Comfort Food

These are my favorite dried herbs to put in roasted veggie stew. Peel and cut into one inch pieces root veggies and put into a roasting pan, I use a glass one. You need about 4 cups of veggies. Dried spicesmake winter stews tasty.Spare no expense and get the finest olive oil, Colavita is my favorite. It's worth the extra money. Sure I have a bottle of the cheaper stuff, but I prefer this.
This is what it looks like after roasting 30 minutes, after dizzling with olive oil and tossing with the dried herbs. At this point you stir and recoat the veggies with the juices from the bottom of the pan, and return to the oven for another 30 minutes or so. Parsnips, sweet potato, celery, carrots, garlic and onion. I forgot regular potatoes!Meanwhile brown one cup of TVP ( textured vegetable protein in 2T butter, then add organic vegetable broth until it is a bit watery and simmer, keep adding broth as it evaporates, I used about 1'2 of the container. Then add your roasted veggies.

This is what it looks like when the roasted veggies are added to the TVP and vegetable broth, after simmering for a bit. Its now ready to eat, so good with a piping hot slice of homemade bread! This will keep you warm all day!

Winter is going to be winter as long as it is winter, and you can quote me on that!

I am eccentric. I allow the mock orange to grow high near my picture window, as the cardinals nest in it.

Alas this is why most birds fly south for the winter! But even cardinals dont use their nests in winter. Can you see the nest from last year, covered in snow?

The woodpecker's peanut feeder is empty! I had better do something about that.

The pond is frozen over and burried in snow. We got a powdered sugar snowfall, dusting everything. The dogs, the horses all were covered in it. It just kept coming! It is hard to believe that Thursday and Friday it was so warm, over 40 degrees both days and I rode the horses both days! We were all a bit rusty, but then sugar cubes are great motivators. I carried the veggie peelings out to them and they gobbled them up.

The weekend came and it was below 10 F. too cold to ride! So we went to Barnes and Noble, and to the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It was good. Very long, 2 hours and 48 minutes! I loved the actress that played Queenie. It was definately Brad Pitt's Forrest Gump. If he gets an Oscar, it will be for this. It was really his best work. I won't spoil it for you with any more details. It takes you back in time, wonderfully. I love Tilda Swinton in this too. Put that woman in a hat and she looks like a queen!

A few still lifes from my studio

Here a few nuances to last evening. I thought the light in my studio was pretty. The woodstove gives off subtle glow. So I wandered about, taking a few snaps.

A tiny wax angel flies from a basket handle.

A jumble of things, poor dolly needs some arms!

A gold leaf transer image on the clock case door.

My faux battenberg lace etched door to the wrap around porch. It really glows at night.



Me, modeling my newly made earrings. I bought the little Eiffel Towers on Etsy and strung them with a mix of antique and plastic beads.

New Work on my website!

To visit click here below:
http://www.kingfisherfarm.net/

Winning Grin!!!

This morning Leah won 2nd place in her school spelling bee. It's ironic that she drew the 2nd place for participation and ended up the reserve champ! I was a nervous wreck, stomach churning and have a massive headache!! I think her dad was worse, he couldn't look at her, he just sat there gripping the front seat of his chair. This means she goes to the regional bee for the first time! This is her 4th year, and her highest placing and I think the first time she studied! Ok, I am ready for the UPDATE on my website today. New works will be there at 12 noon CST.

Time for relaxation and deep breathing. Thanks for letting me brag and be the proud parent. As an older mom, I can say it is pretty sweet!

Theresa!!!

Theresa you have won the blog drawing for the $25 gift certificate!! Congratulations! Thank you to everyone that participated, this is only the first of many blog contests I will be having this year. In the meantime, it's back to work for me, as my first website update of the year will be this Wednesday at 12 noon central!! See you then, Pam

New Pin Keepers on PFATT

Here they are, in all their glory, my newest collage pinkeeps made of vintage fabrics and trims and bits of whimsy, as well as hand dyed mohair. The chicks spin freely on top so you can enjoy whateverside of the pin keeper you wish! More new works to come Wednesday on my website. Be sure to follow my blog to be entered in the drawing, only 3 more days to enter! Monday I will draw the winner of the gift certificate.

Oh La La

I've been busy cooking up new things, and next Wednesday 2 exciting things happen. One is My kidlet is in the Annual Spelling Bee for the 4th year running!! Way to go Leah! So in the morning we will be at school, watching her and trying not to be bundles of nerves! The second thing is of course my website will be newly updated for 2009. However, there will be new pin keepers on PFATT Marketplace, tonight at midnight, I think, as the site is updated Saturday.

And here is the oh la la thing I was telling you about. You can make baguettes at home!

These loaves smelled as good as they tasted! It is a lot of work, but then, it's well worth it.

This photo shows the sharp knife I use to slash the tops. My rolling pin is so heavy, but it is a wonderful tool, and you need a good heavy one to roll out the bread, then roll it up into loaves. Here it is starting to rise. I baked both on the same air cushioned baking sheet.
Brush with egg white and water then return to the oven for 5 more minutes.

I have the perfect old cutting board and bread knife which I pressed into service. It's fresh out of the oven here, still steaming. It didn't even need butter. And sadly it didn't last long!

I used the recipe from the Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer nee Starkoff. I have found her recipes to be tried and true.

Now back to the studio. I can't wait to share my new work with you.

Move over Betty!!

The fenugreek is the light yellow powder.

I have been cooking a lot! I really like Indian food. My buddy Peng Peng got me started on Samosas. They are potato filled fried dumplings. They used to be served at a restaurant she frequented, at the all you can eat Indian buffet, then the owner wised up and offered them only ala carte. So thus my curiosity was piqued, and I had to try to make some. One of my favorite cookbooks is "World of the East Vegetarian Cooking " by Madhur Jaffrey. So I used her recipe. I had to make some substitutions, but I can reveal that the end result was very edible. It is a very labor intensive dish to make, and I CHEATED!!! Instead of making my own dumpling wrappers, I used pre-made wonton wrappers. It worked out really well, and my daughter helped fill and seal the dumplings as I fried them.

Boil in skins 4 potatoes, cool and then peel, and dice, set aside.

my spices are in the little bowl. I minced my parsley and set it aside too. This picture shows right before I diced the potatoes.

Put in small bowl and set aside, 1 and 1/2t salt,1t ground coriander, 1t garam marsala, 1 t fenugreek, (my substitution for anardana)1/4 t cayenne pepper. Set aside 2T fresh lemon juice.

Mince, 1/3 green pepper, ( or use 1 green chili pepper, and I am guessing she means jalapeno).

Chop enough for 3 T, italian parsley; (since I dont know what chinese parsley is!)

1/4 t ground ginger, mix with 3t water, set all this aside.

You need: 1 C frozen peas (thawed in microwave)

I medium onion, minced

4 T vegetable oil

In a large fryingpan

sautee the onions until golden, then add the peas and cook until heated through,

then add the potatoes and all the rest of the ingredients, mix well. cook for 3-4 min, stirring well. allow to cool.

Using a teaspoon, take the potato filling and make balls, put in the center of a round wonton wrapper, wetting the edges of the wrapper, and put another one on top and pinch edges tight.

Fry in oil , 2 inches deep of oil, in a deep fry pan, turning over once, until golden brown.

Enjoy with cilantro and Mae Ploy Thai Sweet chili sauce.

Warning, it will take far less time to consume than to prepare. And this is the lazy chef version!

You can make your own wrappers. Next time I will try this lady's version. Wish me luck, isnt her rolling pin the cat's pajamas?


Mixing it all together, the final step before cooling and filling and frying.




Drain on paper towels.

Tomorrow I will show off the baguettes I made today. So stay tuned!

A Giveaway! Sign up to follow my blog and WIN!

In celebration of my new feature article in Stuffed I am giving away a $25 gift certificate to Kingfisher Farm! You can use it to buy something in my Etsy store or apply it towards a larger item on my website. Or apply it towards a purchase on PFATT Marketplace. Anywhere you find my art, you can use it. All you have to do is sign up to follow my blog! That's it!

The first photo is the editor of STUFFED, taken from Jenny Doh's blog. It's Christen Olivarez, and you can see my squirrel pin keeper close to her smiling face. This was up on Jenny's blog some time ago, and it was quite a thrill. Don't you love the cubby holes? So neat and organized.

Meanwhile, I wanted to tell you about some great movies we watched over the winter break. We borrowed them from our local public library. The Kite Runner based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini was not a happy film, but it has a happy ending. It's been a long time since a film made me feel so deeply. As a survivor of an unhappy childhood, I sure felt for the children portrayed in the film. It tells of the evils of any society, and how innocence is lost, a country ruined by foreign invaders, and man's inhumanity to man. In the end, the child becomes a man who finds courage and rights a wrong. The cinematography is beautiful. The children are mesmerizing. When the kites soar, so will your heart.

Sorry these stills are so small, you must just go get the movie!

We also watched Rent.

It was visually wonderful as well, and the social commentary tells of the repercussions of making the wrong ( or reckless ) decisions, standing up to authority and that love is for everyone, and so is forgiveness. I loved the music, although, I felt that it was a bit looooooong at times. The players are all talented singers, actors and dancers. Its hard to imagine what could have been if the writer of this musical had survived to see his work become the huge success. The musical closed for the last time on Broadway last fall. Seasons of love is a great way to sum up a year.

So what's up for this year? New work of course and it is filling my mind, challenging me and covering every inch of my desk!! Here is the proof positive! Hand stamped bears march along, from my antique stamp set. I've owned this treasure for many years.Two little songbirds emerge from the symphony of vintage fabrics.
What do you suppose this is? I bet you can guess. She is going to have a long golden mane.
Here you can see a peek of my new label.

We also watched Ratatouille. I guess that made quite an impression too! Surprisingly it wasn't just for kids. But I do love mice, OUTSIDE not in the house, lol. The movie was great. Here is the song from the film that was incroyable! Yes (oui oui! ) it's in French, enjoy!!

Remy the cooking mouse admires his beloved Paris.

Algebra, a pocket owlet and baby brother Gadget

Algebra is the taller of the 2 owls. Gadget is his redheaded little brother. They are available in my Etsy shoppe. This is Woodland Bluebird, sorry she sold as soon as I put her up on Etsy. She smiles broadly from under her acorn cap.
I just listed on Etsy this little Barnyard Bluebird, so she is available now.

Algebra and Gadget want you to know they are ultra modern UBER cool GEEKS!! And they are made from the coolest fabulous 50's cotton cloth. Yes it is vintage, a major score last summer. I bought it during my blue mood, which in turn inspired my "Once in a New Moon" update on my website. I still have a few things from that update on my website, and I am working hard on a new collection soon to be unveiled. For now, you can see new owlets and Teddibax in the Etsy shoppe.