Epic Bloody Mary Mixers

For my uncle Mike... who went ape over this, and asked for the recipe:

*** Note: This is PER DRINK. ***

The Equipment:
+ Drinking glasses.
+ Extra long toothpicks or small skewers; preferably as long as the glass. Usually found in the spices isle or paper plates isle at the grocery store.
+ 2 Shallow bowls for salt/pepper - for the Rim Job and rolled mozzarella balls

The Drink:
1 small handful of cubed ice in drink, if preferred.
1 to 2 shots Vodka - the good stuff, like Smirnoff or Grey Goose.
1 to 5 splashes of Tobasco sauce, to taste preference
1 dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 pinch of celery salt
1/2 clove of garlic, minced/pressed
1 good squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1 squeeze of lime juice
1 splash of soy
3 to 5 turns of freshly ground black pepper, to taste preference
Enough v8 to fill the rest of the (normal 12-16oz) glass

Garnishes (Yes, I use ALL of these):
Celery stalk
radishes
cocktail onions
cherry tomato
Garlic-filled green olives
pickled jalapeno
cooked cocktail shrimp
Fresh green bean
Baby banquet pickles, halved lengthwise
marinated asparagus (avocado oil, garlic, salt, fresh dill, basil, & lemon juice; overnight)
Mozzarella balls
Quartered lime

I like to prepare all the garnish stuff first for multiple drinks, so I can just quickly plop them in as I complete each one.

1) First skewer: In one of the shallow bowls, combine a little bit of regular iodized salt and pepper together. Roll the mozzarella balls in the mixture, and stick a skewer through it. Add a cherry tomato. Top it with a shrimp.

2) Second skewer: Add the cocktail onion, radish, and garlic olive on top.

3) Wash &/or prepare your other garnishes so they're ready to go. I usually quarter cut the celery so they're long and skinny, and I cut off the tips of the green beans. Place all on a platter for easy access.

4) On each glass, rub a halved lime over the rim. Turn the glass upside down and dip the rim in the sea salt, rotating slightly to get them to stick. Place glass back upright.


Now, onto the drink!...
1) If you like ice, add a few cubes to the glass. Otherwise, mix the ice with all the ingredients in a separate glass or shaker first, then pour into a prepared glass.

2) Add your shot(s). Then add most of the other ingredients: Tobasco, Worcestershire, celery salt, lemon juice, lime juice, minced garlic, black pepper. Stir.

3) Add enough v8 to fill the glass. Stir/shake well. If you don't want the ice, this would be when you transfer all but the ice into your prepared glass. If you DO want ice, only fill the glass about 3/4 full. Otherwise, it will overflow when you go to put the garnishes in.

4) Starting with the loose stuff first (a jalapeno, celery, pickle, asparagus) begin adding your garnishes! Crisscross the two skewers on the top. Finish with a quartered lime on the rim.

Enjoy!!!

Tweens & Weeds

Memorable moments this birthday weekend at the lodge:

+ "Errrmerrgerrsh, merrr errrrmmm!!! Herrrherrrhherrrrr!" -- Devin

+ Simultaneous looks of shock from both Ann and I as we noticed that her son, seven hours younger than Devin, now has a patch of armpit pubes. We followed this with a duel tackling of Devin to see if HE has any yet. This induced squeals of protests and giggles from said child. So does he? Nope. My son is still perpetually prepubescent.

+ Journeying up the stairs towards the two main waterslides at the lodge, a short conversation about the two main slides:
Devin: "One has lights and music. It's really fun! You'd like it. The other one is SCARCY, mom... It's pitch black in parts of it, and there's this huge drop in the middle that goes straight down..."
Me: "So which one are we going on?"
Devin: "The scarier one, duh!!" **surrounding kids giggle** "Oh, and mom.. whatever you do... just... please, don't cry... okay? I will make fun of you." **pats my back** The nerve!! :-P

+ Kneeing myself in the face while going down the tornado (yes, the scarier one.. again) with Ann. I am now sporting a wicked swollen bruise on my nose. Good job, Kristina! You freaking klutz.

+ Trying cotton candy ice cream. And licorice ice cream! I looked totally goth. Which was fitting, because I felt TERRIBLE afterwards. Definitely not lactarded-friendly. My son ordered a cup and forgot to grab a spoon. Didn't bother mentioning this fact until we got all the way back to our room. Waited for it to melt, then drank it like a milkshake. "Hehehe... Thiiisss was my plaaaaaan..." he said, hunched over in his best Igor impression, before glugging down the melted mess.

+ Looking around the hall and finding my son in the gym, going to town on an exercise bike. I tap on the window. Upon seeing me, he comes out of the gym and flexes an arm. "Ehhh, look at my guns. They're SO HUUUGE."
Me: "Duuude.. you were on a bike..."
Devin: "I KNOOOOW! I'm talented, huh?" and kissed his bicep.

+ Running up and down the five flights of stairs on an extended 7 hour magic scavenger hunt with Devin. He is now a proud master magi. And I am the proud owner of sore legs.

+ My little fish, who is also a master swimmer, scared the crap out of me in one of the pools by coming up deep from behind, and pulled me under by my feet! ACK!! I spun around underwater, not knowing who it was, and he threw me a peace sign while still chilling at the pool floor.

+ Watching my son helping the younger kids on several occasions when he didn't know I was there. My heart.. it melted.

+ Hearing Eric's voice crack for the first time. He covered his mouth with both hands in surprise, and we laughed. I assured him it's only temporary. Devin's is still high and squeaky.

+ The warm fuzzy feeling I get every time my son sweetly comes up to tell me that he loves me, and hugs and/or kisses me, even if it's in public. He is not embarrassed at all by it. I hope this never changes, but there's a part of me that knows... The years I've enjoyed of his boyish innocence will be over very soon as he grows into a young man. The tears swell just thinking about it. I hope his kind, goofy, good-natured, loving, helpful traits remain with him past this age well into his adult life. Everyone says the teenage years are toughest. God, I hope not... I've so far loved every minute of watching his personality evolve and I don't want that to change. He's beautiful. By far the coolest creation I've made. I am lucky. Lucky lucky lucky to have him as my son.

Brie en Croute

I'm a little late in getting this post out. I did promise, though, so here it is...

If you are looking for something warm, gooey, and delicious to make for a cocktail party, you've come to the right blog. I made both of these for a friend's party recently, and they were a hit! These melted mounds of glory are full of sophisticated flavors and textures that are sure to compliment most wines and/or beer.

But first, a little about the brie used:
The one used in the Spiced Fruit version is sweet and very creamy, which both calmed the fires of the jelly, and complimented the fruit beautifully. The one used in the Onion Fig version is buttery, slightly nutty, and smooth. I thought it would compliment the caramelized onions well, and it did.

Generally speaking, I'm not a brie fan. I tend to find most brie rather moldy tasting, bitter, and chalky. But these two are high quality, very creamy, and quite mouth watering. Both types from this brand have won many cheese awards, so I knew I couldn't go wrong.


Spiced Fruit Brie en Croute
1 round Rouge et Noir, "Triple Crème" Brie
1 package of puff pastry (the 17" wide ones - there should be two sheets in it; only use one)
4 tbsp. of hot jalapeno pepper preserves
1/2 small Golden Delicious apple, diced
1/3 Bartlett pear, diced
1 small package of chopped pecans, toasted
1 dash of cinnamon
1 beaten egg


Onion Fig Brie en Croute
1 round Rouge et Noir "Original" Brie
1 package of puff pastry (the 17" wide ones - there should be two sheets in it; only use one)
2 tbsp. of mission fig preserves
2 tbsp. of homemade sweet pineapple chutney (I had some leftover from a previous dish - you can also use finely diced pineapple chunks with a little bit of ginger & sugar)
1 small sweet Maui onion, thinly sliced & caramelized
1 small package of chopped walnuts, toasted
1 beaten egg


It might seem like there are a lot of steps, but this is really very easy to make - I just broke it down into a lot of baby steps. You can make just one, do what I did and make both at the same time, or make two of the same if you're not 'feeling' one over the other...


1. Unless you made the puff pastry yourself (which, normally, I would have done. However, I was on a time crunch) your packaged stuff is going to be frozen. Take it out, and out it on a floured sheet of baking paper. Set aside. As it thaws, you can unfold it more, and massage the creases away. The pastry will become extremely sticky, so don't forget to flour! Otherwise, you won't be able to lift it up to cover your cheesy innards later.

2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Throw your nuts onto a cookie sheet and toast them as it begins to heat. If you're doing both versions, just put the pecans on one side, and the walnuts on the other. You can do step three while you wait.

3. Prepare your ingredients. Regardless of which recipe you do, you're going to need to dice/slice your fruits/vegetables. For the apples and pears: Place in a small bowl. Sprinkle in your dash of cinnamon, and lightly mix. For the caramelized onions: Cook your thinly sliced pieces with 2 tsp. butter, covered, over medium/low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden and tender. Stir occasionally.

4. Take your nuts out of the oven. Your pastry (or pastries) should be pretty well thawed out by this point. Unfold completely, and cut a large circle. I cheated and used a large salad bowl that was the same diameter as the sheet of dough to cut around. Save the excess if you wish - you can use them to decorate your creation(s).

5. Spread your preserves over the pastry rounds like you would with a pizza, leaving only the edges bare. If you're doing the one with chutney/pineapple bits, spread in the same manner right on top of the fig.

6. Add your diced or sliced/caramelized plant toppings. Again, just like a pizza. Leave the edges alone! Then add your toasted nuts.

7. Place your brie (yes, the whole thing) in the center of each pastry round, on top of the weird looking pizza mess. Now's the fun part: Begin to bring the edges of the pastry up and over the cheese rounds. You might be thinking 'This is NEVER going to work! It's not big enough." Relax, the beauty about pastry is that it stretches! Gently pull, pleat, and pinch your way around in small increments to seal, and you'll eventually get it.

8. Gently flip and place the completely sealed rounds smooth side up. This is why I put it on floured baking paper. You can either bake it on this (on a cookie sheet), or if you prefer to use a nice oven-safe serving piece, that works too. I ultimately served mine on a large wooden platter, so I needed something transferrable.

9. If you wish, decorate the tops with your left-over pastry bits from earlier. I cut out pieces for the words "Jalapeno" and "Onion Fig" for mine. Brush your beaten egg over the top and sides of the round. This will help it brown. Cut small slits or poke a few holes for steam to escape.

10. Bake for about a half hour or until the pastry is a deep golden brown color. These will both smell divine. Once done, let stand for about 10-20 minutes before serving (which was the perfect amount of time needed to drive to said party). Serve with the remaining fruit, sliced, and/or your favorite crackers. Don't forget your cheese knife! Enjoy :-)

Seasons Change

So many changes this spring...

In love:
I've been showered with love this month. I love my friends and family. Thank you for being there for me. There were days I wanted to just quit, thinking 'What's the Point?' - overwhelmed by the pain and heartache of so many recent circumstances and tragedies. Too many things that no person should have to experience all at once. Without even knowing or being requested, you've responded to me, called, and texted me without prompting just when I needed to hear you the most. From the simplest words of "I love you" to dragging me out for drinks and weepy conversations, you were there for me. I feel blessed to have such wonderful people in my life, and hope to pay it forward.

In Music:
I love that my heart can cry out for healing and the universe responds by opening up musical opportunities. I am so thankful for the connections I've made, and for the people who think of me when they think of producing beautiful music. It's one of the best healers for me, and the most natural way I worship.

In Work:
Thank you for believing in my skills. I am honored to service your needs, and hope I represent you well. Book illustrating. More logos. Updated identity packages. Just when I was beginning to worry after all the attorney fees, car accident, new apartment lease, Devin's summer tuition, etc. Thank you.

Blue

My bed still smells like you.
Your things scattered throughout my home, remind me of you,
And clothes that are just ghosts of you.
Promises we made that will never come true...
If you only knew how blue I am every time I think of you...

I wish I'd never met you.

Gingerbread Massacre Ice Cream

Homemade ice cream might sound super difficult, but it's really not hard at all. The best part about it is that you can make so many wild and delicious concoctions! For this particular batch, I have substituted regular heavy whipping cream for Mimicreme's Almond and Cashew Cream (Note that, due to this difference, the cream will not "firm up" quite the way normal whipping cream does, but still yields a nice soft batch in the end), making this ice cream lactatded-friendly. :-)

Serves 6-8 (about 1 liter)
1/2 cup bakers sugar
5 egg yolks
3/4 cup thickened cream, beaten
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup molasses
Decorative candies (optional)

1) Beat the egg yolks with an electric beater for 5-10 minutes until they are thick, pale, and creamy. It should be doubled in volume as well by this point.

2) Combine the sugar with a 1/2 cup of water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, and stir consistently while boiling until the volume has reduced by about half. It will yellow slightly into a nice fluid syrup. Do not burn or overcook into a rock!!!

Set aside for a couple minutes to cool down. In the meantime...

3) Beat your cream until it begins to firm (about 3-5 minutes). Add your ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and molasses to the cream and beat for another 3-5 minutes.

4) Slowly pour in the hot sugar syrup into the YOLKS (not the cream!) and beat for 10 minutes, ensuring that the mixture is well aerated and cooled down.

5) Fold the spiced cream mixture into the sweet fluffy egg mixture. Fold in your decorative candies, if desired (I used red hearts, and various sprinkles).

Pour into a 1-liter rectangular glass or metal dish; cover, and freeze overnight.

That's it! Serve with actual gingerbread cookies and your favorite coffee or holiday drink for a delightfully gingery dessert. :-)

Yummy Vegan "Plant Loaf"

I know what you're thinking. Plant loaf?? That sounds.. Er.. Interesting. And not nearly as savory sounding as "Meat Loaf". I assure you, however, this dish tastes about a 100 times better and is completely vegan!

I got the original recipe from OhHowSheGlows blog, and tested my own modifications. You know it's a great recipe when you can add or omit ingredients and it still turns out like a champ.

Ready?...

To start, you're going to need a few ingredients. These can all be found at your local grocery store.

Main Ingredients:
3 tbsp - ground flax seed
1/2 cup - warm water

1 cup - Dry lentils
3 cups- vegetable broth
1 splash - olive oil (for broth)
1/2 cup - oat flour
3 cloves - garlic, minced
1/2 of a sweet onion, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
1/3 cup - green onion, diced
2 or 3 mushrooms, finely diced (optional)
1/2 of a peeled/shredded apple
1/4 cup - raisins (optional)
1 cup(~3 slices) - breadcrumbs, toasted
1 small bag - chopped/toasted walnuts
1/2 tsp - salt
1/2 tsp - pepper (or to taste)
1/2 tsp - thyme
1/2 tsp - dill
1/4 tsp - fennel (optional)

The Glaze:
1 tbsp - balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp - REAL maple syrup
1 tbsp - vegan butter (I use Earth Balance)
1 tbsp - tomato paste
1 large splash of good rum. Because we all love rum and it tastes yummy. Please don't ruin this with cheap-a$$ Bacardi...

Ok, let's get started!

Directions:
1) In a medium saucepan, bring the veggie broth to a boil. Dump in your lentils. Add a splash of extra virgin olive oil so the pan doesn't boil over. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until all the broth has been soaked up and the lentils are nice and mushy (about 40 minutes or so). Stir occasionally during this time. Once done, remove from heat and set aside to cool a bit.

TIP: Everything else, you should be able to prepare while the lentils are cooking, so read on...

2) Pre-heat your oven to 350*(f).

3) While waiting for the oven to heat, dice up the bread to make crumbs. I use Udi's gluten-free bread cause their little loaves are awesome and yummy. 3 slices usually do the trick. Toast the crumbs in a baking sheet! When done, put in a bowl and set aside to cool.

4) Make your glaze. There's really no rhyme or reason to this one; just combine all the glaze ingredients together and stir.

5) Using same baking sheet as before for the bread crumbs, put some parchment paper in it, and dump your chopped walnuts in. Spread evenly around, and bake in oven for about 5-8 minutes. When done, put in same bowl as breadcrumbs and let cool.

6) While waiting for all that toasted mess, prepare the flax mixture. This is a great baking substitute for eggs!

Place the flax in a small bowl. Warm up the 1/2 cup water, and pour over the ground flax. STIR WELL. Then, push it aside and let it sit for about 5-10 min to gel up.

7) Prepare your vegetables! In a large skillet, sauté your onion and garlic with vegan butter on med/low heat for about 2-3 min. DO NOT BURN THEM! we just want 'em translucent.

When the onions are finally tender, toss in the carrot. When the carrot starts to get tender, throw in the apples, celery, chives, raisins, mushrooms, and sauté for another few minutes.

Add all your spices, and mix together. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Despite there being apple and raisins in this, it's going to start smelling quite savory.

8) The lentils should be ready by this point. Dump into a large mixing bowl. Mash the crap out of them with your toes.

I'm just kidding, don't use your toes. That would be gross. Use a potato masher. Like the attached picture, see? This will help everything stick together.

9) Add your sautéd vegetable mixture and flax gelatin mixture (yes, ALL of it) to the mess, and stir.

Next, add your oat flour! Stir in. Add the toasted breadcrumbs and walnuts. Mix it all together with your hands! (yes, just like regular meat loaf).

You can adjust the seasonings at this point if you wish. Yeah, you can taste it 'cause there isn't anything bad that will poison you if you eat it raw!

9) Press the mixture firmly into a loaf pan (I like to use parchment paper in it for easy removal). If you're tactile like I am, this is going to feel awesome on your hands, and you may not want to stop smoothing it out! Lol...

Attack it with the rummy, I mean yummy chilled glaze, and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes. Once it's done, let cool for about 10 minutes. This is important as it needs to set (and it will, don't worry) and you're all done!

Serves about 8 thick slices, and you can pair it with your favorite side. :-)

Kristina's Beef Wellington

As the holidays are approaching, I thought I’d share one of my favorite dishes. It is fairly time-consuming (but not hard) to make, so as a result, I usually limit it to special occasions. This is a real crowd pleaser, sure to induce praise around the table and envy over your mad cooking skills. This dish is also fabulous with garlic mashed potatoes.

Prep: about 1 hour, 15 min
Cooking time: about 1 hour
Baking time: 25 minutes
Serves: 6 (warning: people will want seconds!)

Ingredients:
3 ¼ pounds of beef tenderloin (you may have to tie a few strips together)
½ cup olive oil
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 leek, finely chopped
½ cup of sherry or Madeira
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 cups beef stock
3 tablespoons sweet, unsalted butter
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 shitake or button mushrooms, finely chopped
1 small can diced black olives
3 sheets packaged puff pastry (found in frozen isle at grocery store) thawed
A dozen thin slices of prosciutto
1 egg, well beaten
A few tablespoons-worth of butter

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Step 1) the Gravy Sauce:
1. Finely chop the carrot, onion, leek, and shallots (or use food processer – I don’t have one).
2. Heat a tablespoon or two of butter in skillet and add all the chopped veggies, sautéing until slightly browned.
3. Stir in the Sherry and Worcestershire sauce, scraping any of the sticky chunks from the bottom of the skillet, and simmer for about 10 minutes until reduced to a syrupy sauce.
4. Stir in the beef stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and leave simmering for an hour or so while you’re preparing the actual beef wellington.

Step 2) the Meat:
5. Season the beef well with seasonings of choice. (I like to use a mixture of finely chopped basil, garlic salt, fresh pepper, paprika, fennel, thyme, oregano, and a very light dash of cinnamon. I put a dash or two of each into a small bowl and then stir them together.)
6. In a large pan, heat the olive oil on high. Once thoroughly heated, add the beef and quickly brown all sides. Be careful not to overcook; we’re mainly just browning to lock the meat juices in. Transfer to a baking dish and cook in oven for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to completely cool.

Step 3) Prepare the Pastry:
7. On a sheet of baking (or wax) paper, unfold the sheets of pastry puff and pinch together until measuring out a rectangle about 16” x 24” – lightly roll flat, transfer the whole thing (paper included) to a baking sheet. Layer pastry with another piece of baking paper, and chill in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

Step 4) Encasement Mixture:
8. In a small saucepan, melt a tablespoon or two and gently cook the shallots for a few minutes until softened but not browned. Add the garlic, mushrooms, and olives; cook gently until the mixture is barely moist, and then set aside.

9. Check the gravy sauce, and stir. Run a metal strainer through the mixture; collect about half of the finely chopped pieces. Add these pieces to the mushroom mixture, and lightly stir together. Let the gravy sauce continue to simmer. If it’s thickening too quickly, you can add some Madeira or even a little bit of red wine if needed.

Step 5) Putting it all together:
10. Take the pastry out of the fridge and transfer to the work surface. To prevent excess pastry overlap, cut away each corner, while leaving room in the center portion for the beef; basically, once cut, the pastry will kind of look like a large cross. Save all the pastry trimmings for later use in this recipe.

11. Lay the prosciutto slices all over the pastry and thinly spread half of the mushroom mixture on top of that. If you tied the beef for the browning, carefully untie (so it stays together) and place in the center of the pastry. Spread the remaining mushroom mixture on the beef, and bring the flaps of prosciutto over the beef.

12. Brush the pastry edges with some of the beaten egg and fold them over each other to completely encase the beef.

13. Turn onto a lightly buttered baking sheet, seam-side down. Remember those pastry trimmings? Cut them into strips and crisscross a lattice pattern over the top. Brush with the rest of the beaten egg, and pierce a small slit in the center at the top for a nice finishing look.

14. Place in the oven for 5 minutes to set, then lower the heat for 400 degrees F and bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is a nice golden brown. Turn off the oven and open the door to cool while preparing the finishing touches on the gravy.

15. Give the sauce one last stir, and strain it into a gravy boat. Throw away the remaining chunks that were strained out. Remove the Beef Wellington and slice. Serve at once with the gravy. Enjoy!

Gritty City Gift Fair

Well, I'm nearing the end of day one at the Gritty City Art Festival here in Tacoma...

I've just about made enough to cover my booth costs! Woooo. This goes on all day tomorrow, from 1 to 8pm - 3 floors of live music, cocktails, unique items you won't find anywhere else; what more could a person ask for?

Just about everything that I've seen here is hip, handmade, local, and environmentally "green". If you're in the area and looking for something to do tomorrow (maybe a little shopping, hint hint) PLEASE! Feel free to stop on by! And say hi! Cause, you know, I'm here. :-) Alllll eeeevening.

Perfect Gluten-free Pumpkin Loaf

(makes TWO mouth-watering 9x5" loafs)

I make this quick and easy loaf for my boyfriend's son, who has Fructose Malabsorption which means he can't have anything with HFCS and wheat. This is one of his all-time favorite breads. It's a great fall and winter anytime snack, and has a wonderfully consistent, moist texture. You'd never know it's gluten-free.

While most "fructmals" know, brown sugar has a bit of fructose naturally, so I add dextrose sugar which can be found at almost any health-food store. You can also substitute the brown sugar by adding pure maple syrup (about 1/2 ratio) if desired. Dextrose is not a good full-on substitute as it has different baking characteristics than regular white and brown sugars.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups white rice flour
1/2 cup authentic -does not contain wheat- corn flour (corn starch)
2 tsp backing soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum (I use Bob's Red Mill brand)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup butter (yes, 2 full sticks), softened
1/4 cup spiced rum
1/4 fructose-free eggnog
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup dextrose
4 large eggs
1 can pure pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling!!!)
1 tsp vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2) In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together. Add eggs, pumpkin pie puree, rum, eggnog, and vanilla - mix until well blended.

3) In separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

4) Gently fold flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until just blended - DO NOT OVER MIX!

5) Pour 1/2 of mixture into a lightly greased 9"x5" loaf pan.

6) Bake for about 1 hr or until the top is nicely golden. Check doneness with toothpick. A little moist is ok as it will continue to cook until transfered to cooling rack, but if it's still super doughy, and the top is browned, place some foil on top and bake a few minutes longer.

7) Leave to cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

As tempting as it is to do otherwise, I highly recommend waiting until the bread has completely cooled before cutting into it. That way all the moist goodness does not escape. If you simply cannot wait (warning: this bread smells sooo good; it ranks right up there with banana bread), make sure you wrap the loaf completely with baking (or wax) paper.

3 days

...Till my birthday, in case you're wondering. WHEW!! I just finished formatting a bunch of ACEO PRINTS and certificates for the Grit City Art Fair at the end of the month! Man, now I'm tired. I'll leave the printing for tomorrow. I'm gonna go get some beauty sleep. :-)

Check out this website if you don't know what an ACEO PRINT is: www.art-card.org. Don't feel bad. I didn't know what the heck they were either until last week. I hear about 'em all the time though, so I figured it was worth looking in to. You know, find out what all the rage is about. Now I'm with the program. And you can be too. Yeah two thousand ten! Alright!!!

HOT NEWS

I was resigned for no reason. I went back to square one (the first printer I went to, like I said I would) - and worked with Jeff, their color guy. He ended up referring a different printing company up in Seattle, called "The Color Group". They're not cheap, but ARE comparable to the printer I was originally gonna use. And they do large-format drum scanning, which is nice (and cheaper then using a photographer to get digital files made).

I went up there this past week, got proofs made, checked them out yesterday and they looked GREAT!!! So I ordered 5 prints up front and they should be done this coming Monday. Again, not cheap, but a girl has to do what a girl has to do for now. So YAY, I've finally got a great printer to work with.

Other hot news: I signed up for the Artist Fair in Tacoma on Black Friday, which we all know is only the BUSIEST shopping day of the whole year!! The day after Thanksgiving. I will have a booth there, so if anyone wants to buy prints directly and meet me, I'll be there. :-)

The address is as follows: Speakeasy Arts Cooperative, 746 Broadway, Tacoma, WA. Which is located on Antique Row in downtown Tacoma. There is also a second entrance on St. Helen's for foot traffic. Hope to see ya there!!

Answered Prayers

Thanks to Mel, Ben, and Molly for the recommendation - because of you guys, I got in touch with a totally awesome (and local) printing company that specializes in fine art reproductions. I didn't know about them because they don't advertise, so thank you! Artist's best kept secret: R4. They currently have my files and are in the process of creating proofs. They have large-format scanning abilities too, so I don't have to spend extra money going to a photographer. :-D Hooray!!!

Oh October

Are you here already? Dang...

Here are some pictures of my progress on the third siren in the series so far. This particular one is being done in acrylics. Again, it's NOT DONE, so keep the criticism to a minimum please - I'm not satisfied with it either at this point, but hopefully that will change. It's all about the journey, after all. I'm growing... please be gentle.

Art for Sale!

Hello all!

I currently have some art on display and for sale at the Boudoir Bed & Bath up in Anacortes, WA for your viewing/buying pleasure. I am taking orders or consignments as well.

Full-sized giclées are not at the store, unfortunately, because I've been having issues with my current printer. The machine they normally use for fine art items such as mine BROKE, and they do not plan on replacing it any time soon. We tried to see if their other printer would work, but the quality is just not there. I will be in the market over the weekend for a new company that can create the giclées to my standards. After all, why would I want to give my collector's less than the best, right? Luckily, I know a LOT of other artists in the area and have already been given some awesome recommendations to go take a look at. :-) Stay tuned, my friends! I should have an update by next week.

CD Artwork for Nate Palin - aka - "The Bottom Line" is finished and in production!!! Yay :-D

For more info on this, go to: www.bottomlinelive.com

Moving On & Moving Up

The past few weeks since my last blog have been CRAZY BUSY!!! So we DID sell our house, and we DID end up having to pay. Oh well. Since then, we've been moving what belongings we've decided to keep [for the time being] into a dinky little apartment.

There is no room. I need these paintings OUT of here!

Good news? Started two new different paintings. Can't wait to show them to y'all!

I got a promotion at work too, which is pretty cool. I feel somewhat important now. :-)

Cheers!

Monday, BAD DAY! Oh well.

So I don't know which news I received today is worse...

The fact that:
1) I have a disgruntled ex-employee trying to make my life miserable. She has a personal vendetta against me, but fortunately is dumber than she is scandalous, and she WILL be getting into some MAJOR trouble.

2) Nobody in the office (including me) could get paid today or buy any needed office supplies BECAUSE of this disgruntled employee, who caused all of our work accounts to freeze.

3) My paycheck from last week was returned, and now my account is overdrawn. Cool!

4) The appraisal came back from Thursday's walk-through.. and it's $5,000 below the purchase price (in other words, we HAD/HAVE a buyer, and it came in below even though 7 months ago it appraised for $22k HIGHER than the purchase price, & we've sunk over $30k in the house just since August). Someone was offering to BUY it! Why ruin a good thing and make it lower than what they were offering?! What an ass. We are NOT writing a check to close the sale!

5) Because of the appraisal, this also means is that the apartment we've had on hold with a friend will not be available any longer - he had to know by this morning if we were gonna be able to take it since he already had 3 other prospective-tenants. He wasn't gonna charge us deposit or last-month's like most places because he has known and done work with my boyfriend for so many years. So, basically, we're screwed out of the apartment too. Anywhere else is gonna charge up the butt.

6) Someone HACKED into one of my email accounts, and emailed all of my contacts a load of junk mail. Joy.

So I've heard bad things come in 3's... Since I got a double dose, does this mean something grand will be coming my way soon?! Please oh please say that it's so! Fuh shizzle. Today sucked.

I need a drink. Margarita anyone? I've got about 11 bucks to my name, if you're game.

On the bright side, at least I'm generally healthy, not pregnant, not homeless, and have friends, right? And I got some mad skillz too. That's always a plus.

Art for Sale!

I'm so frustrated!!! Last night I got into a big fight with Steve. His argument?..

"I see you farting around with all this art crap - it's wasting an exorbitant amount of your time - and yet you have YET to make a dime off of any of it. When are you going to GET REAL and stop this art nonsense!? It's not making you any money!! I have never met a person who struggles as much as you do - it's not like making money is hard, anyone can do it. Except you. Put the dream away, Kristina. It's just a dream. You have more important things to think about."

Now, I understand where he's coming from -oh "Mr. I-make-5-figures-per-month-plumbing"- but I don't know how to change the circumstances to prove that what I do has any value! I'm told MAKE MORE ART by teachers and artists, but I get YELLED at every time I DO because I haven't even sold any of the ones I've already made!!! ...And he gets REALLY mad when I run out of materials and I have to buy more. I took art class, yes, and granted, I learned some cool applications I hadn't thought of before, but what they didn't teach me was how to SELL ART. I don't **want** to stop creating art! I wish I could do it all day, every day!! I wish people **liked** my art enough that they wanted to buy it, so I'd have proof that I ***COULD*** do it all day, every day and actually survive!!!

Do I need to stand outside, and shout to the mountains in order for anyone to hear me?!?!

What can I do? Seriously. This is quite the pickle. I'm pretty torn up about this.

Lost and Found

Yesterday evening I retrieved my very first chalk pastel painting from the TAFA studio so I could present it to my mother for her birthday. Mind you, I haven't actually *seen* this painting in over two years. Upon having it matted, I realized -someone- I don't know who, CUT around the edges of the Canson paper... most likely so it would fit into the previous frame it was put in during my absence from the academy. As it doesn't disrupt the actual pastel itself, I suppose it doesn't matter, but I was a bit angry about discovering this anyhow. I mean, I DID pay for the paper and positioned the still-life exactly where I wanted it. I LIKED the excess of smokey gray background! Oh well.

At any rate, Rachel, the awesome framing manager at Michaels hooked me up with a great mat to fit around my own frame, which I promptly assembled before leaving for my mom's 53rd birthday-party dinner. She cried when I presented it to her, lol..

She will be giving it back briefly sometime this week so I can take it to my photographer's studio and get a digital copy made, after which, I will be returning it to her for safe keeping.

The pastel, if you're wondering, was/is a still life of the Horse of Turino. I forgot how amazingly brilliant it is for being a plain white statue. My lighting layer really shows through brilliantly in just the right spots. My mother loves horses, so there you go.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend!