Sunday, November 27, 2011

Tagalicious

I recently did a new art piece. I used Sigma Micron markers (.05) and Prisma Color pencils and blender. I love the way it turned out, so vibrant and pretty. I think it has a graffiti look to it so have named it Tagalicious (as when a graffiti artist "tags" a wall...).

Enjoy! Please let me know what you think!!!!

Scanner is down for a bit so I took a photo, not the best 
quality but I couldn't wait to share...lol

Food for thought....homemade croutons

Today I made my first ever batch of croutons. I used a loaf of rosemary focaccia bread, small cubes. Using Parkay spray butter, I spritzed the bread and then added more dried rosemary, thyme powder, Himalyayan pink salt and a floral pepper (edible dried flowers with peppercorns in a mill). I placed in a 250 degree oven for 35 mins (spread on two cookie sheets, one layer). WOWZER!!!! If I do say so myself; and I do, mmmmmm!!!! Delish!!!

According to Mario Batali, and I believe I can trust the venerable chef, I can now place them in a freezer bag (air pushed out) and freeze. Fingers crossed that I am not trusting the wrong chef!!!! lol

I will use these later this December for a spicy sausage and tart apple stuffing (dressing depending on what part of the country you come from...lol).


Looks yummy, right??? Can't wait to use them in the stuffing...mmmmm!

Thanksgiving and much to be thankful for!!!

This has been a year of events to bring a great deal of joy into my life. I am very thankful for this great year!!!

First: My son met and brought home a beautiful young lady who instantly blended into the family!!! In February they announced they were expecting their first child and they planned to get married. While the announcements were sudden and quite the surprise; I was extremely happy for my son and couldn't wait to be a mother-in-law and grandma!!!

Second: May 14th my son and his girl married. It was a sweetly simple ceremony with family and a friends at Englewood Friends Church. YEAH!!!! I finally have a daughter...lol

The happy couple

The parents...all very happy for the wedding!!!

Third; August 31st my precious grand daughter was born:

Just minutes after she was born....Welcome Sophia Elizabeth

Fourth: watching her grow and spending time with the family have just been enhanced by my sweet girl!

Fun with various iphone apps Nov, 2011

My birthday pic...yes, we are in a cemetery! My birthday is Halloween, it just seemed appropriate...lol

Me and Katie
the kids and I went to The Stoddard Pumpkin Glow,
Amazing pumpkins, great place for my birthday...lol
This is a ghost (pumpkin) family.

Lola (filipino for Grandma...lol) giving Pia her first taste of Thanksgiving ham (and turkey...lol)

Fifth: my life has always been made happier with my fur-babies!!!

The Three Musketeers, (right to left) Dora, Diggory, and Cal

And of course the mischievous Queen of the group, Mimi.
Here she is entertaining herself with her favorite pastime, trying to steal my food...lol

This year has certainly been a year that I will always remember and always be thankful for!!! 
















Tuesday, November 1, 2011

A lovely Birthday Weekend with my family!!!

Lola and her Pippa

This weekend my kids surprised me with a visit. They stayed 4 days and made my whole weekend!!! What a great birthday present. Sunday was the highlight, we went to Red Robins for my (FREE) birthday dinner. I got a teriyaki chicken sammie with pineapples, avocado and bacon....YUM!!! Then we went to the Rockfield Cemetery at Wright State University to take Halloween Family Pictures. It is a beautiful cemetery in the woods at WSU and (no disrespect intended) a fun place to take Halloween pictures!!! Then we went to the Stoddard Ave Pumpkin Glow (just behind the Greek Orthodox Church in the Grafton Hill area). It was BEAUTIFUL!! And though the kids didn't really wanna come they did it for me and that made it even more lovely. 

 I love this shot!!! My son, with his baby at his chest, and his beautiful wife, my Katie-girl!!!
Below are some of the highlights from the glow. 

My favorite emoticon

The delicacy of this was astounding.
It was carved more from the inside and it was
almost as thin as lace in some places.

Just lovely...in a spooky way

The good Cap'n

This is a really great EYE!!!!

American Gothic Halloween Style
This was truly the best birthday I have had in some time!!! I am 48 years old and looking forward to many more years with my family!!!! They make me feel special and loved!!!

Hope everyone had a Spook-tacular Halloween!!!! and a Blessed Samhain!!!!


Saturday, September 24, 2011

What's for dinner this week....September 24 through September 30, 2011


As nearly every week I have spent a couple hours today making my meals for the week. Pictured above are Mexican Pasta and Old Fashion Meatloaf which I will alternate for lunch and dinner every day this week. For breakfast I have made hard boiled eggs and I which I will eat with toasted english muffins. 

The meals can all be switched up a bit or added to so that every meal is different and doesn't become boring. With the pasta I will make basil corn muffins one day add some fruit or simple lettuce salad another. For the meatloaf I can make sammies, add another veggie and/or replace the mashed potatoes with rolls or salad. I can also make patties out of the mashed potatoes and fried them for a simple potato pancake. 

For breakfast I will use the eggs and muffins as a breakfast sammie, eat the egg seperately with fruit and/or yogurt on the side. I may put peanut butter, banana and granola on the muffin or simply make some instant oatmeal, cream of wheat or grits. 

Simple yet healthy comfort meals that are easy and simple to make ahead and enjoy all week long.

Mexican Pasta:

Ingredients:

Ground Beef (1 1/2 pounds or more, can of course remove totally or use ground turkey or sausage for different flavor profiles or to make it just a bit healthier.)
Can of corn, refried beens, tomatoes (I prefer the ones with chilies, use what you like), black olives, 1/3 of a box of any 1 lb pox of pasta (I used mini piccolini this time), medium Picante Sauce (use hot or mild as you prefer) and a few dashes of hot sauce (I used Cholula's Chili Lime) and one packet of original taco mix.

Saute the ground beef till thoroughly cooked (I add salt and pepper to taste at this step). Remove from heat and drain on a paper plate with paper towels. Pour grease into a can and place back on the burner, return beef to the skillet and add the packet of taco seasoning, can of tomatoes, corn and picante sauce. Stir to mix thoroughly and let simmer.

When you put the beef on to cook start your water to boil (remember to add salt and oil to the water), once it comes to a hard boil add your pasta and stir. Watch closely, stirring occasionally until pasta is al dente (apx. 11 mins). Drain pasta and return to the pot. Add half the meat mixture and stir to coat the pasta and set aside. Add the beans to the rest of the meat mixture along with chopped black olives and heat till the beans are slightly runny. Add contents of skillet to the pasta and stir to mix. MMMMM!!! Ready to eat and enjoy.

Old Fashion Meatloaf

For my meatloaf I mix a third of a pound of lean ground beef and one roll of spicy breakfast sausage with 1 large egg, a 1/4 cup of instant oats, 2 table spoons of Worcestershire Sauce and a 1/2 to one teaspoon of hot sauce. Mix well but gently. Form into a large pattie and put into a round cake pan and slather with ketchup. Bake at 300 for 1 hour and 45 mins. (I fine at this lower heat there will be less grease and it will be more tender).

Mash potatoes the way you like them and serve with veggie of your choice.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

New Inspired Art --- Carol's Lamentare - un brutto sogno


It is rare that some thing/person/event inspires my art. The passing of my mother is one such occasion....My mother slept like a dolphin, with one eye open...lol This picture is for her and the large "eye" shape represents her in sleep. As a child she use to tell us that she slept with one eye open so that she could be sure we were behaving. I for one believed her. It used to scare me to be engaging in some mischief and look over to have that "eye" on me!!! I would behave instantly...lol Her life wasn't always easy, most often it was quite difficult and sad. But there were moments of happiness and peace, perhaps most related to her grandchildren. This drawing is my way of depicting that. I miss her, perhaps more for the stolen opportunity to reunite with her. But I have fabulous memories of a loving, prim and proper lady with one helluva saucy personality!!!

There are two in this series but this is the one that, for me, speaks to her the most. 

Enjoy!!!

Life Imitates Doodles: Giveaway


Join me in supporting this great blog and their fabulous milestone and in the process be registered for a fabulous give away. While there follow her blog. She is brilliant and talented and will inspire you to be too!!! lol AND...who knows what fabulous giveaway will be next!!!

lifeimitatesdoodles.blogspot.com
Tangle patterns. Zentangle® patterns. This BLOG is devoted to Zentangling and Zentangle® Inspired Art (ZIA). I post my own tangle patterns, and link to those of others. I also post links to art and craft giveaways and tutorials and anything I think you'll find interesting.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Some of my "art"....just a tad to entice you....

Broken Floral Dreams 
Most of my art is what is often referred to as "non-objective" art. Simply put, geometric pattern. This is a "zentangle" inspired piece. I am not certified as a zentangle artist but I do enjoy many of their patterns and it works well with much that I enjoy. Please visit the official Zentangle Site at the following link: http://zentangle.com/index.php

But just google zentangle or zentangle patterns and you will open a world of fabulous talent and amazing patterns. ENJOY!!!

Diamond Dream Pathways

Both pieces shown here were part of a set of cards that I printed and donated to a silent auction for Wright State Universities Nonprofit Leadership Alliance Spring Community Awards Ceremony, June 3, 2011. I normally sell each card for $2.50 and a pack of 8 for $18.50. I also donated a pack of 8 photo cards. I know it is kind of gauche to speak of a donation, but I do so because I was so flattered that they accepted my humble donation. It fed my ego in a delightful manner and gave me thoughts of perhaps opening an etsy site. But, that is still in imagining stages. If it ever comes to fruition I will let you know immediately.

Live, Love, Laugh!!!

This final piece is my favorite stolen quote. I have no idea where it originated but I just love it. I have 3 mental illnesses and sometimes I need the reminder to get out and LIVE, risk my heart and LOVE and LAUGH as much as possible...laughter really is the best medicine!!! 

Well, this is my last post for the day, I hope you enjoyed my bits and bobs. We'll catch up again soon!!!




Radishes....oh how I love thee

I love radishes...RAW, spicy and crunchy...mmmmm. A few years back I found a recipe for beef finger sammies that used radishes, sour cream and mayo......can't find the recipe anymore, but LORDY those were nummy sammies. What brought on this reminiscence of the beautiful and divine radish??  I found 2 recipes that I MUST try and I thought I would share them here:


Both recipes come from the "Tasting Table." I get their newsletter and highly recommend it to all of you. The first is a Radish Pesto...doesn't that sound AMAZING!!! The second is a Curried Radish Fritter with a Cucumber Raita....a definite must try!!! Radish Fritters who woulda thought???


Radish Pesto:







  • INGREDIENTS
  • 2 small bunches radishes, greens attached (about 20 to 25 radishes)
    ½ bunch fresh basil leaves (about 1½ cups)
    ⅓ cup macadamia nuts, toasted
    1 small shallot, coarsely chopped
    1 small garlic clove, coarsely chopped
    ½ cup grated Piave cheese (substitute Parmagiano-Reggiano if Piave isn't available)
    1 lemon, juiced and zested
    ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
    1 teaspoon salt
    Freshly ground pepper, to 
DIRECTIONS
1. Separate the radishes from the greens; clean each radish thoroughly and set aside. In a food processor or blender, combine the radish leaves, basil, macadamia nuts, shallot, garlic, cheese, lemon juice and zest and oil and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Serve the pesto alongside cleaned, whole radishes. To store, place in an airtight container and cover with a thin layer of olive oil.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Curried Fritters with Cucumber Raita



    Radish and Cucumber Raita
    ½ bunch French Breakfast radishes--cleaned, finely diced, and radish greens finely chopped
    ½ small English cucumber--peeled, seeded and finely diced
    2 tablespoons fresh mint, roughly chopped
    2 green onions--washed, roots trimmed and thinly sliced
    1 cup plain whole milk yogurt
    Juice of ½ lemon
    Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
    Fritters
    ½ pound black radishes, peeled (about 2 medium radishes)
    ½ pound watermelon radishes, peeled (about 2 medium radishes)
    Sea salt
    ½ tablespoon curry powder
    ¼ cup fresh goat cheese, softened
    ½ medium yellow onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)
    1 bunch Italian parsley--leaves picked, cleaned and finely chopped (about 1 cup)
    3 large cloves garlic, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
    2 eggs, lightly beaten
    ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    Freshly ground black pepper
    Canola oil for frying
DIRECTIONS
1. Make the raita: In a medium bowl, mix together the French Breakfast radishes, radish greens, cucumber, mint, green onion, yogurt and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste, wrap tightly and chill until ready to serve, up to 2 hours.
2. Make the fritters: With a box grater or in a food processor fitted with a coarse grater attachment, grate the black and watermelon radishes into a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sea salt and mix with your hands, squeezing at the same time. When the radishes begin to leach out liquid, use your hands to squeeze out as much water as you can, discarding the excess liquid. Stir in the curry powder, goat cheese, onion, parsley, garlic and eggs and mix until well incorporated. Sprinkle the mixture with the flour and season with pepper. Gently mix until all the flour has been absorbed.
3. Form the fritter batter into golf-size balls and place in the freezer for 20 minutes to firm them.
4. Fill a large straight-sided stockpot set over high heat with about 3 inches of oil. Using a thermometer, bring the temperature of the oil to 350° and lower the heat to medium to maintain the temperature. Remove the radish balls from the freezer.
5. Carefully drop 5 or 6 balls into the hot oil. Fry until the fritters are golden brown all over, rotating to ensure even cooking, about 1 minute. Remove the fritters from the oil, drain on paper towels and sprinkle with sea salt. Continue frying in batches of 5 or 6 until all the batter has been used. Serve hot with a bowl of raita.

If you try these let me know what you think. I always say I am going to try something but then I rarely do...lol I keep telling myself I am going to have a rad cocktail party and then I will try all this nummy deliciousness. And I will...someday, I'm not yet 50 so maybe I'll do it in 2 1/2 years for my big 50th bash..lol But if you try them first, give me a shout and let me know what you think! And in the meantime check out the Tasting Table:  

http://www.tastingtable.com/entry_by_section/national/dining

If you are like me in even the tiniest way, you will enjoy receiving their newsletter daily!!!!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Random Thoughtages...

My first blog...what should I blog about. I have so much on my mind. I love to cook and I found some snazzy good grown-up popsicles today....did you know you could make a popsicle using avocados??? Who knew, right? Check out Savory.TV (http://www.savory.tv/2010/05/18/grown-up-popsicles/) for these awesome nummy grown up popsicles. Can't wait for the weather to get just a tad warmer and I am going to try them. May even turn the average ho-hum cocktail party into a Popsicle Party...sounds good, no?


But I like other things, like doodling. I made the hand design that I am using as my avatar here. It's really my hand too...that impresses you, doesn't it. Come on you can tell me, you are properly impressed that at nearly 50 I can trace my own hand!!! Yeah, oh no, I've been able to trace my hand for over 40 years!!! That's impressive too, isn't it. Come on, admit it, you are very, very impressed with my astonishing life long skill and technique. But seriously, I love to doodle designs and I plan on sharing them on this blog....as soon as I figure it out...maybe, more than likely, most probably I will...We'll see. No threats...I mean, no promises....<wink>


I also have four of the most charmingly royal cats that you could ever meet. Sometimes they do the most amazingly brilliant things. I could share them here!!! I'm sure you'd interested in hearing all about how my sweet kittens slept curled into each other for 17 hours. That's cute, yeah??? You know it is!! You know you know want pictures and details maybe video of the 17 hours sleep fest!!! I know you do...maybe, we'll see. It's a thought.


I could share my favorite quotes and short stories. I have many favorites. Tons really...Like "Work like you don't need the money, Love like you've never been hurt, Live like there's no tomorrow, and DANCE like noone is watching!!!" That's a great quote isn't it. It's like a motto to live by!!! You know you thought that! You were like, "That could be my new motto to live my life by!!!" I know thats what you thought. Don't be shy, you can admit that I am totally brilliant and shared a fabulous quote that you will embroider on a pillow and mold your life around. I'm that way, I will give you tons of little embroider-able gems that you can use to shape and build your life. I'm that way, no I am, just ask me!!! I'll tell ya the truth...I'm like that.


But right now...hmmmm, what random thoughtage do I want to leave you with on our first meeting? It should be something special, meaningful, inspiring. Hmmmmm......I got it, it's brilliant, it's life changing!!! Ready? Here it comes...the Random Thoughtage for the day is....


Never leave your house in dirty underwear, you never you know what will happen and who might see them!!!!


Love ya later!!!!