Eat the Rainbow {Spring 2013}

Oh hi there blogging friends!  I'm starting a new series today called Eat the Rainbow.  Here, I will feature in season recipes featuring produce in {almost} every color of the rainbow.  Not much blue going on if ya know what I mean.

This time- SPRING!  Such a delight for seasonal recipes.

RED-

 

Balsamic Strawberry pops. Um......... if you guys know me at at ALL you know how much I want to make these.

ORANGE-

 

Roasted sweet peppers and carrots with orange and hazelnuts.  Has a plate ever looked as beautiful as this?

YELLOW-

 

Creamy avocado linguine with meyer lemon and arugula.   OK, so this may be a tad on the green side, but the shining star here is definitely the meyer lemon.  I just adore when these little gems come around.  Sadly, they are already past their April prime around these parts, but meyer lemons are a treat I look forward to every year.

GREEN-

 

Sun dried tomato and fet stuffed artichokes.   What?  Are you kidding me?  Oh hell yes.

BROWN-

 

Crispy polenta with morels and broccoli.   Morels are SUCH a treat.  We actually very rarely eat them.  Expensive little buggers!  But man are they delicious.  This recipe just looks like a dream come true.

Have a super duper Sunday my friends!  and let me know if you find any cool colorful recipes I can use in upcoming Eat the Rainbow posts!

Trish

A song for Saturday {Same Love}

Really digging this inspiring tune lately........

Dijon potato salad with edamame

Spring is in full force my friends!!  It's been a bit rainy and cold this week, but overall I couldn't be any happier with this May weather we've had.  It puts a huge grin on this girl's face.

We started grilling outside for the first time this year, one of my favorite things about spring and summer.  One of my other faves- potato salad.  I freakin love potato salad.  My mom used to make it for me all the time and I would eat most of it warm before it cooled down.  Although I love her mayo filled recipe the most, I'm trying to be more on the healthy side lately.

I borrowed this recipe from Good Ole Martha, and tweaked it by adding some shelled edamame I had in the fridge.

 

Here are your ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds red new potatoes, scrubbed and halved (quartered if large)
• 1 cup shelled edamame, cooked
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

 Here's what you do:

Steam the potatoes in a steamer basket for 15-20 minutes.  While those are steaming, whisk together vinegar, mustard, and olive oil in a large bowl.  

When your potatoes are fully cooked, place them in the bowl with the vinegar mixture and add edamame.  Toss together and gently stir in parsley.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Voila!

 

Serve on a sunny spring evening with some lemonade and a beer. :)

Enjoy friends!

Trish

 

DIY Photo to wood transfer

Check this out friends...........

 

This is piece of wood.  No joke.  Yes, it's also a photo of a bunch of nerds  really cool people playing battle with cardboard armor.  Heh.

I've been seeing this photo to canvas thing floating around, and heard that you could use the same gel medium for most porous surfaces.  My friend Maghag's bday was a few months back, and I jumped at the chance to turn this gem of a pic into a work of art. 

Here's what you need to make one of your own:

 

1. A photo in the size you want, printed with an inkjet printer.  This was the most difficult part for me!!!  Not only could I not seem to size the picture correctly, but I don't have an inkjet printer.  And turns out, neither does ANY FREAKIN WHERE in Seattle!  We had to use Jerdy's mom's dinosaur to get the job done.  

2. A very smooth piece of wood.

3. A gel medium.  You can find this at any craft store.  Just make sure you do NOT use ModPodge.

4. A foam brush.

5. A paper towel or cloth towel.

6. Water

First, take your gel medium and evenly spread it over the wood surface and the photo side of your paper.  Place the photo, photo side down, on the wood and smooth as well as you can starting from the middle and working your way out.  Leave it to try overnight.

The next day, take a damp towel and blot your photo, getting it damp, but not soaking wet.

 

Start rubbing off the paper with your fingers.  This process takes FOREVER!  Once you think you're done, there's more dry white paper.  Don't rub too hard here, you don't want to rub off the transfer from the wood.

 

Keep wetting and rubbing until you are satisfied with how much paper is gone.   It may take a couple of days, because you'll notice more paper after it's dry again.  

I had Jared seal this with conversion varnish at his work, but a spray can lacquer will work wonders for preserving this.  

 

This is how it looked totally finished!!  I love it, and I'm pretty sure Maghag does too.  By the way, that's me on the very far left.  See the frilly skirt I made myself with a beer box????  We are so cool.  NOT!

Let me know if you try this out friends!  I'd love to hear some cool tips on how to make these really neat.

Trish

Stupendous Monday {5/13/13}

Monday Monday.......
So good to meeeeeeee.........
lalala

Here it is friends!  My bi-weekly insta-dump.

I got this antique banjo-uke from my grandma around Christmas.  It's an old family heirloom that we had refinished and fixed up.  SO COOL!  This is us, learning to play Sea of Love.  A friend of ours is going to play it on this little dude as I walk down the aisle.  YESSSSS!  Exciting stuff guys.

The weather's been like a dream.  Jerdy and I are feeling the spring fever, strolling hand in hand to dinner.

Just a usual Saturday morning for me.  No big deal.

Moscow mules on the deck.  In the sun.  With good friends.

Caught these two lovebirds napping on the couch.

I can't get enough of this amazing vegetable.

Music discoveries.......

This is what my walk to work looks like lately.  Tennis shoes and iced coffee.  A really nice 15 minute stroll every morning.

Looking back, it's been a really really awesome last couple of weeks.  SO much sunshine and lounging and friendly faces.  Lovin life right now.

What have you guys been up to???

Trish

P.S. Want to follow me on Instagram?  Go here and click that button!

Rhubarb soda float

Whoa dudes!  Where the heck did I go????  I took an unplanned little hiatus there this week, but I'm BACK!  With a vengeance!

Is anyone else swimming in rhubarb right now?  I LOVE the stuff!  A week or so back I made some rhubarb syrup intended for home made soda.  Next thing I knew, ice cream and sorbet were added and some serious magic happened.  Oh. My. Freakin. God this was delicious.

 

First, you need to make your syrup.  This syrup recipe can be used for pretty much any fruit, or maybe even a vegetable.  It makes about 2 cups.

3 cups rhubarb (about 3 stalks) cut into 1 inch pieces

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

Bring all of the ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan.  Turn down the heat and simmer for about half an hour, stirring occasionally.  Take off heat and let cool completely.  Strain through a fine mesh sieve and mash the rhubarb goo with a potato masher to get all of that syrup out.  That's it!

The remaining rhubarb goo is SUPER sweet, but pretty darn amazing with some yogurt or used as a jam over the next couple of days.  

 

OK, now for the float!!!  Go get some vanilla ice cream, strawberry sorbet, and some soda water.  Place a scoop of each in a glass.  Fill your glass half full with syrup and top with soda water.

 

Add a cute little straw and you have just about the best thing you'll eat all spring.  I demolished mine in about 2 minutes, and it's taking up all my willpower to not let this engaged lady eat 10 a day of these! 

 

Friendly Feature {Honesuckle Road}

Hey there friends!

Wanna get to know a super cool lady who makes super cool jewelry???  Deonne from Honeysuckle Road is today's friendly feature.  Her accessories are SO personal and cute, and she is just the sweetest of ladies.  Go check out her shop!!

How did you get started with your Etsy shop?

I started making jewelry and working with metals as a hobby. I enjoyed being able to give my family & friends gifts with sweet words or quotes that were meaningful to them.  I loved Etsy but didn't decide to open my shop until my husband was deployed. I thought it would be good for me to have an extra distraction since at the time we were living several states away from our family & most of our close friends.  It didn't necessarily work as a distraction since business was very slow in the beginning but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I've made! 

 

 

What do you love most about what you do?

I actually love the work that I do. I enjoy creating personalized pieces that are special to others. I especially enjoy connecting with customers and hearing their stories about why they are buying something in particular or why they want it customized a certain way. 

 

What is your favorite quote and why? 

My all time favorite quote is by Gandhi, " Be the change you wish to see in the world." I think it's beautiful, inspiring, and great words to live by.

Any advice for newbie artists trying to get their sell on?
I would say the best piece of advice for someone just starting would be to be true to yourself and your work, try not to compare yourself to others by how well or how poorly they are doing, be patient, & work hard.  

That Gandhi quote is one of my faves as well.  I love these inspiring pieces!

JellyBones readers!!!  Wanna get 15% with your next purchase at Honeysuckle Road???  Use the code Jellybones15. 

Thanks so much Deonne for sharing your work with us, and giving us a boost of sweetness and inspiration. 

Trish