Friday, December 18, 2009

Photos of Southwest Kansas/Oklahoma Panhandle


There once was a time when newsrooms didn't have Mac's, digital Canon camera, voice recorders, email communication or scanners.

Instead...

Newsrooms had typewriters, dark rooms, note pads and pen, face to face communication and the only scanning done was with your eye.

My newspaper, The Southwest Times, has boxes upon boxes of old photographs that appeared in the paper decades ago. Old photographs? At one point it wasn't as easy of snap a shot on a digital camera and digitally input the photo on to the newspaper page on a Mac program like Quark.

What's to be done with all these photos? I don't know but they are sure fun to look through and post on the blog. Expect more in the coming months.


This would be from the Liberal High School Homecoming parade. Unsure of what year but the marching band is traveling down Kansas Ave. in Liberal the main street in town. If you look closely on the right hand side you'll see a sign labeled Bingo. It is still there today and I pass it daily.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Stuff Under 20 : Glam Rock at the Office


Don't forget to check me out on the fashion blogsite, Stuff Under 20. Every Thursday I am a contributor to six great fashion finds for under $20. Above is the outfit creation I created for last Thursday. For links to purchase please click below...

{Post I}, {Post II}, {Post III}, {Post IV}, {Post V} and {Post VI}.

P.S. I love the shoes!

{Stay Tuned}

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Recipe of the Week: Roasted Fish with Wheat Beer Sauce

Last Saturday I was busy in the kitchen trying out a new recipe. This one was mailed into the newspaper on a press release from the National Beer Wholesalers Association. You may think homemade beer recipe? Nope. Instead a press release was filled with recipes that include beer based sauce. Being the beer lover that I am and dating a beer lover, I thought why not try one of the recipes.

We did. It was a good call as it was delicious and easy to make. Pair with a bag salad and a Pasta Roni box and you've got dinner.

Roasted Fish with Wheat Beer Sauce

2 Halibut or Salmon Fillets (We used fresh Salmon...not canned)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 TBLS olive oil
t tsp butter
1 TBLS balsamic vinegar
1 bottle of Wheat Beer
1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 TBLS tarragon leaves

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place baking dish in oven (empty). Rinse fillets and dry thoroughly with a paper towel; season with salt and pepper.
  2. In large skillet over medium heat high, warm olive oil. When oil is hot, add butter. When melted, add vinegar and cook for 30 seconds. Add wheat beer and bring to a boil. Boil mixture until beer is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, cream, and tarragon, cook mixture 1 1/2 minutes longer.
  3. Place fish in baked dish in oven. Immediately after pour hot tomato mixture on top. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes until fish is firm to touch and flaky by fork. Serve with tomato mixture on top.
I also made a {Banana Cream Pie} for dessert. Recipe did not come from the National Beer Wholesalers Association.

{Stay Tuned}

Tip of the recipe: While standing at the grocery store fish counter, the cowboy distracted the women with talking about 'getting old'. The salmon was priced at $6.99/pound. The women entered into the system, $1.99/pound. Our 1.25 lbs. of salmon costs us $2.35. Hollar!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Recipe of the Week: Lemony Salmon and Dill Toss

When I became the Lifestyles Editor I was given the lifestyles email account that subscribes to hundreds of list servers that contain possible content to be used on the Lifestyles page. I have to say I don't use 95% of what floods my email box but I have spent some time looking at quite a few potential articles sent my way. (4o of the Best Beers in the World...I had only tried about 15.)

A recipe last week from Prevention Magazine caught my eye. I made it last Thursday and I really enjoyed it. If you like salmon and dill, you'll love this. I did make some changes to the recipe and this is how I made the Lemony Salmon and Dill Toss:

Ingredients:

7 1/2 oz. can salmon, drained
1 1/2 cups of chopped asparagus pieces
4 tbsp lemon juice (about 1 1/2 lemons)
1 tbsp dill
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
4 cups of cooked farfalle pasta
2/3 cups shredded parmesan

1. Cook the 4 cups of farfalle pasta as directed on the box.
2. Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, cook the asparagus in the olive oil on medium heat.
3. In another sauce pan, cook the salmon on low heat.
4. In a bowl, mix the lemon juice, dill, salt, pepper, and parmesan.
5. Once pasta is done, combine the bowl mixture of lemon and dill, asparagus and salmon. Stir. Add more dill or salmon to taste. Ready to be served.

(I acknowledge I am not a recipe writer but that's what I did.) The recipe is not to difficult and is relatively easy. It was my first time eating fish from a can. I have to say not half bad. I warned the cowboy before he took a bite it was different and it would be okay if he told me he did not like it. He said it was good and if I made it again he would come over for dinner.

{Stay Tuned}

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

The end of an era

I woke up this morning at 4 a.m.

I was unable to fall back asleep. However, I consider it a blessing in disguise. I've got some of those check marks now marked off on my to-do list. Of course one was to blog.

For those that know me well and others that might not, most know for the past six years I have driven a red VW Bug. On that red VW bug was the license plate of LOV BUG. As of the end of November I am no longer the plate owner in the state of Ohio for LOV BUG.

LOV BUG has been replaced with normal Ohio tags. Yup, still Ohio labeled. In order to register your car in Oklahoma you must have proof of Oklahoma drivers insurance. With my car registration being up in November and knowing it took me 4 weeks alone to get my internet set up, I figured renewing in the state of Ohio was the easiest.

Bye LOV BUG. Make your next driver happy and be a nickname among your friends.

{Stay Tuned}