Fall is creeping in and my summer garden is winding down. There's a slight chill in the night air that sends me searching for long forgotten sweatshirts. There are far fewer mosquitoes and more spiders in the backyard. A trade I am happy to make since the spiders generally keep to themselves.

Matt and I enrolled in an evening pottery class. It's his first time on the wheel but pottery is an old love of mine. I find myself daydreaming about glaze combinations and mug shapes.

I haven't been making as much art as I would like. But I did make this little watercolor for a swap. The woman I made this for loves My Little Pony and all things rainbow. Which was way out of my comfort zone. I was inspired by this piece, especially the rainbow hair. I really hope she likes it.

August Part 2

Cooking For One

Earlier this month, my husband went away on a business trip for a whole week. I'm lucky that he doesn't have to travel often and so the week felt like a very big deal to me, but I'm sure those of you whose spouses travel for weeks if not months at a time are rolling your eyes at me. But yeah, to me it was a big deal.

One of the things I have always hated about being on my own is cooking for just me. It just seems like too much effort, what with the prep and the cooking time and worst of all, the clean up. But whenever my husband has to travel for work, I find myself forced to cook for one. And I've learned a few things along the way.

Lentil Soup with Sausage and Kale

1. Use Your Freezer

One of my favorite ways to make things easier on myself is by cooking big meals ahead of time and freezing the leftovers in individual serving sized portions. This does not work for everything. Potatoes for example don't tend to freeze very well. But lots of soups, chilies, and pasta sauces freeze and reheat beautifully.

Chili with Chips and Cheese

To reheat soup or other liquidy foods on the stove, run the container under some warm water to loosen it and plop it right into a small sauce pan. Warm it on medium low heat and stir every 5 minutes or so to keep it from scorching to the bottom.

Pasta with Meat Sauce and Salad

2. One Pot Meals

Any meal with easy clean up gets a big gold star from me. I enjoy cooking but I hate washing up. One way to minimize clean up is to make one pot meals. It doesn't have to be a literal pot, of course. Any meal that you can make with a single skillet, cookie sheet, frying pan or whatever can be considered a one pot meal. The point is that you don't dirty a lot of dishes. Some examples are my fish in a packet recipe, fried rice, and macaroni and cheese.

Asian Fish in a Packet

Garden Veggie Salad with Chicken

3. Indulge In Small Luxuries

I'm a big proponent of spoiling yourself a little every now and again. So go ahead and toss a few luxury ingredients into the mix. Pasta with shrimp and smoked artisianal bacon? Yes please! Grilled cheese sandwiches made with aged sharp cheddar? For sure! Add some local edamame on the side and wash it all down with your favorite micro brew. There's no reason why you should eat a hot pocket while watching the real house wives of wherever just because your significant other is traveling. Martyrdom is for, well, martyrs. And there is no need for that. 

Bourbon Bacon Pasta

I missed my husband quite a bit while he was away, but I really enjoyed the cooking adventure it led me on. A few things I had made ahead and frozen for easy, throw-it-in-a-pot-and-warm-it-up, dinners, like chili (add some grated cheese and chips), meat sauce for pasta, and lentil soup with sausage and kale. Others fell into the quick and easy category. Such as bourbon bacon pasta with mushrooms, asian fish in a packet, and chicken over garden veggie salad with aged balsamic vinegar and olive oil. And each was delicious in it's own way.

August

Cabled Pillow

I love the texture on this pillow cover. It's so nubbly and fun to touch. The yarn was originally knit into a bunch of little child sized purses, but I had no use for them so I ripped it all out and made this instead. The cable pattern is the same. It's a very basic 2 stitch repeating cable and where the right and left slanting cables meet, you wrap the yarn around several times.

Margaritas and Shredded Chicken Taquitos with Salsa and Guacamole

Today I'd like to share with you my recipe for shredded chicken. I originally modeled it after the delicious shredded chicken you can find in burritos from taquerias all over southern California. But over the years it has kind of evolved into my own thing. I like to use it in burritos, enchiladas, tacos and, as you can see, taquitos. I've also included directions for taquitos, pico de gallo salsa, guacamole and margaritas.

Shredded Chicken:

 

• olive oil
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1 spicy chile, seeded and minced (I've used dried pasillas, fresh seranos and fresh jalapenos. They're all good.)
• 1-1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 small can El Pato tomato sauce - the green one (optional but delicious)
• 1 tablespoon chile powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• a big pinch of salt
• 12 oz of the cheapest beer you have on hand (you can also use chicken broth if beer isn't your thing)

*This chicken freezes nicely, so I often make a double batch and freeze half for later use. That's what I did this time around. Hence the 2 cans of beer, packages of chicken, etc. Next time I think I'll just use one can of beer. It took a long time for the liquid to boil off and my chicken got a little over done and mushy.

In a medium/small pot, pour in enough olive oil to cover the bottom and heat it over medium low heat.

Add the onions, spicy chilies, and garlic. Saute them until the onions soften.

Toss the chicken into the pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Give it a stir then bring it to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally until the chicken falls apart. If it starts to dry out and stick to the bottom of the pan, add some water or chicken broth. 

 

While the chicken is doing it's thing, work on your toppings and maybe a margarita to reward yourself for all your hard work.

Pico de Gallo:

• 1 ripe tomato, diced
• 1 jalapeño, minced
• handful of cilantro, chopped
• 2 large green onions or 6 skinny ones, white parts only, minced
• lime juice
• salt

Combine the tomato, jalapeno, cilantro and green onions in a bowl. Add a squeeze of lime juice and a large pinch of salt. Stir it all up. And you're done! Easy peasy!

Guacamole:
When it comes to guacamole, I'm a purist. No tomato. No onion. Just some avocado, a little lime or lemon juice, and salt to bring out the flavor. Toss it all into a bowl and mash it with a fork. Give it a taste and add more salt or juice as needed. If you're eating it with salty chips, go easy on the salt.

Margaritas:
There are two main things that make this margarita recipe awesome. First, the tequila. Use good quality tequila that tastes good all on it's own. Secondly, I believe that by letting the lime juice and agaves syrup marinate with the lime zest, you get a deeper more complex flavor.

• lime zest from 2 limes
• lime juice from 2 limes
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 3 shots tequila (about 4-5 ounces)
• 1 shot triple sec (about 1.5 ounces)
• salt

Put the lime zest, lime juice and agave syrup into a bowl. Let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Rub the edges of two glasses with the leftover lime and dip into a saucer of salt. Add 4-6 ice cubes to each glass.

Strain the juice mixture into a cocktail shaker. Add the tequila and triple sec and several ice cubes. Shake until it gets cold. Pour into the salt rimmed glasses.

Taquitos:

• corn tortillas
• canola oil (about 1 cup)
• shredded chicken

plus

• toothpicks
• paper towels
• kitchen thermometer

Lay out your tortillas on the paper towels in a single layer. You want them to dry out so they'll fry up better. Stale tortillas work beautifully here. Flip them once or twice over the course of 10-20 minutes.

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan to 350˚F.

Fry the tortillas one at a time, for about 5 seconds on each side. You want them soft and flexible, not crispy.  As you finish each tortilla, transfer it to a paper towel.

Take the pan off the heat. Once the tortillas are cool, place a small amount of shredded chicken in the tortilla, roll it up and secure with toothpicks.

Put the oil back on the heat and bring it back up to temperature. Place the taquitos into the hot oil and fry 8 minutes total turning a quarter turn every 2 minutes (or until crispy and golden brown).

Put it all together!
Place 2 or 3 taquitos on a plate. Top with guacamole and salsa. To turn it into a full dinner, add a nice big green salad on the side or some beans and rice.
Enjoy!

Snarkles

This is my friend's little Corgi. She stayed with us for a weekend. She refused to put up with any of Caleb's nonsense, earning her the nickname Snarkles.

5"x7" watercolor

Painting with the Rain

My Garden and a Recipe for Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

Did you know that I have a vegetable garden? I think I've mentioned it before. It's about 8 feet wide by 16 feet long. I'm really lucky that someone who lived here before had their garden in the same spot. It's sunny most of the time and the soil is richer than anywhere else in our yard. Matt and I spent several afternoons working the soil in the spring to make it hospitable to the plants we wanted to grow. And then we planted a slew of veggies, crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.

We've had some very mixed success. We harvested a couple handfuls of peas and several pounds of potatoes but our lettuce, kale, carrots, melons and a few other things I'm sure I'm forgetting became casualties of the bugs, birds squirrels and bunnies. I can't complain too much. We really don't know what the heck we were doing and Tennessee is pretty different from California and even in CA, we only really grew a few tomatoes some peppers. So I'm chalking it up to a learning experience and celebrating the victories.

Yay for the potatoes! These are yukon golds. They're super versatile and yummy too. And here's one of my favorite potato recipes.

Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

This is an easy potato dish that you can pop in the oven to roast while you make the rest of your dinner.

1.5 – 2 lbs roasting potatoes (I like reds, fingerlings and yukon golds)
olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
salt
pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the potatoes into 1 inch chunks. Toss them into a glass baking dish. Strip the leaves off the rosemary stems, mince the leaves, and discard the stems. Add the rosemary and garlic to the potatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and dot with butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and give the whole thing a good stir. Pop it in the oven to roast. Turn over potatoes every 20 minutes or so to ensure even cooking. The potatoes will be done when they are tender on the inside and a little bit crispy on the outside. Approx 45 min.

Another Little Watercolor

Hot Air Balloon over the Great Smokey Mountains. 4" x 6"

Watercolor ATCs

Here are a few small scale watercolors I made this month. I've been experimenting with different techniques, especially with latex masking fluid.

Home

Ever get sick and then think you're over it only to get slammed with it again even worse than before? That pretty much sums up my week. I spent most of it on the couch watching netflix and feeling exhausted. But I did want to share something with you this week. So here's a work in progress. It's another mdf cutout, like the monogram.

This is just the under painting. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with it from here. I know it's going to be about the idea of home but I'm not really sure how I feel about home and where exactly I belong and what that means to me. This song has also been on my mind quite a bit. I heard it the other day on my favorite local radio station and it struck a chord with me. It's called Neither Here Nor There by Cory Bishop.

Burrowing Owl

Sometimes when I'm drawing, the little creatures take on a personality of their own. For example, this is Henry. Henry is a burrowing owl. He also likes to sing and dreams about one day singing the National Anthem at the World Series.

Hi Friends

Sorry I missed last week. I was in California and didn't have time to make anything. It was a whirlwind trip filled with birthdays, graduations, reunions with old friends, meeting a new baby and saying our last goodbyes to a loved one. I'll have some art up later this week but right now I need to tend my garden and tackle the mountains of laundry piled up in my closet.

Big Sur Sunset

Map Covered Monogram Tutorial

How to Make a Map Covered Monogram:

Materials:
1/4" sheet MDF - 2' x 4' (also known as particle board)
large map - mine is a 1988 National Geographic world map
scissors
xtacto or small utility knife
painters tape or masking tape
jigsaw
drill with 1/4" or larger bit
sandpaper - 100 grit works well
bone folder or wadded up paper towel
C-clamps and a sturdy work surface

Safety equipment:
safety glasses
dust mask (especially if you have allergies or asthma)
ear plugs

Step One: Determine the size of your monogram.
Factors:
- Size of your wall - I could fit something up to 3' x 4' on my mantle.
- Size of your map - My map was approximately 3.5' x 2.5'
- Size of your MDF - My local hardware store sold huge sheets of MDF for about $30 or 2'x4' sheets for about $6. I went with the $6 option.

My monogram is 24" tall and 44" wide.

Step Two: Plot out your letters.
I used Illustrator because it's what I have. But you can use whatever program you have that lets you manipulate text, especially kerning.
Important:
- Choose a font that is thick enough that when you cut the letters out, they'll have enough structural integrity that they won't break. I am using Rosewood Standard Fill.
- You want your letters to overlap enough that it's not going to break where the letters meet with one another. You can do this by adjusting the kerning.
- For printing purposes, use just the outlines of the letters. It'll save you a ton of toner/ink.

Step Three: Transfer your monogram to the MDF.
4 options:
- If you have amazing lettering skills, you can draw it right onto your MDF. However, if you're like me and you don't, do one of the following.
- Easiest: Use a projector and trace the image directly onto the MDF.
- Second Easiest: Pay a printing service to print it out large scale, cut out the letters.
- Cheapest and Most Masochistic: (ie. my method) Tile your image, print it out onto a bajillion 8.5 x 11 sheets of cardstock, meticulously piece them back together with tape and cut out the monogram.

For either of the last 2 options, carefully cut out the letters and, using some painters tape (or masking tape that you've stuck to your jeans a couple times to make it less tacky), secure the letters to the sheet of MDF so that they won't slip around while you're tracing them. Make sure that your paper pattern is nice and flat against the surface so you don't end up with wonky letters.

 Trace your pattern onto your MDF with your favorite magenta sharpie. Then take a break for dinner because you've completely lost track of time and you just realized that you're starving.

Step Four: Cut it Out
Secure the MDF to a sturdy work surface and cut that sucker out.
Tips:
- Always use proper safety equipment and procedures. Keep your fingers, hair, clothes, etc. away from the blade.
- Jigsaws cut lovely curves and straight lines, but they won't cut at an angle.
- Use a drill to start cutting out an interior space. So for example, to cut out this odd shape between the ampersand and the M, I drilled three holes and then cut along the lines. I was left with a few small areas that I didn't get with my initial cuts, so I just went back in with the saw and cleaned them up.

- Start with the outside and remove any large excess pieces first. Then do the inner areas and work your way out so as to protect any fragile parts, like the long thin pieces of my "M". Like so.

Step Five: Sand the Edges
Smooth out any rough edges.

Step Six: Glue the map to your monogram cut out.
In a well ventilated area, spread out some newspaper to put under your cutout.

Spray the mdf with spray adhesive, following the directions on the can.
Working quickly with a partner, carefully place the map on top of the cutout and smooth it down.
Using the bone folder or wadded up paper towel, rub the paper firmly all over to remove any bubbles and adhere it to the cutout.

Step Seven:
Flip it over onto some cardboard and cut out all around the MDF with your utility or xacto knife.

Step Eight:
Run a piece of sandpaper carefully along the edges to remove any excess paper. You want to use a downward/sideways motion to avoid tearing the paper. Use gentle pressure and make several passes, instead of one really firm stroke.

Step Nine:
Step it up and admire your handy work!

Bibliography: I used the following sources as instruction and inspiration.
http://gemgirlart.com/wordpress/map-page-alpha-letters/
http://www.sugarbeecrafts.com/2012/01/giant-picture-tutorial.html