My Daughter, the Graduate

I'd like to present my daughter, Ellie, the graduate. After much work, which included a few tears and plenty of nashing of the teeth, Ellie has successfully and beautifully completed her written thesis. Last night she defended her thesis in her oral presentation. After deliberations, her panel has declared that Ellie has met the requirements to graduate from Alpine Valley School. We are all so very excited for her.

The ceremony will take place next month. For now, I think she is very relieved to have the process completed. She certainly had a spring in her step this morning.

The process of writing her thesis and presenting it was hard. It required a lot of soul searching, introspection and being both honest, as well as forgiving, with herself. We are proud of her for meeting that challenge head on and taking that journey. I think she is better for it.

More Altered Book Art from Two Hands Paperie

Last Wednesday I went up to Two Hands Paperie, my favorite art store, to spend time with other artists working on our submissions for the call for altered book art. I didn't want to leave anything to chance, so I actually finished my piece before I went to the work night. I spent the evening admiring the art made by the others, teaching people a few helpful techniques and starting another altered book, which I may or may not actually finish.

It was really fun to see what Jennifer Ghormley did with the colored cones that a bunch of us help make at the community art making night about a month ago.

It was really something to view and think about. Jennifer printed the colored portions during one of the snow storms we had in January.

We helped make the forms at a Two Hands Community Art event. (Fun, Fun, Fun) and then I get to see this. I think about all of the measuring and ladder work it took to install it. It took her two days to put it all up. I am impressed by her art.

I also took photos of the submissions for the altered book exhibit and contest. I thought you might like to see those, too.

This is "Sea Foam." It is made by Jeane. She told a great story about making her piece. I loved the part about her going to Whole Foods to by a Red Snapper, then taking it home to prepare the bones for her sculpture. It took her weeks. She even referenced video instructions by an 11 year old boy who is a sort of bone preserving expert. I loved watching her talk about her creation.

I did not get to meet any of the other artists, but I did get to see their art.

It is exciting to anticipate what might be the next art making event.

Tall Ship and Lighthouse - Altered Book Sculpture + Cheese Enchilada (Quick) Recipe

I have finally finished the piece that I created for the Altered Book contest and display over at Two Hands Paperie. I had such fun making it. I had never created a book sculpture before, but I have a long history of making small scale replicas out of paper. Making the lighthouse and the ship were pretty easy. Creating the water, now that was a challenge. I loved doing it all.

Ethan worked a bit with me to make sure that the ropes on my tiny ship were in the correct places, even though I do not have as many ropes as a real ship would have. He said that he would post a picture of this on his Facebook page and that his shipmate friends, especially the boatswains, would really like it. Thus, we had to make it as realistic as was reasonable to do so. We had detailed discussions about wind direction and how the sails would respond. We talked about the water and the waves. Creating those was the most challenging part as I have not spent enough time on a boat to visualize it very well. My first attempt at waves ended up looking more like flames. When I searched for inspiration, I found that other artists struggled with the water, too. Some of them simply ignored it. Others dealt with the water in the sculpture in a way that was too patterned and regular for what I wanted mine to look like. In the end I used torn pieces of paper that I curled with a hot curling iron. It was really wonderful getting a chance to work with Ethan like that. I would like to find more ways to do collaborative art with my kids.

I also love adding light to the sculpture. I used a tiny set of LED lights to accomplish this.

I carved out hidden channels to thread the copper wires between the edge of the book. the lighthouse and the boat. Lighting up the scene gives me a little thrill.

Ellie, my faithful encourager and avid photographer took great pictures of my piece before I delivered it. Kohlton says that this piece is his favorite piece of art that I have created, so far.

On my way to Two Hands, I stopped by Nick-n-Willie's pizza to pick up a slice of pizza. The college aged employees loved my art and took photos of it. I encouraged them to give it a try, if they like making fiddely, precise things, which I enjoy.

I spent the evening at Two Hands at a work session. I made other things since my book sculpture was done. In my next posting I will share photos of the other entries.

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Tonight I might make cheese enchiladas.

Cheese Enchiladas
via: Herdez

2 tablespoons canola oil
4 corn tortillas
1 cup Mexican cheese blend
(Sauteed Red Onions)
1 cup HERDEZ® Salsa Verde

For Garnish:
HERDEZ® Jalapeño Chiles
Cilantro

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9x13­inch baking pan with canola cooking spray.
2. In medium­large pan, heat 4 corn tortillas. When finished, lay them on top of each other to
keep them soft and heated.
3. Add 2 tablespoons cheese to one end of tortilla; roll and place seam side down in baking
dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and cheese.
4. Pour HERDEZ® Salsa Verde on top of enchiladas covering completely. Sprinkle remaining
cheese on top of enchiladas.
5. Bake 10 minutes. Garnish with jalapeño slices and cilantro.

Of Lighthouses, Tiny Ships and Good Food (Scalloped Potatoes, Pasta Bolognese & Guajillo-Braised Beef Short Rib Taco)

This past Saturday I spent the day buried in my art. This time, instead of encaustics, I am creating a piece for an altered book display and contest. The art has to involve altering a book and the rest is up to you.

I settled on a ship related story; I choose Captain Courageous by R. Kipling. I am excited with how it is going so far. I am especially excited that I figured out how to make it light up. Oh how I love technology!

Here's what my desk looked like this evening:

I had hoped to finish it tonight, but the evening has gotten away from me. I was late coming home because a few kids at school were in need of someone to focus, listen and relate. They needed to feel heard and validated. That is one of the most important things I do, so the rest of the work was pushed off.

I need to finish it tomorrow as I am going to deliver it on Wednesday.

We spent Easter Sunday at a family party at my mother's house. Most of Kohlton's family that lives in town joined us. We closed up the evening at a party at the Cure homestead. It was a nice way to end the evening.
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Here's what I made for Easter dinner:


Scalloped Potatoes
Via: Martha Stewart (and modified by me, of course)

3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, and sliced paper thin (I used russet potatoes that I sliced with my food processor and that was just fine.)
1 small Onion (diced)
5 TBL flour
6 tablespoons Butter, diced
1/2 tea Pepper
1/2 tea Dry Mustard
1 tea Garlic Powder or 1 clove Garlic, minced
1 tea Paprika
1-2 TBL Parsley
1 tea Salt
pinch of Cayenne Pepper (omitted)
1 quart whole milk, or as needed (or 2 and 1/4 c milk)
1 cup heavy cream (I left this out as I do not like really rich food.)
5 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (I probably used more than this amount.)
1/4 c Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees with a rack set in the lower third of oven. Combine sliced potatoes and milk in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, and immediately reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until potatoes are just tender.

Place a colander over a large bowl and drain potatoes, reserving milk. You should have 2 cups of thick, starchy milk. If potatoes have absorbed more than 1 cup of milk, add enough milk to bring the reserved milk volume to 2 cups.

In another sauce pan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour, garlic, dry mustard, paprika and salt. cook the roux a bit longer, turn off the heat just as the flour begins to brown (if you can tell that.) Pour the reserved milk into the pan and stir to combine and thicken.

Rub a 3 1/2-quart oval baking dish with garlic and butter. Arrange sliced potatoes in the baking dish; season with salt and pepper. Dot with remaining butter, some parsley and pour over reserved cooking milk (and cream). Do Sprinkle cheese over top. Do this for each layer, ending with cheese on the top.

Transfer baking dish to oven and bake until cheese becomes deep golden brown and milk has reduced and thickened, 80 to 90 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

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Here's what we had tonight. It was great, but I will most likely wait until the fall to make it again.

Nigel Slater's Really Good Spaghetti Bolognese
via: Food52

For the bolognese

4 tablespoons butter
3 ounces cubed pancetta
1 medium onion
2 fat cloves garlic
1 carrot
2 stalks celery
2 large, flat mushrooms such as portobello, about 4 ounces
2 bay leaves
1 pound ground beef or lamb
1 cup crushed tomatoes or passata
1/4 cup red wine
3/4 cup stock
1 nutmeg (just a few grinds, really)
3/4 cup half-and-half or cream
Spaghetti or tagliatelle for 4
Grated Parmesan

Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based pot -- then stir in the pancetta and let it cook for five minutes or so, without coloring much. Meanwhile peel and finely chop the onion and garlic and stir them into the pancetta. Peel and finely chop the carrot and celery and stir them in, too. Lastly, finely chop the mushrooms and add to the pan, then tuck in the bay leaves and leave to cook for ten minutes over a moderate heat, stirring frequently. Turn up the heat and tip in the meat, breaking it up well with a fork. Now leave to cook without stirring for a good three or four minutes, then, as the meat on the bottom is starting to brown, stir again, breaking up the meat where necessary, and leave to color. Mix in the tomatoes, red wine, stock, a grating of nutmeg and some salt and black pepper, letting it come to the boil. Turn the heat down so that everything barely bubbles. There should be movement, but one that is gentle, not quite a simmer. Partially cover the pan with a lid and leave the putter away for an hour to an hour and a half, stirring from time to time and checking the liquid levels. You don't want it to be dry. Pour in the half-and-half or cream a bit at a time, stir and continue cooking for twenty minutes. Check the seasoning, then serve with the pasta and grated Parmesan.

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Guajillo-Braised Beef Short Rib Taco
Recipe adapted from "Tacolicious" by Sara Deseran, published on Tasting Table

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 4 hours and 30 minutes
Total Time: 5 hours and 30 minutes

For the Guajillo-Braised Beef Short Ribs:

8 guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
3 dried chipotle chiles, stemmed and seeded
3 tablespoons canola oil
3 pounds boneless beef short ribs (see note above)
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 (12-ounce) bottle dark Mexican beer, preferably Negra Modelo
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1½ tablespoons Mexican oregano
½ cup water
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the Tacos:

Corn tortillas, warmed
Diced white onions, for garnish
Chopped cilantro, for garnish
Salsa of choice, to serve
Lime wedges, for garnish

1. Make the guajillo-braised beef short ribs: Preheat oven to 325. Toast the dried chiles on a sheet tray until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Remove and set them aside on a plate.

2. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, sear the short ribs until deep golden brown on both sides, about 6 minutes. Add more oil to the pot to prevent any scorching. Remove the short ribs and set aside on a plate.

3. Adjust the heat to medium. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add the reserved chiles and beer and adjust the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the chiles have softened, about 5 minutes.

4. Place the contents of the pot in a blender. Add the cumin, oregano, water and season with salt and pepper. Purée on high speed until smooth, adding more water if needed to thin out the chile mixture.

5. Return the meat to the pot and add the puréed chile mixture. Cover and transfer to the oven, and cook, stirring occasionally until the meet is fork-tender, about 3 to 4 hours.

6. Remove the meat from the oven. Using two large forks, shred the meat. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

7. Make the tacos: Serve the guajillo-braised beef shorts ribs over corn tortillas and top with onions, cilantro, salsa and lime.

A Little Fancy in Our Lives

Recently Kohlton and Brandon purchased new suits, ties, shoes - the whole ensamble - so that each boy will look sharp at his thesis defense. They like getting a bit dressed up and fancy, so they donned their new clothes and went out for dinner at their favorite Thai place.

Don't they look lovely?

Ellie submitted her final draft of her thesis this week and so we went shopping for a new dress for her to wear to her defense. This was pretty different from shopping for dresses to wear to a dance or to ballroom. It was really something to see her looking so grown up in these dresses.

These are photos we took as she was trying on dresses. These were the winners. We got an amazing deal on the Banana Republic dress, the one with solid colors. It was originally $140 and we paid $27 for it. The more unusual dress is a Ralph Lauren dress. She loves the dress. Now we just need to figure out what shoes to go along with it.

We also had a nice meal at Johnny Rockets. It made it so that we could keep on going.

I also admired the new Vans. I love the line work.

Back at home, I am preparing to do a bit of paper art with pages from a book. I am inspired by many artists, but especially by Su Blackwell and Helen Musselwhite.

Here's a bit of Helen's work and an interesting article about why she created this display.

Here's why I love Su Blackwell's artwork:

And other artists:


I find this all very inspiring. I will dream of old books, glue, patterns, scissors and Ex-Acto knives tonight, surely.I hope it inspires you, too.

Bits of Spring, Color, Romance and Honey Garlic Pork Chops (with the recipe included)

At the beginning of spring break last week the grass was just a bit of nearly crunch tan scrub on the ground. By the week's end we were back to a vigorous green that seems to be growing fast enough that I could almost see it getting longer. The bush in our front yard has donned her light pink, delicate bonnet of flowers that herald in the new season. It always feels my heart with light and joy to witness it, even if for a brief time.

It was lovely most days, though we did get enough snow on one day that I think my husband might had to have done some snow shoveling. There were enough sunny days that I could dye some more fabric. Here it is, my fabric "baking" in the sun. This fabric will be made into flag bunting for our graduation party next month. I found an amazing deal on double fold bias tape on Amazon. It is going to be very colorful and bright. That will make me happy, too.

Since Ellie and Kohlton came home from their road trip a day early, they were able to be with Mark (Kohlton's father), Martine and Tenneke (Martine's daughter) so that Mark could propose. After being together for 18 years, they are finally going to make it official. Everyone is very excited for them. There will be wedding in about a year. They had an engagement celebration dinner at The Fort that evening.

Ethan enjoyed his last few days of break and has since started his new job. He is very happy there so far. That feels good, too.

Yesterday was April Fool's day and Redbox played along with a fake new product line. I thought it was pretty clever.

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This was last night's low cal, healthy dinner. I served roasted brussel sprouts with garlic, Parmesan and balsamic vinegar reduction along side the honey garlic pork chops.

Honey Garlic Pork Chops
via: Spark People

1/4 + 1/8 cup honey
3 tbsp soy sauce
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 pork loin chops, boneless, trimmed of excess fat, 4 oz each

In a shallow dish, whisk together honey, soy sauce and garlic.
Coat chops in mixture.
Reserve left over honey mixture for basting.
Place chops on greased grill over med high heat, close lid and cook. basting 2 times. (I cooked mine in a skillet on the stove.)