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!