Well, I have always been able to work best with a deadline. I tend to wander off to other projects if I have all the time in the world. So, just in the nick of time, I finished my piece for the Women's Art Show at the Banff Public Library. I worked on it for about a week. I am really happy with how it turned out. I start with a basic plan but am not really one to lay out a project before beginning. I tend to have the best results when I just jump in. I know that seems strange but the minute I get hung up on something being perfectly straight or perfectly anything, it goes awry. This all went so well I am thrilled. You can see yesterday's post for the progression of this piece. Here are the photos of the finally step and the finished piece. It will be on display at the Banff Public Library for the month of March. All proceeds in the sale of this piece will go to His Hands for Haiti to build a home for orphaned and abandoned children.

Art Food & Motherhood

Posted one day late. I will reveal the finished piece tonight...

Art Food & Motherhood

I have been working on this mixed media piece for about a week, here and there. It it is for an annual show that I have participated in for the last three years called the Women's Art Show at the Banff Public Library. It corresponds with International Women's Day on March 8th. There is always a theme but artists do not have to work within it. This year it is "Equal rights, equal opportunities: progress for all". I would have to say that I didn't work within the theme, at least not only in a women's rights sense. I chose to do my piece on Haiti. I have been there twice. I used images I shot for a child sponsorship program and collaged on them with text and fabric. I used both male and female images. I am going to embroidered them together. I have two more days and this is still working itself out, so be prepared for a couple more posts on it.

Art Food & Motherhood

Yesterday I wrote a tutorial on my blog for the zippered pouch I posted on February 22nd. Here it is: http://tiffanyteske.blogspot.com/2010/02/february-22nd-zippered-pouch.html

I have taken many sewing classes but I think I am finally getting more confident. This week I learned how to sew a zipper with my machine. It was pretty exciting since I have never even had the zipper foot out of the package it came in. I made this cute little pouch. I messed up on sewing the corners inside the pouch (I sewed across too low on one side) but my 3 year old thinks it is perfect and since I made it for her, that is all that matters.

I hope to include a mini tutorial about how I made this on my blog...
Art Food & Motherhood

I will forever be grateful to my friend, Kirstin, for forwarding this recipe to me. I am a huge fan of peanut butter and chocolate. And brownies, I love them! I haven't made brownies from a box since I was a kid because they really are easy to make from scratch and taste so good. I did 1 and a half of the recipe below and used a 9x13" pan and baked it for 45 minutes. Do not make theses unless you are prepared to eat half the pan... they are that good!

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
by Kim D. RecipeZaar

    * 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
    * 2/3 cup sugar
    * 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
    * 2 eggs
    * 2 tablespoons milk
    * 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
    * 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    * 1/4 teaspoon salt
    * 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
    * 1/3 cup peanut butter chip
    * 1/3 cup cocoa powder
    * 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

   1. In a mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars.
   2. Add eggs and milk; mix well.
   3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well.
   4. Divide batter in half.
   5. To one portion, add peanut butter and peanut butter chips.
   6. To the other portion, add cocoa and chocolate chips; mix well.
   7. In a greased 9-inch square pan, spoon chocolate batter into 8 mounds in a checker board pattern.
   8. Spoon 8 mounds of peanut butter batter in between the chocolate batter.
   9. Cut through batter with a knife to swirl.
  10. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
  11. Cool on a wire rack.

Art Food & Motherhood

This is the first time I tried this recipe. Right off the bat I changed it to suit my own needs so I can officially call it my recipe now. It makes a very colorful, very fresh, super yummy (as my daughter would say) vegetarian pasta sauce. We put it on vermicelli for dinner. It required a lot of chopping (thanks, honey) but only 10 minutes of cooking time.

Herbed Vegetarian Pasta Sauce
by Tiffany Teske

- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 2 bell peppers, chopped (I used leftovers of a red, an orange, & a yellow)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
- 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Hot cooked pasta

In a large saucepan, saute onion and celery in oil until tender. Stir in everything else. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over pasts. 4 c sauce.

Art Food & Motherhood

Today was a full and exciting day. I was interviewed for close to an hour by Tanya Cooper for a blog radio show called Susan and Friends. If you are interested in hearing it, just go here.

And dessert...
Dutch Apple Pie
From a 1998 copy of Home Cooking

This is a great pie to eat right out of the oven or to bring to a party where the whole thing will get eaten. While it tastes fine reheated the filling makes the crust mushy after it sits for a day or two. It is sweet and next time I will cut the sugar amount. The topping and crust are delicious, very much like a crisp.

Crust and topping
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (I use unbleached)
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

FILLING:
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 1/4 c water
- 3 c diced peeled tart apples
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine first four ingredients; set aside 1 cup for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture into an ungreased 9 in pie plate; set aside. For the filling, combine sugar, cornstarch, and water in a saucepan until smooth; bring to boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in apples and vanilla. Pour into crust; top with reserved crumb mixture. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Art Food & Motherhood

I have been working on this collage for a few days. I was inspired to start it because I had lots of book page and sheet music hearts left over from Valentine making. I usually start a collage with a vague idea of what I want but I never plan things out, aside from which materials to use. Once I gather the materials, which probably takes the most time, I lay things out, move things around, then just look at it for awhile before gluing things down. Sometimes, I use 3-D elements, which I did here. It can be difficult to make out everything in my collages, since little bits of text, 3-D elements, and fine details can get lost in photos. My favorite parts about this collage are the Polaroid (of course!), the 3-D hearts, and the two little glittered elements.

Art Food & Motherhood

I started making these a LONG time ago. They started as a papier mache bowl project with my three year old. Then we painted them. Then I made the felt eggs. Then I put it all together. All in all about 6 months. Yippee! One set of UFOs (Unfinished Objects) checked off the list... Aren't they pretty?

Art Food & Motherhood