Author: Francesca Filanc

RACCOONS? WHAT WILD ANIMAL IS UNSCREWING THE DOG FOOD CONTAINER?

Ok, I have just spent forty minutes on Google trying to figure out what animal is unscrewing a large container of dog food in the middle of the night, pushing it over and eating the very expensive dog food that I buy from my vet.

My initial thought has been raccoons. They have hands and feet like humans.

But I did not find any answers on unscrewing a container.

What are your thoughts? I do have a story to share.

Years ago, on a hot summer night a friend of mine was awakened by the sounds of her neighbors frolicking in the pool. At the time when she looked out her bedroom window she could see into their pool area. Not wanting to be a peeping Tomasita or nosy parker and disturb her friends and neighbors in their private time she just lay there trying to go back to sleep. But it was very noisy indeed so she ended up awake for the longest time hearing them in the pool then getting out and jumping or diving back into the pool! They were being very active! After an exceedingly long time of this activity and not being able to sleep a wink she decided to take a quick peek.

Lo and behold it was not her neighbors at all but a family of large raccoons!

Six of them were frolicking in the pool then climbing out and walking down the diving board and jumping back into the pool with tremendous glee and delight!

My friend could not stop laughing! I don’t know if it went on all night or not but she had quite a story to tell her neighbors who were, as it turned out, out of town.

Maybe they are so intelligent that they watched the people swimming and decided one night to frolic in the pool themselves?

“Rocky Raccoon” by The Beatles:

Although raccoons may look cute, harmless and like innocent little “Bandits”, they can be dangerous and vicious. I met a man one time in another state that thought it “cute” to feed raccoons. I remember seeing a dozen or more raccoons eating dog food outside of his house at night. They were hissing and climbing on each other’s backs to get to the dog food. The people had a special light to watch the raccoons from the safety of their living room. Check out this health care article from the Washington University to learn more about how raccoons are dangerous animals.

So what do you all think? Are raccoons getting into the dog food?

Bye for Now

Rippin’ Lips

Francesca

April 18, 2012
CREATE YOUR OWN WALL SUCCULENT HANGING PLANTER

My Wall Succulent Hanging Planter

Here’s a project that is lots of fun. Making your own wall succulent planters will also save you money :)

A friend’s husband made the boxes for our garden club, but directions for making a simple frame are available here: Sunset Magazine Article.

How to make your own succulent frame:

1. For a 1-foot-square frame, cut four 12-inch lengths of 2×2 lumber. Nail the corners together for a frame 2 inches deep.

2. Staple or nail a 1-foot square of plywood onto the open back of the frame. Exterior plywood or 1×12-inch redwood works well. You can also channel out a section of the back in order to hang on a wall three months later.

3. Screw ½-inch hardware wire mesh to one side of the open frame. If desired, add trim on top of the mesh to hide it. (If you’re a skilled woodworker, you can also cut a channel into the wood and slide the mesh into the channel, hiding the mesh’s cut edges.)

A friend and I were formatting this project for a group of 30 garden club women.

Soak sphagnum moss overnight in a bucket. Wring out well and generously line the bottom and sides of your frame. Now fill the planter with a 50/50 mix of potting soil and cactus mix. Make a sphagnum moss sandwich by covering the top with another generous layer of the moss. Screw the wire mesh down on remaining two sides.

Co-Garden Club program chair and I had previously bought succulents for all to use. We also suggested people bring succulents from their own gardens to share.

The best succulents to use for this project are slow growing ones. Visit your local nursery for plant material if you don’t already have succulents from your own garden from which to take cuttings. Here are a few suggestions: Aeoniums, Echeverias, Crassula perforate, Senicio rowleyanus, Sedum spathulifolum. Use your imagination!

Check out Debra Lee Baldwin, best selling author, Designing with Succulents and Succulent Container Gardens.

The day of the event was so much fun and everyone’s box turned out differently. Since the beginning of human time women have loved working and creating together. It takes us back to our roots.

If you intend to hang your succulent planter on a garden wall, wait three months for
succulents to root.

In my case, I have enjoyed my succulent boxes as center pieces on outdoor tables that are mainly in shade. I have one that I made a year and a half ago that is a little leggy but still beautiful. With a little housekeeping or should I say gardenkeeping, cutting succulents back, letting them harden off for a week and then replanting; Voila my year and a half leggy planter will look fresh and new. :)

Try to use slow growing succulents or ones that do not get too large. I put in what I felt was beautiful. Succulents are so forgiving that it is easy to change things around. Filling boxes tightly with succulents will give you an immediate show stopper look. :)

Have fun!

Bye for now

Rippin’ Lips

Francesca

April 10, 2012

THE EASTER EGG HUNT

I started coloring Easter eggs with my children when they were two years old. My children are now grown and have little ones of their own. When they were growing up we colored eggs and the children would hunt for them in the garden.One of my earliest memories:I was three years old. My parents took me to an Easter Egg Roll. I spotted one huge rabbit Must have been on steroids! Then,

Oh My Gosh, a multitude of gigantic rabbits appeared around the bends of a beautiful garden.

Then, there I was, on the edge of a ginormous lawn surrounded by dozens of children. My eyes grew the size of giant saucers pervading the brightly colored eggs as far as a small child’s eyes could see!

On Your Marks, Get Set, Go! Throngs of children bolted across the lawn gathering brightly colored eggs in their path. Memory told me that it was the large high school football field across from our house in Clairemont, California. I later learned from my mother that it was actually Scripps College where my mother had gone to school and the enormous bunnies were actually college students! To this day, as I write the words, I can feel the thrill of several huge rabbits and subsequently trying to avoid being trampled by older children running to gather colorful eggs.

When my children were off to the University I felt nostalgic for the Easter egg experience.

Then a light went on in my head!

Fran, you can color eggs and decorate your dining table and kitchen with them as you always did!

This year we will have a large family gathering at my mother’s house. There will be lots of little ones running around hunting for eggs. I am coloring four dozen eggs. I now love coloring brown eggs. The colors turn out rich and sophisticated. Check out the blog post my sister wrote about delicious recipes to cook with hard-boiled eggs after Easter on my niece’s blog, Girl’s Gone Child on her Eat Well page!

The Easter Brunch tradition started in my husband’s family the year Pete and I were married in 1974. I loved the new tradition so much. Pete came from a large family of four brothers and sisters. There was always a lot going on in their household. We all sat at a long dining room table. My father-in-law loved to cook, which was something that impressed me at 16 years old when Pete and I started dating. But that is another whole story in itself. Perhaps future blog material :) Let’s just say that we would have a huge spread with my future father-in-law’s famous baby back beef ribs! Soon there were little ones running around and Pete’s sister, the greatest Aunt ever would be in charge of the Easter Egg Hunt. By the way, Julie made specially decorated eggs for all the adults starting that year in 1974. In later years she spent hours personalizing each egg for each person at the brunch.

Julie, my sister-in-law was so into the Easter egg hunts that even when all 15 nieces and nephews were in college she made them all go to the back room of my in laws house while we, their parents, hid all the eggs trying to make the hiding places very difficult, may I add!!!

One year, Pete and I had Easter at our home. Our adult kids, some of them married by now got a great idea. Everyone arrived and was enjoying late morning cocktails when my oldest daughter announced:

This year is going to be different, Aunt Julie. We, the adult children, are going to hide the eggs for all of you.

Gaels of laughter especially from Aunt Julie! We were instructed to go to the back room while they hid the eggs!

We each have our own special traditions and memories.

Here’s to a Happy Passover, Easter and Egg-licious (is that a word?) Season!

Bye for now,

Rippin’ Lips

Francesca

April 5, 2012

IN FRONT OF THE CRACKLING FIRE

It’s Saturday night and I have a fire in the fireplace. It is supposed to rain cats and dogs tomorrow.

I love a fire in the fireplace on a cold day or evening–who doesn’t? Hearth and home are as humanly comforting as a good bowl of hot chicken soup when we are sick or macaroni and cheese or dark chocolate, piping hot chocolate, a good cup of Yorkshire tea or chamomile tea or Japanese rice. The list goes on and on for the individual. But all of us, I venture to say, love a fire. It is primal; it takes us back to our roots. We can’t live without it.

Kind of interesting–could make for long conversations around the fire or campfire. We can’t live without it but left unchecked fire will destroy us and our homes. I guess like people, fire needs to have boundaries.

But in the fireplace, there is nothing better than
smelling it, watching it, warming our bodies up
against it–as close as we dare go with out
burning our toes or tooshes.

I had a great weekend curled up with a fabulous
book in front of the fire.

How many times have we heard that scenario?

I had the best weekend at the cabin. It was cold
outside, we just relaxed in front of a crackling fire.

Kinda like Bob Marley’s tune Three little Birds

Don’t worry about a thing cause every little
thing gonna be alright. . . .

Comfort is what we feel from a Crackling
Campfire or fireplace in our home. I hear one
calling me in the next room, as soon as I finish this blog!

I have two black standard poodles. I love to sit on the couch with one curled up in my lap and one to my right side, roaring crackling fire in front of us, cold rainy night outside.

Ah, a little bit of heaven!

Bye for now

Rippin’ Lips

Francesca

March 29, 2012
CREATING A BREATHTAKING CENTERPIECE IS EASY & FUN!

St. Patrick’s Day, last Saturday night, was a leprechaun reason to entertain the neighbors. I love decorating the table for a party. Sometimes, if I am really well organized I do this a day or two before the event.

Creating an enchanting centerpiece
is part of the ambiance for a
successful dinner party.

Many people don’t know where to begin. Remember finger painting in kindergarten? Painting the Centerpiece is right up there with the kindergarten experience, in my book! I get so excited, I am thrilled as I write to you about creating your own centerpieces. You too can have fun creating your own centerpieces, it’s easy!

Growing up, my mother did not encourage me to cook with her.

But creating an elegant centerpiece was different!

I can remember how fun it was to go out into my mother’s garden and pick plants to bring in the house and put on the table in an interesting design surrounded by votive candles. If Pat, (Patwelsh.com -my mom) had a specific idea in mind she would pick the flowers and greenery herself, but then let me have full creative license in culminating the project. So last night, with the candle’s lit I snapped some quick photos with my smart phone, smile on my face. I was pleased and happy.

The table has helped set mood for stimulating conversation.

I always have my dining table set with a centerpiece so all that is needed is to add the finishing touches.

In this case I have a gold tablecloth on the table with two runners of gauzy material, one gold and one purple. I intertwine them, then put 3 large candles of different heights on the table. Then I take 5 elk racks that have a candleholder built into each one and place them over the runner.

Years ago my friend and I bought artistic woodland decorations from Michaels (Michaels.com). That then is the backdrop for whatever theme I chose to create.

Many times I pick flowers and greenery from my garden to decorate the table. On this particular occasion, I went to Trader Joes (TraderJoes.com) looking for shamrocks, but they had none. No worries. They had darling small roses, bulbs in colorful pots and pink jasmine.

Great for a St. Paddy’s Spring Display!

The plants were so reasonable just a few dollars and, by the way, Trader Joes has daffodils this week, just 1.50 a bunch – can’t beat it!

HAVE FUN CREATING YOUR OWN CENTERPIECES!

Bye for now

Rippin Lips

Francesca

March 21, 2012
THE WISTERIA

I have created a children’s garden on my property. Like anything artistic, when I create a new area in the garden it takes on a life of it’s own. It is fun planning things in one’s mind and then doing the work, or in my view the play.

Bryon in the children’s garden

The whole idea started because of a remark my son-in-law, Iban made one time when my daughter, Yvette and their daughter, Anushka were visiting.

Mama, you should put in a swing set for Anushka.

When they went home to Spain, I thought about what Iban had said.

What a great idea!

After researching, I walked around the property to pick out just the right area for the swing set. I looked online and found a very reasonable one with a playhouse, slide, swings and teeter-totter. Wow how great! Meanwhile the area I picked out had a diseased little tree that my gardener, Sergio, cut down for me. I asked him to leave the stump. It will make a perfect base for a little table. I then had 4 stools built around the table, just the right height for small children. The creative ideas continued to flow. Excitedly I mentioned to a friend,

“An arbor would be great! It would shade the children from the sun, and I could grow wisteria on it so it would smell good while the children played happily underneath,making their mud pies and other imaginative games.”

I wanted the Cooke’s Special purple variety. They are Chinese and bloom first, then leaf out after the flowers fall off the vine. The Japanese variety bloom and leaf out at the same time. I ordered them bare root from a local nursery but when they arrived one was Japanese and one was Chinese. My mother is a garden expert and television personality. She has written seven books, her most well known being the “bible” to gardening in southern California: Pat Welsh’s Southern California Gardening: A Month-By-Month Guide. Click here to visit her website!

Fran that will never do! You need to have two Wisteria of the same variety or they will look mismatched.

So I bought two more and put the Japanese ones on the fence and the Chinese Cooke’s Special purple on the arbor for the children’s garden. . . So I thought. When they started blooming last year lo and behold they were miss marked! The Japanese ones are on the arbor in the children’s garden and the Chinese ones are on my property fence. I was disappointed, but my mother, who has an amazing wisteria story in her book All My Eden’s, and has always loved the Chinese variety now loves the Japanese!

They are very vigorous growers, Pat reports.

I did have very good luck with them at other homes. One southwest home my husband and I built had Japanese Wisteria in a Spanish front patio. They were breathtaking in Spring. The smell is delicious too.

Rippin’ Lips

Bye for now,

Francesca

March 16, 2012
GALLERY SHOWING ~ COME CHECK OUT MY ARTWORK!

It is an honor to have been selected to be one of 14 artists whose works will be on display in an upcoming show at the Village Church in Rancho Santa Fe California. Please open the attachment to see more information about the show and some previews of the art that will be on display. For additional information about my recent works please visit my website www.francescafilanc.com

MILLENNIUM (48 x 60) Acrylic on canvas

What: A Showing of Fine Art – “Artists in Our Midst”
An Evening of Art, Music, Wine & Hors d’Oeuvres
When: Friday March 23^rd, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Where: The Village Church, 6225 Paseo de Delicias, Rancho Santa Fe, California 92067

Hope to see you there!

Bye for now,

Rippin’Lips

Francesca

March 12, 2012
GLORIA’S PICO DE GALLO AND TOMATILLOS SALSA PARA ESTA GRINGA

Francesca’s Breakfast

Gloria is originally from Mexico. After a knee replacement last May, I felt my speedy recovery was due in part to these two delicious condiments. I lost 14 pounds that I have, so far, successfully kept off. One of the changes in my diet is what I eat for breakfast every day. As a morning girl with type O blood, I am typically hungry when I wake up and my body craves protein. In the past I would eat a protein bar or cereal for breakfast before going to the gym. After working out I was ravenous again! I have tested my new breakfast with great success :) I stay full and satisfied all day, many times no stopping for lunch if I am wrapped up in my painting, gardening or playing the guitar. Not that I am saying that is a good idea. If I am busy painting or gardening for instance I might forget to eat lunch.

Fran’s breakfast:

Ingredients
2 egg whites cooked
1 T black beans and quinoa
Generous helping of Gloria’s Pico de Gallo and Tomatillo Salsa
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (Farmer’s Market oranges)
Coffee black or with half and half or tea

I love these two condiments on everything from breakfast, fish, meat, soups and stews. My dear friend Loretta posted on my Facebook page: “Hi Francie……Tomatillo is great on everything…”

The Pico de Gallo and Tomatillo salsa last nicely in the refrigerator for a week. If you want them hotter just add more jalapeños (Gloria formulated these recipes “Para esta gringa!”). Heat will vary depending on the individual chilies. They grow in my garden year round.

Gloria’s Pico de Gallo
Ingredients:
6 large tomatoes knife chopped into ½” cubes
1 onion chopped fine (it is ok to use Cuisinart for onion) remove and set aside.
1 large bunch or 2 small bunches cilantro (chop in Cuisinart 10 seconds) along with 1 or 2 jalapeños
Mix all ingredients together
Add salt to taste

Gloria’s Tomatillos Salsa

Gloria’s Tomatillo Salsa

Ingredients:
Peel the Tomatillos
Bring 18 tomatillos and 2 jalapeños to a boil and simmer for five minutes
Grind in blender with a little cold water plus 1 clove garlic and ½ bunch Cilantro
Add salt to taste

Have fun experimenting with putting them in or on all your food. :)

Bon Appétit

Rippin’ Lips

Bye for now,

Francesca

March 8, 2012
EXPANDING VEGETABLES RECIPES

Glad you all stayed tuned for the recipes I talked about in my last post.

Menu:
Vegetable soup
Black beans with quinoa
Collard greens with bragg
Steamed white rice in rice cooker
Sautéed onions with mushrooms and garlic
Baked sweet potatoes with skins on
Chile rellenos using poblano chilies
Rice pudding “Pete” style

The first recipe below is for the vegetable soup.

Francesca’s Wonderful Winter Vegetable Soup
6 cups water
2 to 4 cups vegetable broth (box variety or I use the powdered Rapunzel brand)
1 rutabaga chopped
2 or 3 beets chopped
1 or ½ squash such as acorn or delicata
2 or 3 large tomatoes diced (I just stopped using canned tomatoes because of a potential health issue in the liner. Read this article for more information: Are Canned Tomatoes Dangerous? The Latest BPA Scare)
1 or 1 ½ white onions chopped
3-5 leeks chopped
1 bunch celery chopped
1-2 cans Cadia organic sweet corn
Several cloves of garlic

Be as creative as you wish when you add the spices to this soup. Some of the ones I used were: cumin, Tabasco, a dash of nutmeg, dash of cinnamon, celery salt, & garam masala.

In a large pot put 2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil. When hot add chopped garlic. When the garlic is nice and brown add chopped onion. After onion turns translucent, add chopped leeks and chopped celery. After they cook a bit add chopped squash. You might want to remove the other ingredients so the squash can caramelize a bit or add squash before pot is too full. The caramelized squash I find gives a meat-like flavor along with consistency. Adding spices at this time also helps that process. Now you are ready to add water and broth. You want to have enough broth to cover the veggies nicely. Sometimes I’ll put in a bit of white wine. Let all ingredients simmer in pot for 45 minutes to an hour and a half.

Meanwhile, brown raw sunflower seeds in a pan on your stove. Set them aside. Grate some Parmesan or asiago into a small bowl.

When this hearty soup is finished you’ll find it is a meal in itself. Add a sprinkling of cheese and sunflower seeds, good hot bread or tortillas and you have a delicious meal.

In the menu from last blog’s post I used corn tortillas to make tacos on the plate with black beans and quinoa, sweet potatoes, salsa and Pico de Gallo — delicious!

Black Beans with Quinoa
½ onion
2 or 3 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper to taste and 2 or 3 T cumin or more

The night before take 2 cups black beans and cover with water in a large pot. In the morning drain and rinse the beans. Pour 4 to 5 cups water over the beans. Bring to a boil and then slow simmer for two or three hours. Meanwhile sauté chopped garlic and onions in a pan. After beans have cooked one hour add quinoa and spices salt, Tabasco, cumin. After another 45 minutes add sautéed ingredients. Serve as a side dish or as the main meal. Delicous over eggs or in an omelet. Sprinkle a few roasted sunflower seeds on top. Equally nice with the sweet potato. Yummy :)

Collard Greens with Bragg

Wash collard greens well and chop into 1-inch pieces. Place 1-2 T olive oil or 1/4-1/2 cup water into skillet, cover, cook for 2-3 minutes until limp. Drain off any excess water. Pour 1-2 T bragg on top of collard greens.

Chile Rellenos using poblano chilies

Roast chilies on the stove till they get black. I like using the poblanos because they are larger and can be filled with so much more cheese. Place them in a brown paper bag for 20 minutes. Then peel them immediately under running water in your sink. Carefully use a knife to cut down one side of the chili and clean out the seeds.

Slice cheese in long triangle shapes. I like using asiago or red cheddar. Most people like using Monterey jack.

Prepare 4 chilies, take 3 eggs and separate the whites. Use a mixer to whip the whites into peaks. Then fold the slightly beaten egg yolks into the whipped egg whites. Place 2-3 T Flour on a plate.

When ready to cook heat 3 T olive oil in a large skillet. While waiting for olive oil to become sizzling hot, lightly flour the cheese-stuffed chilies, then dip them into the completed egg mixture. Place in skillet. Pour any leftover egg mixture into pan on top of chilies. Let them cook till you see brown on edges then turn over to get the other side golden brown. Amazing and delicious. Bon Apetite!

Rice Pudding “Pete” style
½ cup cooked white rice
¼ cup milk
Dash cinnamon
Dash nutmeg

Enjoy :)

Stay tuned for Gloria’s Salsa and Pico de Gallo recipes. Yummy!

Bye for now,

Rippin’Lips

Francesca

February 29, 2012
EXPANDING VEGETABLES

A couple of days ago I went to our organic local market, Jimbos, to stock up on vegetables for the week. In my zeal, marketing without a list, and thinking about …oops it’s February already, (what about those New Years Resolutions I kind of made; eating lots of vegetables, losing a few pounds, and getting into better shape.)

(Badly needed for lifting big canvases around the art studio.)

Vegetable Soup

I arrived home late; the vegetables had somehow multiplied in the car as I drove home.

My kitchen counter was covered! Exhausted, stuffing them in the refrigerator and thinking what in tarnation am I going to cook that will taste good and that I will enjoy eating for the next decade! I will have to invite an army over to eat or, freeze the food and will that even taste good?

My sister, Wendy Woolf, became a vegetarian a few years ago. She is an amazing cook and always knows the right spice to add here and there to make the food even delectable to “a meat and potatoes person.” Check out Eat Well on Girls Gone Child.

The End Results!

The next day I was ready to tackle the veggies…Oh my they had quadrupled in my refrig! I cooked all afternoon and I had a ton of food! I called and texted my sister several times to see if she and her husband could come to dinner. No answer, so asked two other couples who were unavailable and ended up eating the seven course meal on a TV tray while watching Antique Roadshow on KPBS.

Menu:

Vegetable soup
Black beans with quinoa
Collard greens with bragg
Steamed white rice in rice cooker
Sautéed onions with mushrooms and garlic
Baked sweet potatoes with skins on
Chile rellenos using poblano chilies
Rice pudding “Pete” style

Stay tuned to next blog post for recipes.

Bye for now,

Rippin’ Lips,

Francesca

February 7, 2012