the last door down the hall: Digital Photograph

Monday, March 15, 2010

Digital Photograph - Cherry Blossoms

This weekend was full of blue skies and these big puffy clouds that look like cotton candy. Glorious. As I turned the corner there they were these cherry trees in the library parking lot full of blossoms. I pulled over and grabbed my camera. I was not the only one excited, they were covered in honey bees. I thought I would share these blossoms to start the week out with something beautiful and pink.

19 comments:

peggy gatto said...: I love the blossoms on the trees and they disappear so fast! thank you for capturing this beauty!!!; March 15, 2010 at 1:07 AM
bobbie said...: I can't wait till ours blossoms!!!; March 15, 2010 at 1:38 AM
Diane said...: These are beautiful, Elizabeth--Thank You!!; March 15, 2010 at 6:53 AM
Terri Kahrs said...: Thank you, THANK YOU, Elizabeth for this breath of spring! Stunning capture! Hugs, Terri xoxo; March 15, 2010 at 9:42 AM
Bea said...: This is absolutely gorgeous and would make a beautiful enlarged photograph hung on the wall. I love it. So, romantic, so soft but colorful. Sooooooooooo girlie. :)Bea; March 15, 2010 at 9:51 AM
Janet Ghio said...: Its nice to see there are flowers blooming somewhere--spring surely will arrive here soon--I hope!!!; March 15, 2010 at 9:56 AM
Debby said...: Oh Elizabeth, these are just so beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Debby; March 15, 2010 at 10:14 AM
simplypj said...: This is so gorgeous!! I love cherry blossoms, they are one of the things that makes me really think of spring! Wonderful work of art!!; March 15, 2010 at 10:29 AM
Jo Reimer said...: Beautiful! I'll have to take my new camera out for a test run and seek early bloomers. It's still cold here in Oregon but the buds are on the cusp of breaking open.; March 15, 2010 at 10:55 AM
Lorraine said...: Now this gets me in the "spring" spirit!; March 15, 2010 at 11:00 AM
Sharon said...: What an uplifting and gorgeous image! We are on day 3 of torrential downpours for 24 hrs and my ark is no where to be seen. :(

Lucky you spring has sprung in your neighborhood!; March 15, 2010 at 11:02 AM
Anonymous said...: Gorgeous blossoms! I am thinking spring!; March 15, 2010 at 11:10 AM
Unknown said...: What a GORGEOUS photo! No blooms, let alone sprouts, here yet in my part of Missouri!; March 15, 2010 at 4:56 PM
martha brown said...: Oh, so pretty! They don't blossom here for another 2 months :(; March 15, 2010 at 9:19 PM
Shopgirl said...: Thank you for this cherry blossom!Spring is in the air. We had deep blue skies today and the grass is going green. It has been a long winter.
Hugs, mary; March 15, 2010 at 10:00 PM
Lorrie Grainger Abdo said...: Wow. Thanks for reminding us of what is to come (still at least 6 weeks away here in Michigan). Someone else suggested enlarging this up for wall art. I agree, especially in the square format.; March 16, 2010 at 4:08 PM
Tumble Fish Studio said...: This is so lovely. Glorious is right. Hope you have a beautiful week!; March 17, 2010 at 10:55 AM
.Trudi Sissons said...: I love hyacinths - for their fragrance and their quick growth!
Beautiful flower photos Elizabeth!; March 24, 2010 at 1:59 AM
.Trudi Sissons said...: I love hyacinths - for their fragrance and their quick growth!
Beautiful flower photos Elizabeth!; March 24, 2010 at 1:59 AM

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

This is great on grilled shrimp salad!

1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped green chile, jalapeno or chipotle pepper
2 tablespoons honey or sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil

In a blender, pulse the lime juice, vinegar, garlic, chile, honey, salt, and cilantro to a puree. With the machine running slowly add the oil to emulsify. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Whisk before serving to make sure all is mixed.

This is also a good marinator for steaks and chicken.

Back Porch Lemonade

I am g0ing to warn you this is sweet and tart and very Southern.

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
8 cups cold water
1 1/3 cups fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest,grate fine
lemon slices and fresh mint leaves for garnish

Combine sugar and one cup water in small saucepan over medium heat. Watch and stir till boils. Reduce heat and simmer for three to four minutes, stir every once in awhile. Remove from heat and cool completely. I pour it into lemonade pitcher and stick in frig for a half hour or so. Then combine the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Serve over ice with garnish. Makes about 2 1/2 quarts.

Blueberry Pie North Carolina Style

Crust:
2 cups finely crushed Vanilla Wafers - I stick them in a ziplock bag and use the old rolling pin
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine crust ingredients . Press into 9 inch pie plate. Bake 10 minutes. Cool.

Filling:
2 cups NC blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon ginger
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Place blueberries, 1/2 cup water, sugar, ginger, in saucepan. bring to a boil. Mix in cornstarch into remaining 1/2 cup water and pour into mixture. Cook till thickens. Stir constantly so doesn't burn. Cool.

Topping
1-5.1 ounce instant vanilla pudding
2 1/3 cups milk
Beat pudding mix and milk until thick. Spread layer of blueberry mixture in bottom of pie crust. Top with 1/2 pudding mix. Add more berry mixture. Top with the rest of the pudding. Chill for 2 hours. Garnish with whipped cream and fresh blueberries.
Dig in.

Art Tip

From the kitchen to the studio is what I call this. I am sure you have seen or even own one of those revolving spice racks with all the jars in them. Spices are only good for a few months. So when they are all stale, clean out that spice rack and fill it with embellishments. Buttons, jacks, even fibers - those little plastic tops make ideal holes to thread your yarn and fibers to neatly pull them out as needed. The revolving part is cool because they are just fingertips away. I keep two in my studio and one on my sewing table. I found two at a garage sale for under five dollars.

Hot Crab Dip

This is a staple along the coast here in North Carolina. Almost every restaurant or get together serves this in some variation.I thought this might be a nice addition to your Mother's Day festivities.
Serves 6 to 8

8 ounces of lowfat cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 pound white crabmeat, check for shells and discard
1 small onion, finely chopped
tabasco sauce, to taste, a few shakes
garlic salt, to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons white wine or sherry
1 teaspoon old bay seasoning
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
[use more to stretch recipe]

Melt the cream cheese and butter in a topboiler over simmering water. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Heat all the way through and serve in a chafing dish.
Serve with crackers or my personnal favorite those mini french bread loaves thinly sliced and warmed. Enjoy!

The Swans

Birds are my thing. I am fascinated by them. Always have been. If there was just one thing I could wish for it would be the ability to fly. To soar. I would like to share some of my bird friends with you along with some bird art. These two swans are Nicholas and Alexandra. They live in one of the lakes in my neighborhood just about a half a football field away from the intercoastal waterway. We have around nine to twelve pairs that live here. These two own this lake an usually have around 11 to 13 cygnets. Only about half survive. After almost four years they come and swim right up to me on my daily walk. It is amazing. Nicholas has to check me out before Alexandra is allowed near. She is easily bored. Nicholas being the typical male lets me admire his strength and beauty. He is quite the poser. North Carolina has one of the largest winter population of birds. Swans in particular. They all go to a place called Pocosin Lakes. It is a huge wildlife refuge. More Info http://www.fws.gov/pocosinlakes/
Can you imagine seeing a 100,000 tundra swans?

Art Tip

Do you have some crusty brushes you can't use laying around? or how about stamps with dried acrylic paint on them?
A little Murphy's Oil soap will do wonders. Soak your brushes in Murphy's Oil Soap. You will see the paint or gel medium start to dissolve. Rinse with cool water. Repeat if necessary. For stamps pour soap into a flat tray or dish, set stamp in tray. Let soak. Use a tooth brush to gently dislodge paint and rinse. Good as new. Also, the soap helps keep your wood mount from drying out.

Fresh Cilantro Salsa

Yields around 3 cups
2 garlic cloves
1 large onion, quartered
1 green pepper, seeded and quartered
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and quartered
wash hands with soap after this step
6 fresh tomatoes, peeled,seeded and chopped
or 2 cans 16 ounces each of plum tomatoes, drain and chop
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
squirt of lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Put the garlic in a food processer until minced. Add the onion, peppers and process with on and off pulses until barely chopped.
Add the tomatoes and cilantro and process until combined but sort of chunky. Add lemon, salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate till time to serve.
Serve with large tortilla chips.

Art Tip

Keep a camera handy at all times. make it a habit to take it with you even if it is to the grocery store. Some times even the most mundane things if captured the right way can become art. The line of a chair, the way the weeds look in fall, an old door falling off its hinges. You can also use it for remembering color combinations. The way that rusted barrel looked next to the purple salvia. Things like that. We often think we will remember that scene, those lines, the way those textures mixed together, but we don't. Think of your camera as a visual journal. You can print small thumbnails as reminders. Just enough visual reminder to re-inspire you.

Art Tip

What do with all that junk jewelry that is laying around in boxes and drawers. Just waiting to be that perfect embellishment piece for your latest art project. I found that if I displayed some of them I was more likely to use them. So I have this ugly lampshade in my studio - just plain white, but very big. So I took ribbon and hooked it to the top of the lampshade with decorated bobby pins and pinned all my junk brooches on them. When the light is on on the jewels shine and I am constantly reminded of what I have.

Onion Cheese Bread

This is a great bread to serve with a fresh salad or marinated tomatoes or olives.

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup biscuit mix
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 teaspoons parsley flakes
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Saute onion in a skillet till soft, not brown. Set aside to cool.
Combine milk and egg in bowl. Add biscuit mix, stirring just enough to moisten. Stir in cooked onion, 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese and parsley flakes. Spread batter in greased 8 inch square baking pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese. Bake in 400 degree oven 20 minutes or until done. Serve warm. Makes nine servings.

Art Tip

Speaking of scraps...now is the time to pick up denim and fabric scraps. Yard sales are a great source of inexpensive fabric. You can usually purchase a dress or shirt for under a dollar. Where can you buy fabric that cheap? Also keep an eye out for clothing with unusual buttons or beading that you can use. I like to buy jeans and cut them up. They make great background for fabric books and can be cut up to make homemade paper. So get a couple of art buddies together, map out a route, split the gas and go bargain hunting.

Pepperoni Dip

1 pint sour cream
1/2 pound pepperoni, finely chopped
1 round loaf of bread, plain, sour dough, or rye

Combine sour cream and pepperoni. You can add 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt or onion salt if you like. Store covered in refrigerator for 2 days. To serve, allow dip to come to room temperature. Carefully hollow out round loaf of bread, leaving around 1 inch around sides and across the bottom of loaf. Tear this center section of bread into bite size pieces. Place dip in loaf and surround with bread pieces.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Digital Photograph - Cherry Blossoms

19 comments:

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