still at it

Not to beat a dead horse, but you asked how these chocolate-tahini things turned out.  When I got home today, Marty was in the process of demolishing one.

 

 He loved it, and he is not a dark chocolate person. Last night when I tasted it right out of the oven, it tasted too sweet to me.  I told Sandy that next time I will either use half the sugar (1/4 cup instead of 1/2) or use bitter chocolate instead of bittersweet.

BUT - tonight, my leftover bit over had settled in and was less sweet.  Some things just have to sit for a day.  We still have one left and I'll let the other member of the household have it. HE is the one who needs to gain weight around here!

Choc and tahini is a lovely, subtle, combo - although you could substitute peanut butter if you prefer.  And you can use regular flour or some kind of gluten-free flour instead of whatever it was in the recipe. Seems that almost anything will work.

Tonight's dinner was moules marinière (white wine, garlic, onion, bay leaves, thyme) over linguini, accompanied by a lovely fennel and celery salad, courtesy of Mark Bittman.  I am addicted to Mark Bittman: his recipes, his Minimalist columns for the NY Times, his blog...   My copy of How to Cook Everything is in shreds, literally because I use it almost every day (although why did it break at the page for braised stuffed squid, which I have never made?)

I love this book so much I gave one to each of my children. And then they gave me How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, which is also terrific. I have never seen a recipe for choco-tahini yummies in either book but you can't have everything.

Back to art...
When I started working on this piece and had something else entirely in mind, it was on this background.

 

Then I wanted to see what it would look like on a different background; by the time I posted it, this is what you saw.  Tonight, I am back to square one.  They both work for me, but the ambience changes with the background.

I wanted to look at overall value so I took photos of each in black and white. There appears to be more contrast in the darker piece, but not necessarily - and it depends on where you look.

In the end, this logical/analytical way of working is very interesting but it doesn't make me happy. I cannot make decisions based on logic because they are always wrong and I invariably regret not having gone with my instincts.  Of course, if my instinct doesn't tell me, that means neither choice is the right one and it's on to plan C (whatever that might be).  Or, either choice could be right. Yawn.

And with that yawn, I am off to bed. Was up at 3:30 this a.m. worrying about something (don't you hate that???) and we have an 8:am medical appointment tomorrow, which means getting up at 6:00. Not my favorite time of day.

food for thought

As I look at this picture of Cold Ginger-Carrot Soup, I am reminded of the baby food squash my children used to eat.  But it doesn't taste like that.  It was so good that I bought a zillion carrots afterwards so I could make more.  Maybe tomorrow. It is perfect for this weather (hot, muggy, yech)

1 T ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp or more of cumin (my addition)
2 T butter (or olive oil or combination of the two)
5 cups carrots, sliced or grated (I grated them in the food processor--don't ask me how many carrots this is-- about 1 lb.)
1 potato (optional - I added it to thicken the soup;it is not in the original recipe)
2 cans of chicken broth
1 can of water (this doesn't say what size can.  I skipped the chicken broth and used about 4 cups of water)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Nonfat yogurt  & chopped cilantro (optional garnish)

In soup pot sauté ginger, garlic, onion and cumin in butter till tender.  Add carrots (and potato if you want) & water and simmer till tender (about 20 min). Add lime juice, taste for seasoning - add salt to taste, and more cumin if you want). Pureé with stick blender or in food processor or blender till smooth.  Chill.  Yummy!

My friend, cohort/cahoot and general troublemaker Sandy, sent me a link to this blog and the recipe for chocolate and tahini gooey cake. Naturally, there were links to a bunch of French food blogs and I was off and reading when I should have been working.

Sandy remembered that I had a lifetime supply (now dwindling) of tahini and she figured I would have dark chocolate, so she KNEW I could not resist experimenting with the recipe.  I just took it out of the oven. I don't love gooey, so I baked it for 12 minutes instead of 10. Have not yet tasted it, but here it is. It probably needs unsweetened whipped cream, which I do not have.

Finally, I threw some therapy strips at the wall tonight and decided to sew them together, which I am doing (or will be doing once I finish this blog post).

This is not what I intended when I started, but it told me what it wanted to be and I acted accordingly.  I will probably continue to modify as I go.  Excuse me while I go and taste the chocolate tahini thing...

Well, my supply suitcase is almost packed.  I just have to add things to print on and things to print with.  I'm actually going through the supply list and checking things off - and will take less than I normally do because it will be an international flight.  We don't leave for another 10 days but I'm trying to be efficient (probably a mistake).

I don't know where this piece is and don't have time to look for it, but it is another class demo piece I really like.  To me, this proves the benefits of being spontaneous and without preconceived notions of what something will turn out to be. 

There are only a couple of spots left in my master class at FoQ - Printing in Layers, so if you are thinking of signing up, do it quickly!

With all the lively discussion on yesterday's blog, I did indeed turn this piece sideways and here it is, for your viewing (and/or commenting) pleasure.

Wed night/Thurs morning

When I started this blog in January 2005, it was a vehicle for looking at my work from a distance and thinking out loud.  I still do that intermittently with pieces I don't mind having seen by the immediate world.

To celebrate some good news, I treated myself to a sit-down at the sewing machine tonight.  Stitched this piece as much as I wanted to and if it needs a bit more after I put on the facing, I'll add it then.

In the meantime, I am back looking at this piece again and dithering over the orientation.  It wants to be like that one but on the other hand...I have to contemplate this one.

Alas, I shall have to leave the decision till morning.

Wordless Wednesday (morning)

a kid grows in Brooklyn

Miss Emma - almost 6 mo., pix on my FB page.  But she was only part of the entertainment today.

I took Jessica to visit her friend Liz this afternoon. Liz is one of a kind: sharp as a tack, memory like an elephant, and has all her marbles. She is 103.

Jess and Liz have been friends for more than ten years, since Jessica lived across the hall from her on 29th St. in Manhattan.

Liz is in rehab because her substitute nurse dropped her taking her out of bed and she broke her knee.    You have to read this story about her and you ABSOLUTELY must watch the audio slide show in the article (click on amusing stories under Liz' small photo).  She has led quite a life and is a #1 amazing person.  We had a great visit with her today.  Hopefully, she will go home on Thursday.

the sun came out

and with it, the heat and mugginess.  But this morning, despite the early heat, I ate breakfast and read the papers on the deck while I looked at the scene now in the header of this blog. Ahhhhh - almost as good as being on vacation.

My printer ran out of toner this afternoon and I hot-footed it around the corner to Staples to replace it.  No luck: they were out of the one I needed, as were the two stores in the towns on either side of me. I was putting the finishing touches on a piece and needed to make some Thermofax screens, so I used my ink jet printer and put it on the copy machine.  Staples.com - here I come.

In the meantime, I think this will make a nice 12x12 if I ever get it stitched. I printed the background one night last week and it cried out for this particular image, made from a photo I took 4 or 5 years ago in Philadelphia.  This was one of the wonderful images on the wall of the building that bordered the parking lot across from the B&B where we used to stay.

Here is another piece where I used the same image, along with some others.  This hangs in my studio now.

 I suppose we all find ourselves drawn to the same images or types of images/designs/marks over and over again.  The question is why?  Why one particular shape, species, genre, image over another?  What is it that attracts/bonds and connects for one person and not for another?  Some things to ponder.

Oh, no!!!  my favorite blogs and websites have disappeared from the sidebar.   I have to recreate a list. Stay tuned.

New blogger template - bleh

I couldn't leave well enough alone, could I?  Just wasted an hour playing around because I wanted to just change my blog header. Due to the gloomy rain we've had and the tornado warning tonight, I changed the color scheme and header in honor of the weather. It's temporary (whatever that means).

In the absence of anything brilliant or creative going on,
Terry's trick is to walk around her back yard with a camera till she finds something interesting to photograph.  Del's trick is to post photos from a few years ago that we haven't seen.
My trick is usually food-related or a picture of my revolting mess in the sewing room.  But I'm fresh out of those, so here is my latest trick...borrowed from my daughter's FB page.

 I have a new Kindle.  I downloaded a book before I left for Greenville, figuring to read while I was away.  But the main little square button that does everything cracked in half when I touched it.  I called Amazon/Kindle, told them the problem, and it is evidently quite common because that is one of the things that even after a year they will replace. They can't replace the button but they can send you a new kindle and you just have to return the old one with a pre-paid UPS label you can print out.

In the meantime, I left the Kindle at home with the downloaded book on it - and while I wandered around Hudson, I found the very book, "The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit," by Lucette Lagnado, in hard cover on sale for $5.00 (brand new). A memoir of an Egyptian Jewish family forced to leave Egypt. Read the whole book before I got home.

I also bought "The Dogs of Babel" ($2 on sale) by Carolyn Parkhurst.  A very good read.

Now I'm ready for something else. But I must say I will never prefer an e-book over the real thing -- especially with buttons that break.

backtracking

Having gotten back home on Wednesday, it took me a day or two to recover and upload the rest of my pictures. Better late than never, right?  As I put my feet up and sat on the deck, the bambis were out chomping on the lower branches.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

Eva - you were correct in guessing which piece of student fabric I wish I had done.  Here are some others from the weekend workshop.

Anita deconstructed the screen with quite a few prints: below are just two of them.  The popsicle sticks are waiting till it is their turn to be used as resists.  Greenville has 3 dollar stores but I didn't get to any of them this time around.

Below is another of Calli's prints.  She created a screen that looked very geometric and abstract but when she printed it, we all thought it looked very mid-century domestic (i.e. - images of table settings)

Since I was not teaching at night, I was able to actually print some of my own fabrics after dinner while the students worked on theirs.  Maybe I'll get a chance to go back to them sometime this year.

Sujatha -(and anybody else) deconstructing the screen is a two-day workshop.  If I have enough requests I will schedule one in the Fall in my studio for 4-5 people.

Goodness - the afternoon is almost over.  Back to the sewing machine!

Ok - I have to go back to work

Dinner is over and this is MY time - going back to the studio to play - uh - work.  But first, a few pix from today.  Casey worked on paper today - thickened dye deconstructed and drop-dead gorgeous series. 

 

Here are only a couple. There are many more...yum!

Kate printed some cool fabrics today and I covet one of them - but oh, well. Can you guess which one?

Suzanne was so excited to print that she was in the studio before breakfast!

Calli did some really layered prints and here's one I captured today.  The second layer really made a difference.

This is a work in progress - can this fabric can be saved?

Maybe we'll know tomorrow.

blogging before breakfast

While I'm waiting for today's special of scrambled eggs with goat cheese and lemon thyme, I figured I'd get a little bit in about yesterday's class.

As usual, I was too busy teaching to take many pictures. The studio at the Greenville Arms is spacious and the class members had plenty of room to spread out and have two tables each -- a luxury when you are printing.  After the horrific storm (including hail) Sunday night, yesterday dawned much cooler and perfect for drying fabrics. 

One of my students is a printmaker who has never worked on fabric and she is doing some interesting pieces.  We'll see what develops today!

Off to class...