Lest anyone think Heather only spends her days crafting Utah common law, Heather also spends a great deal of time bettering the world through her myriad of talents. Case in point, last week when she volunteered to take part in the Utah Appellate Court's annual "chili cookoff," and made chile-verde. That same day she had volunteered to bake cupcakes for a ward relief society dinner (a ward is an ecclesiastical unit). That weekend she then demonstrated her talent at crafts by decorating Afton's nursery. Here is the photographic evidence of Heather's exploits:
Okay, this is not an actual photo of Heather's chile-verde, but it looks pretty close. Heather used my recipe and it turned out much better than it ever has for me. While Heather's chile-verde did not win the cookoff, the participants consumed more of her chile-verde than any of the other chilis that were there. Heather spent hours cubing pork from a shoulder roast, which is a horribly fatty cut requiring a lot of work to get to the meat. Heather also fire roasted the jalapenos, tomatillos, and anaheim peppers that make up the sauce. While Heather may have lost the rigged electoral vote, she definitely took the popular vote .
Once Heather got home, it was time to bake the cupcakes. She made these chocolate cupcakes with a strawberry meringue frosting I believe. As you can see, she then accompanied the cupcakes with whole fresh strawberries. *As an aside, Heather's original cupcake plan was to bake a white-chocolate cupcake with the strawberry meringue frosting. However, due to a bad recipe they did not turn out as planned. I will save that story for another blog post.
A close-up of a cupcake which were quickly consumed at the dinner. 
Then Heather spent the weekend sanding and painting the letters of Afton's name for her nursery. The letters match the colors of the bedding and some other stuff in that room. I was amazed at her ability to hang the letters so they were even. If anyone has ever been in my bathroom at home where I "eyed" the towel racks and mirrors, you will appreciate her accuracy. 
Afton and I are very grateful for all of Heather's talents. While Heather was making the world a better place through food and craft, I was spending hours preparing myself for this year's March Madness bracket. This too will have to be another blog-post, but let's just say one person in our household has actually won a March Madness bracket pool and it's not the one who spends hours watching and researching this type of stuff. It was the one who used such analytical guidelines as: west coast over east coast and which team has cooler sounding names, mascots, and colors. I've got to perform well this year to win back some credibility. 
4 comments:
Oh my gosh, AFton looks so freaking cute in that picture!!! Look at the bunny teeth! She is so adorable! Can you share the recipe for chile verde (in case I ever decide to actually cook something?)? That looks incredibly tasty. Maybe you can me it for me next time I see you, Heather! ha ha! (but for real, maybe?)
Everyone knows that the teams either benefit or are handicapped by the color and design of their uniforms. Why else would Oregon and Oregon State perennially under perform?
Also, we KNOW Heather is incredibly talented, gifted even.
Well Heather, I feel like I should just throw in my towel of defeat after seeing all your talents. Part of my family are Mexicans, and I don't make chili verde, my mother is a baker, I don't bake. My mother is also and artist and I don't make any sort of art. :)
Presentation...need I say more. Of course taste is paramount. And concerning March Madness...I always ask Reed while he is watching any sport.."Which team our we cheering for?" I do have my favorite teams, especially in football. Not so much for BB. Good Luck Tony in your bets.
Love
Grandma Debbie
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