Adventures in Art, Product Design, Home Decor, Cooking, and Gardening
My niece Karen chose to paint these yellow trumpet flowers. This is her second watercolor painting and her painting skills have improved a great deal already. I love the shading in the center of the flowers–it gives them such depth–and the sunny color scheme she chose. This painting is based on a tutorial in Janet Whittle’s book, “How to Draw Exotic Flowers in Simple Steps.”
Here’s a close up of Karen’s painting, isn’t it pretty?
My niece Jenny chose to paint the same leaf fairy that I painted several weeks ago. Her painting style is so similar to mine that it’s nearly a ringer for my painting. Can you believe that this is Jenny’s first attempt at painting? This painting is based on a tutorial in Linda Ravenscroft’s book, “How to Draw and Paint Fairies.”
Here’s a close up of Jenny’s painting:
My sister Cindy chose to paint this fairy artist during our winter family watercolor fest. She really rocked the shading on the fairy’s dress. This painting is based on a tutorial featured in Linda Ravenscroft’s book, “The Fairy Artist’s Figure Drawing Bible.”
Here’s a close up of Cindy’s painting:
Dexter in front of the Christmas tree.
Steve on the couch.
Marty also known as “Piggy” because of his cute little curly tail.
My sweet girl, Mary.
And our lovely girl, Luna, who is 14 years old. The first photos taken with our new camera–a Christmas gift my daughter and I gave to each other. I can’t wait to learn how to use it.
When I was young my mother always prepared big pots of soup during winter storms. I could always count on a steaming bowl of soup to warm me when I came in from the cold on rainy, icy, or snowy days. So when the cold wind is blowing and sleet is falling like it did several times this week, I whip of a batch of chicken noodle soup for my family. I want to pass on the goodness that my mother shared with me onto my daughter. Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make quick chicken noodle soup:
Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rinsed, trimmed of fat, and cut into thirds
1 box (12 oz.) bow tie pasta
4 cans (14.5 oz.) chicken broth
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 can (15 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced into bite-size pieces
6-8 honey gold fingerling potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large saucepan cook the bow tie pasta in rapidly boiling water until its al dente (12-14 minutes). Drain and set aside. Meanwhile combine the chicken, chicken broth, bouillon cubes, corn, diced onion, carrots, and potatoes in a large soup pot over medium heat. Watch the chicken carefully and remove it to a platter when it’s no longer pink in the center; set aside, cool slightly, then cut into bite-sized pieces. Cook the vegetables until fork tender (about 30 minutes). Add the pasta and cubed chicken. Season with salt and pepper. I like to serve this soup with biscuits topped with butter and honey.
This is Dexter watching us paint yesterday. Look at that face–so innocent, sweet, and cute.
But don’t let all this adorableness fool you, behind that face lies a little monster. Dexter and Steve, my Yorkie, apparently didn’t enjoy our family paint fest as much as we humans did because they quickly became bored and started to pester us for attention.
So I gave Dexter a little reading material to keep him occupied while we painted.
This is the aftermath of his little play session.
Here’s Steve, my Yorkie, perched on the back of the couch so he can watch us paint. Note the innocent look on his face as well.
But check out how his expression changed when I asked him about his involvement in making the mess. Think he’s guilty?
I love our family watercolor sessions. We have a great time painting, listening to music, chatting, and sharing good food. My niece, Jenny, is the latest addition to our painting circle. This was her first introduction to painting and watercolors, and I was blown away by her talent. Wait until you see her completed painting.
Jenny chose to paint the same leaf fairy that I painted a few weeks ago. Here’s a sneak preview of her work.
She’s a meticulous painter with an eye for detail and a delicate hand–a winning combination.
She really enjoyed working on the shading.
My sister Cindy also joined the painting session. Here she’s taking a break from painting to snack on some homemade chicken noodle soup. I’ll be posting the recipe next.
My sister chose to paint a fairy artist. Here’s a sneak preview of her painting. This is her third painting–she really rocked it. Wait until you see her finished work.
My niece, Karen, also joined us. She painted sunny yellow trumpet flowers surrounded by a lovely blue sky.
Here’s a close up of Karen’s work in progress. The colors are bright; the feeling is fresh and sunny. I just love this painting–which is only her second attempt at watercolor painting. How amazing is she? I’ll be posting the completed paintings next.
Remember the Kenwood KMIX mixer in Firecracker Red that I purchased a few weeks ago? I’ve been searching for additional kitchen accessories to match the stripes on the mixer and found these fun Pantone coffee mugs at Amazon.com. You can purchase the mugs as a set, like I did here, or choose any color you like from the full array of Pantone colors. How awesome is that? These mugs would make great gifts for artists, designers, or color lovers. They would look great on a studio desk holding paint brushes, colored pencils, pens, or your favorite beverage.
The mugs arrived with Pantone color chips tied to the handles so you can tuck them conveniently in your purse or wallet to use as a guide when selecting additional accessories for your kitchen or home.
Or you can use the color chips as inspiration for a bigger project. I plan on using this color scheme on my front porch this spring and summer. I can’t wait for the weather to warm up so I can get started.
This year my mother hosted Christmas dinner. Since I come from a large family my mother cooked the main course and asked each of her children to bring a side dish. I brought this twice baked potato casserole; it’s always a hit, travels well, and heats up fine in the microwave (oven space is at a premium on holidays). I got the recipe from a coworker years ago but made some changes over the years. This dish is somewhat time consuming to assemble since you must bake the potatoes then peel them and fry and crumble the bacon, but it’s well worth the effort. Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make twice baked potato casserole:
Ingredients:
8-10 medium-sized Yukon gold potatoes, baked and peeled (about 5 lbs.)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream
2-3 garlic cloves, minced (I used minced garlic in water)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (don’t substitute dried chives)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 lb. bacon, fried and crumbled
4 green onions, sliced
Microwave the potatoes until they pierce easily with a fork. Cool slightly, then peel with a knife (I find this faster than peeling raw potatoes). Cut the potatoes into chunks and place them in a large mixing bowl. Add the stick of butter on top of the hot potatoes and allow it to melt. Stir in two cups of cheese, the sour cream, garlic, chives, salt, and pepper. Spoon into a greased 13 x 9″ pan. Bake at 350 degrees or until thoroughly heated. Cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the top with alternating stripes (in a diagonal pattern) of crumbled bacon and cheese. Sprinkle green onions around the edges.
Serve this dish was baked ham or your favorite meat loaf and a green vegetable for a colorful presentation.
I’ve been preparing this super quick combination of Canadian bacon, eggs, and cheese in a rich cream sauce and candied bacon for Christmas brunch for several years now. Each dish takes less than five minutes to assemble, and the results are so impressive that it’s no wonder this breakfast combination has become a Christmas tradition in my house. If you can crack an egg and open a package of bacon, you can pull off an impressive breakfast that your family and friends will remember long after the holidays are over.
I found the recipe for Sunday Brunch eggs in one of my volumes of Taste of Home Annual Recipes, but I’ve substituted cheddar cheese for the Swiss cheese and added parsley flakes as a garnish. You can view the original recipe plus many other delicious offerings at TasteofHome.com.
I found the recipe for Special Oven Bacon in Cooking with Heart and Hand by Suzanne Winningham Worsham. Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make Sunday brunch eggs:
Ingredients for Sunday Brunch Eggs:
12 slices Canadian bacon
12 slices cheddar cheese
12 eggs
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Parsley flakes for garnish (optional)
12 slices buttered toast
Place the Canadian bacon in a greased 13 x 9-in. baking dish; top with cheddar cheese. Carefully break an egg over each piece of cheese. Pour cream over eggs and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the sauce is lightly browned. Let stand for 5 minutes. Cut between each egg; sprinkle with minced parsley and serve on buttered toast.
The completed dish:
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make candied bacon:
Ingredients for Candied Bacon:
1 lb. thick-cut bacon
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 heaping tablespoon flour
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
Lay the bacon side by side on a broiler pan with a bottom (to catch the grease). Mix flour and brown sugar. Sprinkle on top of the bacon. Sprinkle with pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
The completed dish:
Goodness, this was good! Give it a try when you need a quick holiday breakfast or have guests in town.