Chew On This...

 I would say to some of you, proceed with caution, as many of you are preparing to forge ahead with 'The Daniel Fast'. This post is about ravioli, handmade, yummy ravioli. We are eating very green, I have been for a long time, but as a Family, we are taking it to another level of healthy eating. That said, my twenty-something #1Son, is still living at home and healthy as he is (thank goodness), he still enjoys a hearty bowl of pasta. My skills of making my own pasta are sharpened, and on my list of , 'I can do that', making ravioli was near the top. 

I bought a ravioli stamp @ Crate & Barrel. I say stamp and not cutter, because I assumed that it was a cutter, but really, it just marks the dough, which is good. I found a filling which, clearly was going to be delicious. Fresh spinach, ricotta and Parmesan. It is amazing how the first time is wrought with mistakes. I made the dough, prepped the filling, and proceeded in my normal fashion of rolling out the dough with my pasta roller gadget. I have never gone to the thinnest setting, which is #7. I did not go there on the first round. I should have. I sort of used the stamp, thinking it was going to cut, not stamp, so I set it aside. I should not have done that either. So, I eyeballed the squares for shaping the ravioli. Big mistake. I used a tablespoon measure for the filling. Mistake #4. It was way too much. I deemed the ravioli, 'rustic', which they were. However, when all 12 were finished, they looked like ravioli on steroids!!! They were SO big, having puffed up after boiling, that one was equal to four. Did they get eaten, you ask? Well, yes, they were delicious, best meal Jimmy ever had, he said.

So, determined to get the hang of this, I went for round 2. I rolled out the dough in my normal fashion with the pasta roller gadget, but I went to #7, which is paper thin. Off to a good start. I used the stamp to clearly mark the squares. Good move. I used 1/2 a tablespoon for the filling. Just the right amount. I gently laid out the top part of the ravioli, and marked the squares with the side of my hand, then made the cuts. Also, a good move. Still, somewhat rustic, but smaller. I had 18 instead of 12 monster sized ravioli. As with the first batch, I had way too much filling left over in the bowl, so I simply floured a baking dish and put the rest of that yummy combo in the oven. I baked it until the top and sides were nice and toasted looking. This round, all in all, a far greater success. What is so nice about ravioli, is that you can put just about anything in them for a filling, which I intend to do.

These pics are from round 2. I finished them up in the sauce pan, turned off the heat, added some shredded parm and fresh basil!! The bottom pic of the ravioli in the bowl, ready for eating is not as good as I would have liked, because someone, who will remain nameless, was chomping at the bit. Anywho, my adventures in the kitchen...to be continued...

Rolled, stamped, measured and filled...

Ready for cutting and sealing...

Well sealed, ready for boiling, all 18 of them...

Finished off in the sauce pan, adding shredded parm and fresh basil...

A healthy serving of 3, well, he came back for more...

'She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her...' Proverbs 31:27-28 

(Good thought Proverbs....)

Amy's Famous Pesto!

Straight from the garden...

Ground salted, roasted pistachio's...

...add the parm and olive oil until the texture is 'right'...

Herb spinach pasta...handmade..

The final product...8oz of heaven..

 It is a present...here you go. I will give it to you in a brown sandwich bag, frozen in a 4 ounce container. It will say, 'Amy's Famous Pesto' on the bag, written w/ a black marker. Once asked, 'What is the shelf life?', I did not hesitate to say, 'It won't get that far, you will eat it!!!'. Totally confident in the product! If you ever saw the movie, 'Baby Boom', w/ Diane Keaton, you will remember how her kitchen was totally taken over w/ the baby food she made by hand. This was the case, last year w/ my freezer. All you could see was frozen pesto when looking for the Gelato.  Everyone has a different way to make it. I was asked to do a pesto making 'demo' @ a friend's house a few weeks back. Everybody was making something Italian. The best compliment I received was from a friend who has lived in Italy for the past 14 years w/ his Family. He said to me, 'I know pesto, and this is pesto!'

So, yesterday, I made the first batch, small for me. Jimmy picked up some handmade pasta @ the Old Colorado City Farmer's Market earlier in the day. Spinach, herb, I believe. (They usually write what you bought on the bag...there was nothing, so this is my educated guess!).

It has such a bright flavor!! W/ the pesto, a little extra parm, a few more leaves of basil, and everyone was pretty happy. Today, the sweet potato pasta, also from the farmer's market, w/ some cooked down cherry tomatoes, and the fresh pesto, again, a little extra parm and more basil from the garden...ahhhhh.
 Ingredients: Basil, roasted salted pistachio nuts, grated parm, olive oil

The satisfied gardener!

'She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard'
Proverbs 31:16

A Good Night in the Greenhouse...

Instagram pic of the display

My point of view...big long greenhouse!!

LOTS of greenery to make us all look better!!

Vintage Garden Art

Red Leaf in Resin

 Whew!!! My first show in Colorado is finished. Given that the temps were in the low 20's and falling, and that the show was literally in the greenhouse of Phelan Gardens, it was a very good turnout! I met some lovely, creative vendors, from making jewelry w/ pressed leaves and flowers (Wildflower Jewelry), to Vintage Garden Art, which is hand stamped flatware for your garden or plants (we made a trade!), to beautiful glass and grass jewelry from the Maasai women of Kenya! I had wonderful feedback and some excellent suggestions of 'where to go next', w/ the photographs. So much of selling art on-line, or @ shows like this one, is all about networking, and it was a good start!!! A hearty thank you to Jen Pelto for finding me on Etsy and including me in such a lovely event!

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house...'
Mt. 5:15

Schaedler Rules!!!

I have to confess, I am one of those annoying people who feels the need to straighten other people's crooked pictures. Yes, if I walk into a doctors office, and there is the inevitable crooked, framed picture, I normally exercise great self control and don't touch it...but, on occasion, people, I do seize the moment. Yes, even in your house, I will be tempted to straighten out that baby. Part of me is a trained 'graphic' person and I like to see things lined up, well, straight. I worked for Gensler New York, in their graphic department about 5 minutes before computers took over the world. In the graphic department, the most valuable tool @ the time was a Schaedler Ruler. I still have mine, and cannot live without it. Schaedler Precision Rules are marked with thinner-than-hairline calibrations which represent divisions as fine as 64ths of an inch!!!

Which leads me to the meat of this post. I am getting ready for a craft show @ Garden City Center on June 11th. There is so much to do. Editing, printing, hundreds of photos, cutting presentation boards, gluing, matting, pressing, framing 5x7's, and then finally, laying out all those hundreds of 4x6 photos onto card stock, more gluing, pressing, signing, dating, labeling and then lastly, stuffing. When I am making the cards, the Schaedler Ruler saves my life. Yes, all the way down to the 1/64th of an inch as I need to know that everything is lined up. I have learned that if my margin is off by 1/16 of an inch, well, I can live with that now...good enough...yet, another part of the process. For the next 2 weeks, I will have my hand to the plow...starting today with 17, 5x7's glued, matted and now pressing overnight...let the games begin!!!

Free Shipping on ALL CARDS in the U.S. for the Month of November!!!!

All the shipping fees on my cards in Lilleypics on Etsy have been marked to $0.00 in the United States for the month of November.

My cards are a great handmade gift, and they frame beautifully!! There are more Holiday deals in the works...so, be on the lookout....!!

A Look Waaaay Back, First Pieces of Jewelry

I spent many summers at camp in the beautiful Berkshires of Massachusetts. We have a great 'camp wall' on Facebook, where we have been able to reminisce to our hearts delight. We've been having a ridiculous amount of fun. My Mom, affectionately known as, Aunt Bunny, was the arts & crafts counselor. Next to swimming, arts & crafts was the favorite 'activity'. We made the normal 'camp stuff', potholders, lanyards, pebble art, molded vases which were lovingly glazed and fired, mosaic ashtrays and enameled jewelry. (I'm sure I have forgotten something, but my camp friends will fill in the blanks.) Lucky for me, miracle of miracles, I still have 2 enameled pins which I made when I was a child of 10 or 11...hence, my first handmade jewelry...who knew!!

Holiday Cards #2

'Christmas Cheer'
'Christmas Baubles'
and for my Courier & Ives traditional, you all know,
'Armington House, Circa, 1868'

Here is batch, #2. Shadows and light once again, playing an all important part in each of the photos. If you look closely, in 'Christmas Baubles', you can see my reflection in the 'floating' blue ornament...surprise!!

These cards can all be found in my Etsy shop, Lilleypics, and my ArtFire shop, amylilleydesigns.

Holiday Cards #1

'Elegant Christmas'

'Christmas Baubles Overflowing'
'Starry Night'

Well, here they are. Photographed like jewelry, where shadows and light are so primary to get just the right shot. Once again, the Handmade community is beginning to work at a fever pitch with the Holidays quickly approaching. We are doing shows, working on our Etsy and ArtFire shops with promos and sales.

Here are three of the cards I am offering. I will post the next batch in a couple of days so you can take it in, half at a time. I may very well come up with even more before the months' end.
These cards can be found in my Etsy shop, Lilleypics, and my ArtFire shop, amylilleydesigns.

Be-dazzled!

The Holidays, Chanukah and Christmas are creeping into everybody's mind...especially those of us who sell our arts and handmade crafts. I have 2 new offerings which will dazzle and garner attention!!

Check out these gorgeous, 'Aqua CZ Dangle', 5, 6mm aquamarine cubic zirconia briolettes, separated by gold filled vermeil nuggets on a 24 gauge wire. Finishing up the circle on either side are 2, 4mm pale, VERY pale aquamarine bi-cone Swarovski crystals.

For a second offering, 'Go Green' CZ' I have delicately hung from a 7mm connective hoop, 5 gorgeous, 6mm olivine green cubic zirconia briolettes are separated by gold filled vermeil nuggets on a 24 gauge wire. Finishing up this circle on either side are 4, 3mm olivine green bi-cone Swarovski crystals...they are tiny, tiny...and this circle is now complete.

These are, 1" wide, or the exact size of an American quarter. With the 14k gold filled hook, they are 1 1/2" in length. Very light weight, but with a stunning sparkle. Sure to dress up any outfit. There is a definite left and a right, so that these earrings face forward. Check them out in my Etsy and ArtFire shops!

BE-DAZZLED!!!

Wordless Wednesday

An early, handmade birthday gift from my dear friend, Joyce.
For Joyce's web site, click here.