Amazing Archeology Discovery

My husband found this terrific site for an archeological discovery of a hoard of Anglo Saxon Gold in Staffordshire here. I found the pictures to be very inspirational for me as an artist and jewelry maker. Here are a few of them from the site They are all from the portable antiquities' photostream, and are copyrighted by individual artists as listed on that site.

Gold scabbard boss with inlaid garnets

Press quality photo

Finds number NLM 675

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

Gold hilt fitting with inlaid garnets

Press quality photo

Finds number NLM 449

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

Recipes from the Holidays

We had a truly amazingly edible Holiday this year. I have never cooked so much delicious food in my life in such a short amount of time. I was so pleased by the culinary success, that I decided to go ahead and document all the old and new recipes I used so that next year I won't have to try to remember them all and hunt them down again.

Roast Turkey

1 Turkey or Turkey Breast
2 tsp salt
2 tsp white pepper
2 tsp dried, powdered savory
2 tsp dried, powdered sage
½ cup (1 stick) butter melted
2 juicy pears (Comice or bartlett work well) cored and sliced
1 large, sweet, yellow onion, sliced
1 celery stalk, sliced
garlic cloves (optional)
1 lemon, quartered (optional)
springs of fresh herbs (optional)

For Turkey: Position rack at lowest shelf of the overn and preheat overn to 375°. Remove Giblets and neck and rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Combine salt, pepper, savory, sage, and metled butter and cover outside and inside of the turkey with the mixture. Stuff a few of the lemon wedges, garlic cloves and fresh herbs inside the turkey cavities for flavor. Tie turkey legs together to preserve shape. On bottom of large roasting pan arrange celery, onion, and pear slices. Place turkey on roasting rack on top of pears and vegetables. Cover pan and roast for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350° and roast for 11/2 hours or until a thermometer inserted into the breast or thigh reaches 175° . Check turkey every 30 minutes for temperature. If you prefer a crispy skin, uncover the turkey for the last 30 minutes of cooking. Allow Turkey to rest for 30 minutes before carving. Meanwhile, remove pears and vegetables from underneath turkey. Reserve 1 cup of pears and vegetables for gravy and transfer the rest to the serving platter. Place carved turkey atop pears and vegetables and garnish with lemon wedges andfresh herbs.

For Gravy: Rinse Turkey neck and add to 1 can chicken broth. Simmer on stove until the turkey is cooked. Remove meat from neck and discard bone. Strain pan juices from roasted turkey and add to broth. Pureé the saved cup of pears and vegetables to liquid and add to the gravy broth. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Simmer on stove until very warm but not boiling. To thicked mix a 1-2 tsp corn starch, rice flour, or regular flour with water until you have a thick milk cosistancy. Add the flour/starch mixture to the gravy slowly while stirring constantly and simmering until it thickens.

This recipe was adapted from a November 1990 Bon Appétit

Prociutto and Pear Stuffing

3 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 oz thinly sliced prociutto, cut into ribbons
2 cups celery , diced
2 cups yellow, sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh sage, minced
2 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
2 tsp fresh thyme, minced
6-8 cups bread cubes or croutons.
2 ripe pears (Comice or bartlett work well) cored and sliced
1/3 cup chopped flat leaf parsely
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 9 by 13 inch baking dish lightly with cooking spray. Heat one tsp of oilve oil in skillet and sauteé the prociutto over medium heat about 5 minutes until crispy. Drain on a paper towel. Wipe out the pan and heat the remaining 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, celery and cook, stirring until softened (about 6-8 minutes). Add sage, thyme, and rosemary and cook for one minute. Remove from heat and transfer to baking pan. Add bead cubes, pears, and parsley and prociutto and stirr gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Add chicken broth. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the top of the stuffing begins to crisp (around 25 -30 minutes more).

This recipe was adapted from a November 2006 EatingWell.

Cranberry Citrus Sauce

1/2 small orange unpeeled
1 ¼ cups orange juice
1 cup sugar
1 tblsp and 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 12 oz bag cranberries

Finely grind the orange ina food processor. Combine orange juice, sugar and lemon juice in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add ground orange and cranberries and cook untilt he berries begin to pop, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Refridgerate for 30 minutes before serving.

This recipe was adapted from a November 1990 Bon Appétit. This sauce added to a cup of greek yogurt makes a fantastic breakfast.

Whole Wheat Pie Crust

1 1/2 cups white pastry flour,
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons very cold butter
6-7 tablespoons of ice water

Mix flour with salt in a medium bowl or food processor. Add cold butter and cut in using a pastry blender, or pulse in food processor. Add 6 to 7 tablespoons ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough forms into a ball. Gather up and pat into a disc. If possible, cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes before rolling out. When ready to use, divide dough in two, roll each dough ball out on a lightly floured surface into a 10-inch circle. You can also roll out inside a floured 2.5 gallon plastic bag, which makes it very easy to transfer to the pan. Trim the edges and crimp for a decorative crust. Makes two delicious 9-inch pie shells.

This recipe was adapted from a Whole Foods recipe from their website.

Turkey Pot Pie

2 cups cups cooked turkey,
1 tblsp flour
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup sliced yellow sweet onion
1/2 cup sliced celery
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup snap green beans in small pieces
¼ cup butter
1 8oz can cream of mushroom soup (I use Amy’s organic)
1/2 tsp savory
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp milk
2 9-inch pie crusts

Preheat oven to 350°. Toss turkey in a bowl with the flour. In a skillet melt the butter and then sauteé the garlic for a minute. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and green beans and sauteé until just softened. Add the cream of mushroom soup, turkey cubes, savory, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix thouroughly, then remove from heat and set aside. Roll out the bottom pastry and fill the pie pan. Add the turkey and vegetable filling. Roll out the second crust and place over the top of the filling, crimping the edges. Cut several vents in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush the top crust with the milk. Bake at 350°for 45 minutes until lightly browned. Allow the pie to rest for 5 minutes before cutting.

This recipe was adapted from a recipe by Betsy Barnes

Gingerbread Cookie/Pancake Mix

Mix Ingedients:
3 ½ cups all purpose flour,
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice

For Cookies:
½ cup softened butter
¾ cup molasses
1 lightly beaten egg

Add all of the mix to a large mixing bowl and stir well. Add the butter, molasses and egg and mix until well blended. Cover and refridgerate one hour. Preheat oven to 350°. Roll dough to 1/4” thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and transfer to a lined, or lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes.

For Pancakes:
¾ cup milk
1 egg
2 tblsp canola oil
2 tblsp molasses
1 ½ tsp baking powder

In a medium bowl combine the milk,egg, oil and molasses. Blend in 1 1/3 cups of the gingerbread mix and extra baking powder. Mix until moistened but slightly lumpy. Cook on lightly greaded griddle over med-low heat. Watch closely, they will burn easily.

These wonderful recipes came as a gift from Steve and Dawn Hemphill.

And another Blog Feature

So today I am featured on a really pretty blog by jennyndesigns which you can find here.

I spent last night working on Rosary Necklaces for the women at my bible study, because I have to deliver them today. I'm really happy with the way they are coming out. Here is a picture. I'm trying to package them up so I can deliver them today.

I really need to get some masks finished today also. I have about 6 that just need decorative painting and I need to form some new ones as well.

Fingers crossed that I get something done ;)

Another Etsy Treasury

Well, I am in another Etsy treasury made by my Etsy freind stockannette. You can find the original here. All of these items were chosen from a group of people called the Sneak Attack Team. This is one of the coolest things I have seen on Etsy. It is a group of sellers who get together and find shops that are just starting out, and then they all go at one time and each buy something from a single shop to encourage that shop. I found them by accident, but once I found them I knew that I had found a home. For more information about the Sneak Attack Team follow this link.

Anyway, I got a couple of rosaries done today for the ladies in my bible study, and the Hubby and I hunted the wild Christmas tree, but other than that it was not a very productive day.

Sigh...

Featured on Jewelry by Tara

Hey friends,

I have been featured at http://www.jewelrybytarabiz.blogspot.com/. Tara's blog is lovely, as is her shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/jewelrybytara.

I'm somewhat stuck in the fix and promote my shop blues. It seeps like I am so busy actually trying to make masks that the constant time it take to do all the work to make the Etsy shop work well is just exhausting. I also don't really know if it is looking good enough that I can advertise it, or if I should. Anyway, it is really difficult to navigate my way through these choices and try and find a good balance of time spent.

In other news I'm trying to finish up three Anglican rosaries today for my lovely ladies at church and then work on forming a bunch of masks. I finally cast the skull mask in plaster and now I just have to clean the mold to see if it will work. Too much to do, but still having fun.

I have 6 sales!!!

Well, I am finally starting to make some sales from Etsy after all this work and I am so happy. It has taken forever to figure out how to get my shop looking good. I had to totally change my photography style. Unfortunately because the typical icon display in Etsy is so small, my gold fabric background just wasn't working. I switched out to photographing against a simple deerskin and the results were much more dramatic. Here are some examples of the old and new style. This is actually a burgundy mask in one picture and a purple in the other, but it shows the background difference

I also had to really learn my camera to actually make decent pictures. Of course the first thing I really learned about my camera was that it didn't really want to do, what I wanted it to do (grrr). I figured out how to use the white balance function which helped a lot to make the color true to life, as well as how to bracket automatically, and shoot with a delayed timer so that my hand wouldn't shake the camera when I pressed the button. I'm starting to be really happy with the results.

Anyway, so I have been trying to promote my shop heavily, and keep looking for more ways to get out there. I was having nothing really happening at all until this week/weekend when I finally started selling and have sold 4 more masks and some earrings on top of the first mask sale before Halloween. I definitely feel validated now, and really believe this is going to work if I can just keep growing it.

I'm going to have to raise my prices though because they really are too low. I have been ordering work from other successful mask makers on line, and it has been really interesting to see the pieces as they come in. It has actually made me feel really good in general, because it has validated that my work is good quality. However they are charging half again, to twice what I am for most of their stuff. I decided that Christmas would be my changeover and that I would add $10 to the price of all the masks.

Anyway, probably better get back to bed. Tomorrow will be a big day of learning how to ship something internationally.

Hope everyone has a great day.

My Etsy Shop Critiqued

I had the wonderful experience of getting my Etsy Shop critiqued by one of the Etsy administrators named HeyMichelle today. Etsy has a really cool feature where they have a Virtual Lab where you can go to have live interactions with other Etsy users and with administrators

Wow, so much to tell!

Well, it has been an amazing month so far.

My husband and I have actually created a real workspace for me in one corner of our kitchen, in the hope that I will no longer take over the entire kitchen and living room with my crafting. Here is a picture.

It has really helped a lot to keep the house cleaner.

We also cleaned out the garage and created a real plaster working area, as well as getting my cool spray paint booth that my husband built vented to the outside of the house.

Lat weekend I also did my first craft show with three of my favorite friends. We went down to Driftwood, and exhibited in La Ventana. The drive was really lovely, and it was a beautiful day, however the craft show itself was a bust. We sold very little because I think it was just the wrong audience for our stuff. Our display looked wonderful though. Here are some pictures.

Here are the wonderful scarves that Katrina knitted.

And here are pillows from my friend Amy Brumley. You can visit her blog here for more wonderful crafts and recipes

And these adorable pillows were from my friend Cherie. I felt like my set up was pretty bland in comparison, but oh well.

The really good thing about doing the craft show was that I was finally able to put together some of the jewelry ideas that had been percolating in my head. It is mostly just earrings right now, but I am slowly adding other types of jewelry. I'm putting them up for sale on Etsy, one or two every day. I did sell a couple of pairs at the craft show, and several to the ladies in my Bible study.

I also was able to finish a mask for my friend Betsy for the big Austin Shakespeare Luminalia last weekend. It is a little more girly than my other masks, but it was fun to use lace for the first time. Sorry, the pictures are not the best quality.

Apparently they got a lot of notice, and they were sweet enough to hand out cards for me, and so it made me feel really good.

So I am currently looking at 2 more craft shows, a bunch of Christmas performing, and trying to promote myself on Etsy. Lots of fantastic things happening.

More soon.

My First Etsy Sale and Treasury.

Well it has been an exciting couple of weeks. I managed to make it through the Halloween rush unscathed, although there were a lot of late, late nights involved. I didn't even get sick, which I thought I would after spending so any cold nights out selling masks at Scare for a cure. We did really well though, sold a bunch of masks and handed out even more cards.

So now I am working toward a craft show in mid November that is out in La Ventana, which is a gated community south of town. What is really exciting for me is that I have gotten three of my friends to do it with me, and each bring their unique arts. I'm planning on bring out some leather jewelry at the show, and so I have been working on cuffs and earrings, and learning more about leatherwork.

In the mean time, I have been trying to clean up the house, and create a real workplace for myself, so that I am not always dominating every horizontal surface with craft. My husband is very appreciative of this effort.

In other news, I made my first Etsy sale. I shipped off a superhero mask just before Halloween, and the woman was very pleased with it and left me fabulous feedback.

My Greek Goddess Mask was also chosen for an Etsy treasury called Believe by misfitchic. Woohoo, my very first treasury!

I hope to have some jewelry pictures soon, and some of the new workspace.

Have a great week!

New Business Online

Well, it has been an amazing few months. Our Baron's Men play Medieval Macabre came out fabulously, and I hope to have pictures of it up eventually.

In addition my idea of selling some of the masks I was making for the play has taken off like wildfire and become an entire business. I just got the website up today and transferred this blog over from it's original venue.

Onward and upward!

Away on Vacation

I've been away for the last two weeks on vacation at an Early Music Workshop. I hope to have pictures soon of the culmination of all the work I did leading up to it. Hope everyone is having a lovely summer.

Chocolate Pudding

I have become addicted to Chocolate pudding. Whole Foods has a chocolate pudding that I have an unholy love for. Rich and thick and creamy, and very subtle and it has become my comfort food. However, usually when I most crave it, they don't have it and so I determined that I was going to make my own.

Well needless to say my first attempt was a disaster. It tasted like thick brown starch. Bleeaahh!

So I went to Whole Foods and read the label and found out the SECRET INGREDIENT!!!! They use rice starch instead of corn starch. Hmmm... So I went looking. I didn't find rice starch, but I did find tapioca starch. So I decided to give it a try. Eureka!!! Success! Perfect chocolaty lusciousness.

Chocolate Pudding
2 tblsp tapioca and 1 tblsp Corn starch ( Or 3 tblsp Rice starch)
1/2 cup Zsweet (zero calorie sweetener from Whole Foods)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used 1/2 Giradelli, and ¼ Sarah’s Parisian Cocoa)
⅛ tsp. salt
1 cup heavy cream
1½ cups whole milk
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Put the cornstarch, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Whisk the ingredients together thoroughly, making sure no cornstarch or cocoa-powder lumps remain. Whisk in the cream and milk.

Heat over medium-low heat, whisking steadily and scraping the sides of the pan occasionally. When gently warm but before the pudding comes to a boil, whisk in the egg, the butter, and the chopped chocolate. Increase the heat to medium and continue cooking and stirring until the butter and chocolate have melted and dissolved into the mixture.

When the pudding has come to a low boil and begun to thicken, remove from the heat. Whisk in the vanilla extract and pour the pudding into dessert dishes or a single large bowl.

You can let the pudding cool slowly on the countertop and serve it soft and warm, if you like. If you prefer to serve it firm and chilled, cover the pudding with plastic wrap (stretched taut if you like skin on your pudding, or pressed gently into the surface of the pudding if you don’t) and refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes to an hour.

Serve garnished with freshly whipped cream and grated semisweet chocolate, if you like.

You can replace the 2 1/2 cups of liquid dairy with any combination you like: all whole milk, all half-and-half, etc. Don’t use all skim milk, however; the pudding deserves the richness and thick mouthfeel of milk fat.

Feel free to add a splash of liquor, such as Grand Marnier or brandy, to the finished pudding along with the vanilla extract.

First Squash from the Garden

I grew my first squash! I have taken the two really sunny garden areas of the yard and decided to convert them to vegetable gardens because I found myself really frustrated trying to grow landscaping plants in the full on Texas sun. Even plants that advertise themselves as full sun seem to need a bit of a break from it here in Texas. However the vegetables seem to be doing really well. I have decided that I really like summer squash plants. The plants themselves are beautiful, with their big flat green leaves, and they seem to be very productive. Here are some little zucchinis still on the vine.

Today we are having an unusual summer rain, and so I turned off the AC and have all the doors open, enjoying the beautiful coolness. I cooked my fist squash up for lunch using this recipe.

Summer Squash with Lemon and Basil
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 large summer squash

For the vinaigrette, in a small bowl, mix together olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, fresh basil and salt. For the squash, slice into large rounds. Warm a 10-inch skillet (cast iron is best) until very hot. Place squash in pan and sear over high heat, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip onto other side and sear additional 2 to 3 minutes, until both sides are browned. Place squash on a large platter. Spoon vinaigrette over squash. Serve warm. (I added some fresh paneer cheese which I I added to the skillet once the squash was cooked and browned for about a minute)

The other summer highlight in my garden in the Pink Phlox that blooms in the front yard. It always dies back in the winter and puts forth new leaves in the spring. By summer I have a glorious display of pink frothy blossoms with the most amazing subtle honey scent that fills the whole front yard. I always get compliments on them from the neighbors.

Paneer Cheese

I have discovered the most amazingly easy way to make a fabulous fresh cheese. My friend Pam mentioned that she had learned how to make Paneer cheese and loved it, and so being the curious person I am, I had to go find a recipe and try it. I had so much fun and the result was delicious. So here is the recipe.

Paneer Cheese
8 cups of Whole Milk (½ gallon) (I used Skim and it worked fine)
1 tsp. Salt
3 tablespoons Lemon Juice (½ medium sized lemon squeezed)

In a large pan bring milk, salt, and cumin just to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice. Let stand 15 minutes.

Line a large strainer or colander with several layers of 100-percent cotton cheesecloth. Strain mixture; discard liquid. Gently squeeze the cheesecloth to remove as much liquid from the curds as possible. Wrap cloth around curds. Place wrapped curds in a large strainer or colander and put a weighted bowl on top to help press out any additional liquid. Let stand, covered, in a refrigerator for at least 15 hours.

Remove curds. Discard liquid. Form curds into a flat rectangle or press into a large bowl to shape. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, until well chilled. Store in refrigerator, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 weeks.  

I actually rinsed the outside of the curds wrapped in the cheesecloth with a little cool water to help me be able to squeeze them. I don’t know if I just squeezed really hard or what, but my cheese set up enough to eat in about 3 hours, and had a wonderful fresh mozzerella kind of texture. The flavor is a very subtle lemon scented.

I ended up making an spicy oil with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, ¼ tsp hot chile powder, and ¼ tsp garlic salt to drizzle over the little cheese round I eventually ended up with and the result was amazing.

Anyway, I got very excited and I think I will try my hand at some other cheese making. I did some research on line and found that cheese making kits are as close as your next Austin Farmers’ Market. Marc Kuehl of Brazos Valley Cheese (raw cow’s milk- made in Waco, Texas) has available to the public a cheese-making kit with rennet, booklet, cheese cloth, etc for making several pounds of cheese. He is at the markets both Wednesday at the Triangle and downtown on Saturdays. www.austinfarmersmarket.org for details. The milk you can get from Remember When Dairy on Saturdays at the downtown market.

Brazos Valley Cheeses - Homestead Heritage Farm. 608 Dry Creek Rd., Waco, TX 76705. Marc Kuelth - Marc is a quality cheese maker from near Waco, and graces the market with more than 30 different types of gourmet cow's milk cheeses through the season (you'll have to choose between more than a dozen each week). From brie to mozzarella, from cheddar to parmesan, he's got your taste buds satisfied. 512-284-0196, marc.kuelth@juno.com.

In addition to the fun you have making it, the cost of milk is a third of what you would for the cheese itself.

Medieval Macabre Poster Final

Well, we finally came to a consensus on the Medieval Macabre poster. The Producer came over to my house and sat with me as we went through a bunch of stock images until we finally found an image of an iron skull which seemed to express the characteristic feeling that she wanted for the show.

Here is a little bit about the process of creating the poster. I first put the stock image in place exactly as it was, and came up with a type solution which I reused from my earlier design of this poster with the Dance Macabre.

I then cut a square piece of the texture from the main part of the skull and created a repeating pattern from it. To do this my typical process is to cut a 500x500 pixel or larger square of the texture I want to use. I then make a second copy of the texture onto another layer. On the first layer I run a high pass filter with default settings to even out the lights and darks in the texture. I then apply the second copy of the texture as a Color mode layer on top of the High Pass version to return some of the original color to the texture. I merge these two layers together, and then use an Offset filter to offset the pattern by half of its length and width. Then, I use the clone tool, or healing brush tools to clone over the sharp edges which are now offset to the center of the texture. I then run the Offset filter again with the same values, and Voilà, I have a tiling texture.

Once I had my texture, I created a new copy of the layer with the skull image and painted in the rest of the tombstone by using the eyedropper tool to select values from the skull, and the airbrush to paint the lines. I set up a second layer above the layer I was painting on and filled it with the skull texture set to Overlay mode. I then held down the option key and clicked the line between the layers so that the layer with my texture only showed through where I had painted the rest of the tombstone. I then pasted the original skull back in another layer and faded the edges so that my painted layer and the original skull image flowed together seamlessly. After a lot of painting, and some color adjustments, I was able to achieve an extension of the original skull image that looked fairly realistic.

I then took my type layers and applied a deep, hard chiseled Bevel and Emboss layer effect, and also applied my same skull texture as a Pattern Overlay layer effect (also on Overlay mode). This helped bring the text and image together so that they looked like they were from the same world and the type did not overpower the image.

Anyway, the poster ended up being fairly quick to produce once we had settled on a design. I was able to finish the image and apply it to all the promo materials in about half a day. The best part is that the Producer loves it. One of the board members for the group told me that he loved how it looked dark and evil, and was chortling in glee while he said it. I love making people happy with my art.

Textiles from the V&A

On our trip to Egypt in April we had a day in London in transit and we were finally able to see the textile galleries in the V& A. So here are some of the fun pictures we took for all of my costumer friends.

Stamped, Slashed and Abraded Satins, late 16th and early 17th century

A Pair of Episcopal Gloves, Spanish, Second half of the 16th century

Couched gilt thread on knitted silk

Printed Textiles produced for Wall Decoration, Second half of the 16th century

The pattern is derived from contemporary velvet patterns. The example on the left has been lime-washed, block printed in two colors and sprinkled with crushed mica (it still sparkled), That on the right appears to be stenciled, and may perhaps be a later version of the same design. From the Forrer collection. said to have been acquired in Paris.

Egyptian Recipes

Jim and are throwing a party today to show a bunch of our friends the pictures we took in Egypt. And so I am getting into the spirit of things by cooking a full Egyptian menu. I thought I would share some of the recipes here that I liked. Most of these recipes come from the EgyptDailyNews.com with some alterations from me.

Shawerma
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbl lemon juice
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp cinnamon,

1/2 tsp allspice,

1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dry fine oregano

1/2 tsp salt
2 bay leaves
2 cups yogurt
1 tomato
1 1/2 lbs of lamb, chicken or beef

Combine the first 8 ingredients in a bowl and marinate the lamb (or beef) in it for 6 hours. Grease a saucepan with oil and heat. Add the marinated lamb (or beef) and cook until tender. Serve it with Pita bread and tahini sauce (see below), mint leaves, tomatoes and onions. (Alternatively, you may hook the pieces of meat on small wooden skewers and grill on charcoal until tender).

Tahini Sauce
3 tbl sesame tahini
1 minced clove of garlic
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbl lemon juice
3 tbl water, or more
1 tbl plain yogurt.

Place tahini, garlic, salt and lemon juice in a small bowl and mix with a spoon Gradually add water until tahini becomes  smooth. Add chopped parsley and mix well.

_________________________________________ 

Kofta
2 lbs ground lamb, or shredded chicken
1 cup mashed potatoes or thick white sauce
1 Onion chopped
tblsp crushed bread crumbs (optional
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
Bread crumbs
sun flower oil

Place in a bowl working with your hands to form a consistent ball like the dough. Start shaping into small balls and press to form circles (hamburger size) that are ½ cm to 1 cm thick. Refridgerate for 15 minutes.  Beat 2 eggs and add salt and pepper. Place Kofta in eggs until both sides are properly covered. Cover with bread crumbs and fry in sun flower oil over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes per side.

 _________________________________________

Taamiya “Falafel’
1 lb. fava beans, skinned and split
4 tsp. cumin, ground
1/2 cup dried chick peas
2 tsp. coriander, ground
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 Tbs. salt
1/2 cup coriander, fresh and finely chopped
1/2 tsp. pepper

1 cup green onions, finely chopped
2 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbs. dill, fresh and chopped or 1/2 tsp. dry dill
1/2 cup sesame seeds, roasted
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
vegetable oil for deep frying  

Soak fava beans and chick peas in water overnight, or at least for 15 hours. First grind chick peas until very fine, add beans, fresh parsley, fresh coriander, green onions, dill and garlic. Grind altogether in food processor until a very fine paste is obtained, adding 7 or 8 tablespoons of water. Keep the water when grinding to an absolute mininmun. More water makes gringing easier but makes the patties fall apart in frying. Add ground cumin, ground coriander, salt, pepper and mix well by hand. Refrigerate for an hour to make it firm. At this stage the paste can be frozen in small packets. Thaw when needed and add baking soda 1/2hour before frying.

With wet fingers shape into walnut size balls 1 1/2" in diameter (or use cylindrical steel spring mold*), flatten to form small patties, dip one side in sesame seeds and deep fry in hot oil. Turn over until well browned and crisp. Drain on paper towels. If you get too much water and your patties are falling apart you can use cheese cloth to strain the paste, or you can mix in some breadcrumbs to give it a little more body. If you make the patties and allow them to dry for a little bit before you actually fry them, that helps as well.

Serve hot with pocket bread. Side dishes of Tehina dip, green onions, tomatoes, radishes, pickles and chopped parsley are usually served with Falafel. Yields 55 patties

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Egyptian Kusherie
1 cup lentils
1 quartered garlic clove
2 tablespoon cumin
6 ounces small elbow macaroni, or vermicelli broken into 1 inch pieces
2 cups dry rice
4 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 tsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
salt and peper to taste

Boil lentils in water (about 4 cups) along with 1 clove garlic cut into quarters, and 1 tablespoon cumin until cooked (15-20 mintes), drain and set aside. Boil the pasta until done accoring to the package instructions. Cook the rice in the chicken stock add salt if the broth is unsalted. Add the butter and olive oil to a large skillet. Add the pasta and saute, then add the rice and lentils, and 1tsp cumin and saute until warmed through. Salt and pepper to taste.

Kusherie Sauce
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 dash lime juice
2 minced garlic cloves
1 dash yellow mustard
2 tablespoons vinegar
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper to taste

In 1 tablespoon oil heated over medium heat add 2 cloves minced garlic and a dash of salt, stir and fry about 2 minutes. Add a pinch of sugar and the tomato sauce and mix well. Add the vinegar, a small squirt yellow mustard and a dash of lime juice. You can adjust the amounts according to your personal taste but it should have kind of a slight puckery bite.

To serve, put the kusherie onto a plate and add a small amount of sauce to the top. A little goes a long way, and you can always add more according to taste

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Basboussa
Sugar Syrup 
1 cup sugar
1 cup water 
1 tablespoon clarified butter
2 talbespoons lemon juice

Put ingredients for sugar syrup into a pot and bring to a boil. 
Add 1 tablespoon clarified butter. Simmer for about 15 minutes and cool.

Basboussa cake
2 cups semolina flour 
1 cup sugar 
1 cup coconut flakes 
1 cup clarified butter 
1 cup milk 
1/2 talbespoon plain yogurt 
1/2 cup slivered almonds, or 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

Mix the sugar, coconut and semolina flour. Put the milk and butter in a pot and bring to a boil. Add the semolina mixture to the milk and butter, plus remaining ingredients and mix well.
Coat a 8x8 baking pan with butter. Pour into a baking tray 1/2 inch high and distribute evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes until golden-yellow. Remove from the oven and distribute slivered almonds or chopped hazelnuts over the top of the backed Basboussa. Press the nuts gently with your finger. Leave the Basboussa to cool for 1 hour. Soak with the cold sugar syrup. Bake at 200 degrees for 5 minutes until golden-yellow. Cut into pieces and serve warm or cold. 


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Baklawa
Syrup
3 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice (to stop syrup from crystallizing


3 tbsp rosewater
2 tsp butter

Pastry
3 cups finely chopped pistachio nuts
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 lb package phyllo pastry/strudel pastry
1 pound clarified butter, melted


Make the syrup well ahead of time as it must be cool by the time it is used. Combine sugar and water, bring to a boil, add lemon juice and continue boiling for 3 minutes. Add rosewater and butter and remove from the heat. Cool to room temperature.

Carefully pick between the nuts for stray shell pieces. Combine chopped nuts, sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

Brush a 40 x 28 cm (13 x 19 inch) baking pan with butter. Lay down two phyllo sheets and brush them with butter. Cover with a single sheet and brush it with butter. Continue until slightly more than half the package is used. Spread with the filling. Cover with a phyllo sheet and brush with butter. Continue as before until all phyllo is used. Brush the top sheet well with butter.

Slice through the top layers with a sharp knife, forming diamond shapes - bite size or larger. Bake in a 450F oven for 10 minutes. Lower heat to 375C and bake for another 30-40 minutes or until lightly golden. (Carefully watch during last stage of baking as you to not wish do over-brown.) Remove from the oven. Slice through all layers, pour on the cool syrup and set aside.

Serve at room temperature. Will keep at room temperature for 5-7 days. Freezes well.

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‘Karkadeeh’ - Hibiscus Drink
1 cup hibiscus petals
2 cups sugar
Large pot of water

Place hibicus petals in cold water. Bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove pot and strain liquid through a very fine sieve or filter paper. Return petals to the pot, add fresh cold water to cover, and bring to a boil, again filtering the juice. Repeat until karkadeeh loses its reddish hue. Discard petals and sweeten while juice is still hot. 


 

Medieval Macabre Poster Ideas

I'm trying to create a poster for our fall show and struggling a bit. Here are the ideas so far. Unfortunately the producer and director really want an old fashioned look, and that is no longer my forte. I'm so into the photorealism now. So I made a photorealistic one which I thought was awesome but didn't make them immediately jump for joy. Anyway, I have to take a break from it. Maybe tomorrow inspiration will strike.

Casting the Roman Breastplate

Jim and I were finally able to cast the Breastplate in Plaster tonight. Here is a documentation of our process. First I painted the model with Amaco plaster release.

Then I built up some wall of clay to hold in the plaster in places where it might run.

Jim helped me mix the Hydrocal plaster (purchased from Armadillo Clay in Austin). It's a much harder version than the normal plaster you can get at a drug store, which is good for mold making. For a long working time we mix 1lb 2oz of water to 2lb 8oz of water. This starts out as a fairly liquid mixture and then is workable for about 15-20 minutes in summer temperatures. We always wear masks when using plaster because it is dangerous, and always mix the pater into the water.

The first layer of plater we paint on with disposable brushes. As it begins to thicken you can pour it on and then use the brush to spread it. By the end when it gets really thick you can work it with your hands like clay.

In between the layers of plaster we put layers of plaster bandages for extra support. You can also use burlap for this. We just happened to have the bandages handy.

For the final layer, you can dampen your hands slightly and smooth it to a nice finish which will be more pleasant as you work with the finished mold.

We will let it dry overnight, and unmold it tomorrow morning. Hopefully everything will work out beautifully. This is the largest cast we have done so far, so it is definitely a challenge.

Now to relax with a good book.