Turkish Fried Carrots

Posting a recipe from the archives today! I think this picture below is my first ever food picture of something I cooked :) The recipe for this is adapted from The Reader's Digest Vegetables & Desserts cookbook. I have made these carrots a few times and this picture is from when I made dinner at my friend Sujju's home a few years back, when I was still a grad student.

Ingredients: Carrots- 1 pound - sliced (at an angle); flour- 1 -2 tbsp (I used a mixture of salt, pepper & dried herbs); Yogurt - 1 cup; Olive oil - 2 tbsp; Salt & Pepper - to taste; Mint - garnish.

• In a pot of boiling water, cook the carrots till they are a little tender.
• Drain them, and toss the carrots in seasoned flour.
• Heat the oil in a pan and fry the carrots till golden brown.
• Season with salt & pepper.
• Whisk the yogurt in a separate bowl, season if needed.
• Serve the carrots in a bowl with the yogurt spooned over them. 
• Garnish with chopped mint!

Tomato Basil Soup

The most success we had this year with our garden is with the tomatoes. We just harvested the rest of them and pulled out the 5 plants. A few weeks back with almost nothing left in the fridge, I made a tomato soup with all the excess produce from the garden. The soup was a little tart. I was out of cream to balance the tartness, but we kind of liked it that way, with toast and yogurt as garnish.

Ingredients: Tomatoes - a mixture of heirloom varieties from the garden; Onions - 1 yellow + 1 red - sliced; Basil Leaves - 1 bunch = 1/4 cup; Red Chilies - 2; Salt & Pepper - to taste.

• In a soup pot, add olive oil (I might have also added a little butter :) )
• Once hot, add the basil leaves, red chilies and let the flavor infuse in the oil for a few minutes.
• Add the sliced onions and saute till translucent.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and let it cook for 8-10 minutes. Add water if needed.
• Season with salt & pepper.
• Puree to desired consistency (so glad to have my hand-blender).
• Serve hot!

Leftover Medley

The new thing we are doing these days is shop together at the farmer's market with another couple and share the produce instead of buying too much of the same thing for just us. And last week one of the slow food kid's also shared some of his market basket with me. Here is a side-dish of vegetables that came together with a little bit of broccoli, mustard greens and mushrooms. 

Ingredients: Broccoli - 1/4 pound - separated to florets; Mushrooms - 1/2 cup (I used a mixture of oyster and shiitake); Mustard Greens - 1 bunch; Coconut - to sprinkle; Pepper & Cumin - 1/2 tsp powdered.

• In a hot pan, add a tsp of olive oil.
• Add the mushrooms, roast them for a minute or two.
• Add the broccoli and cook for a few more minutes.
• Add the mustard greens, coconut.
• Season with salt & pepper & cumin.
• Cover and cook for another minute or so.
• Serve hot with rice & stew.

Acrylic Henna Flower on a Wooden Panel

The third in my series :) My techniques are definitely getting better. In this piece I went between thick and thinner lines. Measures 6x15 inches. Textured acrylic similar to the first one. I might also accent this one with a few smaller glass pieces. And I know which way I want this one to hang on the wall. Will be available for sale soon...once I give it a coat of varnish and add the picture hanger on the back.

Recent Jewelry

Here are some of the jewelry I have made over the last couple of weeks. They will soon be available on Bee's Beads & Colors. That site needs a little updating since I sold a bunch of pieces at the Slow Food fundraiser, and am not sure which ones I still have. Send me an email if you are interested in any of the pieces below!

Second Panel

This has been a really great weekend, with one of my friends from Stevens Point coming down to Madison to hang out with us AND give me oil painting lessons! How amazing is that! So, for the first time in a very very long time, I got to explore oil paints, but without the hassle of oils and turpentine :) And she has left me with enough paint and medium to play around more before the next lesson. I do need to spend more time exploring to get a better oil vs. acrylic media.

Seeing her has been a big inspiration and I got back to finishing this panel I had started a while back. Its really simple, yet pretty :) I have also prepped a few more panels and hopefully I can finish at least one more piece before the weekend is over!