Posts from the ‘Food-ventures’ Category
Donuts, the dessert you eat for breakfast, have been on my mind since I heard about a place in Wichita, KS that makes unique flavors like salted caramel, orange cream cake, oatmeal cookie, and maple bacon. Passing through on a weekend vacation to Oklahoma City with my sister gave me the perfect opportunity to pick up a dozen for the road.
As you can see by the photograph we had no trouble at all sampling 12 different donuts in two days.
Donuts, like pizza, cookies, cheeseburgers and other circular shaped foods, come in such varieties that the design and color of the food is almost as exciting as the taste.
(clever segue, eh?)
I thought so. Above is one of my newer paintings – another featuring stenciled shapes with embellished patterns and textures. I’m really enjoying the lighter feeling these recent paintings have shown and all that can be done with a a simple shape and overlapping colors.
Looking at this painting now really has me thinking about what other objects (food or otherwise) are circle shaped…bowl of soup, cup of coffee…what is your favorite circle shaped item?
If you have had a one-on-one conversation with me in the last week or so chances are you’ve heard me going on about my new bread-making obsession. I’ve probably even pulled out my phone to show you the latest pictures like a proud new parent.
Making my own bread has always eluded me due to my lack of understanding how yeast, kneading, punching, and proofing all work. Thanks to the Magical Inspiration Land (also known as Pinterest) I found a recipe for home made bread that works for me because there is very little work involved.
For the last week or so I have been able to make a small loaf of bread that feeds my little family all day long. New day? New bread. No problem.
It’s a sick obsession my husband will be first to admit. Each morning I get up and turn the oven on almost as hot as it will go (you know, perfect for summer) and then I pat and pull my little baby (er… loaf) into shape and let it rest for a while before it can go inside the steamy hot oven.
When it comes out I turn it over and pat its bottom – making sure it sounds airy. Then it sits on the counter and if I’m lucky it makes some crackly noises. I love those sounds. My house smells amazing in the morning. And I float around the house smiling silently screaming, “I made BREAD! Good crispy chewy flavorful tasty BREAD!”
Not only is my bread delicious on its own but we’re learning to love all the great things that become even greater thanks to it’s ability to hold food. Nutella on home made bread? It’s god’s gift to snacking.
There’s only one problem.
But it’s nothing a little extra exercise and some darn good shape wear won’t fix.
Last night at my family’s favorite Thai restaurant (That’s Thai Orchid in Mission for you local folks) we were waiting for food and discussing the best foods we ever had. I told the story of my Levain Bakery chocolate chip cookie (and how it was so beyond heavenly I couldn’t eat it all so I tossed it in a trash can in Central Park, I know crazy). 
Today is Saturday – my day off for food, shopping, painting, and other general home making tasks including baking something. I decided on oatmeal dark chocolate chip cookies with walnuts. And I spent every moment considering temperatures and textures to create the most “like” Levain I could do. I think the ratio of 1:1:1 (butter, sugar, brown sugar) plus a chilled dough made the magic happen.
I know this will seem like a train of thought from Crazyville but as I mentioned I have been painting and above you can see the nearly finished 8×10 watercolor painting (yet untitled). Before I got on my butter sugar ratio kick I began this artwork thinking about balance, color, and contrast. I think those three elements are the main elements that make my paintings work. I think I’ve been working a lot towards finding a balance in my artwork – not to mention within an often hectic life.
Speaking of ratios and life. I just have to share this clip from one of the greatest shows of all time. I hope it makes you laugh as much as I do. Poor Horatio…
Opening Day for the Farmer’s Market in my neighborhood. Behold my locally grown organic garlic. If you count Nebraska as local when you live in Kansas. I count it. I love the market. I forgot how great it smells! I forgot how friendly and helpful most of the vendors are. I did not forget how beautiful all the food looks all stacked up together shiny and plump.
All my favorites were there….the Tamale guy, the bakery people, all the older farm couples and these sweet farm families. I love paying children money; they count it so meticulously. I bought a big bouquet of flowers mainly because the lady selling them looked lonely and I normally walk to the market and would not carry home something so bulky. Today a rain threat (and general post Friday night lazy-ness) led me to drive the car.
I bought sage because it looked pretty. I bought rosemary because it was sitting next to the sage. I plan to try and plant these babies but for now they sit in the box. They may become soup or something later. I have no idea. I gave up on making a meal plan before going to the farmer’s market. The beauty of the market is you never know what will grab you. So I buy what looks good from people who seem nice. Call me crazy but I think that’s an excellent way to eat.
I thought I’d t post one of my newer paintings, not yet listed in my shop. Since I slowed things down in the business of art selling (not art making) I have enjoyed a little more freedom to experiment. Experimenting brings its share of failures and believe me my trash can has seen a lot more artworks than usual. This one was sure to kick the bucket but as I went on I became attached to it and now I like it too much to toss.
In the spirit of experimentation I got a wild hair to create some cookies with the fresh basil growing in my window. I have never tried making shortbread before so this was the perfect time to go wild; no preconceptions, no let-downs. Shortbread is terribly easy: butter, flour, sugar (I used this recipe). Add some fresh basil and lemon and ta-da…delicious cookies that have a healthy quality what with the earthy grassy tinge and all. Never mind the butter. Don’t think about the butter….
munch munch munch….. Happy experimenting 
You might think that closing my Etsy shop (er, I mean putting it on “vacation”) has given me oodles of time to hone my cooking skills and while the food is roasting I might churn out piles of paintings. I thought that’s how it would work too! But by golly I have been much less productive in the food and art department since the 2012 shut down. I have, however, been Pinterest-ing my home like a certified CRAZY person; a tension rod here, some double sided tape there, and oila! My house is not just functional but organized in ways I never imagined.
Seriously, I actually have a yogurt container wrapped in scrapbook paper adhered to my bedside wall so I can better reach my phone when the alarm goes off in the morning. Lock me up and throw away the key.
BUT tonight the spark came back to me. You see food and art are so closely related that I can’t hardly separate the two forms of making things. Part of my will to make things comes from reading old cook books. Weird, yeah.
Read the first paragraph of my grandmother’s 7th edition of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and tell me it doesn’t have you swooning for something tasty:
I’ll admit I’m a little kooky about this sort of thing but there’s magic in them words I tell ya. Magic that made me want to be a good plain cook, at best. Now back to reading. Oh wait….11 new pins on Pinterest…I better just peek….
I’m a spinach freak-a-zoid. I always have it in the fridge because it’s my favorite salad base. I have read a gazillion recipes for spinach this or that but they all call for frozen chopped spinach….which frankly is very unappetizing. But I was having guests for dinner and I wanted to make a vegetarian dish for my guests. Lasagna was the solution. And never having made a vegetarian lasagna (or any lasagna) I wanted a trusted recipe and chose to follow an old wedding gift that keeps on giving – Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook 2006 edition. These are the highlights.
Grated cheese…is there anything better? I never like to buy the already grated bag stuff. It seems like it has a funny powder all over it. I like to grate my own…makes me feel all prairie-like.
Nothing beats holiday stress like dicing the hell out of an onion. A big onion. Choppity chop chop….choppity chop chop (to the tune of your favorite Christmas song if you like). Try it. You’ll see.
Okay let’s cut to the chase. I made a big thick square lasagna with lots of cheese. I think the thing weighed about 15lbs when I put it in the oven. It was a juicy hot mess but delicious if I do say so myself.
What do you like to make for holiday main dishes? I still need to decide on a Christmas dinner menu.
A couple weeks ago my grandmother turned 86 years old. I went to visit her and borrow some more of her cookbooks. She finds it funny that I read cookbooks before bed each night and encourages me to read from her library. I find it very relaxing to go to bed dreaming of cookies, candies, and random hard boiled egg in gelatin recipes. On her shelves of funny old cookbooks I found a collection of hand written recipes acquired by Grandma’s mother, Helfred Herbert.
I never met Helfred. But I think I would have liked her. Upon further investigation I found this photo of her (above) and Grandma told me she was a red head (like me!). Helfred was born in America but her parents immigrated from Sweden. Helfred lived in a little Swedish town in Iron Mountain, Michigan and later married a minister and lived in Chicago where my grandmother grew up. She loved food. According to my grandma, Helfred made cookies from Dec 1st to Christmas Day. This is my kind of gal.
I thumbed through the notebook of recipes she collected and am completely excited to try one out. Yesterday when my daughter was bored of TV and barbies we decided to make some cookies. Well, I didn’t have the ingredients to make some of Helfred’s cookies but I had just what I needed for the world’s most perfect frosted sugar cookies. Recipe below adapted from Better Homes and Gardens:
2/3 cup of softened unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 T. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 C. all purpose flour (plus more for rolling)
1. In large mixing bowl beat butter with mixer for 30 secs. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt, beating well. Beat in egg, buttermilk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in flour a little bit at a time, stir in remaining if you cant beat it. Cut the dough in half and wrap into plastic wrap tube then put them in the fridge for at least 30 mins.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. On a flour dusted surface roll dough to between an eighth and a fourth of an inch thick. Cut with cutters and place on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for 7-8 minutes (depending on the size of your cut-outs). You really don’t want to over bake them. Don’t let them get brown. It would be a shame.
4. Cool them as long as you can. Then frost with a quick mix of lots and lots of powdered sugar and a little bit of water. Water goes a long way. Get your consistency to your liking. Frost and sprinkle…. let the frosting get hard before you eat up all the sweet sugary goodness!
I think Helfred would be proud.
Full fall weekend. How was yours? Here’s what I learned:
1. Raking leaves gives me hives in a major way.
2. My daughter’s adorable-ness makes the hives I got from raking with her slightly more bearable.
3. I always see something new every time I go on a walk.
4. Did you know your city has a “Walk Score?” and you can have your very own address rated. My neighborhood rates at a 45 (100 best) – not too shabby but surprisingly low for the amount of useful walking I can do around here.
5. Home made biscuits are good. G—-ooood. I ordered a copy of Home Made by Yvette van Boven and the thing weighs a ton but has wonderful recipes and other do-it-yourself ideas for home cooking. My thumbs are totally up for the amount of recipes and pretty pictures. More testing must be done!
6. You might see a bright green Statue of Liberty head there mid-collage above. It’s a student artwork that is there to remind me how much great stuff my students are capable of.
7. Okay, it’s also there because I have officially decided to make the effort to go to the 2012 National Art Educator’s Convention in NYC. Any art teachers out there gonna go? Let me know 
I would have never pegged myself for a neat freak. But the rush I get from my newly cleaned out pantry makes me want to organize every nook and cranny of this old house. It’s so sensical. It’s so clean. It’s so …organized I could curl up in there and take a nap – literally there is space in there for my pillows. Where once was a massive pile of wrinkled paper bags mixed with potato chip crumbs and dog food particles is now clean wood floor space. I had no idea there were wood floors in there!
Okay, I did but I haven’t seen them since we moved in.
So to all you pantry stuffers of emotions and bad mojo….get in there and clean that stuff out. It’s so liberating.
Did I mention I found 7 (different) brands of spaghetti in there? 5 of which were already opened.
I tossed out three trash bags full of expired or otherwise useless food.
I rid myself of 7,8, or 9 year old spices and weird useless junk that I kept because…because….see what I mean?
I am a free woman! Rawr 
