CAPTAIN RIBBIT is here…

Available NOW at RIPT Apparel

Now's the time!!! The Sloe Gin Fizz Super Frog t-shirt design is NOW available at RIPT Apparel for the next 24 hours ONLY. Not only that, but it's only $10. Get 'em while they're hot!

Don't forget!

Just a quick hello! and have a good weekend. I'm down in Chicago for a couple of days with internet access more limited than expected. Don't forget to check in with RIPT Apparel tomorrow to see the Sloe Gin Fizz t-shirt design!

The announcement… Limited time only!

I am really happy to announce that my t-shirt design for RIPT Apparel will be released this Saturday, June 20 at 12:01 a.m. CST (that's 1:01 a.m. EST). RIPT is a new online t-shirt retailer based in Chicago, specializing in one of a kind tee designs that are available for purchase during 24-hour periods after which, they “Rest In Peace” forever.

The image above is just a little teaser of what you'll see when the design is released Saturday… click here to check out the site, or make a purchase if it's Saturday!

Still making that awkward face…

This is the latest rendition of the Awkward Face project for the comedy group that is part of Oakland/San Francisco's Pan Theater. Still a little rough, but getting closer, I think… stay tuned for an announcement at high noon today…

The new UMMA

As promised, here are some photos from my visit to the University of Michigan Museum of Art. They did a great job with the building in that it looks beautiful, though it is a bit hard to navigate the newer section. I was really surprised at the things I was drawn to. I have to say that I haven't been to a museum in quite some time and artists that I have seen before and not thought much about, really intrigued me here. Interesting.

I was greeted by this lovely Helen Frankenthaler piece when I entered the new wing.


Giacommeti is always one of my favorites.

I loved all of the little seating nooks the museum has created with this fantastically comfortable yellow-y leather chairs — not just your standard bench in the middle of the gallery.

I loved the collection of Yoruba pieces like this staff that had octopus-like strands of cowrie shells hanging down in huge clumps that would rattle and shake when shaking the staff. You can see a glimpse of a tapestry in the background, too, that I really loved. These photographs were interesting in that the negatives are hand-drawn and then photographically printed. Great to see in the context of today's digital photographs. Unfortunately, I didn't take note of the artist's name.

And lastly, I fell in love with this painting by Jenny Holzer (this photo is just a detail from it). I have seen her work many times before, but for some reason yesterday it really spoke to me. I love the line work, the layering and depth of it and the splashes of color.

If you read my post yesterday, you know that I set off to the museum to try to jog my creativity in working on a poster project. I am happy to report that, yes, in fact, it did.I only have a rough sketch on paper at this point, but I think it's a solid concept. I'll share with you when i get it fleshed out.

AND, last but not least. I have an exciting announcement that I will reveal in the coming days. Stay tuned…

Where inspiration lurks…

I've been a bit stuck on a project I've been working on (the Awkward Face poster for those of you following along), and have decided that as inspiring as the interwebs are, I need to tear myself away from the computer and get out for some other form of inspiration. So, before I go, I am sharing with you this amazing allium-type flower I saw yesterday: it was bigger than my head (insert joke here, ha ha!) I have three hours until I have to be at work, so am FINALLY going to check out the newly renovated and reopened University of Michigan Museum of Art. Pathetically enough, it is only about ONE block from where I work and yet I haven't even seen the outside of the building yet. So, I'm off… have a lovely afternoon and I hope to have some pix to post tomorrow — and maybe even a completed poster design!

Meet the pie

Well, I was finally cooking something new again last night — meat pies with spicy buttermilk dip from Food & Wine. We had some ground beef in the freezer to use up, and this was one of the few non-burger/meatball recipes I could find that also didn't involve deep-frying. I felt a bit like Cher in Mermaids making hors d'oeuvres for dinner, but hey, that's not so bad…

Natchitoches Meat Pies with Spicy Buttermilk Dip
adapted from Food & Wine

DOUGH
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup ice water

FILLING
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 pound ground beef chuck
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 onion, finely diced
1/4 green bell pepper, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon chopped thyme
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice (I didn't have allspice, so added a dash each of nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper)
Salt
Hot sauce, preferably Tabasco

1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons of milk

BUTTERMILK DIP
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons celery salt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Salt
Hot sauce, preferably Tabasco
1 scallion, thinly sliced

1. Make the dough: In a food processor, combine the flour and salt. With the machine on, add the oil and process until the flour is moistened. Sprinkle on the ice water and pulse 5 or 6 times, just until the dough is moistened. Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead just until smooth. Form the dough into 2 disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the filling: In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the ground beef and cook over moderately high heat until no pink remains, breaking up the meat with a spoon, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, onion, bell pepper and bay leaf and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, 7 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, cayenne, cloves, thyme, coriander and allspice and cook over moderately low heat for 3 minutes. Season with salt and hot sauce and let cool.
3. Discard the bay leaf. Transfer the filling to a food processor and pulse until chopped.
4. Preheat the oven to 350° and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. On a floured work surface, roll out each disk of dough to a 12-inch round. Using a 4-inch biscuit cutter, stamp out 6 rounds from each piece of dough. Brush the edges of the rounds with some of the egg wash and place a rounded tablespoon of filling to one side of each circle. Fold the other half of the dough over the filling and press to seal. Crimp the edges with a fork. Transfer the pies to the baking sheet and brush with the egg wash. Bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown.
5. Make the buttermilk dip: In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, buttermilk, sour cream, celery salt and lemon juice. Season with salt and hot sauce. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with the scallion. Serve the pies with the buttermilk dip.
   

I cut the recipe in half for the dip part because we didn't have a whole lot of sour cream and I figured we wouldn't eat all of them anyway. BUT, I'm pretty sure the sour cream was too sour (i.e. bad!). The whole thing tasted skunky, so I kept adding things to try to fix it: more lemon, a little lime, some dill, more salt… it never was quite right. But the pies themselves had great flavor. The boy thought they were a bit on the dry side, but I happen to disagree. I think the proper dip would have made them perfect.

Best breakfast ever…

This hit the spot this morning like nothing else could… one of our neighbors is constantly giving us gifts of fruit — earlier this week she gave us a couple of mangoes. I let them sit a little too long, so this morning I whipped up a quick and easy smoothie/lassi. Chopped up the mango into the blender (all done hovering over the blender so all the juice would drip down my arms into the blender), added a dollop of honey, a couple of ice cubes and a bit of water to make it mix nicely. The result was DELICIOUS! I know I haven't posted about cooking in quite some time — with my new schedule of working two weeknights in a row at the beginning of the week, I just can't seem to get on a regular grocery shopping, cooking routine. But I am determined to figure it out — there are too many delicious recipes waiting to be tried out there! Stay tuned…