Nelson, Nevada

Nelson is a little ghost town just a short drive outside of Vegas.  I've been meaning to head out there to play with my camera for awhile and of course, like most things in life, haven't gotten around to it.  Moving however, gets these types of goals fast tracked.

Truth be told, I was not prepared for the sheer quantity of old cars, buildings and gas stations. I thought there might be a handful but we spent about an hour and half there and didn't hit half of the cool things to photograph.  There was even plane wreckage on site.  A collection of gritty photographic gems like this make this a photographic paradise, so needless to say, we were hardly the only ones there.  For just $10 an hour, you can photograph to your hearts content, and there were about a dozen other photographers taking advantage of this phenomenal site as well.  Even with that many other groups, there was enough space and sites that rarely had anyone in the backdrop of our photo nor did we have to wait to take a photo.

Take photos in a ghost town...check. I'm a little sad that I didn't go to Nelson this earlier...I am kind of itching to head back and try again.  And if you go, you'll come across the small town of Nelson first full of "no trespassing" signs.  Keep going past this town through a windy little canyon.  The ghost town is just on the other side.

Desert Photography Workshop

Last weekend I popped out of bed at 3:30AM to join a group for a photography workshop.  I think I could become addicted.  

Every spring photographers descend upon Vegas for WPPI.  With so many professional photographers in one place, there are workshops galore and I knew I had to take advantage of that before I moved back to Denver, especially since taking a photography workshop is on my 101 goal list. 

I love Charleton Churchill's photography and his style...vibrant colors, artistic lighting and creativity galore.  When I saw he was having a workshop, I signed right on up.  He has a creativity and editorial flair I think that separates his work.  In fact, when I saw the photo he posted from this same shoot I was struck by how I had nothing even similar.  Same models, same space... completely different images....I find negative space a bit overwhelming, he played it up.  

I've been tempted to take other workshops as well but most seemed to either be geared towards "how to use your DSLR" or if they are more photography based, tend to have quite a bit of time on building your own photography business.  All good stuff I'm sure, but geared towards another audience.  Charleton's workshop was a one day shoot with tips and pointers and instruction...he even let us pick his brain during lunch. I was the only hobbyist photographer shooting but felt very welcome and learned tons.  Can't wait to unpack some boxes and play with my off camera flashes.  And of course learn to embrace negative space on occasion.

I took close to 600 photos and with all that's going on right now have not had time to really go through them. Have to say that shooting models is pretty easy as it turns out...they pretty much can't take a bad picture.  Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!

Chicken Marsala

Yep, you either love mushrooms or you hate them.  Is anyone truly ambivalent when it comes to these little suckers?  I happen to love them.  I'd take mushroom pizza over pepperoni ANY day.  It's a given then that Chicken Marsala is right up there on my favorite dinners.  And luckily it's pretty darned easy to whip up.

Confession time: I didn't make this tonight.  I didn't even make this recently.  Someone asked how I was still even cooking with my moving plans in full swing.  I'm not.  I do however have quite a few photos of recipes I never got around to posting ever so thought I'd post them while I'm not doing much cooking.  I have plenty of canned items to use up but work is actually killing me right now.  The whole two week notice, short timers thing?  Yeah not so much.  Of course, I chose to wait to give notice so that my last day fell after a major project go-live.  At the time it seemed like the right thing to do.  But now, during the days leading up to the go-live, when I eat a bite of lunch with each quick hit of the mute button on a conference  call or I wake up at 2:00am with a stomachache because I'm thinking about the go-live in my sleep?  Have to admit, I wonder what on earth I was thinking.

I cried on the drive over to pick up Brooklyn from doggie daycare tonight.  Not because of any identifiable reason, but just because I was just emotionally spent from the day and the stress and knowing I still had so much moving stuff to do in my free time.  The sun had just set over the mountains and the sky was the most vibrantly beautiful orange I've seen since I've been in Vegas.  I wondered why I'd never truly noticed the sunset here before.  My emotional slightly crazy, slightly whiny self asked God why days have to so long and hard sometimes and beautiful things like sunsets are so quick and seemingly fleeting.   What I realized after my car ride prayer time was that days can be hard and draining but then they are over, but sunsets are a constant enduring recurrence we can count on.  It was just a slight perspective change but sometimes that's what is needed.  Maybe some chicken marsala helps too..I wish I did have this for dinner tonight. 

CHICKEN MARSALA

Ingredients
4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts
All-purpose flour for dredging
Enough extra-virgin olive oil to coat bottom of pan (about 1/4 cup)
4 oz bacon, diced
8 ounces crimini or porcini mushrooms sliced
1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

1. Lay the chicken breasts on a plastic wrap covered cutting board and lay another piece of plastic wrap over them; pound with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/4-inch thick. 
2. Add some flour in a shallow dish and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. 
3. Heat the oil over medium-high flame in a large skillet. When the oil is nice and hot, dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. 
4. Place the chicken in the pan and fry for 5 minutes on each side until golden, turning once – do this in batches if all of the pieces don't fit in the pan. Remove the chicken to a large platter to keep warm. 
5. Lower the heat to medium and add the bacon to the drippings in the pan, saute for 2-3 mins to render out most of the fat. 
6. Add mushrooms and cook until browned and their moisture has evaporated, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. 
7. Pour the Marsala in the pan and boil down for a few seconds to cook out the alcohol. Add the chicken stock and simmer for a minute to reduce the sauce slightly. Stir in the butter and return the chicken to the pan; simmer gently for 1 minute to heat the chicken through. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

Moroccan Chicken And Quinoa

A recipe post with no commentary?  Shame on me, but I'm back to packing.  Wanted to share this little gem from my cookbook du jour, Quinoa 365. This is my 5th recipe from the book and each one's been a hit.  Next time I make this I would personally reduce the honey in the quinoa as it was a bit sweet for me, but otherwise, would absolutely make it as is again.  The crunch of the pecans with the spice of the cinnamon was a perfect pair for the quinoa.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN & QUINOA

from Quinoa 365

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp butter
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup diced onion
1 cup water
2 tsp orange juice
pinch salt

For the quinoa:

2/3 cup quinoa
1 1/3 cups water
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1. To prepare the chicken, combine the cinnamon, ginger, turmeric and coriander in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan on medium heat and place the chicken breasts in the pan. Fry for about 5 minutes, until they are nicely browned. Flip the chicken over and add the onion, water, garlic, orange juice and salt. Toss in the spices.
3. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink.
4. While the chicken is simmering, prepare the quinoa by bringing the quinoa and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for an additional 7 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff with a fork.
5. Remove the quinoa from the heat and toss with the butter, honey and salt. Stir in the cinnamon.
6. To serve, divide the quinoa among 4 plates and top each with a piece of chicken. Pour the sauce over top. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 2 days.

White Bean Coconut Loaf

There hasn't been as much cooking and baking happening in my kitchen as I'd like, but as I alluded to in a previous post, there was a reason.  It looks a little like this...

Most of my pans and baking dishes have been packed up since right around the beginning of the year. I hate moving.  I know it's probably not anyone's favorite activity, but I really hate it.  The only way I could get through the idea of packing everything was to force myself to pack 2-3 boxes every night.  Here we are almost two months later and there are a lot of boxes stacking up in this apartment.  Since I did just give notice, I can officially say I'm moving back to Denver next month.  

I've loved spending more time with my sis and watching little Chipmunk grow so quickly.  I've loved the development opportunities in my position here in Vegas and and how they've stretched me as a professional.  However, when my former company contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in hearing about a new position, I definitely listened.  When they offered a position and package so phenomenal I couldn't resist, I didn't.  Offer letter was signed on the dotted line and the planning begun.  It's odd because as I think of going back to Colorado in the coming weeks, this entire past year in Las Vegas kind of fades into a blur and almost feels like it was just my imagination. Going back to Denver feels just more like reality.  It's hard to explain really. 

Part of moving does always involve cleaning out the pantry and fridge.  I saw a recipe for a vanilla white bean cake awhile back so decided to use up a can of beans and give it a twist and try.  One can down, 230 more cans to go. 

Coconut flour is a fun ingredient.  It has a subtle coconut flavor and a pretty phenomenal texture when used for baking.  Love using it for coconut pancakes as well. 

The ingredients in the loaf are relatively healthy.  You can leave it that way or opt for a rich chocolate glaze.  I glazed.  And then I glazed some more.

Using beans in this recipe made a loaf that was so moist that it was just as tender and moist three days later.  Not even a smidgen of dryness. Awesome. 

White Bean Coconut Loaf

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
4 eggs
1/3 cup coconut
1 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
1/3 cup honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/3 cup coconut flour, sifted
1 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare loaf pan by greasing and flouring
2. Add beans, eggs, coconut, extracts, honey and salt to food processor bowl and puree well
3. Add melted coconut oil, coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder to food processor and pulse to mix thoroughly, but do not over mix
4. Bake at 325 for 45-55 minutes or until cake tester inserted into middle comes out clean
5. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pan and allowing to cool completely

Chocolate Ganache Glaze
6 oz semisweet chocolate
2/3 cup cream

1. Pour cream into heavy saucepan and heat until almost boiling
2. Turn off heat, add chocolate and whisk until all chocolate is melted
3. Pour over cooled loaf