Hot Pomegranate Citrus Sauce

Paper package of thawing elk steaks

So the nice people at POM sent me some.... POM! (aka - pomegranate juice)

They said it was just because they wanted me to try it, but I know better! It is because of this blog! And hundred of readers every day! (um, yes, that singular was correct)

So I thought, what goes better with pomegranate than elk!

Mmmm... grilled elk steaks.

And citrus! Pomegranate, citrus and elk!

Recipe for Pomegranate Sauce:

Ingredients:
4 cups pomegranate juice
Juice of 1 lime
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 tsp orange extract
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp allspice

For garnish:
Mandarin orange sections

Directions:
Stir together first four ingredients. Make sure juices are cool to dissolve cornstarch. Simmer, reducing to about two cups in about an hour, remove from heat. Stir in extract and spices.

The cayenne pepper gives it a little heat, but just enough to warm the back of your tongue. For more of a kick try a liquid pepper.

It's also super good on salad! In a salad with diced bell peppers, dried cranberries, mandarin orange sections, raw zucchini, chopped carrots, red onion, celery, red cabbage, chopped nuts and blue cheese, it makes a great dressing.

And last but of course not least, it is never least, french vanilla ice cream!

Not Impoverished in the Least

In the kitchen at the farm in Nicaragua

If you're here visiting from Leigh's excellent amazing blog, welcome! As she wrote, this blog is in a list of broadly defined blogs on poverty.

This blog is a micro micro look at poverty, in other words, my personal experiences and responses to it both internationally and domestically. Try the Social Justice tag for the most relevant entries, although there is more interspersed, I'm not always the best as tagging!

And if you haven't already visited her, I highly recommend checking out Leigh's blog - Poverty in America, part of Change.org and all the others blogs in her most recent post! I'm amazed to find myself in their company!

Ground Breaking + Community Building

In June we are starting construction on a home next door to the one we're currently finishing. It's for the Murphy family, Chuck and Jennifer and their 5 children (three of whom were present for the ground breaking).

When it's Jennifer's turn to speak, she recounts the first thing she'd like to do in the new house. And it's not sit back and relax, it's not wander through the house and look at all that is now hers (both valid things when you've worked as hard as a Habitat homeowner).

She says that she'd like to hang photos, photos of all those involved in making the house a reality, the HfH board, the volunteers.

And it is a wonderful reminder that this process makes so much more than a house. It builds and strengthens a community.

Studying and Studying and Zzzzz....

Screen from online Veritas class.

I'm studying! Really, really studying. I can find the prime factors of just about anything you can throw at me.

Yes, not really useful for life, but useful for the GMAT. And a good score on the GMAT is very useful for getting into grad school.

Study Books I have finished.

The class I won with your help has started and I have just a couple more months and a few more study books to go over to be ready!

Study books I am working on.

If I can stay awake through it all!

I'm Invisible I'm Invisible I'm Invisible

He thinks if he doesn't move that I won't see him. Silly rabbit.

Spring is Here!

The crabtrees are all blossoming, it is spring after all!

In my three weeks here I've gone from snuggling-in-flannel-at-night cold to kicking-off-cotton-sheets hot!

Women Build

So take some paintbrushes...

And some paint...

Add a good organization...

A house with a view...

Don't forget the hardworking Executive Director...
And a Vista Volunteer who didn't make it into her own photos...

Make sure it's a beautiful day...

And MOST importantly, over 50 women volunteers...

Some older, some younger...

Some taller, some shorter...

Some detail oriented, some.... not

And you have yourself Habitat for Humanity of the Eastern Bighorn's first Women Build! (And the exterior of a house painted)

Hello? Is Anyone There?

Ok, so I actually know (more or less) how many of you there are, where you are, and what google search terms you may have used to get here (if that's how you got here).

Which is information I promise I only use for good, not evil. Or, well, I don't really use it for anything, I'm just curious about who you are.

But if for some crazy reason you'd like to leave a little note on the post, all you have to do is -
1. Click at the bottom of the post where it says 'comments'
2. Type your message in the box
3. Type the word verification (it's so that I don't get spammed with random advertisements)
4. Choose your identity (most likely either you're already signed in, or you can click on name/URL and type your name in).
5. Click 'Publish Your Comment'

Hopefully that clears up some of the confusion. And, of course, you can always keep emailing!

Panoramas, They're Like Big Hugs

Someday I will get around to scanning all of my old photos from college road trips and share Carrie's and my strange fixation with panoramic scenes where we take turns being in every picture.

In the meantime, however, I have these two examples of places where I couldn't get far enough away in order capture everything I wanted in just one photo.

This is where Hugin comes in.

It's a photostitcher that can be downloaded and used for free (unless you're a secret professional photo printer). It can be simple or complicated depending on what you attempt to do with it.

It easily stitched a 7 photo horizontal panorama, but had difficulty when I tried combining photos with very different exposures.

We'll see how it feels about college road trips.

A Moment of....

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

I have nothing to say. Work has been so busy all I can give you is this photo from my drive home last Monday.

I'm pooped!

Shoulder Seasons

Spring and fall are some of my favorite seasons to backpack because there are fewer people out.

West side of Bighorn National Forest

But there's a good reason there are fewer people out... you never quite know what you're gonna get.

East side of Bighorn National Forest

It's still worth it to me, though.

On the Road Again

I spent the last several days traveling northern Colorado and central Wyoming.

This view is from the back of my friend Joe's truck. But other than the full back seat (and the fact that I'm facing backwards), this view from a pickup has become very familiar (1200 miles in 3 days in my little truck!).

A Needed Make-Over

Ain't it great?

Ok, it needs a little work.

But hey, I needed a little storage area behind my desk at work, and it needed a home.

Besides, it was only $15 at the ReStore. Paint was $2 (because I used two colors). And the countertop was $4. A grand total of $22.26 with Wyoming sales tax!


Ummm, okay, so I didn't actually even pay for it. That's the benefit of working here (and having it be for work).

I suddenly wish the office didn't already have enough furniture!

A New Blog to Visit!

So I haven't been completely faithful... I'm writing another blog.

No, it's not more important than you, don't worry. Nothing could replace you!

Yes, when I said I was at work, I was actually with the other blog.

Ok, you can see it, but don't get jealous!

It's at sheridanrestore.blogspot.com.

It's just beginning, so don't expect too much! Tomorrow the postings here and there will be the same.

How Do You Know You're in Wyoming Part 2

Just a pheasant, just standing in someone's lawn.

Wildlife is not just an occasional, but constant, varied and sometimes worrying part of my daily commute.

I'm not quite sure what to do if I ever accidentally kill the wild turkey who insists on coming towards the truck because I am apparently threatening his harem by trying to drive on the road.

The whitetail was happily eating in someone's yard when I stopped to take a picture. He took off when I rolled down the window, but stopped running and started eating again once I started driving again.

Coal Train

Fortunately I turn right just before the tracks.

How Do You Know You're in Wyoming Part 1

Yep, that's regular unleaded for under $2 per gallon. Not the always the lowest in the nation, but always one of them!

And no, dad, I was not driving and taking photos at the same time, or, ok, sort of, but I was already slowing down to stop!

Second Impressions

View from the house to the Bighorn Mountains

So the day after I complain the weather clears up! I wish all my wishes were atmospherically respected.

First Impressions

So Sheridan hasn't been very welcoming.

Don't get me wrong, the people are friendly, they're great, actually, really warm (and that's everybody, I've had random people on the side of the road smile at me as I drove by (should I be paranoid?)).

But the weather has not been warm, to say the least.

But I'm promised that spring comes to this land too and that someday (hopefully soon!) I will actually get to see the tops of the mountains.

Snow dripping off pine needles.

Expectations

I'm still getting settled in here at the new job and home, so I thought I'd provide some entertainment before your weekend.

In Nicaragua, I was often surprised at how little was considered normal. No ceiling (just a corrugated metal roof), no kitchen cabinets (no oven either), no sink in the bathroom (and no running water during most of the day).

But then I'm reminded that those things weren't always normal here either. Just after WWII a home in Levittown averaged 750 SF. I probably don't have to tell you, that's not average anymore.

subprime from beeple on Vimeo.