Category: Uncategorized

Chicken with Peanut Molé Sauce (Pollo en Mole de Cacahuate) Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 (4-pound) stewing chicken, cut up
• 8 cups water
• 4 stalks celery with leaves
• 1 medium carrot, sliced
• 1 small onion, cut up
• 2 sprigs parsley
• 2 teaspoons instant chicken bouillon granules
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 of a 10-ounce can (2/3 cup) tomatoes with green chiles
• 2 slices bread, torn
• 2 Tablespoons creamy or crunchy peanut butter
• 4 whole cloves
• 3 whole black peppercorns
• 1 (1/2-inch stick) cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 small clove garlic, minced

Preparation:

Place chicken pieces in Dutch oven with water. Add celery, carrot, onion, parsley, bouillon granules, and pepper. Bring to boiling. Cover and cook over low heat 2 to 2-1/2 hours or till chicken is tender.

Remove chicken pieces. Place in a 2-quart casserole. Strain broth; skim off fat. Reserve 1-1/2 cups of the broth for sauce (cover and refrigerate remaining broth for another use).

To prepare molé de cacahuate: In blender container place the reserved chicken broth, tomatoes with green chiles, bread, and peanut butter. Cover and blend till smooth. Turn into 2-quart saucepan. With mortar and pestle crush cloves, peppercorns, and cinnamon well; add to saucepan along with chili powder and garlic. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 15 to 20 minutes or till thickened, stirring often.

Spoon molé de cacahuate over chicken in casserole. Bake, covered, in 350-degree F. oven 30 to 40 minutes or till heated through. Yield: 6 to 8 servings

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Black Bean and Corn Salad 

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 ears fresh corn
• 3 to 4 Tablespoons lime juice
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 (15-ounces each) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 3 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves

Preparation:

Cook corn in boiling water to cover 5 minutes; drain and cool. Cut kernels from cobs.

Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add corn, black beans, tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, red onion, avocado (see Author’s Note), and cilantro. Toss to coat. Cover and chill black bean salad until ready to serve.  Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Salted Caramel Flan with Blackberries

 Ingredients:
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ cups mile
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs + 4 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla
Sea salt or kosher salt
1 pint blackberries

 

Preparation:

 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place six 6-ounce custard cups at least 1/2-inch apart in a 3-inch deep baking pan; set aside.
2. To caramelize sugar, place 1/2 cup of the sugar in a large skillet. Place skillet over medium-high heat and cook until sugar starts to melt, shaking skillet occasionally. Do not stir. When sugar starts to melt, reduce heat to low and cook about 5 minutes or until all of the sugar is melted, stirring as needed with a wooden spoon. Working quickly, pour syrup into custard cups, dividing syrup evenly among cups. Tilt cups to distribute caramel evenly over the bottoms of the cups. Set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, the milk, and the condensed milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is simmering. Remove from heat.
4. In a large bowl whisk eggs and egg yolks until combined. Gradually add milk mixture, whisking well. Stir in vanilla. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a pitcher or large liquid measuring cup. Divide mixture among custard dishes.
5. Pull out oven rack; set pan with custard cups on rack. Using a tea kettle, slowly pour hot water into the baking pan around the cups until the water reaches about halfway up the sides of the custard cups. Slowly and carefully slide oven rack back into the oven.
6. Bake flans for 65 to 70 minutes or until barely set in the centers. Remove pan from oven; transfer to a cooling rack. Let flans cool in the hot water for about 1 hour. Remove flans from water. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.
7. To serve, run a small knife around the edges of one flan. Quickly turn custard cup over a serving plate. Shake plate and custard cup to release the flan. Remove custard cup. Using a small rubber spatula, scrape excess caramel from the cup over the flan. Repeat with remaining flans. Sprinkle each flan with salt. Spoon blackberries over flans; serve immediately.

 

We are nearing the last day of school. That means that many families will start an intense home search about three weeks from now. Naturally, families want to find their new home (and new school) in plenty of time before the next school year starts in August.

Will you be putting your home on the market? If so, please call us as soon as possible, because we want your home to be in tip-top shape before it hits the market — which will ensure a rapid sale.

And if you’re looking to locate a new home before August, go on and contact a mortgage lender now to determine the amount for which you’ll be pre-qualified. Then give us a call or a text, and we’ll have a conversation about where you’d like to focus your home search. We’re here to help!

Moving, just like acquiring a new residence, is easier if you have a plan in place.  For instance, you might find this checklist helpful.

2 Months Before Moving you can…
	Start a “Move” file for all your receipts, estimates, and invoices.
	Check with your CPA to see what expenses are deductible on your taxes.
	Budget for moving expenses and get quotes from reputable movers.
	Research your new community on the internet.
	Order moving supplies. You’ll need plenty of boxes, tape and bubble wrap.
	Start paring down. Now is the time to have a garage sale for old junk.
1.5 Months Before Moving you can…
	Call your health club and see if membership is transferable.
	List the doctors, grocers, and salons you’ll use at your new home.
	Get a map of your new location so you’ll know your way around.
1 Month Before Moving you can…
	Make a list of who needs to be notified of your move.
	Plan to use up things that can’t be moved such as items in the freezer.
	Schedule movers, friends and family help.
	Contact utilities to transfer services.
	Get time off work.
	Collect boxes & packing supplies
	Start packing things you won’t need initially at the new home.
	Call the newspaper to inform it of your impending move.
Two Weeks Before Moving You can …
	Contact your bank to make address change to your account.
	Continue packing.
1 Week Before Moving You Can…
	Start cleaning your current home and eliminating debris.
	Confirm your scheduled helpers and movers.
	Leave a note in your mailbox with your forwarding address.

An annual kick-off to spring, Cause for Paws is one of Nashville Humane Association’s largest fundraisers. Held at the Belle Meade Country Club, guests will enjoy a spring fashion show by JAMIE, a delicious lunch, and an auction packed with fantastic items.

Additionally, the Cause for Paws Committee will recognize an outstanding individual and philanthropist in Middle Tennessee for their lifetime dedication and commitment to homeless animals as well as support of NHA with the Julia Colton Award, presented by John O. Colton.

This year’s Cause for Paws Fashion Show and Luncheon, co-chaired by Rebecca Burcham and Grace Clayton, will once again be an event not to be missed! Please mark your calendars and save the date.

Cause for Paws Fashion Show and Luncheon
Wednesday, April 16th, 2014 / 11:00 am
Belle Meade Country Club

For tickets, click here: http://www.nashvillehumane.org/Current_Events/Cause_for_Paws/

It’s Thursday, Feb 27 and today’s high was 38 degrees.  It’s expected to drop to about 18 degrees this evening.  To help you get through this LAST (fingers crossed) cold snap of the winter, you might want to visit the 25th annual Nashville Lawn and Garden Show: open until Sunday evening.  It’s held at the Nashville Fairgrounds, and there’s parking on site.

Tickets are $10.  You will see so many beautiful plants and great ideas for landscaping and beautifying your home, you will certainly walk away inspired.  It will really help you to start thinking about Spring — which is just around the corner.  The crocus should soon be peeking out.  Come on, Spring!!!

It’s true that more people are thinking right about now (Jan 26) about football and the Superbowl.
But Nashville’s mayor and the Nashville Sounds are thinking about a warmer weather sport: baseball!  On Monday, they hosted a groundbreaking for Nashville’s new minor league ballpark.

The stadium, appropriately, will be built on the old Sulphur Dell stadium, in the Germantown area of town.  Some of our most seasoned, historic Nashvillians can talk to you for hours about the old Sulphur Dell era.

The new stadium is expected to be completed by the 2015 season.  Developers expect that it will pump even more energy into an already revitalized area.  Besides the draw of the stadium itself, with some 8,500 seats, there will be new walkways, new restaurants, new condos or other residences, simply a new spirit of community.  The new stadium will provide a family-friendly resource, perhaps a “home run!” for all.

Welcome, new stadium.

Here is some helpful information on radon, which can be an issue when considering a home for sale or purchase in Middle Tennessee.

EPA estimates that about 20,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the U.S. are radon-related. Exposure to radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. Radon is an odorless, tasteless and invisible gas produced by the decay of naturally occurring uranium in soil and water.  Radon is found in outdoor air and in the indoor air of buildings of all kinds. EPA recommends homes be fixed if the radon level is 4 pCi/L (picocuries per liter) or more. Because there is no known safe level of exposure to radon, EPA also recommends that Americans consider fixing their home for radon levels between 2 pCi/L and 4 pCi/L. For smokers the risk of lung cancer is significant due to the synergistic effects of radon and smoking.

In 1998, the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General issued a warning about radon and urged Americans to test their homes and to reduce the radon level when necessary.  For most Americans, their greatest exposure to radon is in their homes; especially in rooms that are below grade (e.g., basements), rooms that are in contact with the ground and those rooms immediately above them.

Yellow denotes the counties with the least risk.  Orange denotes the medium risk, and Red counties are those with the highest risk of radon.

The National Radon Action Month is January, so we would be happy to share with you information on local radon testing companies and radon remediation experts.  It is a benefit if you are selling your home that you can say your property has been tested and it shows no risk of radon exposure.

 

It’s only mid-November, but we are already seeing the coldest weather of 2013.  Here in Tennessee, typically the really cold temps don’t arrive until later.  This early cold snap brings up an important consideration:  how do I winterize a home that’s vacant?  Perhaps you have an investment home that’s not currently rented, or you have moved to your new place and are waiting to sell your former home.  (By the way, call me: I’ll help you find a buyer).

Here are some essential tips on winterizing your vacant home.  You should follow these tips, because if the pipes freeze and burst, you could have major flooding problems and a hefty repair bill.  And do be aware that both plastic AND copper pipes burst: that’s just physics.

• Spend the money for a professional plumber.  That plumber will turn off the water, drain the water heater, the washing machine, dishwasher, toilets, etc.  Sometimes people believe that it’s sufficient to pour a little antifreeze in the toilet bowl, but that’s not enough.  Don’t forget to unhook and drain all outdoor faucets and hoses as well.
• Get up there and remove all the leaves and other blockages from the gutters.  If not, you have get ice blocks forming in the gutters — and, while rare, that can crack the gutters.
• You have already closed off any fireplace damper, venting to the outside from the dryer, etc.  Take a walk around the house and look for small, dime-sized holes near door jambs, french doors, windows, etc — and fill those holes.  If you don’t, you may find that you have provided a chilly hotel entrance to mice, chipmunks, birds (from the chimney), and other unwanted guests (even raccoones!).  Similarly, if you have stored firewood near the house, that’s a magnet for chipmunks (which I have learned from experience).
• If you have wisely chosen to keep the power on, invest in heat tape for the pipes. And another good idea is to have a few lamps set up in various rooms in the house on timers. Anyone who might be eyeing your place may believe that someone really does still live there.
• Pay a neighborhood teenager to shovel snow from the driveway and walkway — and to get the snow removal done quickly.  Driveways and walkways covered with snow clearly announce that this home is vacant.  And if your home gets a showing from a winter buyer, you obviously want to make sure the pathway, the stairs, and the deck are safe.
• It may be difficult to keep the landscaping looking presentable in cold weather, but do pick up any fallen branches.

Hopefully, these tips will not only help save you money, they may help you get your house sold even in the chilly days ahead.  Warm wishes to you!

Okay, nobody wants to think about flooding.  Even now, three and a half years after Nashville’s devastating floods, realtors still are compelled to note “did not flood in 2010” on their descriptions.  Nashville showed incredible strength after the events of May 2010.

An article in a recent magazine brought my attention to the issue of flooding, and I will share here some of its information.  Anyone with a federal mortgage (90% of mortgages!) who buys a home in a government-designated flood zone must obtain flood insurance.  Your lender will be able to tell you if the home you’re considering is in a flood zone.  But even if you’re not in a flood zone, it could be a good insurance to consider, with an average cost of about $600 per year.

Check out all of the helpful information at the National Flood Insurance Program website: http://floodsmart.gov.  There you can enter your address into a Risk Profile tool and the program will tell you whether your home is in the low, moderate, or high risk category.  There’s also a scary widget at this site that allows you to estimate how much a flood (of varying depths: 1-inch, 3-inch, 6-inch, 1-foot, 4-feet, etc) would end up costing you.

As we move closer to 2014, it might be a good time to think about protecting your home with some additional insurance: the kind no one wants to think about.