Sunday, August 30, 2009

What To Do With All Those Tomatoes...Margherita Pizza, of Course!!

Ahhh, the deep, rich red of a juicy, ripe tomato. There's nothing like fresh garden tomatoes in salad, BLT's and tacos.


I start my plants from heirloom seeds every Spring. My mom's father was in the Navy and brought them back to the USA in the 1940's. A few generations later a sampling of the seeds ended up in my hands, and I've been keeping them going for over 10 years.


But, what's a person to do when the tomatoes ripen ALL AT THE SAME TIME? One of my newest recipe finds is for Margherita Pizza. And, boy is it ever delicious.


My parents joined us this afternoon for a fresh pizza right out of the oven. Believe me when I say that "I am no cook. And, this recipe is really, really, really easy!" I've included it for you at the end of this blog post.


The bubbly, warm pizza...ready for us to dig in. G-o-i-n-g....


Going.....


Gone!



Margherita Pizza
Adapted from recipe found in the magazine "CuisineAtHome".
*Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
*Take one Boboli - already made, thin pizza crust and place it on a stone baking dish.
*Dice your garden tomatoes. Add enough over the crust to cover the Boboli, leaving about 1/2" edge around the pizza.
*Thinly slice 3-4 ounces of mozarella cheese, and cover the tomatoes.
*Drizzle olive oil over the assembled pizza.
*Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes
*Chop fresh basil leaves and sprinkle over the pizza when it comes out of the oven.
Eat and enjoy!

The magazine also stated that "The story of Margherita pizza is a colorful one. In 1889, Queen Margherita visited Naples. In her honor, a bread maker dressed up his flatbread to reveal the Italian colors - red tomatoes, white mozzarella, and green basil. Suffice to say, it was a big hit and the rest is history." (NOTE: I cannot tell you what month or year of the magazine the article or recipe was in. I tore the article out of the magazine years ago, and the pages do not have a reference of date. Sorry!)

Do you have a great, EASY recipe for using up all of those garden tomatoes? Please share by adding it in your comment below.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Finished - Sparkle Magazine Illustrations "Too Much"!

Colors are added and illustrations for the "Too Much" story are off to Sparkle magazine. I'm liking the color combination and think that the dark hair and red shirt really make the main character pop! Even kitty can tell that she is a little overwhelmed! Enjoy~





The rough artwork can be seen in the previous blog posting of sketches.
The last illustration I created for Sparkle Magazine was all about cupcakes! You can see it here: Cupcakes

Saturday, August 22, 2009

SKETCHES for Sparkle Magazine - "Too Much!"

Here are sketches for my next assignment for Sparkle Magazine about a little girl who gets overwhelmed (ie., "Too Much!"). They are rough enough to help me figure out how the characters will flow in the composition space, and some details to help me see expressions and emotions I want to convey.

The story GEMS Girl's Club gave me was packed with activity and scenes, so it was difficult to narrow down the focus to three scenarios that would be enough to complement the story.





I actually had hubby lean over and pretend he was hugging someone so that I could get the angle correct for the Dad's back in this last sketch! He was a perfect model. ;) A few dabs of color at the bottom as I consider pallette choices.



Next phase will be adding color. Stop back to see the final version!

The last illustration I created for Sparkle Magazine was all about cupcakes! You can see it here: Cupcakes

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Little Dahlia - Smiles for My Windowsill

Dahlia's made it into my garden this Spring. This is a plant that I have to dig up every year if I want it's colors to grace my garden, so I don't plant them often! Regardless, when I take the time they are well worth the show.

I snipped these two beauties and put them in little jelly jars on my kitchen windowsill. As the evenings are getting shorter, they add an extra breath of pretty pink colors to my day. I couldn't decide between the two photos, so you get to enjoy both of them!




Friday, August 7, 2009

Kitty's Favorite Bath! Lap, Lap, Lap.

Ahhhh....a refreshing drink for kitty. My handsome guy knows just the perfect place to lap up cool water amid the blooming summer garden. A rainy summer has kept the baths filled to the brim.

Can't help but chuckle at this first photo...tongue caught in lapping action! >^..^<







If you enjoyed this post, check out these other kitties and gardens posts:

Monday, August 3, 2009

Sketch - Creek at Stewart-Laughman Sawmill in Spring Grove, PA

My hubby is a fishing fanatic. I like to fish too, although, I have to admit, not quite as much as he does. So, over the weekend, he loaded up his fishing gear, and I decided to grab my sketch pad and pencils and head out with him.

We went to a creek in Spring Grove, PA. I plopped down on a wooden bench beside the creek and Black-eyed Susan's caught my eye.



Needless to say, we only had about an hour to enjoy the quiet time beside the creek before we packed up and enjoyed dinner with friends.