Friday, May 25, 2012

aaahhh... Food!!

Food... I could never hide my love for food... I love to cook and love to eat! :) But before showing you the delicious dinner I prepared for my family tonight, I want to introduce to you {for those who don't know her} a great polimer clay artist: Valentina from Minibonbons on Etsy. She specializes in miniature food {mostly Italian.. he he}. I admire her creativity and the precision she uses in making her little tiny creations.. so perfect and beautiful!! See for yourselves!! I'll share with you some of my favorite :


French Baguette earrings

Blueberry & Lemon Cake and Cookies

 Sicilian Cassata

Aren't they adorable?? I'm a big fan of Valentina!! I hope you all go visit her shop.. there's much more to see! ♥

And now I'll show you what I ate tonight.. La Quiche Lorraine!!  {I think Valentina should make a mini quiche!!}.. here's what is left of mine.. even the children loved it!


It was very easy to make, I want to share the recipe with you: Enjoy!!!

Quiche Lorraine

Crust:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cold, cut into small pieces
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
Filling:
4 ounces thick-sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled (I used Italian pancetta)
3 eggs
1½ cups heavy cream
4 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded (about 1 cup shredded)
Salt and pepper

1. Make the Crust: Whisk together the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Cut the butter and the shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Using a rubber spatula, stir in just enough water to bind. Gather into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 20 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Carefully transfer the dough to a 9-inch tart pan. Gently fit the dough into the tart pan and trim any excess off the edge by rolling the rolling pin over top of the pan. Prick the bottom all over with a fork. Line with parchment paper and fill the tart pan with pie weights. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and pie weights and continue baking until the crust is golden brown, 5 to 10 more minutes.

4. Make the Filling: While the crust bakes prepare the filling. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, eggs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. When the crust comes out of the oven, immediately sprinkle the bacon over the bottom crust, and then slowly pour the egg mixture over the bacon to fill the crust. Bake until the quiche is puffed and brown, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Cover leftovers and store in the refrigerator.


{recipe taken from The Brown Eyed Baker newsletter: www.browneyedbaker.com}

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Beatrix or Francesca?


Beatrix Potter is one of my favorite illustrators. I love the cuteness of the little animals she draws and the character she gives them through her stories. I also loved the movie about her life, Miss Potter.. what a sad life!! Not a very happy ending.. and despite all her sufferings she was able to create such great Works of Art. I'll always be her biggest fan!!
♥And I'm not the only one... my little sister Francesca, who lives in Italy with her American husband and 3 gorgeous children is an incredible artist and big fan of Miss Beatrix. She is an iconographer, but she also loves watercolor. She has her little Etsy shop, where she sells Thank-You Cards, Tags, Bookmarks and Birthday Cards.. almost all inspired by Beatrix Potter's little creatures. Please go check them out!!! You'll find also some of her husband's drawings and watercolors, but I'll speak more about him in another post. :)

♥You can see here her last creation, "the busy Miss Mouse Birthday Card"... just adorable!!





Cute Animals Mini Thank-You Cards

♥You can also find Francesca here:

mogliediunamericanoaroma.blogspot.com





Saturday, May 5, 2012

Gorgeous Photographs...

Everytime I stumble upon her shop.. I get stuck in a dream watching all the beautiful pictures she takes..
I'm talking about Georgianna, incredibly talented photographer who lives in the wooded wildlife of the Pacific Northwest. She sells on Etsy, but you can reach her in different ways. These are all her info:


Blog: http://georgiannalane.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.georgiannalane.com
Her stock photo library: www.gardenphotoworld.com
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgiannalane/



I'm sure you will enjoy her Art, like I do. I especially love her flowers' compositions, and her French pictures are just dreamy.. they take me back to Paris, where I've been only one time, simply beautiful. She really knows how to capture you through beauty. ♥


Please enjoy some of her gorgeous Art Work:








Thursday, May 3, 2012

The Crochet Family

These past few weeks me and my husband have been working a lot for our shop. We made some new purses..which I like a lot! I've also had fun posing and taking pictures!! We enjoy working together, it's so much fun. Now even the kids want to learn how to crochet... we will probably become a crochet factory!!! =)
Here's the pictures of our last creations: