Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons! or Coyote In The Kitchen!

Today has been great thanks to Julia Child and my dear friend Cindy, who lives in Northern New Mexico.

The other day when I was on the phone talking to Cindy Pickard, she told me that she had just watched the movie Julie & Julia and she absolutely loved it. So later, I watched it again, because it was 2009 since I last watched it. And I loved watching it again and that's why the next day I went straight to Wolfmueller's Books, in Kerrville and bought the Anniversary Edition of The Art of Mastering French Cooking by Julie Child.

The next time that I spoke to Cindy we talked about the movie and how delicious all of the food looked and especially how tasty the Chicken Breasts with Mushroom and Cream recipe looked when Julie cooked it in the movie.

So later that evening Cindy e-mailed me Julia Child's Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons (Chicken Breasts with Mushroom and Cream, which of course I can't pronounce. And Cindy also suggested that I try making it. (This recipe is on page 269 in Julia's cookbook.)

So today I made Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons for Tony and me and believe it or not it was a very easy meal to prepare and it was absolutely the very best chicken with mushrooms that we have ever eaten. Here's a picture of the ingredients needed to make this recipe: dry vermouth, chicken breasts cut into strips, onion, salt, pepper, butter and mushrooms.

And I forgot to put the parsley, chicken broth and whipping cream in the picture above.

And this is how it looked, before we ate all of it and licked the gravy off of our plates. Seriously, I hope that all of you will try this recipe, because it is so easy to prepare and your friends and family will rave about how delicious it is.

Julie Child's delicious recipe for Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons is all over the Internet and can easily be found. And here's a link that I found to get Julie's delicious recipe.

Speaking of delicious recipes, last night Cindy told me that her dear friend Anita Rodriguez, a very famous Taos artist and writer, has a new cookbook coming out this Spring published by UNM press! 

I am so excited about it, because last year when Chet and I drove out to New Mexico and went to Cindy's event, in Taos, I had the opportunity to meet this fabulous woman of so many talents. Here's a link to Anita Rodriguez and here's a link about Anita Rodriguez Coyote In the Kitchen: A Memoir of New and Old Mexico cookbook. And the great news is that Cindy is going to get Anita to sign our copies! And rumor has it that I might just be with Cindy, at Anita Rodriguez's book signing, on May 21st, at The Stakeout, in Ranchos de Taos! Life is good.

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!

Paul!

Today has been great. This morning after I did paperwork, returned e-mails and phone calls I started cooking our lunch.

The other day I found this delicious-looking recipe, inside the March issue of the H-E-B TexasLife recipes and fresh ideas. So I wrote down all of the ingredients needed to make their Mushroom And Sweet Onion Tart and then I purchased them.

Like I always do when I try a new recipe I made a few changes. Basically, all I did was add some chicken breast strips and spinach.

And when it was finished baking I removed it from the oven and this is what  mine looked like.

And to say the least, Tony loved it and so did I.

After I cleaned up the kitchen all of our dogs, except for Henry Standing Bear, were sleeping either in the kitchen or the big room. So I went looking for Henry and I found him sleeping, underneath our bed and how he got himself under there is beyond me. Then I went and grabbed my camera in hopes not to wake him up.

Henry stayed under our bed and slept for over an hour and I bet he would have slept there longer if Little Debbie and Alice hadn't started barking at a squirrel outside.

And that is about it for tonight, because I plan to do some more writing on my third novella and then I'm going to re-watch Paul one of my new favorite movies that was made in 2011. Paul is a funny, quirky, adult movie, only because of some of the adult language, which of course did not bother me at all.

Anyway, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost wrote it and they also star in it along with Sigourney Weaver and Blythe Danner. In this funny, sci-fi, action-packed, comedy, insane adventure, Paul, the cute alien, is voiced by Seth Rogen. It's a comedy about two British comic-book geeks traveling across the U.S., in a motor home and they encounter and try to help Paul, an escaped alien, outside Area 51. So click on Paul if you would like to watch the trailer. 

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!

His New Favorite Place! or Rest In Peace!

Today has been great, even though I stayed up too late visiting with our good friends. This morning after drinking coffee with some of our favorite guests Tony and I went outside, while our friends took showers and started packing up their gear.

Tony started feeding the dogs and our other critters while I dragged our push mower into Aggie's pen and started mowing down the tall, thick weeds and grass. Then I moved over one pen and mowed the grass in Louis Lane's pen, before Tony had even started cleaning the dog pens.

And before our friends had adios-ed us and driven off to another fun adventure, Zach arrived—ready to help us out with all of the rest of the mowing and weed-eating.

Around 12:30, after having push-mowed four addition pens and two large alleys—I called it quits, so I could come inside and take a shower and then cook us something to eat for lunch.

I decided to make us meatloaf, mashed potatoes and spinach and after shoving the meatloaf, into the hot oven and with the potatoes boiling in chicken broth, on the stovetop—I looked up and saw Henry Standing Bear staring at me, underneath our cedar coffee table, that Tony made for us over nineteen years ago.

The exact same coffee table that Belle had put her teeth marks in and chewed on when she was a teething puppy, over five or six years ago. That I later had to remove by sanding off her toothy graffiti, using my little, yellow Dewalt, electric sander.

Because Henry has never been under the coffee table before I grabbed my camera and started taking pictures while I finished cooking our lunch.

And as I finish writing this tonight, because the mowing I did earlier has worn me out, Henry has once again returned to his new, favorite place, in The Cabin. And I will bet you that he is dreaming about how much fun he had, tearing up and chewing off one end of my new pillowcase, earlier today, while we were outside mowing. 

So all I have to say about that is, "Rest In Peace, Henry."

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!

This is an update since posting this. My good friend Mari just sent me the most beautiful video about a baby elephant being reunited with it's mother after three years. Please click here to check it out. I promise that you will love it.

We've Got Company For The Weekend! I Will Post Tomorrow Night!

Something To Talk About!

Today has been great. Once again, we got a bunch more rain this morning and we still haven't been able to start mowing or weed-eating the tall grass and weeds. So I spent the morning and early afternoon returning phone calls, e-mails, etc. And the good news is that I'm all caught up with rescue ranch business.

All of us at the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch had so much fun making our Longmire—Texas Style video, so this afternoon I decided to make a Longmire—Texas Style Behind The Scenes slideshow and I used Bonnie Raitt's great song Something To Talk About. Longmire Rules!

And that's about it for today, because I am going to go outside and start mowing.

Update: I forgot to put my guitar case in the slideshow to show off my Longmire and Red Pony bumper stickers!

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!

Longmire—Texas Style!

Today has been so much fun, because so many people that I know have been either calling or e-mailing me about how much they love our Longmire—Texas Style video spoof.

Our great friend Fay McLachlan sent me this e-mail early this morning and to say the least it started my day out right.

"Hi Nance,

Your Longmire video is done SO well and is an absolute hoot! Love it!! I tweeted it to all the Longmire actor, author, fan accounts I could find on Twitter this morning.

The official @LongmirePosse twitter account absolutely loved it and not only liked and retweeted, they responded! Here's a screen capture, you might just get your set visit after all! Well done, esp Little Debbie in her debut onscreen role as her fine self. 

Fay xx"

This afternoon I also received an e-mail from Chet O'Keefe  telling me that he really liked the way our Longmire—Texas Style video turned out.

In just a few minutes, I have to leave, because I am taking Henry Standing Bear to his/our Clicker-Training Class with Scout and Marguerite and he seems to be excited about going, because he and I have spent everyday doing our Clicker-Training homework. Personally, I think he just wants to go to class just to show off and impress sweet Scout.

I'll write more later, if it isn't storming outside.

Watch Longmire—Texas Style NOW!

Today has been more than great, because Gerry Olert finished our Longmire—Texas Style video and I have just posted it on YouTube. Please click here to watch it and please cross post it and like it for us.

This is what I earlier wrote and posted on our Longmire—Texas Style YouTube video:

Tony and I and all of our great Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch volunteers love Longmire. In fact, we are hooked on the show and we can't wait to watch the new Season 5 on Netflix.

Because we love the author, Craig Johnson, and the fabulous cast and crew, we decided to do a video spoof of Longmire—Texas Style, in hopes that we might get invited to come to New Mexico to watch them shoot a scene and we have our fingers crossed.

My dear friends Eileen and Lisa helped me write the script, but when it came time to shoot our video—we ended up ad-libbing almost all of it and that is why we cracked-up and you could sometimes hear laughing in the background.

Most of the scenes were shot at the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch by Lisa and Tony and then we waited for our dear friend, Chet O'Keefe, to return to our rescue ranch, after touring, so Gerry Olert could finish shooting the final scenes at Big Jim & Lady Liz's Grey Goose Saloon.

I want to thank our wonderful cast & crew for their outstanding performances and Little Debbie. And I especially want to thank Chet O'Keefe, Big Jim & Lady Liz and Gerry Olert for helping us to make our video so much fun.

I hope that you enjoy watching our Longmire—Texas Style video as much as we enjoyed making it.

Please note: Our unedited version will go up in the next few days and we thank you in advance for cross posting this for us, in hopes that we get to be on a Longmire set, while they film, in New Mexico.

Longmire Rules! And we have all of the books, hats, mugs,  bumper stickers, etc. to prove it!

Y'all have a great evening, keep on laughing and thank you for helping us!

I Was Unplugged All Of Last Night Due To Thunderstorms.

I was unplugged all of last night due to thunderstorms and most of the morning and early afternoon. It is now starting to thunder once again, so I am going to unplug, again. If the storms pass, I will post some exciting news tonight. If not I will do it tomorrow.

The Accidental Tourist's Traveling Pants! or Here's Your Sign! or Blast From the Past!

Today has been great even though it rained a couple of days ago and our grass and weeds look like they've never been mowed.

This afternoon, after we dropped off Sally Field, at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, to get her shots, etc. then we met up with our dear friend Jim, at Cracker Barrel, for a really fun lunch.

This past Tuesday, while I was out of town, Kinky rescued Sally, from a field near Hwy. 16, when he was  returning to the ranch. Sally is a super sweet, well-behaved, female Pit, so if any of y'all know someone who has lost a beautiful Pit Bull, please ask them to call me.

Speaking of out of town, I literally had a blast getting to spend quality time with my sweet sister, brother and his sweet wife, in Terlingua. And basically all we did from Sunday afternoon through Wednesday night was have fun, sitting out on the porch, visiting, playing guitars, listening to music, stargazing and birdwatching. And we also did a little hiking.

Sunday evening after we ate dinner, just to put it nicely, let's say, "That I had a little accident," because earlier in the day, on our drive out there, I had eaten some greasy fast food, at a truck stop, in Fort Stockton, that had upset my stomach or so I thought. And please note that Tony and I never eat fast food unless we have to.

Anyway, when we got back to our cabins I suddenly had a new senior citizen moment or should I say movement. There we were sitting on the porch, talking and laughing about life, when nature called me. It called me softly, so I ignored it until a few minutes later when it finally shouted—"Bombs Away!"

So, I quickly excused myself and went inside Cindy's and my cabin that we were sharing. I was only three footsteps away from reaching the toilet—when it happened! And I was totally mortified, because in the past I'd heard jokes about this happening to older people, but I had never thought it would happen to me.

After I had cleaned up the mess, inside my 501 Levis and the surrounding territory, I pulled on my sweatpants and went back outside. As I sat down in my metal chair, I was hoping that no one would notice my new outfit, but of course Ronnie did. "Hey Nance, I like your new pajamas! Are you fixin' to go to bed soon?" Then my family started laughing, so I went along and chuckled too, trying to act as if nothing at all had happened.

Monday morning, when Ronnie took off to go walk, Brick and Maggie, their two sweet dogs, I confessed to Cindy and Nita about me having an accident, in my pants and they sympathized and then we laughed about it, as I hung my damp jeans over the porch rail to dry.

So when Ronnie returned with their dogs, he raised his eyebrows when he looked at my soaking wet blue jeans draped over the railing, so I went ahead and told him about my accident incident. And he burst out laughing which caused all of us to start laughing, again. Then he shook his head sideways, and joked, "All I can say is better you than me. Hey look—we're old. It's no big deal. @#$% happens."

Tuesday morning, Ronnie and I hiked down, to go  check out the swimming pool and the outdoor restrooms with showers. When I came out of the women's super clean restroom, Ronnie said, "Omg Nance! You've got to come check out this sign. Then he started laughing, and joked, "Here's your sign!"

I quickly read the posted sign to discover that the water, at my most favorite resort, was safe to drink and had passed all government requirements, but near the bottom, it warned that "Due to an elevated sulfate content the water may have a laxative effect and objectionable mineral taste."

"Don't you see, Nance? It's not you being old," Ronnie stated, as he pointed to my sign. It's because of the sulfur in the water. Didn't you drink iced tea with dinner Sunday night?"

"Yes, I drank three full glasses," I replied. "I was feeling dehydrated." Then we started laughing about it all over again. And then we quickly marched back to our cabins, so we could tell Cindy and Nita the news about the sulfur in the water. 

When Ronnie told Nita and Cindy about the posted sign we all started laughing again, because like me, my  sweet family loves to laugh. "Hey Nance," Nita joked. "Can I get you a glass of water to drink?" And of course, we all burst out laughing, again.

"Y'all, believe it or not I am going to blog about my blast from the past with pictures, too."

So later that evening after having a super fun Happy Hour, out on the porch, we went to eat dinner together. And when the waitress asked me what I wanted to drink, I said, "Root Beer. with no ice, please." And that remark made Ronnie, Cindy and Nita start to chuckle.

I also have another funny story to tell you about my fun family reunion that involves metal deck chairs and Cindy's, Ronnie & Nita's dogs, but it will have to wait until later, because I've already written too much for tonight.

But before I finish writing this post I want y'all to check out this funny YouTube video that our good friend Les sent to me today. It's about an adorable dog named Wendy and a ventriloquist. So if you still want to laugh some more please click here to watch it. I promise that it will bring tears to your eyes, because it is so darn cute.

Y'all have a great evening!

I'm Back From Terlingua! Had A Blast With Family! Will Write About It Tomorrow!

Old Friends And New Friends! or The Ranch Rocks!

Today has been great. This morning, as planned, James & Vivi, from Paris, Texas, came out to visit and see our rescue ranch, because to visit our rescue ranch has been on their Bucket List for several years.

I instantly liked this super nice, friendly couple when they arrived. Tony wasn't here when they arrived, because he was up at the Medina Highpoint Resort taking pictures of beautiful vintage cars that had come to a rally there. Some of his pictures included a '65 Ford Mustang, '55 Ford, T.-Bird, '60's Jeepster, etc.

I gave our new friends, from Paris, a tour of our rescue ranch and introduced them to all of our super dogs. And they especially liked our sweet, adorable Katee Sackhoff.

Tony arrived right after I had given them a grand tour and like me he instantly liked them, too. While he was visiting with them outside, I  came inside and called Kinky to ask him if I could bring them over to meet him. "Sure Nance, bring them over. They can meet Marcie and Big G, too."

We had a really fun visit with Kinky, Marcie and Big G and while we were there Big G was playing some really great blues using Kinky's guitar. I said, "Omg, Big G! I didn't know that you played the guitar. How long have you been playing?"

"For over fifty years," he replied, followed by a chuckle.

"Wow, me too. I am so glad that you're here, because it reminded me to tell you that tomorrow morning I'm going out to Terlingua with my sister Cindy, my brother Ronnie and his wife Nita. so I won't be doing your show. Tony is going to have to do the Utopia segment Tuesday morning and he's kind of nervous about it."

"Great," Big G said. "Now, tell Tony not to be nervous..."

After our fun visit, we came back over to the rescue ranch, because James & Vivi needed to get back on the road, because they were going to drive to Boerne to shop and eat lunch, before driving back to Llano where they are staying. And before they drove away they told us that they were going to do some serious thinking about possibly adopting Katee.

Now about last night. I had a blast binge-watching a new series on Netflix and I hardly ever quit laughing. Seriously, it was so funny my back started aching, because I was laughing so hard. The name of the adult, sitcom series is The Ranch. Starring Sam Elliott, Debra Winger and Ashton Kutcher. And Don Reo is a co-creator of this Netflix comedy.

Our friend Don Reo is also a good friend of Kinky's. In fact, we met him, because of Kinky. Don is the nicest man and he is one of the best American television writers and producers. Several years ago he and Judith, his sweet wife, came out to visit all of us, on a couple of times, and they love our rescue ranch and they support our efforts. 

Don is also famous for creating some of the best television shows such as: Blossom, The John Larroquette Show for NBC and My Wife and Kids for ABC. And he has written for Everybody Hates Chris, M*A*S*H, Rhoda and The Golden Girls, too. He was also the executive producer and the main writer for the FOX show Action and he was an executive producer and show runner on Two And A Half Men.

Anyway, I want to highly recommend that you watch The Ranch sitcom on Netflix, because I promise that it will keep you laughing. Click here to watch The Ranch official trailer.

Y'all have a great evening!

Years Ago! or Life Imitates Art!

Yesterday was great and so was today. As you already know Henry Standing Bear and Scout went to their private Kerr Klickers class that was taught by Marguerite's friend Linore, who is considered an expert in Clicker Training.

I had Tony go with me, because I wanted him to also learn how to Clicker Train our sweet Henry. Marguerite took her cute Scout, that she adopted from us almost a year ago, for a refresher course.

Linore's class was very informative and a lot of fun, even though I kept fumbling with the clicker and the tiny treats. In fact, I was pretty funny to watch, because I am so uncoordinated compared to Marguerite and Scout. And the great thing about Linore's class was that we enjoyed it and Henry and Scout had a blast.

When the one hour class ended Linore suggested that we unleash our dogs and let them play together for a few minutes. But sadly that didn't happen for very long, because when Henry saw himself, for the first time in the mirror, he forgot all about playing with Scout and he kept us laughing for several minutes.

Now here's a blast from the past. Twenty-two years ago I used my very first Mac computer and made a cartoon of Yoda, my sweet Boston Terrier and I titled it Mirror Mirror. It's not a great piece of art, but I love it, because it is a constant reminder of my funny, little clown that always kept me laughing. And it still hangs on the wall, in our master bathroom, opposite the wall from our lovely, posh, plastic garden tub.

By now I am sure that you are scratching your forehead and wondering why I'm telling you about this picture, but don't worry, because soon you will find out why.

After Tony, Henry and I adios-ed Linore, Margurite and Scout we took off fast, in Buttermilk, because we were going to meet up with Dennis, our dear friend that adopted Boomer from us, thirteen or fourteen years ago.

As we drove over I-10, with Henry sitting proudly, in the back seat, I punched in Dennis' phone number to find out where we were going to meet him & Laura and his visiting cousins. "Hi Nancy," Dennis said. "We're in Mary Louise Hays Park and we're parked under the Highway 16 bridge. We're in a red car and..."

Ten minutes later, we were also parked under the bridge and doing howdies, handshakes and hugs. We camped out under the bridge for about thirty minutes having a super fun visit with Dennis & Laura and his friendly family. And Tony took this picture of us before we adios-ed each other. Dennis is the one on the left.

  

Today has been a lot of fun, too. At 12:30, we met our dear friends: Denise & Les and Kris & Jim, at Thai O'cha, which is one of our favorite restaurants in town.

Tony and I had a blast visiting with our friends and the Thai food, of course, was absolutely delicious as it always is. We laughed and joked a lot and we talked about our Longmire—Texas Style spoof, wanna-be hippies, some of our favorite music from the 60's and 70's, etc. Then Jim's phone rang and he checked it and then told us the very sad news that Merle Haggard had just died. And that put a little damper on our fun, because we all loved Merle and his music.

After we had talked about the great Merle Haggard, Waylon and Willie being the best we talked about how important they were and are to real Country music. Then I changed the subject and told them about Henry's Clicker Training class and how fun it was and how happy we were to both be training The Hen.

Then Tony and I told them about Henry seeing himself, for the very first time in a mirror and how funny it was. 

And that is why I earlier wrote about my Mirror Mirror cartoon of Yoda, because in 1889 Oscar Wilde wrote in his essay The Decay of Lying, "Life imitates Art for more than Art imitates Life." And here's the proof!

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!

Private Pot Pie Pan Party!

Today has been great and Tony and I are so rested, from our super fun, exciting weekend, that we actually did some mowing today. We still have plenty of mowing to do tomorrow before the rescue ranch is once again beautiful and we've got to get it done early, because Henry Standing Bear and I are meeting our good friends, Marguerite and Scout, at Wild Birds Unlimited, so they can show Henry and me how to get to his and Scout's private, clicker-dog-training classes.

And Henry is very excited about attending his first class with Scout and I am kind of nervous, because I hope my reflexes will be fast enough to click and give an instant treat to Henry. But actually, it doesn't really matter, because I know it will be a lot of fun doing the classes with Marguerite.

Okay, yesterday I did a short post about Tony's and my super fun weekend, because I was so pooped, so now I will catch y'all up to speed.

Friday night around 9:00 our dear friend, Chet O'Keefe and his cool dog, Willie, arrived at the rescue ranch and Chet, Tony and I stayed up late, so we could catch up with each others news.

Late Saturday morning, after Tony did the chores outside, I cooked breakfast for us and then we packed Trigger up with video props and Chet's guitar. Then we took off, around 11:15 to go meet Gerry Olert, in Bandera, so he could follow us to the secret location, so he and Chet could set up their  video and music equipment, so Gerry could film and record Chet playing his music/sound track, for our video, before 1:00, when the rest of the cast was scheduled to arrive.

By 1:15, all of us were in full costume, including Little Debbie and then Gerry's camera started rolling (Even though he was actually using digital cameras that don't roll.). And the rest is history or will soon to be history.

Here are just a few of the pictures that Tony took of some of the cast and crew, hanging out after all was said and done. And the reason, that I can't show all of the cast members is because they were dressed in full costume and we want the ending to be a surprise when it first Premiers, at our Private Pot Pie Pan Party.

Later in the day, when Chet, Tony, Little Debbie and I got back home we spent the evening visiting and then we watched a movie.

Sunday morning, the three of us ate breakfast and then we relaxed and sat back and watched the great movie Chef, while Chet's clothes washed and then spun around, inside the dryer, so he could pack them for his upcoming Canadian Tour with Sarah Burton.

A few hours later Chet packed up his guitar and clothes, etc. and then he took off to go to the Auslander, in Fredricksburg, to play his awesome music for Stephen K. Morris' first Singer Songwriter Spotlight event. And thirty minutes later, Tony and I jumped inside Trigger and took off for Fredtown.

Omg! Tony and I had so much fun at the Auslander. The place was packed and the vibes were beyond great. Our dear friends: Steve Pietzsch, Kris & Jim, Evie and us all got to sit up front, at a big, long table along with some of Stephen's & Eva's great friends. 

Stephen K. Morris' and Chet's music was totally awesome and the crowd could not get enough of it. Stephen did a fabulous job being the host of his three hour show with Chet. Stephen told some hilarious stories and it was so much fun to watch him and Chet joke back and forth with each other. And here are just a few of Tony's pictures that he took at Stephen K. Morris' first Singer Songwriter Spotlight event, at the Auslander.

A little after 7:00, this cool music event ended and all of us hung out for a few minutes. And after hugs and handshakes Chet adios-ed us and then he took off for San Antonio, because this morning he caught a plane up to Maine, to visit with his family before crossing over the Canadian border to kick off his and Sarah's Canadian music tour.

I wish that all of y'all could have been at the Auslander, to watch and enjoy listening to Stephen's and Chet's great music. And that's about it for tonight. Life is good.

Y'all have a great evening!