Art Therapy #22

This is where Rae and Nancy make postcards and send them to each other via snail mail. I am always excited to get her oversized kraft envelope. I usually send a shimmery pale yellow one.

Oddly this collage reminds me of my Mom and high school. Less oddly, it is made from the creative mess on my desk. Mom was a brunette and this was her color palette. She would suggest these colors for me. I remember knitting a sweater in these colors. My color choices at that time were lime, aqua and teal blue. My favorite outfit was a teal sweater with a matching mini skirt. The yarn is actually scraps from my Mom’s yarn stash. Funny how bits of desk mess can come together to tell a story from long ago.

I fear that Nancy’s card suffered some in the mail. It is sort of odd but I think we both made our postcards out of scraps of stuff on our desk.

But she poses a good question, is this art?

I would say that it is in the eye of the beholder.

I was recently at the Palm Springs Art Museum and saw this piece. Frankly, I wondered the same thing.

I recently visited Nancy. For some reason we were talking about each of us have the best brownie recipe. So we decided to each do a postcard with our recipe. This one is mine. Although it is really my friend Jane’s recipe from a 1960s cookbook of hers. Although I suspect that it is a recipe from the 40s or 50s. I used fonts from cookbooks of that era. The mixer is an illustration from my Kitchen Doodles font. I colored it avocado green. I actually had this exact mixer in that color.

I had already used this recipe on a dishtowel I designed for my friend Erica’s birthday. If you want one the fabric can be found here. You just have to hem the edges.

I’ve saved the best for last.

Nancy said, “I’ve made these brownies - they are great! I got the recipe from a magazine interview with Hepburn. They quoted her directly so this is the recipe in her own words - you can hear her right?”

I find it interesting that except for minor changes these are both the same recipe.

Enjoy!

Rae

Easy Chicken Curry

We are always trying to eat better. That means more meals at home. This recipe was a hit.

1 rotisserie chicken -  I like rotisserie chicken because someone else cooked it. Just shred it.
2 T butter
4 green onions, chopped
3 T curry powder - Sounds like a lot, but yes you do need 3 T.
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock
1 can of pineapple tidbits, plus the juice
3 T crystallized ginger - I chopped it in my new NINGA food processor that I love. (No one paid me to say that.)
Ground red pepper, to taste
4 T raisins
1/4 cup lime juice
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Trader Joe's brown rice. I get the box with 3 packs of rice in it. It is in the freezer section. Just microwave for 3 minutes.

Shred chicken, set aside.

Heat butter in sauce pan. Add onions and saute 2-3 minutes. Stir in curry powder. Gradually add the coconut milk, chicken stock and juice from the pineapple.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add the ginger and red pepper. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add chicken, simmer for 15 minutes.

Add raisins, pineapple, lime juice and cream. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve over rice. Enjoy.

Why I consider this easy is the substitution of rotisserie chicken vs. poaching chicken. Plus the tasty, easy microwavable rice.

Just want to share these fun Jack + Ella Paper recipe cards. 20 pack, 4 designs, double sided. Jack + Ella's design, my lettering and illustrations. http://www.jackandellapaper.com/misc-paper-goods

heirloom tomato and onion quiche

This is a great way to use up some of this years bumper crop of tomatoes. It is quite tasty. And to cut prep time I use a frozen deep dish pie crust. Too bad I didn’t make 2.

And here is the recipe http://www.recipebridge.com/g/108/4763565/heirloom-tomato-and-onion-quiche

breakfast smoothie

Time for a cold smoothie instead of a warm morning drink.

The day before.... 1. Brew coffee and put in the refrigerator. 2. Peel bananas and wrap individually in saran wrap and freeze.

To make:

I use my little Cusinart smoothie marker. (Thanks again Jen!)

In the tumbler I put... 1 c skim or 2% milk 3/4 c cold coffee 1 frozen banana chopped in pieces 1 scoop chocolate protein powder

If you want it a little sweeter add a little sugar or stevia.

If you want it a little more chocolately add a bit of Trader Joe's sipping chocolate.

Blend and enjoy!

Corn Soup

Harmony Valley Farm Sweet Corn Soup - L'Etoile Restaurant

3 T butter 2 large yellow onions, peeled and julienned (cut like matchsticks) 1 T salt 1/2 t black pepper 1 T sugar 1/4 t red pepper flakes 12 ears sweet corn, shucked and corn cut from the cob 3 cups cream 3 cups whole milk 2 T snipped chives

Melt butter in 6- to 8-quart stockpot; add onions, salt, black pepper, sugar and pepper flakes. Saute onions, stirring occasionally, until moisture has evaporated (thus concentrating their sweetness), about 20 minutes. Add corn, cream and milk; bring to a boil and cook another 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature and puree in blender in small batches (blenders work better than food processors for this). Pass through a medium-fine sieve, season to taste, and reheat. Sprinkle each bowl with chives. Makes 8 servings.

kryptonite. Yes this soup has been referred to as that. It might be my favorite soup recipe. Best made with fresh corn but during the rest of the year I get bags of Trader Joe's Organic Super Sweet Cut Corn.

The recipe comes from this great Madison cookbook. If you like veggies or the farmer's market it is a must have. Other fav recipes of mine are the Cauliflower Blue Cheese Soup, Spicy Potato Sausage and Greens Soup and Roasted Red Pepper Risotto.

If interested you can get it here. In fact I think I will order one for a favorite gardener of mine.

almost spring, more knitting, good soup & font promos

 

another post following the theme that it is still Winter ish here. I am now going to say it is almost Spring. I just noticed yesterday that there is water right next to our retaining wall. That is serious cause for celebration!!! But there is still an awful lot of frozen lake out there. But it is starting to get that mushy look.

Here is a cute pair of Scrunchy Ombre Arm Warmers. This is also from KnitPicks and uses the same yarn as I used for the Frida Mitts. This is washable wool. And they got even softer after being washed.

I am still making Chicken Gnocchi Soup. This soup you can make last minute and it is very forgiving. I use it as a base soup and then add extra veggies that I have. Sometimes I use a roasted chicken or even canned chicken in a pinch. It is always good. I prefer the Trader Joe's gnocchi as it seem to be a little smaller. This is a make it and eat it soup rather than a simmer all day type of soup.

For the recipe click here.

Tomorrow is April, so if you need any new Kitchen or Food fonts there are 4 on sale 50 off. Links on the right.

grand raspberry trifle

 

Just finished making this for a party. It is always a hit. It is tasty and pretty too. It is a Martha Stewart recipe. And can be found here.

It says it takes only 20 minutes and I find it takes a bit longer to assemble. I use Sara Lee Pound Cake. If you go looking for it the packaging is now different and the one I found was already sliced. I also beat my whipping cream until it is rather stiff. This can be made 24 hours ahead of time.

enjoy!