One Ingredient Caramel Pie!

Another OH MY moment! ONE INGREDIENT FOR THE FILLING. Are you ready? Sweetened condensed milk.

Extras:

• Oreo cookie crust (purchased pre-made at store)
• Pecan pieces
• Chocolate Sundae Syrup topping (squeeze bottle type)

Take 2-3 14 oz. cans (I think three might be better) of Borden's Sweetened Condensed Milk. Peel off the labels and place in LARGE kettle of water. Make SURE water covers the cans completely. Boil for 3 1/2 hours. Consider using a lid on the pot. Do NOT let water level drop below can tops, as pressure changes can cause cans to explode.

Carefully remove from boiling water and let cool a little. Punch a hole in top of the can with bottle opener to relieve the pressure, then open cans with can-opener. Pour caramelized contents into pie shell and smooth top with rubber spatula. Place in refrigerator to cool. The caramel will become firm. (Later you can cover with plastic wrap misted with cooking spray.)

Slice and top with pecan pieces and drizzle with chocolate.

Good enough to save for yourself, pretty enough for guests. No calories. I swear.

Skylight moment...

I was walking through the kitchen and the light was streaming in from above.  A stunning moment.

Ravani: A Moist Greek Cake

I got a new mixer on Friday (YAY!) and had to make something. And since later I am making some Greek pitas, this seemed like a great idea - Ravani. It's a really moist Greek cake... sort of no frills. But delicious. It uses Semolina flour, which is the first time I have used that. (Almost left the grocery store without it!)

The cake is easy to make - but the kicker is the sweet homemade syrup you pour over the cake while it is still hot from the oven. I worried about using all the syrup from the recipe, and stopped short. I should have used it all. The syrup is totally absorbed and the result is a sweet, moist cake. Great with a cup of coffee or glass of milk.

Recipe from Elly Says Opa!

Summer Succotash Salad - It's what's for dinner

New Recipe! Cold, fresh succotash salad to go with dinner tonight. Fresh green beans, fresh corn right off the cob, baby limas, red onion. Toss with a mix of olive oil, lemon juice, basil and honey. Courtesy of  Cook's Country.

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

Oh my. It's sweet. It's gooey. It's rich.

A crust base. A caramel and cream center and a crumbled crust top. When I eat more later, it will be with a scoop of vanilla.

I wish I could say it is my recipe, but kudos go to  Cookies and Cups. If you check out the recipe, I used vanilla in the crust batter. I used a rather coarse Kosher salt on the caramel because I could not get my jar of coarse sea salt open, ha ha. And I halved the recipe and used an 8" x 8" pan. Worked great. The half-recipe was an effort to contain how much dessert was in the house.

Berry Crumble - This is too easy

Fresh berries, flour, brown sugar and butter. Ta da. I used 2 cups of blueberries and 2 cups of raspberries.

I have to admit, it's a weight watchers recipe.

• Mix 3/4 c flour and 2/3 c brown sugar in a bowl.
• Take 3 Tbs of mix and add to 4 cups fresh berries that have been placed in a second bowl.
• Melt 6 Tbs butter and add to flour mixture. Mix well.
• Now pour berry mix into 8"x8" dish and cover with the flour/sugar batter. Since flour mix is moist, just take small clumps and place them over berries until berries are covered.
• Bake at 350 degrees  for 35-40 minutes until berries bubble.

Serve with low-fat vanilla ice cream or vanilla frozen yogurt.
OH MY!

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

The other day a friend was getting ready to make strawberry shortcake. Except she was using the small, round sponge cakes in a package. That's not how I remember shortcake. Growing up, shortcake was homemade, dry and crumbly and soaked up the cream from the bowl.

Then I saw this recipe on SweetlySerendipity.com. Real shortbread! In a cookie! So I made them, following the recipe at the link. Heaven, warm from the oven. And later just divine in a bowl with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. You could pour some real cream in the bowl... I did not have enough left over from the recipe. If that sounds good, buy a pint of cream (instead of the cup required for the recipe).

If you like scones, you will love these. I think I will have to try blueberries next.

Photos & Notes: cut strawberries, strawberries in the lemon juice and sugar, the batter, and the dollops of cookie dough. At first the batter will seem like it does not have enough moisture, but follow the recipe. The juicy strawberry mix will hold it together. For scooping the cookies, I used heaping-heaping tablespoonfuls. Then I stuck extra pieces of dough on top if needed. For the sugar topping, use raw (turbinado) sugar or dusting (decorating crystals-type) sugar. Regular sugar will melt and caramelize. I stored the cookies in a big zip-lock overnight - I think it made them too moist and more like cupcakes this morning... so don't recommend that. I prefer the crumbly scone texture.

New Fancy Lure - Romance

Finally getting around to posting the first of the Fancy Lures. Goes with something soft or with blue jeans, as well. It hangs on a ball chain, or hooks to belt loop. Ribbons, lace, fabric, beads, fishing tackle swivels...

The Apple Galette

Apple Galette - frankly I was not familiar with a "galette", but you learn something everyday! I made this last weekend and I am making another one this morning... it was that good. Very easy with the wonderful recipe I found at Elephantine. I need to work on how to core and slice apples! The turbinado sugar in the recipe is actually raw natural cane sugar, available at the grocery store. It's a bigger sugar grain and simply "makes" the crust... adds crunch and well worth it. This will be lovely a little later with a spot of vanilla ice cream and some coffee :)

 Here is the galette before I put it in the oven. I added, this time, a little more sugar to the apples, dashes of cinnamon and allspice - a little more like apple pie flavors. Note: top photo is last week's baked galette; photo directly above is this week's.

In Remembrance

In remembrance of those who gave their lives in service to our country, to those who have served and to the men and women who are currently in harm's way. We thank you!

Thinking Memorial Day and 4th of July

Some good ol' Red, White & Blue for the Holiday tomorrow. Too festive to pass up. And good again on the 4th, or any day for that matter. Sterling Silver wires.

Little Wild Things

A friend asked about whether Wild Thing came as earrings... so here they are! They look fabulous on. Spunky little things. Sterling Silver wires.

Weekend Potato Salad

A little "lighter", if that's possible for potato salad. Light mayo and red wine vinegar. Onions, parsley and turkey bacon. Almost more of a marinade, so it's not slathered in the traditional mayonnaise. And made ahead of time, it just gets better. Just put the bowl in the refrigerator.

See, I said the magazine was good...

Bacon-wrapped club crackers cooked in a low, slow oven. A brief died-and-gone-to-heaven moment. They taste like homemade bacon biscuits - could be appetizers or would honestly be good with breakfast eggs. This was from Garden & Guns magazine. They always feature fabulous foods from the Deep South.

One Scrumptious Magazine

Scrumptious  Extremely appetizing or delicious. Very attractive.

Garden & Gun is one delicious publication. It's one of the few that I look forward to reading - soaking up the all the flavors of the Deep South.

Food that we live for: catfish, BBQ, crawfish, fried chicken, biscuits, cole slaw, deviled eggs... hungry yet?

Stories on Southern musicians, artists and designers, craftsmen.
Riverboats and bayous.
Plantations and cabins.
Whiskey and mint tea.
And the best little towns to visit.

New Fancy Lure - Wild Thing

Fun and funky combination of my newest "Lure" (think trailing a long glittery fishing lure). A mix of ribbons, and charms, rhinestones and a handcrafted bead. Hook on neck chain, belt loop, purse strap. Lobster clasp makes it 'portable'.

Spring Palette

So fresh and beautiful. A soft color palette that's like velvet shaped into petals. Creation and photo credit: Geny's Wholesale Flowers in Nashville.

Teaser shot

Funky Town

Long necklace with handcrafted polymer clay beads. 32" strand with magnetic clasp.

Melting Pot

Project finished and framed!
Flag is approximately 13" wide, framed in a shadow box. Very tactile, so no glass on the front.

Here is a detail shot:


And this helps a little for context/size:

Teaser shot of WIP

Just a teaser corner of a WIP. Love the palettes you can get from fabrics! More later.

A run through the wet woods

She is her own work of art. Miss Mattie, the standard poodle, waiting to come inside after a messy run through the wet woods. Ugh.

WIP - Still on the Fence

I am still on the fence on this one... macro crochet pattern for fun. Seemed like it could be like a textile stained glass and allow for an unlimited series. Pastels on Wallis. More time consuming than I imagined!

I need to think this through!

Felted Bowl

Stepping it up with a felted bowl - 7" wide and 2" deep. Yarn is a wonderful wine color with accent rows added in a wonderful variegated Japanese yarn.

Tiny Felted Vessel

It's tiny - 1 1/4" wide and 2 1/4" high - perfect for holding rings, when you take them off. Or one hard boiled egg, if you are inclined.

Crocheted and felted 100% wool.

This FELT fun to do.

Felted heather green coasters. Been wanting to try felting with 100% wool, so I felted my crocheted coasters and, ta da, a set of 4. Watch for more!

Merry Christmas!

Almost, anyway.

Wishing you and yours Happy Holidays.

Died on gone to color heaven

Oh my, such luscious colors all wrapped up in one piece. Even richer in real life.

Kid Mohair and Silk

Lovely combination of colors and feel. On the left, it's wool and bamboo viscose and on the right, the softest kid mohair and silk. The combination is really soft to the touch. Sorta' like 3-D painting palette.

Nickel-plated Colt 6 Gun

Finally getting around to finishing up this big one in pastels. Ornate holster along with collector guns - favorites of the Cowboy Action Shooting crowd.

New Web Home Page

Made an update with new home page images on The Illustrated Cat! Perfect gifts - note cards, post cards and prints. Check it out if you have not done so already....

Tote that Cat!

New on www.TheIllustratedCat.com !! Just introduced a fabulous new tote bag. I carry mine as a purse and use it when traveling. Might make the purr-fect Christmas or Holiday gift for someone special. Six totes available - all with reproductions of my colored pencil cat portraits.

Wear a Cat!

New in the line of The Illustrated Cat... pendants! handcrafted.... Made from reduced images of my colored pencil art. They are kinda' fun. For sale on the website - all six portraits, but just one photo posted at the moment. www.TheIllustratedCat.com

Neglectful

I have not managed to keep up. Goodness, what an embarrassment. Between normal demands and launching the card line, things have gotten away! This is a photo from the NYC Gift Show!

New Post Card

What 'cha think? This is a new 5"x7" postcard for sending or framing. Thinking about doing a series with all 6 cats.....

New Line of Stationery!

Wow... it's a been a little while but I have been busy launching a line of illustrated note cards. Showed at the Atlanta Gift Mart in January and it's been busy since then.

Now I have launched the consumer site that has my note cards, Purrfect Occasions notes and pre-matted prints. There's more to come! Please visit...
www.TheIllustratedCat.com

All those little kitties were done in colored pencil. Someone at the trade show said I needed 40 of them. I said, fine, I'll be back in two years. Not.

Silver Jewelry

Explorations! I took reduced images of the colored pencil cat portraits I did, and made silver solder pendants (lead-free!). Long chains. Crazy, but they make the best clinking sound.

Blue Eyes

And this one, with beautiful blue eyes. Technique is somewhat different when doing a cat with long hair. I think I'll treat myself to more colored pencils for Christmas!