Monday, February 6, 2012

a few drawings from the past two - no - three! weeks

i have been very busy and i have been doing lots of things i enjoy.  this blog has not been as high on my list as running because it is sofa king gorgeous out lately. 
but 
it is on my list of happy productive things.
and today is a happy productive day.


                                                                                                       


i have been drawing in meetings again.  i don't know when or why i stopped doing that, but it does help me focus and i enjoy the free pages that come out of it.
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this is my favorite page lately.  batman on the overstuffed lay-z-boy.

p.s. coming up next: birthday lasagna!

Monday, January 16, 2012

studies


i have an idea for a larger painting.  these are studies for it





all are blue ball point in my sketchbook


pumpkin spice muffins

so. i accidentally bought this:







when i meant to buy this:
i like to use this like pumpkin butter on my bagels, pancakes, oatmeal, icecream. basically anything.
but the libby's brand is a 
lot thinner and just less tasty raw than the farmers market brand.  and a huuuuge container. my bad 
so i had to figure out something to do with it!

so i saw on some blog or cookbook somewhere (i tried to find source, i can't) a "recipe" that was just 1 can of pumpkin and 1 box of cake mix

easy peasy


i used 2 cups of the pumpkin  
the muffins ended up a little doughy so next time i think i will only use 1 1/2 cups (which is how much liquid ingredients are used in the cake mix... but i also tried to compensate for the eggs, hence doughy- definitely unnecessary)
i still have some pie mix left over so i've been adding it to oatmeal and pancakes.  can't bring myself to throw it away.  just no josey wasey on it being eaten raw


i made 12 normal sized muffins and 12 mini muffins
cfer isn't a fan (doughy) but i like.  
good with cream cheese



Tuesday, January 10, 2012

new sketchbook.  cheap-o that i got from tyler school a while back, so i don't feel so precious about it.  those are old pants of chris's i sewed to it.


i did some pages


journaling is hard for me these days, so i gave that a go again





i also did a few newspaper/magazine black out poems/collages but they did not photograph well.



i love drawing cfer

last week's mac and cheese!!

i broke this in to a multi-parter because i plan to eventually organize this blog and have pages for foods, drawings, diy's...etc

mAc AnD cHeEsE!!!

this was too simple and must happen again and often
this is my new 
sorta-gotta-plan-ahead-but-i-SO-don't-feel-like-cooking-tonight-and-gotta-keep-cfer-happy...
meal
the ingredients
THE INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups skim/low fat milk
1 15oz can evaporated skim milk (i could only find 12oz cans of not specific skim/whole milk, and it worked out just fine, i just used a splash more regular milk)
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 tsp salt (who measures that???)
large pinch freshly ground black pepper (ditto)
1 1/2 cups shredded medium or sharp cheddar cheese (i used about 2 cups....)
8 oz elbow macaroni (about 2 cups)(i used rotini and they came out tender and delicious.)
2 tbsp freshly grated or shredded parmesan (i didn't have any around)

p.s. coat the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray

 the uncooked mix doesn't even fill my cooker half-way


basically, stir it all up in the pot (mix the wet stuff up first) and cook on low for 3 1/2 - 4 hours.  i found i was done in the 3 hour range and i started to get crunchy crust sides, which was tasty - but could easily turn to burnednottasty --- i was using my big slow cooker.  this could have definitely fit it all in my small one and then the time probably would have been more accurate. 





it didn't come out stringy gooey cheese that can be sooo good, but it was very creamy and felt more like real food, not a way to get away with eating what you know is basically cheese soup. i think its the kinda-baked aspect?  


tons.of.leftovers


and, unlike boxed mac and cheese, which is totally gross reheated... this is still super delicious! i forgot to take a "done" picture so this is actually a re-heated bowl of delight.  i think i will add some kind of vegetable - broccoli maybe - and old bay next time. i'll also be playing with the cheeses, maybe sprinkle feta on top, with some spinach.  and tomato! mmmm. favorites! mac and cheese is so versatile! 

how do you mix up your mac?

perfect for communal mac and cheese!