Is there a wino in your life?

I've know I've been quiet... über busy trying to prepare for the 'gazillion' shows this upcoming fall and winter. But I do have some more wine stoppers to share; I'll have these ready to for my shows in beginnng in September! These are quickly becoming addicting to make. I used some of beloved key lime green glass... another one of those odd colors that will never be made again. I wish I would stop falling in love with odds. LOL... Everyone have a fabulous Friday!

Lemon Basil Burgers with Caramelized Onions & Mushrooms

Do I have your attention? :) I love to cook, and it has a lot to do with my dad who was an AMAZING cook. I'm glad I inherited his cooking skills along with his sense of direction. LOL... Anyways, earlier this year from Tower Grove Farmer's Market I bought a whole bunch of fresh herbs and planted them in the garden. They're growing insanely now, so on a whim grabbed a huge handful of the lemon basil and made burgers. I rarely measure unless it's baking so feel free to adjust!

Lemon Basil Burgers with Caramelized Onions & Mushrooms
Serves 8
Burgers
2 lbs of ground beef
lots of fresh lemon basil, finely chopped (if you can't find, I think regular basil and a splash of fresh lemon juice would work)
1 packet of lipton french onion seasoning mix
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup of Parmigiano Reggiano
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

Topping
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp. of brown sugar
soy sauce
8 oz of sliced mushrooms (used the cleaned and ready kind from the store)
1 tsp. of balsamic vinegar

Combine burger ingredients throughly and make a little patty to test if it's to your liking, then divide into 8 equal patties. I was too hungry to light up the charcoal grill so I did them up in the pan. Cook to desired doneness (medium all the way! :)

I drained any remaining fat left over from burgers, but left all the brown goodness on the bottom. Over medium heat, thew the onions in, and sautéed them for about 7-8 minutes until soft. Added the brown sugar and a tiny bit of soy sauce, then cooked for additional minute. Set aside in a bowl.

Still using the same pan, I added a tiny of olive oil, then sautéed the mushrooms for 8-10 minutes until tender. Added the balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside in a bowl.

Assembly time! Toasted some wheat buns, then patty, melted american cheese, onions and mushrooms. If I had tomatoes or romaine lettuce handy, I would add those too. Serve with whatever.

flutter

Captured another Etsy treasury the other evening called Flutter. Just a mix things that float in the breeze. :)

I really wanted to torch this evening but it's way too hot... it's currently 93 degrees with a heat index 100 blah, blah. Even with the AC it's HOT! Oh well... the weekend shall beckon me. Everyone stay cool!

Making Glass Winestoppers

It's definitely been a long time posting... I swear I need to get better at posting more frequently! I have a tendency to run a million ways at once during the summer, so I'll use that as my excuse. :) Anyways, I'm SUPER excited because over the weekend, I made my first glass winestopper! I really the base of these because it's all stainless steel, so there is NO chance it'll chip or tarnish if left in the wine bottle. Or your olive oil bottle for that matter. :) I have two more of these that I pulled from the kiln this morning and will get pics of that up soon.

Have a Happy Monday!

I'm YARTing ~ 20% off my entire shop

Looking for the perfect piece jewelry for your friends or family? I'm participating in the YART Sale on Etsy sponsored by Team ESST. A “Yart Sale” is an artistic spin on the traditional Yard Sale: Art + Yard Sale = “Yart Sale”. From June 10-14, all items in my Etsy shop is 20% off! I will refund the amount through PayPal.

Sneak Peek ~ CiM Adamantium

First off, I have to give a big thank you to Kathy of Creation is Messy. It didn't seem too long ago we were talking about the need for good olive green and a non-reddish brown. She has once again come through for us lampworkers and added some fabulous colors to the CiM line up! She also sent me a small sampling of each of the new colors... Thank you Kathi!

So when the box arrived, I of course immediately had to play and *sigh* so lovely. The Adamantium (heh, heh, Wolverine) is the ideal brown if you're looking for a cocoa color. Think rich chocolate. Not at all red-toned like some of the other browns in the 104 palette. In the above pictures, I deeply encased Adamantium and added some silver foil.

I have samples of the other colors as well, Tamarind, Commando, Olive and Phoenix. More of those in the coming week!

Starburst Candy

Just a quick post for today. I stayed up way to late the other night and grabbed an Etsy treasury which you can view here. It started with the purse and I built the theme around pinks, oranges and yellows. It expires tomorrow morning, so take a peak while you can!

'Kay... off to make a whole lotta cookies this evening. I'm making them for retreaters at Missouri Bead Retreat at the Lake of the Ozarks. Aah... I'm so glad today is my Friday. :) Talk to everyone later!

More Glassy Goodness...

If you haven't visited my Etsy shop lately, I've added more Gala focals. They come with gorgeous watercolor ribbons that you can tie in a choker or opera length.

Going to get another torching session in this evening... Kathy of Creation is Messy was such a sweetheart and sent me the latest batch of new colors: Olive, Commando, Adamantium, Tamarind and Phoenix. The first three colors has me really excited for they are earthy olive greens. It didn't seem that long ago (Dec '08) that we were talking about a lack of good olives in the 104 palette... at least ones that are not odds. :) Going to blog about my results either later this week or next. I'll be heading to the Lake of the Ozarks this weekend for the 4th Annual Missouri Retreat. I can hardly wait!

Have a fabulous Monday guys!

Handcrafted Bead Caps Available!

I now I have the bead caps I use on my bead available in my Etsy shop! These are specially made for the fits-pandora tubing which is available from Ginko Designs. I plan to list more in the coming weeks along with plenty of new jewelry goodies so stay tuned!

I'm off now to Tower Grove Farmers Market... one of the biggest in the area. I'm starting to cook my meals again instead always for pre-packaged or fast food. I'll also be selling there on the 23rd, but today is opening day so there will be even more local food vendors and crafts available. See ya guys later!

St. Louis Handmade

I'm proud and very excited to be featured on St. Louis Handmade, a local blog focusing on St. Louis area artists. Check it out!