Spring!

I know that most of the country is buried in snow and having lived in places where it is cold and windy and snowy until almost May, I feel bad for you.  However, it is spring in Dallas!  It has been sunny and in the 70s this weekend which makes me so happy!  Now, it is Dallas, so this could change any day now, but usually this is the time of year it starts to stay warm and sunny and makes me love living here so much.

Enough gloating, onto art things!  Once again, it has been a while since I posted (but less than a year, so that is progress).  I was in my first arts and craft fair this fall which was very exciting!  I loved putting my booth together and figuring out how to display my jewelry.  It could still use some tweaking before the spring fairs, but I was satisfied with it as a first attempt:

I also got new business cards from moo.com which I LOVE!  You can use as many different photos of your work as you want, so I didn't have to choose just one necklace to put on the front.  It was funny to watch people flip through them and choose the card they wanted to take.

I am finally adding my big, "wearable art" necklaces to my Etsy shop.  I really like them because they are so colorful and bright, but since they are polymer clay, they are not heavy.  I need to take a few more photos with models, but I already put a few photos on my facebook page.  I have not made anything new in a while, but over the Christmas break I did my first big experiment with printmaking.  I loved it!  I am just using styrofoam from restaurant to-go containers, but it is working really well.  I will try to post some images of my favorite prints for you to see.  Until then, here is the most artistic thing I have done lately: (Settlers of Catan cookies for my brother's birthday)

Pinterest

As you may know, I really love Pinterest!  However, now that the novelty has worn off, I no longer spend hours upon hours on Pinterest, pinning tons of things everyday.  There are some days that I don't even look at Pinterest (if you can believe it!).  I still enjoy it a lot though, and these days there are three main areas I pin in: 1) lesson plan/classroom ideas, 2) recipes, 3) art/inspirational pictures.  Now, I have a personal pinning policy that I started use. I read a blog post (I really can't remember where or I would link to it...) about a woman who was no longer going to use Pinterest because she felt that it was not ok to use other people's images without their consent and without giving them credit.  Well, I was too much in love with Pinterest to stop using it, so I decided to only pin images that take you back to the original source (disclaimer: I may have a few lingering pins from before I implemented this policy - I am not perfect... but I try).  This is harder than you may think.  Many images are links to nowhere or just to another site that has several pictures.  Others are links to people's blogs who tried a recipe or project they saw on another blog, so I follow their link back to the original and pin from there.  I feel that this is my best pinning policy because this way, my pins link back to the original author (giving them credit) and I am ok pinning their images because I know it is possible to block pinning capabilities if you do not want your images pinned.

Now, all that was to say that I recently pinned a chocolate berry tart recipe.  It was originally very disappointing because I saw a beautiful, mouth-watering, delicious-looking picture of one on Pinterest that was a sad case of it being a link to nowhere.  But after seeing it, all I could think about was making a dark chocolate berry tart, so I did some googling.  I did not find the source for the beautiful, mouth-watering, delicious-looking chocolate berry tart, but I did find another recipe for cute, little, yummy looking mini-tarts.  So I pinned that instead.  I happen to have cute tart pans that I have been waiting to try out, so this is the perfect recipe for me!  Here is my link in case you want to check it out: http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2012/08/no-bake-blueberry-truffle-tartlets.html.  I will let you know how they turn out!

(photo from loveandoilveoil.com)

Pie Night!

I am on summer vacation, so I apologize (again) for the lack of posts.  I am visiting my family and someone had a stroke of genius and we had a pie night!  We made three savory pies and four sweet pies.  I finally got the chance to try two pie recipes that I found earlier this summer, but I discovered something sad.  I really don't like fruit pie.  I have never been a big fan of apple pie (I know, it is unpatriotic!) but I eat it sometimes, so I always thought I just needed to be in the right mood.  Well, I made fruit pies, I was in the mood for pies, but I really didn't care for them.  Luckily, everyone else seemed to love them, so if you like fruit pies then these are for you!  

Our Pie Night Pies: 

 

Chicken Pot Pie - made by my Dad and really, really good!

 

Egg Pie (also know as Quiche, but changed for the purposes of Pie Night) - made by my Mom and full of tons of veggies, her homegrown garlic chives and topped with cheese. Yum!

Vegetarian Shepard's Pie - made by my brother who had a recipe that he apparently didn't really follow.  Luckily it turned out amazing!

 

Chocolate Cream Pie - made by my Dad.  Each slice was topped with his homemade whipped cream - really rich, but very, very tasty.

 

Key Lime Pie - also made by my Dad who thought the pie was a pale ugly color, so he added food coloring to brighten it up.  Despite the funky color, it tasted good!

 

Jelly Pie - made by my friend Mary.  It is a pie her grandma used to make and if you like pie crust (like my family does) then this is the pie for you! 

 

Peach Cream Pie - made by me.  This was also topped with my Dad's whipped cream.  It was a big hit!  I got the recipe here: http://www.evilshenanigans.com/2010/08/peach-cream-pie/

 

Blueberries and Cream Pie - made by me.  This was actually made the day after pie night for dinner with our friends, but it was also a big hit (with everyone but me - I really wish I liked fruit pies!).  Here is the recipe: http://gingerbreadbagels.com/2011/06/18/blueberries-and-cream-pie/ It is very easy to make and really great if you like blueberries. 

I should probably confess that none of us made our crusts from scratch.  My dad is a big fan of the Pillsbury crusts that you just unroll and put in the pan.  They are so easy and really tasty, so we all used those... don't judge us too harshly.  You should all have you own Pie Night and if you make way too much (like we did) then you can enjoy leftover pies for the days to come! 

Busy, busy

February turned out to be quite a busy month!  But I did manage to do a little art along with planning a friend's bachelorette party :)  I also got back on a bit of a Pinterest kick, which led me to a ton of new recipes, which got me on a baking kick.  I have to say, I found some really great recipes (particularly the cinnamon swirl banana bread) but I have satisfied my baking itch for now.  You can see my cooking board on Pinterest if you are interested! 

The idea for this painting has been floating around in my head and I finally put paint to canvas! 

close up of the top

New Necklaces

I have been trying to use some of the drawings I have been working on and put them on a necklace.  It was a bit harder than I thought and I am not entirely sure if I like the result, but they are kind of funky. 

I sat down yesterday to try and make some Valentine's necklaces.  I think they look fun as a group.  We will see if anyone in the land of Etsy likes them! 

I was also in the mood to bake this weekend, so I made a delicious frittata (if I do say so myself!).  And then, wanting something sweet, I made lemon cookies which I decided to decorate:

 I used potatoes, red pepper, red onion, thyme and rosemary

Success!

Well, I did it.  I cooked and hosted my first Thanksgiving dinner!  There was plenty of food, nothing burned, and only one plate of deviled eggs tipped and spilled onto the floor (luckily I had two plates).  It was a LOT of work but it made Thanksgiving feel like Thanksgiving and it was much easier to be so far from home. 

A table full of empty plates is a good sign!

I have been doing a lot of cooking lately.  I have also been thinking of a lot of new projects, but have not started any yet.  I also discovered Pinterest, which if you have not yet checked out, you totally should.  I am thoroughly enjoying it!  I suppose I am spending my time looking at other peoples' projects instead of making my own.  It is time to get creative! 

The Turkey

Ok, I have officially cooked my first turkey.  I would like to say that raw turkeys are disgusting.  Totally and completely disgusting.  That was my least favorite part of this whole thing.  But it did smell great as it cooked, and it looks all golden and crisp and exactly like its supposed to!  I think that is a good sign.  I will warm it up tomorrow before dinner and it should be perfect.  So now the eggs are made and the turkey is done and all the chopping that can be done in advance is done.  I am as ready as I can be for dinner tomorrow.  Aside from the fact that my apartment has not been cleaned...

My turkey!

Rite of Passage

Hello again!  I took a bit of a break from my blog due to the busyness of life and the fact that I was out of town for two weeks.  However, as this Thursday approaches, it seems the appropriate time to begin again.  I am about to have one of those stereotypical, American rites of passage: cooking your first Thanksgiving dinner alone.  Since I am living in Germany, it is just another Thursday here.  This means that after working all day, I will come home and frantically cook for a few hours and then lots of people will show up at my house expecting that I have not burned the turkey and have plenty of food for all of them.  I really, really hope that is what happens.  I have planned out things to do to prepare everyday this week, so that Thursday is not too stressful.  I also bought a 14 pound turkey that I will be cooking alone.  We will see how this goes...

Soup

Fall is officially here.  The weather is cold and rainy and it is dark for most of the day.  On the upside, the leaves are beautiful! All this cold make me want to eat soup and sit by the fire.  We have not bought firewood yet, but I have already started making soups.  I tried a new recipe tonight, Butternut Squash Soup with Cinnamon Whipped Cream and Fried Shallots.  It was delicious!  I found the recipe on the Food Network website.  It took a long time to make, but it was worth it! 

If you want to give it try here is the link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/butternut-squash-soup-with-cinnamon-whipped-cream-and-fried-shallots-recipe/index.html.  Happy Fall :)

Chocolate!

I have always wanted to try making my own chocolate truffles.  I love chocolate and I figured making my own would be delicious and save me some money!  Sadly, it was one of those things I think about doing for a long time but never actually get around to trying.  Well, last week when I was shopping at Aldi (my favorite grocery store), I found these chocolate coffee beans.  They were not chocolate covered coffee beans, but coffee flavored chocolate in the shape of a coffee bean.  All I could think was, these would be perfect to put on top of a chocolate coffee truffle...

So, I decided to stop thinking about truffles and just try making them!  My technique is not at all perfect, and some of them look a bit funny, but they taste great!  So far I have tried a few different flavors: coffee, cinnamon, mint, vanilla, and plain dark chocolate.  I love them all! 

close up of the truffles as they dry

this is the cinnamon truffle filling

my tray of drying truffles

Painting Break

I took a break from jewelry and have been filling up all the canvases I bought this summer.  I am amazed how much cheaper canvases are here.  It is much more affordable to buy several of them and I may even splurge and buy a giant one because I've always wanted to make a huge paining!  I am pretty pleased with how the painting went and since I hung them up it made the apartment much more colorful :)

I also finally tried a recipe from one of the food blogs I like.  It is a no bake chocolate cake.  It looks like it will be amazing!  I have not tasted it yet (it has to refrigerate), but I am hoping it is as good as it looks.  Here is the link in case you are a chocolate lover: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/no-bake-chocolate-cake-recipe.html.  Happy cooking!

Two Pumpkins and A Squash

Inspiration struck today and I made a few more necklaces for my "fall line".  I feel like it is a bit presumptuous to be making a fall line since I have only sold two necklaces so far... but I suppose it is thinking positively!  It feels like fall in Germany; it is chilly and rainy with no sunshine, so fall necklaces seem an appropriate topic.

In other news, earlier this week I made some of the most delicious pasta salad I have ever had.  I got the recipe from my friend Nike and not only is it easy, but it makes a lot, so it is a great thing to take to a cookout.  You can pretty much put in whatever you like in pasta salad because the magic ingredient is the dressing - Weight Watcher's Balsamic dressing!  Here is what I put in:

1 box bow tie pasta
1 package sun dried tomatoes
1 bunch arugula
1 ball fresh mozzarella
1/2 ish grated Parmesan cheese
2 containers Weight Watchers Balsamic Dressing (they were in the refrigerated salad section of the grocery store) 

(those are all the ingredients I had, but you can also add 1 diced tomato, sliced black olives and small capers)

1. Cook pasta according to the directions on the box.
2. Chop tomatoes, arugula, and mozzarella.
3. Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!  (if you don't eat it all in one sitting, refrigerate)

Tomatoes vs Sweet Peas

I tried making some new necklaces yesterday and just was not happy with the way they turned out.  I was trying to recreate a sweet pea blossom that I saw on my flower walk last week: 

 
The necklace looks ok, but kind of funny.  So, I decided to try a new recipe instead of making jewelry and I had much better luck!  I made stuffed tomatoes from a German recipe I found in a magazine (and I only had to look up about six words!).  They were delicious and I will definitely make them again. 

Here is the recipe in case you want to make them:

4 large tomatoes
handful of fresh arugula
1 small red bell pepper
1 small yellow bell pepper
2 Tablespoons sour cream
100 g frischkäse (if you don't have this German cheese, use cream cheese instead)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons sunflower seeds
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon olive oil
fresh sage (I didn't have any, but the recipe called for 4 leaves of fresh sage plus a few for garnish)

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (350 F).
2. Wash and dry the tomatoes, then cut off the tops and scoop out the seeds with a small spoon. 
3. Wash, dry and chop the arugula, bell peppers and sage (if you are using it). 
4. In a bowl, mix together the sour cream, Parmesan, and frischkäse/cream cheese.  One it is well blended, add the arugula, sage, peppers, and sunflower seeds and season with salt and pepper. 
5. Spoon the cheese mixture into each of the four tomatoes (I had some mixture left over). 
6. Pour the olive oil in a small cooking pan and place the tomatoes in. 
7. Bake for about 20 minutes then serve hot!