Monday, November 10, 2014

Food and Art To Nourish The Soul


  So far, despite the quickly approaching cold and the early darkness, we here (in PA at least) have had a few glorious  and 60 F degree weather days filled with sunshine. ( I won't dwell on the one afternoon we were hit with freakish weather-dark, very windy  and a cold air that caused a bit of sleet which thankfully left as quickly as it came!).  Still trying to purge through things as well as do more experimental cooking along with getting in the much needed art time. DO come by for my next post which will include a new and exciting culinary adventure I am on, along with some special art I received from India (hint!) and a bit of my own art.

  On Sunday our adorable young friends celebrated their 1st anniversary. I know how Lynn loves the twenties era and art and vintage things so I was inspired to make a card for them after seeing this week's sketch at Freshly Made Sketches . I was too late to enter it for the challenge but wanted to share nonetheless:
  My card:

                                    I just flipped the design around for a horizontal  layout.

 I finally finished my November calendar spread by painting it all in with watercolors:



 For the Simon Monday challenge theme of "ornaments" I made a quick and easy card:

 I had gotten these adorable round gift tags at Hobby Lobby. The sentiment was stamped and heat embossed with white powder (something I haven't done in AGES!). I added decorative paper and ribbon and just put a small glue dot on the back of the tag so it can be taken off the card and put on the tree.

 The potage aux legumes (veggie soup) I mentioned last Tuesday was delicious and so I'm sharing my adapted version at the end of this post. Here's a pic:

   This is very similar to a soup my Mom grew up with living in her small village in France. I have had it made by my MéMé when in France and also by my Mom. They sometimes added a beef roast and turnips thus making it much heartier. It also was known as a "pot au feu". I so rarely eat any meat and wanted a lighter version. I do hope you try it!

 And lastly , I want to thank anyone who tried to help me identify my beautiful mystery bush which I posted about here the first time. I have googled for images and info about all of the suggestions and I'm pretty sure it is an inkberry holly. I will check with a landscaper at the beach in the Spring.

                                                   the one I have been trying to identify

                                                         an image of an inkberry bush

 Although the color in this photo looks much greener , after seeing other photos and reading about it I found this to be the closest. The leaves are thick and have a waxy feel and I thought it might be a type of holly. And it is found a lot in seaside landscaping.

 I am linking also to T Stands For Tuesday and although I have no pic of a beverage this time I will share that I won a special tea cup and giveaway and as soon as I receive it I will show you!

 Sharing a cuppa coffee as I go around visiting. See you soon!

                  " Food for the body is not enough. There must be food for the soul."


                                                     Potage Aux Legumes (serves 4 - 6)
                     Make this recipe the day before you wish to have it for better flavor!

 3 med. carrots, peeled and cut       2 med.  potatoes, peeled and diced

 1 sm. onion, chopped      2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped      1 celery stalk, diced lg.

 1/2 head of green cabbage, coarsely chopped      2 tsp. dried thyme   4 c. vegetable stock

 3 Tbsp. olive oil        salt and pepper

  In a lg. pot heat olive oil and cook all the prepared vegetables except for the cabbage for 3-4 min. on med heat. Season with a bit of slat and pepper. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Add the thyme, then the cabbage and continue to cook on medium heat for 30 min. or so. refrigerate overnight. Just reheat to serve. This is a light soup so why not have a slice of fresh organic rosemary olive oil bread to soak up some of those juices! Note: feel free to add a bay leaf, and or any other leftover veggies you may have on hand. Bon appetit!








19 comments:

  1. Linda ~ what a treasure trove of creations! Wonderful work! Thanks for a relish recipe!

    Happy Week to you,
    artmusedog and carol
    A Creative Harbor

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  2. LOVE! your calendar pages and that soup looks yummy!

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  3. Cute cards and the food is making me hungry it looks so YUMMY!!!! I was thinking of a Holly for your bush but couldn't place the little blooms... I think you're right though. :)

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  4. YUM. I have everything I need to make this soup, including fresh thyme.

    Your monthly journal turned out SO colorful. Really like those gift boxes.

    Both of your cards are lovely. I don't make many cards, and when I do, I never think to use a layout. I simply roll with the flow so to speak.

    I have holly, but it looks nothing like what you showed. Mine is very traditional, so I'm glad you might have found the answer to your dilemma.

    Thanks for sharing your soup and art with us for T this Tuesday.

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  5. Amazing cards Linda and your calendar spread is beautiful!
    Thank you for sharing this yummie soup recipe - will try this-
    what a suitable bush for a paper artist ..." INK "berry ...lol!
    xxx
    Susi
    Happy T-DAY!

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  6. Mm, love a good potage aux legumes, I may have to go make one now! What a great memory to be able to recapture with a bowl of soup! I have never heardf of inkberry holly - isn't it pretty - and so much more sociable than traditional holly...less spikes!

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  7. That looks like a hearty warming bowl of soup... will copy the recipe and send it to my Mum who lives in France and loves soup of all types! Annette

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  8. What a lovely post my friend!Love the cards and the soup looks so yummy yummy!

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  9. Hello and Happy T Day Linda! What a fun and yummy post to read, my favorite kind. I love both the cards, especially the cute snowman. The thankful gifts look wonderful painted, I'm still filling out my leaves, so much to be thankful for. The weather has been the same here for us too but snow is on it's way. Thanks for sharing the recipe, sounds perfect for me.
    Have a great week.

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  10. You have been very busy. The cards are beautiful and I love you november page!

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  11. That is a precious card you made for your friends and what a cute snowman card too!
    Using gift packages for your calender is a beautiful way to highlight each and every day which truly are gifts!
    Vegetarian fare is right up my alley...thank you for sharing (and for making me hungry too!)
    Happy T Day to you dear Linda ♥
    oxo

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  12. I'm not very good at using those sketches to inspire cards...you do a beautiful job!
    I finally finished my November calendar as well. I kind of forgot about it. :) Yours is lovely.
    Happy T Day!

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  13. Adore your calendar page! and the soup sounds so yummy! winter is soup time around our house and we use lots of veggies...thinking today might be a soup day! Lovely pics...happy T day!

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  14. The calendar page all painted looks lovely Linda. Thank you for the recipe.It looks yummy and is healthy too-:)
    Happy T day
    Susan

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  15. I think the soup counts instead of tea ;) It looks very satisfying.

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  16. Great post. Love the card you made and the C card is adorable. I was thinking soup would count as tea - well it is liquidey and some people have it in a cup!!
    Hugs
    xx

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  17. Beautiful collection of projects Linda! Love the colorful calendar and sweet snowman! Thanks so much for joining along with the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!

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  18. You've certainly been busy! That is pretty much the recipe I use for veggie soup--and it looks delicious! Happy T- Day! :)

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  19. What an adorable card for your friends.
    Soup always sounds good to me, with meat or with out it.......I love soup! LOL
    Thanks for stopping by my blog and for the nice comments.
    Belated T-day wishes to you.

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Thank you so much for your comments; it's a pleasure to connect with you!