A Christmas Bowl of Burl for Kathy

Several years ago while visiting Benjamin and his family in Oregon, I picked up a chunk of myrtlewood burl.   I decided to see what would emerge from this piece of burl using the lathe. Here are the results.

Burls form when a tree is stressed and creates a deformed growth pattern yielding a large bulbous mass with grain that appears to have small notty structures that are really dormant buds.

Myrtlewood is only found in Northern California and the Southern Oregon coast. Burl is prized because of its highly figured grain.

The bowl is 5 inches in diameter and about 2.5 inches high.

I found my lathe in the garage!

Created a bowl for a colleague who is retiring. I have been wanting to try this technique for a while now ... keeping a square profile on a turned object. I've got a smashed thumb and several cut fingers to prove that this is a dangerous technique. However, I am pleased with how the bowl turned out (no pun intended).  The bowl is turned from walnut, maple, and quarter sawn sycamore.

Squash, Potato, and Poblano Chile Soup

1 squash (Acorn or Butternut)
1 bulb garlic
4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
4 large Poblano peppers roasted, peeled, and diced
2 cups of sweet corn
1 medium onion diced
2 stalks celery diced
1 medium carrot diced
1 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbs. honey
5 cups chicken stock 1 cup milk
2 medium skinless chicken breasts (optional)

Halve the squash and remove the seeds. Roast squash, potatoes, and garlic for 1 hr at 375 F on a tinfoil covered baking sheet. 

In a large pot, saute the onions, celery and carrots in the olive oil and butter on medium heat for 15-20 minutes until soft.  Add the cumin and black pepper to the vegetables and continue sauteing for another two minutes.  Add the chicken stock.  Add half of the peppers, the peeled roasted garlic and all of the squash removed from its skin.  Peel and dice the potatoes and add 1/4 of the potatoes to the pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 mins.

Puree the mixture in a blender and return to the pot.  Add the honey, corn, milk and remainder of the potatoes and peppers(add the chicken here).  Let the mixture return to a boil and simmer until the potatoes and corn are warmed through.  Salt to taste.  Serve with warm corn tortilla chips.

If adding chicken, season the chicken with salt and pepper and saute the chicken breasts on medium heat in olive oil and butter until cooked.  Shred the chicken and add to the soup mixture.

Requested Recipes

CHILES RELLENOS (Stuffed Peppers)

8 large green New Mexican chiles (Poblano, Anaheim, Hatch), roasted and peeled, stems on
2 lbs Monterey Jack cheese grated
6 eggs, separated
1 Tbs water
4 Tbs flour
1/4 tsp salt Flour
4 cups ranchero sauce

Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Beat the yolks with the water, 4 Tbs flour, and salt until thick and creamy. Fold the yolks into the whites.

Make a slit in the side of each chile (remove seeds and membranes to reduce heat) and stuff the chiles with the grated cheese. Dredge the chiles with the flour. Dip the chiles in the egg mixture and fry in 2 to 3 inches of oil until they are a golden brown.

Place chiles in a 9x11 casserole dish and cover with ranchero sauce. Sprinkle the top with the remainder of the grated cheese. Bake at 450 F approximately 10 min. until bubbly and serve.

To Roast Peppers:
Char peppers over an open flame (gas grill works great) or on a rack set over an electric burner, turning, until skins are blackened, 4 to 6 minutes. (Alternatively, broil peppers on rack of a broiler pan under a preheated broiler about 2 inches from heat, turning every 5 minutes, 15 to 20 minutes, or until skins are blistered and charred.) Transfer peppers to a bowl and let stand, covered, until cool enough to handle. Keeping peppers whole, peel them, starting at blossom end. Carefully make a lengthwise slit in each of the peppers and remove the seeds and membranes. Rinse and drain well. Using paper towels pat the peppers dry.

Ranchero Sauce:
1 large onion, chopped
3 gloves garlic, minced
8 medium peeled/diced tomatoes or 2 lb canned tomatoes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground red peeper (or to taste) Salt to taste
3 Tbs oil

Saute onion and garlic with oil in saucepan till soft.  Add tomato, cumin, and pepper and simmer for 20 min. to reduce sauce. Pour sauce into blender and puree. Add salt to taste. Makes approximately 1 quart.


FUNNEL CAKES

1 1/3 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. sugar
3/4 Tbs. baking powder
Confectioner's sugar
1 egg, beaten
2/3 c. milk, more if batter is too thick
Hot cooking oil

Combine dry ingredients. Mix egg and milk together and add to dry ingredients. Beat until smooth. Hold finger over bottom of funnel and pour in some batter. Let batter drop in spiral motion into pan filled with 1 inch of hot oil. Fry until golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with confectioner's sugar. Serve hot. This makes 3-4 cakes.

The outside is DONE!

A Finished Roof

Over the last several weeks we have gotten the garage roof completed and a new roof on the house.







I have also installed the garage doors and the exterior door in the breezeway.









I have gotten a good start on the siding.

Roof Almost Complete

Hilary and Ben came to visit over Christmas with their two little tykes. It was great fun. Ben was able to help me get a good start on the roof.

It's actually starting to look like the plan.

Update on the Construction

Made some progress on the garage since the last post.

Pouring the garage floor. Couldn't have done it without help from some church friends.




The framing went quickly. The nail gun made this job a breeze.



Hanging the OSB was a little tedious. Lifting 4x8 sheets to the wall on top of a ladder with a nail gun was a choice experience.

The trusses have been a lot of fun. I use a block and tackle to get the inverted truss on the front and back wall and then use a long 2x4 and rope to raise the truss to its position.

My son Benjamin was visiting and helped me place the first three trusses. The gable was a beast because we sheathed it with OSB and house wrap before lifting in place.

Blizzard of 2010

Thought I would post a few pics of our most recent snow storm. I estimate that we got about 20 in. in this storm. It really wasn't a blizzard here but I thought I would add to the local media's mass hysteria.




We did lose the greenhouse because of snow loading.





Needless to say, the remodel project has ground to a halt because of the snow and cold.

More House Progress

Pouring the footings.


















Laying the block foundation wall.

Name That Tune

I entered a woodturning competition last week sponsored by our local Woodcraft store. I actually won best design.

I turned this wall hanging several years ago for Kathy to hang in her piano studio. I decided to enter this piece because it is so unusual. It is made from two segmented open-ended bowls. The woods are hard maple and black walnut. I then cut the bowls into fourths and reglued to get the wavy effect. I used a scroll saw to cut-out the musical notation.

Can you name the tune?

Home Improvement Progress

Thought I would post a few pictures of the construction progress. The footings took forever because I DUG them by hand. Check out that pile of soil. The deck is coming along nicely.

Ethan and Papa Ray

I finally got to meet Ethan. He's my newest little buddy. It was so much fun to have the grandkids around for a week.

Chesapeake Bay Fishing Trip

I took the Varsity and Venture scouts on a high adventure canoeing to False Cape State Park and then we went fishing in the Chesapeake Bay. We caught 30 Spade fish and they're mighty tasty.

In the picture (l-r):
Nik Dubsky, Ray Knighton, Adam Henshall, Matt Gillis, Jordan Green, Samir Valencia, Josh Hardt, and Todd Anderson.

Welcome Ethan!

Ethan Benjamin Brewster was born on June 17, 2009. What a cutie!

The Temple

I need to share with you all my wonderful weekly adventures to the Washington D.C. Temple. It is 86 miles round trip and it is the highlight of my weekdays. I can't imagine not going each week to have all of the great experiences I get to have. I really thank dad (Ray) for being such a good provider so that I am able to do this. I have worked in pretty much all of the areas, but I think my favorite place is working in the Own Endowment area. That is where the brides and those that will be receiving their endowment for the first time go. I love seeing their faces as they take in all of the wonderful blessings of the Temple. I am working as an assistant coordinator now so I get to see first hand how they organize the workers. There is so much inspiration that goes on as they work to find enough people to serve in the different areas.
Although there are missionary couples called to serve in our Temple, the number has been cut back quite drastically so the responsibility falls on the members that live in the area. Unfortunately we don't have as many as we need and sometimes different areas have to be closed so that other areas can function. I loved the talks on the Temple (back to back talks this conference) that help us to remember the great blessings we can give and receive. So this is my prayer that we may all strive to go to the Temple as often as we can and benefit from the great blessings that are poured out to us as we serve.

Pebble Pilgrimage

On Saturday, January 31, 2009, I had the opportunity to play the famed Pebble Beach with my son Benjamin. The weather conditions were near perfect.
I enjoyed driving the coast and 17 mile drive with the top down.

A view of the fifth hole redesigned by Jack Nicklaus.
Benjamin putting on the sixth green.
Looking back at holes 17 and 18 from the 7th tee box.
Standing on the 7th green looking out at Monterey Bay.
Looking from the 8th tee across to holes 9 and 10.


My most memorable moment in the round was making a sand save for par on number 17. It was great fun playing with Benjamin and being able to spend some time with Karen, Caleb, and Joshua.

Golf

Okay, I am going to prepare you for golf, golf, and more golf coming soon. Ray golfed Pebble Beach Country Club today and it is only a matter of time before you are inundated with pictures and stories of his noble triumph (or something like that). Just a friendly warning!

Foxy!!

Nana nothing, look at that foxy man! Can you see why I fell madly in love with him??

Foxxy

Our engagement photo. Nana was one hot peach craft item.