Saturday, August 31, 2013

The Fairies Are Watching

  I am a dreamer. I believe in the magic that lives in every soul.
Every idea comes from somewhere. A slip of the eye, a trick of the mind, or perhaps truth that not everyone has the pleasure of seeing.

If you merely see the glitter of a dragonfly's wings, or the magic dust that lays on a butterfly's wings, then you have seen a touch of magic on this earth.
And surely there is even more, undiscovered, waiting in the woods. Magic well beyond our thoughts.

 I am a christian, and I believe there are many things that we have yet to learn.
So enjoy the beauty in your life, for it may be the last thing you possess.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Cheese Cake and Hobbit Dishes


 This feast day, there was a last minute craving for cheese cake. It was my ultimate luck that everything needed was in the pantry.
1 package of cream cheese, mixed with 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, 1/3 cup lemon juice and 1 tsp vanilla. There was no crust, it did not seem necessary.
The cherry topping was made from 2 cups frozen cherries, 1/2 cup sugar and tbsp cornstarch, with a dash of almond flavoring. The cheese cake chilled for 30 minutes, while the cherries stayed warm.

 Earlier that day, I was looking around the "Pink Tractor" flea market. The first things I looked at were kitchen utensils, yet no luck for wooden handled metal serving spoons. After looking through some of the pots, pans, mugs and plates, I came across this set of plates and bowls.
They are green like the forest trees, light brown like the ground mushrooms, and lined with black like the crevices inside the trees, where nothing can be seen.

They seem to have come from Bilbo Baggin's hobbit hole...
 
I look forward to using them in my future photo shoots!


Sunday, August 25, 2013

Cherry Trifle

 This was an amazing Easter treat!

Cherry Trifle
Ingredients:
1 Angel Food Cake
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 8oz Package Cream Cheese, softened
Whip Cream
1 21oz Can of Cherry Pie Filling

Directions:

Tear the angel food cake into small pieces, until you have about 5 cups of torn pieces. Then, in a medium sized bowl mix the sugar and cream cheese, beating until well blended. Next, add in the whip cream, but be sure to reserve about 2oz for the top of the dessert.  Also, stir in the angel food cake pieces.
In a nice large bowl, spoon 1/2 the mixture onto the bottom, top with about 3/4 of the cherry pie filling. Once you have completed this layer, add the remaining mixture and the last bit of whip cream.
Top with the last of the pie filling, and serve chilled.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Family Favorite Casserole


I made this for work today, and it was successful! I have learned that pasta is a safe bet.

Family Favorite Casserole
Adapted From “The Gluten Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods”
Can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated. Allow 10 minutes extra baking time if taken directly from the refrigerator.


1 lb ground beef
2 cups spaghetti sauce (or 2 cups tomato sauce, 2 Tbsp sugar, plus Italian seasonings)
1 lb GF Rotini pasta
chives
1 3 oz pkg cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp garlic salt
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese


Cook the ground beef in a skillet. Add spaghetti sauce.
Cook the pasta according to pkg directions. Drain and place in a greased baking dish or pan.
Top with the meat sauce.
Blend together the cream cheese, sour cream, chives and garlic salt.
Spread over the meat and sprinkle with the cheese.
Bake in a preheated 350* oven for 30 minutes.
Makes 8 servings.
Nutrients per serving: Calories 326, Fat 18 gr., Carbs 25 gr, Protein 18 gr
Spaghetti Sauce and Ground Beef
Cream Cheese, Sour Cream, Chives and Garlic Salt


Ronzoni Gluten-Free Rotini Pasta


Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Pacific Octopus Bracelet

 Infinity bracelets are sold by many shop owners on Etsy. I happened to stumble across a bracelet that was made with leather, an infinity charm, and ship's wheel.








I liked the design, but left off the infinity charm. It took a surprising amount of time to gather the supplies needed to make myself one. I found 5mm PU braided leather and 20mm ribbon fasteners from Etsy, charms from Etsy as well as Ebay, and 1.5mm leather cord from Fusion Beads.

There was not much too it after that, just tying the leather, clipping it to the correct length, and connecting the fasteners. I am happy with it. The leather is a very dark blue, like the storming seas, and the octopus looks like the kraken himself.

There is a simple hand made clasp hooking the two fasteners.

This photo was taken in my garden, next to the bleeding heart that has finished blooming, on a rock that looks too me like a dragon skull. Perhaps a young dragon did not live to see adult age. But rather than leave bones behind to be discovered, turned to stone, so as no one would ever find proof, of the existence of such magnificent, dangerous creatures.










Tuesday, August 13, 2013

The Mushroom Forest

 The rain has brought up so many mushrooms!
It's amazing to walk through the woods, and see so many different colors and shapes coming out of the leaves and moss. I was even lucky in enough, to see a Fallow deer, yet not so lucky to get a picture through the thick forest trees. I still snapped many pictures of other ground creatures. Mostly mushrooms.





A Fawn Mushroom.


 A Chanterelle that had been slightly nibbled on, sadly not edible at this time, for becoming, 'stale'.










The tiniest of mushrooms, dancing in the moss when no one is looking...
Gem-studded Puffball.


A variation of a Bolete mushroom.
Up in the deer stand, the metal has rusted, and the wood is beginning to rot, while the tree it leans against, still stands tall, holding it all together.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Wanderer


I came across a picture from earlier this Spring, taken on a Sunday afternoon.
It was a self portrait I took in my neighbor's field on one of my walks through the woods.
I had an image in my head, of someone walking away from a camera shot. Curious to try it, I set my digital camera on timer on a stump near a line of trees, then proceeded to walk away with my walking stick that I carved years ago. When I got the shot that I wanted, I wandered on through the woods, to a pond inhabited by snapping turtles, as well as Canada geese.
When I got back, I named the shot, "Wanderer." With a quote by J.R.R Tolkien in mind, "Not all those who wander are lost."
I truly believe that. You have to wander, to find what you were looking for, even if you never knew you were searching for it. You have to lose your path, but you know that you are not lost.

Through The Eye of The Grasshopper

Today was the best day I have seen all year, for taking pictures of the fairie domain. I heard there were caterpillars on the dill in the front yard, so I grabbed my camera. The caterpillars turned out to be Parsley Worms, soon to be Black Swallowtails. Later I read that these particular caterpillars will expose 'orange horns' when aggravated. It would appear they do not mind having their picture taken, I cannot say the same for all of my photo shoots.
The fairies were smiling upon me today, to get this shot of a Hummingbird Moth drinking from the Butterfly Bush, or Buddeja Davidii in the front yard, along with many butterflies. They are so beautiful, it's hard to believe that they grow up from being Horn Worms. This was the only shot to capture the detail of the wings. Their transparency, surrounded by black, or perhaps brown pen strokes.

While looking for more photo opportunities, I found two grasshoppers sitting in the Basil. 
Among the salvia, a bumble bee rests it's wings.
 
How beautiful it must be, to see 
through the eye of a small 
creature of the wilderness.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Cream Soda

This drink consists of Cream,
Watkins Imitation Root Beer Extract,
Vanilla Extract,
a pinch of Stevia
a tea spoon of Sugar,
and Club Soda

The drink is roughly one third cream, to club soda.
When pouring the club soda into the cream, the glass filled with foam. Luckily, I have yet to overflow the glass.

The taste is somewhere between a cream soda, and a root beer float. The vanilla extract was the perfect touch to give the flavor of ice cream!
This drink is gluten free and would be Paleo, if not for the sugar. If I were more strict, I would stir in a tea spoon of erythritol sweetener instead of sugar.
After getting the ingredients, all that is left
is to stir and enjoy!