Ingredients:

1 medium sized yellow onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk, diced
4 small tomatoes, (boil until skin becomes loose, remove skin, then puree)
1 can of small red beans
1 1/2 cup of dried lentils (I used the kind that do not require overnight soaking)
1 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 packages of grated cheese (I used Sargento's Reduced Fat Mexican Mix)
1 1/2 Quarts (approximately, more if necessary) of beef stock (or vegetable stock if you want truly vegetarian)
Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 485 degrees (set to broil if you can, if not, baking works about the same).

In a 4 quart soup pot, saute the onions, over medium heat, in olive oil until they become soft and slightly translucent (about 2 minutes, stirring often to ensure they do not burn).

Add 1 cup of the stock and stir once. Add the bay leaves, cumin, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Let this cook for about a minute.

Add the tomato puree and more stock. Let this cook about 2-3 minutes.

Add the carrots and celery. Let this cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the lentils and enough stock so that the mixture is soupy. Allow to cook for about 10 minutes, then add the red beans. Cook until the lentils become soft (about another 10 minutes) and the stock reduces. However, you may have to keep adding stock until the lentils are tender.

The mixture should have the consistency of a thick stew, so if the lentils are tender and there is still a lot of liquid, you can ladle out any excess liquid.

Transfer the stew-y mixture to a casserole dish. Cover the top of the mixture with about an inch of cheese. Place the casserole dish in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted with a golden brown crust (about 10 minutes).

Remove from oven and allow it to rest for about five minutes. Then serve with a dollop of sour cream for each portion.

Whereas I posted nearly everyday in November, I was eerily silent in December and the first half of this month. It is not, however, because I was met with an ill fate or whisked away to my home planet.

December was filled with baking and a mad rush to find work to pay for Christmas, and then of course, the holidays hit.

Also, I was busy creating.

Rough Sketch:



I had made a couple of sketches of people and tables and then pasted them together to get the composition that I wanted. I then traced it and transfered it to watercolor paper and did this: (Sorry for the bluriness, I have no idea why it came out like this)




And then finally, I redrew the picture free-hand onto a 24" x 36" canvas and went to work with acrylics. It was a huge adjustment from working with pastels for so long. Not to mention that I hadn't worked with acrylics in this exact way since...oh, ten years or more. Here it is, be it what it is.

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times. Silence of the Lambs, Singing in the Rain, Legally Blonde, Mean Girls, 50 First Dates, Jeffrey.

2. Name a movie that you've seen multiple times in a theatre. Lord of the Rings (Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers and Return of the King), The Mummy (but not by choice).

3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie. Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp.

4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie. Mel Gibson.

5. Name a movie that you can quote from. Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, Silence of the Lambs.

6. Name a movie musical that you know all the lyrics to all the songs. The Sound of Music, Singing in the Rain, Oklahoma.

7. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with. Singing in the Rain.

8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see. My Life Without Me.

9. Name a movie that you own. Seriously? I own a couple hundred.

10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops. Cher.

11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? Yes.

12. Ever made out in a movie? Yes.

13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven't gotten around to it. Across the Universe.

14. Ever walked out of a movie? Yes, but I can't remember what it was.

15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theatre. Silver Lake Life (and then for 3 days afterward), Philadelphia, The Pianist.

16. Popcorn? Never.

17. How often do you go to the movies? 1-3 times per month.

18. What's the last movie you saw in the theater? Twilight.

19. What is your favorite/preferred genre of movie? Sci-Fi.

20. What was the first movie you remember seeing in the theater? Pinocchio.

Today is Paul's birthday, so we're going to spend the day in NYC.


The agenda:
MOMA
the Met
Books of Wonder
Calcutta (Indian Food)
and
who knows?

Being in Manhattan, anything's possible.

We started decorating. We bought a whole bunch of shiny things for the fireplace mantle.

We got a tree and the whole house smells like pine...

We are waiting for the branches to drop a little before we decorate.

There will be pictures.

I finished another painting. This one took some planning a more time to finish because the layers took longer to dry. Anyway, remember this photo?:




Well I did a watercolor sketch based on that photo:




And eventually I produced this, using soy-based yarn, steel wool, and arche paper I had painted then cut into little shapes:




After Us #3
Mixed Media on Canvas
16"H x 12"W

Just in the nick of time:

The Pumpkin Marscapone Hazelnut pie was out of sight. Of all the desserts, it was the one with the least left over.

Victory is mine!

(What? Like you didn't know cooking for Thanksgiving was a competitive sport?)