicki went out on her own. She had a student, who although was well connected socially in her current barn, suffered from major confidence issues under saddle. She came to Vicki for secret lessons throughout that show season and made huge improvements, leading to a championship in the adult hunters at WEF (Winter Equestrian Festival) and everyone at her barn was shocked. The woman then said, ”this only happened because of you Vicki, but has to be our Quiet Victory”, making Vicki promise to not tell anyone.

As sad as this secret was to keep, it should be no secret that Quiet Victory Farm is an ideal barn for the serious rider. If you are looking for a barn where your horse will be given the utmost care and you want to ride at your highest level, don’t hesitate to check out QVF.

Chocolate Banana Bread

April 8, 2018 by Mary 3 Comments

Growing up, my Mom made everything from scratch which meant she didn’t buy bread, cookies or prepared foods. This is just how it was. For the most part, I have followed her lead but I don’t always have time to bake like she did, however, I’ve found recipes that are much more time friendly.

Jessie prefers making quick breads. They are simple and don’t take all day. When it comes to food, she isn’t always patient. During the summer we make zucchini bread and the rest of the year, she likes making banana bread and chocolate is her favorite:

Chocolate Banana Bread

preheat oven: 350 degrees
grease bread pan, line with waxed paper.
make sure all ingredients are room temperature.

3 large bananas mashed
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts.
Avocado*

Mash bananas. Add sugar and eggs, mix until smooth.
Add butter and vanilla.
Combine all dry ingredients (tossing the chips and nuts in the flour helps prevent them from sinking) then add to the bananas.
Bake for 60-70 minutes
*When we were short one banana for the recipe, we substituted it with an avocado. The avocado hides in the background but does make the bread extra moist.
Of course, if you want traditional Banana Bread, just omit the chocolate and cocoa.

It took years to get her to peel a banana properly. It’s the little things we take for granted.

Friend or foe, Fox or friend

September 30, 2017 by Mary Leave a Comment

Often I listen to Talk Radio while running errands. The other day, the host was wondering how news reporters can watch someone in a dire situation and not rush to aid. For a photographer, if they stop, they will lose their shot. Of course, there are times you can’t help and you can only witness. I have read about many who picked up their camera afterward and continued. They saved the day but lost the moment

This topic intrigued me. Turning the question around, asking what would I do? I’d like to think that I’d jump in to help but you won’t know till you are in the moment. The husband says, there are two types of people. Those that run towards an opportunity or away from a problem. However, there’s a third option, those that don’t react and do nothing.

Later in the day. Jess and I went apple picking with friends. We had a craving for apple sauce and it was a beautiful day to walk in the orchard and we had a craving for applesauce. The trees were heavy with fruit and it was easy pickings. It didn’t take long to fill our bags with apples.

As we headed back, slowly meandering out, Jess was leading the way. She was about forty-two feet ahead of us ( I’m specific because I replayed this event in my mind. I’ve also walked enough courses for fences to know my stride.)

Just after the bend in the dirt road, I glanced up at Jess and my heart stopped. There was a Red Fox jumping at her feet! Jess had a small bottle of bubbles in her right hand and she was holding it high above her head as if she were playing keep away. The fox seemed interested in what she had and was dancing around her.

Instantly, I started running towards Jess yelling, “go, go, go…”. All I could do was make noise so the fox would move along. I sensed that Jess would want to reach down to pet him like she does when she is greeted by a dog. The thought that should could get bitten made me run faster.

Fox tend to keep their distance from people. To be approached could mean he was sick but this one looked healthy. My guess is he lives in the orchard and has become comfortable with humans, maybe had been released after rehabilitation. Regardless, I reacted and didn’t think.

While I was alarmed, my friends were not. Was this because it wasn’t their child, or was it because they didn’t grow up on a farm? Their laid-back nature made me feel like a drama queen. (found out later that one didn’t see and the other caught a glimpse, so this explains)

We were a short walk back to the register (where we’d weigh and pay for the apples), Jess voiced her displeasure the whole way. Because I yelled, she thought she was in trouble and protested the unfairness all the way back to our car. She had been minding her own business, hadn’t done anything wrong, was not afraid of the fox and couldn’t understand why I yelled.

Over and over I repeated why I was scared. I explained that whenever an animal shows unusual behavior, you need to be careful. It took us both a while to calm down.

Earlier this summer, the husband saw a Black Bear walking through our backyard. I griefed him about not taking a photo. Now I get it. I understand how he felt. Even though the bear was just passing through, it was unusual to see and he went into protection mode.

It’s been a few days and I can still visualize the fox standing at Jess’s feet, his eyes turning to look at me before fox-trotting off. He did not understand why he was being yelled at either. I’m sure he too felt he did nothing wrong. It’s human nature to fear what we don’t understand.

Not till I had shooed the fox did I say “damn, that would have been an awesome photo”.

It’s ironic, after raising the “what would I do” question that I was tested.

I guess the answer depends on what your element is. I may not have street smarts but have lived on farms, my comfort zone.

I love knowing that Jess is an animal whisperer. It’s one of her gifts. Animals sense that she will not harm. Dog, cats, and horses are drawn to her, so why not foxes? It’s all beginning to make perfect sense.

Chasing dreams

September 9, 2017 by Mary Leave a Comment

Over the summer, I had a bad case of writer’s block. I had nothing, nada, zilch.

Looking for inspiration, I listened to a TED talk hoping to learn how writers found their spark. One lecture, had me mesmerized. Elizabeth Gilbert shared about poet Ruth Stone, how she “would run like hell home”, chased by a poem. She had to get to a piece of paper to write before the words thundered through her. If she didn’t write, it would be lost. [Read more…] about Chasing dreams