Friday, July 31, 2009

Richey is a GiGi


I'm so very happy for my sister, Richey! Her daughter had a baby this week and Richey was there to see him just minutes after he was born. She has so wanted to be a "GiGi". After the disappointment of being taken off the transplant list for the next 3-4 months, due to errors in her treatment,this was sweet indeed. Enjoy baby Knoxx Preston, Sister!

100 mile potluck








Finally getting around to pictures of the 100 Mile Potluck we went to Sunday, Ezra in tow. I can't tell you how good the food was. I ate more than I should have. The second dessert did me in, but it was worth being miserable, bread pudding AND a mixed fruit pie!
There was a bigger crowd than anticipated. What a nice problem to have. They had about 12-15 round tables inside and 3 long tables under tents outside along with a circle of chairs outside for overflow to eat on their laps. They were filled to capacity!
Ezra was a last minute addition to our dining party, and always a fun one. This is his way of waiting in line, lying down on each pew along the snaking line for supper.
He wasn't hungry, but decided these muffins and cantaloupe looked too good to pass up.
This is my plate of grub, a few pics of the crowd. Should have taken a pic of the food tables but, I had Ezra to entertain and forgot. There was music, a few speakers (who need to remember at an event like this, shorter is better, most people are conversing and eating-a couple of minutes instead of 7-10 would be best). There were drawings for door prizes,too, which we didn't stay for.
As I said in an earlier post I think, this was to be a celebration of homegrown food and the dishes needed to contain at least one locally grown item. There were lots of tomatoes, corn, squash and fruit. I couldn't really say what my favorite was but, I always enjoyed layered tomato, basil and salt and pepper. Simple, I know.
I think our watermelon gazpacho was a hit. It was almost all gone. We were the only ones to bring a soup! I had to ask for bowls.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

More tea atcs




I figured out what I didn't like about the previous colored teapots and cups. They looked too "flat". I think I solved that and am much happier with the results.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Tea ATC




Here are a few atcs for the swap made with the background from a prior post. I used a Dreamweaver embossing stencil I got from Suzanne at Quietfire Design and DecoArts Decorating Paste, a molding gel, for a raised image. I colored some with metallic rub-ons but I think I like the more transparent look of the plain one.

Saturday's Farmer's Market -on Sunday






We are continuing with lovely cool mornings. One would never know it is July in Kentucky, where most mornings it feels like you're walking into a sauna when going out the front door. I have fond memories of the summer of 2005, I think it was. So much less humid and fewer 90 degree days. This summer make take over as a favorite temperature-wise. We should break an all time record of having NO days in the 90's in July. It has never happened here in recorded history. Amazing.
Now, on to food! Jim had two recipes in his pocket this week, one for Watermelon Gazpacho and one for Fish Tacos. I headed to Happy Jack's right off the bat. He has been my favorite vendor this year. And today was no different. He had great looking green beans, seedless watermelon, a load of heirloom tomatoes (remember I am a tomato snob- I didn't even LIKE tomatoes until maybe four years ago when I had my first Mr. Stripey), and will you look at those potatoes? I got a quart-sized box full, as full as I could fill it, for $1.00! I don't know why I didn't buy boxes for everyone I know. We have loved his potatoes, all colors, this year. What a treat! We picked up a jalapeno and poblano pepper, too. Where is my little red wagon when I need it? Down to Conrad Hambley Farms where I picked up a yellow tomato and peaches.
The sunflowers were finally here! I picked up 5 for the dining room table along with another handful of Zinnias. Six ears of corn from a vendor I don't know the name of I'm sorry to say and some ground buffalo finished up our purchases. We headed to Sweet and Savory today and grabbed a table outside to enjoy the morning.
Tonight we are going to the 100 Mile Potluck! Doesn't that sound yummy? I'm sure a post and pictures will be coming soon. I'm off to help Jim with the Watermelon Gazpacho for tonight.

Friday, July 24, 2009

A little weekend art



Can you tell I'm finished writing my HIV course? It has consumed me recently and I am definitely taking today off, though, I did have to go to the dentist.
I was inspired by Yogi's post about Ecoline ink, which I don't have but I adapted it a bit for supplies I did have and came up with this. I'm crazy about it!
I must admit I am better at backgrounds than doing anything with them. I'd be happy just to leave them alone and enjoy as is. But, I'll embellish somehow for the tea themed atc swap this month.
I took white cardstock and wrote with a white china marker on it. I practiced my Laurie Doctor technique of not lifting the marker while writing across the page, Though I did write some one way and some another because I knew I would be cutting into atc sized pieces. I used Twinkling H2O in Burnt Umber, Ginger Peach and Poppy Red. I got the brush pretty wet and rubbed a lot of paint on it, dipped it again in a dab of water and washed over the writing which resisted the paint. I dabbed and splattered a bit, too. I really like the results and want to try it again with different writing and colors. It's too bad the scanner doesn't pick up the metallic areas on the paper. It's much prettier than it scans.

Weekend Recipe-Bruschetta











I thought I'd pass along some favorite recipes using farmer's market purchases in case you are needing ideas for the weekend.
A summer favorite of mine is bruschetta. First, let's talk about how to pronounce it! In Italy, it is pronouced brus-ketta' but most English speakers will pronounce is bru-shetta. The noun comes from the Roman dialect verb-bruscare-which means "to roast over coals". Bruschetta to me is the "dish" but to some it is the "topping". Either way it is a fabulous use for summer-abundant tomatoes.
You will need:
A hearty bread that toasts well-I use Theresa's bread from the market, but a french or italian bread will do fine. I wouldn't recommend the really hard crusted, more holey version of french bread but maybe your basic grocery store variety,
Vine-ripened tomatoes- I like heirlooms, but I'm a picky tomato eater,
a good quality olive oil,
garlic,
fresh basil, I grow my own (yea!)
salt and pepper.
I chose two peach tomatoes (yellow), a Pink German, and a Cherokee Purple. Place your tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute, this will cause the skin to split and make peeling easier, great trick for peaches that you are using in a cooked dish, too. It's important not to let the time go longer, you don't want cooked tomatoes. See the split skin?
For this minute, I begin to peel and chop about 4 cloves of garlic, let's say one for each tomato to make it easy to remember.
I like to "seed" the tomatoes, this gets rid of a lot of the water in them and allows the toasted bread to stay toasty. I cut tomatoes in half and just pinch the seedy part out. You will come to learn where along the tomato the little seed areas are and you can just stick your finger through the peeled tomato and rake seedy gel into the trash. I'm sure someone else has a great use for this part of the tomato, not me.
See all of the nicely prepared tomatoes?
Let's move on to basil, a favorite herb of mine. I add it to eggs, salads, spaghetti sauce I had in the freezer, really just about anything can use a little basil in my opinion. I keep some in a glass on the kitchen counter to have handy. I like the way my hands smell when I rub a leaf, too.
I remove the leaves from the stem and roll them up into a fat cigar shape and slice them diagonally, then chop a bit more. This seems easy to me and I like taking the time to do this. It is like being patient while properly brewing a pot of tea, a nice ritual.
Chop tomatoes, add the garlic and basil, salt and pepper to taste. I like a lot of pepper but I feel that way about everything I pepper.I should note that most recipes also add olive oil to the tomato mix, feel free if you like. I find I like just the olive oil on the bread. It's more calorie friendly and I figure I can have an extra slice.
Time to slice the bread. I like it sliced a bit on the diagonal, but, hey, whatever makes you happy. Place it on a cookie sheet and brush with olive oil. Place the oiled bread under the broiler. Do not look away, it doesn't take long. No, there is no time for kitchen clean up here, trust me. When the bread in really toasty, it's ready. Take it out of the oven. I haven't tried it, but grilling the bread sounds lovely.
Time for topping the toasted bread. I put about an 1/8 cup on my fairly good-sized slices of bread. Serve it immediately. The bread will get soggy even though you took the most watery part of the tomato out. If you don't think you'll eat all you prepared, save the topping in a plastic container for the next day with freshly toasted bread.
I like a nice Pinot Grigio with it every now and then. I'm thinking tonight some ice tea with a sprig of my Kentucky Colonel mint from the yard, sounds nice. Enjoy.

Another fun blog giveaway

Head over to Lauren Nicole Gifts. I love her hand-stamped things. I really like this giveaway necklace, custom made for the winner.
Coming later today-a recipe for bruschetta using your fresh tomatoes!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Glory Morning




Finally. The huge morning glory has bloomed! I've had leaves and leaves and leaves, big leaves, little leaves, holey leaves but no flowers. I checked before I went in for the afternoon yesterday, no flowers. But, TODAY! 8 blooms! Aren't they pretty?

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Hooray for Saturday!




Mid-60s, low humidity, cloudy, you'd think it was an early October day in Kentucky. Jim wore a jacket to the market (reading the paper on the deck, here)and I wore long pants and a sweater. Who'd have believed that? It is usually so miserable here I can hardly enjoy myself at the market. We took our time and savored every delicious minute.
And what a haul I had today. It took both of us to carry it, though it isn't all for us. A good bit is heading to my mom's.





Let's look a little more closely from left to right. How about some more Zinnias? My Tuesday ones are still beautiful so these go up in the bedroom. My "L" flowers, the purple ones, remember? I recut and are still luscious! Cantaloupe-I can't wait to cut it. I didn't even ask what kind of corn it was this week at Happy Jack's- I'm sure it will be good whatever it is. Another loaf of Theresa's bread for bruschetta today or tomorrow. The lettuce was a nice surprise, I wasn't expecting any today.


We got a whopper of a cabbage today for two bucks. I cut some off to take to Mom. The three tomatoes and green beans are hers, I still have both I need to eat today probably. There's some more purple onions, peaches, and okra (I got two purple ones to try and I'm dividing the okra with my mom, too). Jim makes a good tomato and okra rice. Yummy.


The carrots are for us, Mom thinks Kentucky grown carrots taste like dirt. I love them. I put two in her bag for her to see if her "taste buds have matured". She always said that when ever I said I didn't like the taste of something.
Another block of Cumin Gouda from Kenny's Cheese.
The green pepper and eggplant are heading to Mom's. Jim is not a big fan of eggplant and since he IS the cook.........

We had omelets today, veggies and bison sausage with goat cheese and basil. That and a cup of Highland's Coffee sitting watching the crowd enjoy the day. I didn't take my phone today to take pics while there so no omelet photos and I missed a great one of a cute little 2 year old girl, in striped leggings with a tutu over them, just dancing away to the kazoo-playing guitarist's music. Ah, the uninhibited exuberance of children. I wanted to go fling my arms up in the air and twirl around and jump up and down with her. I did in my head.



These last three are just for fun. The seeds are coriander from my dried up cilantro plant. I thought the carrot tops were a beautiful sight, I couldn't resist a photo. And then I thought about the cauliflower dye I used for some atc backgrounds. Hummmm, what would stamped carrots look like added to those, continuing with my vegetable theme. Here is the result. Who knows what these little atcs will become over time and what other vegetable may find its way onto them.

Hope your Saturday was a great as mine has been! If you're just a farmer's market follower, I'll see ya next week.


Friday, July 17, 2009

Blessing Box




I always enjoy a trip over to kind over matter. Today's post has a wonderful printable box and blessings to go in it. They call is an box of affirmations. But, I think of blessings beginning with "May you" or "May I". Wouldn't it be fun to get one out everyday and think about and try to live it? This is the one I made today. My paper is cardstock with a pattern on both sides, a very subtle variation. You could cut the box and blessings out and mail it unassembled to someone. They could glue it together very easily.
I'm crazy about mine! Thanks to the folks at kind over matter.

Self discovery

I like what Judy Wise has to say about the importance of spending time getting to know yourself and how rewarding and empowering that can be. Even if you aren't an artist, there are words of encouragement for all. Thanks to my friend, Sue, for this link. If you want to have a fun Wednesday discovering all kinds of things, visit her blog every week, for Wednesday Link Love.

Rolodex card swap

For my "non-arty" readers, I use a Rolodex as an art object filled artwork that is the size of a Rolodex card, some mine and mostly others. I find it lovely to look at and inspiring. It's also a wonderful reminder of the friends I have around the world who share their art with me.
These pieces are from a recent swap with my byhandartists yahoogroups friends. Our theme was "Quotes". I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.


Kathleen

Marg



Me


Mary-Beth


Judy


Irene


Anne

Linda C