August222011
Looking at my shelves for some inspiration for the My Pal Pestilence. As it turns out I’ve had his cheerful counterpart on my shelf this whole time. Meet Bluebell the Elf, so named for the bell in his cap that I used to put in my mouth during what Freud would call the oral stage of my psychosexual development. ….. Wait, what?
August182011
Went through a box in my closet that was full of old pictures, art projects, report cards and keepsakes. This was a mailbox made from a butt-wipes box one Valentine’s Day many years ago. Note the construction paper cherubs wearing diapers on either side of the label. My sister Claire always had me doing little crafty things like this every holiday- make a holiday mailbox so we could make our own cards and surprise each other at random.. no wonder she’s made a career in nanny services, though I don’t think she has children craft with bathroom supplies anymore.
August152011
No two chevys are exactly alike. A series of Chevy Chase portraits done in watercolor and sharpie.
August112011
Brinner Feast: My Arteries Hurt
Laura’s waffles- this one is called Nyan Cat Surprise.
Christian’s breakfast fried rice.
Christian’s fried eggs and maple sausage just hangin’ out in the microwave.
My contribution: Candied Bacon and Cheddar Grilled Cheese (on a croissant).
And Gizmo helps us cook!!!
August92011
Things I Eat in Virginia (So Far)
The Bacardi Rum Cake I baked at 2 am the night before we left NJ (I have yet to try this, it’s stuck at Grandma’s apartment).
Bon Chon Chicken- extremely crispy Korean style fried chicken wings, available in soy or spicy.
Mama Gallanosa’s Lasagna (this was eaten with the Bon Chon wings and white rice.
Leftover’s from Uncle Julio’s Mexican Restaurant. Not Pictured: the Swirl Margerita, crispy beef taco and pork tamale.
No photographic evidence of Joe’s Place (pizza/pasta buffet, classy enough to serve boxed wine) or Red Mango.
August52011
Li’l Humper. 12x18 acrylic and watercolor on watercolor paper. present for my sister Laura’s birthday based on true events.
Also worth noting, today I discovered the cable that charges my cell phone is the right size for my camera so I have a ton of pics that I’ve been meaning to upload that I finally can. It also means I can do posts showing all the stuff I’ll be doing when I’m visiting family in VA next week.
July302011
I made this in October as an ode to my favorite month. Posting it now because I can’t wait for Fall (and to post it already considering this pic was taken m o n t h s ago).
July282011
Lime Poundcake Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream
Just lookin’ gangsta, offerin’ ma homiez sum cupcakes, NBD.
My mom had been craving salmon, asparagus and baked poatatoes last week so I made these because I thought they’d complement dinner nicely. And they did. For me at least.
Here’s the thing: Poundcake is like the shortbread of cakes. Dense. Buttery. Good, but hearty. I liked the lime- I thought it cut through the heaviness nicely- and for some reason I was really craving it even though I HATE citrus. This lime was a wee bit heavy-handed (half a cup of lime juice for 15 cupcakes) so it was a bit of a turn-off for everyone else.
The buttercream, like Jem, was truly truly truly outrageous. It just melts in your mouth and there’s flour in it (?!). To achieve the coconut flavor, this one was made with coconut milk instead of regular, coconut shavings, and almond extract instead of vanilla. That’s what killed it for me. The texture was ridiculously smooth but the lime brings out the almond, which just reminds me of marzipan, confusing my tongue to the point of rejecting the flavor, no matter how hard I tried to focus on the coconut velvet melting in my mouth.
Side Note: Pic was taken at that angle to show off texture. When this frosting is put in the fridge, it just reverts back into a sweet, coconut/almond buttery spread.
Other than ingredient tweaking, the big thing I took away from this was the importance of choosing a recipe for an occasion. These would go over great at a summer party, or I’m thinking anything that involves the words “ladies,” “luncheon,” or a combination of the two. You’d definitely try one of these cupcakes, maybe have another- or hell, even ask for the recipe- but I think there are very few people that would want 15 of these bad boys just sitting in their house waiting for someone to gobble them up into oblivion. That’s definitely not how the story ended in this house.
Queen of Sheba: One Bad Mammajamma
Just made and ate a slice of Julia Child’s Queen of Sheba (chocolate cake featuring almond on drums and rum on the tambourine). So good with it’s fluffy mousse-like center but a bit heavier than I expected. Alternative recipes call for coffee in addition to (or instead of) rum, sans almond extract, or flourless. I intend to play around.
In other news, this was the first recipe I’ve ever done that:
a) required the intimidating folding technique
b) I attempted to beat egg whites into fluffy peaks- and by hand at that. I ultimately relinquished to the electric mixer. If I were meant to do it by hand, I’d have robotic arms.
I’ll catch up posting other stuff I’ve made/done this summer. Need to get/find my camera cable or just give in and go back to the webcam like I did in this post.
June302011
Things Making Art Has Taught Me (aka Why I’m Bad at Art)
1- I treat every color I mix as if it were my child. I want to stick it in an album and I never want it to leave me.
2- If you’re drinking and arting (as I so often do), gin is a bad idea because you’ll be tempted to dip your brush in your drink.
3- Just do it. And do it very few times. Or else you’ll get sick of it. No, really.
4- Paint gets all up on your computer when you’re listening to music and pretending to be Jackson Pollock.
