Archive for February, 2010

Cyber Lemons

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

Three weeks ago,  I picked 18 beautiful lemons from a lemon tree in my garden. I put them in a wooden bowl and took a photo. The photo was so divine that I posted it on Twitter and received many compliments including a recipe for an upset stomach or flu like symptoms: Take 3 leaves from a Meyer Lemon tree and wash them, then crush them in your hands or do a coarse chop in a bowl, then place them in a mug or jar, pour boiling water over it to make a tea. Steep for 15 to 20 minutes, and strain. Apparently, this will quickly soothe any stomach ache, and if taken daily, will cure gastritis. Let me know if you try this out and if it works. I haven’t been sick, knock on wood, in a while, or I would have tried it myself by now.

At the same time, the fabulous @Bluebirogallery sent me a painting she did of my lemon photograph, using her iPhone. Ingenious!  She used the brushes app which supposedly David Hockney and others have used as well to paint incredible things. Andy Warhol would have completely loved this! She selected the brush size, colours and using my photo as a guide, and zoomed in to paint detail. I think it’s amazing! Judge for yourself.

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Fabulous Valentines Crayon Hearts

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

I did a project like this with my daughters years ago, and it came out so well. Unfortunately,  I wasn’t the full-on documentarian that I am now, so I never took photos or wrote anything down about the making of these hearts. I did come across the same project in Martha Stewart, and I could not have explained how to make the Valentine Crayon Hearts better myself. And the photo of all the Hearts hung up by a window is just divine. It’s one of those easy art projects, that don’t cost very much, and the result is so sweet.

What you do need for it:
12 ” by 16 ” sheet of waxed paper
Red/Pink/Orange crayons
A pencil sharpener
An Iron
Different size Heart shaped cookie cutters, if you need help tracing a clean line.
Pair of scissors.
Silk thread for hanging them up or very fine pink or red ribbons.

See these actual directions, which also include 2 helpful images of the works in progress.

I am adding this super cool image of Paper Hearts I found in one of my secret resources (hint: European magazine)  I read every month. I think it’s stunning and looks like a work of art. I also love that it’s made with paper, that could even possibly be of the recycled kind, my most favorite, because of the “used” look of it, all crinkles and wrinkles. I haven’t attempted to make one of these, but if any of you do, I would love it if you sent me an image of what you made and I’ll post it on my blog, if it gets the PW stamp of approval!

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The Natives are Restless for Oven Roasted Kale!

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Last Tuesday, I got ready to make a batch of Oven Roasted Kale, just so I could photograph it and send the image out from Ecowoolworth@twitter. My good friend Amanda de Cadenet took herself out of sickbed, where she had been nursing a vicious cold, to come over and film me while I prepared this simple and most delicious dish. I rinsed, dried, de-ribbed, chopped, minced, poured, tossed and sprinkled and put it all in the preheated oven. 15 mins later it was ready, just as the lovely Amber Valletta stopped by to visit with Amanda. The three of us ate mounds of it, oohing and aahing during every mouthful. So, here, at last is what you have been waiting for:

Oven Roasted Kale Recipe

2 bunches of kale
2 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
Sea Salt sprinkled on
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

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1-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2-Rinse kale in a salad spinner.
3-Remove dark ribs and chop kale roughly
4-Put leaves in a big bowl, toss with olive oil, garlic and salt.
5-Spread leaves on a one large rimmed baking sheet. Kale does not need to be in a single layer,as it will shrink in volume as it cooks.
6-Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once or twice while it’s cooking, and until leaves are tender, crisp on edges and slightly browned.
7-Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

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