Monday, May 9, 2022

About The Birds


   Hi all! I hope for those of you that celebrated Mother's day this past Sunday it was a lovely one. We went to see my Mom Saturday because she was leaving for a week long bus trip to see the tulip festival in Michigan. And son and DIL are away in the Fingers Lakes in New York so my celebration will be in two weeks. It was a beautiful day Sunday so hubby and I just stayed home and enjoyed being outdoors.

 This is the card I made for my Mom and I will join the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with it for the theme of "Feminine": 


White cardstock and Etched Layered Daisy die set are from Simon Says Stamp. Pink, brown cardstocks are Recollections. The patterned paper is an oldie from my stash. Pink pearls are Queen and Co. And the sentiment (Inkadinkado) was stamped using Versafine Onyx Black ink.

 I have no photos yet (although I have been trying) but the nest of finch eggs on our porch roof corner have hatched! Our hummingbirds are here and visit throughout the day from morning til dusk, and they are relaxed and thoroughly entertaining, but very difficult to capture on my phone cam! 

 Speaking of birds I made this journal page for Art Journal Journey (theme is "birds"), and I will also link  to Rain's Thursday Art Date later this week. Rain hosts this each week on her blog and provides prompts but they are optional to use. Everyone is welcome and you will be delighted by her inspiring posts of art, nature, and delicious food! I will also join Try It On Tuesday (add a stencil):


 The bird card, sentiment, flower, and stencil are all Tim Holtz. The page is in my Dina Wakley white media journal and I used her Gloss Sprays for paint drips and spatters.

 Time to break for T Stands For Tuesday hosted by Bleubeard and Elizabeth with a beverage related photo, and Food Wednesdays (anything related to food- recipes, books, meals) hosted by Kathy:

  As I mentioned in an earlier post I am trying new recipes that are vegan. I don't see us ever being solely vegan but am enjoying it several days a week, along with more vegetarian meals. After all, we do love our eggs, cheese, and fish😁

 

 This recipe "Mama's Meatballs" came from the Veganize It! cookbook I had gotten from our local library. They were very easy to put together, and very easy to make into meatballs- 20 of them. Edited in: you can find the recipe at the bottom of this post.
 Here's how they came out of the oven:


 They can be refrigerated up to a week, and they freeze well too. We both loved them so much that next time I will double the batch and definitely freeze them. They would be excellent for meatball sandwiches or with pasta and tomato sauce but I made a recipe in the same cookbook using these meatballs:


 Piccata Meatballs With Penne and Asparagus - positively delicious!!! I made the pasta dinner a few days after I made the meatballs. It consists of scallions, capers, white wine, lemon juice, parsley, olive oil with the penne, grilled asparagus, and prepared, cooked meatballs. The meatballs have such a wonderful Italian like flavor that complimented this pasta dish really well. The best part is that there is a cup of mushrooms (albeit finely chopped) in the meatballs - and hubby hates mushrooms! He had NO idea 😂! I will definitely make this dish on a regular basis. And have a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon with it 😉. Cheers!

 And here is another lesson I did from the Sketchbook Revival free online classes (sorry, they are no longer available):

 

 This lesson "Watercolor Warm Ups: Gathering Color and Pattern Inspiration" with host Faith Evans- Sills on Day 10. We were to find a magazine photo with colors/shapes/patterns that appealed to us. Then we were to start by just painting a variety of sizes of washes across the page using color inspiration from the photo. Next was to add patterns we saw. Can you see where I got all my inspiration? 
Here is each individual page:




 I enjoyed this one so much!! Very meditative and calming for me so I will without question be creating more of these in my watercolor sketchbook.

 And there you have it for this week. Wishing you a sunny, warm, and wonderful week ahead!

    "Simply be who you are, do what you do best, be where you are called by joy, and let life work its magic on your behalf."            Alan Cohen



                         Mama's Meatballs (from the Veganize It! cookbook)

Ingredients:  1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed    3 tbsp. hot water   2 garlic cloves, crushed

                     1 cup coarsely chopped mushrooms     1 Tbsp. olive oil     1 Tbsp. tomato paste
                    
                     1 Tbsp. tamari (or soy sauce)    1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed, drained

                     2 Tbsp. vital wheat gluten      3/4 c. dried bread crumbs   1/4 c. nutritional yeast

                     2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley    1 tsp. dried basil      3/4 tsp. dried oregano

                     1/2 tsp. paprika      1/2 tsp. salt       1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1. In a small bowl combine the ground flaxseed and hot water, stirring to mix. Set aside 5 - 10 min.

2. In a food processor process the garlic til finely minced. Add the mushrooms and pulse til finely chopped, but not pureed. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the mushroom mix and cook a few min., stirring until the mushrooms release their liquid and it evaporates. Stir in tomato paste and tamari and remove from heat.

3. Pulse cannellini beans in same food processor (no need to clean it out), then add to the mushroom mix. Sprinkle on the vital wheat gluten, than add the breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, parsley, flax mixture, basil, oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper and mix well. Allow to cool a few min.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a large baking sheet or line with parchment paper, or line with non stick foil. Use your hands to press the mixture together to form about 20 meatballs. If the mix seems too wet, add a bit more bread crumbs, if it's a little dry add a bit of water. Arrange the meatballs on the baking sheet and bake 25-30 min. or until nicely firm and browned, turning once about halfway through. If not using them at once, transfer to a container , cool, then cover thightly and refrigerate or freeze until needed.

These meatballs are very flavorful and moist!
           


39 comments:

  1. Hi Linda, I really enjoyed this post so I read it again -smiles- I love your art this week very much especially the birds.
    Your vegan meatballs looks and sounds delicious. I checked on the cookbook and added it to my list for books to check it out.
    I didn't have time to check out sketchbook revival and I had it bookmarked-sounded fun Happy T and thanks so much for sharing for Food Wednesdays hugs Kathy

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  2. Lovely art this week Linda and the food looks good! Enjoy your Mother's Day celebration when it comes.

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  3. Your meatballs look very good. I’ve tried vegetarian meatballs with Impossible meat and they were really a great imitation. You didn’t say what else was in them besides mushrooms.

    best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  4. Linda, I am loving your watercolor pattern from sketchbook revival along with your bird art journal page and Mother's day card. Some beautiful inspiring pieces.
    Your meal looks delicious. 1 cup of mushrooms...YUM! I love mushrooms. I love meat but a lot of my recipes are vegan because I can't eat the dairy, eggs, sugar or gluten. I have found them to be a healthy base. I look forward to hearing about your vegan resources for recipes. I know they are everywhere with the internet but it always helps when one has a recommendation. And your meals always look good.
    Happy Tea Day,
    Kate

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  5. You said that you didn’t include the recipe for meatballs because it was copyright. Oddly, recipes are not protected by copyright law. Only if you copy the exact format and every word is it protected by copyright. Of course you may still feel that you shouldn’t copy a recipe for other reasons — but typing the recipe into your post would be LEGAL, whatever else you think of it.
    best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. thank you for letting me know Mae. I will edit the recipe in :)

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  6. Yet another Sketchbook Revival lesson I missed. This one sounds like fun and I can see those patterns from the image in your watercolors, too.

    Your card is beautiful. Now you know why I really don't make cards.

    I adore your journal page. You have the most beautiful bird images. Thank you so very much for sharing this with us at Art Journal Journey.

    Your meatballs sound like they are fabulous. And I have some penne, but no asparagus. Still, it sounds wonderful and I bet it went well with your Cabernet Sauvignon, too. Thanks for sharing your meal and your Cabernet Sauvignon with us for T this week, dear Linda.

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  7. I like the idea of vegan meatballs. You should share that recipe Linda. Did you use that impossible burger? We'll never go totally meatless or vegan, but I would like to have alternatives to the few days a week we don't eat meat. And I am loving your bird piece for Matilde's challenge at AJJ. I think of a Mediterranean terrace with birds nesting up under the eaves. Thanks for joining us. And with the stenciling you could link up to TIOT if you want to. I hope you have a lovely T day and week ahead. hugs-Erika

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  8. Oh Wow! Linda ~ sweet birdie collage wonderful message ~ 'collect memories ~ and yummy meal ~ Xo ~ I'll be back ^_^


    Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  9. Beautiful card! And ohhhh, those meatballs look so yummy!
    The mushrooms and yout Hubby made me laugh. My Mum once came to the table with tuna-steak. My Dad hated fish, but he had no idea and gobbled it down.
    The look on his face when Mum told him what he just had, LOL...
    Love your watercolors. And the quote - happy T-Day to you!

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  10. Beautiful art - and lots of it! AND fantastic food, what more does one need? Enjoy your Mother's Day celebrations in 2 weeks.Love the piece you made for sketchbook revival. Have a great week, hugs,V alerie

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  11. Linda, your card for your Mom is lovely (great sketch and flower) and love your journal pages. The bird one is cool, but totally thrilled by your water color wash color/pattern inspiration. I want to try that. YUM! Those vegetarian meatballs look and sound yummy. I heard the other day that mushrooms are the best cancer fighting food you can eat so we plan to start eatting more of them. Happy T-day!

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  12. So glad the little finch eggs have hatched, I was wondering it they were ok. I think I might also have some of that oldie pattern paper haha it looks familiar. I must look in my cookbook library to see if I have that book, I think I might have. The meatballs look tasty. Happy T Day! Elle/EOTC xx

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  13. That meatball dish looks tasty. It's always fun to see the baby birds, isn't it :) Happy T Tuesday

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  14. I love your bird page and sentiment, great color and textures. Your card is bright and happy too. Lot's of great things to enjoy in this post like the watercolor sketch as well. Enjoy your week!

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  15. What a lovely card for your mother Linda! And your ArJournal page is just beautiful!! I can totally see where you got your inspiration for Sketchbook Rival page... !! Just love the colors and shapes.. Happy T day! Hugs! deb

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  16. So cool about the finch. Lovely card for your mom and those meatless meatballs are fabulous. Just a very nice post, Linda. Have a great day.

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  17. I left you a comment and it didn't show up. Perhaps its stuck in your comments file. Anyway, happy T Day! Valerie

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  18. Hi Linda, Oooh, your art journal page is absolutely gorgeous. I love how you used Tim Holtz's stencil and other items to make it, and the sentiment is awesome, too. Secondly, the card you made for your mom for Mother's Day is just wonderful. And mmmmmmmmmmm! The meatballs look delicious and I am so happy that you shared the recipe! Thank you. (and thanks so much for your visit to my blog!) Hugs, Sharon

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  19. Beautiful art! I love those little birds with the flower and wording, it reminds me of spring 😁. Those meatballs look delicious - yum! Happy T Day! Hugs Jo x

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    1. That mosaic stencilled background is perfect for our challenge too, such a beautiful springtime design 😊. Thanks so much for joining in the fun at Try it on Tuesday! Hugs Jo x

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  20. I love your card. And good for you to try that watercolor exercise. You found it relaxing and that is an added bonus.
    Your meatballs look very yummy. So of course I immediately went to the recipe. I have most ingredients as we went vegan once before. The problem at the moment is that hubby can’t eat beans ( for his bowels) so as soon as he is allowed ( and can tolerate them) I will be making this recipe. Thanks.
    I had to smile at your husband not liking mushrooms. He probably doesn’t like the strange texture, as there isn’t that much taste to them.
    Happy belated T-Day,
    Hugs,
    Lisca

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  21. Your Mothers's Day card is divine and so professional looking ~ Xo

    Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  22. I love your bird card Linda! Oh the hummingbirds, so nice that you've seen them already...I'm hoping they will visit my feeders soon! I'm going to bookmark the meatball recipe!!! Cheers! ♥♥

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  23. Happy belated t day. I have been out of town. The Piccata Meatballs With Penne and Asparagus sounds and looks delicious. I love your journal page with the birds and stencil. You are inspiring me to do it. Hugs!

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  24. Oh the mushroom balls look and sound yummy ~ thanks for the recipe ~ Xo

    Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days ~

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  25. Lovely pieces of art! I really like the art journal page with birds :) Well done!

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  26. Wonderful lessons in your journal page ~ way to go! Xo

    Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  27. After eating out with my daughter on Mothers Day. I came home and had a diarrhea during the night. When i texed her next day she was okay. So only i was sick.
    I did a home covid test this morning and it came up negative.

    meatballs look just scrumptous, luv your flour art journal page.
    Have a nice Thursday



    much💛love

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  28. Thanks for sharing the meatball recipe Linda. Much appreciated!

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  29. I am so glad your mom is doing better, the card is lovely. So wonderful that the eggs have hatched, and hummingbirds are such fun to watch. Beautiful journal pages. Enjoy your mother's day celebration, dear Linda, I know it will be a great one!

    -Soma

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  30. After being vegetarian for 30 years, and a high cholesterol reading, I finally gave up my eggs and dairy and became vegan about a year ago. I love the recipe you shared for the meatballs. Your watercolor sketchbook from the revival makes me want to learn how to paint. So beautiful.

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  31. What a fantastic post Linda. Your card is beautiful and I adore this journal page for Matilde's AJJ theme. The veggie meatballs are so appealing - thanks for including the recipe! I still have to finish that lesson! Belated Happy T Day, Chrisx

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  32. Love your header and what followed didn't disappoint. A lovely Mother's Day card and and your journal page is Perfect! You somehow manage to strike the perfect balance with your picture and colors. Really, really well done. I too have been testing out vegan foods and have loved everything I tried. I have to admit to being a bit lazy when it comes to the many steps in your recipe ... though it sounds and looks delicious, I am at the point in my life where simple is better. I will admit, though, I am tempted to try your meat balls ... they sure look yummy. I could see all of the parts in the picture that you put in your work page. I am sorry to learn about your lessons now that they are no longer available ... maybe next time :) Lovely blog, lovely art ... enjoyed my visit. Come see us again on Rain's TAD :)

    Andrea @ From the Sol

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  33. A great post Linda, your Mum will have loved that pretty card and I love the journal page you shared with us at Try it on Tuesday. Avril xx

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  34. Love the mosaic look of the background of your journal page ~ Xo

    Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  35. The hummers have made it to my feeders!!! So exciting! ☺♥

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  36. Happy Weekend to you LInda ~ looking forward to you posting again ~ Xo

    Wishing you good health, laughter, and love,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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