thai coconut soup

1) with shrimp 2) add basmati rice to the bowl before adding soup 3) with chicken 4) recipe & current favourite cookbook

If you remember my No.1 resolution* for this year was/is to cook more Asian food ('cause we love it & for the most part it's super healthy and fits perfectly into our diet plan). This Thai coconut soup is very easy, absolutely delicious and is a great way to use up any assortment of vegetables you may have in the fridge. My adaptations from the recipe above are as follows.

- substitute fresh ginger for galangal (we like lots of ginger)
- I use my fav garlic-chilli sauce instead of fresh chilli (1-3tsps depending on how hot you like it)
- 1 can of coconut milk and 2 cups of chicken broth (tetra pack)
- poach a chicken breast in the broth, cool, shred and add back in for chicken version
- poach medium/large raw shell on frozen (thawed) or fresh shrimp in broth, 4-6 per person
- my essential veggies are corn & tomato (cherry or diced) added near the end, you just want to heat them
- something green is nice - in the chicken version thinly sliced celery & carrot just cooked until no longer raw. In the shrimp version I added blanched green beans (broccoli, peas). Chinese mushrooms, or bean sprouts added near the end would also be a fantastic addition both for taste & texture. Garnish with finely sliced green onion & roughly chopped fresh cilantro.
- my adaptation makes 2 dinner size servings or 4 appetizer/starter servings (we add 1/2 cup of basmati rice to the bowl before ladling in the soup to make a meal of it).

Trust me ... you'll be making this soup all the time. It's a taste sensation ;-) Enjoy !

* I'm doing amazingly well with my first 5 resolutions. I'll be sure to post the remaining 5 + my final decision for my "one little word" for 2013 before this month is up - promise ;-)

my self

more wintry scenes from the last few days avec my most excellent companion Miss Winnie Dixon

We search for happiness everywhere, 
but we are like Tolstoy's fabled beggar 
who spent his life sitting on a pot of gold, 
under him the whole time. Your treasure - 
your perfection - is within you already. 
But to claim it, you must leave the busy commotion
of the mind and abandon the desires of the ego 
and enter into the silence of the heart.

Elizabeth Gilbert

I've been told by at least two therapists, with a lilt of surprise in their voices I might add, that I am incredibly self aware. I wonder how related self awareness is to narcissism, but only fleetingly do I wonder this - and then I'm on to some other wonder. Wondering is one of my most favourite activities.

I am self aware, and I'm also aware that I'm increasingly self aware. It's fun, it's helpful, it's a relief to discover some of the things I'm discovering lately about this ol' self of mine. It's exciting to think that this world of self discovery just keeps on happening, endlessly & forever I suspect. Suddenly I have a brand new understanding of so many old habits & quirks of mine, so many things make much more sense to me. Pieces of the puzzle begin fitting together perfectly. And with understanding, thankfully, comes acceptance. Be myself ... it's really who I want to be, always.

This week, all week I've been working on 3 new card designs for Madison Park Greetings, holiday cards for next season. I work with a fantastic client, in fact she is near perfect in the how's your client category of a designer's life of being art directed life. She'd easily score 10 out of 10. She's a pleasure & a joy to work with/for. She's clear, she directs me in ways that accentuate or celebrate my existing style, skills & talent. When she makes a small suggestion or tweak it's always a big improvement, it's a why didn't I think of that but I'm so glad that she thought of that. But ... it is for me a strangely painful process designing specifically for a client. I make it painful ... I'm realizing.

Madison Park Greetings has already licensed 10 of my designs which will be available for sale later this month (you can be sure I'll let you know all the details the moment I know more). They simply chose 10 existing designs, mostly botanical collages. Work I created for me. Work that I'm not saying was easy to produce but I'm discovering it is easier to create for myself - and that's a good thing I'm pretty sure.

When I'm designing for Magnet Works* or Madison Park they're giving me pretty free rein, they're just throwing out a few parameters - themes/motifs. We love what you do Susan, can you design us __ new pieces to fit under the umbrella of Garden, Home, Holiday, Typographic ... & for some reason I instantly begin to try too hard when I'm working for a customer. So hard I'm catching myself going backwards, trying so hard I hold my breath, I dither, I fret & worry about every minute decision. Colour, composition, drawing ... yikes ! It drives me crazy and I know LOUD & CLEAR that it's a big thing I need to work. Be myself ... it's already working.

I catch myself forgetting that I don't need to try to be myself.

I am myself. Just be myself.

Fascinating stuff.

* mid page, New Spring/Summer catalogue, click on new designs here to see me and my stuff page 18

signature

model with catitude Oliver avec new favourite 18x24 framed giclee print dans our beautiful bathroom. Giclee prints of Bold Floral (horizontal), Bold Floral (vertical) & Believe, Be Love all available in my etsy shop

Ordinarily, I go to the woods alone, 
with not a single friend, for they are all 
smilers and talkers and therefore unsuitable.

I don’t really want to be witnessed talking to 
the catbirds or hugging the old black oak tree. 
I have my way of praying, as you no doubt have yours. 

Besides, when I am alone I can become invisible. 
I can sit on the top of a dune as motionless as an uprise 
of weeds, until the foxes run by unconcerned. 
I can hear the almost unbearable sound of the roses singing.

If you have ever gone to the woods with me, 
I must love you very much.

Mary Oliver - How I go to the woods

I love you Mary Oliver, you help me to feel sane ... kindred spirits we are

Even though I do trust that my creative style is ever evolving these pieces above, these bold florals, with their neon bits on white washed kraft cardboard (the back page of pads of tracing paper) have become my current signature, at least to me. I recently had the gig poster I did early this past summer for Kim Harris enlarged, an 18 x 24 giclee print that now leans (I'm a terrible leaner, not yet a hanger ;-) in our beautiful clean, white renovated bathroom. I love it. I framed it a very affordable poster frame that comes with a thin sheet of plexi/plastic instead of glass that I ordered from Deserres a Canadian art supply store with a fabulous shop location in Halifax and a regular haunt when I'm in the city visiting with MLou. We deprived Nova Scotians do not have an Ikea (very sad face).

Anyway I love this big new art piece and my current signature style & Oliver loves it too.

Oh & Hey ! the Bold Florals are now available as garden flags, mailbox covers & more ... a collaboration with Magnet Works check out me & my designs for them in their new spring catalogue here. (mid page click on check out new designs here I'm pages 18-21) Wow !

You have no idea how much it bothers me that I can't figure out how to make these photos all have the same width - errrgggghhh - steam coming out of my ears. update bother no more  - thanks Amanda !

+ a haircut

a few scenes from last night & this morning - we're back to dry pavement - hooray + my new short n' sassy haircut

green

parsley // black velvet chiclet // geranium // Bleet & Oliver // thyme // Oliver // juniper // Virgil

This being human is a guest house. 
Every morning is a new arrival. 
A joy, a depression, a meanness, 
some momentary awareness 
comes as an unexpected visitor...
Welcome and entertain them all. 
Treat each guest honorably. 
The dark thought, the shame, the malice, 
meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. 
Be grateful for whoever comes, 
because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.

Rumi

Right on Rumi ! thanks for the reminder
Much appreciated bits of green in this tres snowy wintry Januray. Green + cats = hooray !

daunting, labels

burdock, ocean & sky colour palette // seagull & crow // favourite old poplar // Black Street // harbour and strait // a snowy Dee // ice, snow & rock colour palette // a big fat fleecy mitten // 29 Black Street // burdock-thistle

1,960 posts divided by 30 days = 65.3 posts a day
or
1,960 posts divided by 60 days = 32.6 posts a day
or
maybe ... somewhere in between ? sigh

Something that has been bothering me for ages about this blog is the lack of labels, chapters and/or categories. I used to have a cloud formation down the sidebar with way too many (156 to be exact) confusing & often duplicate-ish categories listed. It's still there, hidden ... waiting for me to edit & organize and I want to. I keep telling myself, since about August of last year, just try to tackle 30 posts a day - every day, don't miss a day and before you know it you'll have a list of labeled categories.

You, me, anyone should be able to come to this blog and browse by subject, label, or category. It's on my list of big Daunting tasks. The task itself of going back through 1,960 posts 5.5 years worth is daunting enough on it's own but Daunting A. deciding what those spare (30 max) new edited labels should be ? For example I just can't have a label cats (Oliver would not stand for it, or could I have a just a category dogs (goodness, sweet Winnie Dixon could have her own blog). Blogger doesn't let you have subcategories or at least I don't think so. And then there's Daunting B. most often what I write about has nothing to do with the images that I'm posting. Do my label describe the text or do I label for the photos/images and if I'm labelling images how do I handle a post like today ? or a post like this one where the images are kinda all over the place. I've created a category called still life which I hope will be the label for all these photo essays that don't necessarily follow a theme, it's a theme so subtle no one but me really knows what the theme is.

It's important to me, after 1,960 posts that I keep some sort of track here about what I've posted. Things that have inspired me, struggles, growth spurts, angsty times, quotations (and there's loads of them here ...somewhere), music, cooking, Oliver, Winnie, Sam, Jake, recipes, my work ... & I am going to figure this darn daunting task out & soon. So if anyone out there has been frustrated by the lack of labels on this blog. Hang tight I'm on it ;-)

I'm currently working on three new collage/illustration & typographic holiday cards (for next year) for fav new licensing customer Madison Park Greetings. Stay tuned, very soon, for the Spring 2013 release of 10 of my designs (mostly botanical collages) available as greeting cards - hooray Madison Park & me. Yesterday I did the most difficult of the three card designs - the hold my breath & turn blue one, the took all day & night one, the eat that frog first one ... listening to my itunes collection helped a lot to keep me relaxed and breathing - some music to collage to. I actually left my chair to dance to this one. Hark, I think I hear CabbageTown a callin'
 

omg !

beautiful large vintage mason jar with neon bright note paper - I've already added 5 lil' things

I am so doing this ! 

from the happy heathen via design sponge - what a fantastic idea ! (get your kids to do it too)

& welcome to my new blog category omg ! where I tell you about good things, great ideas, inspiration etc... thanks once again to my pal Jian over at fav CBC Radio 1 morning show Q for playing this blast from my past yesterday morning you can be sure I partook in some crazy canuck chair dancing (swivel office chairs work best) - no need to stand up just squirm & bop, whip (long til Tuesday) hair around with wildly gesticulating hand and arm movements. Loverboy - sigh. Come on ... I know you want to ;-) // Happy Weekend !

merci !

Winnie Dixon at the corner of Black & Water  / rose hips / ice, ice baby - at the end of Water St. looking out into the strait / the view from my office window 4:30 pm / in the distance the salt mine / Sam / flora / my snow boots (and catch the cat hair a layered on those black pants ;-) / sunrise / zoom* shot from the other side of the harbour / lichen on a very old poplar tree / shadows on Water Street / Missy D - who's unofficial 14th birthday is today 13 years ago today she came home from the shelter with me Hey Happy Birthday sweet cheeks.

Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; 
they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
Marcel Proust

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who visits here and a special thank you to those who leave comments & lots of them lately ! You are my charming gardeners, you've helped me begin my 6th year of blogging (wow) with a renewed zest & zeal I was sure I'd lost along the way. You help me love my blog again. You make me happy & I think you know who you all are. Some have been coming here for the long haul, others of you are relative newcomers. Thank you, thank you ! I appreciate your comments, questions, thoughts, ideas & conversation so much more than you will ever know.

Thank you ! merci !

*  thoughts on zooming  - I'm not even sure that's what you call it (I had to stop just now and google zoom). I'm just not much of a zoom telephoto gal as you know I like to get super close and on top of (or under) my subject & way up close if I can so I rarely use the 5x zoom (only adequate at best) feature on my adored Canon G12 ... but sometimes it does come in handy - the light, colour and reflection across the harbour caught my eye this morning.