Gouache

I'm finding that painting with gouache paint is funner and less stressful than with watercolor.  You can cover up mistakes easier with gouache. 

I followed this YouTube tutorial done by artist Philip Boelter.  He actually did four separate videos for each plant. 

He says this:   "Follow along with your art supplies or simply just zen out to it. These videos of me painting have been known to help with anxiety and stress. Have you ever tried painting with gouache? It's similar to watercolor, but gouache it's more opaque. Please, enjoy and zen out to me painting! "

I enjoyed painting along with him.  It really was stress relieving and zen-like.  

And BTW here's my finished peony drawing. 

Dd's Italian Meatball Wedding Soup

 

Italian Wedding Soup 

Adapted from Food Network, Giada DeLaurentis

 

Turkey Meatballs:

1/2# ground turkey

2 TB breadcrumbs

2 TB ricotta cheese

2 TB onion, minced

2 TB celery, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 large egg

½ tsp. dried basil

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 TB olive oil

Soup:

2 TB extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling 

1 small onion, chopped 

2 cloves garlic, minced 

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

4 c. chicken broth 

½ bunch spinach washed, roughly chopped 

2 oz. ditalini or fregola pasta  

Chopped fresh parsley, for topping 

 

Preheat the broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a large bowl combine turkey, bread crumbs, cheese, onion, celery, garlic, egg, basil, salt and pepper. Shape into 12 1-inch meatballs. Place meatballs onto baking sheet. Brush with oil. Broil until lightly browned, about 5-7 minutes.

 

Warm olive oil in a medium saucepot over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, Italian seasoning and pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until onion has softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, spinach and pasta. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low. Simmer until the pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes. Add meatballs and simmer, uncovered, until warmed through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle each serving with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan and parsley.

Serves 2 as entrée, 4 appetizers.

360 Degree Spirited Away Railroad Trip

 Veeeery cool.  Make sure to look behind you.

Two Tiny Toys

I found these two toys at separate times awhile back at the swap meet.  You'll see just how tiny they are when my hand appears in the video.  They're noise activated and tend to feed off each other.  Once things quiet down a bit they'll go to sleep.  The mouse will even snore before sleeping.

You can check out more like the mouse by googling "Micropets".

On Da Desk

I've been working on this peony for the past 3 days . . . off and on . . . in between fixing woven messes and videotaping rain . . . and checking out Lightening Deals on Amazon. 

I'm trying to copy this photo that I found online.

A Rainy Day

 Here's a 2-minute video that I shot with my iPhone and edited with iMovie yesterday.

Mug Rug

 😁

Fail

I couldn't finish this piece properly and got mad. I'm supposed to be able to pull the white strings through, but they're stuck and I end up puckering up the weaving.   I threw it in the trash can.  

It's now two days later, and I just fished it out to try again.  

Made me more mad.  

Dd's Cajun Gumbo

 

CAJUN GUMBO

 

1/4 c vegetable oil

½ c + 2 TB flour

1 small onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1/3 c red bell pepper, diced

1/3 c green bell pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

**1 TB cajun seasoning

1/4 # andouille sausage, ½-inch pieces

4 c chicken stock

*½ # boneless skinless chicken thighs, ½-inch cubes (precooked)

*1/4 # medium shrimp/crab, shelled and deveined (precooked)

Garnish: sliced green onion, cooked white rice

**CAJUN SEASONING:

1 1/4 tsp paprika

1 tsp each salt, garlic powder

½ tsp each black pepper, cayenne pepper

½ tsp each oregano, thyme

½ tsp each cumin, dry mustard

¼ tsp ground bay leaves

**In a mixing bowl; combine all ingredients well. Set aside.

 

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium high heat. Add flour, stirring constantly until roux is a deep golden brown, about 22-25 minutes. Add onion, celery, peppers and garlic. 

Cook until vegetables are softened. Stir in Cajun seasoning; cook for 1 minute. Add chicken and sausage. 

When chicken is cooked through add stock, mixing until blended well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 30 minutes. 

Stir in the shrimp/crab; cook 5 minutes, just until seafood is cooked through. Remove from heat. Top with white rice and green onions. Serves 2-4.

Simple Snack

 Sometimes I enjoy kuromame with green tea in the mid afternoon.