little gi

My first curry...

I've always been curious about curry. They are so exotic & colorful. And despite knowing curry is an Indian culinary staple, I for some reason always associate a curry with being fabulous and British. I think it's because years ago when I read "Bridget Jones Diary" she talked about getting "take away curry". I think I have some secret desire to be fabulously British...

Anyway....so when this crockpot veggie curry recipe turned up, I was really looking forward to giving it a try. The crockpot bit sealed the deal, I love those "pop everything in the crockpot & let it go" meals.

It turned out pretty well. I definitely took a lot of the advice left by the numerous reviewers & added more spice than called for in the recipe.  I didn't have a serrano chile so I used a jalapeno, used 2 cans of chickpeas...both adjustments worked great. I also swapped out the baking potatoes & green beans for sweet potato, red sweet peppers & zucchini since that is what I had on hand. The red peppers & sweet potato were definitely a score, their sweetness and color added so much to the final dish (they also pumped up the nutritional value a bit :).   I will definitely be keeping this recipe in the short file, love it's versitlity that enables you to use what is super gorgeous at the farmer's market that week AND the crockpot bit.  So definitely a keeper :)

I'm looking forward to the leftovers :)

What new cuisines or recipes have you tried lately?

Happy Thursday!!
xoxo
gi

I took my photo right before I placed the lid on the crockpot.  Veggie heaven!!!

use it or loose it...

i was searching for images this morning & came upon this layout i did last year for the pencil lines book and it brought back a lot of fond creating memories. 

i remember when i finished it i was so proud of it and had really enjoyed the whole creative process.  it was created solely from the bits & bobs that laid out on my desk.  it was a kind of a self-imposed "use it or loose it" challenge and it was so fun pulling it all together.  i always tend to save everything (like that teeny strip of blue & white striped fabric) from projects...it's a sickness really.

& now that i think of it, i've imposed that sort of "make something out of what is laying out on the desk" challenge quite a few times and really loved the results.  these other projects come to mind...

& there are a bunch more now that i come to think of it.  seems i create best when there are few options or the necessity to clean. :)

it's been quite a while since i've had that creative rush...especially with scrapbooking.  i do have a messy fabric bin to contend with...

hmmm...maybe the creative bug will strike?

happy thursday!

xoxo

gi

What shall I do...

I love this time of year and today we had one of those absolutely gorgeous, sunny, big blue sky days. I stopped by my local farm this afternoon & spied these gorgeous peppers and immediately put a box in my bag.

Now to figure out what to do with them....

I'll have to have a look around pinterest. I may even just keep it simple & saute them with olive oil & some fresh herbs. Maybe add in some goat cheese. Mmmmmmm...I'm getting hungry already! Do you have any suggestions? I'd love to hear them!

Happy Wednesday!

xoxo
Gi

We love "we love to illustrate"!

above illustration by shirley ng-benetiz found on we love to illustrate

if you haven't visited the we love to illustrate blog yet...oooh today is your lucky day!  It is a wonderful site featuring a group of amazing women who illustrate for the children's market and each month each artist contributes an illustration based on a chosen theme.  & lucky for us, this month is not only Halloween, but cupcake toppers!!!

gah! they are all sooooooo super cute!!!  I think the colorful bunch shown above, illustrated by shirley ng-benetiz would look so great atop the marshmallow icing of these s'mores cupcakes.  my kids will flip.out!!

happy downloading!

xoxo

gi