Money day 5 + more fave food

I've been away for a few days, and noticed the use of this silver sauce boat as a temporary home for money being set aside for a particular purpose!

Here is a favourite dish for when friends come over: vegetarian lasagne, which I make without cheese sauce. Usually, I layer up mushrooms, tomato sauce, and lentils with the lasagne sheets, then sprinkle lots of oil and paprika on the final layer to make a crispy topping. All served with a large green salad.

another food fave

I had a migraine today, so no painting.

Here is a favourite food painting I had in done in advance: victoria sandwich. Home made is best, and can be made with exotic jams like blackcurrant,  instead of the customary strawberry or raspberry. Truthfully I like any of them!

money day 4 + more fave food

A very useful feature of the plastic with the magnetic strips: the ability to purchase goods internationally very easily. Given that the currency exchange rates vary on a day to day basis, too, it also adds interest (!) to receiving statements - finding out exactly how many £s the shopping in US $s translated into..

Perfect picnic food for me: french bread, a chunk of port salut cheese, and a ripe peach! Oh yes, and preferably all wrapped up in a gorgeous French napkin.

Money day 3 + more fave food

Somehow or other in the 20th century special pieces of plastic came to be treated as money. Unlike coins or paper money, the plastic cards are tricksy - you need to have a machine to read the magnetic strip on the back to how much money you have (or don't have).
One of my duties in my family is to make crumble: this particular one is blackberry and apple, made with fruits lovingly picked my my various nieces and nephews, then presented to me with a request for crumble to be made! 

Money Day 2 + another fave food

Money day 2 - basic pound coins and sign to remind me that money is a symbol.

Marmite on toast - yummy, especially when the toast is the wonderful sunflower seed bread made by Celtic Bakery!

Money Day 1

For June project I am painting money images: quite a challenge! I thought I'd do something more business related for a change. Here I am starting off gently with a painting of the beautiful dark pink velvet purse that was a delightful present, and some of the money it contains for little treats - this is not my everyday purse.

I'm also still enjoying painting favourite foods, so more of those will also be appearing here this month ; )

favourite foods day 10 another one!

This is an enduring favourite from childhood: smoked haddock with new potatoes and peas. (I got a little carried away with painting enthusiasm today ; ))

favourite foods day 10 encore

A favourite to eat out in local Turkish restaurants: the wonderful imam bayildi! I first read about this dish in Claudia Roden's "Middle Eastern Food", which is a fascinating combination of recipes and the history of them.

favourite foods day 10

Humus and crudites: yummy for lunch, especially with some of the fab sesame seed encrusted bread that can be bought from Greek or Turkish shops near where I live : )

favourite foods day 9

Russets are my favourite apples, especially with a chunk of red leicester cheese and some oat cakes! Russets have a completely unique taste, and I like the slightly rough texture of the skin - makes a change from the smooth shininess of most other apples.

favourite foods day 8

A favourite pudding I am looking forward to enjoying in a month or so: the wonderful summer pudding : )

favourite foods day 7

An odd sounding, and truly delicious pasta dish: farfalle a la genovese (I think that's the right name!), which consists of the lovely butterfly wing shaped farfalle pasta cooked with chopped up new potatoes (I like to use red-skinned ones for the colour), and green beans, all mixed together with chopped herbs, pesto and a dash of cream (although if the dish is just for me I usually leave out the cream) : )

favourite foods day 6

Here is a favourite comfort food: carrot and butter bean soup, with sunflower seed bread. Perfect for when I am ill or home very late! The soup is made by Baxter's, and highly recommended : )

Favourite foods days 4 and 5

Here are the finished asparagus and lemon meringue pie images! Life has been very hectic for the past week or so, plus I have been painting v-e-r-y slowly indeed. Today I made good starts on the next three, so hopefully one at least will appear here tomorrow : )

Fab new palette

Yesterday I treated myself to this beautiful new palette, spotted recently in the window of the very wonderful http://www.cornelissen.com/. It is my reward for completing the artwork for my advertisement in the Directory of Illustration 25! I love the shapes of the paint wells, and that they are so deep, and well separated from each other: )

favourite foods day 4

Today I worked on several paintings, and have not yet finished any of them! Here are the next two favourite foods as "work in progress", which show how minimal the underdrawing is for my paintings. I've discovered that my water colours have a lot more life if I paint them, as opposed to colour in something I've drawn up in detail first.

Favourite foods day 3

Organic and free range egg from Farmer's Market, boiled for 3 minutes : )

Favourite foods day 2

Green salad: perfect to go with pizza, or with most things. This one has frilly lettuce, chicory, fennel and greek cucumber, all topped off with some Newman's Own classic salad dressing : ). I do sometimes make my own salad dressing, but Paul Newman's variety is fab, so I often take the lazy option!

Gardening and eating

Yesterday I was having technical difficulties with re-sizing, etc, so did not post the final painting from the gardening project: the beautiful white clematis montana that graces my garden in the spring : )

My new blog project is my favourite foods, and here I am starting with home made pizza : ) It is so very easy to make the dough base, just requires a little planning in advance, and then I can have pizza with not very much cheese, and heaps of lovely fresh vegetables. Asparagus is a great addition in the spring.

gardening project day 11

I think those plastic plant pots are improved enormously by being given a coat of ordinary household emulsion, in a lovely bright colour left over from decorating. Weather permitting, I am planning to do some more this coming bank holiday weekend.