I'll Be Home for Christmas...

"Peas have snow and mistletoe, and presents on the tree"

(watercolour, approx. 7x4")

    When you hear the same Christmas songs over and over again, year after year, you have ample opportunity to listen to them and have fun with the lyrics!  Everyone knows the pictures the original song lyrics paint but when you take these lyrics that everyone knows and paint a new picture with them it makes the song interesting again!

    A few years ago these peas showed up in a design I used for a dinner party invite:



"Peas come for dinner"

(watercolour, approx, 5x3")

♥ Cath-

Passing it on...

    Our youngest was given an assignment by her school teacher to write a paragraph about Hereditary Traits and/or Character Traits that have been passed on to her.  She came home not knowing what to write about because writing about inheriting straight brown hair from your mom does not make much of a paragraph!  I looked at her and said, "Did you know that you are a 4th generation artist?"  She asked me what I meant and I went on to tell about how her great-grandfather was a oil/acrylic/watercolour painter and woodcarver (as well as other things), her PaPa has been a oil painter and a sign painter as well as a woodcarver along with other creative pursuits, her mom is a watercolour/acrylic painter and illustrator, and that she too is a watercolour/acrylic painter and constant doodler and sketcher!  That's four generations of creativity and to add to that her PaPa married a very talented lady ("MomMom") who was a pastel artist and now paints regularly in acrylics! 
   
    Well, if only you could have seen her as she sat up a little straighter - you could tell how special she felt as she realized that an ability to draw and paint came from so far back in her family line and is now residing in her!!  God has definitely blessed her!
   
    All that to say that some of the best times she and I share with this common ability is challenging each other to draw random ideas just for fun!  She will sit down with her sketchbook and ask, "Mom, what should draw?"  I always try to come up with something silly to inspire her sense of humour first, encouraging the wheels to begin turning as she pictures the scene in her mind...
   
    Recently I suggested she draw a raccoon jumping into a pile of leaves - really leaping - right into a BIG pile of leaves.  It's one of her favourite activities so I thought she could have fun with it... her hold up was that she didn't know how to draw a raccoon but I encouraged her to try her best and think about how they have a big round body, striped tail and black mask... I love what she came up with!  I especially love the raccoon squealing, "Weeeeeeee!" in mid-air!!

 "Raccoon Leaping Into Leaf Pile"

(graphite and watermarker)

I couldn't resist trying to capture that same kind of fun and spirit!  Here's my sketchbook version:

 "Raccoons Leaping in Leaves"

(graphite)

    Hopefully I pass on other important character traits to my children as God blesses me with time and ability.  I hope you are all inspired to nuture lovely things you see in your children and encourage them to be proud of the talents and abilities God has blessed them with!!

    ♥ Cath- 

Sketchbook Sneek-a-Peek

"Study of 'micromys minutus' - Harvest Mouse"

(pencil, sketchbook)

    I love drawing mice...  I guess it's because they are so small and innocent looking - l'il shiny black eyes, long whiskers and little cup-shaped ears... After discovering a photo and small article about the Harvest Mouse (micromys minutus) in a British Edition of Country Living magazine I was inspired to fill a sketchbook page with this tiny critter.... Harvest mice are only about an inch high and build tiny round, tennis ball-sized nests in the talls grasses of the English countryside... they only eat seeds from the grasses and grains near where they live...

    

    ♥ Cath-  

Fa La La La La La La La La!

"Deck the Halls..."

(watercolour, holiday card design)

    When this idea struck I simply couldn't resist! I love collies (and dogs in general) and everytime I look at this design it just makes me smile! 

    ♥ Cath-   



Kittens and Mittens and Yarn, Oh My!

"Kittens and Mittens and Yarn, Oh My!"

(watercolour, approx. 7"x9")

 After working on the minute details of the Mouse in the Mitten ("Cozy and Bright") I needed to work on

something simple and silly so I developed a simplified kitten shape and then did a bit o' research to study different colouring and patterns commonly found on cats...

   

    The original idea for this design was three rows of kittens wearing mittens but when I sat down to draw them I was inspired to take the design in a different direction seeing as only three of the kittens showed up with mittens.  As for the others kittens intended for the design, I found a few were still working hard at knitting and some were still just preparing their yarn and one very silly l'il brown kitten got so caught up in the whole project he still is not completely untangled!  

   

    This design will be available as a simple holiday card and/or a cute Winter greeting card...

    ♥ Cath-

  

Mmmm... Memphis Fire Barbeque Company

    Time for a little more food blogging!  I haven't been out with my sister for awhile and she is definitely my tried-and-true favourite foodie companion when eating out.  We visited a fantastic l'il restaurant in Winona, ON called "Memphis Fire Barbeque Company" - a great place for really great comfort food!!
   
    We had been there before, over a year ago, and I've been craving it lately especially my favourite menu item the Big Chef Burger.  Oh, how I wish I had taken my camera to show you this amazing meal!  Let me see if I can describe it for you...  Picture this:
   
    A light and lofty kaiser roll cut in half and holding a hand-formed, flat-top grilled 1/4 lb. patty, that is if you order the "lighter, one patty" option, which you do have to ask for - the menu original sports TWO 1/4 lb patties!!
   
    Cheddar cheese is melted on top of the patty, just gooey and melty enough to hold a handful of thick-cut homemade bacon chunks (ya really can't call 'em 'bits') piled high onto the burger-half of the kaiser roll. 
   
    On the top half of the roll is fresh sliced tomatoes, crisp lettuce, cut-so-thin-you-can-practically-see-through-'em onion slices that I think must have been soaked in water because they don't have that slap-you-in-the-face onion flavour, the water bath makes them less intense and gives them a great crunch even when they are cut super thin, and wait there's more: crinkle-cut sweet pickles piled high to top it off - and somewhere in there is a great ranch dressing too - it's either under the burger or under the tomatoes - I didn't go searching.
   
    Now to eat this work of art before you... Take two hands to pick up the top half being sure to secure it's burden of toppings and gingerly flip it onto the mountainous botton half which, when done successfully creates a burger that sits a good 5-6 inches high - OH YEAH!!! My only suggestion for approaching this Mammoth Mountain of Mmmmm is to flatten the burger down as well as you can with the palm of your hand then just go for it - it's a two-hander through and through - just grab it up and have at it - it's a l'il drippy but wow, it's a lot delicious!!
   
    As for sides there are a lot of choices but I will only mention ones that I have had in my visits to this great restaurant: Fresh cut fries - A-MA-ZING!!! <== say that in a sing-song voice or in a matter-of-fact voice - trust me, either way works!  They have Heinz Ketchup on each table - and Heinz truly is the best ketchup - but with these fries you won't be looking for anything to dip them in - they don't need anything - they are perfectly seasoned straight from the kitchen - sorry Heinz!
   
    Another great side you can choose is their Macaroni & Cheese... portioned out in white stoneware ramikins this Mac & Cheese takes me right back to childhood - this is the real deal people!!  Just like my Mom's and my Mom's Mac & Cheese is GOOD!!  They even serve it with a buttery crumb topping - just like Mom did - YUM!!
   
    This will sound like a ridiculous amount of food but this is research, I want to be able to report as best as I can on this restaurant - so I also ordered their Coney Island Fries - a small order.  Fresh-cut fries, blanketed with their just-spicy-enough 'Fast Chili', a dallop of their amazing smoke-house-smoked cream cheese, grated cheddar cheese and chopped green onions.  One side note on their chili and if this sounds strange to you, I urge you to just try it anyway, I'm pretty certain they use the following spices to spice it up: chili powder, possibly a little cumin, definitely nutmeg and maybe a little cinnamon - it is delicious - and I don't even like nutmeg!
   
    And for dessert they often have a long list of homemade pies (made by a lady who lives down the road from Memphis Fire) but rarely will anyone have the room left to order one - but if you have a sweet tooth that won't quit they will box a slice to go! I ordered a peanut butter cream to go - which is really Southern and it is tasty!
   
    Bottom line, if you like Southern barbeque you'll LOVE Memphis Fire Barbecue Company.  If you appreciate completely-from-scratch comfort food made by chefs/owners who put quality above supply-and-demand then you'll love Memphis Fire Barbeque Company - follow the link above and look over their menu - it's like 1950's diner meets Mom's home cookin' with fantastic barbecue sauce and applewood smoke thrown in for good flavour! 
   
    ♥ Cath-

    P.S. Remember if you want to go and try their chicken or ribs, they are only available for evening dinners - Chicken: Monday through Wednesday, Ribs: Thursday through Sunday - it's recommended that you call ahead and reserve your choice as they only cook a limited number each evening and they go quick!!  This isn't chain restaurant food - this is quality, take your time and do it right food!
    
    P.P.S. If you watch the Food Network, I've heard that "You Gotta Eat Here!" filmed there back in the Spring - so hopefully that episode will be airing soon! 
    Also, this restaurant has an on-going mission to get Guy Fieri, also of Food Network fame, to film a "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" segment there.  
   
       

The Cookies That Turned Into a Cake

    Having left over pumpkin puree is always an inspiration for me, well, at least for the last 5 years.  It wasn't until 5 years ago that I actually started liking pumpkin - *Gasp!*  Well, the only pumpkin I had known up until then was the thick, sweet/spicy filling that, in my opinion ruined a perfectly good pastry shell... I tucked it into a category in my mind that also housed mincemeat and red bean paste - that category is titled: "Why??"
   
    I'm happy to report that unlike Jane Austen's popular hero, Mr. Darcy, whose "good opinion once lost is lost forever", I gave pumpkin another chance and discovered that there is more to it than I had previously given it credit for!
   
    I have come to enjoy an occassional slice of a well-baked pumpkin pie and have even gone on to use pumpkin puree in cakes, cookies, yeast rolls and also upped the yum-factor of pumpkin by oven-roasting it like squash and serving it as a tasty side.
   
    That's the history of my pumpkin experience, now on to the present! 
   
    I had some left over pumpkin puree after making my annual batches of Pumpkin Apple Spice muffins for the artisans/vendors at our school's Thanksgiving weekend ARTfest so I set my mind to think of a cookie or muffin or something, that would be nice way to use the puree up... I thought molassses would probably be nice with it and began to think of my Mom's Molasses Gem cookies - I could probably add pumpkin to them somehow - I didn't have time to test my theory - it's been a crazy week - so I headed to the computer and came across a couple inspiring recipes - I took components from both and came up with what I thought would be cookie bars and instead came out as cake.  But hey, I'm not complaining!  Wouldn't life be sweet if everything you put in your oven came out as cake?! - with the exception of bacon of course!!

Streusel Topped Pumpkin Molasses Cake 

    The cookie recipe I used is from My Baking Addiction but with these 'tweaks':

1. I substituted 1.5 tsps of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp allspice for the pumpkin pie spice.

2. I omitted the black pepper all together.

3. After combing the dry ingredients with the butter mixture I spread the dough into a greased 9x13" baking dish and sprinkled the dough with streusel topping.

    The streusel topping was inspired by a recipe found at one of my favourite blog stops: Chef in Training.  The streusel recipe can be found on this recipe page.

    I baked this creation in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, although a couple minutes less would have been perfect, so 20-22 minutes is best.  After cooling on a rack for 30 minutes I cut it into 24 generous pieces and they came out about an inch and half high with moist, tender crumb like a coffee cake - not at all what I was expecting - I thought I'd end up with Autumn-Spiced Tollhouse Cookie kinda thing, but not every surprise is a bad one!  This cake would be delicious served with tea or hot apple cider!

    With the cold temperatures we've been having and our families hectic schedule it's comforting to have a warmly spiced snack cake waiting for the kids when they get home from school and for when hubby gets home from work! 

    ♥ Cath-