Chocolate Torte and another finished drawing

For a Valentine's Day experiment I made a flourless chocolate torte for the first time.  And it was amazingly delicious, so I thought I'd better share the recipe here.

Flourless Chocolate Torte:
from the HyVee Seasons holiday mag.

Preheat oven to 350' and
butter and dust with cocoa powder a 9-inch springform pan.

In a saucepan melt
1C butter in
1/4C heavy cream 
over med-low heat, then stir in
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate pieces
till melted and smooth; remove from heat.

In a medium bowl whisk together
5 large eggs
1C sugar and
1/4C cocoa powder
then whisk in the melted chocolate mixture.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until puffed and set, 35-40 minutes.  Allow to cool for 1 hour, loosen sides with a knife, then remove sides of pan.

Seems pretty foolproof to me.  Enjoy!

Also, yesterday I finished the trees and tracks colored pencil.  Here it is.

Trees, Tracks, and Trails, colored pencil, 9" x 12" 2/21/12

 Mid-week already!

2.20.2012

Seven years since my dad passed away.  I'm still striving towards the examples he set in patience, compassion, and in greeting life with open arms, an open heart, and a encouraging smile.  Grateful, as always, for his love and lessons in living.

My Valentine to Todd this year, a sketch of our home, 5" x 7" 2/14/12.

It doesn't get any easier, thinking about how Roo and Moo will never wrestle or hike with their Grandpa Jim; that I have to rely on my memories for certain reminders of how to raise them with love and serendipity.  It is impossible to imagine how life would have been different these past nine years if he had never become ill.  It is hard to reconcile his loss with all the dreams I had for my future when I was just starting out as an adult, ten years ago.

So today I will be calling my mom and hugging Roo and Moo an extra couple of times.  I will be reading a few more books, singing a few more songs, keeping myself patient and keeping my voice calm.  Maybe we will go for an unexpected treat, or have an impromptu tea party after baking cookies together.  We will be having spaghetti and garlic bread and chocolate cake for dinner, and playing board games afterwards.  Holding onto the good memories, and sharing all that love.

Keeping busy, Keeping Warm

I love the colors that come out as the sun sets.  I never get tired of the view out my kitchen window.

Here's how the colored pencil of the trees started out the month.

...And earlier this week.

Today I took a little break from drawing all those lines and decided to carve some new tiny stamps.  (You can still see the trees on the left.)  I get a lot of inspiration from a couple of favorite blogs, and I have been enjoying Geninne's Art Blog so much lately.  Check out her stamps!

 A valentine card with the little flower stamp.  I also carved a snowdrop and a little leaf.

Roo started working on a seal this afternoon.

Happy Friday, everyone!