A Symphony of Masterpieces

Posted by chrystibella on July 13, 2009

Beautiful and absolutely amazing! 4 different people working on the same digital canvas at the same time. This is something to sit back, relax and take in. Very enjoyable.

Blueberry Scones

Posted by chrystibella on June 30, 2009

I bought some fresh blue berries but I was afraid they might go bad before I had a chance to eat all of them so I decided to try a recipe I found for scones.  It was really easy to make and they came out delicious!

Here’s the recipe:

Blueberry Scones:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
• 1 cup heavy cream (I didn’t have heavy cream so I substituted half & half)
  
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough.

Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown.

After you take them out of the oven sprinkle powdered sugar on top.

Who’d a thought? Chocolate cake in five minutes!

Posted by chrystibella on May 7, 2009

So, the other day my sister emails me with this five minute chocolate cake recipe.  The title of the email?  We’re doomed!  LOL!

I looked it over and thought, “I’ve got all that stuff.”  So I went into the kitchen and made the concoction in a large coffee mug.  You know, the kind that could suffice as a BOWL?  Yep, the kind of coffee cups I like to use.  In the back of my mind I’m thinking about the times my doctor asks me how many cups of coffee I drink a day and I say, “Just one.”  I leave out the part that my coffee pot registers 4 cups to fill that one cup.  LOL!

So, back to the cake recipe.  I mixed my ingredients in that coffee bowl and put it in the microwave and viola!  I had myself a nice little chocolate cake.  I didn’t have any chocolate chips and boy they would have been dreamy delicious melted in that warm chocolate cake.

It was really good.

See how nicely it fits on a saucer?  I bet it would be good with a sauce drizzled over it or maybe some powdered sugar sprinkled over the top.  As for this baby, it was gone in no time.  Yep, my sister was right, we’re doomed when we have the ability to cook something like this up in five minutes.

Here’s the recipe:

• 4 tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
• A small splash of vanilla extract
• 1 large coffee mug (Microwave safe)

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well.  Add egg, milk, oil and vanilla.  Mix well.  Mix in chocolate chips if you have them and mix thoroughly.  (The recipe she sent actually says to add the egg first and stir before adding the rest of the wet ingredients, but I just added them all at once.)

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.

Don’t be alarmed if the cake rises over the mug, it will settle back down.

Allow to cool for about 30 seconds.  =)  Tip out onto a small plate.  Eat.

It can be cut in half for two if you’re feeling generous.  Tastes best warm.

My American Idol Pick – Adam Wins!!!!

Posted by chrystibella on April 9, 2009

Adam Lambert is one of the best American Idol contestants ever.  He brings to the stage a charisma like Elvis Presley.  Not, like Elvis, not like an Elvis impersonator, but instead the same quality in his performances that attracted people to Elvis.   I also see in Adam a style that is like Freddy Mercury of Queen.  He has that vocal range and many of Queens songs were ballads which is Adam’s forte.  I think Adam is headed for a huge and successful career in the music industry.

I expect to see Adam, heading some Broadway stage shows as well.  But not before he goes on tour to sell out auditoriums across the United States.  I think he is going to be bigger than Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood or David Cook.

If you didn’t catch Adam’s performance on last Tuesday’s American Idol (they ran over schedule) you can watch it at this link or going to  http://www.rickey.org/?p=13956

I’m a gusher!

Posted by chrystibella on November 11, 2008

Your Primary Mythical Creature
Water Types

The main strength of the Water types is feeling. The second element indicates the most probable focus for this emotional expression.

Chimera
Water with Fire

Astrologically associated with Cancer and the Fourth House

Chimera types are motivated to achieve and maintain emotional closeness between themselves and those they are close to. They are among the most outgoing of all the types. They have a strong sense of community harmony and cooperation. They are devoted to their family whether this is an actual family or a specially chosen group of like-minded individuals.

They thrive in company and are rarely alone.

They find personal fulfillment in supportive nurturing and caring roles but they emphasize self-reliance for all. They are intensely protective of those they love and are both perceptive and intuitive regarding their needs. They can seem at times to be in a world of their own because of a capacity for reflection. They are very emotionally expressive which can seem like “gushing” to other more restrained types.