Eggs and Biscuits

My friend Annie brought round some lovely fresh eggs the other day. I thought about using them to bake with , but in the end decided to boil them so we could really enjoy the taste. Two of them were pretty blue eggs, and there were also two duck eggs which I have never had before - they were very tasty.

So I used a shop bought free range egg to make my biscuits with in the end. Here are some of my orange crunch biscuits wrapped to take to a friend as a hostess gift. I used a large size cellophane bag (from my cardmaking stash) and some curling ribbon and a label I printed on the PC.

Recipe for Orange Crunch Biscuits

Rind of two oranges
1 teaspoon of orange essence
350g flour
1 egg
150g caster sugar
150g softened butter
(If you want you could add some grated ginger root or ground ginger to make orange and ginger crunch biscuits. Yum!)

I love this recipe because I use my food processor and it is so easy to make.
First I blend the sugar and softened butter and orange essence and rind and then I add one spoonful of the flour and the egg, and blend again. Finally, I add the rest of the flour bit by bit until the dough starts to ball up in the machine. I then add a touch of fresh orange juice if it is too dry - and if it was a big egg and it is too wet, then I add a touch more flour. It's that whole guessipe thing again. Then I place the dough in a plastic bag and chill for an hour or so. Then roll out the dough quite thin and cut into shapes and bake for about 10 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. Cool on a rack, and then enjoy or package up prettily and share with a friend.

P.S. - LOOK OUT FOR MY NEXT POST

My next post is going to be my 100th and I will be doing the traditional 100th post giveaway.

I'm just getting it together now.

The last pyramid...

This is all that is left from a batch of about 200 coconut pyramids I made for a Passover Seder Celebration. They always go down well. Here is the very simple recipe.

200g packet of desicated coconut
2 eggs
 100g sugar

All you have to do is combine the ingredients. It might seem a bit dry, but you have to work it all together by mixing and pressing with the spoon. It is hard work! Eventually when it is well mixed I cover and leave it for an hour or so. Then with wet hands I form pyramid shapes and I bake at around 170 until they are golden on top (about 10 minutes)

I hope you can figure out how to convert my UK measurements and oven temperature to US standards if you want to make some. They are yummy at any time of year.

This is one of my painted and stencilled Seder plates I made a few years ago. It started life as the same kind of wooden platter that the coconut pyramid is sitting on.

A fleeting visit

We've actually been having some lovely sunshine this spring. So much so there have been moments I could have believed it was summer except for the lack of leaves on the trees. Still, the buds are bursting and all is looking beautiful, and that is my excuse for not being a bountiful blogger! That and all the spring cleaning I have been doing. So, I apologise for the lack of posts. Hopefully I shall get on with some creative projects soon!

Hope the sun is shining where you are!

Exhibition Invitation

This Green Art has been created by a very dear friend of mine, Shirah Miriam Aumann. If you live anywhere near here, please do visit as I know this will be a wonderful experience.

Here is her press release...

“Power for the People-Sustainability”

Environmental Art Exhibit – Mixed Media ARTIST: Shirah Miriam “Mimi” Aumann, Paper Sculpture Artist

WHERE: Driskill Art Gallery in the Jester Learning and Performance Center SBU Campus, Bolivar, MO

WHEN: April 3-24, 2009

“Power for the People-Sustainability” is a 40-piece show, with an installation of a grove of five trees – “Tree Whispers” – portraying the deforestation of Planet Earth for paper. The opening reception will be April 3, 6-7:30 pm, in the Driskill Gallery on the SBU Campus. The artist will be present to open the show with a walk-about lecture to introduce the message of the pieces and the fibres and process used in their creation.

The works in this exhibit reflect conceptual messages, social awareness, craftsmanship and unique attitudes in response to contemporary issues—using technical approaches in mixed media.

The exhibit focuses on EARTH DAY and its goals and purpose, with the overall goal of the exhibit being to educate and inform through the art.

The artist, Shirah Miriam “Mimi” Aumann, is a hand papermaker working with native plant fibres in the ancient process before we turned to the trees for paper.

All Mimi’s papers and sculpture are handmade and tree free – 100% plant fibres…

Hemp and switchgrass are the main two fibres being showcased in this exhibit, however, you will also find other botanicals used in some of the pieces as described in the catalogue listing.

Portions of the exhibit convey a very serious message of the concerns and issues being faced across our world today. You will also find some of the exhibit to be provocative and playful as the hemp fibre is employed in most of the pieces.

Switchgrass is a very important fibre in the future energy concerns of our nation. It is proving to be valuable as a bio-fuel and as a replacement for other formerly petroleum-based usages. It is also a unique fibre for papermaking, as you will see in this exhibit.

The exhibit offers various mediums using these fibres: handmade papers from raw fibres are used in a variety of artistic approaches incorporating and overlapping various techniques of spinning, weaving, stitching, basketry, ceramic, casting, encaustic, collage and illumination. Hemp rope and twines and fabrics of hemp are also incorporated in the various pieces. Most of the frames are made from a composite of hemp Hurds, a part of the hemp stalk where most of the cellulose of the plant is found.

This exhibit is a wonderful opportunity to introduce the viewer to the strength and beauty of these natural fibres and get the Earth Day message across in a powerful and visual way.

For more information about this exhibit, please contact Shirah Miriam “Mimi” Aumann at 417-739-9124 or email thewatermill@centurytel.net

The Works 8

I was delighted to get my copy of The Works 8, in the post this morning - along with a little cheque. My nonsense poem, the Num Num Bird is in the N for nonsense section, (not surprisingly). There are only 5 other poems in the section, and two of the other poets are Edward Lear and Lewis Caroll, so I feel rather pleased that John chose my poem to be amongst such names. (If you want to read the poem - sorry - you'll need to buy the book). It's full of some great poetry, and is definitely one to add to your bookshelf.

Blast from the Past

Or you could even say , a quack from way back! Groan!

My dad just came across this photo of my bedroom wall when he had stripped off the old Hector's House wallpaper. I obviously had taken advantage of this occasion and left my mark for posterity beneath the new paper. I must have been about 9 or 10 years old at the time.

When I was a kid, I invented this duck character named Peekiboo. Here he is with the little poem I wrote on the wall. It really gave me a laugh to see it. I think I've progressed a wee bit with the writing and drawing since then. I hope so anyway! The text reads...

I am me, I'm not you.
I'm a little duck called Peekiboo.
I've got a bright blue ribbon, that's tied in a big bow.
But how it actually got there, I really do not know.
I think I'm really handsome, though I really shouldn't say it.
I'm worth 500 dollars. That is if you could pay it.
I am me, I'm not you.
I'm just a little duck called Peekiboo.

Wonderful People

I should have posted this a couple of weeks ago, but it has been a bit hectic here lately.

I have had visitors, a sore back, and various other things going on, so I forgot to post this...

I have been very blessed to have won a few things in giveaways lately.
A couple of prizes were through the One World One Heart giveaway which I participated in this year...

The lovely Arya, sent me a wonderful package containing bath goodies and candles and best of all, her homemade peanut butter fudge. You can get her yummy recipe here.

But I warn you, it won't last long. Mine didn't last long enought to photograph!!! Sorry Arya!

I won this cleverly made beady doll pendant/pin from Judy, I also won a couple of lovely prints from Chrissie Grace. Thanks Chrissie, they are supercool.

And THE most amazing parcel arrived from Rozi . All beautifully wrapped in handmade paper and tied with ribbon. Inside I found a wonderful assortment of goodies that she very generously gave along with the book which I had won in her giveaway.

How beautifully wrapped all the goodies were! And just look at all that lovely ribbon and handmade paper I can re-use!!! I was moved to tears! Her workmanship is amazing. What an artist"
...and I recieved not just one book, but two.

This is a pin cushion I have embellished with some of the little hearts she sent me. See Rozi, I am making use of things already.
I got the sweetest little notebooks, some lovely metallic threads, little purses, and the little hearts, as well as some pretty fabric I can use for something. I think it might just turn into a scented sachet and a perhaps a peg doll or two.

If you are looking for a special notebook or album, she's the woman for the job. Do check out her blog and leave her a nice comment.