watercolor

thank goodness for home made, food safe, watercolors!



The watercolor recipe is pretty much the same one you'll find everywhere, including Martha Stewart. But I'll put it here too:

Mix together 2 tbsp baking soda and 2 tbsp white vinegar until the fizzing stops.
Stir in 2 tbsp corn starch, and 1 tsp corn syrup.
This will make a very thick gloopy mixture. Carefully separate out into how many colors you want, and mix in a few drop of food coloring. Dry overnight or use right away.

The more food coloring you use, the brighter the colors, but the longer it will take to dry.

The resulting painting will be a bit powdery, but we don't really mind.



the Llama had a blast, and cleanup was relatively painless!

soda

i've been really into making my own flavored syrups for home made sodas and etc, today i made the BEST lemon-lime syrup today, it tastes way better than sierra mist or 7-up etc.

1 C water
1 C sugar
zest + juice of 1 lemon
zest + juice of 1 lime

heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 min. cool, store in the refrigerator.

2-3 Tbsp in a tall glass w/ soda water and ice = YUM!

Minestrone

yesterday i made minestrone, tonight we had leftovers, tomorrow we will also have leftovers, and the night after that too.

yeah, it made a lot.

here is the rough recipe:

Minestrone

4 c cannelini or kidney beans
2 med onions
4-5 lg garlic cloves, minced
3-4 ribs celery
3 carrots
1 zucchini
1 1/2 c frozen green beans
1 1/2 c frozen lima beans
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp basil
1/4 c parmesan (or nutritional yeast)
6 c veg stock
6 c water
s&p
cooked macaroni

sauté onions until translucent, add garlic and sauté one minute more, add carrots and celery, green beans & lima beans, stock, water & tomatoes, simmer 1 hr add water or stock as needed.
add herbs, beans, zucchini, & parmesan simmer 15 min.
add cooked macaroni to bowl, cover with soup.