Something a little different

Relief. Excitement. Happiness. Pride. I just finished a HUGE project this weekend that has consumed a considerable amount of time lately: one that I’m so excited about but unfortunately can’t share just yet. Hopefully come June I’ll be able to share – I’m very happy with the way my part in it turned out. But since I can’t share that particular project, here’s something else that I’ve been meaning to share for awhile.

Something a little different this time: a vegan maple tartlet recipe.

Here in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec, maple season has just ended after an earlier than normal start. We visited two different, local cabanes a sucre (sugar shacks) this season and left armed with a fresh supply of maple syrup and one irresistible jar of taffy. We enjoyed a traditional maple brunch, sampled the desserts, and had taffy on snow while walking through the animal petting zoo.

We hiked the trails through the acres of tapped maple trees and watched as the wood fires were lit to boil down the clear sap into the beautiful, sweet, golden syrup we’re used to.

To celebrate the season that brings us that beautiful, sweet liquid gold, we decided to bake some vegan maple tartlets. Inspired by the desserts we tasted at the cabane, these are a tad healthier with silken tofu replacing the cream, but no less delicious. Maybe I should make another batch to celebrate the end of that big project?

Maple Tartlets:

Maple Filling:

1/2 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup maple syrup

2 tbsp vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)

1/2 tetra pak (about 2/3 cup) of silken tofu, blended till smooth without any chunks

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/8 cup arrowroot starch

pinch of salt

Gluten-free Dough:

2/3 cup rice flour

1/3 cup quinoa flour

1/4 cup arrowroot starch

1/4 cup powdered sugar

8 tbsp vegan butter

2-3 tbsp ice water, as needed

To prepare the dough, pulse the flours, arrowroot and sugar in a food processor till combined. Add the butter in small chunks and pulse till combined. The dough should begin to come together as a ball. Add ice water, a tablespoon at a time, til dough is a good consistency. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and cool in fridge for half an hour.

While dough is chilling, prepare the filling. Heat brown sugar and maple in a pot over medium heat until sugar is melted. Remove from heat. Add the butter and stir. Add the blended silken tofu and stir to combine. Add the coconut milk and stir until completed combined. Stir in the arrowroot and salt, making sure the mixture is smooth. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 4 or 5 tartlet molds on a baking sheet. Roll out the tart dough on a gluten-free floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. Fill four to five 4.5 inch tartlet molds with the dough. If it tears a little just press it back together. Divide the filling evenly among the molds. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until centres are just about set. Cool completely.

Note: You’ll notice that my blog will be changing a little, ever so slightly, to include posts featuring some of my other interests. I just think that a self-titled blog should be a little more representative of me. You’ll find that I’ll be including posts about cooking and baking, gardening, travel and photography along with my art. If you’re here just to see my art, don’t worry, you’ll be able to access all posts featuring original artwork at the sidebar under "My Art" or by clicking on the “ART” or “PAINTING” tags. Hope you enjoy my evolving creative space!

Gothic Mist

Here in Ottawa we’ve had a very early and very intense start to spring, with summer–like temperatures in the high 20’s. Unnatural, but hard not to enjoy. But those high temperatures have brought along with it lots of beautifully eerie morning fog and mist. Last weekend as I woke up, I looked outside and just knew I had to get out and take pictures. The mist was incredibly thick and since the trees are still bare it felt so gothic, like I had stepped into the pages of a Bronte novel. We walked all through the backyard, snapping these pictures and waiting all the time for Mr. Rochester to come riding out of the misty forest on his horse.

We walked until the sun came out and started to burn off the mist. It became so wispy and mesmerizing. Unfortunately the pictures can’t capture just how beautiful the slow, dancing rhythm of the wisps of mist in the spring breeze is. But these will have to suffice.

Naturally when we got back in I was quite inspired so I did my little interpretation of the time that Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester meet for the first time. Inspired a little by the 2011 film too; I just love that scene and that set so much and wanted more of the film to take place in that moody, gothic mist.

Merry (belated) Christmas

It’s been over a month and a half since Christmas, but I thought I should finally get around to posting the Christmas card that Dom and I sent out this year. It features everyone’s favourite puppy Cocoa, Dom in his Habs hat sans logo (I couldn’t bear the thought that my Sens might think that I’ve betrayed them) and myself in what used to be my Harry Potter scarf until I decided to take out the red for the sake of the illustration…and a Christmas surprise! The hippo appeared in some work I did over the summer for some holiday designs based on the song “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” so I thought he was a good addition to the card as he represents the past year.

This is the mess that was our crafternoon, preparing  the cards before they were sent out. I love stamps! We didn’t really have a plan in mind and my ink pads had dried up so we made a quick trip to Staples hoping to get some red and green ink pads but Staples decided to be very boring and only gave us the option of black. So we got crafty and picked up some colourful permanent markers which allowed us to multicolour the stamps to our hearts’ content! The chips were obviously a must – we had to start preparing our tummies for the onslaught of all that decadent holiday food.

I’ve been extremely busy lately with some very fun and veryvery top secret projects, but hopefully I can still make the time to post something new now and then.  Till then, merry (belated) Christmas and wishing you lots of laughs and love in the New Year.

One by One

I just got home from seeing the Lion King in 3D. It was wonderful to watch one of my favourite movies on the big screen again. I spent the summer it came out sitting in that theatre, watching it over and over and over again. I still know the entire movie by heart. The 3D aspect of it was kind of bothersome to me, but most 3D is. I still can’t get over the grayness the glasses give the picture. I usually have them perched at the bottom of my nose so I can see the true colour along with the blurriness, but the chance to see The Lion King again was just too enticing and I put up with the 3D. Actually, I got the chance to see The Lion King in real 3D this summer, not once but twice, when the Broadway musical came to town. It was so beautiful and magical. Here’s a painting I did based on one of my favourite songs from the musical: One by One. This song in particular was so engaging as some of the actors were in the balconies and around the orchestra floor as well as on stage, flying their birds around over our heads. I felt like I was in the jungle with them!

Baking Help

Since I’ve introduced my favourite little kitty Rudigger, I thought I should also introduce the sweetest cocker spaniel puppy in the world: this is my puppy Cocoa. I’ll never forget the day my parents brought him home, all tiny and fluffy and loveable.  I immediately fell in love with him. He’s less tiny now, and fluffier, much much fluffier, but he’s just as loveable. Cocoa loves to help out around the house, especially making sure the kitchen floor is spotless of any food. Which makes us great friends because I love food too.

All this fall weather is making me crave some pumpkin pie…mmm.

Yoga

Last weekend I got the chance to attend a free yoga class on the lawn of Parliament Hill along with 350 of my closest friends. It was my first time doing yoga outdoors and I loved it! I highly recommend trying it and I guess I’ll be doing yoga in my backyard from now on. I really enjoy breathing through all the tough poses even though I’m not exactly very pro; in class I usually end up looking something like this:

3.5 Years Later

Hi Everyone!


Long time no…uh…post? It’s been about three and a half years since the last time I posted anything on my art blog and I finally felt it was just about time to do it again. I can’t believe it’s been that long – it’s not that I wasn’t producing anything, but after I graduated I became very passionate about many different things like gardening, yoga and baking and when I got home from work each night, I spent my downtime exploring my new passions. I think I’ve managed to settle into a newer, more balanced routine and I’ve come to really look forward to and relish the time I get to spend doing a little bit of personal artwork every day now.


So I felt like sharing this today. This is Rudigger, a little kitten that we found one night this summer when he came to the patio door clawing at the screen and frantically climbing it all the way to the top. He had blood and scabs over his eyes and had obviously been in a fight and he was just too tiny and too skinny. So we took him in and made a little spot for him in the garage and fed him and played with him and he’s doing so well now! He’s the most playful and friendly kitten I’ve ever met and he follows you around like a puppy at your heels. Because of allergies we couldn’t keep him but we found a lovely home for him with kids and I know he’s so happy. I really miss eating my breakfast outside with him curling around my feet and the lazy afternoons when he would fall asleep in my lap, so I made this piece to remember him by. One of my favourite memories of him is when we were painting the deck furniture and he stepped in the wet paint and tracked it all over the pavement. A little clichéd, maybe, but it really gives a feel for his curious and playful personality.

Happy Birthday Mumsey

It's almost my Mom's birthday, and since I won't see her for it, I gave her her present in advance over reading week. She was sooo happy; apparently I've never ever given her any of my artwork before. She loved this painting. It goes perfectly with all the colours of our house. I know, I know, Italy is more my thing than hers, but it's still pretty. (And besides, beachy landscapes don't exactly match the decor of our house.) Anyhoo, the painting is...oh my gosh i forget the size...well it's the biggest size of illustration board one can purchase at the Sheridan bookstore, if that helps! And it's acrylic paint. Happy almost Birthday Mom!