Sunday, November 30, 2008

Here are the inspirations for the other two paintings left to finish.
1969 Dove & Guitar Woodstock posterThis poster originated at the height of Vietnam as the logo for Another Mother for Peace (AMP).
I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I'm planning this to be my fourth project in my 1960's art installation. I should be done with the AMP painting tomorrow night. When I have a lot on my mind, I get unusually productive. There's nothing more relaxing than becoming enveloped by painting for hours on end.
This is the first, and probably last, time I ever bring up Josh Groban in my blog; however, after looking at a recent house tour of his L.A. home I fell in love with some industrial sculptures by David Buckingham.
Although I hate L.A., Groban is a native, which means he has simply been brainwashed to love it since birth. Buckingham's metal sculpture is above his head.
Buckingham next to one of his color studies.
I really liked this sculpture of the infamous quote from Full Metal Jacket. However, since I can't afford the original, nor do I have welding skills to make my own...I decided to paint it.
I started three paintings Friday evening: "Me Love You Long Time," a copy of an original Woodstock poster, and an old hippie protest poster for Vietnam that reads "War is Not Healthy For Children and Other Living Things." The yellow canvas barely fit in my car, to give proper scale.
It took a total of two sessions to finish it, Friday 6pm-3am and Saturday 10am-3pm.
I can draw a straight line like there's no tomorrow, but don't ask me to draw a curve. This is evident by looking at my O's and G. One painting down, two more to go. Tucker is showing you how large the canvas is! ;)

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Sometimes I impress even myself. I made a twist on steak and potatoes.The steak was so utterly perfect before I added the parmesan butter and glaze that it killed me to mess with it.
You can make it, too!

Steak with Parmesan Butter, Balsamic Glaze, and Arugula

Roasted "Chips"

I am going to bask in how glorious my cooking skills are now. ;)
Saturday was a very long day. I got up much too early and hit Fort Pierce. First I stopped by the Farmer's Market in downtown, next I went to the holiday bazaar at the college, and finally the long-awaited plant sale at Heathcote Gardens.
I started my day off with cherries, grapes, and raspberries!These are the roots of a bonsai.
I came home with Huernia schneideriana, African Spear, Costa Rica bush mint, magenta Christmas cactus, weak-leaf yucca, desert rose, and chocolate mint.
I bought this from a starving artist at the Farmer's Market.
I also bought organic mint and dill to use this weekend...along with ginger cookies and pumpkin bread. Yum!

We went to a charity Ranch Roast for the Boys & Girls Club of America. The drive out to Indiantown was an adventure in itself!
The Seminole Inn fed us pulled pork sandwich, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, and the most fantastic peach cobbler I've ever had!
Our host, Iris Wall, turned 79! We sang Happy Birthday to her.
We went on a sunset hay ride.
It was a nice way to end the day.

Actually, the dinner I made ultimately ended it on the best note!
A simple salad of organic baby greens with pomegranate arils and gorgonzola; I hand-squeezed pomegranate juice for the dressing. It was incredibly light and refreshing!
I made scallops for the first time! I was told the secret to preparing scallops is: keep it simple. So I simmered 1 tb of butter, 1 tb extra virgin olive oil, and a smidgen of sea salt in the pan on high heat before slapping those puppies in. They were incredibly tender and perfectly seared! I served them up with risotto. K said the scallops were, "heavenly!" I guess that sums it up. :)

Saturday was awesome.

Monday, November 17, 2008

I love The History Channel so much.
I just watched an episode of Modern Marvels about Nikola Tesla.
Right now I'm watching Einstein, a two-hour special about another brilliant man.
The only thing better would be a special on Twain.He was pals with Tesla afterall; the photo above is Twain in Tesla's laboratory.

These three men have forever intrigued me. It goes beyond their science or literature. These men were all misunderstood amidst their genius. They were all forward thinking and knew the world to have no boundaries. I admire that to no end.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

I have a habit of buying spices and speciality rice/noodles that I keep around for days like today. I was just cooking dinner for myself. Nothing sounded good. I didn't want to spend an hour making a meal and I definitely didn't want take-out. So, I saw I had udon noodles...and peanut butter...hmm...why not make udon with peanut sauce? Awesome!

Ingredients
  • One bundle of Clearspring Organic Wheat Brown Rice Udon noodles
  • 2 tablespoons of Tree of Life Organic Creamy Peanut Butter
  • 2 tablespoons of Eden Organic Tamari Soy Sauce
  • 1/4 cup of water
  • 1 tablespoon of Florida Crystals Organic Brown Sugar
  • juice from one organic lemon
(you can also use 1-2 cloves of garlic, but I didn't have any...nor did I find the dish lacking because of its absence)

Noodles
There are three bundles per package; one bundle makes a 1-2 servings.
Boil 8 cups of water
Allow noodles to boil for about 6-7 minutes
(they begin to twirl in the water when they're done)
I removed the pot from the burner and kept the noodles in the water until the sauce was done, don't strain it!

Peanut sauce
Mix peanut butter, soy sauce, water, brown sugar, lime juice, and optional garlic in a saucepan until peanut butter melts.

Toss in the noodles and stir into sauce.

Yum! Eat!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

I took K to Bok Tower Gardens for Symphony & Sunset, where we set out a blanket and organic snacks to listen to the Orlando Philharmonic perform.Struthers' Honey is on the way to Bok Towers in the middle of Highway 60, it works on the Honor System. You walk into a small room filled with bottles of honey and a wooden box to place your money. The honey is super yummy, though!
The orchestra performed pieces by Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, among others. I have to say, it was really cool to walk back downhill in the dark with only flashlights and lanterns to light the way. It was 63 degrees and we saw a few shooting stars along the walk back to the car. It was a fantastic night!