artistic endeavors: keep calm.

one of those last canvas posts of mine? i made 4 of those with danny. gifts, ya know. both gramma's, his mommy, and one for me that hangs in our dining room. it's sweet.

and this one, just because i love his face. just love it. he has, since then, slimmed down. those toddler phases:)

10:01pm

whoa. today was full.

3ish, anna left for a brio birth class she's been attending for doula certification stuff.

so from 3-10:30ish pm, i get to have fun.

i mean, this time especially.

two huge batches of bread = twelve braided challah loaves, one 9x13 of focaccia bread with cheese and olives in the middle, and one 9x13 pan of cinnamon rolls with pecans. one big pot of beef stroganoff. . .

the end.

well, not really.

that kept me busy from about 4-8ish.

so, because i want to kill two birds with one stone and writing a completely different post is making me tired just thinking about it, (haven't had coffee since 3:30ish;) here's the stroganoff recipe i loosely used:

Emeril's Beef Stroganoff

    * 1/2 pound lean ground beef
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    * 1/4 teaspoon Essence, recipe follows
    * 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
    * 1/4 cup chopped onions
    * 1 cup sliced white button mushrooms
    * 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
    * 1/4 pound small elbow macaroni or wide egg noodles, cooked
    * 1/2 cup beef broth
    * 1/4 cup sour cream
    * Shredded mozzarella cheese, optional

1. Season the beef with the salt, pepper, and Essence.

In a large cast iron skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the  seasoned beef and cook, stirring, until well browned and all pink has  disappeared. Drain off any excess oil in the skillet.
2. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the  mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring until the mushrooms have  released their juices, about 2 minutes. Add the macaroni (or egg  noodles), beef broth and sour cream. Cook, stirring, until the mixture  thickens slightly, 5 to 6 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and spoon the mixture onto 2 large plates. Sprinkle each portion with the cheese, if desired, and  chopped parsley and serve immediately.

optional: --why is it optional? because i used a basic seasoning that had thyme and oregano in it. ;)

Emeril's Essence Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou  Blast):

    * 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

    * 2 tablespoons salt
    * 2 tablespoons garlic powder
    * 1 tablespoon black pepper
    * 1 tablespoon onion powder
    * 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
    * 1 tablespoon dried oregano
    * 1 tablespoon dried thyme
    Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Yield: 2/3 cup

i also read one of three interesting ultra-sound articles that anna researched and printed off...

rach and i took a bike ride to the little coffee shop and had a large americano with english toffee flavor syrup, half-and-half, and whipped cream. oh boy. 

i didn't wear a sweater, even though it was breezy... at least it was a high of around 52. :) tomorrow's supposedly going to be a bit of winter again, but i'm hoping it doesn't  last long at all!

. . . i also organized all my clothes and crap today, while sipping on some caffe verona. i tell ya, that's the best way to dig into some spring-cleaning style stuff.  

i love the focus and not-so-focused stuff in this shot.

journals that sky and i wrote a story in . . . 2 years ago. wow....

i spy....do you spy? who do you spy? i spy jamie oliver. ahhh. ;)

awesome book, this. by shane claiborne.

it's not the parts of the Bible i don't understand that scare me, but the parts i do understand.

[mark twain]

and yeah, i look like this all the time if and when i'm organizing something. it's just how i roll. i kid, i kid.

 :)

i'm going to say one last thing, okay? don't look at that picture. no. yeah, that one above. don't look at it. ;)

everyone should have a homemade cinnamon roll sometime in their life.....

homemade cinnamon rolls are THE BOMB. not bragging on my skillz, just sayin'.... :)

oh! 

and: be careful; sugar-cinnamony pecan pieces can be sneaky and fall out of the cinnamon roll and tumble and run over the keyboard...just one, but that's one too many. good thing it didn't do any damage or disappear. ;)