Tagged Artists At Heart

Green Agate Necklace, Earrings and Bracelet

Stone of the Month—Tree Agate aka Moss or Dendritic Agate

Our beautiful summery and refreshing stone of the month is Tree Agate.  It has green veins on a white background, giving it a cool, leafy-glade type of feeling.  The green veins or dendrites, come from the Greek word “dendron” meaning “tree.” Tree agate is also associated with summer in that it is called a stone of abundance or plenitude.  Wearing Tree Agate  is said to guard against natural disasters and dispel sickness.  Tree agate also encourages strength and perseverance, the ability to meet challenges, and the capacity to see the connections in life all around. Since the stone has a strong calming influence, it is helpful in the relief of many disorder, including those of the nervous system, including exhaustion, the skeletal and circulatory system, and relief from general pain. Wearing Tree Agate was thought to encourage the favor of the gods.

By the way, have you ever wondered why children’s marbles are called “aggies”?  They’re named for the material they were made from—agate.

See some of our beautiful Tree Agate jewelry in person at one of our upcoming events!

Velveteen Chicken Soup

You know all about the velveteen rabbit, but this is a velvetty chicken—soup that is.  Perfect for a cold winter day, but also suited for a spring luncheon.  It’s easy and so delicious!

Velveteen Chicken Soup in Handmade Soup Crock

Serves 4 as an appetizer

  •  6 tablespoons butter
  • 6 tablespoons flour
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup light cream or half and half
  • 3 cups lower sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup shredded chicken
  • freshly ground pepper and Sabrosa Guerande Grey salt to taste
  • fresh herb garnish

Melt butter in saucepan and blend in flour until smooth.  Stir in milk, cream and broth. Cook, stirring until mixture thickens and comes to a boil; reduce heat and add chicken and Sabrosa Guerande Grey salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately in a beautiful hand made soup crock from Artists At Heart.

Irish Coffee in Style

Try one of these Irish coffee recipes in a beautiful hand-made stoneware Celtic Spirit mug.

Irish Coffee with Kahlúa

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Stoneware Celtic Spirit Mugs with Irish Coffee
Celtic Spirit Mug

Total Time: 3 minutes

Yield: 1 Cocktail

Ingredients:

  • 1 part Kahlúa Coffee Cream
  • 1 part Jameson Irish Whiskey
  • Freshly brewed coffee
  • Whipped cream for garnish

Preparation:

  1. Combine ingredients in an Artists At Heart St. Patrick’s Day Spirit mug.
  2. Stir to combine.
  3. Top with whipped cream.
  4. Note:  Whipping the cream is an extra step, but really worth the effort.  If you’re not up to in, prepared whipped cream in a can will do nicely.
  5. Note: Adjust the strength to your taste by adding more or less coffee

Irish Coffee

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 3 minutes

Yield: 1 Cocktail

Ingredients:   

  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 1/2 fluid ounces whiskey
  • 6 fluid ounces hot coffee
  • 1 teaspoon white sugar, or more to taste (optional)
  • 1/4 cup whipped cream

Preparation:

  1. Place sugar on a plate or shallow bowl.
  2. Lightly wet the rim of your Celtic Spirit mug with a moistened paper towel.
  3. Dip the rim in sugar to coat.
  4. Pour Irish whiskey into the prepared glass.
  5. Fill with coffee to within 1/2 inch of top.
  6. Add sugar and stir.

Top with whipped cream

Slainte!

If you have a recipe you’d like to share, please post in the comments or send us an email.

African Turquoise Gemstone

20140110_144318I think by now that everyone has had enough winter.  To help us think “spring” our stone of the month is beautiful African turquoise, a stone whose color will remind you of an idyllic time at the beach on a warm summer day.

African “Turquoise” is not true turquoise but rather a jasper that looks just like turquoise. It is mined in Africa and resembles turquoise in structure and shade.

Metaphysically, it is called a “stone of evolution” because it brings encouragement and develops positive change.  African turquoise can clarify expression and improve communication.  It also opens the mind to new ideas and possibilities. This stone is purported to be a good one for offering protection during travel.  African turquoise is also said to attract money and prosperity, while helping clarify one’s intended purpose in life.

Won ton recipe

Pork Wontons

Folding wontons
Making Wontons

1 package wonton skins
1/2 pound ground pork
1 TBS soy sauce
1 scallion, minced
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp Sherry
(You can add other ingredients to your own taste—ginger, minced water chestnuts, shrimp—whatever you like)
Mix pork with soy sauce, scallion, cornstarch and Sherry. Saute in small amount of peanut oil until cooked thoroughly. Cool.

Place about 1 teaspoon of the filling in the lower section of the wonton with one of the flat sides toward you.  Dip your fingers in water, then run your fingers down the sides of the wonton.  Fold the lower part of the wrapper over the filling twice so that the filling is tucked in.  Draw the two sides together and press the dough together.

Don’t forget to get your Year of the Horse earrings from our Artfire store.

Step by step instructions for wrapping wontons
Wonton Wrapping

Fried Wontons   Heat peanut oil at least 2-3 inches deep, to 365 degrees, in a wok or deep-frying pan. Carefully lower the wontons into the oil, leaving room so they don’t touch each other. As soon as they turn golden brown, scoop them out and drain on paper towels. Continue cooking the rest in the same manner. Serve with plum sauce or duck sauce, hot mustard and soy sauce.

Wonton Soup   Fold the wontons in the same manner. Bring a pot of chicken broth (you can cut it with water in a two broth to one water ratio) to boiling. Add the wontons and cook until tender. You top with sliced scallions, fresh chopped spinach, extra wonton noodles that you’ve sliced and fried or left over pork filling.

For variations on this recipe, see tastehongkong.com/recipes/wontons-in-soup/

 

Garlic Grater Dish Instructions

In case you misplaced your copy, or didn’t receive one, here are our garlic grater instructions with some ideas for how you might use your grater.

Stoneware Garlic Graters
Hand Made Stoneware Grater Dishes

This simple to use, hand-made dish offers a more efficient way to puree and grate foods like garlic in order to preserve flavor, use more of the food, and finish the job in less time. Just a few swirls around the plate reduce a clove of garlic to a flavorful paste perfect for dips, sauces, or your favorite recipes. The bumps in the center of the plate enable grating food and keeping your fingers safe at the same time. It works even with hard foods like chocolate and ginger that are normally tough to grate.. This tool makes grating a variety of foods easy and allows you to produce professional quality results with very little effort.

You can also use it to zest lemons and oranges, grind cinnamon and chocolate, or puree fresh ginger. It is simple to use. You can move in circles, up and down, or even side to side. Because the plate has some depth to it, you can also use it as a dipping plate. Grate garlic and then add some olive oil and other spices for a delicious way to enjoy fresh bread.

Garlic:  Moisten grater with cold water. Hold grater in one hand with your fingers around the edges. With your other hand hold the clove of garlic between your fingers (hold the base/root end). · Move garlic in any direction until near fingers. (Discard root end as it’s too acidic to eat). You have just made the finest garlic paste with much more intense flavor than minced garlic. Use a small, stiff brush to clean garlic out of ridges. Or leave garlic and add oil, spices and vinegar for dipping.

Other Root Vegetables: · Always moisten plate first for ginger, carrots, wasabi, taro, Jalapeños, horseradish, etc. For fibrous foods like ginger, move only back and forth directions. Use a brush to remove the pulp.

Hard Cheese, Spices, and Fine Chocolates: · Start with a dry dish. Hold the grater vertically over the dish or recipe, and move food over the grater until you have desired amount. Gravity will drop grated food down.

Dishwasher, microwave and oven safe—Made in Pennsylvania

 

Let Yourself Glow

Handmade stoneware gluhwein mugs
Handmade stoneware gluhwein mugs

In case you haven’t been out recently—it’s cold outside! And since it is, Artists at Heart has the perfect remedy for the winter chill—gluhwein— or “glow wine” in English. It is a traditional mulled wine often associated with skiing and other outdoor activities. The tradition goes back over 500 years when people started adding spices and sugar to heated wine. The wine used is usually red, a claret or port, but any wine will do.

The Christmas City Village in Bethlehem, PA will once again be offering gluhwein to its thirsty, chilly visitors. But this year, it will be served in a beautiful hand crafted commemorative stoneware mug, made by Artists At Heart. The cup features a Moravian Star and makes a lovely keepsake of your visit to the Christmas City Village as well as a thoughtful gift.

The gluhwein at the Christmas City Village is provided by Franklin Hill Winery and sold by The Back Door Bakeshop – just behind the Sun Inn ot Main and Broad Streets.

Here are two recipes you might want to try at home when you are ready to refill your beautiful locally made mug.

Traditional recipe with wine
Serves 6

3/4 cup water (or orange juice)
3/4 cup white sugar (or less to taste)
1 cinnamon stick
1 orange
10 whole cloves
1 (750 ml) bottle red wine

Directions:
First, make a simple syrup by doing the following:

1. In a saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer.
2. Pierce the orange with the cloves and the cut the orange, squeezing out as much of the juice as you can into the water. and place peel in the simmering water. Continue simmering for 30 minutes, until thick and syrupy.
3. Add the wine, and heat until steaming but not simmering. Remove the clove-studded orange halves.
4. Serve hot in your commemorative Christmas City Village mug!

Non-alcoholic recipe
Serves 4
1 quart apple juice
1 pint tea
2 tablespoons sugar
1 lemon, peeled & juiced (reserve peel)
1 orange, peeled & juiced (reserve peel)
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves

Directions:

1. In a saucepan slowly heat the apple juice and tea.
2. Peel the lemon and orange, reserve the peels and juice the lemon and orange.
3. Place the juice, the reserved peels, the sugar and the spices into the pan and continue to heat, being careful not to boil the liquid. Taste and adjust the spices.
4. Strain the heated mixture through a sieve and serve in your lovely Gluhwein cup.