Touch It

My camera is broken. Has been broken. Here is my new pile of virtual inspiration. Touch it. 

Happy 151st Birthday Oregon

Chocolate Hazelnut Tart with Agave Maple Syrup

 The Western Meadowlark, Oregon State Bird

J. Starkey, Pioneer of the Oregon Party

W.A.W. with Clyde "The Glide" Drexler,

Oregon Celebrities

February 14, 2010

151 Years

Lover

Lou

 

    

Terrariums.

I was catching a spot of Martha Stewart the other day with my grandma and Julie Andrews was on the show. Martha showed, or shall I say, bossed Julie in the making of terrariums. A petite, lush environment encased in a simple, yet elegant glass container. Grandma and I were inspired!

I had a feeling that acquiring an inexpensive, yet fabulous vessel would be the challenge in this project.  The battle of local vs. corporate is such a hard one sometimes. In the case of the terrarium I chose to go corporate. Home Goods is a store that is chock full of delicious housewares. I found both vases for just over $20.  When I headed to a local garden store in NE Portland, just one vase, of the same shape and all, was over $70.  I did, however, purchase all the plants from Garden Fever and Portland Nursery.

We filled each terrarium with an inch of soil atop an inch of charcoal atop another inch of pea gravel. Then it was time for the plants.  A variety of ferns, mosses, A String of Pearls, and a sweet leafed plant with distinct white strips that added a nice change in texture. We were really wanting a tiny indoor orchid for these but it was nowhere to be found. We left some room to add it in when the time is right.

Grandma has had these gigantic tweezers for some time now.  Martha recommends them on her list of tools.  Now, I don't usually go by the book but Grandma does and boy were those tweezers handy.  We used a champagne cork to pat down the dirt around each plant.

The finishing touches; decorative rocks, Flower the skunk and tiny ceramic turtles. They really seal the deal for me.

Voila!  Two adorable terrariums. A lovely idea. A splendid process. A charming outcome.

Main Dish Chowder for Grandma

My grandma asked me if I would like to make her some Main Dish Chowder.  I had never made it before so I thought I would take a stab at it.  I did change some things and add some others.  All in all in was a success and a lovely process whilst listening to the state of the union address.

Salt and pepper. Potatoes, carrots and corn. Onion, garlic and celery.  Organic, low sodium vegetable broth & Earth Balance.  Delicious.

Just the right tenderness of vegetables. Time to add the roux that is just thick enough. A little faux butter, milk, salt, pepper, flour and a bit of Worcestershire sauce.Toss in the corn and viola!

It had the texture and thickness of chowder with that familiar taste. It was geared more to the vegetable side then the meat side. I enjoyed the simplicity. I added some Frank's Red Hot that really gave it a zing.  Thanks for the great idea Grandma!  Next up, Thom Kha.

Flow Time

I have entered into the digital age in, what feels like, one fell swoop. A laptop, digital camera and all the appropriate goodies to go along with it. I am trying to get caught up. Music, streaming and videos, oh my! Here, I have a treat for you in the form of a video. I really wish that I could put this in all of your pockets so that you could pull it out at the drop of a hat, but this is the best I can do right now.

Disclaimer #1:  This is my first time using the video editing software that I have. Please excuse the lack of fancy editing, my home girl sure can stand on her own just fine though.

Disclaimer #2:  This video contains offensive language not meant for anyone under the age of 16 or over the age of 50. I do not condone most of the lyrics in this video.

Without further adieu...

Bark

For Christmas our family did a gift exchange game. We all brought one present for the game and I made a clock with Birch bark.  Well, since then there have been some requests for more like the one I made and this is what I have so far.  I want to find different items for the numbers...