the Seurat experiment

A photo posted by letter blocks say what? (@letterblocks) on Mar 29, 2015 at 3:05pm PDT

Recipe of the Week: Rice Pudding (or, what to do with leftover rice)

This week's recipe is really more of a suggestion of what you can make with leftover rice. Zach and I threw this together after dinner one night. Dessert in 10 short minutes! Yummy!

What you'll need:
cooked rice
evaporated milk/ coconut milk/ just milk
condensed milk or sugar to sweeten
raisins (optional)
goji berries (optional)
slivered almonds (optional)
pistachios (optional)
a pinch of saffron
ground cardamon and cinnamon, to taste

Directions:
Put rice in a small pot and cover with milk of your choice. Add more milk if you like a soupier rice pudding.
Cook over medium heat, be careful not to burn.
Add raisins, berries, and/or nuts if you have them.
Add spices.
Add condense milk or sugar to sweeten.
Stir continuously for 5 minutes for flavors to meld.
Serve hot or cold.

one familiar face.

A picture on the "I Acknowledge Class Warfare Exists" page on Facebook reminded me of Zach's huge linocut image One Dimensional Men ...

... sharper than a serpent's tooth

Zach got a new knife today.

A wonderful new tool to use for cooking all those delicious meals for me :)

in case you missed the news ...

there was a little post on the SmallSpaces Facebook page yesterday, that simply said:

Recipe of the Week: Homemade Pita Chips

Zach has been making his own pita chips for the past month or so. They are delicious with guacamole, and really great on their own too. And, according to him, they are also simple and fun to make!

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup warm water

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup olive oil

toppings: salt, sesame seeds (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven and baking stone to 425F.

Mix ingredients then knead into a dough.

Knead for 10 minutes or so.

Let rest for 30 minutes.

Separate dough into 5 equal wads.

Roll out thinly, cut into size with pizza cutter.

Top with sesame seed or toppings of your choice.

Bake until golden brown, about 4-6 minutes.

Be careful not to burn your chips!

Enjoy!

First round of seeds

It's a beautiful spring day today so we spent most of it outdoors prepping the garden for the 2015 season. This little fellow hung out with us as we planted our first round of seeds for peppers, tomatoes, and some herbs. We also did a round of broccoli and cabbages for Zach's mom. I am done with brassicas in our garden. Too many worms for me to deal with. 

Happy Caturday!

"Grow the Arts" Mural

i finished off my mural at the Tippecanoe Arts Federation (TAF) early this afternoon.  

yesterday i worked on the rip van winkle character and today i added the wild flowers, finished out the sky and completed the houses in the background.  the mission statement for TAF is 'grow the arts' so my mural is layered with meanings that reflect that message.

First day of spring

The first day of spring marks the painting of the first mural of the year!

Zach is working on a new piece at the Tippecanoe Federation of Arts building. This one has a "Grow the Arts" theme and features Rip Van Winkle in a garden of flowers. We hope to show you the finished  painting tomorrow!

Happy first day of spring!

The last day of winter

We spent the last day of winter at the Art Institute of Chicago. Zach is researching a piece for some new work he has in mind. As for me, I had a blast going through the extensive collection of Joseph Cornell's and all of the European and American post-war art. What you see above is a close-up of Jackson Pollock's piece. I couldn't capture the thickness of the paint, but I think I caught all of the chaos in the work!

Selkie

For St. Patrick's Day, Zach and I watched "Song of the Sea," an Irish animated feature by Tomm Moore (who also did "The Secret of Kells"). We've been waiting to see this film since we saw the poster and trailer for it at the IFC Center in NYC back in December. And, the wait was worth it. This film is so beautiful. The story is moving, the details are breathtaking, and, the soundtrack, perfect. The artwork and the characters are pure magic. We really loved every single second of it and I imagine we'll be watching it again. It's not your typical Disney fare, so if you're in the mood for something different, this might just be what you're looking for! :)

spot the kitty

Although it was sunny for most of today, it was still chilly enough for us to keep the heat on in the house. The cat felt differently and spent the morning catching some rays on the "bleachers."

Recipe of the Week: Lentil Soup with Butternut Squash and Garbanzo Beans

We love lentil soup, but I have to admit, it's not the prettiest looking dish to serve. For this version, we added some butternut squash, upped the protein and fiber quota by throwing in a can of garbanzo beans, and tossed in some nutrient dense fresh baby spinach at the end for color.

Now we have a prettier looking soup that is the dictionary deifnition of a superfood!

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced (you can use less if you don't like garlic)
5 cups veggie broth
1 cup French lentils
1 cup butternut squash
2 carrots, chopped
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups fresh baby spinach
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Saute onion and garlic until fragrant.
Add spices, then add lentils, butternut squash, carrots, and garbanzo beans. Cook for a minute or two.
Add broth, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Before serving, add baby spinach and cook until wilt.

2015's first seeds

Zach and I are so excited for the bursts of sunshine and spring-like temperatures we've been enjoying the last couple of days! Earlier in the week, Zach spent an afternoon out on the patio prepping and cleaning for our 2015 garden.

Today, we planted our first round of seeds. For peas. We don't typically eat peas, but we do love pea shoots. Plus, peas are great nitrogen fixers. We'll yank out the peas when it's time to transplant some other seedlings. 

Go out and enjoy the sun! :)

radio silence ...

We've been quiet on the blog lately.

Partly because I've been too busy to write, and partly because we have no idea what to share.

Hopefully the promise of spring will thaw our brains and bring new inspirations.

quiet ...

It's snowing!

 

If you think the world seems a little quieter when it snows, you'd be right! Check out the reason why ...