aftermath
June 26, 2012
The best part of the fireworks in this town is after it’s all over and the masses of people stagger down the middle of the streets, dragging their coolers, lawn chairs and sleepy children behind them. Our street is one of these streets, and we always like to sit on the porch and watch.
An eight second exposure, shot from the front porch railing. There were probably at least forty people walking past.
I like this one too, even though it’s shaky: a five second exposure, handheld. This is what I envision the zombie uprising to be like, only with slightly more of a party atmosphere.
Posted by jodi on June 26, 2012 at 9.47am
sonja + kela, june 23 2012
June 24, 2012
This is the Lululemon running skirt I extended to calf length with a cascade of new ruffles. Surprise! It was for my beautiful new sister, Sonja, to wear at her wedding to my stepbrother, Kela.
I worried that the 4-way stretch spandex fabric I used, while fitting well with the sporty garment it was being added to, would look silly and terrible in a wedding where the groom was wearing a tuxedo. But I was wrong, it was gorgeous, and Sonja will be one of the few people who will ever be able to comfortably compete in a triathlon in her wedding gown.
And just look how adorable they are. This is a good looking family all right.
Posted by jodi on June 24, 2012 at 5.32pm
a history of monsters
June 23, 2012
Some of my tattoo flash that the kids coloured at the opening reception of A History of Monsters.
You can still see the show until July 22 at rEvolution gallery + studio in downtown Kingsville. And yes, you can still colour!
Posted by jodi on June 23, 2012 at 7.37am
tattoo flash
June 21, 2012
Some tattoo flash sheets I drew yesterday. I’m trying to decide whether to colour them in time for my show (tomorrow!) or show them like this and add the shading and colour later. I’m tempted to keep them like this, print out the scans on good drawing paper and colour those, but that means no colour for my show. But it means I have time to draw two more! Decisions, decisions.
Yes, those are my wisdom teeth in the bowl. One is broken.
Posted by jodi on June 21, 2012 at 10.18am
mouth snakes!
June 19, 2012
Drawing in progress.
Posted by jodi on June 19, 2012 at 8.16pm
in progress
June 17, 2012
Lizard lady gets her pretty scales on.
Posted by jodi on June 17, 2012 at 11.32am
a history of monsters
June 12, 2012
If you’re anywhere in the vicinity of Kingsville, Ontario I’d love for you to come to my exhibition at rEvolution gallery + studio. I’ll be showing a series of drawings created specifically for this venue. The reception will be fun and there will be those snacks you like. And if you get bored you can nip into the back and get a tattoo.
Posted by jodi on June 12, 2012 at 2.05pm
235 squares*
June 7, 2012
are going to be somebody someday.
These little squares have been my go-to travel project for a while now, worked in queues, coffee shops, waiting rooms, at bus stops. For a while I was telling people they were going to be a blanket someday, but oddly people didn’t think my joke about the blanket being big enough to cover my lap by the time I get to the nursing home was very funny. So instead these are going to become cushions for my studio chesterfield. For someday when I have a chesterfield and a renovated attic studio to put it in (I know which dormer window is going to house the chesterfield, so that’s a start). There are enough squares now to make two 20×20 inch square cushions if they have plain fabric on the back.
*since this photo was taken there are more like 242 or so squares. Can’t. Stop. Making. Squares.
Posted by jodi on June 7, 2012 at 7.13pm
vegan shepherd’s pie
June 4, 2012
Now that Dylan has moved out of the house we’ve resurrected the tradition of Sunday dinners every other week. But because I have Sunday evening roller derby practice and Dylan’s job is evenings (so Sunday is the only evening he has free), we do Sunday lunch instead. This week we needed something soft, suitable for someone who just had their wisdom teeth out and can’t chew, and we thought we’d go with lots of starch and protein smothered in a puddle of fat, so it would have that old fashioned “Sunday dinner” feel.
I’ve made vegan shepherd’s pies before using a mixture of lentils and vegetables for the bottom layer, but have never been satisfied with the way that layer falls apart coming out of the pan. It seems to me that if something is going to be called “pie”, it ought to have a crusty, somewhat solid bottom. I decided to separate the lentils and vegetables into two distinct layers (this turned out to be GENIUS), and using this lentil loaf recipe as inspiration we came up with the best vegan shepherd’s pie we’ve ever had.
As with most things we cook, amounts are approximate, so I’m going to do my best to remember roughly what I did. You’ll want to tweak it to your own liking anyway.
Lentil layer:
-1 cup green lentils, cooked until tender (measured before cooking)
-two flax eggs*
-one clove of garlic, crushed
-about two tablespoons of tahini
-two tablespoons of tomato paste (yes, I KNOW, that’s half a can. What a waste!)
-one tablespoon each of: nutritional yeast, soy sauce, molasses (I use blackstrap; maple syrup, agave or whatever your preferred sweetener is would be fine)
-a couple of twists of the black pepper mill
-half a teaspoon each of dried basil and oregano
After the lentils are cooked, drain any excess water, mix in all other ingredients and spread it out in the bottom of your pan. I used a 9 x 12 inch non stick pan and didn’t have to grease it, but if you’re using glass or ceramic you’ll probably need a bit of oil.
Vegetable layer:
-one onion, diced
-half a head of cauliflower, cut in tiny, tiny pieces
-two carrots, cut in tiny, tiny pieces (or bigger if you want it more chunky; this was meant to be mushy to be easy on a sore jaw)
-two ribs of celery, also cut very small
-a few tablespoons of vegetable bouillon** or broth
-water (if using bouillon)
-a tiny amount of olive oil
-salt to taste, if using broth (my bouillon is very, very salty)
Start by cooking the onion in the oil until it’s translucent and beginning to brown, then add the bouillon, about a quarter cup of water, and the other vegetables. Let this cook down, on medium heat, until all of the vegetables are nice and tender, adding water or broth as needed to keep it from drying out. You don’t want this to be too wet. When it’s good and soft, spread it out on top of the lentils.
Mashed potatoes layer:
I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how to make mashed potatoes, right? This is where ours wasn’t strictly vegan, as Peter used butter along with soy milk to get them extra soft and fluffy. You can use Earth Balance to make it totally vegan. Spread the potatoes on top of the rest and bake it all in a 375° oven for 40 minutes. While that’s cooking, make the gravy!
The gravy:
This is adapted from the yeast gravy recipe in The Grit Cookbook. The main difference between theirs and mine is that I don’t bother with vegan Worcestershire sauce, and instead use way more soy sauce than the original recipe calls for.
-1 cup Earth Balance
-3/4 cup flour (I use whole wheat)
-3/4 cup nutritional yeast
-2 cups soy milk
-1/2 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 cups water
Melt the Earth Balance in a saucepan on medium-high heat. Add the flour and nutritional yeast and cook, beating with a whisk, for 4 minutes. This is a pain but necessary to break down the flour to where it can make a nice smooth sauce. Then add the soy milk and continue whisking for up to a minute, until the mixture thickens. Add the soy sauce and water and cook down, still stirring, until it’s at the consistency you want. Now pour it generously all over your delicious pie!***
* to make a flax egg, mix one tablespoon of ground flax seeds with two tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Let it sit for a few minutes until the consistency is disgustingly gelatinous. One tablespoon of flax is rougly equal to one egg in a recipe.
** I keep a container of this vegetable bouillon recipe in the freezer, made without the sundried tomatoes because I don’t like tomato in my soups. It’s got a strong flavour, and two tablespoons was plenty to add a lot of depth to the cooked vegetables.
*** at the table, I mean, not all over the whole pie in the pan. Keep that leftover gravy separate.
Posted by jodi on June 4, 2012 at 5.07pm
