Last Sunday Laurence and I hopped into a borrowed pick-up truck with some sandwiches packed for the short trip to Loudon, TN, just about 36 miles southwest of Knoxville. We always love riding around in a pick-up, but our purpose on this occasion involved filling up the truck bed with a mound of mushroom compost. We were greeted at the guard gate by an old man with a knowing grin on his face holding this bulging brown paper bag out the window for us. "You here for the mushrooms?" We did inquire about the mushrooms, and he informed us that a lot of folks come out on Sundays to pick up a 5 lb bag of mushrooms. He also told us that he couldn't eat any mushrooms because he had "the gout." We told him we were really there for the compost, and he directed us by pointing to the billowing steam rising from behind the buildings.
As we drove around the back corner of one of the buildings we saw rows and rows of mushroom compost, each mound filling the air with its own steam. As Laurence rolled down the window and caught the first whiff he exclaimed, "Wow, that's ripe!" Our next greeter looked at us like he had no idea what Laurence was talking about. Obviously we city folk don't have the same tolerance for odors that result from decomposition. They packed in the compost and we drove back to the front gate where we paid the friendly old man, and we decided we might as well take home 5lbs of mushrooms for $4. Since I've probably purchased mushrooms only once before, I still have some recipes to find to use all of these up! Maybe some spaghetti sauce for freezing? Laurence has suggested just sautéing them all in a lot of butter. Anyway, it was a good excuse for trying out this new Chicken Chasseur recipe posted below.
Rich, fluffy, and ripe, our raised beds and rows are almost ready to go after a long day of working in the garden. Even though it was a rainy day it felt so great to get my hands in the dirt again, finally! And, we're expecting a plentiful crop this year thanks to our magical mushroom compost! We started a
garden blog last spring, but I'll keep updating this blog now with garden news as well.
Chicken Chasseur
1 T cooking oil
4 bone-in chicken breasts (2 1/2 lbs)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 T butter
1 onion chopped
3/4 lb mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp flour
6 T dry vermouth or dry white wine
2/3 cup chicken broth
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 T chopped fresh parsley
In a large frying pan heat the oil over moderately high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, add to pan. Cook until browned, turning, about 8 minutes in all. Remove and pour off all but one tablespoon fat from the pan.
Add butter to pan and reduce heat to moderately low. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until translucent, about 5 min. Raise the heat to moderately high, add the mushrooms, garlic, and 1/4 tsp. of salt. Cook, stirring frequently until the vegetables are browned, about 5 min.
Add the flour and cook, stirring for 30 sec. Stir in the wine/ vermouth and bring back to a simmer. Stir in the tomatoes, thyme, and the remaining 1/2 tsp salt. Add the chicken and juices, reduce the heat and simmer covered until the chicken is done, about 10 min. Stir in the parsley and the remaining 1/4 tsp pepper.
Serve over rice or spaghetti!
I saw Mumford and Sons last night at the Valarium. I'm pretty slow keeping up with technology so I don't have a bootlegged video to show you, but trust me, it wouldn't come close to doing it justice. The live show was powerful. I cried a few times and often had the urge to open wide my arms receiving the radiating light and vibration. Inspired by Shakespeare and Steinbeck, Mumford knows how to build up a melody and release it with felt passion, all in a short sequence of a few minutes. Go see them- wherever, whenever, as soon as you can. I don't think tickets will be just $20 next time around.
A few of the Quilts of Gee's Bend are back in Knoxville! These are some of my favorite artists, and I've seen several museum exhibitions featuring their work. I'm not sure how many of the quilts will be at the Emporium, but they are beautiful to see hanging on a gallery wall and, dreamy to bundle up with at night. That's right, somehow my mom found a replica of a Gee's Bend quilt from Kathy Ireland's collection at K-mart a few years ago that's on our bed right now. I love it! However, I don't think any more have been produced lately; it might be kind of controversial? These few samples show the beautiful and sophisticated design that graces every quilt. All are made from used work clothes, worn out fabric, or salvaged scraps and each has such a unique expressive quality. I love the bright colors, though not all of them are as colorful, and I love that each quilt has it's own liveliness while reflecting a cohesive aesthetic, surely something only accomplished sitting around a quilting table. 
Phase 1: Some nice green grass paper I've had a while. This paper was actually a drop sheet for painting some green tissue paper, but I loved the wrinkled effect of the by-product.
Phase 2: Painted over the nice wrinkled grass so it wouldn't be too distracting and added some trees and water, with the mountains in the background- a few staples for a camping scene. 
Finished! I was tempted to add more flowers, but it is for a boys room. And, if you ever have a chance to see the synchronous fireflies in the Smoky Mountains, it's more magical than could ever be recreated in an illustration, though I like the quiet effect of their presence in this piece too. 
I found this happy snowman walking through the neighborhood this afternoon with the bright white snow sparkling all around. He just fits in the scene perfectly, doesn't he? So happy-go-lucky, smoking his pipe, chillin' in his baja, basking in the sunshine... for now. Seems like he could be the gatekeeper for the world of graffiti behind him. I love the bold colors and shapes contrasting with the splatters of paint around the edges, especially the bottom left corner of the building. Not sure what this building is, actually, but it might inspire some nice peppered paper. It certainly comes to life with this jovial man in front of it. I love sunny snow days!
Saturday, December 12th, is the Christmas open house, so the museum is free. And, you can get your picture made in front of this cozy recreated room from the early 1900s. Thought about using this as our Christmas card, but we couldn't sneak Lulu in very easily. 
Come tour some of the beautiful old homes in my historic neighborhood, Old North Knoxville. It's always lots of fun and very festive with all the Christmas decorations lighting your brisk walk from house to house... or you can take one of the shuttles. Park at St. Mary's Hospital Woodland Ave's parking lot, and don't miss out on the yummy chai tea at the Time Warp Tea room, a stop on the tour. 
Look what we found at Market Square's Farmers' Market this weekend! These custom pet portraits are so bright and happy... just like Lulu's tail waggin'! I can't wait to have one made of her, and all of her cousins, maybe playing at the beach, or on the farm? They're the perfect little size and would be a great gift. Last market of the year was Saturday, but I think Rachel will be at the Holiday Market on Market Square too. It's the first three Saturdays in December. Check out more of her portraits here: http://www.boxiepets.com/boxiepets.html
