Snow gods have me in the kitchen!

Today is December 19, 2009.
An date we have been awaiting anxiously as Sergio's parents will fly in from Mexico for their first visit to our home.
They live in Tabasco, Mexico- a very hot climate area of our world. Indeed, it is normal for it to be 115 degrees in summer, the coolest it gets in the winter is in the 80's... so they were looking forward to some snow possibilities.
Well, the snow gods not only abided by their request, it seems they decided to overiindulge us all in a winter wonderland. So huge indeed, it looks like they will be stuck in New Jersey for a bit. All flights to us in DC are canceled (!)

So here we are, with a clean house, warm soup and anxious hearts awaiting their arrival.... *sigh*

Here is the Yellow Split pea and rice recipe I am making for my in laws:

(I am increase each by 3x->this recipe serves 4)

Step 1:
1 cup split peas
3 cups water
2 cups chopped onions
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup veg stock
1/4 cup white wine
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

Step 2
2 cups additional chicken stock
1 cup cooked Jasmine rice
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh parsley


Step 1:
Rinse peas and put into a soup pot with 3 cups of water and bring to a
boil.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes to an hour.
Meanwhile, sauté the onions and garlic in stock and wine until onions are
translucent. Mix in the spices and sauté for 5 minutes more, stirring
frequently.

Step 2
When peas are soft, stir in the onion mixture and additional chicken stock. Add
lemon juice and cooked rice and season with salt and pepper. Gently stir in the
parsley.

Garnish each bowl with a sprig of parsley.

Enjoy!

New Year 2010 print giveaway!

Fairies
Originally uploaded by olivosartstudio

To celebrate the New Year 2010: we will be doing a "giveaway" one print of the winners choice from either my etsy shop or La Tiendita.

Our blog giveaway winner's name will be pulled as usual-from my father's Warwick of London cap. Sergio's mom who is visiting with us from Villahermosa, Mexico- will pull out the winner's name. The drawing will be held "near" midnight, December 31st!

Please do one of the following to qualify for an entry:
If you would like a second entry (double your chances to win!)please: (if you do three-you triple your chances...and on and on..!)

1.-Visit my etsy shop! Come back here and post a comment. Tell me what your favorite item is.

3.-Visit our store: La Tiendita and come back here & post which is your favorite.

4.-Become my blog follower

5.-Post this giveaway on your blog and give me the link here!

6.-Buy something from my shop and post the link of the item you bought here!

7.-Subscribe to our channel on YouTube

Best of luck and thanks for participating!
Please don't forget to "Follow this blog" for more interesting info and giveaways in the future! I love my followers-- you encourage me to keep on blogging! Gracias!

Annual open studio pARTy 2009

Our little video about our annual open studio pARTy.....
Thank you so very much to everyone who came...we love you and SO appreciate your support!

Healing my sinus infection Naturally!

Digressing from my usual art and spiritual musings..to my other passion: natural healing!

I have to admit that I have been disappointed to get sick even though I have been adhering to my super healthy "raw food lifestyle" .... *sigh*

It seems that what I have been battling these last three days is a sinus infection. Pain around my cheekbones, my ears and pretty much my whole head.

Not wanting to give in and go to the doctor for antibiotics, I decided to investigate some natural healing methods for sinuses. And guess what? Within hours of applying these admittedly crazy methods, I felt SO much better, indeed: all my pain disappeared!
This was pain that was keeping me awake at night as it felt like my whole skull had a migraine!

I am sharing this in the hope that it may help you or someone you love in case of sinus trouble. (I know that some of it is crazy, but it worked: within an hour I was pain free!)

1-I sniffed a bit of cayenne pepper up each nostril (seriously! and it was amazing how much that helped! It burned a bit, but nothing horrible).

I waited 30 mins. and:

2-I gave myself a saline wash with 1/2 teaspoon of apple cider and salt water (I don't have a neti pot yet, so I used a NeliMed kit).

One hour later:

3-I warmed up 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar with 1/2 cup water, towel over my head, and with eyes and mouth closed I tried to breath in and out for as long as possible.

That was it!
Lots of teas and kleenex all day long... and the pain has not returned!

Now..I am off to follow the recommendation of this Irish Proverb:
A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book.

Busy times lead to time to reflect and be calm.

Life was a bit too busy for me these last few weeks: the open studio pARTy, caring for Sergio whose cold led him to get a nasty asthma... arguing with him that because he is hacking and wheezing he should not go to his marital arts class; being a mom to a teen... plus knowing my in laws will visit us for the first time ever in two weeks (!)-- yes, it had to happen: I tripped over my laptop cord, bringing it crashing down splitting in two. Lucky for me, this time, we bought insurance. It will take three weeks to repair. I also caught a bit of a cold, albeit much tamer than the one Sergio had (I am thinking and thanking my raw food lifestyle for this!).
So these days, I am taking it easy, sipping lots of tea with honey, taking a break form painting, relaxing and reading A LOT!

I have little time to blog, as I am using Sergio's computer (and he is studying for finals, thus using the computer until the wee hours of the morning).

Thus, what I will be doing is posting images of new works... then, I will present you with a chance to enter a blog giveaway to win a print in time for the New Year!

This is my Buddha piece... it speaks of wisdom and calm.

Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow. ~D. Pagels.

snow and open studio

*oof*... our Holiday pARTy had a great competitor this year: first snowfall of the year! It was beautiful, huge flakes of snow coming down all day long...however as we looked out our kitchen window that morning and looked upon the snow covering our studio outside, we knew many people would opt not to venture out in the snow.

We were delighted when even before 7pm, people started arriving...happily, we realize that our Annual Open Studio pARTy has become a winter holiday tradition for many! We had a wonderful time and so did our guests....it was a wonderful beginning of this Holiday Season!

However because many people wrote and called to express their disappointment at missing out because of the snow, we will be holding two
Open Studios:
December 12 & 19
1pm to 7pm.

So, if you are in the area, please come by an visit us! There is nothing better than giving beautiful art as gifts...and we have wonderful things available-from as little as $7.-
Come see us! We will have cookies and mulled wine waiting for you!

Winter

Blue fairy
Originally uploaded by olivosartstudio

Hello my lovely blog readers!

We are so very busy getting ready for our open studio pARTy this weekend...I have little time to think of anything else...but I did want to take the time to share this little painting (it is one of the many tiny mini cavases I have available this year- this is a 3" x 2" piece)...I find it to be a bit winter-like..perhaps because of the color.

Indeed, winter has come to our corner of the world... a season I try to fall in love with year after year, but find comfort only in the fires we can build in our woodstove, and the candles I light daily to bring some form of visual warmth to these grey days....

The color of springtime is in the flowers, the color of winter is in the imagination. ~Ward Elliot Hour


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