Tuesday, February 17, 2015

What's on the Easel?

Sometimes you just need to use some of those apples you put in a bowl for inspiration.
So shine a little light on the apples and get some reflections and highlights. This 8x8 pastel on Uart paper : Apples In A Bennington Bowl ...the Apples have been eaten but the memory of their beauty lingers on in this painting for $ 100 unframed + shipping .

Friday, February 13, 2015

POP ART (pieces of painting )

I often think certain little areas of my paintings attract me more than others, that's why we sometimes "crop" a painting. So here is a POP of "Maui Morning" a 9x12 pastel of a Maui beach we stayed at.


Thursday, February 5, 2015

Artisan Bread

Recipe of the Month


✔️No Knead Artisan Bread Recipe 🔆🔆🔆
 


Prep time
3 hours
Cook time
25 mins
Total time
3 hours 25 mins

Ingredients
1½ cup warm water 100˚ F.
½ Tbsp salt
¾ Tbsp yeast
3¼ cups better for bread flour OR unbleached, all-purpose flour + extra flour for dusting
What you will need:
Parchment paper
Instructions
Add 1½ cups of warm water and ½ Tbsp of salt to a large bowl. Sprinkle ¾ Tbsp of yeast over the top and let it sit 1-2 minutes, then stir.
Measure out exactly 3 cups of flour (fill the measuring cup and scrape off the top with the back of a knife) and add flour to the bowl.
Using a spatula, stir the mixture until it all comes together and is well blended.
Cover dough with plastic wrap or lid and let it rise at room temperature 2 hours (It rises about 2-3 times in volume).
Line a cutting board with parchment paper and generously dust with flour.
Scrape dough out of the bowl with spatula onto the floured surface.
With well-floured hands, fold the dough in half, then fold the dough in half again. Dust the dough generously with flour, lift it up and form a ball in your hands.
Place the dough over the floured parchment paper, seam side down.
Let it rise on the counter uncovered for 40 minutes. It will look like this when it’s ready to bake:
You will need two shelves in the oven. The middle rack will hold the bread and the bottom rack will hold the water pan. For the bread, use a rimless cookie sheet in the center of the oven. You can also use a regular cookie sheet and turn it upside down. About 10 min before the dough has finished rising, preheat the oven and the cookie sheet to 450˚ F.
Once dough is ready to bake, dust the top with flour and cut three strips across the top with a serrated or very sharp knife.
Once the oven is preheated, put baking dish on bottom rack and pour 1 cup hot water to that baking dish.
Slide the dough with the parchment paper onto the hot cookie sheet and bake at 450˚ F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and let it cool down a little before cutting into it.