Weekly Challenge: Jailed Johnny

This week's challenge at I am the Diva czt is UMT (use my tangle) called Jailed Johnny by Sadelle. With so many Js in the name, I decided to use letter J to highlight the tangle.

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Weekly Challenge 152: Aquafleur

For this week challenge at I am the Diva CZT, I decided to include a previous challenge that I wanted to do but did not. This was challenge 150 called One Little Word. My word for this year is actually WORD, to use words carefully, to be mindful of their impact on the listeners.  The imagery of water or aqua seemed appropriate to illustrate the idea. Of course, I got a little carried away with the tangle! That was mainly because I was using this new mixed media pad and new set of Sharpie extra fine pens. The pens were gliding so smoothly over the paper and with such vibrancy that I could not stop. It is better to have unstoppable art than unstoppable tongue. Right?

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Quick and Tasty Sweet Potato Curry

Though sweet potatoes is one of my very favorite vegetables, I prepare it only one way--as a stir-fry curry. It is a quick preparation but can be made tasty with several  flavorful ingredients.

I heat it on stove top first (wrapped in aluminum foil) till it is just softened. I chop it into chunks without removing the charred skin.

For stir frying, I use walnut oil. I read somewhere that walnut oil is better than olive oil to use with sweet potatoes. (You can also use coconut oil.) To counter the sweetness, I add one or two red dried chilies. 

I finish it off with grated coconut and roasted curry leaves. 

Instructions

Ingredients

Medium sized sweet potatoes: 2

Walnut oil: 1 tablespoon

Olive oil: 1/2 teaspoon

Urad dal: 1 teaspoon ( urad dal is a hard legume and adds a nice crunchy contrast to the softness of sweet potatoes)

Dried red chillies: one or two

Salt to taste

Turmeric: 1/2 teaspoon

Dried grated coconut: I tablespoon

Curry leaves: 1 sprig

Aluminum foil

1. Wrap sweet potato in aluminum foil and cook it over low heat on stove top for about five minutes. (Cooking it longer will make it mushy. We do not want that!)

2. Remove from heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Take it out of the foil and cut into medium size chunks.

3. Heat oil in a pan and add urad dal. Lightly stir till it turns light brown. Break chilies into half and add to the urad dal. The heat of the oil will turn the chillies into deep red.

4. Add sweet potato chunks into the pan.  Add salt and turmeric.

5. Stir the vegetable with a spatula to blend in the oil, salt and turmeric.

6. Add grated coconut and blend it into the mix with the spatula.

7. Remove from heat and transfer into a serving bowl.

8. Heat olive oil in the same pan and roast the curry leaves quickly for a second or two. Remove from heat and top it over the sweet potatoes.

This curry goes well with Indian flat bread (roti) or rice.

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Happy Birthday, Dharmakarmaarts!

Celebrating the 5th anniversary of my first and only store, online or otherwise, Dharmakarmaarts. May you get to celebrate many more successful birthdays!

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Weekly Challenge 149: Welcome 2014

The very first challenge for 2014 at I am the Diva czt is to use the new year theme or 2014. This is my take on the theme. Enjoy!

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Men Buy Cigars, Women Buy Empty Cigar Boxes

Yes, it's true. Cigar shops sell cigars and empty cigar boxes. According to an article in the New York Times, women are the biggest buyers of empty cigar boxes. It both puzzles and amuses cigar sellers. But we women know why. We buy them to alter into handbags, altars, mixed media art and anything and everything else. I am one of those women who buys empty cigar boxes. There is a convenient store on Route 4 East that shares floor space with Dunkin Donuts. Sometimes, on my way to work I stop to buy coffee. As I exit from the shop, empty cigar boxes piled on top of the cupboard catch my eye. Once in a while I get tempted. They are about $5 a box. I have collected a few though I have not decided what I want to do with them. All of them look so nice on their own, it seems a shame to alter them. They also smell good. They are still waiting for my muse. Below is a sampling from my collection:

This one above, I actually got in New Orleans from a cigar shop on Decatur Street where  cigars were actually rolled on the premise. It was seedy enough to convince me that they were rolling more than cigars there. When I asked  if they sold empty cigar boxes, one of them took me to the back of the shop into a glass enclosure and asked me to take my pick. I got the distinct impression that he was waiting to be asked for something more than an empty cigar box. But, I really wanted only a cigar box!

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Rubber Stamping

I was tempted into rubber stamp making after seeing hundreds of DIYs on Pinterest and Craftgawker. I bought a set of carving tools and a handful of craving blocks from a local Dick Blick store. Needless to say, my initial foray into stamp making was not encouraging. I put the whole project into a cold storage and decided to stay with commercial products.

Just a few weeks ago, I decided to give it another try mainly because I wanted to improve product packaging at my shop with some special wrapping and stamping. Surprisingly, I made better progress this time around. As the old adage goes, practice does make perfect. I started with a basic leaf shapes, then progressed to letter OM, a few birds and an elephant. Not all of them came out right at the first attempt, of course. I do feel encouraged. Along the way, I learnt a few things about materials and attitude:

1.  Use blocks of different size, texture and thickness. Simple erasers like Staedler's, though small, are a good base to work with for small and simple designs. They cost very little and if the stamp turns into a dud, you can put it to its original use as an eraser.

Of the several lines of carving blocks available, Mastercarve is the best in terms of thickness, texture and ease of use. It is so thick that sometimes I feel that one can carve on both sides. However, it is the most expensive and currently not available anywhere. The lotus, OM and the elephant above were made with mastercarve.

Speedball Speedy Carve is currently the best available in the market and it comes is variety of sizes and prices. It has a nice solid surface which allows for carving small and intricate designs. However, it is not very thick which means that large stamps will be wobbly to hold and may have to be mounted on a wood block. The birds on a cup above was made with this material

Speedball Speedy Cut is a poorer cousin of Speedy Carve. It is of poorer quality with a crumbly texture. One should not attempt anything that is delicate or details. That does not mean it is totally useless. It is okay for simple shapes like leaves and is good for experimenting since it is very cheap. The big leaf in the photo above was made with this block.

2. Be patient. There will be many moments when one is tempted to dip into an inkpad to test the image. Resist them. Similarly, know when to say when and resist the temptation to keep slicing every inch of excess rubber. Avoid it. Come to think of it, stamp carving almost has a meditative feel to it; embrace that feeling.

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