sitara online

NOTEBOOK: Remembering

2011-09-11T09:11:00.000-04:00

I was here when it happened, in the Elm City, on Howe Street, in my junior year at the big university in town. In fact, I was in the bathroom that morning, when I heard someone shout—either outside or from the window of the building next to mine, or maybe from a window in my building. “Turn on the television!” they shouted.

I don’t know what made me do it, exactly, but there was something in that voice, ten years ago, that made me turn on my little rinky-dink set (it might have still had rabbit ears) and see the sight we all saw that day, the burning tower and then, horrifically demonstrating murderous intent, the second plane.

I hate to admit that one of the first things I did that day was take my Puerto Rican flag down from the outside of my apartment door—but I was also remembering the other things that had been done in the name of that flag.

I remember fear ratcheting through my body, as I realized the President’s daughter lived in this town, right now. I remember trying to call my uncle and not being able to get through. I remember the strange stupor of walking around campus, not wanting to be alone in my apartment, but not knowing where to go. I don’t remember much after that, really, except television images, reports of more planes, the towers falling, the smoke and soot and destruction rolling down the streets of Manhattan, the burning, gaping, illogical hole in the Pentagon.

I can’t lay claim to any personal tragedy that day and for that, I feel blessed. It was around me, tangible, on the television and in whispered stories of other students who lost that day.

I was twenty years old then; I’m thirty now. I have laughed since then, cried, graduated college, worked at three different places, had my heart broken too many times, made stupid mistakes, made choices I hoped were right.

I was spared that day, but today, I’m thinking less of myself and more of those that lost that day, those who sacrificed that day, those that have lost since then, in our crusade to stamp out the evil that would hurt so many. That day has slashed our national consciousness, a terrible demarcation of before and after.

I can do nothing, ten years in the future, to change any of it. But I can pray for those lost, and for those who lost, for the heroes and martyrs made that day, bow my head for a moment from the heaviness of the pain of that day and it’s inevitable echoes and reverberations. I can remember, for all those gone who deserve to be remembered. It is very little, but it is what I offer today.

I remember.

NOTEBOOK: First Day at Grad School (In Photos)

2011-09-07T21:10:00.001-04:00

RECIPE: I Made Cheese! (Homemade Fresh Cheese)

2011-09-05T13:24:00.001-04:00

I have known it was possible to make cheese at home for a really long time. One of my favorite things my grandmother makes is her homemade cheese. She would pull it out of the fridge with a little grin, knowing that it was always welcome on the snack platters with pasta de guayaba or crackers and thin sliced salami.

This cheese, the one I made, is not my grandmother’s cheese. My grandmother uses some sort of tablet to separate the curds and whey, but I had heard that lemon juice would also work. And it turns out that Indian cheese, paneer, is made with lemon juice (since there’s no rennet used, it means it’s a vegetarian cheese, too).

I bought some cheesecloth somewhere months ago and it’s been sitting on my kitchen shelf since, waiting to make cheese with my sister, who managed to visit me about four times, stay with me for a month and a half and we never made cheese.

This weekend, though, I resolved to make cheese. This was going to happen.

A bit of research and I found this recipe for paneer.

So, yesterday, off I went. There’s not a lot of pictures here, because the process is not exactly picture-friendly.

This has a lemony flavor to it, which is just like paneer. It’s very rich, as I tend to squeeze out a lot of moisture in my first experiments. It’s really creamy and I can’t wait to have it on a sandwich with some prosciutto I picked up at the grocery store. In fact, I've got bread dough rising right now, because I think homemade cheese requires homemade bread.

I’m still playing with shaping the cheese and what not, making it more tender, more firm, but why should I have all the fun? I’ll update as I try different things, like adding herbs or spices, maybe some garlic, using it as a looser cheese, etc.

HOMEMADE PANEEER

INGREDIENTS

1 quart of whole milk

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

Salt

YOU ALSO NEED:

Cheesecloth

Strainer

PROCEDURE

1. In a good-sized pot, pour in the quart of whole milk (that’s four cups, 1/2 of a 1/2 gallon, 1/4 of a gallon).

2. Bring it up to roughly 176 degrees (I totally used 180 degrees), just before boiling. I used a meat thermometer, tilted the pot to pool the milk in one half and measured that way. I got cheese in the end, so I guess it worked.

3. Turn off the stove and add, one teaspoon at a time, the lemon juice to the warmed milk.

4. It should start to curdle eventually, especially after 3 or 4 teaspoons of lemon juice. I don’t recommend stirring just yet. Keep adding lemon juice until you’ve pretty much used it up.

5. At this point, give it a stir and you should see curds and whey separating (the curds are the little solid bits, the whey is the greenish liquid).

6. Let this cool for awhile, about half an hour or when you can handle it.

7. Put the cheesecloth in the strainer and pour the curds and whey into the cheesecloth. You can save the whey, apparently, to make a more tender cheese, but I haven’t tried this yet. I will next time, though.

8. Let the curds drain for a bit. Pick up the cheesecloth, twist it up and try to get more moisture out of the curds, especially for firmer cheese. I imagine that if you want a looser cheese, you would not push as much moisture out.

9. While you should probably knot the cheesecloth, I found that the knot makes a bit of a big dent in the final, firmer cheese, so you may just want to keep it twisted up and leave it unknotted.

10. At this point, I took a round container that I get steamed pork buns in, layered paper towel at the bottom, put in the curds wrapped in cheesecloth, layered more paper towels on top, nested another round container on top of it and used a big can of baked beans Raheem had here to weigh it down. I left this on top of the counter for about a half hour, then redid the paper towels, cheese (and I put the excess cheesecloth on top as evenly as I could, so the cheese wasn’t too weird looking), more paper towels, the container and the beans and refrigerated it.

11. I think after a couple of hours, you can disassemble the whole moisture-extracting contraption and put the cheese into the container all by itself. At this point, it’ll hold it’s shape. I also let it go overnight and it was fine.

NOTEBOOK: Grilling in the Rain

2011-08-23T13:31:00.001-04:00

This is my first attempt at mobile blogging with my HTC EVO Shift, so bear with me.

Sunday was a lazy day spent mostly catching up on tv that Ra and I watch together, but are sorely behind on (Rescue Me and Dexter).

Although it was cloudy and sunny by turns, we decided to grill. I had some chicken that I seasoned with Goya adobo, recaito, ponzu sauce and lots of garlic Raheem helped chop. There were baby eggplants and red bell peppers. And the rain seemed to be passing without falling.

Oh, so very wrong. First off, I couldn't get the charcoal started; being cheap, I bought the stuff that needs lighter fluid, but forgot to buy lighter fluid. After many sad attempts, Ra went to get lighter fluid. But, aside from some high flames, no dice. So I pulled out the few Match Light briquets that I had, added them to the pile, soaked paper towel in lighter fluid and tried again. And again, nothing. At this point, my pride was more than bruised, so we went in for one last try.

Woooooohoooooo!!! It lit!

Plop plop plop.

Yup, there were little sprinkles. But after that fight to get the grill started, there was no way I was going to let a little rain ruin the fun.

So, I put it all on the grill and Raheem and I tucked into the car to watch the iPad and to make sure no one stole our dinner.

I have to say, dinner was awesome. I love the taste of a charcoal grill. And now I have grilled peppers, eggplants and chicken for the week.

Sorry, rain. We win!

LINKSHARE: Cooking Blogs I Like

2011-08-01T21:50:00.001-04:00

The photo is a berry tart I threw together recently: pie dough shaped around raspberries and blueberries macerated in lemon juice and a little sugar. I liked it, but some thought it was too sweet or not sweet enough.

My brother recently asked me about recipes for things and I realized I’ve never properly listed my favorites. Of course, you can query this site for recipes (click here to see all entries tagged with recipes) or check out my old/defunct food blog (that folded into this site), Rose’s Kitchen.

But that only shows you part of what I cook, not all the fantastic blogs/sites that I read and get inspired by. So here’s a list!

While I miss the early Serious Eats days when the site was a little less huge, it is the perfect place to hunt for recipes and also to find great places to eat all over the US.

Our Best Bites I heard about through my friend Karen and I like their inventiveness.

Just Bento doesn’t update very much anymore, but still has amazing healthy and creative bento options.

Adam Roberts is hilarious and his site has a great catalog of recipes—check him out at The Amateur Gourmet.

All Recipes is extremely useful for piecing together something new and has a huge variety of recipes. Sometimes that can be overwhelming, but it’s really useful for doing something new and gaining direction.

Smitten Kitchen makes me laugh and her recipes are creative and fun. And she never is ashamed to own up to her kitchen disasters.

Joy the Baker is a new one, but I’m very pleased. And her pull apart cinnamon bread is awesome. I know, I made it.

And, to round it out, the Diner’s Journal (from the NY Times) is a great collection of various foodstuffs. Of course, there’s a limit on the number of articles you can read now, but preview them via an RSS reader. =)

This is not a complete list, but a grouping of favorites. I promise to share more soon!

Oh, and nothing is better for the new cook than the…

I am a die-hard Fannie Lover. =)

Here’s the Amazon link for the book (and I recommend the hardcover, because the paperback may start to fall apart after a few years, if you use it a lot).

NOTEBOOK: Love this Hoodie from Andy South

2011-07-09T07:31:00.001-04:00

I know that this episode ran in October of 2010, but I’m just catching up on Season 8 of Project Runway on Hulu.

And I LOVE this hoodie.

Project Runway on Hulu | Project Runway | Andy South

NOTEBOOK: Periwinkle?

2011-07-02T13:04:00.002-04:00

I just like the color palette of this plant. A vibrant blue.

VIDEOSHARE: Adele’s Rolling in the Deep

2011-07-01T21:00:00.000-04:00

I absolutely love this song and all of her stuff.

Adele’s Website is here

VISUAL ART: Summer 2011

2011-07-01T07:37:00.001-04:00

I have fallen a bit off on posting, so I wanted to come back with something fun.

I drew this in pencil, inked it with a Faber Castell pen, scanned it and colored it in Photoshop. I was playing with gradient fills and I like the result.

Let me know what you think!

(And yes, the blog has a new look—just playing around at the moment, really.)

RECIPE: Cream Cheese Pound Cake

2011-04-27T08:41:00.001-04:00

I used the Fannie Farmer recipe for pound cake to make four batches (two large cakes) for the iPad cake. But this past weekend, I decided to change it up just a bit—substituting cream cheese for half of the butter in the recipe. And it was good!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

You need:

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, soft

4 ounces cream cheese (regular or Neufchatel)

1 2/3 cups white sugar

5 eggs

2 cups all purpose flour (you can use cake flour, too)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

So, this is how you make it:

1. Prep a loaf pan (9 inches by 5 inches) by buttering or spraying with cooking spray and lightly flouring.

2. Set the oven to 325 degrees.

3. In a medium bowl, mix the butter and cream cheese. You might choose to use a mixer, which is fine and might be a little fluffier—I’ve done this both ways, hand mixed and mixer mixed and they both work fine. I was just lazy this time and didn’t want to break out the hand mixer.

4. Slowly add the sugar (maybe in 2 or 3 batches), creaming with the butter/cream cheese each time.

5. Add each egg one at a time, mixing to combine, then add the next one.

6. Add the flour (you might want to break this up into two batches, also, mixing the first cup in before adding the second).

7. Mix in the vanilla and almond extract.

8. Pour and spread into the loaf pan. Spread good, so you don’t end up with a mound in the middle that doesn’t quite cook.

9. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Yeah, the best way to know is to touch the center, which should be a little firm and not runny or to stick a toothpick in to make sure it comes out clean.

10. Let cool for five to ten minutes in the pan, then turn out on a plate to slice and eat!

This cake keeps really well, which is why it’s great for making fondant cakes that have to sit for some time.

SKETCHBOOK: Playing with Gouache

2011-04-24T09:43:00.000-04:00

When I visited my sister in Buffalo, she had some tubes of gouache on her long ledge of paints. She told me to go ahead and try. I liked them, so I picked up my own paint yesterday. Here’s some testing (these are watercolor and gouache together):

Star Tree

Pixel Tree

NOTEBOOK + PHOTOS: Toronto with Ile

2011-04-23T19:18:00.000-04:00

Here are my Picasa albums for our recent Toronto trip!

2011-04-19-Toronto

2011-04-20-Toronto

I promise to post actual stories from the trip soon, just wanted the photos out there.

PHOTOS: TOR Street Art

2011-04-23T15:12:00.001-04:00

I’m incredibly impressed with the piles of street art I saw everywhere in Toronto—this piece hiding in an alley might be my favorite.

CLICK HERE to see the rest of the photos of Toronto Street Art [in Picasa]

NOTEBOOK + PHOTO: Sunday in NYC with Bex

2011-04-17T23:55:00.001-04:00

Shots taken on the little Powershot I stick in my purse, from spending time with Becky in NYC in early April.

Well, that might be part of the inspiration for the bedroom as indoor forest project (I also saw this painting in December, I think, but forgot about it)

Becky walks in Central Park

The Traveling Chuck is back!

A tree…

Just had to take this

Yummy apples

I didn’t have any, but maybe I should have

Pastries at the flea market

And these are all shots from the flea market next to the Shake Shack

NOTEBOOK: My First Shack Burger

2011-04-04T12:45:00.000-04:00

Oh, I have heard of the glories of the Shake Shack. But I never believed. But yesterday…oh, glorious…I had my first Shack Burger!

There it is, tucked in the upper right hand corner of the bag, next to the AWESOME fries I shared with Becky and Becky’s ‘Shroom Burger.

Gene (Becky’s fiancé and will be husband on May 6th!) had wanted a burger. Becky said, “Can we go somewhere I can get something else?” Gene said, “We could go to the Shake Shack.” “I’ve never been!” I said. “We’re going then.”

It was a beautiful walk through Central Park (albeit windy, a bit chilly, but I armed myself with three layers, long johns, gloves, because I am ALWAYS cold) and then—there was the Shack!

We waited in line, which wasn’t too bad. I examined the menu, toyed with the idea of a Shake Stack, or maybe toss a hotdog in my order, but ultimately, Gene told me I had to start with a Shack Burger. It would be, Becky and Gene said, the best place to start, the yardstick by which I could measure all other Shack-ness.

I giggled at the stuff for sale.

Then we ordered and I got all nervous (I tend to, ordering somewhere new, and it was SO busy, what if I messed it up?), we got our little electronic beeper and waited. It started to shake and light up after about 5-10 minutes, we got our order and went across the street to consume.

We sat down outside and I prepared myself. I took one bite and…IT WAS AWESOME. Cooked perfectly, not too big. The Shack sauce was perfect. I loved that it had American cheese. I would have gotten in that long line for a second, if I didn’t also have a chocolate malted milkshake (MMMMMM…heaven), which I knew was going to fill my belly through and through.

Seriously, the only thing missing was bacon. Is bacon an option? And you know what, I didn’t miss it that much.

Oh, and the fries—crispy, hot, not needing anything, although tasty with ketchup.

The shake was a good size—I hate giant shakes because I will inevitably going into a lactose coma. I got a chocolate malted because that IS a milkshake to me. Outside, while Becky, Gene and I were inhaling our burgers on a bench, a little boy runs by saying, “Chocolate shakes are the best!” “Yes, they are!” I shouted after him.

I can’t wait to go back. The next time Raheem and I are in NYC, I am absolutely dragging him there, as he appreciates a good burger, too.

LONG LIVE THE SHAKE SHACK!

VISUAL ART: iPad Cake

2011-04-04T08:26:00.001-04:00

Raheem had an art show on Friday and it was all about his iPad art. I decided to contribute this cake. And, whew, was it hard. Roughly three years ago, I made another fondant cake (it was a paid job) and then swore I wouldn’t use fondant ever again. But I came off hiatus for this cake.

It’s pound cake with a chocolate filling, covered in white fondant. Then I used silver pearl dust mixed with almond extract to paint the silver edge. A layer of black fondant created the screen frame. Then it was another layer of white fondant for the background screen, painting with food gel colors. Just a note, if you ever do use this technique, the food gel colors take a long time to dry—I didn’t have that kind of time, so I accepted that the painted pieces were going to stay a little tacky/sticky.

Then came time for the apps, which are white fondant cut outs painted with gel food colors. I used the “out of the box” set up for the apps, plus three more: 1) Create96, who sponsored the art show, 2) The Grove, who hosted the art show and 3) Eye of the Sun God, Raheem’s creative moniker. Oh, and of course, I used the date of the art show.

Out of the box iPad:

I also did a watercolor prototype the weekend before, to practice painting each element (the original is much more impressive, but scanning watercolor is notoriously hard):

I can see the mistakes, of course. The fondant cracked, the sizing is off, my fondant smoothing could have been better, the cake is a bit tall…but overall, it was a big hit at the art show, so I’m pretty happy. Not sure if I’ll attempt another fondant creation, but we’ll see…

NOTEBOOK: Anne Frank Mural (Photo)

2011-03-24T08:22:00.001-04:00

I was walking out of the dentist yesterday and saw this, large, on a wall across the street. There was something bittersweet and beautiful about it, so I took a photo.

VISUAL ART: Cupcake (In Sketchbook Mobile)

2011-03-23T07:51:00.000-04:00

As I continue to play with Autodesk’s Sketchbook Mobile for iPod/iPhone, you’ll see more drawings from me. A cupcake!

RECIPE: Baking for Ra’s Birthday – Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread

2011-03-23T07:48:00.000-04:00

Raheem loves cinnamon. So when I came across this recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread from Joy the Baker, I knew he’d like it. When he saw it, he said he wanted it for breakfast on his birthday. We ended up celebrating the food portion of his birthday on Sunday, so Saturday night I prepped the bread, let it do its first rise and then popped it in the fridge until morning.. It was a bit messy, but it was definitely worth it!

This tastes like a cinnamon roll and French toast rolled into one. It pulls apart like monkey bread. It’s crispy on the edges and doughy in the middle. Mmmmmm….

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Makes: One 9×5x3-inch loaf

Recipe adapted from HungryGirlPorVida by Joy the Baker

For the dough:

2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 ounces unsalted butter (that’s half a stick)

1/3 cup whole milk

1/4 cup water

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the filling:

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

2 ounces unsalted butter, melted until browned (1/2 stick)

1. In a large mixing bowl (I used just the bowl of my stand mixer) whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Set aside.

2. Whisk together eggs and set aside.

3. In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted. Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract. Let mixture stand for a minute or two, or until the mixture registers 115 to 125 degrees F. I just waited the minute and it was fine.

4. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula. Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter. The eggs will feel soupy and it’ll seem like the dough and the eggs are never going to come together. Keep stirring. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes. The mixture will be sticky. That’s just right. It is sticky, but if you’re a raw dough eater, it’s also yummy.

5. Place the dough is a large, greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour. *The dough can be risen until doubled in size, then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning. If you’re using this method, just let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes before following the roll-out directions below. I used this method, because I was prepping the dough the night before. It worked just fine.

6. The next morning, I pulled out the dough, stuck it near the pre-heating oven and waited the 30-40 minutes. It got a little more rise into it. While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling. Set aside. Melt 2 ounces of butter until browned. Set aside. Grease and flour a 9×5x3-inch loaf pan. Set that aside too.

6. Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes. I waited longer than five minutes, since the dough seemed a little tough. I think I let it sit for about 15 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out. The dough should be 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long. If you can’t get the dough to 20-inches long… that’s okay. Just roll it as large as the dough will go. I thought it would never roll out and then I rolled it out larger than 12 by 20 inches. I don’t recommend this, as I think my pieces were a bit thin in the end.

7. Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough. Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture. It might seem like a lot of sugar. Seriously? Just go for it. It IS a lot of sugar. But you lose some in the next few steps, so don’t worry.

Browned butter all over my dough:

Covered in cinnamon sugar:

8. Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips. Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again. You’ll have six stacks of six squares. Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book. Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

See, stack like this (thanks to Ra who helped demonstrate):

The sugar lost in transit:

9. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown. The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw. A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.

10. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto a clean board. Place a cake stand or cake plate on top of the upside down loaf, and carefully invert so it’s right side up. Serve warm with coffee or tea.

RECIPELINK: Baking for Ra’s Birthday – Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

2011-03-22T08:20:00.001-04:00

Raheem loves chocolate and peanut butter, so he gets a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting on his birthday!

I found this Cocoa Buttermilk Birthday Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting at Meet Me in the Kitchen who saw it at Smells Like Home who got it from Slow Like Honey.

My plan was to half the recipe to make a smaller cake, since we weren’t really expecting a crowd. It worked out well, so it’s possible to half the recipe. I don’t have process pictures, since I was moving fast. In fact, I’ll let ya link through to find the recipe. A few tips, though:

Don’t over-bake the cake! Some cakes will suffer your forgetfulness—this one won’t. It wasn’t dry, exactly, but just not as moist as I would have liked.
Definitely add the melted bittersweet chocolate to the cake. It says that it’s optional, but I highly recommend it.
Don’t add too much more cream to the frosting than what is asked for.
If you’re using a food processor to mix the frosting, don’t let it run high and fast too long. I think my frosting separated a bit.

BEDROOM AS FOREST PROJECT: First Painting

2011-03-19T13:42:00.001-04:00

So, I finally buckled down and started painting the bedroom for its transformation into an indoor forest.

I painted the pipes that delicious chocolate brown, which turned out to be harder than I thought. Those pipes have seen several layers of paint in their years. In fact, I had to do a major wipe down to get all the dust cleaned up. Some hidden corners were impossible to clean or paint, so I decided that it wasn’t worth the effort.

I also started painting the ceiling. Of all the concepts for this project, I was most worried about the ceiling. It’s a dark, dark blue called Midnight Sky (from Behr) so I was concerned it would look “heavy” on the ceiling. I have to admit, it does have a heaviness to it—but I don’t mind it at all. The color sucks a lot of the light out of the bedroom at night (which is okay), but looks awesome in sunlight. When I woke up this morning (because I painted last night, until midnight-ish) and saw the color, I fell in love with it again.

The one catch? I don’t know what I was thinking, but I only got a quart of the Midnight Sky. The reason, in the pictures below, that the ceiling isn’t finishes is because of that. I definitely under-estimated the amount of paint it would take to cover the ceiling. I could about a third of the way through, with no trim, before the paint ran out. I’m disappointed, because I know I have to buy a gallon now, to finish it, and that’s not cheap. I’m using Behr Premium Plus and I’m looking at an additional 30 bucks, at least, to finish the ceiling.

Some shots of the ceiling with the brown pipes. The ceiling will have little white dots eventually, to simulate the night sky. The pipes will be wrapped with fake ivy/leaves/flowers to look more like tree branches.

To ease my disappointment with the ceiling, I decided to lay down the background underpainting for the forest mural. There are two parts to this process, which have to be done a day apart, at least, to let the first step dry. I started with the forest “ground”—a color I mixed up from Behr’s Jungle Trail and Glidden White/Tint Base. I had just enough to cover the space, which is good—there was no way I would be able to remix that color properly.

For the record, I would never paint a whole room this color, I don’t think. It has a hospital-esque look to it. For my purposes, as the forest floor, which will eventually have grass (most likely done with a sponge), trees, mushrooms, a pond, etc. painted on top of it, it works perfectly as the background layer. I was also pretty proud of that straight-ish line. In the next couple days I’m planning on doing the top half a much lighter green. Once that’s done, it’s game on for painting the mural. WOOT!

Dear Mom: Um, I know. Call me!

NOTEBOOK: My Favorite Anais Quotes

2011-03-18T08:02:00.000-04:00

I used these a long time ago, for a series of self-portraits. But they still ring true for me.

We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are.

Only the united beat of sex and heart together can create ecstasy.

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

I write emotional algebra.

Eroticism is one of the basic means of self-knowledge, as indispensible as poetry.

Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings.

There is not one big cosmic meaning for all, there is only the meaning we each give to our life, an individual meaning, an individual plot, like an individual novel, a book for each person.

I will not be just a tourist in the world of images, just watching images passing by which I cannot live in, make love to, possess as permanent sources of joy and ecstasy.

It's all right for a woman to be, above all, human. I am a woman first of all.

How wrong it is for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself.

I, with a deeper instinct, choose a man who compels my strength, who makes enormous demands on me, who does not doubt my courage or my toughness, who does not believe me naïve or innocent, who has the courage to treat me like a woman.

All quotes from Anais Nin

NOTEBOOK: The Secret Life of the American Teenager

2011-03-17T07:29:00.000-04:00

Netflix has sucked me into what I call “crappy telly:” The Secret Life of the American Teenager (warning, ad on start-up).

I call it my guilty pleasure, mostly because it’s funny and easy to watch when you’re doing other stuff. But since I’ve watched all five volumes available on Netflix (and, I guess, all the episodes up until now), I’m realizing some things.

First off, I can’t figure out why Molly Ringwald, Josie Bissett and Mayim Bialik are involved with it. I mean, is this show where aging stars go? I suppose you have to pay the bills somehow. At least they’re all pretty funny as the adults in the show.

Secondly, dear Goddess, I find Amy, the “pregnant girl” completely obnoxious. In fact, I would call her the b-word, if that sort of language was allowed on the show. I know she’s going through a lot, but she is impossibly spoiled and bratty. And why, oh, why doesn’t she EVER where a ponytail? In fact, why do all the girls always where their hair down? It’s high school, and fashion conscious or not, everybody needs a ponytail at least once in a while.

Ashley, her sister, is the most sane of all the females on the show—but looks at least Amy’s age, if not older. Her fashion sense is a little too sophisticated for a 13/14/15 year old.

I also can’t figure out why Adrian and her mom start out as the two “sluts”—I mean, really, you’re going to play up the stereotype of the over-sexed Latina? Although, thankfully, the rest of the adults start messing up their lives so much that you begin to forget that Adrian and her mom are anything but what goes for normal in this town.

And where is this town? It’s always sunny, we only see the “rough” part of town when Jack is assigned to mentoring a kid for community service and there are only enough minorities to raise the show to tokenism status, nowhere near diversity status.

Grace cracks me up, especially when she declares “My dad died because I had good sex!” That may be my favorite line out of the show.

I also find the endless amount of cheating tiresome. I hate that Adrian just lets Ricky keep cheating on her, that Grace forgives Jack for messing around with Madison, that Grace messes around with Jason, that even Ben, the “good guy,” cheats on Amy, that Jack can’t keep it in his pants.

This group of kids is the most spineless I’ve ever seen. Adrian vows a million times to not have sex with Ricky—and yet she keeps tumbling into bed with him. Grace vows she’ll stay a virgin until marriage and then sleeps with Jack. I mean, Jack? He’s the bumbling idiot football player if I ever saw one. Madison just does whatever with him—if she at least demonstrated an ounce of enjoyment it would make more sense.

Why is it that the most sane couple is Henry and Alice? Is this, yet again, stereotyping in action? You know—the Asian kids are the best at it?

Sometimes I wonder if the writers have decided that the whole show is a farce, but just aren’t that good at writing it. I mean, Glee is clearly satirical. All you need to do is hear Brittany talk once to realize that. Although, come to think about it, Santana plays the over-sexed Latina role in that show. Wow. Seriously, are all Hispanic teenage girls sluts on television? I clearly didn’t get that gene.

When you title a show The Secret Life of the American Teenager you expect something a bit more realistic, something that would elicit discussions between kids and parents. Honestly, Degrassi: The Next Generation is better for that than this show. And I don’t get why Skins on MTV is raising such a stink when Secret Life is on ABC Family. And ABC Family is not tricking anyone with their A new kind of family tagline. ABC is clearly just going for market share and money.

I asked the middle-schoolers I work with if they watch the show and one girl answers, “Oh, I hate that show. I’m pregnant, wah, wah, wah. I’d rather watch My Strange Addiction.” I almost died laughing internally. They should really make a tv show about my kids. That would be entertaining.

And yet, despite all these things, I still watched every episode and am already scheming how to keep up with it. Shrug. At least I’m watching it on Netflix and not aiding with advertising sales.

VISUAL ART: Blue In My Mind

2011-03-16T07:10:00.000-04:00

A mixture of watercolor, Photoshop and a self-taken portrait from a few years ago.

It’s one of the paths into my dreaming world…

LINKSHARE: From Time 3/14, Inception Analysis, iPod Apps and More

2011-03-15T07:51:00.000-04:00

From March 14, 2011 Time Magazine (images scanned from US print edition):

From Pop Chart

Caption: “One of the architecture entries in London’s Design Museum’s Brit Insurance Designs Awards (which are decided on March 15) is this installation created entirely out of tape. Even Charlotte never spun a web this sophisticated.”

Looks like the awards have already been given.

Design Museum Brit Insurance Design Awards

Hey, Flipboard won an award for interactivity!

I love the winning architecture piece of an open air library.

I don’t know why I find this so funny, but probably the Wonderland-esque illustrations helped.

Snooki in Wonderland e-Book

Teehee…skinny SpudHead! TimeHealth has the article

I just wonder if Rhymefest will win the aldermanic race…

Article from the Chicago Sun-Times

Article: Outside the Lines

Unfortunately, you can’t read this article online, but it’s a fantastic article about Thornton Dial’s retrospective at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

The microsite for the exhibition

Image gallery from the exhibition

More links:

iPod: Explor, a way around the App Store

Web 2.0: Memolane Launches – Seems like a great way to “see” your own social timeline

Movies: Really great analysis of Inception [via ScreenRant.com]

iPod: Loving the Pulse news reader

Web 2.0: I signed up and got an invite to Pinterest, which I heard about from my friend Karen

Throwback: I just logged back into my old Myspace and it has really changed.

VISUAL ART: Entering Pure Digital (Girl & Self Portrait)

2011-03-14T08:07:00.000-04:00

So I finally started using the Acase stylus Raheem bought me for Chrismas with Sketchbook Mobile for iPod/iPhone. Which means that the pieces below are entirely digital—no scanning, no editing in Photoshop. We’ll see how it goes.

Girl

Self portrait from photo

I used the photo above, that Raheem took in NYC, as the reference/tracing layer.

NOTEBOOK: Shopping Yesterday (Things I Liked)

2011-03-13T18:29:00.000-04:00

Just had to share the sun coming into my window this afternoon—spring is coming…

Ra and I went to Barnes & Noble yesterday, just to peruse to take a break from running errands.

Some things I liked or that caught my eye:

Left: I have a special place in my heart for the original 1982 animated film The Last Unicorn, so seeing the graphic novel version made me happy.

Right: The Love Goddess’ Cooking School looks like an interesting read. Must check out from library.

Left: This just seems interesting, for artwork that uses symbols and for writing magical-type fiction (click image for product). It was on special and I wish I had the cash for it, but that’s okay…

Right: Child of the Northern Spring is the Arthurian legend told from Guinevere’s perspective. The first in a series. Another one to check out from the library.

Moleskine continues to make things that I really want, like this Recipe Journal:

I always wander the journal section of Barnes and Noble and loved these.

I like the matching outside with inside pages thing going on in these three, plus I like that they’re softcover:

More journals I liked. The one on the right is gorgeous leather and blank pages.

Left: I am not the biggest fan of dream journals, because I keep a journal anyway and why wouldn’t I catalog my dreams there? But this Alice in Wonderland one is cute and has some great inside pages.

Right: I just liked the shiny red on white design of the Charles Dickens collection. It caught my eye as I was going down the aisle.

And when did Pillsbury make Almond Vanilla Buns? Must try…

BEDROOM AS FOREST PROJECT: Color Palette

2011-03-13T11:39:00.001-04:00

I went to Home Depot last night and started picking my colors for my Bedroom as Forest Project. Of course, once I scan it the colors change a bit, so you’re not getting a 100% accurate color palette, but you get the gist. Now I know the colors I need, aside from the gallon of white (for mixing) and the Rust-O-Leum Glow in the Dark Paint (for the fireflies and stars). Hmmm…and I’ll need a little black to make sure I can make gray. My plan is to purchase a quart of that dark green (Jungle Trail) in the palette and lighten it to the ground color, then, once that’s done, lighten it to the “sky” for the mural. It’s not really the sky, but the misty background of the forest.

I only bought the brown (Chocolate Coco) yesterday, to start small with painting the pipes as branches. And to preserve the budget. I ended up preferring the colors available from Behr, so now I’m going to pay a few extra bucks per container of paint, but Glidden was not up to snuff. Although that gallon of white will definitely be Glidden.

Although, the paint guy at Home Depot was super-helpful and reminded me of the $3 sample sizes Behr has, for those things that are more details (mushrooms, fireflies) and won’t require a ton of paint. He was really awesome and seemed interested in the project. I asked him all sorts of questions and he answered them all, including the ones about the glow in the dark paint (needs a few coats to actually work—which I figured). He said that he actually has a guy that comes in once a week looking for paint for murals. So I guess it’s not as weird as I thought.

It’s funny how a mural is such a different project then a regular painting (not that there’s much “regular” about a painting). I suppose that’s why it has a different name. Thankfully, my four projects with my kids (3 public murals, one large multiple canvas project) where we used wall paint (like I’m doing here) has helped me figure out a bunch of things.

I can’t believe I’m actually doing this, but I also can’t stop thinking about it!

Bedroom as Forest Project:

WATERCOLOR: Forest Mural Prototype – The mural going up on the wall, in watercolor

NOTEBOOK: IKEA and Fixing the Apartment – When I first start discussing this crazy bedroom as forest idea

WATERCOLOR: Forest Mural Prototype

2011-03-10T07:33:00.000-05:00

The plan is for this small watercolor to become the mural on my bedroom wall.

I’m pretty sure you can click to see it larger, if you’re on Sitara Online.

What the heck am I talking about? See this post.

RECIPE: Upside Down Bacon and Egg Biscuit

2011-03-09T19:52:00.001-05:00

For two people or one very hungry person.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Yes. I don’t have numbers on my oven dial. I tend to guess a bit.

Spray two ramekins with non-stick spray.

Chop three slices of bacon.

Cook them up, probably in a small pot.

While the bacon sizzles up and makes your mouth water, beat an egg with a 1/2 tablespoon of whole milk.

Pour that into a ramekin. And then do another egg with the 1/2 tablespoon of milk. Pour that into your other ramekin.

Mix one tablespoon of whole milk with 1/3 cup of Heart Healthy Bisquick, then dribble in water until you get a dough that is thick, but not dry. Like this:

Tip: I find that Heart Healthy Bisquick could always use a dash of salt. But that’s just me.

The bacon is probably ready by now and if not, go watch something on Youtube, perhaps.

Once the bacon is done, put half in one ramekin, half in the other.

Top each ramekin with half of the Bisquick mixture and pop into the oven for about 20 minutes.

Now, take a 1/4 cup of reduced fat mozzarella (I used Sargento) and top each biscuit with half the cheese.

Bake another 10 minutes or so.

Let cool a couple minutes, then pop it out. Now you have a biscuit on top of bacon and egg!

This is a calorie conscious meal, which is why I am so freaking exact about the ingredients.

Per biscuit

Calories: 219, Fat: 11g, Carbs: 16g, Protein: 16g

NOTEBOOK: IKEA and Fixing the Apartment

2011-03-08T07:23:00.001-05:00

In late November 2010, I ordered a custom door for my bedroom. I live in a basement apartment and pay a ridiculously all inclusive low price, so there are clearly compromises, including the Super Mario-esque pipes everywhere, the bizarre architecture, the oddness of the shower/bathtub (I think tall people would have trouble showering in it), the need for maintenance people and other fix-it people to pop in to fix something going on upstairs and the lack of a bedroom door.

The bedroom door issue wasn’t that big of a deal, until the Great Flea War of 2010 and the fact that I no longer want my cat to have access to my bedroom. The custom door arrived in early December 2010, and then just worked as a blocker, as I was waiting for a friend to help install it, who then never helped. This weekend, Raheem and I tackled the project and BAM. I now have a working bedroom door. Every time I open and close the door I get pretty excited. It’s so freaking easy. Trust me, after two and a half months of moving the door every time I wanted to get in my bedroom, this seems like a miracle.

Couple that with organizing all my writing and journals (that is only one pile of journals, to the left, that I sorted—in total I currently have 52 journals, some which weren’t exactly filled, so don’t be too impressed) and I have accomplished two large house projects recently. Which means that now I can start thinking of new projects!

And I did. I went to IKEA yesterday and bought that string of lights (the GLANSA) that I wanted and strung them around my bedroom, over the bed. I absolutely love it, BUT now I want to add more. I think some organza twisted in it (I found organza cheap online), to create a bit of a canopy would be good. And then my mind started racing.

How cool would it be to create a bit of an indoor forest in my bedroom? I already have pipes that, painted a dark brown, would emulate tree branches. Some fake leaves twisted around and strung around would create the forest canopy. I have a gigantic long wall in the bedroom that would probably look pretty awesome with a forest mural.

The inspiration is something like the Florence + The Machine video for Cosmic Love (be warned, ad on start-up). I don’t want a trillion hanging lightbulbs, but the forest + lights idea seems cool. Plus the organza + lights on her dress are the inspiration for the “canopy.”

The forest mural will probably have a Charles Vess touch to it, mostly because I love this Vess piece (yup, drawn for Sandman), called Companions to the Moon:

And I like this forest piece, too, which I found via Cool Showcase:

I realize that I’ll be doing a lot of repainting when I move, but since I’m not thinking of moving any time soon, I’ve decided that I want to make this apartment cooler than any other space I’ve ever rented. I’ve never really been compelled to make any space quite so personal, so if I go overboard, I suppose that would be why.

But, I think it would look pretty cool, personally. I’ll let you know if 1) I actually end up doing it and 2) how it looks.

Which brings me to my fantastic IKEA score of the day. I have been dying to have these LACK shelves for awhile. And yesterday I saw this on the display room floor:

Yes. Reduced from $20 to FIVE BUCKS! I HAD to have them. Of course, the color is not my top pick—it was the walnut brown color. But I decided that at 75% off, I would make it work. So I picked up two. One will go in the living room, above the couch, the other in my bedroom, above the dresser. I just have to find the studs. Which means I just have to figure out my stud finder tool thingy.

I think my house is pretty much an IKEA catalog shoot waiting to happen. Seriously. All my main pieces are IKEA.

VISUAL ART & RECIPE: White Chocolate Cranberry Muffins/Cake

2011-03-04T08:24:00.000-05:00

This particular recipe, when I made it and brought it in to work, got rave reviews. It’s an adaptation of Dorie Greenspan’s Allspice Crumb Muffins—I was looking for a basic muffin recipe, and, as I have already worshipped at the feet of Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours, I knew I needed a Dorie recipe. Since I wasn’t using the streusel topping I added more sugar to the batter, subtracted the allspice, pumped up the vanilla content and added in almond extract (I just love this stuff—it makes cake-type things taste cakier).

Since I was asked by several people at work to pass over the recipe, I decided to submit it to the agency newsletter—but I didn’t just want to send along text. I decided that Paraffin should illustrate the recipe, so I drew Paraffin with a muffin, outlined it in Staedlater brown pen, scanned it and colored it. I added the recipe text right along in there—so this has become a twofold creation: a new recipe and a new drawing.

Enjoy!

LINKSHARE: Read Library Books on i-Devices, Videos & Time Articles

2011-03-02T23:11:00.001-05:00

So, I’m currently reading a book on my iPod, that I checked out digitally from my library, with just my library card number. You use Overdrive (available on the App Store) and then search for your library. It’s amazing. The best part? When the book is “due,” it just disappears from your device. No fines!

Share this video with every girl you know. An amazing video that cuts to the quick about female body image in the media and how it damages the female psyche.

An Indian man quits his job to care for those no one is caring for. I love that he states that he feeds them, but also loves them, and does this all despite his communities value of not touching, helping or feeding these people.

This post on Not Martha makes me want these mini Lincoln Logs!

I must make these Nutella Chocolate Chip Brownies with Caramel Frosting from Georgiecakes.

Jake Evans covers Sonic the Comic 15 [via Covered].

Neil Gaiman works out to Dickens and goes to a roller derby bout.

Spring may be coming, but it’s still chilly enough that this winter holiday-esque post makes my mouth water, especially the raspberry truffle version, or maybe the one with Nutella: Our Best Bites – Gourmet Hot Chocolate.

From Time’s February 21, 2011 Issue

2045: Singularity [Cover story] – An interesting article about when, very soon, machines will be smarter than man and how it will enhance our lives. It makes me want to write a sci-fi short story.

The Groupon Clipper – The story behind Groupon.

NOTEBOOK: Snippets from Old Journals (Part 1)

2011-03-02T08:21:00.001-05:00

I’ve been archiving my old writing and journals, from way back (my first journal was written the summer of I was thirteen) to now. I found some little things I kinda liked…

No one left the door open

it just had no lock.

No one lost the love potion

it just never was in stock.

-February 21, 2004

A life defined by violence defines even love by violence.

-September 1, 2001

The very first time I drew/named understar productions, circa November 1998:

circles encircle, unable to tessellate, but can overlap

over and over into spirals, staircases up, down,

into the curve of bodies, the shape of wheels

of fortune and otherwise, into lenses of microscopes,

to see the little things, of telescopes to see

the big picture, of eyes, to see what is around

-August 2, 2005

A collage I made in high school referencing a Counting Crows song (my mom used to hate the mess I would make with all the magazines cut up on the floor):

I’m pretty serious about not utilizing any of this stuff for yourself, claiming it as yours, etc., as it is all mine, originally, and I’ll most likely be using it at some point.

NOTEBOOK: My Dream Haven Session (Video)

2011-03-01T21:27:00.001-05:00

Here are my two dreams that I spoke about in the Dream Haven booth at the Grove on December 9, 2010.

Click here to learn more about Dream Haven.

VISUAL ART: The Kitchen Dolls Eat Ice Cream

2011-02-27T20:21:00.000-05:00

The Kitchen Dolls have run off to make ice cream without Paraffin. Penciled, inked, scanned and colored in Photoshop.

NOTEBOOK: 10 Driving Pet Peeves

2011-02-27T14:00:00.009-05:00

I have recently found driving to be a bit of a pain. I think everyone is sick of February and are taking it out on others in different ways. Although some of the things in this list are the kinds of things that happen year-round.

I'm probably going to sound cranky. And, just so you know, I know people aren't going to change. I've just been experiencing a lot of these lately; makes me want to stay home.

1. People who don't get out of the way for ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, etc. flashing their sirens and lights. I mean, really. People wonder why response times are slow.

2. People who honk at you to take a right turn on red. Don't get me wrong. I take a right turn on red. But if you're behind me, you don't know what the traffic situation is--in other words, I can see the car speeding and you can't. I really dislike being honked at. Hey, if it's a green light, whatever. But the LIGHT IS RED.

3. People that insist on turning into your lane, cutting you off, when there is NO ONE behind you. Seriously, you couldn't wait until I passed by? Three seconds, tops.

4. People who run out into the street to cross. Holy cannoli, that scares the living crap out of me. I'm pedestrian-friendly, but running out in the street just freaks me out.

5. People who don't hold their little kids hand when crossing or who let their kids get way ahead or behind them. Dear Goddess. Please watch your children. Please, please, please.

5.5. A combination of 4 and 5 above--people with kids who run out in the street with them. Wait for the walk light!

6. The Tailgater. Seriously, I will probably slow down just to annoy you more. Especially if it's dark and the tailgater is an SUV, shining their headlights into my mirrors and making it hard for me to see.

7. Those super-bright headlights. I understand that they are useful up in the country, but in the city, could you tone them down a little?

8. People who don't put their headlights on in bad weather. I actually almost got into an accident because the weather was bad, I was switching lanes, and I couldn't see a car approaching because they had no lights on. I finally saw them and didn't switch lanes, but driving a car is dangerous enough. Give me a break.

9. People who drive super-fast in horrible weather. Okay, just a newsflash--it's snowing or raining buckets outside. You might want to, you know, drive cautiously.

10. Those people who cut you off, then the entire line of cars in front of you, just because wherever they have to be is clearly more important than anything you have to do. Then there's the inevitable red light you get stuck at because the a-hole cut everyone off.

NOTEBOOK: The Method Gun

2011-02-26T23:08:00.001-05:00

I just came home from watching The Method Gun at the Yale Repertory Theater. It was a limited run (four shows) with a company out of Austin, TX, called Rude Mechanicals (aka Rude Mechs) for a series called No Boundaries (a series of global performances).

My initial reaction? I loved it. After the standing ovation, I turned to Raheem and said, jumping up and down, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" See, this morning, I went over to the website and mentioned that the last show was tonight. Raheem asked me if I wanted to go--and I did, but wasn't sure about spending the money. But he finally said that he would go with me if I wanted, so we ordered tickets.

I'm on the fence, really, about telling too much about the show, because there are some wonderful surprises (and one hilarious/slightly terrifying one--depending on how you look at it) that I wouldn't want to ruin for anyone who would ever see the show.

One thing, though, that I don't think will ruin the moment, is the part at the beginning when we're asked to, by the actors, to write down the name of someone who taught us a lot, who was like a guru. They collected all the slips of paper and at the very end, after the show is over, each one of those names scrolls up a screen, prefaced by "Dedicated to..."

I wrote down Mrs. White, my high school English teacher, but before that she also taught ELP English (Extended Learning Program, which is basically TAG [Talented and Gifted]) when I was in fifth grade. She taught me how to write a real paper--you know, quoting from a book, analyzing text, the whole nine. And then I also took her AP English Lit and Language classes, reading everything from The Little Prince to Brave New World to Crime and Punishment and Les Miserables.

The Method Gun was about a company of actors involved in a nine year rehearsal process led by Stella Burden--but Stella has left the country mid-rehearsal, roughly a year or so before opening night. The piece uses all sorts of different techniques and scenes to tell the story. It's so hard to explain without spelling it out, but the final scene was mesmerizing. It was absolutely beautiful, using some amazing stage mechanics.

I remember working on many shows in my time, but the show that sticks with me the most is The Difference Between Running and Leaving, which I wrote and then directed with a cast of 9 actors, some with experience, some with none--and we discovered, two weeks before opening, that the play ran entirely too long and some scenes needed to be pared down. Those two months of rehearsal and three days of performance was my favorite time at Yale. Ensembles are crazy, mildly dysfunctional environments to work in--which I felt was captured so well in The Method Gun.

In fact, the whole reason I wanted to watch the show in the first place was because I am mildly obsessed with the behind-the-scenes rehearsal process of theater companies/ensembles. And here was a show that focused just on that!

It was also great that tonight's performance included a short chat with the company afterwards, which we stuck around for. I didn't ask any questions--there were enough students in the audience to ask all the questions I was curious about and sometimes it's just nice to sit back and listen at these sorts of things.

Throughout the show and the talkback, I felt the Theater Studies student in me wake up, take notice, look around shrewdly, finding the symbols and themes--how I always feel in the theater, watching a show. It felt good, to know that part of my brain is still alive, but most of all, it reminds me why I loved the theater in the first place, in my very first play in first grade.

It reminded me of so much and made me want to write another play. It was fantastic to see, for what the piece was, and for what it awakened in me.

VISUAL ART: Paraffin in a Cup Sculpture

2011-02-24T07:21:00.000-05:00

After having fun with Sculpey clay to make the Paraffin doll’s accessories, I decided to take on a new sculpture:

This sculpture is inspired by this illustration I did:

Note the influence:

Honestly, I definitely see the lack of congruency, and this sculpture almost ended up in the trash. But Raheem’s mom, Miss Jonnie, rescued her, in a way, pointing out that she just need a bit more hair and she’d be cute. I think she is cute, but I was very ambitious. Putting any shape into a cup is pretty difficult. But, this is only the beginning of creating sculptures of the Kitchen Dolls, so I think it was a pretty good test run.

VISUAL ART: Spark Visual Poem as Book

2011-02-23T09:08:00.000-05:00

While I tried and tried to find a way to embed this book into my blog, I’m not finding anything that works properly. So you get a couple preview images and a link to the book (you’ll find the visual poem book Spark here and also if you click the image above).

The story of this book: I wanted to create a book that illustrated a poem for Raheem on Valentine’s day. I almost went with a poem I already wrote (I Don’t Have a Man), but decided to write a new one instead. And originally I was going to draw illustrations for the book, but I got so involved with paper collage that I ended up going that route.

The poem is pretty simple, three verses, using ABAB CDCD EFEF as a rhyme scheme. But it I really love it and I loved making the book. In fact, the online version isn’t as cool as the analog version, but it’s the best way to share. Let me know what you think…

NOTEBOOK: Boston Pizza and Cannoli

2011-02-22T08:54:00.001-05:00

On Saturday, Raheem and I went to Boston with his mom and brother to visit with his Uncle Steve, who was in town visiting his wife, Sue, who is on a 3 month internship at America’s Test Kitchen.

We decided, on Sue’s recommendation, to hit up Pizzeria Regina in the North End.

Note: Google Maps is WRONG. The address is 11 Thacher Street, Boston, NOT 11 Thatcher Street. You will end up passing Roxbury and going into Dorchester.

Once we finally got there, there was definitely a line, which made me laugh a little, since it reminded me of Pepe’s Pizza here in New Haven. Thankfully, though, they were more than happy to let me use the bathroom, so I was not too bitter about the wait. They had heat lamps, too, which didn’t exactly make for a tropical setting, but did, if you stood up on the benches to get closer to the lamps, at least head off a little bit of the chill. Saturday was frigid and windy, so even the bit of heat we got off the lamps was helpful (and of course I forgot my extra layer of sweater, scarf and hat—go figure).

Here we are waiting outside, with Miss Jonnie trying to cover Jahaad, who doesn’t like pictures. I don’t know where Sue went…

Being a New Havener via PR, I was skeptical about what we would have for pizza. I mean, New Haven pizza is famous and fabulous (although I’m not a Pepe’s nor Sally’s fan—I prefer Zuppardi’s, Bar and Modern, in that order). And it’s not like Boston is known for pizza, right? But if we’re going to get Boston pizza, Pizzeria Regina was the best place to try—it’s in the North End (very Italian neighborhood) and highly ranked.

Once we got inside, we ordered two fantastic pies, both with ricotta cheese. Once had prosciutto, tomatoes and basil along with the ricotta cheese (see first pizza below). What fine prosciutto. Yum. I really enjoyed this one. We also got one with chicken, onions and ricotta, but the prosciutto one definitely beat that one out.

The crust was pretty good, too. Doughier than New Haven pizza, but I was totally fine with that. I liked the chew it had. It reminded me a little of New York pizza, actually, but please don’t tell any Bostonians that. It doesn’t trump Zuppardi’s in West Haven, but it was delicious. And I have to say that they used a ricotta that was a little sweet and had a nice texture—definitely not a grocery-store ricotta.

Our prosciutto, tomato, basil, ricotta, mozzarella pizza:

Raheem got a small margherita pizza all to himself, in an effort to be a little healthier:

Can I tell you my favorite part, though?

Cannoli!

I chatted a lot with Sue during our pizza lunch and I don’t know who brought it up first. I know I had seen a few bakeries/pastry shops on our way to the restaurant and I may have mentioned cannoli.

You have to understand this. I love cannoli. I don’t know why. I’m not Italian, did not grow up in an Italian neighborhood and had actually never had a cannoli until I moved to New Haven. But my first bite of a cannoli from Libby’s Pastry Shop on Wooster Street and I was sold. Cannoli are for really bad days or special occasions. They make me feel happy. My favorite at Libby’s is the Mezzo-Mezzo, where one end is dipped in chocolate and filled with vanilla cream and the other end is dipped in white chocolate and filled with chocolate cream. The best of both worlds (I do believe that mezzo-mezzo means half and half). I think it’s the cream. I love pastry filled with cream. =)

Sue told me that Mike’s Pastry was more famous than Maria’s, but that at Maria’s Pastry Shop, they fill the cannoli fresh to order. A quick Google Mapping on my phone (thankfully, Google knew how to find cannoli—if not, I may have lost my faith in the great G-Corp) and we found that Maria’s Pastry Shop was only a few blocks away (thank Goddess, because it was so cold that I don’t think anyone was walking very far, particularly Raheem, who was turning into a chocolate Popsicle). I skipped ahead once I spotted the shop, both because I was cold and super-excited. The first thing I noticed was the gorgeous marzipan fruits and vegetables in the case:

The shop is run by Maria (to the left) and she was awesome. After I inhaled my cannoli, which they were happy to custom fill (I got a shell with the ends dipped in chocolate and filled half with ricotta—so amazing and the way a cannoli should be filled—and half with chocolate cream—and that chocolate cream was dark and intense because Maria uses “the best cocoa”), we stopped and chatted with Maria for awhile. She answered our questions about the pastry and even agreed that some pastry is a pain in the neck to make at home. She was spunky and engaging and didn’t hesitate to tease me about my “fussy” cannoli and coffee order. She had a bumper sticker that read “Well-behaved women rarely make history” over the top of the kitchen entrance, which made me instantly like this place. Overall, I think I may have to visit Maria’s every time I’m in Boston.

And here, I present the best cannoli I have ever had:

Sorry, Libby, I did cheat on you and was happy—but there was a little guilt.

VISUAL ART: Ra’s Valentine

2011-02-13T12:17:00.001-05:00

I created hand-made valentine’s this year, but my crowning achievement was definitely the one I made for Raheem. I used different scrapbook papers, a basic white card, some laser-cut stickers and letter stamps with red ink. Shopping for this project was just as fun as making it. And it was very well received!

The front:

The inside:

VISUAL ART: Meet Paraffin (The Doll!)

2011-02-06T12:50:00.001-05:00

Well, I’ve been hard at work at making Paraffin into a real live doll. Who is Paraffin? Here’s her very first appearance and here’s the listing of all the other places she has shown up on the blog. She is one of the Kitchen Dolls and I tackled turning her into a real doll for the Create96 30 in 30 Challenge, where 30 artists had 30 days to each create 1 thing. You can follow Create96 on Twitter or check out the Create96 Tumblr (where they are posting creations made for the 30 in 30 challenge). You’ll find some of Raheem’s work there, too (or you can check out his blog: Eye of the Sun God).

Without further ado…here’s Paraffin! (Just about EVERYTHING is hand-sewn, by the way)

Tucked inside her bag were some treats (made out of Sculpey clay that I sculpted, then baked, so they would stay hard).

Here’s the detail of her apron: tucked inside her pockets are (left to right) a rolling pin and spatula (made out of Sculpey) and a copper saute pan I bought in the button section of Joann’s Fabrics.

Here’s an up-close of her rolling pin and spatula.

Here’s an up-close of her face.

Here’s her blouse, which is under the apron (which is removable)—note the PLEATS! I managed PLEATS!

Here’s an up-close of her jeans—note the stitching for the “zipper” (it actually closes with Velcro).

I got all the fabrics and supplies at Joann’s Fabrics.

NOTEBOOK: I Fell in Love Again

2010-11-11T07:58:00.001-05:00

I didn’t mean to fall in love with her! I was at Central Veterinary Hospital in New Haven and saw these three little kittens in the adoption cage:

They're so cute and hard to resist!

The first one in the video, Goodyear, looks very similar to my current kitty, Reina. I want Goodyear sooo bad, but I’ll have to wait for awhile before I bring a kitten into my life. These guys were found in tires, so apparently they have tire company names.

But they’re cute, right?

This one I dubbed Tommy (I don’t know his “real” name).

Don’t know this one’s name, but she liked my coat.

And there’s Goodyear, blurry, because she didn’t stay still long enough for a picture.

PHOTOS: My Fall Pumpkins

2010-11-07T08:13:00.001-05:00

My jack-o-lantern, after a few days—but I actually think this gives his face more personality.

I painted a bunch of pumpkins, and this was the night sky one (I made the mistake of bringing the pumpkins to my after school program as samples—note the little chips in the paint).

A cupcake pumpkin! (although I think that it also looks like a watermelon).

A candycane pumpkin.

A day time pumpkin to go with the night sky one.

Polka dot pumpkin!

RECIPE: Butternut Squash Soup

2010-10-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, I’ve made this recipe quite a few times and I’ve changed a lot of it.

Originally, I made it according to this recipe up at my old food blog, Rose’s Kitchen.

Yeah, that recipe is not how I’m making it today, three years later. So here’s the update!

Ingredients

Thyme leaves

Tarragon leaves

Poultry seasoning

White pepper

Nutmeg

Cinnamon

3 fair sized butternut squash (almost 9 pounds of squash!)

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter

1 1/2 large sweet onions

1 1/2 boxes of vegetable stock (I recommend the Kitchen Basics Vegetable Stock)

1 to 2 cups of light or heavy cream

Procedure

1. First, get the butternut squash in the oven to roast at 450 degrees. Halve, then quarter the squash, scoop out the seeds and lay them on baking sheets (covered in foil for easy cleaning). Sprinkle with salt, thyme leaves, tarragon leaves and poultry seasoning.

2. While the squash is roasting, get a big soup pot going on low heat (not a HUGE pot, but a fair-sized one). Drop the 4 tablespoons of butter in and let it start it’s slow melt.

3. Slice the onions thin and drop them in with the melting butter. You want the onions to s-l-o-w-l-y soften, as if you were making French Onion Soup. Leave the heat low, stir them every once in a while, let them turn to mush (45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours). I like adding the same spices from the squash into the onions, with a hair of salt.

The convenient thing about the steps above is that if you get both things going around the same time, it all works out timing-wise. Here you’ll have a pause where you can either chill out or vacuum profusely (that’s what I did).

4. Once the squash is done roasting (fork-tender into the thickest pieces), pull it from the oven and let it cool for a while (please do this—scooping super hot squash from it’s shells is NOT fun). Those onions are still going—no worries. They should be.

5. Once the squash has cooled, scrape all the squash “meat” that you can from their shells and put in a bowl.

6. Add the squash to the soup pot, stir a little, then dump in the veggie stock.

7. Now let that butternut squash, onion and stock combo simmer until the squash is just mush (um, that’s another hour—I never said this was a quick recipe!).

8. Turn off the pot and let it cool a little.

9. Find a big bowl and slowly dump the squash/onion/stock/herbs into it (do not burn your face!).

10. Now, food process the mixture in batches and add back to the pot (if you have an immersion blender, you could probably just do this in the pot).

11. Add white pepper to taste (it really makes for a sweet, then spicy, heat). I added about a teaspoon of cinnamon and half a teaspoon of nutmeg, but those are estimates. I just kept tasting until it was right.

12. Add the cream (again, this depends on the consistency you want—add more if you’d like) stirring to combine and let the soup simmer a bit more.

13. Ready to serve now!

This soup can be a bit thick for some people—I like it that way, so that you can dip bread into it. Thin it if you want, by either adding some of that 1/2 box of stock you have left over or adding more cream. I think that as a thick soup, it would also be an awesome pasta sauce for ravioli or over stir fry.

NOTEBOOK: Butternut Squash Soup and Bread

2010-10-25T09:23:00.001-04:00

It’s been a rough month here in Rose-Land. I’ve been fighting fleas (mostly gone, but still on the very cautious and vacuuming a lot phase), work has been hectic (although this week will be worse, I think—but we’re finally starting program!) and it’s just been a lot of exhaustion.

All of this busy-ness also means that I haven’t had much time to cook. While cooking is not exactly sitting on the couch and vegging to tv shows, it does relax me and make me feel accomplished. Last weekend, I my friend Jesse was over and I mentioned that I had seen butternut squash appearing in the grocery store. He called me up the next morning and said, “Now all I can think about is butternut squash soup!”

Add to that a delicious loaf of bread that my staff person, Kathryn, made (she food blogs, too, over at Ripe Plates) which inspired me to acquire and make the recipe to said delicious bread (which is from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day), plus some leftover Pleasant Sun cheese that had lived in my freezer for some time, but was now hanging out in my fridge for consumption at some point and I had a menu.

So last night, it was butternut squash soup with grilled cheese sandwiches on homemade bread, followed by a simple apple tart (I had apples left from my after school programs trip to Bishop’s Orchards). My friend Jesse was over, of course. The phone conversation the day before went like this:

Me: Hey, I’m making butternut squash soup tomorrow night. Do you want to come over around 7?

Jesse: Do teddy bears have cotton balls?

He loves my butternut squash soup. Apparently, this recipe is one that I’ve managed to really make spark. It was such a great evening, having him, his girlfriend (Michelle) and Raheem over to chow down. I even hunkered down and carved my sugar pumpkin (one of the kids on the trip to Bishop’s Orchards said he didn’t want it—so I gladly took it from him). Jesse, of course, had to get involved with his knife skills (I had to clean up the cuts, but it worked).

It was such an autumn evening and I needed the relaxation (especially after giving both cats precautionary flea baths, vacuuming the entire house again and doing laundry—actually, the awesome boyfriend helped a lot with laundry because he rocks).

Above? Those are the five containers of butternut squash soup left over, minus the HUGE serving I gave Jesse to take home and what we ate. I almost forgot to offer Michelle some to take home, but she was happy when I did (I quote, “I would LOVE to take some home!”). They each got hunks of bread to go with that. THREE loaves are now decimated down to one heel in a sandwich bag.

Sigh. What a good night.

The recipes will go up soon, too!

CARTOON: Miss Jonnie’s Tamales

2010-10-21T08:25:00.001-04:00

This is Raheem and me’s first collaboration. He drew the tamales on his iPad and I drew Miss Jonnie (his mom) in pencil, then inked, then scanned and colored in Photoshop, merging the two pieces. We did this for his mom’s birthday and gave it to her last night. She really liked it. She says Raheem and I make a great team (but we knew that!). So, welcome Miss Jonnie, to the Kitchen Dolls collection!

View the entire Kitchen Dolls collection (larger sizes!).

Raheem’s blog is Eye of the Sun God. You can check our his Flickr page, too, which has more of his amazing iPad work!

NOTEBOOK: God’s Presents

2010-10-20T09:01:00.001-04:00

This is an old poem, written by Blanche Bridge (who is apparently Blind Melon’s lead singer Shannon Hoon’s great great grandmother) on February 11, 1884. I originally heard it on Blind Melon’s album Soup, on their track Car Seat (God’s Presents), where it is recited, not sung. The song was recorded in 1995. I loved this album and played it an awful lot in high school.

I just found the poem on an old journal (I’m in the midst of archiving all my writing—16 years of it!) and I wanted to share. It’s such a great expression of faith. I may not be Christian, but the sentiment is universal.

God’s Presents

If my path be smooth or rugged

If with thorns or roses strewn

Where I go the Father seeith

And He will leave me not alone.

If I take the wings of morning

Far within the silent sea

Even there His hand will lead me

Even there my God will be.

Though the gloom of this night be round me

Though I cannot see my way

Yet the Lord will see and guide me

Because unto Him the night is day.

If my thoughts are good or evil

Set me think to hide them not

There is one above all seeing

And he beholdth every thought.

And ever more my eyes beholds me

And all my ways to Him are known

And His loving arms enfolds me

He will leave me not alone.

-Blanche Bridge, February 11, 1884

LINKSHARE: Some Art, Autumn Photos and More

2010-10-18T08:05:00.001-04:00

I love this image of, what I think is, Mother Nature (the one on the left—warning, not safe for work or children). I found it via my Google Reader feed from id-iomatics, a Coventry-based artist, who calls himself Astral Gypsy.

A very timely and useful article on How to Take Great Autumn Photos [via Photography Blog].

And an Autumn Tree Vector Graphic from DryIcons.

How to make homemade Italian sausage from Farmgirl Fare. Just looking at the photos makes me salivate.

Chocolate covered bacon!

LINKSHARE: Assorted

2010-10-14T09:22:00.000-04:00

This play The Method Piece, part of the No Boundaries Series at the Yale Rep, looks really interesting. I have to remember this for February.

Banksy does the Simpsons title screen [via Gizmodo]—and here’s his website. I love his philosophy, love that he’s a graf artist.

Steampunk Iron Man!

Typewriter keyboard you can actually hook up to your computer.

Americans work too much—really? I didn’t know. I’d love a 2 hour lunch to eat and nap.

I really love this polar bear and bird water color from Geninne’s Art Blog.

Mmmmm…cannoli is featured on meat sections. I love these doodles.

Very clever pop up gift wrapping from not martha.

In September, Serious Eats did a Connecticut hot dog tour: Blackie’s Hot Dog (Cheshire, CT), Capitol Lunch (New Britain, CT) and Super Duper Weenie (Fairfield, CT). It’s a shame the Yankee Doodle is closed—their Pig in a Blanket Hot Dog (hot dog slit, stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon and grilled on that deliciously greasy flat top) would definitely make the list.

PHOTOS: Autumn is Crawling In

2010-10-13T20:32:00.001-04:00

The leaves are turning dramatically. I love the fire in the trees.

(Above: Lexington Avenue)

(Above: South Wallace Street)

POEM: I Don’t Have a Man

2010-10-09T07:06:00.000-04:00

I Don't Have a Man

I don't have a man,
I have a stone,
strong as a cliff face
and easy to climb,
warm to lie on,
beneath the sunshine.

I don't have a man,
I have a fire,
warming my skin,
a bonfire bright
on a sandy beach,
glowing at night.

I don't have a man,
I have a river,
it flows around me,
trickles down my arms,
and my tears wash
away and are gone.

I don't have a man,
I have a wind,
a zephyr gust on
open blue skies,
a low whisper before
I open my eyes.

I don't have a man,
I have a tree,
protective green-leafed
branches overhead,
sturdy oak body
beneath me in bed.

NOTEBOOK: 20 Things I Learned This Weekend (Mom Visit + Buffalo)

2010-10-05T23:42:00.000-04:00

My mom visited this weekend (Thursday night to Tuesday morning) and the days included finding a new bed for me, bringing my old bed and other things to my sister's in Buffalo and doing a LOT of cleaning.

Some things I learned...

1. Moving always takes longer than you think.

2. Buffalo has good food (breakfast at Mythos and a light dinner at The Spot were awesome) besides the classic Buffalo wings.

3. Blood is always thicker than water.

4. The I-84, I-86 and I-81 do not have decent service areas. Bathrooms on the side of the road are a welcome relief, but there is nothing like the glorious service areas (with bathrooms AND food) we found on the I-90. I never thought I would miss the NJ Turnpike.

5. Assembling IKEA furniture, particularly the small bits (like the Laver Chair and the Prant Box) are hazardous. My mom busted two thumbs and I got a sore cheek (like an internal bruise?).

6. Storm doors are really useful when you buy a queen-sized mattress without measuring the stairway it has to go down.

7. IKEA can and has discontinued that perfect color item and replace it with baby pink or black version. You will find a way to make it work, because IKEA just keeps trumping Walmart with prices.

8. Sometimes a crackpot idea is actually the right thing to do, although enlisting the help of others to pull it off is usually a good thing.

9. I can actually drive 5 1/2 hours on four hours of sleep, but it's not really a good idea.

10. I own way more than I need.

11. Mommies can fix just about anything.

12. IKEA food is actually really good.

13. It was a really good idea to get internet/data on my phone, especially when dealing with directions. Although sometimes Google Maps just thinks you want to take a jillion rights and lefts.

14. There is not a barista or restaurant that can make coffee the way my mom likes it.

15. Once you start organizing your house, you never really stop.

16. My boyfriend, Raheem, rocks. He is amazing and strong and patient and considerate. I knew this, actually, but this past week and weekend have just confirmed it.

17. My mom is a rockstar superhero goddess angel. I am the most blessed person in the world for having come from her womb.

18. Buffalo has bohemian, artsy and yuppie areas. It is NOT a tiny town. It even has a NHL hockey team, the Buffalo Sabers. Oh, and the correct term is Buffalonians.

19. It's okay to put Reina (my cat) and Cosita (my sister's cat that I'm watching) in their kennels for a few hours.

20. I really have to make sure I sleep enough.

POEM: Look Like Lava

2010-10-02T07:02:00.000-04:00

Look Like Lava

Sunday evening rolls in, a fog stretching slowly
across a terrain of rest after action, rest before Monday.
You stand in my kitchen; I slip my arms around you,
relieved, grateful for some slow moments
as the sun slips down, and away, Helios retreating.
I lean my head against your solid-earth chest,
then tip my face up to meet your gaze.
Your liquid brown eyes have a look like lava
running down my body like a volcano’s mountain,
smoldering into my eyes, reaching in and down
into my heart, which grows hot, then pumping
burning blood through my chest and arms and legs
melting me into magma, my spirit rising like steam.
It’s powerful and magic, the way your eyes
hold and send emotion--you couldn’t hide it if you tried.
Pure and deep and thick; I am overwhelmed and
I cannot look too long, for I feel as though I am
too close to a bonfire where my mistakes and
imperfections are smoke, disintegrating into a starry sky
and I am re-formed, like obsidian, into your image of me.

(c) understar productions and Rosana Garcia

SKETCHBOOK: Contemplation Under Mushroom

2010-10-01T06:42:00.000-04:00

An old sketch that I inked. Either a very small person or a very large mushroom—contemplation amongst fungi.

WATERCOLOR: Heart Connections

2010-09-30T08:35:00.000-04:00

This one is for my mom, in honor of her arrival for a weekend visit today. That’s here in the middle and the six of us (yup, I’m number 2 of 6) surrounding her.

I feel so-so about this piece. Some colors were just right, others stumped me. I like the way the six kids and my mom came out, though, and this one was more about pushing out a “message” or “story” in the piece.

The message? My mom is amazingly connected to all of her children, her heart fills with us. =)

SKETCHBOOK: Jesse’s World

2010-09-29T06:39:00.000-04:00

Several months ago, Raheem and I were hanging out with my friend Jesse and I was sketching. “Tell me what to draw,” I told Jesse. So he said to draw a singing octopus, a surfing penguin and a dancing hippo with someone dangling a Twinkie and a giraffe. By the way, that’s the cow that jumped over the moon. =)

I think I will color this at some point.

POEM: Thunder Crash

2010-09-28T08:32:00.000-04:00

I can feel the electricity rippling through the air
As summer nears its close, the season of fire flares
Into brightness and round orange moons
Autumn brings the season of water to calm the blaze.
The earth always moves in power.

WATERCOLOR: Bright Fantasy

2010-09-27T06:38:00.000-04:00

Yet another old watercolor. Yet again, a fantasy world or brightness and large cupcake-streetlights.

I really love this one, just because I had so much fun with it. Watercolor and a little acrylic.

POEM: Dual

2010-09-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

Dual

I want the exact physics of my fingers tracing

The delicious curve of your back, like a bowl

Filled with warm chocolate cake and raspberry jam.

You are the missing variable in all my equations,

The nitro to my glycerin, the pull to my push,

You turn my potential energy into beautiful kinetic.

You are the superior male, supreme in body,

Majestic in soul, full in heart, intelligent in mind,

The reason women remember the goddess within.

Like magic spell, like a fairytale, like songs

Long lost of meaning, like stories told round

Ancient hearths, you burn within me.

That is the color and spark in my eye--

You in your terrestrial divinity, like an angel,

Surrounded by a ring of love, your bright halo.

You are my brilliant sun, and a brilliant son,

Your rays of light warm my skin, feed

Me like a budding plant rising from the ground.

Your body is like a rainfall that nourishes

The desert of my soul, every caress from you

is an oasis in the Sahara, a flame in the Arctic.

The Greeks knew you in all your forms:

Strong like Atlas, passionate like Zeus,

Full of fire like Ares, creative like Apollo.

You are why stars supernova, drift as atoms,

Then are pulled into a black hole, light swirling.

You are half the power of the Big Bang.

You are my twin energy, the god to my goddess,

Your body is my altar and mine is yours;

Twining with you is my worship to the universe.

VISUAL ART: Happy Coffee Swim

2010-09-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

This one is for my mom.

Translation: “Coffee makes me happy.”

Sketched, inked, sat around in my portfolio for awhile, got scanned, colored and manipulated/edited in Photoshop 7. The pink gingham is just a fabric snapshot from the web, the coffee in the bottom panel is from one of my photographs.

WATERCOLOR: Living in Bright Trees

2010-09-23T06:34:00.000-04:00

Another old watercolor, depicting a fantasy world where small people live amongst the trees.

Influenced by Super Mario Worlds.

VISUAL ART: Welcoming Autumn

2010-09-22T23:09:00.001-04:00

And so goes summer, so enters autumn, and the bounty of the Earth is given up to us through the Harvest.

Sketch, watercolor, editing and composition in Photoshop 7.

WATERCOLOR: The Universe Knows

2010-09-22T06:31:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I think I have a handle on the world, but circumstances always show me that I am always learning, that I must always learn, to survive, to grow, to be better.

Haiku and watercolor.

VISUAL ART: Positive Community Mural

2010-09-21T08:32:00.000-04:00

This is public art work #4 for my youth program.

This is hanging in the downstairs Community Room at the Wilson Library, a branch of the New Haven Free Public Library, at 303 Washington Ave, New Haven, CT.

It was part of a service project this summer, part of Learn and Serve America and funded through the Innovation Center.

The youth of the program helped design, sketch and paint this over the course of many days. I’m honored to work with such a fantastic group of young people and to help them in their creation of this mural.

WATERCOLOR: Toxic Trail

2010-09-20T06:27:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, an old friend passed away from the effects of drugs, from his choice to be a part of that life.

This is my memoriam for him, written in haiku and painted in watercolor.

Rest in peace.

WATERCOLOR: Elemental Correspondences

2010-09-19T06:23:00.000-04:00

An early watercolor from several months ago. It’s a depiction of the elemental correspondences.

Fire is associated with the suit of wands in the Tarot and the compass point south. Its old symbol is a triangle, point up.

Water is associated with the suit of cups in the Tarot and the compass point west. Its old symbol is a triangle, point up, with a horizontal line through it.

Air is associated with the suit of swords in the Tarot and the compass point east. Its old symbol is a triangle, point down.

Earth is associated with the suit of pentacles in the Tarot and the compass point north. Its old symbol is a triangle, point down, with a horizontal line through it.

WATERCOLOR: Summer Fire

2010-09-17T06:16:00.001-04:00

Not my favorite watercolor, but as summer slips away, my tribute to the season of fire, warmth and ice cream.

Watercolor and acrylic.

RECIPE: Fannie Farmer Baking Powder Biscuits

2010-09-12T08:27:00.001-04:00

The Fannie Farmer Cookbook is my standard reference cookbook. It’s the one I grew up on and the one that I turn to when I don’t know how to handle some kind of food.

These baking powder biscuits are a recipe I’ve been using since I was 11 or 12—no need to use yeast for a bread, but with a great texture. We ate this with chicken and potatoes dinners, but as you see above, they’re also great for breakfast and breakfast sandwiches.

Baking Powder Biscuits from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook

Ingredients

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon of sugar (2 for a slightly sweeter biscuit)

1/2 cup of vegetable shortening (or 1 stick of butter)

2/3 cups of milk (or 1 cup milk for drop biscuits)

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Grease two 8-inch cake pans.

2. Put the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar in a bowl.

3. Cut the shortening (or butter) into the flour with two knives or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. It took me a bit to figure out what this meant as a young one, but basically, you want to integrate the fat until you’ve coated it with flour in little bits. I find that doing this with my hands gives it a great texture.

4. Add the milk all at once and stir just until the dough forms a ball around the fork.

5. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead 14 times (this is so you get the flaky layers). Pat until 1/2 inch thick. Cut into rounds with a 2-inch cookie cutter (or biscuit cutter).

6. Place touching each other in the cake pans and bake for 15-20 minutes.

For drop biscuits: Instead of kneading, shaping and cutting, just drop by teaspoonfuls onto a butter baking sheet (or make larger for larger biscuits). This is a great shortcut version that tastes really good.

For buttermilk biscuits: Use 2/3 cup buttermilk instead of sweet milk (that’s regular milk) and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, cutting the amount of baking powder in half, to 2 teaspoons.

QUOTES: Minor Demons (from The Gates)

2010-09-10T08:05:00.000-04:00

The title “Scourge of Five Deities,” which Nurd had come up with all by himself, was technically true: Nurd had been something of a bother to five different demonic entities, but they were relatively minor ones: Schwell, the Demon of Uncomfortable Shoes; Ick, the Demon of Unpleasant Things Discovered in Plug Holes During Cleaning; Graham, the Demon of Stale Biscuits and Crackers; Mavis, the Demon of Inappropriate Names for Men; and last, and quite possibly least, Erics’, the Demon of Bad Punctuation.

From The Gates by John Connolly

NOT-SO-RECENT READ: Children’s Books I Loved

2010-09-09T22:45:00.001-04:00

This may only be part 1 of a longer list, but I was thinking about books I loved as a kid. I didn’t stay in the picture book phase for a very long time (please blame this on my father, who stuck chapter books in my hand at age 6), but I do have some I remember my mom reading to me (and falling asleep on in the middle of the best part!) that make me think warm, happy thoughts.

I think I just love the reassuring sense I would get from The Runaway Bunny:

And I loved this illustration from it (funny that I would actually find it online):

I didn’t know for the longest time that Maurice Sendak did Chicken Soup with Rice, but it’s one of the few rhyming books I liked:

I’ve been thinking of this book a lot, since I’ve been on a toast and raspberry preserves kick. Every time I make this snack for myself, I giggle and think, Bread and Jam for Frances:

I loved the Bearenstein Bears books as a kid, but The Bearenstein Bears Get Stage Fright was one of my favorites, perhaps because my mom made costumes and I acted in plays:

Corduroy is one of my favorites, too. I think I really loved the laundromat (I had never seen one as a little kid) and I loved the little girl:

RECENT READ: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

2010-09-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

On my six days off (which included the three day weekend), one of the days I hit the library to pick up new books. My library has a new “Recommendations” section, which takes staff picks and patron suggestions and puts them on one shelf. I had see The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan there for some time, so I checked out the suggester’s comments. Turns out Sunnie, the Young Adult Librarian, had recommended it. Sunnie and I have very similar taste—we’re both waiting for Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins to get in the library (it’s already out in bookstores, but I’m trying not to buy books if I know the library has my back).

So I picked it up and stuck in in my pile of books to check out.

I ran through it in about two or three days and I liked it, mostly. It’s about Mary, who lives in a village with a fence around it to protect the population from the Unconsecrated—who are actually zombies. It’s a mix between The Giver by Lois Lowry, Resident Evil video games and M. Night Shymalan’s The Village (which I actually really loved, M. Night naysayers aside). There’s the post-apocalyptic angle, where the villagers are the only people left after the Return (when everyone started turning into zombies and the world was over-run with these creatures) and there’s Mary, who isn’t satisfied with the explanations of the Sisterhood (the ruling religious order).

The book moves quickly—bad stuff starts happening right away (give it like five to ten pages and you’ll see). Since Mary is the narrator and a teenager of marrying age in the village, when get lots of angst and introspection, which is mostly that familiar coming-of-age type of stuff, if, you know, we came of age when breeding was really important and we lived in a village surrounded by zombies. I like the mix of horror and self-discovery. There’s a love story, of course, but it doesn’t overwhelm the plot. Mary asks a lot of very difficult questions, so she gets lots of very difficult answers. Overall, she’s a very honest person, turning that honesty on the entire world—her village, the mystery of the zombies, her friends and herself.

I’m not completely satisfied with the ending, but apparently this is just the first book in a planned trilogy (Book 2: The Dead-Tossed Waves and an un-named third book). Seems like this book is in the vein of “strong girls living in sci-fi/fantasy circumstances” and I’m okay with strong girl and women characters (this categorization does not include Isabella Swan—she is not a very good role model at all). Overall, a good read, particularly if you like a little horror with your growing up.

Side Note: Turns out The Forest of Hands and Teeth might be a movie (perhaps starring Kristen Stewart—sigh—but she does look a bit like the girl on the cover). I don’t know if I want to jump up and see it (especially if Ms. Stewart is involved), although the book was good. Interesting.

NOTEBOOK: Potty Humor

2010-09-08T08:09:00.000-04:00

‘Nuff said. =)

Don’t know why someone didn’t rethink the marketing on this one.

CARTOON: Chocolate Cake

2010-09-07T08:43:00.000-04:00

The Kitchen Dolls have snuck into the bakery and are enjoying the chocolate cake!

Right to left: Nutmeg, Paraffin, Tartine, Clueless Blue

Pencil drawn, inked with pen, then scanned, colored in Photoshop 7, then a bit of playing around with the background in Photoshop 7.

(You know the drill, right? Don’t steal my stuff!)

NOTEBOOK: Hanging Out at Old Grove Park

2010-09-06T10:42:00.001-04:00

Two years ago I moved out to West Haven—I picked this basement apartment because it was cheap and right in the heart of downtown. Yes, the basement factor can be a pain (like when the upstairs neighbors don’t use their shower curtains and I get water running into my bathroom or when the handymen have to come into my place to turn off water valves), but I love being close to the West Haven Green and to the beaches.

Raheem and I took advantage of the beach and the park yesterday, grabbing an early dinner of sandwiches and setting up a picnic in the park before a walk along the beach. And while I love the Elm City deep in my bones and I love serving the youth and families through my job, I do love my new neighborhood. It was so relaxing to be reading and lying in the sun with Raheem and then cuddling up with him on a walk.

Here’s a peek:

Old Grove Park—through the trees is the beach:

Raheem shot this one of me in my sleepiness state:

Raheem was drawing a still life on his iPad—check it out here (it’s really gorgeous).

Walking along the boardwalk:

Kids flying kites:

PHOTO: Neil Gaiman Shelf

2010-09-04T12:36:00.000-04:00

My Neil Gaiman shelf, featuring different stuff he’s written and Coraline. She’s annoyed that I didn’t let her fix her hair before the shot. =)

NOTEBOOK: Something Like a Regular Friday Night

2010-09-04T00:05:00.001-04:00

I was off work today, but had a 1pm freelance meeting, so I went and picked up Raheem from work, just to make his Friday afternoon easier (it looked like rain). I didn’t have softball tonight (holiday weekend), so we were FREE for three days.

We went to his place, hung out a while, then headed out to Chick’s, a drive-in spot with lots of seafood across from the West Haven Beach. The footlong lobster roll rocked; the clam strips were good, too. My tummy was very happy.

[Above: This is so not my photo; it’s from Waterbury Foodies’ entry on Chick’s.]

Ra and I decided to pick up bread pudding from Georgie’s Diner for dessert, but from there, we headed out to the mall just to get out and about. We’ve both been spending a lot of time watching tv and relaxing, so it felt good to get out.

I was using my Palm Pre’s camera at the mall and I really like it. Not to mention it’s easy enough to hook up to my computer and download the photos—definitely a plus.

I have to say, I normally like H&M’s clothes—Raheem and I went in there for some window shopping (well, actually, Ra did buy some stuff). But this leopard-print sweater? Yech. I prefer their professional work type clothes over their casual wear, for sure.

Raheem playing with his future phone. =)

I spy—CHURROS! (Which you actually can’t see in this photo…)

Raheem modeling the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles backpack at Hot Topic. Yes, yes, I made him do it.

Our last stop is always Borders and I spotted Charles Vess’ Drawing Down the Moon (a collection of his artwork). I sat down and paged through the whole thing—gorgeous. It starts with his early work and keeps on going. Definitely goes on the “must own someday” list.

Just as it was about time to go, I saw this, The Night Bookmobile, a graphic novel by Audrey Niffenegger, who wrote The Time Traveler’s Wife. When I have time I want to check it out.

And then, of course, I spied all sorts of Scott Pilgrim stuff.

PHOTO: Intellectual Cat

2010-09-03T12:26:00.001-04:00

Cosita (my sister and brother-in-law’s cat that is staying with me) decided that this empty cube was her new hangout spot yesterday. Perhaps she wanted to read the books or pay my bills (that would be awesome!).

LINKSHARE: Sci Fi TV, American Gods, Crazy Firefighters, Neil Gaiman

2010-09-01T11:40:00.000-04:00

I've been watching a lot of television lately, completely behind schedule. I usually wait until seasons are over until I start picking up on stuff--sometimes that's intentional and sometimes I don't realize what I'm missing and sometimes the shows air on stations that I don't have on my cheap-o cable plan.

I started watching Roswell when it first aired on the WB (wow...that doesn't even exist anymore) my freshman year of college (this is also when I was glued to Gilmore Girls). I don't think I ever finished the series, so I'm currently watching Roswell's Season 3, via Netflix, either on my computer or on the newly released Netflix iPod app. Sweet deal--I can watch TV curled up in bed.

Some other series I'm currently watching:

Rescue Me - Yeah, this rocks my socks off. Love Denis Leary as Tommy Gavin. Raheem and I are watching this together and we're on Season 3. This series reminds me of a friend now gone, but I see why he liked it so much (said friend was a firefighter, too).

Pretty Little Liars (annoying video on load) - Oh, I know, it's horrible. My sister Ile told me it's a cheap-o version of Gossip Girl. But it's like those fluffy chick-lit books that are fun to read when you can't think too hard.

The Gates - This one is losing me a bit, but I'm persisting. It's no Buffy, that's for sure. Although I'm eying the book at the library closely--I have a feeling it's probably better. I'm not sure that the book has anything to do with the series, but it looks interesting.

Rookie Blue - Oh, shush. This is good to watch while Raheem and I are drawing or doing other art stuff. Although I have absolutely no idea what McNally sees in Callahan. And Swarek needs to stop lusting after his rookie. Definitely more soap opera than Law and Order, but again, fluffy recreational TV.

Dexter - Ah, season 4 is soooo very good.

On completely different subjects:

This slightly mad woman, Marisa, is creating a new piece of clothing from something she bought for $1 for 365 days. Some I like, some I'm kinda "meh" on, but overall, a very interesting concept. It would be cool if the Goodwill stores around here did something like this on their website. Just saying...

25 years old or younger? Make art to save art at Do Something.org. Plus, win cool prizes for yourself and your school.

Check out this mixtape from Ra's friend, Howard--aka HiDefinition. Check out Available in HD: 20/20 Vision here.

If you know me at all, you might know that one of my favorite authors is Neil Gaiman. One of my favorite books by him is American Gods. Actually, it's one of my favorite books of all time, ranking up there with Orson Scot Card's Ender's Game (which has held in my top five list since I read it when I was ten and in fifth grade). In American Gods, one of the settings for a fantastic scene is House on the Rock, a museum of bizarre-ness in Wisconsin. Yes, this is a real place.

This year (and I've known about this for months, but it just seems so implausible to be able to go...), they're planning a Halloween-time celebration of American Gods at House on the Rock (Neil will be there) and now I'm wondering why I'm not going...maybe this is silly, but when I get home I'm going to play with my budget sheet and see if I can disappear for a few days at the end of October to Wisconsin. Do I know people there? Ah, I might!

But if I go, what would I wear to the costume party?

Perhaps I need to read the book again, now nicely and neatly on my "Neil Gaiman Shelf" of my new crazy huge IKEA shelf in the living room. See?

I'm leaving you with a direct cut and paste from Neil Gaiman's blog, just because these two fan letters were incredibly interesting. You can read the whole blog post by clicking here. And you should really just follow Neil Gaiman on Twitter or subscribe to his blog. He's awesome.

Neil,
I am preparing to have about 12 super reluctant Jr High boys listen to a CD of the Graveyard Book, as they follow along in their books. I haven't been able to find any lesson plans on this book. Will you please take a minute to tell us a little about the background of this book, and maybe some additional graveyard ideas you left out. We are pretty excited to get started.
Thanks, Dianne the Librarian

I asked Elyse Marshall from Harper Childrens, and she said:

Here is a link to our reading guide: http://files.harpercollins.com/PDF/ReadingGuides/0060530928.pdf It has excellent discussion questions and extension activities – perfectly suitable for teachers. The guide was written by a middle school teacher with this audience in mind, actually.

Also look at the videos on Mousecircus.com, at http://mousecircus.com/videotour.aspx. In addition to the videos of me reading chapters, there are also edited highlights of the Q&As from the tour, in which many questions are answered.
...

Dear Neil,

I wrote a piano suite based on various tales from Fragile Things. You can hear it here:
http://www.tide-pool.ca/fractal/compositions/Thor_Kell_-_Fragile_Things.mp3.

It was played by my friend Jillian Hanks, who is fantastic. There fifteen (very) short movements:

I: These People Ought To Know Who We Are, And Tell That We Were Here
II: Mapmaker
III: Inventing Aladin
IV: A Study In Emerald
V: Closing Time
VI: Locks
VII: Instructions
VIII: Harlequin Valentine
IX: The Problem Of Susan
X: The Day The Saucers Came
XI: Pages From A Journal
XII: October In The Chair
XIII: Other People
XIV: How To Talk To Girls At Parties
XV: Sunbird

I hope you like it, and thank you for all the stories.

Best,
Thor

That was beautiful! Thank you.

This post turned out way longer than I meant to...

CARTOON: Paraffin Rips Her Seam

2010-08-25T08:34:00.000-04:00

A new Kitchen Dolls piece, where Paraffin has lost her stuffing. Must have been a tough French recipe.

Pencil drawn, hand inked, scanned and colored in Photoshop 7.

WATERCOLOR: Summer Girl

2010-08-24T08:29:00.001-04:00

This piece didn’t scan as well as I would have liked, but it’s another watercolor + white acrylic ink piece.

NOTEBOOK: My Art Space

2010-08-22T09:28:00.001-04:00

Been hard at work in multiple media and wanted to share my desk—giving peeks of upcoming pieces:

WATERCOLOR: Winter Earth

2010-08-19T20:12:00.000-04:00

Another elemental correspondence piece, done in this new watercolor + white acrylic ink, fine-tuned in Photoshop 7. Sigh, I suppose winter will come at some point.

RECIPE: Fiddlehead Quiche

2010-08-19T07:40:00.000-04:00

This recipe is from Rose’s Kitchen, my cooking blog before I consolidated everything here. Fiddlehead are young ferns and are probably a Maine thing—you could use broccoli instead, but if you get your hands on fiddlehead, it’s delicious.

I made this dish in Northern Maine, where fiddlehead were all over the place. [A friend] requested this, as he didn't know how to make quiche and wanted to see how it was done.

The trick to quiche is to make it a pale yellow that isn’t over-powered by cream. You want a egg custard flavor that seeps in between ingredients.

Ingredients

Fresh fiddlehead (probably about 3-4 cups worth, to be on the safe side)

Thick-cut bacon (about 1/2 pound)

Shredded cheddar cheese (1 1/2 cups)

Pie crust (Anything you can find in the grocery store is all right)

6 eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

Salt

Pepper

Procedure

1. Clean the fiddlehead. Take the ends off and rinse them. Boil until tender and squishy. Drain and take a kitchen towel to push on the top of them, squeezing the water out. This could take a towel or two.

2. Cook the bacon. I highly recommend thick-cut bacon, but regular bacon will do, as well.

3. Take the pie crust (I use whatever prepared one they have in the grocery store) and put it in the pie plate, creating a ridge. Prick the pie crust all over with a fork, to prevent puffing. Put in a 400 degree oven for five to ten minutes, until barely brown.

4. Crack and beat all the eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in a cup of heavy cream. Beat well until fluffy.

5. In the slightly baked pie crust, layer fiddlehead, bacon and shredded cheddar twice, making sure to not compact the filling, meaning, just layer it as if you were making a pizza and adding toppings.

6. Pour the egg mixture over the filling.

7. Put in a 350 degree oven for about half an hour. As all ovens are different, it could take up to an hour to properly cook. Check the quiche for doneness by pressing slightly on the top. If it feels firm, then it's all done!

I had to make five of these in Maine, they were such a big hit!

NOTEBOOK: My Baking Marathon

2010-08-18T21:56:00.001-04:00

So I baked a jillion cookies yesterday for a bake sale the youth group I work with was doing. I promise to post a recipe or two, but for now, I just wanted to share some photos.

Cupcakes—the yellow star topped ones are carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, the chocolate-sprinkled ones are Devil’s chocolate with buttercream frosting. I admit, though, that these were from box mixes and canned frosting. I had to cut corners somewhere.

These are chocolate cookies with mini semi-sweet chips and white chocolate chips—I am still on the fence about these. I think this recipe needs some tinkering.

Chocolate cupcake army—attack!

The classic Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie, packaged for sale

RECIPE: Chocolate Banana Icebox Cake

2010-08-18T08:26:00.001-04:00

This recipe was originally posted on Rose’s Kitchen, my former food blog. It’s summer and this lovely icebox cake is perfect!

My friend Jesse talks about a lot of different kinds of food. One lazy evening, he brought up his ex-girlfriend's mom's icebox cake. He worked himself up so much, I figured, whatever, I'll make it. After consulting him on ingredients and [a friend] got a little grilling, I think I had a handle on it. Some cookies, some pudding, some bananas, more pudding, some crumb topping.

Of course, that's way too simple. Where was the upscale factor, particularly for a dinner party? I'll make my own homemade pudding! And so I went. And here is the first of many icebox cakes that I will make. I already have ideas on how to play with it. Orange and cream icebox cake. Berry icebox cake. Double chocolate icebox cake. Oh, I'm going to have some fun.

Chocolate Banana Icebox Cake

Ingredients

Graham crackers

Chocolate wafer cookies

Vanilla pudding (about 2 cups) recipe follows

Chocolate pudding (about 4 cups) recipe follows

Sliced bananas (about 3 bananas-worth)

Procedure

1. Spray a 13x9 pan, lay down the graham crackers in a single layer.

2. Spread warm chocolate pudding.

3. Layer the banana slices.

4. Layer the chocolate wafer cookies.

5. Spread in warm vanilla pudding.

6. Put about 5 chocolate wafer cookies and 2 graham crackers in a plastic zip storage bag. Bang on it with a rolling pin until crumbs. Press a layer of crumbs into the vanilla pudding.

7. Refrigerate at least one day, for best results. Add whipped cream if you'd like!

Vanilla Pudding

adapted from Homemade Vanilla Pudding at Allrecipes.com (I added egg yolks--pudding needs egg yolk)

Ingredients

2 cups milk

1/2 cup white sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon butter

Procedure

1. In a heat safe bowl, mix 1/2 cup milk, sugar, cornstarch, salt and egg yolks. Beat until smooth.

2. In a medium saucepan rinsed with cold water then shaken (this keeps milk from scalding, apparently), heat the remaining milk until just bubbling at the edges.

3. Pour a little milk into the milk and sugar mixture, whisking enthusiastically. Slowly at the rest of the milk as the mixture tempers.

4. Once smooth, return the mixture to the saucepan (now rinsed of milk skin bits) on a medium low flame. Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens.

5. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter until combined.

6. Serve warm, put in icebox cake or refrigerate. If you don't like pudding skin, cover with plastic wrap and press the wrap into the pudding surface, then refrigerate.

Chocolate Pudding

recipe slightly adapted from Joy of Baking's Chocolate Pudding Recipe, but it's mostly hers

Ingredients

3/4 cup granulated white sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch (corn flour)

1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 large egg yolks

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (the original recipe calls for semi-sweet chocolate, so feel free to use that, but the bittersweet really adds a gourmet twist)

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature (cut into small pieces)

Procedure

1. In a large stainless steel (heatproof) bowl whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and salt. Then whisk in 1/2 cup of the milk until you have a thick paste. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, whisking to blend into the cocoa paste mixture. Set aside while you heat the milk and cream.

2. First, rinse a medium-sized heavy saucepan with cold water and then shake out the excess water. Doing this step prevents the milk from scorching. Then pour in the remaining 2 cups milk with the cream.

3. Gradually pour the milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the pudding mixture to a clean large, heavy bottomed saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of mayonnaise (about 3 - 5 minutes). At this point, in the original recipe, it asks that you strain the pudding to remove lumps. I found that whisking the crap out of the pudding while it cooks keeps it from lumping, but if you get lumps, strain the pudding after removing it from heat.

3. Add the finely chopped chocolate, vanilla extract, and butter, stirring gently with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth.

4. Serve warm, put in icebox cake or refrigerate. If you don't like pudding skin, cover with plastic wrap and press the wrap into the pudding surface, then refrigerate.

WATERCOLOR: Spring Air

2010-08-17T19:41:00.001-04:00

Ah, yes, I know that it’s summer, but I was working on this piece as part of a series. Air, the element, is associate with spring, in the elemental correspondences. Not so much that spring and air are synonymous, but that they are linked closely.

Watercolor with white acrylic ink, fine-tuned in Photoshop 7.

WATERCOLOR: Cupcake

2010-08-16T08:29:00.001-04:00

This is watercolor with white acrylic ink over it for detail. It’s a technique that I loved from Geninne’s work (of Geninne’s Art Blog) and that I’m playing around with. More experiments to come…

RECIPE: Pork Dumplings

2010-08-15T10:19:00.001-04:00

This is a recipe previously posted on Rose’s Kitchen, my food/cooking blog before I consolidated into one with this here blog. I haven’t made these pork dumplings in a while, because they can be work intensive, but they are DELICIOUS.

Ingredients

1 lb. ground pork (the leaner the better)

4 stalks of celery

4 stalks of scallion

Fennel seed (optional)

Goya Adobo Ground pepper

Package of wonton skins

Procedure

1. Finely chop celery and scallion.

2. Mix celery, scallion, fennel seed (optional, but if you're using it, use about a teaspoon or two), Adobo and pepper into the ground pork.

3. Layout half of the wonton skins, dropping small spoonfuls of the pork mixture into the middle of the wonton squares.

4. With warm water, brush the edges of the wonton skins and then lay the other half of the skins on top of the first skin and pork mixture, sealing the edges tightly. The dumplings will look like ravioli.

5. Steam the wontons until cooked through (about 10 minutes, but double check to be sure). If you don't have a bamboo steamer, just use a steel strainer inside a deep pot filled with water just below the strainer. Only steam a few of the dumplings at a time, as they will stick. Definitely spray the strainer with cooking spray so that they slide off easily when cooked.

6. Serve with soy sauce and be prepared to make a whole bunch of these. They will disappear very quickly.

Alternative Preparation Ideas

>Use eggroll wrapper and use more pork mixture to stuff it, roll it up into an eggroll and steam. This will make a lot less work; you won't have to make 20-30 dumplings, but only about 10 eggrolls.

>Put less mixture in the wonton skins and make wontons from only one skin, as opposed to using two skins to make a dumpling. This takes forever, but if you have a few friends to help, have fun.

LINKSHARE: Madame Xanadu Cancelled? Scott Pilgrim Contest

2010-08-11T08:33:00.001-04:00

Looks like Madame Xanadu (from Vertigo/DC Comics) is being cancelled, after the completion of the current art. Poo! I really liked this book.

DryIcons.com has made me very happy lately, especially with this piece to the left, Street Spirit. I mean, I love Converse and this is just a great rendition.

I also really like Dreamy Banner and Dreamy Night.

A woman quits her job via 33 photos with a dry erase board, exposing her boss in the process (via TheChive).

DeviantArt is holding a contest to create the 8th Evil Ex for Scott Pilgrim, to be judged by Bryan Lee O’Malley himself (apparently he is on deviantArt as radiomaru).

In the Slice series, CT is featured in The United States of Pizza: Connecticut. Two of my faves, Zuppardi’s and Bar are highlighted!

QUOTE: Madame Xanadu’s Worship

2010-08-09T09:24:00.000-04:00

“Don’t you see?

The forest is my place of worship!

The soaring trees are my cathedral.

The moss and roots and rocks,

my holy altar.”

-Madame Xanadu

Madame Xanadu Exodus Noir

Vertigo Comics

NOTEBOOK: Two Art Shows

2010-08-08T18:05:00.000-04:00

On Friday evening, Raheem and I went down to Bru Cafe on Orange Street for the art show to benefit the Greater New Haven Cat Project (put together and featuring art by Lipgloss Crisis) and including art from Laura Usowski from Lovecraft Tattoo (she’s done all my tats except one). Neither of us have been to an art show in a long time, so it was nice to get out and chat. I actually ran into a few people I knew, which was nice.

Here’s some shots of Laura’s work. This one I think I would like to own or maybe even have tattooed on me, slightly modified.

These are some pieces on another wall. I really liked the one on the upper right.

Then, on Saturday, Ra and I went to Master of None on State Street for a Three Artist Opening. There was a photographer (Alyssa, whose last name I can’t remember!) and two painters (Rebecca Owens and Fernando da Silva).

These were some of the photos. I really liked the city ones—although I did wish the show had more cohesion. The odd nature photo thrown in, while gorgeous, seemed to break up the theme of New York City.

These were the two paintings from Rebecca Owens that I really liked.

I liked Fernando da Silva’s work, too, but didn’t grab any photos. My favorite was this painting called Santorini. The blues and greens of the painting are much more vibrant in real life.

Ahh…feeling so cultured now.

NOTEBOOK: A Midsummer Friday (Car Bruise, Dancing, Softball, Toddler in Danger)

2010-08-08T10:29:00.001-04:00

Whew. Friday was one of those days.

It started out tame enough—get the rent check ready, feed the cats, do the books, wish it was already Saturday.

Then on my way to work I was trying to squeeze by a turning vehicle and PLAM! I pulled over and realize that my right side mirror was bent in (it’s okay, it does that) and the mirror was just not there. I threw on my hazards, inspected the shards of mirror on the road and then inspected the two cars parked on the street. I looked close, resigning myself to the fact that I was going to have to leave an I’m sorry note. But nope—the cars were actually JUST FINE. Miracle. My heart was hammering, but I really hadn’t hurt the other cars, just mine.

So off to work. I had a client meeting, did paperwork, called the Chevy dealer to see about the mirror (it was just the plate with the mirror, not the whole apparatus), which they said would be in Saturday morning (YES!), called the bank to see about a stop payment, then off to the day camp site to judge a dance contest. Watching the camper kids dancing was great fun—the youngest were the most adventurous and the least shy. They were tuckered out by 4pm.

I rolled on up to East Haven for softball, where we were short 3 guys. So we took on two guys from the other side and left a gap in the outfield (normally we play with four outfielders—today, only two). And we got mercied. Meaning, we were down so far that they called the game. I was wicked cranky throughout the game, too, because the girls on the other side were just obnoxious, squealing and saying things that just…

It’s girls like that that give the rest of us girls playing softball a bad name. The ball nearly hits the girl catcher on a foul (this happens when you play catcher—I know, that’s my position) and she squeals (squeal is the only word for it), saying, “I have post-traumatic stress now!” Like PTSD is funny, like she really almost got hurt. Another girl missed a fly ball in the outfield, it hit her toe, and the other girls were shouting, “Are you okay?” Augh. And my least favorite moment? When the guys told the newbie girl, wearing short shorts, to stick out her butt more at home plate, like it was legitimate advice for a batter’s stance. I was disgusted. Losing was made that much worse.

But we lost and so off to the evening’s next activity.

Walking down to an art show I spotted a two or three year old in a pickup, all by himself. There were some guys working on a store remodel, so I assumed the kid belonged to one of them. Aw, so cute, him honking the horn.

Ra and I continued on to the art show and were heading back to the car at around 9:45pm. The toddler? Still in the pick up truck. That’s when Ra and I started to be really concerned. Then the little boy made to climb out of the truck through the window. A man came out of the building where he was doing construction, made sure the kid didn’t fall out. But then, again, he left the child in the truck.

As I was walking towards my car, I got up my resolve, pulled out my cell phone and called information to get the police non-emergency number. And I reported it. I just couldn’t leave that little boy in the truck, late on a Friday night in downtown New Haven with no one really watching him. The dispatcher said they would send someone to check it out. Even she was a little shocked by the child’s age and the whole situation.

After that? We went home and tanked out, watched some Rescue Me.

Like I said, one of those days.

QUOTES: Why I Love Sookie Stackhouse

2010-08-07T23:19:00.000-04:00

“I stepped behind the bar to get two more TrueBloods out of the refrigerator, and I uncapped them and popped them in the microwave. (Fifteen seconds works best.) I shook the bottles gently and put the warm drinks on the try with some fresh napkins.”

-Sookie Stackhouse, from Charlaine Harris’ Dead and Gone

QUOTES: Choco-nibblies

2010-08-06T11:17:00.000-04:00

“Anything with choco-nibblies is mine!” the purple caterpillar cried.

-Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor

LINKSHARE: Artsy Fire

2010-08-05T22:34:00.001-04:00

Creative Allies puts illustration/design jobs for hire. I should check it more…

I saw the Sneaker Freaker Magazine in Borders and was just 1) happy that there was actually a magazine about sneakers, taking it almost to an art form and 2) flummoxed that there was actually a magazine devoted to sneakers.

I love these illustrations I found on deviantArt awhile back from the Pepper Project by Stanley Lau (who is Artgerm on deviantArt) of Imaginary Friends Studio, one girl drawn in a bunch of different ways. There is now a book, called The Pepper Project filled with the illustrations and available through the Imaginary Friends Studio store. Below are the illustrations of Pepper. It’s amazing stuff, really.

LINKSHARE: Next Book? Not Brad Pitt!

2010-08-04T06:50:00.001-04:00

After reading Bill Buford’s Heat, I’m on the lookout for another book or seven. The Amateur Gourmet’s thoughtful and funny review of Frank Bruni’s Born Round has me thinking that one might be it.

Hey! Brad Pitt is NOT playing Mikael Blomkvist in the American film version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (thanks, NPR!). Whoopee! Daniel Craig is a much better choice.

Meat + Art = MeatSections.com, a blog of meat illustrations [via Serious Eats].

I’m loving Hulu for streaming throwback series, like Fame and Voltron (I loved Voltron—even had the toy!).

I didn’t realize that Project Runway is on Lifetime now, but at least I got to watch the first episode of Season 8 online. I can’t believe there’s actually a guy from Puerto Rico on—I don’t know whether to cheer for him or shake my head at his insistence of being called Casanova (“It my real last name!” he says. I know buddy, but…).

I love playing Word Warp (the free version) on my iPod. Love it.