I love January....and Sundays...

January is always full of promise for a new year, and Sundays allow the time to daydream and plan.  So, I'm just now finishing up my tea, and considering making another cup.  Wonderful breakfast invention I'm calling the "California Sunshine Scrambled Tofu Bowl" has been enjoyed by all, and there might have been cake.  Because dessert, we love dessert.  We are allowed dessert if we eat healthy veggies and protein first.  And, I did sub in half whole wheat flour.  And no frosting - doesn't need it.  ha ha...

Quickie photo of said bowl of healthy goodness, and the recipe:  

Tofu Bowl - California Sunshine with Orange Tahini Sauce

Serves 2

4 oz sliced mushrooms

1/2 medium red onion diced

1 large jalapeno, diced

1 box silken extra firm tofu

1 teaspoon spicy Mrs. Dash

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon turmeric

fresh cracked black pepper to taste

4 cups fresh baby spinach

1 avocado, sliced

2 T toasted sunflower seeds

1 orange peeled and segmented

Sauce:

3 T tahini

1 heaping teaspoon white miso

1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

juice of 1 lemon

zest from one orange

juice of one orange (at least 1/4 cup)

pinch salt

Make sauce:  wisk everything in a small bowl, adust texture with water or additional orange juice.  Should be pourable, but not thin.

Preheat pan, add 1T extra virgin olive oil, or 2T water if you don't use oil.  When hot, add mushrooms, diced onion and jalapeno, and saute about 4 minutes.  Add water to prevent sticking when needed (just a little at a time).

Add tofu, break up into pieces in the size you prefer.  (I make mine into scrambled egg-like texture).  Sprinkle over spices, and saute another 2 to 3 minutes, adding water to prevent sticking.

Add spinach, and stir until wilted

Put into large flat bowls.  Add sliced avocado and orange segments, top with sauce and toasted sesame seeds.  Enjoy!

With the sun peeking out between the clouds, my mind is turning to bright new jewelry ideas perfect for a Sunday afternoon.  Speaking of new jewelry ideas...  This large dragonfly ring is one I made for my mom a couple of years back, and always intended to put in the shop, along with matching pendant, earrings, and whatever else I can think up.  I love the combination of the opal with the silver and brass.  It reminds me of the iridescence of a dragonfly's wings in the sun.  

The ring is now in the shop, and a matching pendant is waiting to be photographed and listed.  I'm thinking about earring designs.  I've needed a new dragonfly earring design for a while.  Hopefully one will happen today.  We shall see.  I've been known to get distracted by all pretty stones lying on my bench and making something totally unrelated to the plan.  Ha.  Until next time the blogging spirit moves me....bye for now.   

 

My summer ‘blog vacation’ is officially over!

And yes, this is finally a piece for my “Stones of the American West” collection.  One of my main goals this summer was to increase my production speed so I can keep up with orders and work for my galleries, but still have time to create new things.   Ha ha, and my goal for the Fall is to keep up with orders, make new things, and still have time to blog and twitter…….and we won’t even mention the benign neglect that my poor garden has to put up with!

Speaking of galleries and shops – I now have work in the lovely Spirit of the Hand gallery located in Dandridge, Tennessee, just outside of Gatlinburg.  I’ve shopped there for years, one of my very favorite places for Christmas gifts and fabulous pottery.  I’m so excited to have my work featured there!

I’ve also been busy this summer with quite a bit of custom work, which I am finding that I really love!  My customers are truly a source of wonderful inspiration for new pieces to add to my shop!  I’m making myself a pair of these Dragonfly Dreams  earrings that I made for Doris to go with her Dragonfly Treasure ring (originally inspired by another customer request!)  Doris loves iolite, and both her ring and earrings have gorgeous iolite stones.

 Another request from this summer with an iolite stone was this sweet pendant that I did for Robin.  This one will soon be available in my shop, too.  I’ll be calling it “Live, Dream, Soar”, a saying that I’ll be incorporating into several new pieces that I’m working on.  

 

 

I’ve also been playing around a bit with fold forming this summer.  I really love this technique, and will be filling out an entire line in the next few weeks.  I wish silver prices would go back down so I can do some pieces in silver, but sheesh, I hate to buy a bunch of sheet at today’s prices – it’s almost $17.00 per ounce!   Here is a sneak peek at my next cuff-to-be.  This is just a small piece that I was playing with, and unfortunately, not long enough for a cuff.  It’s not soldered or anything yet, I’ve just got the embellishments set loosely on the piece.  Not sure what I’ll be going with in the end.  I might end up making a brooch and some earrings out of this piece.  It’s made with 16g copper, requiring HUGE fire to get it hot enough to solder, but I love how the thicker metal makes such detailed ruffles and textures.  (had to get out the BIG hammer, too, lol)   This fold forming technique is the ‘line fold’ which has been hammered flat after it was opened.  It’s amazing what can be created with fold forming, such fun to play! 

That’s all for now, but I’ll be back soon with great Etsy and 1000 Markets finds, as well as more about what I’m working on, and of course, gardening and cooking tidbits.  See you all later!

 

Technorati Tags: Maury Mtn. Agate,artisan ring,sterling silver ring,amethyst,dragonfly earrings,iolite,copper,fold forming

Back from the Retreat!

What an amazing week it was! Non-stop talking, learning, creating and eating - lots of eating!!! I learned fold-forming and anti-clastic raising, and am busy buying hammers and figuring out how to get a wooden stake made so I can get busy making more pieces. My Etsy shop hummed along all week, too, so I am busy today getting my bench back together and getting orders out. Here is a quick peek at my fold-formed leaf piece from the retreat. Copper leaf, with a brass dragonfly, and tiny little bezel set peridot. Already sold!! I'll be back soon with more pictures and details about the retreat.