The Spice Rack

Some photos of our trip

2011-06-29T12:57:00.001-07:00

Eiji Watanabe-“Butterfly’s Eye View”

2011-05-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

How cool is this guy ? Not to mention really OCD ! I think a lot of drinking was the problem here. But really I love this - it pains me to think how much work this was but it ended up looking really fantastic ! These are all cut out from field guides by the way. I wonder if there are any left... people all over the world have a shortage of butterfly guides.

Portobello Mushroom Benedict With Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

2011-05-17T07:12:00.000-07:00

I made this yummy breakfast item a long time ago. I've been planning on making it again so I figured I would finally share this recipe with you. Its not only a great breakfast item but can be made into a nice dinner as well if served with some toast :) Its a very light meal with a lot of rewarding items.

Portobello Mushroom Benedict With Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Make this "Cook Yourself Thin" recipe.

Serves 4
Calories per serving, portobello Benedict: 183
Calories per serving, roasted red pepper sauce: 70

For the portobello Benedict
4 portobello mushrooms, gills removed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove
2 10-ounce bags of baby spinach
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

For the roasted red pepper sauce
1 4-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and finely chopped
3/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 ounce capers, drained
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

1. For the portobello Benedict: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

2. Using an ordinary spoon, remove the gills from each mushroom cap and place the caps on the oiled baking sheet. Bake the mushrooms for 10 to 12 minutes or until tender. Remove from the oven and set aside.

3. In a small saute pan over medium heat, add the olive oil, garlic and spinach. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, tossing occasionally until wilted. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest and nutmeg.

4. In a blender or small food processor combine the sauce ingredients and pulse until creamy.

5. Using a spoon, evenly distribute the spinach onto the 4 portobello caps. Top each one with a poached egg, some roasted red pepper sauce and some grated Parmesan cheese. Serve.

What I am reading right now.

2011-05-16T10:18:00.000-07:00

The Best chicken book out there if your in the market of considering on raising chickens

I'm trying to come up with more creative ways to cook veggies and fruits as the season is upon us, so I figured a vegan cookbook would do the trick. This one surprised me the most- even though it has no pictures !!!

After watching the HBO pilot I ran to me kindle and downloaded this. I can't put it down ! I'm so happy that this book is part of a large series !

I'm kind of ashamed to say it but I've become such a fan of martha stewart anything....I don't know if its my needs to nest and be arty, but I love reading her magazines and cooking from her cookbooks. This is from the same people who write for her. So again with the idea of cooking more veggies I picked this up.

So what are you reading ?

Chickens in their new coop !

2011-05-12T10:20:00.000-07:00

This is the new coop with the chickens in their new home ! We still need to pain some of the recycled things.

The chicks at the teenage stage !

2011-05-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

teenage chicks!

Inside the green house

2011-05-12T09:55:00.000-07:00

Here we have some before and after growth photos. Also a peek at what I'm growing inside !

Chick videos !

2011-05-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

Baby chicks !

2011-05-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

I got 12 chicks at the beginning of spring. They are grown now but I figured I would show you all some process photos.

These are just a few, if you would like to see more check out my flickr page.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58054286@N04/

Eye candy

2011-02-25T09:57:00.000-08:00

I love looking at other artist work spaces ? I also think it might be a "thing" for artist, only because it seems like not the other one who have this voyeur fetish. Well I stumbled across this today and felt like sharing. Enjoy spying on other artist with me !

http://www.sharesomecandy.com/workspaces.html

Hero Amelia Earhart

2011-01-25T09:51:00.001-08:00

Ever wonder why we don't have hero's like this in these days....
Lack of imagination ? We don't have to think for ourselves because everything is given to us instantly. People don't set ground breaking goals anymore- any if they do it ends up something like man vs food.

Hanover my new land

2011-01-24T12:21:00.000-08:00

These are images of my new land! Mike and I moved here about a year ago. These are all images taken downtown at the Hanover Market. A place we go often!

Airplane Graveyard

2011-01-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

I really love these images from an airplane grave yard. I love it when the earth takes back what belong to it. rusty goodness....

Awake now

2011-01-04T13:55:00.000-08:00

Here's some food for thought. God created the world. Then He created man. For what reason? To enjoy and give us the world He created. Think about the beginning of the bible and how life was before Adam and Eve fell from God's graces. Adam and Eve works the earth, loved and lived in the creation, and were care takers of the world. Now think of today, think of yourself. We live in a world full of people working 9 - 5 in a cube that has no windows. People do not go outside, they stay in and watch TV. People have adapted so much that we now have allergies. It's psychically painful for some people to go outside. I feel like we are so far away from what God wanted us to be. I also feel like a lot of people are asleep in their lives. Ask yourself this question. What would you do if you knew you were going to die in a week ? Well most people would answer something like , not go to work , go on vacation, have the best week of their life. Wake up people ! WE ALL DIE ! and you know what you don't get to choose when and you don't get to know when. So why aren't we living like your going to die tomorrow. Maybe I'm awake now that I've seen death. It took cancer to really get me moving. I was at a 9 to 5 job doing mindless task. Now I just want to live. I was to see the world. I can't wait to be heathly again so I can have an endless adventure. Seeing what God wanted me to see and being someone God wanted me to be. Enjoying His creation - Like He wanted me to all along.

My last one from last year ( maybe even two years ago)

2011-01-04T13:09:00.001-08:00

Another day of eatting

2011-01-03T12:54:00.001-08:00

Never did find my camera ...

2010-12-18T16:33:00.000-08:00

But Mike finally got his back ! Also in other news , I'm cancer free and treatments are over as of a few days ago. YAY !! So it looks like I will be on the up-n-up and not always feeling sick like I normally do.

Some other things: Well I got my etsy shop up and running and I'm hoping to really work hard on that. I'm selling earrings and vintage goods, and I'm hoping to add some graphic design. Also remember those little food things I tired to start and make, were I was drawing out ever food thing I ate that day, well I found a bunch that I did like last year am I'm hoping to post them.
Also a friend and I started making postcards to send so I think I will post those online from time to time.

I really hope I can get back my energy and get back as an online presence.

where oh where did you go

2010-09-12T14:26:00.000-07:00

argh , still in search of my lost camera charger. I feel I'm stuck without it. In other news, chemo tomorrow for the next five days. Most likely will be MIA for a week and a half. small updating post for now. larger with pictures post later I'm hoping

lost camera charger :(

2010-09-09T11:28:00.001-07:00

So, I have so many great things to post about with great pictures to go with it but atlas my camera charger is missing ! I will be posting this on milk cartons soon enough. I've been thinking about it to, I haven't used it at all since all of this cancer stuff started happening so it may be MIA from the big move into our home. eekkk. so, time to go shopping for a new one ? maybe. Post with pictures will happen soon enough, even if I have to use my Iphone.

1st Post of 2010

2010-09-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't ( but yet I can ) believe that this will be my first post for the 2010 year. As most of you know I have been battling with stage 4 cancer, so that is why I fell off the face of the earth. I am hoping to blog / design / do more art a lot more in the coming months. My treatment won't end until the end of the year but I am gaining more energy everyday, so here is to hoping. My goal is to try to get this blog going again and get it out there into the world. I want followers :) But I need a active blog to get those followers. And to have a active blog I need to be doing things :)

Wish me luck !

new little ways of drawing and creating...

2009-10-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

I’m finding that I’m not very good with what I might call “bubble “words . I’m trying to draw out thick large font words but they end up looking poor and childish. I’m thinking I need to move away from this look and create something more stylized. Part of it to is that I’ve never had to create font without a computer or without a print out of the font itself. I guess I could print out found and arrange them as well to make them look nicer …but that would take a load of time. We will see. I’m almost done with Mondays. I hope to work on Tuesday’s food tonight and maybe have both up by tomorrow. I must say , I am enjoying this and I hope to move on to create some really great little pieces. Right now I’m doing of a lot of just testing what I can do and then I hope to have a solid look to it all .

Oct 23 2009

2009-10-27T04:36:00.000-07:00

New Art Project

2009-10-27T04:18:00.000-07:00

I've had this idea for an art project. Partly because I'm bored , partly because its fun. I'm going to start creating a daily food dairy. But , instead of writing it out , I'm going to draw it out , creating a pieace of art with each food that I eat. I've already started Friday ( I will only be doing it on week days ) and I will be posting them on this blog, partly because I don't have my own place yet to be cooking as much and partly because I want to keep this blog updated as much as I can. So readers , please comment and help with ideas of ways I should draw the set. I think for yesterdays , I'm going to do something more of a line art. Friday is more about the text and testing out the process. Each food will be labeled and drawn on a post it . I can also only use the pens / markers at my desk . Alright , I think that is it . Enjoy.

Great Package Designs

2009-10-23T05:03:00.000-07:00

Some great things I've found on the web this week

2009-07-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

Wow , I have to say that I have found a lot of great things on the web today ! I want to share with you some of my fun design finds !

First one of my favorite , the hobbit house !

This is the site of the family who made it ( Click Here )
And this is the site of some of the photos ( Click Here )

I really love why they are doing this ( read more on their site)
I wouldn't mind living in one of these homes, very earthy and relaxed.
It reminds me as well of some of the tree houses that I've seen in the past.

Another great find was this great clock.

Il-Gu Cha 's Trace of Time clock incorporates a whiteboard-esque erasable face and an eraser built into the hour hand - See a video of it in action here.

And last but not least
This would go great anywhere ! I'm already considering it for my kitchen ! A penny filed floor !

The entryway of The Standard Grill, in Manhattan, is tiled with thousands of US pennies, set in a black matrix. Looks like between one and two dollar's worth of pennies per square foot, which is comparable to ceramic tile, price-wise, but a whole lot more interesting IMHO

Toast Post

2009-06-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

This is a toast post. What is a toast post. Well I love toast, one, and I love the things that go onto toast. So I figured I would share with you some of my fav's on toast. The picture above is one evening, my roommate and I enjoying some toast and tea.

This is a new thing for me and I'm so happy that I've tired it. Its honey comb ! Its a waxiness dripping in honey and its so yummy. Its also one of the best things to eat when you have bad allergies, which I don't have. I got this from my market but I know you can buy it at some food stores. If you love honey , try it and I promise you will like it. It really gives more to the honey.

Speaking of Honey, I got this honey again from another market, a different one in fact. Its favored honey with natural things. These two are cinnamon spice and mint, both of which are very subtel and yummy.

McCutcheons is a brand that is only around the Pa and Md areas , I think, because its made from around here. I love there stuff because they always have fun flavors like strawberry rhubarb, which taste just like the pie, lemonade, which is not only great on toast but great to make a simple glaze sauce for chicken and my favorite , triple crown , which is all berrys. yum !

To more yummy jams , cherry and apple pie !

Here is the taost ready to get eatting . Its on a lovely english toast rack !

Reason

2009-06-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

Ok the reason why I have yet to post is because blogger just has a problem uploading my photos right now...I don't understand.

hahaha

2009-06-01T18:42:00.001-07:00

so much for getting my post out yesterday. I was in the middle of them and got distracted.

may updates

2009-05-31T06:50:00.000-07:00

Get ready for all the may updates all at once and of course all on the last day of may ! As far as an update on life itself , while life has been busy. I've graduated college this month, after finishing up everything and finals. I'm in philly for two weeks now , finishing up my last college requirement so that I can get the good ol' sheep skin. I've also joined a gym in hopes to train for a half marathon in oct. we shall see ! Now for some good ol' food and craft updates.

cream cheese bunt with strawberry coulis

2009-05-07T05:46:00.000-07:00

Coulis , what is it you ask ? "Coulis is a French sauce which can be sweet or savory, depending on what it is meant to accompany. The term is also used to refer to the rich juices which flow from meats while they are roasting. As a general rule, coulis is thick and evenly textured, and it can be made from fruits or vegetables. Many stores sell coulis in pre-packed containers, and coulis is also very easy to make at home. Using coulis can enhance the flavor of food, as well as making it look more sophisticated on the plate." ( from some website when typed it in to google)

I got some really great and fresh strawberrys from the market so I wanted to do something new with them. I have to say that this saucey-ness is amazing ! And so easy ! I think I will be using this more on other things

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

The cream cheese doesn’t so much change the flavor profile but adds a bit more depth of flavor and an amazing crackly edge.

If you’re baking this pound cake in advance, as opposed to the day you are serving it, a little basting will go a long way towards keep it (or any other pound cake) moist. You can use a simple syrup (one part sugar dissolved in an equal amount of water), up the water in it if you’re concerned it will be too sweet and/or add a teaspoon of your flavoring of choice to it.

Also note , that this is calling for one large bunt pan , when I used mini bunts. It all works the same, its just all that I had at the time. I didn't feel like spending the money for one large one ...plus i'm limited to my space.

Serves (at least) 10

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 package (8 ounces) Philadelphia brand cream cheese*, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract plus 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (original recipe calls for 2 teaspoons vanilla but I liked this mix better)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly butter a 10-inch tube pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper. Alternately, you can use a 12-cup bundt pan, and simply butter and flour it.

2. Place the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar, increase the speed to high, and beat until light and airy, at least five minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the vanilla, almond, then the flour and salt all at once. Beat just until incorporated.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and shake lightly to even out the top. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, 1 1/4 hours.

4. Place the pan on a cake rack and cool for 20 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

* Philadelphia cream cheese is often recommended for baking for consistency purposes, as in, bakers know this brand works, and because it contains less water than other brands.

Smaller cakes: A bundt-volume cake often can be used to make two 8 1/2-by-4 1/4-by-2 1/2-inch loaf cakes, however (caveat!) I have not tested this recipe in loaf pans. I just wanted to throw that out there for those of you feeling adventurous, or interested in a reduced volume of cake.

Strawberry Coulis

2 cups quartered hulled strawberries (about 12 ounces)
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Combine strawberries, water, sugar and lemon juice in blender. Purée until very smooth, then press through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Cover and refrigerate until cold. Coulis can be prepared one day ahead.

This is the yummy-ness that you will get , enjoy it !

orange kitchen

2009-05-07T01:13:00.000-07:00

Just some images of my very small very orange kitchen , where all the magic happens . haha

Chernobyl Images

2009-04-03T22:37:00.001-07:00

In case you haven't looked at some of the random images that I put up on this, I'm very much into the idea of abandonment, for whatever reason. It could be a nuked or just no more money to run it, I don't care. I want to see that people up and left it and over time its become over grown. I have to say, sickly, that images of Chernobyl tend to be my favorite. I think this is because people really just up and left the city and because it was a city there is so much more to look at.

So from time to time I take a deeper look into finding new and exciting images from this happening. This site http://villageofjoy.com/chernobyl-today-a-creepy-story-told-in-pictures/ has the best. I just found this site and it has some of the best looking photo's i've seen. I really love the one with a room full of books , and the room filled witht beds. The pool is great to and of course you got to love the dead park ! Enjoy and let me know what you think.

frame

2009-03-25T05:50:00.001-07:00

These are some images of a frame my dad and I made for a client. It was a huge thing ! They wanted this giant poster framed and the hardest part of it all was making as light as we could. We used a foam based siding, and plexi-glass to try and keep it as light as we could.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2009-03-25T05:44:00.000-07:00

This was the first Strawberry rhubarb pie that I've ever made, and it was so good ! I've been looking for a long time for some good rhubarb( and yes I found out that there is bad rhubarb) and I finally found some at my local market. I would make this everyday if it wouldn't make me fat

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Serves 8

For crust
3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
10 tablespoons (about) ice water

For filling
3 1/2 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds untrimmed)
1 16-ounce container strawberries, hulled, halved (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg yolk beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water (for glaze)

Make crust: Combine flour, sugar and salt in processor. [Alternately, you can use a pastry cutter to make your dough, as I did.] Using on/off turns, cut in shortening and butter until coarse meal forms. Blend in enough ice water 2 tablespoons at a time to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; cut in half. Flatten each half into disk. Wrap separately in plastic; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling.)

even better you can just buy the pre-made dough and roll it out, don't tell anyone but this is what I do.

Make filling: Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Toss gently to blend.

Assemble Pie: Roll out 1 dough disk on floured work surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter pie dish . Trim excess dough, leaving 3/4-inch overhang.

Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Cut into fourteen 1/2-inch-wide strips. Spoon filling into crust. Arrange 7 dough strips atop filling, spacing evenly. Form lattice by placing remaining dough strips in opposite direction atop filling. Trim ends of dough strips even with overhang of bottom crust. Fold strip ends and overhang under, pressing to seal. Crimp edges decoratively.

Brush glaze over crust. transfer pie to baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake pie until golden and filling thickens, about another 25 minutes. I like using the crust covers for my pies. I feel they do a great job from Transfer pie to rack and cool completely.

Apple Pie

2009-03-25T05:42:00.001-07:00

I made this simple apple pie the other day. I sometimes find myself with more apples then I know what to do with so I'll just make a pie. I love this pie because of how fast you can make it. Using an apple corer peeler makes life a breeze with this pie. I also love how thin it slices the apples. I personally love putting as many apples in the pie as I can, mounding it like a mountain !

Apple Pie

1 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples (about 3 medium)
2 pounds McIntosh apples (about 4 large)
1 tablespoon juice and 1 teaspoon zest from 1 lemon
3/4 cups (5.25 ounces) plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 egg white, beaten lightly

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat rimmed baking sheet and oven to 500 degrees. Remove one piece of dough from refrigerator (if refrigerated longer than 1 hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable).

2. Roll dough on lightly floured work surface or between two large sheets of plastic wrap to 12-inch disk. Transfer dough to pie plate by rolling dough around rolling pin and unrolling over 9 1/2-inch pie plate or by folding dough in quarters, then placing dough point in center of pie plate and unfolding. Working around circumference of pie plate, ease dough into pan corners by gently lifting dough edges with one hand while pressing around pan bottom with other hand. Leave dough that overhangs lip of plate in place; refrigerate dough-lined pie plate.

3. Peel, core and cut apples in half, and in half again width-wise; cut quarters into 1/4-inch slices and toss with lemon juice and zest. In a medium bowl, mix 3/4 cup sugar, flour, salt and spices. Toss dry ingredients with apples. Turn fruit mixture, including juices, into chilled pie shell and mound slightly in center.

4. Roll out second piece of dough to 12-inch disk and place over filling. Trim top and bottom edges to 1/2-inch beyond pan lip. Tuck this rim of dough underneath itself so that folded edge is flush with pan lip. Flute edging or press with fork tines to seal. Cut four slits on dough top. If pie dough is very soft, place in freezer for 10 minutes. Brush egg white onto top of crust and sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

5. Place pie on baking sheet and lower oven temperature to 425 degrees. Bake until top crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Rotate pie and reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees; continue baking until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30-35 minutes longer.

6. Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours.

Chile Lime Tequila Popcorn

2009-03-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

This was a big hit ! If you are looking for something new to do, look no far ! Its a crazy great snack that is really enjoyable even stale.

What you need..

4 quarts freshly popped popcorn*
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1 teaspoon tequila
1/2 small jalapeno, seeds and membrane removes, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
What you need to do ...

Preheat the oven to 300F degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or a silicone baking mat (hs note: or unbleached parchment paper). Set aside.

Put the popcorn in a large, clean paper bag or a washable muslin bag. In a medium-size bowl whisk together the butter, lime juice and zest, and tequila. Add the jalapeno. In a small bowl combine the black pepper, salt, red pepper, and cumin.

Drizzle half of the butter mixture over the popcorn, fold over the top of the bag, and shake until the popcorn is coated and moist. Taste. Add more of the butter mixture if you like, and give a second shake. Sprinkle (most of) the pepper mixture over the popcorn, fold over the top of the bag, and shake a few times to coat. Taste, and if you'd like more pepper flavor add the rest of it.

Spread the popcorn evenly over the baking sheet and bake until the popcorn is dry, five to seven minutes.

*To pop 4 quarts of popcorn, heat 1/4 cup clarified butter, coconut oil, or olive oil in a deep pot over medium heat. Add a few kernels to the pot. Once they pop, add 3/4 cup popcorn kernels and shake the pot until they cover the pot evenly. Cover the pot and shake intermittently until the popping slows to 5 seconds between pops. Remove the popcorn from heat and transfer it to whatever bag you are going to use for tossing.

As you can see it is a bit of a process, but it makes 4 full popped popcorn bags so you get a big hull from it. Its worth trying I promise !

Key Lime Coconut Cake

2009-03-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

So I told you I had limes , now let me show you what I did with them ! First I made this really great Key Lime coconut cake. This cake is amazing ! Its moist , it has flavor and its just refreshing ! The topping is the best part. Its a simple icing, made with confectionery sugar and
lime juice ( normally you use water ) This gives it a lot of flavor ! Then you top it with you toasted coconut. Yum ! This cake makes a great spring cake, for when you want to be somewhere other then the classroom, and somewhere more tropical. This is my spring break gift to you !

What you need to do...

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon grated Key lime zest ( I used normal limes)
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups self-rising flour*
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup fresh Key lime juice, divided ( I used normal limes )
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon rum (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Generously butter an 8- by 8-inch square or 9- by 2-inch round cake pan and line bottom with a round of parchment paper.

Toast coconut in a small baking pan in oven, stirring once or twice, until golden, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool. Leave oven on.

Beat together butter, granulated sugar, and zest with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir together flour and 1/2 cup coconut (reserve remainder for topping). Stir together milk and 2 tablespoons lime juice. At low speed, mix flour and milk mixtures into egg mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour.

Spoon batter into pan and smooth top. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool to warm, then turn out of pan and discard parchment.

Whisk together confectioners sugar, remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice, and rum (if using) and pour over cake. Sprinkle with remaining coconut.

* Make your own: You can make your own self-rising flour — I did, when I realized I had self-rising flour in the pantry but my last known use of it was nearly three years ago. Unfortunately, there are many recipes out there and they don’t all agree. The most common one has you add for each cup of flour 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder but some also suggest 1 teaspoon baking powder instead. I’m going to suggest that you use the 1 teaspoon level because I used the higher one and my cake sunk ever so slightly in the center, a suggestion that it had too much leavening in it. So: For every cup of flour, add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of baking powder, whisk together very well and sift the mixture. Measure your self-rising flour from there.

Limes !

2009-03-03T09:55:00.000-08:00

I bought a bunch of limes at the market ! They are so big and juicy looking , I couldn't help getting a bunch of them. So stay tuned today for a few limey treats ! yum !

Dead Park images

2009-02-25T06:25:00.000-08:00

So Michael and I went to this dead park just down the road from Messiah College. I was so happy to go ! We took 250 pictures just on the one side of the park. I discovered it because of good ol' Google maps, when I was looking for the speedway. I wonder now how many people know about this. We are planing to go back , we want pictures of the water side of the park. Enjoy these great photos.

Calendar !

2009-02-25T06:12:00.000-08:00

Ok I wanted to share with you my fun craft that I made last month but never shared. I got this idea from a another blog to make a calendar out of images of numbers of letters. They used this little clip things (which I got one year from x-mas from my friend Aud) but because I didn't use a thick paper like they wanted I had to tack them up on the wall. At this point its not really a calendar since i'm not going to take the time to take it down and change it ever month....so really it applies to like two months out of the year. Right now its just a fun graphics like thing we have on our very bare wall :)

Toasted Coconut Shortbreads

2009-02-25T05:45:00.000-08:00

Ok so these cookies are probable the best tasting cookies i've made so far. They are crispy and butter and have a ton of flavor. I thought they tasted a bit almondy when I first tired them. I think next time when I make them i'm going to switch the vanilla with some almond to bring the flavor out more. Warning , one batch will not be enough to enjoy. I would say At least triple up on everything. My roommate and I ate all of them in a day.

Toasted Coconut Shortbread

What you'll need:

1/2 cup (about 1.5 ounces) unsweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks or 6 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt (Updated: for unsweetened coconut, the smaller amount; sweetened, the larger amount)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract ( or almond)
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread coconut on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until coconut is light golden, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Cool completely, then grind in a coffee grinder, food processor or blender until coarsely ground.

Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended. Mix in salt and vanilla. Beat in flour in 2 additions. Stir in toasted coconut. Gather dough together, flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out. I needed to let it sit for about an hour before being able to do anything with it)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out dough disk on lightly floured work surface to scant 1/4-inch thickness. Using 1 3/4- to 2-inch-diameter cookie cutters, cut dough into rounds. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Gather dough scraps and reroll; cut out additional cookies.

What you can also do is make little balls and flatten them really flat on the pans, this is easier and faster then having to roll out. Don't forget that if you dip a spoon in warm water you can use to to smooth out and flatten batters. It prevents it from sticking to the spoon. This is something my mom showed me.

Bake cookies until light golden, about 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. (Can be made ahead. Store airtight at room temperature up to 1 week.)

Snack time

2009-02-18T20:03:00.000-08:00

Ok I'm going to share with you one of the best snacks to make. They are Dilly Ranch Pretzels of yummyness ! They are so good , that i just made a batch of these babies yesterday, and between my roommate and I they are all gone. They are very favorful and I don't know why any pretzel company doesn't make them ! I first discovered these over the christmas holidays , when a friend of the family gave them out as gifts ! I had to snag the recipe after just having a handful . So please make some , and I promise you won't go wrong.

What you need...
16 oz. bag of pretzels.
one stick of butter.
1/2 cup canola oil
Ranch Dip packet
1 tbsp. dillweed
1 tbsp. lemon pepper

The pretzels either need to be the hard pretzels that you break up into small pieces or the nuggets that have the tops open. That might sound confusing, but basically you need some part of the white inside of the pretzel showing for the oil to absorb in to. Pretzels that are dark brown all over won't taste as good because the seasonings only cling to the outside instead of absorbing into the pretzel.

What to do ...

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees.

Melt one stick of butter. While that is melting, put your pretzels in a large bowl and sprinkle 1/2 of a packet of powdered ranch dip mix on the pretzels. Mix to coat pretzels with the powder.
Add to melted butter:
1/2 cup canola oil
rest of Ranch Dip packet
1 tbsp. dillweed
1 tbsp. lemon pepper

Mix thoroughly and pour over pretzels. Stir to coat pretzels evenly. Cover rectangle cookie sheet with foil and spread pretzels on the foil in an even layer. Bake in 275 degree oven for 25 minutes. Cool completely before stirring.

Enjoy !

Cookbooks !

2009-02-16T18:46:00.001-08:00

Ok I wanted to share with you all my small cookbook collection. These are just some of the places that I find inspiration for a meal, I don't like following them most of the time. I love changing them since I feel I have a understanding of some simple flavors and such.

Hello Cupcake ! This one is full of fun cupcakes to make. My room mate has already busted this one open a few times to make some of the crazy ones. I'm personally waiting for April Fools cupcake party that we are throwing. Why April 1st ? Well there are many in this book that look like other foods, such as popcorn, pasta, meat and veggies, sushi , ect.... oh the joy.

This is my favorite one. Because my mom made it up for me ! All my favorite family meals are pact into this one.

This one I got at a goodwill a few months back . I've yet to really use it , though I've used it to compare recipes to mix and such

This is just for fun. My sister got this one for my two years ago for my b-day. I have used it more the once :D

ummmm you can't live without this desert. So I have a whole cookbook on how to make them. I loved the day I got my little cooking flamer.

This is just one of many Rachael Ray cook books I have. I love her stuff , but my body does not ( fatty foods ) These books are staples though, really helps you understands some basic cooking terms and skills

Ah the Robuchon. It might not be Julia Child but its all about French Home cooking. This is not for the basic home cooker. I warn you , things will get messy from this one. I can't wait to make my first duck :D

Brandy and orange chicken topped with stuffed shrimp

2009-02-14T19:22:00.001-08:00

Ok guys , here is one post I promised for this weekend ! The brand and orange chicken topped with stuffed shrimp. I got this out of my handy Rachael Ray book . I made it with frozen veggies in a herb sauce , rice and smashed garlic potatoes ( my favorite ) Now after making it we all agree the the chicken needed some else. The brandy made it dry and bitter , so what I would do ,if your planning on making this, is scrapping the sauce it wants you to make and instead take some orange marmalade ( 2 parts ) and grey poupon mustard ( one part ) and fry that up in the pan. Keep the rub on the chicken and pour that over. I do something close to this with pork all the time ( I use different marmalade ) So keep that in mind. The stuffed shrimp was to die for ! Its really hard to stuff shrimp to :D It turned out more of a crab cake on top of shrimp . Alright so this is what you need to do to make a yummy dinner. By the way this dinner only close about $35.00 and it feeds 4 , so it you are planning to have a dinner party and want something special that will wow people but don't want to go crazy with money, this is perfect.

What you'll need ..

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 red bell pepper, finely chopped
6 ounces (drained weight) lump crab meat
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme or poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 thin slices good quality white bread, toasted and buttered, then diced
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
3 tablespoons melted butter
4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast (6-8 ounces each)
8 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails intact
1 teaspoon ground thyme or poultry seasoning
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
3 jiggers brandy
2 tablespoons butter
1 large navel orange, zested
Parsley sprigs and sliced navel oranges, for plate garnish

What to do ...

Pre-heat oven to 400°F.

To a small skillet over moderate heat add EVOO, about one turn of the pan, and two tablespoons butter. When butter melts, add celery, onion and red bell pepper. Sauté vegetables five minutes. Add crab to the vegetables and season with thyme or poultry seasoning, paprika, salt and pepper. Fold a few handfuls of diced toasted bread into the stuffing to combine. The stuffing will take 1 1/2-2 slices of bread. Add parsley to the stuffing and remove from heat.

Brush a baking dish with melted butter. Butterfly shrimp by cutting along the deveining line, into and almost through the shrimp. Place the butterflied shrimp in your hand, butterflied side down. Dab the shrimp with melted butter and place a rounded spoonful of crab stuffing onto each shrimp. Set the shrimp upright on the baking dish with the stuffing exposed and the tail upright. Place the baking dish in the pre-heated oven. Bake 6-8 minutes or until shrimp are pink and firm and stuffing is browned.

Season chicken breasts with poultry seasoning or ground thyme, salt and pepper. In a second skillet over medium-high heat, add the EVOO and cook the breasts five minutes on each side, then remove to a serving plate.

Add brandy to the pan and cook alcohol off, about one minute. Add butter and orange zest to the brandy. Spoon brandy orange butter over the chicken and top each breast with two stuffed shrimp. Garnish the platter or individual dinner plates with parsley sprigs and sliced oranges.

school ....urgh

2009-02-13T16:53:00.000-08:00

So school started and that is why this place is bare with new post ! So this is what is up coming this weekend . I will be making my vodka pasta again so I will be able to take photos of it. I will be also making toasted coconut shortbread cookies and I will be making Brandy and Orange Chicken topped with stuffed shrimp ( that happens to be the v-day meal for my hunny ! ) I would also like to post about the cookbooks that are in my kitchen ! So please stay tuned !

My quilt

2009-01-29T12:18:00.000-08:00

So I just wanted to share with you my quilting progress ! I'm making this quilt out of hand dyed fabric that I've done. Each of the colors on the strips are different , they each have a different color code. You might not believe this in the picture but when you see it in person you can tell there is a difference. I'm going to place black in between each row of color. I still have many rows to do left by the way. Also I'm going to give it a black boarder around it. It will end up having like three borders to give it some size, but the colors are all i'm worried about about. I can't wait to finish it ! For now i'm hanging up the rows to see how the look.

I also wanted to show you my workspace along with my room mate's works space. This is what should be the dining room, but we wanted the room to be something we would use since we eat all of our meals on the couch anyways.

garlic and cheese soup

2009-01-29T11:54:00.000-08:00

So I had a ton of garlic in the house and I really needed something to do with it. I found this at smittenkitchen.com and I was well wondering how it was going to taste. You might think that 30 some garlic cloves is a bit much in a soup, but it isn't. This soup turned out really really good ! And garlic is super good for your body. One problem, don't plan on kissing your hunny after this since the main parts of the soup are not only garlic but also onion as well. It will make your mouth all garlic for the rest of the day.

Taken from smittenkitchen
Roasted Garlic Soup with Parmesan Cheese

26 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 1/4 cups sliced onions
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
18 garlic cloves, peeled
3 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
4 lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 350Â°F. Place 26 garlic cloves in small glass baking dish. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes. Cool. Squeeze garlic between fingertips to release cloves. Transfer cloves to small bowl.

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and thyme and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add roasted garlic and 18 raw garlic cloves and cook 3 minutes. Add chicken stock; cover and simmer until garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes. Working in batches, purae soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to saucepan; add cream and bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring occasionally.)
Divide grated cheese among 4 bowls and ladle soup over. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon wedge into each bowl and serve.

Serves 4.

Pasta from party

2009-01-25T22:10:00.000-08:00

Sadly I do not have image for this , as it was for a fun party with my fellow graphic students . However it did receive thumbs up all around so I'm going to at least share the recipe for you to try. Its adapted from Rachael ray. I always like adding my own things into the pot.

Vodka Cream Pasta

This makes a good amount for two people ...so plan wisely

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, once around the pan in a slow stream
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 cup vodka
1 cup chicken stock
1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
Coarse salt and pepper
16 ounces pasta, such as penne rigate
1/2 cup heavy cream
20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn
Parm Cheese, shaker

Preparation

Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter, garlic, and shallots. Gently saute shallots for 3 to 5 minutes to develop their sweetness. Add vodka to the pan, 3 turns around the pan in a steady stream will equal about 1 cup. Reduce vodka by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

While sauce simmers, cook pasta in salted boiling water until cooked to al dente (with a bite to it). While pasta cooks, prepare your salad or other side dishes.

Stir cream into sauce. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat. Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with sauce and basil leaves as well as cheese. Let it sit for a bit, as it might seem to be runny, it will thicken up I promise ! Pass pasta with crusty bread.

I have to make sure to make this again and take a picture.

Maybe I'll just take a picture of the book ....

Images explained

2009-01-19T18:01:00.000-08:00

Ok you might be wondering what is up with the images ? Well I wanted to post after the images but then I forgot, oops. Alright well the first one is from smallville. I took the images myself from my computer, which you can tell. I loved this scene so much that I had to have it. Its the scene where Clarks father has just died and they are all at the grave site. Snow is falling, people are looking worried, sad, and tired. I just love it. This was also the 100th episode.

The other one is from the internet. I stumbled on it and it struck me to be really amazing. I have been really toying with the idea of abandonment a lot lately. It might because I've been playing fallout 3 hardcore, where a lot of things in the game have been abandon. I would love to bring this idea into my art work, but i don't really know how I would do that. Not that this image series has anything to do with nuclear fallout but it reminds me of it, so much so its reminds me a lot of the Pripiat images that you see. If you don't know what Pripiat is, its an entire abandon city in Russia / Ukraine, from the Chernobyl explosion in 1986. I think I'm going to find some images now and post them ! stay tuned.

Image Series two

2009-01-13T12:30:00.000-08:00

Image Series

2009-01-13T12:20:00.000-08:00

Ginger Bread House

2009-01-12T16:25:00.000-08:00

This here is a ginger bread house that I built over the Holidays. It took me over about 6 hours each day for 3 days to make it. Its my real first one, I don't count the ones that were pre-made in a box and you don't have to do any of the work other then making it looking pretty. Now it from the gingerbread architect book that I found at Barns and Noble. As you can see I tired to make the one that was on the cover .

Now I wouldn't tell you to make these in three days, no no. It tells you in the book to leave yourself at least a week to make them or there will be a lot of stress to come, and its true. I needed to get this out soon because x-mas was ...well the next day. I made the base of it out of wood and placed a light in it so that it whole thing would lit.

What I love the most about this house is the fact that it has real " glass" windows, made from crushed butterscotch hard candies. You crush them and put them in while your gingerbread is baking when its about 80% cooked. Sometimes I pulled it out and it had holes so I just fill in and popped back in. It didn't do anything to the gingerbread because it wasn't hot enough , long enough, for the bread but it was for the candy. It was a little annoying, why, because of these windows I needed to watch and do each piece one by one. It was about 30 or some pieces. Needless to say I was up till about 3am watching x-mas movies. I have to say at 3am , watching white Christmas really makes you cry :D.

Anyways, it was a lot of fun to make this crazy house. It ended up being about 13in high and 15 in long, with about 12 in deep. Big house. We ended up punching it and drop kicking it after the holidays. I can't wait to make another !

Cirtus Yummy Peels

2009-01-09T11:29:00.001-08:00

Alright so I had to really research this one. I went to a few different sites like here and her e for way to make citrus peels, but it always seemed when making them most people had trouble with the grapefruit. After a few tries here is what I did to make the yummy holiday candies

Candied Citrus Peel

4 grapefruit rinds (or equivalent in citrus fruit of your choice)

5.5 cups sugar (divided use)2 cups water
Melted chocolate (optional)

Flavoring (lemon is great for this)

Scrape all of the flesh and membranes from the fruit rind, this is very important with the grapefruit, you don't have to do this with the oranges. Make sure to leave the pith intact. Slice the rind into half inch slices and place into a pan large enough to hold it plus an inch of water. Cover with clean water. Bring water to a boil and boil for a minute or two then drain. Repeat a total of five times until the rinds are very tender. Leave in a colander to drain well.
While the peel is draining, mix together four cups of sugar and the 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and continue to heat until the mixture is clear. If you wish, you can drop flavorings such as cinnamon, cardamom, or vanilla into the sugar syrup to flavor the final product.

Using several layers of paper towels or a kitchen towel, press the rinds to extract as much water as is easily possible without smashing them. Once the syrup is clear, drop in the drained peel. Make sure that there is enough syrup to allow all of the rinds to be in contact with it. If there isn't make a half batch of syrup in another pot and ladle over the top.

Bring syrup and rind to a boil and reduce heat to very low. Cover and allow to simmer until the rinds become translucent and jewel like (almost like colored glass). Stir occasionally. This takes about an hour.

Remove the rinds to baking sheets lined with parchment and allow to dry over night. Take your reserve cup and a half of sugar and put in your food processor, whirring it until it is the consistency of fine sand. This step is not strictly necessary but creates a better finished product. Take the slightly tacky pieces of candied rind and toss them in the sugar until thoroughly covered. This step is very important here, it helps make them harder and sweeter. Shake off gently and return to the cookie sheets. Allow to dry for a further 2-4 hours before placing in an airtight container for storage.

Optionally instead of covering the rinds in sugar you can dip them in chocolate and allow to
harden.

Blueberry crumble bars !

2009-01-09T11:03:00.000-08:00

Blueberry Crumb Bars

From AllRecipes.com

After seeing a blueberry crumb bar on another site, I immediately wanted to make them mainly because of the really yummy pictures that came with it. So I snagged a recipe from AllRecipes.com and a few yum yums later I had this. I dolled it up with some lemon juice and lemon zest, they were just as heavenly as anything else you can make. My roommate and I because addicted to these, they are great for any meal for the day ! We love to have ours with some tea. I made these about three weeks ago and now I'm ready for round two with these bad boys.

I read that it could be easily swa

pping another fruit or berry for the blueberries–I’m especially thinking something tart like cranberries in the fall (I think using orange instead of lemon with cranberries would make it even better). But if you have blueberries on hand, do not miss a chance to make these.Right now in my area they are selling blueberries two for one. They are just so yummy

These are best to cut once chilled, and store even better in the fridge than they do at room temperature because they end up getting a bit mushy after a while.

Yield: 36 smallish rectangles

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. (This took an extra 10 to 15 minutes in my oven.) Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Enjoy !

Gingerbread cookie madness

2008-12-16T23:34:00.000-08:00

So tonight I made a batch of gingerbread cookies ! They turned out yummy but a little on the lemon side, so if you make them with less lemon juice they would make the perfect gingerbread cookie. I snag this from the food network ! This is what you need ...

6 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
6 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 tablespoon ginger
Pinch of salt
5 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup honey
1 3/4 cups sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift the flour, baking powder, spices and salt together in a large bowl, and set aside.

In a small saucepan combine the butter, honey, sugar, lemon juice and the lemon and orange zest. Bring this to medium heat and cook until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Let cool to about room temperature and beat in the eggs.

Make a well in the flour/spice mixture and add the egg/sugar mixture to the well. Using a fork, begin to gradually incorporate the flour into the egg mixture. When the flour has mostly been incorporated, turn the mixture out onto a clean work surface and gently knead until the mixture is smooth and homogenous. Knead in a little more flour if the dough seems sticky. Chill dough for 1 hour or overnight.

Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to an even thickness of about 1/4-inch. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place on a lightly greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cookies are firm and lightly browned. Let the cookies cool for 3 to 4 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.

When the cookies are completely cool decorate, as desired.

Cook's Note: If you are planning to hang the cookies, make a hole for the string before baking.

Staple Food of the Week

2008-12-16T20:10:00.000-08:00

Breakfast Sandwich of Yummyness
OK I think i want to start sharing my staples foods, food that i keep coming back to no matter what mood I'm in. This week I would like to share a sandwich I whip up anytime of the day. It's a egg, cheese and Canadian bacon grilled sandwich. Now what you need for this is

2 eggs
2 slices of Canadian bacon
1 slice of cheese ( 2% is great for this )
butter
two slices of whole wheat bread

Now this is a very healthy meal that will fill you up. The Canadian bacon has only 1 gram of fat per 4 thin slices or 2 gram per two ticker slices! While normal bacon ( depending on the brand ) will have up to 9 grams per two slices. I like to get the thin slices because it taste more like bacon and less like ham, which is what the thicker tends to taste. Plus its meat so it helps make you feel more full.

Now you want to get you grill going , spray some olive oil pan and heat up. Put your bacon on first , fry for about 3 min's and then put your eggs on. What I like to do with my eggs is make them both over easy and scrambled. Now how do you do that ? crack them on the pan over easy, and right before you flip break the yolk. Flip it and cook it through . you get the yellow all in one area and if you do it right it get a little bit ( only a little ) of run-ness in the eggs, which adds to the favor. Don't forget to salt your eggs. Now have your bread ready, buttered on one side. Put one piece of bread, butter side down. on your frying pan and flip over a eggs on it. put one piece of bacon and lay your cheese down. Add the other bacon and egg on it and place your other piece of bread on top and make it like your making a grilled cheese .

Put on a plate slice it up and I love have hot tea with this meal and fruit. Yummy tummy !

tomato soup day !

2008-12-09T11:12:00.000-08:00

So today I made a home made tomato soup ! I got the basics down from a website but them modded it up a lot with my own favors ! I'm telling you this is the best of a snow in day !

Here's the basic recipe-

-1-3 cans of whole tomatoes
-1 big yellow onion, diced
-4-5 cloves of garlic, diced
-olive oil
-salt & pepper
-pesto
-milk (whole is best)
-a table spoon of honey
- 1/4 cup of sugar
- dash of basil, garlic, tomato spice ( mrs. dash makes this )

Dice the onion and garlic and saute it in olive oil. Then after 10 minutes, add the canned tomatoes, sugar, spices, pesto and cover with water if needed, and bring to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer, cover, and keep it on low heat for about 20-45 minutes. Puree it with a stick blender (or throw it in the blender) and add enough milk to make it a nice light red color, probably about 1 cup or so. Season with a little honey and stir that right in there.

I make this in big batches and freeze it for a latter date ! I also like to add some parmesan cheese on top , it gets all melty and good !

To make the bread, just get a hard bread and slice it. I like to had garlic salt and Parmesan cheese to it before baking it. Bake in the over for about 10-15 at 300 degrees, or until toasted.

Oh how I love just these wonderful things

2008-12-04T10:58:00.000-08:00

Ok so its Christmas time ! So of course I've been online a lot looking for gifts and such and of course i want to share with you some of my fun finds. well there is this great site called www.delight.com and they have great things for pretty much anyone in your life. Here are a few of my favorites.

http://www.atypyk.com/

2008-11-25T17:59:00.001-08:00

So i just came across a great new product site ! http://www.atypyk.com/. Its kinda like suckuk.com but shhh not as witty. Some of the stuff makes your mouth open and then laugh, like Chris Blood vine ...mmmm. This reminds me , I need to post about fred and friends soon. Here are what I think are the best of the bunch from this site.

Great Artsy Sites

2008-11-20T10:57:00.001-08:00

check out these sites ! They are all super fun ! If your bored or just feeling like you want a little fun in your life, go on them an play around.

http://snowflakes.barkleyus.com/index.html
http://www.graffiticreator.net/
http://www.zefrank.com/scribbler/
http://www.blockposters.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/w00kie/sets/180637/show/
http://www.typorganism.com/asciiomatic/

:) happy siting !

Edward Fella: Type means Polaroid

2008-11-20T10:34:00.000-08:00

Ok so I just want to post about an artist this time ! Surpising I know , since most of the stuff I normally post about are products and their great design ! Edward Fella is an artist ...well Let wiki tell you,
" is an artist, educator and graphic designer whose work has had an important influence on contemporary typography. He practiced professionally as a commercial artist in Detroit for 30 years before receiving an MFA in Design from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1987. He has since devoted his time to teaching at the California Institute of the Arts and his own unique self-published work which has appeared in many design publications and anthologies. In 1997 he received the Chrysler Award and in 1999 an Honorary Doctorate from CCS in Detroit. His work is in the National Design Museum and MoMA in New York."

Great huh ! What I love about him are his MANY photos, taken by a Polaroid camera , of type around in the real world, mostly handmade . Check it out.

2008-02-13T22:30:00.000-08:00

Alright . Haven't posted in a while. I want to just update you on some of my favorite this as seen on suckUK.

Dead Fred
Right from the site.
"Feeling stressed and frustrated? Need someone to take your aggression out on? And somewhere to keep that pesky pen you keep losing under the edge of your computer keyboard? Well Dead Fred is the man for you!Alleviate all that pent up aggression by violently and repeatedly stabbing Fred through the heart... and is if by magic there it is, just where you left it, your pen right at your fingertips - and your stress and frustration, vanished!"

Splat Stan

Stress Ball Paul

And some others

Suck UK does it again !

2007-12-10T09:42:00.000-08:00

So going to one of my favorite websites I got so excited because they added new things, which only happens once in a blue moon. Alway amazing and always funny, their products give a new edge to stuff normally. So when I saw their ice / hot packs, it made me want to live in the UK so I could get this stuff easier.

This is their description: "They look like proper medical plasma bags off of ER!
Perfect if you need a little TLC to help you recover form a big night out or a simple pulled muscle! But don't hook them up to an IV and mainline on the bright coloured juice! Instead apply the packs directly to the pain to soothe away your troubles! Available as Dr Cool Bag (blue - chill in the fridge) and Dr Hot Bag (red - click to activate and recharge for re-use in boiling water)."

They only cost 10 pounds which is about 20 USD .

Personally I'm tired of only finding these neat things from UK sites. I honestly don't go looking for UK sites only, I promise !

Need something to pick your ear out

2007-12-10T08:56:00.001-08:00

Well get yourself the cotton swab Pisellino then ! Again another great product from MadeInDesign.com. I saw these guys and I think they are just the cutest thing !

Funny and playful, this mysterious object is not other that a harbors cotton stems! Closed and put in the bathroom, one does not understand his function… Nevertheless, it suffices to raise the small joyous face of Pisellino, to discover an abundant reserve of cottons stems. Exist in blue, green and orange

They are only 15 pounds each which comes to about 30USD.

Lets talk about coffee baby

2007-12-10T08:26:00.000-08:00

Well as i was browsing the good ol' world wide web I came across the oddest, and somewhat coolest coffee makers around. From madeindesign.com the Geo proust drip coffee maker gives you coffee with design. This is what made in design had to say about it: "Geo brings to the fore an expressive, decorative and anthropomorphic language that is absolutely unprecedended in the world of kitchen appliances. This explicitly artistic approach is underscored by the presentation of a hand-painted version, the Geo-Proust, which has been put out in a numbered production."

Now from what I read about it, it was made by designer Alessandro Mendini, who even though I don't know the name I still looked him up. See for yourself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_Mendini

Just to let you all know this little hand painted feelow goes for 150 pounds, which happens to be about 300 USD. Nice huh. I would never pay that price for a drip coffee make because at that point get yourself a espresso maker !

Minor Studios

2007-10-08T16:04:00.000-07:00

Now, mostly I've only posted about products that I've come across to be art / geek ...me related. What I also wanted for this blog is to post other coming founds that might be related to the above topics. I've found a great website/blog of a studio graphic designer named Dave Werner, who heads up Minor studios. They are currently working on a new video game ( what that is I'm not sure ) and started up a blog to blog its process. Along the way the plan on blogging of their comings and goings as well as doing video podcast. Its really the video podcast that I'm all about . If your into graphic design, art , gaming , or just plan fun stuff then visit the site and watch one of the videos, its well worth your time.

http://minorstudios.com/journal/

thats the site . if you have anything else to say after you have went through it comment away.

Don't stab me ...

2007-09-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

Now this is fun! This is called " The Ex- Unique Knife Holder" , which unique might not be the word I would use. Its a knife holder in the shape of a person, which holds the knifes as if the person ( holder ) was being stab. NICE ! Perfect for all homes. Its comes in Red, sliver , and black.

Medusa Hub

2007-09-28T08:27:00.000-07:00

Medusa Hub

Sometimes I feel as though I'm having what I call a " Medusa hair day ". So when I found this new Hub on thinkgeek.com I felt a connection to this. This is the Medusa Hub sporting 4 USB 2.0 ports (up to 480Mbp),2 Firewire 400 ports(up to 400Mbps),1 USB Fan , and 1 USB Light. As thinkgeek said , it kinda looks ugly but beautiful at the same time. The design of it is very fun and not only that but it comes in the matching Mac white. Its also kind of odd that it looks like a small bomb from Mario.

The only thing is, it will put a dent in your wallet. though its might be cheaper then buy those all apart , you can snag one of these for only $79.99

It Supports:
o Windows 98, 2000, XP, Vista
o Mac OS9, OS X
o Linux

Pocket Shots

2007-09-24T17:36:00.000-07:00

This came from Wired Mag , they had a much better picture of it though. I picked this to post about not only for the fact that its goodness in a sippy cup, but becasue of the great design. very colorful and well put together. again better picture of it in Wired mag. So basicly it like sport gel for alcoholics and they only come for two bucks a pop. " they are perfect for marathon drinkers, drinking marathoners, world travelers, outdoorsy types, frugal concertoers, or for steadying the nerve on a Tuesday morning."

These are their five flavors:

RUM: This natural imported Carribean Rum is carefully distilled and then aged in the finest charred barrels.

WHISKEY: Pocket Shot is full bodied Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey produced the way Kentucky Bourbon used to be made, aged to perfection in charred Oak Barrels

VODKA: Pocket Shot Vodka is a clean, crisp and smooth premium vodka that is triple distilled and filtered three times using the finest American grains and purest water with no additives. This clear vodka can be mixed, iced down or enjoyed straight up.

TEQUILA: Pocket Shot Gold Tequila is made from the finest Blue Agave Tequila from Jalisco, Mexico. This is excellent Tequila for Margaritas or it can be enjoyed straight up.

GIN: Pocket Shot London Dry Gin

MyCuppa Mug

2007-09-24T16:44:00.000-07:00

The color matching mug helps you make the perfect brew !

These mugs are made by SUCK UK, but are not yet available.When they do come out it will be 7 pounds or 15 USD. Basicly just follow the color matching system that is place inside of the mug and add the right amount of mike / creamer to get it. They will have them for both tea or coffee ( i'm showing the coffee one in the picture) just go to google and type in SUCK UK