Fresh Caprese Salad

Just got back from belly dancing and needed a snack, so I decided to go pick some fresh tomatoes and basil from the garden. I just bought some mozzarella balls from Trader Joes today so I put it all together and poured some balsamic over the top. It was delicious! I love eating out of the garden.

Sad News on the Garden Front

The corn didn't make it. I can not even bare to show you a picture of the crispy brown stalks all lined up in a sad death march. They are a reminder of the reasons gardening in Northern Californian heat and rock like soil is so much different than the comfortable summers and lush fertile soil in Portland. I did my best this summer, but unfortunately I lost a large majority of my plants this year. I would love to say that next year I will be better equipped, but in all honestly I am truly hoping not to live here next summer. But I am sure I will probably live in another climate like this at one time or another since I love the heat so much. Trial and error until I get it right and have the garden of my dreams.

WillowLily Creations Update!

My jewelry line WillowLily Creations is now being sold at Affinity Skin Clinic which is located at 1151 Hilltop Dr. Redding Ca 96003. This is just the first of many places I will be selling my jewelry in the future (I'm setting my intention).

My etsy site also just got a new banner. You can check it out at WillowLily Creations. It was purchased from another Etsy shop, Lisas Menagerie, she did a wonderful job and was very quick. It took me months to choose, so I'm thrilled to finally have a real banner up for my site.

I have been working on some new pieces and while I was down in southern California I was able to spend some time at the beach and have brought home some amazing treasures that I will be incorporating into my next pieces. There will be more info about this soon.

New Lavender Wands

These are a few of the new lavender wands that I just finished up. These were made from the lavender I got from Tuscan Heights Organic Lavender Farm during their Lavender Festival this year. I tried a new technique I saw some people doing at the festival where they split the stems into two bunches and weaving between them. I liked the way it turned out. I will be posting a couple on Etsy in the next few days.

Newest Earrings

I just finished these gold Fleur de Lis earrings with crystals. I upcycled the gold fleur de lis pieces from an another pair of clip-on earrings that I inherited from a very interesting older woman in Arizonia. The crystals were taken from a necklace I received on the same trip down to the border. I'll be posting these on WillowLily my jewelry site in the next few days.

This is a lousy picture, but you get the idea. These were constructed our of the band of an antique watch. They are very sparkly and pretty. I'm not sure they are completely finished yet. We'll see if they evolve into anything else.

Check out more of my creations at www.willowlily.etsy.com

Garden Fresh Dinner

Step One: Complain endlessly how useless it is to cook for one. You do all the cooking and cleaning up, it just isn't fair. Resentfully dig through the cupboard until you find the organic ecofarmed risotto or call me I seem to have mass amounts of health carbs.

Step Two: Saute rice in olive oil from the old country. A client at my mom's work actually has barrels of it flown in from Sicily. Apparently, she bathes in it or something. She's in her 70's and her skin looks amazing so I'm thinking this is something I might try. Anyway....

Step Three: Add water, boil, and then simmer. Quickly get bored waiting and go out and water the garden, talk to the cat, and pick basil. We have basil growing everywhere, not so much because of my amazing gardening skills, but because my mom forgets that we have basil and keeps buying more. I'm not complaining, there's no such thing as too much basil. Come back inside, stir rice, and cut up zucchini. Not just any zucchini, but the one and only zucchini my garden produced this year. My plants have definitely been under achievers this year. Which I totally understand, some years you just aren't feeling it. Slice up your one and only treasured zucchini and saute in amazing oil from the Sicilian lady.

Step Four: Decide you need a salad. Cut up red and yellow tomatoes and the fresh basil. Look everywhere in the fridge for mozzerella cheese and find nothing but string cheese. Decide its the same thing and cut it up. Top with Balsamic and voila you've got a garden salad.

Step Five: Everything is done. Throw it on a plate and marvel at the fact that you actually made a meal instead of just talking about it and eating saltines in bed.

Voila, you have a delicious vegetarian dinner!

Have a great day!

This has been cooking with Willow