I was doing a little window shopping online the other day and had a moment of “I could do that.” So I did.

…except that the necklaces I was looking at online were much bulkier and shinier. So, for that matter, were the other necklaces that partially inspired these: the ones from my childhood dress up box (one of which was a huge, stretchy, gold lame braid that may actually have been a belt).

I’m not completely sure that I will wear either of these, which is why they are being posted today, as experiments. I was just playing. I’ll probably make a few more and end up wearing them all.

As promised, today I am posting drawings that can be categorized under people, places and ideas. And so, fashion sketches. Something about the combination of a very stylized human figure, an interesting silhouette with lots of pattern and imagined texture is really fun. Add to it the way I tell myself I will actually make many of these things, and I am hooked. I rarely make any of them, but I feeling like I could if I wanted to makes all the difference.

This one ^ is a few months old, but it fits with the theme. The others are current.

And, lastly, an idea for Haloween:

I know I have posted a little bit on some of Art House Co-op’s larger projects, but this is different. They have begun creating weekly assignments that arrive in your email inbox for free that are just to get you thinking (and acting) creatively. I received the first assignment today. It reminds me a lot of the sort of assignment that would be from Learning to Love You More or my project Long Distance, from the summer. You’ll see the results of these assignments on my Other Projects page.

To sign up, click on the image, above ^

(image from Art House Co-op)

I was cleaning out the gutters last week, and since I had the ladder up against the roof, I climbed up to the tallest point and checked out the view. I used to be afraid of heights, but a little mountain climbing/ hiking effectively cured it a while ago. Not that I will be skydiving anytime soon. It was cool to look out over the yard and neighborhood from a new vantage point.

The trees are even taller than I realized.

I was fooling around in my kitchen yesterday taking stock of what we had and what I could make and this is what I came up with.

This recipe makes 4 5-inch “pies.” The crust is from a (heavily) adapted European recipe for shortcrust pastry, so the measurements are in the metric system and mostly by weight. Make the crust first, so that you can make the filling while it chills in the fridge.

For the crust:

100 g finely ground cornmeal
150 g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of allspice
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp dried flaked oregano
1 egg yolk (reserve the white)
125 g cold unsalted butter
about 125 ml water
1/2 c grated cheddar cheese

For the filling:

1 yellow onion, diced
2 chorizo sausage
1 red bell pepper, diced
2-3 green tomatoes, chopped or diced
two handfuls of fresh or frozen corn, off the cob (optional)
a handful of freshly chopped cilantro

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, spices/ herbs, salt and baking powder. Cut the butter into pieces and work it into the flour with your fingers or a pair of knives until the pieces are like bread crumbs. If your hands are too warm and melt the butter run them under cold water until they are chilled.

Make a well in the middle of the mixture and add the egg yolk and half of the water. Mix gently with a fork, incorporating mare and more of the flour mixture. Add more water as needed until you are able to form a workable dough. Knead it just a few times, then wrap in waxed paper and set in the fridge for at least a half hour.

Remove the chorizo filling from the sausage casings and fry in a medium- hot skillet, stirring often to break the meat into smaller pieces. After a few minutes, add the diced onion. There should be enough fat from the meat that you do not need to add extra oils, but if the mixture is sticking, add just a splash of olive oil. When the onions are translucent, add the peppers, corn and tomatoes. When the peppers are beginning to soften, cut the heat and stir in the cilantro.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Take the dough from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured baking surface. The dough should be spread into a thin rectangle, about 1/8 in thick. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese evenly over one half of the dough and fold the other half over it. Roll the folded dough out until it is a little less than 1/4 inch thick. Cut into four pieces.

In four small ramekins or on a baking sheet, split the filling evenly between the four crusts and pinch the edges to form sides. Beat the reserved egg white and brush the tops of the pastries. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the crust is golden.

Serve hot or cold.

This week I made more finished drawings, since I had been doing mostly loose sketches and doodles or patterns. For next week, I’ll have to address the somewhat neglected categories of people, places and ideas, since my posts have been heavily weighted towards “things” lately. I will also be needing a new sketchbook pretty soon, which is very exciting.

ps. The flower is an anemone. Narcissus look more like baby daffodils, which I knew, but had forgotten.

I know that this post would fit in better on an inspiration monday, but I didn’t want to wait – how gorgeous is this coat?

Seriously, I wish I had the money for it because if I did, I’d buy it right now. To see more images of The Arienette, order one for yourself go here. To see more of Little Houses’ gorgeous designs for fall/ winter, go here.

A few years ago I had a roommate who was really into reading short stories. They were often the perfect solution for balancing her desire to read with the time commitment of finishing her portfolio. While I was living with her, I would sometimes read stories from her books, and grew to really appreciate them. I only have a few compilations of short stories in my collection, and sometimes I forget about them in the face of more time for whole books, but I still enjoy them a lot.

A conversation the other day reminded me of one of my favorite short stories, Conceived, by David Lawrence Morse, so I reread it. The whole thing takes place among a group of people who live on the back of a whale, Ceta. The style is very visually descriptive and the story is beautiful and sad. It outshines every other story in the compilation.

On a completely different plane from Conceived are Miranda July’s stories from No One Belongs Here More Than You. July strikes the perfect balance between bizarre and universal. Most of the stories involve people who feel like outsiders in some way. Each person deals with this in their own touching or troubling, but always unique, way. In addition to being a great read, I like the book design.

I also recently picked up a book of Roald Dahl’s short stories. Like many other people, I read James and the Giant Peach, Matilda and The Witches as a child, but was not familiar with Dahl’s fiction for adults. When I ran across Kiss Kiss, I decided to read and compare. Although I have not finished the whole collection yet, I was surprised by how dark the stories are. There is humor, but it is dark and sometimes morbid humor. In retrospect, his children’s books have this quality, too, but in a PG sort of way.

I started making this when I worked at Brighter Day in Savannah. They do a number of different variations in the deli (as well as a multitude of other tasty things) which I have adopted at home. The thing I like about baked tofu is the way that it firms up. It isn’t all wobbly, and you don’t even have to press it because the moisture evaporates in the oven. This dish isn’t a meal in and of itself, but it goes well with green salads, grain salads, bean salads and other sorts of small tapa-like sides.

1 block extra firm tofu
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp cardamom
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander seed
2 tbsp garam masala
2 tbsp hulled sesame seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper

Cut the tofu into 3/4 inch cubes. Combine and toss in a bowl with the oil and then all of the other ingredients. The tofu should be pretty well coated with spices, so if you need to add more than the amounts I’ve given, don’t be shy. Spread the cubes out in a single layer on a baking sheet, making sure there is enough room between them. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 F.  Remove the tray from the oven and flip the cubes (they should be starting to brown). Return to the oven for another 15-20  minutes.  Serve hot, cold or at room temperature.