Empanadas and bowtie pasta

Some simple watercolors I did. I haven't used watercolor in sooo long, but definitely want to experiment some more. It was fun to paint again. I'm getting stuck in this digital and fabric world :O

Baking & Camera Fun

Happy Holidays everyone! Christmas came and went as it always does and now its time for a new year. 2011 was not so bad as my first full year out of college. I was blessed with a job, with a great relationship, with opportunities to learn more about myself and grow, the ability to be near my family and spend more time with them, the ability to spend more time with God, and so much more. I'm truly excited for the next season in my life, and even more excited about all that I'm learning now that is preparing me for that.

Anyhow, this post is supposed to be about baking, not a 2011 'Best of' recap.
My family bought me a camera for Christmas (such a blessing!) and I decided to play around with it while baking some cookies for my neighbors. I only cook about 3 real meals a year so I get really excited when I cook something fabulous. I have to give the whole concept of this blog posting to the blog found here, for if it wasn't for it I wouldn't feel like the cooking connoisseur that I do at the moment (I'm not a connoisseur at all!), and I also wouldn't have been inspired to take photos of the cookies while baking them! So all props to the Lick the Bowl Good blog.

For Christmas I made some snickerdoodle blossoms for my family and my boyfriends family following the recipe above. I was extremely nervous about them at first, eating one after another trying to figure out if I liked them or not, looking into my own eyes in a mirror trying to convince myself each time that they were getting better and better (really though, they remained salty). So i decided to let others be the judge. If i failed i would try again. I would not be defeated ...

Everyone loved them! It was so exciting for me. So my baking confidence has boosted about 30% and I think I will continue to experiment.

Sushi

In the January issue of Northern Virginia Magazine (which is now out on stands -- go check it out/order it!) I did some illustrations of sushi for an article. The style of these are a bit different from what I usually do but i enjoy how they came out. Illustrating food may possibly become a new joy of mine.

Illustration for an article on Ray Deter and Joe Dressner, two men who have passed but made creditable contributions to the beer and wine industries.