Art from Screaming Dove Studios: September 2009

I bleed for my art.......

Ok so the pictures showed up backwards......I swear that I will never figure out how to make the pictures in order. If you look down to the third picture you will see why I was bleeding for my art. Here tho is the beginning of the grouting process. Grouting is not for sissys.....especially when it is black grout. I cannot use gloves when I do anything at all because I have to actually feel what I am doing and because of this my hands were completely black when I finished this small part of the grouting. And the grout sucks all the moisture out of your hands so my hands were black and pruny...ya know, like shriveled up. I am going to have to do this a little bit each day because I don't think my hands can take a lot of grouting at one time. And yes, that one column that I started grouting is leaning...the styrofoam kinda settled and that one part leaned. Jerry says it looks like something from Dr. Seuss. So now my arbor is Seussical.

And now you will see why I was bleeding for my art. The glass you see on the top is stained glass that I cut into pointy things and inserted them into the very top of the arbor. Anyone that has worked with glass knows that when you get pricked or sliced by it you bleed all over the place. My fingers were bleeding, the side of my hand was bleeding, there was blood dripping onto the tiles. It was a mess. So after a trip to the bathroom and several bandages later I got the stained glass glued in. I dread having to grout up there.

I'm a hooker

On Friday I took a rug hooking class from Mary Stanley. If you ever have a chance to take a class from Mary DO IT! She is so very sharing with both her materials and information. I have found that I love rug hooking. I have almost finished this piece and cannot wait to start another one. This piece measures 5 x 9.5. Rug hooking rocks.

A wedding!!!

Scott and Angela wil be getting married on October 31!!! A Haloween wedding!! We are all very honored to have her as an official member of our family. She has been a member for many years now but now....well.....I guess it is official. I am going to be deputized as a commissioner of marriage for a day so I can perform the ceremony. And by ceremony I mean that I will simply be asking if they take each other and pronounce them married. This will be a very small wedding with only immediate family present. Their friends at The Spark That Glows took engagement pictures and you can see them here http://www.thesparkthatglows.com/Other/Scott-Angela-Engagement-Time/9353908_TChai#625961365_Lgmj8

The password is Ricky. Joel and Cindi, owners and operators of The Spark That Glows, did a fabulous job.

Mongolian Beef

I made this for dinner last night and it was sooo good. Am having the left overs for lunch today and it is even better.

Mongolian Beef
Stir-frying is quickly cooking food over high heat. Be sure to stir ingredients constantly so they don’t burn. If you don’t have a wok, you can use a sauté pan.
Makes: 4 servings
Total time: 45 minutes
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup low-sodium beef broth or water
3 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 Tbsp. kosher salt
12 oz. beef flank steak, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
3 Tbsp. peanut oil, divided
1 Tbsp. minced fresh gingerroot
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 bunch broccolini, ends trimmed (8 oz.)
1 1/2 cups shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and halved (1/4 lb.)
Toasted sesame seeds
Sliced scallions

Editor’s Note
Having all of your ingredients ready before cooking helps meals come together fast. Mince or slice the gingerroot, garlic, broccolini, and mushrooms before starting to stir-fry.

Combine sherry, broth, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Add steak, tossing to coat; cover and refrigerate 15 minutes.
Preheat a wok or large sauté pan over medium-high heat; add 2 Tbsp. oil. Remove steak from marinade; reserve marinade. Stir-fry half of the steak until brown, 2–3 minutes. Remove cooked steak to a plate, then stir-fry remaining steak. Set cooked steak aside.
Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil to wok. Stir-fry gingerroot, garlic, and pepper flakes for 10–15 seconds, stirring constantly so ingredients don’t burn. Add broccolini; stir-fry 2–3 minutes. Add mushrooms; stir-fry 2–3 more minutes.
Return steak to wok with reserved marinade; toss to coat. Cook until sauce thickens and bubbles, 1–2 minutes. Serve stir-fry mixture over Sesame Ginger Rice; garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.

1. Stir-fry steak in two batches over high heat to quickly sear and caramelize it. Reserve the marinade for the sauce.

2. Add broccolini stalks and stir-fry until they begin to brown. You can use broccoli in place of the broccolini.

3. Stir in the reserved marinade. After cooking briefly, the marinade will thicken into a savory sauce.

Nutrition InformationPer serving: 271 cal; 13g total fat (3g sat); 36mg chol; 1009mg sodium; 13g total carbs (5g sugars); 1g fiber; 22g protein

Sesame-Ginger Rice
Bold flavors allow this side dish to create a tasty setting for the Mongolian Beef. Serve it with any stir-fry or as a stand-in for plain white rice.
Makes: 4 servings (3 cups)
Total time: 45 minutes
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup dry short-grain brown rice
1/2 Tbsp. minced fresh gingerroot
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan; stir in brown rice, gingerroot, oil, and salt. Cover pan, reduce heat to low, and cook rice until water is absorbed and rice is tender, 30–40 minutes. Remove pan from heat; let rice sit, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork before serving.

Nutrition InformationMakes 4 servings (3 cups): 186 cal; 2g total fat (0g sat); 0mg chol; 240mg sodium; 38g total carbs (0g sugars); 2g fiber; 4g protein

let the mosaic begin

I have begun to mosaic the arbor. This is a long, tedious process with lot of gluing, cutting and cussing. I swear that there are a million little tiny flies out there and as soon as I pick up the caulking gun to put the glue on the back of the tiles they all rush to my face and ears and buzz around. I look like a fool out there swinging a caulk gun around trying to shoo the flies away and in the process getting the glue all over everything. I have finally taken the tiles and glass into the house to cut because the flies were making me nuts. So now I will keep gluing on tile, mirror and glass until I think it is finished and then grout.

garden arbor

A friend, Taffy, saved a bunch of styrofoam for me from an order she received. (Thanks Taffy!) I immediately knew what I wanted to do with it......built an arbor. I cleared a path through one of the beds in the back and Jerry put in the bricks. Then I started in on the arbor......cutting the foam, making the columns with foam and wire and then wrapping it with plaster cloth. One on top of another until I had it as high as I wanted. Then I built the top seperately and attached that with wire and plaster cloth. That is how it is right now, drying. Once completely dry - probably tomorrow - I will start to mosaic it. Exhausting but very satisfying.

A box of styrofoam.......