……………………To all my friends of the Christian faith……Have a Happy Easter!……………..Did you ever go on an Easter Egg hunt when you were a child? I actually never went on one myself….but….I used to set them up in the backyard for my nephews and nieces…….I always had to help the littlest one, Mathew, find them …….He wasn’t a very good hunter!…..lol
…………………I’ve made a batch of…..ALMOND COOKIES…..to bring to Easter dinner……..Actually, it’s a receipt Chantal recently gave to me…..She was in Rome with a girlfriend who does cooking podcasts. They went to a woman’s home or school to lean a variety of Italian dishes…..The woman quickly made a batch of these cookies for them to “nibble” on while taking their lesson!……It’s QUICK and EASY!!!!…….The ingredients are:….1/2 cup finely chopped Almonds, [I used almond slivers in the food processor]…..3/4 cups of Almond flour….1/2 cup sugar [you can even use a little less because all of the almond ingredients give it lots of flavor]…..1 egg white….1 teaspoon honey…..1 tablespoon of almond extract…..and the zest of 1 lemon…powered sugar to roll cookies in…..How to make the cookies…..1- in a mixing bowl combine the flour, the crushed almonds and the sugar. With a whisk combine well…..2-In a separate small bowl mix the egg white, honey, almond extract and lemon zest. Stir well dissolving the honey as best you can….3- mix the wet ingredients with the flour and with a spoon mix well…..the “dough”, photo upper left is kind of tacky and a little gummy…….4-Make small balls by rolling some of the dough in the palms of your hands. To avoid the dough sticking to your palms, slightly wet them with water. Just a little water will do….this prevents sticking…..5- In a small bowl put powdered sugar and roll each ball in it until completely covered…..6-Place the balls on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet…..7- Bake on middle rack at 350 degrees for 15 minutes…….The cookies should look pale when they come out. if the bottom edge is slightly brown that OK too……8-Take one or two almond slivers and place them on top of each cookie and then let them cool…..8-After 15 to 20 minutes place them on a plate……I doubled the receipt to make this batch….The only thing I didn’t double was the SUGAR…..Instead of slightly half a cup I use a full half cup…….They will be CHEWY and filled with ALMOND FLAVOR!!!!………..They are absolutely delicious, and perfect for Easter desert!……WARNING!!!! Don’t let anyone eat one until desert time or you will find an empty plate!……………..NOW, to make my Raspberry Cheesecake for Easter dinner too!!
……………”GRAPHIC PRINTS & BLOCKS OF COLOR”…..I LOVED GRAPHIC PRINTS……..I designed this print, again for my Spring 1991 collection, by simply dripping black ink of huge sheets of paper….until I came up with a version that I liked the best…..Then I sent it over to Italy and they printed it on a quality of WOOL CREPE that I had used many times before. It was a heavier quality for the coat. The RED dress was in a lighter quality of wool crepe……The shoes were the same print only this time printed on a CADET HEAVY SILK which I also used for clothing…….It all coordinated beautifully and was exciting to look at.
………………….”THE GRAPHIC PRINT ON SILK CADET”……………..Firstly, SILK CADET is a much heavier silk than, say a crepe de chine….A Cadet has many more plies of silk yarn adding to the weight…..and adding to the EXPENSE!!!….The finest silk cadet is one of the most expensive silks you can buy, and is usually used for the couture…………Here Christy is wearing an A-Line dress with cut in armholes. and pockets……The pumps are made in the same silk cadet print…….The jewelry was spectacular!……The earrings were black glass jet beads with glass pearl drops……The necklace was made from rows of glass jet beads mixed with glass smaller pearls and then two rows of pearl drops……These are collectors pieces….I can tell you one thing…..you NEVER see this jewelry on Ebay….it has more than quadrupled the price!
………………..HAIKU……………..”An old silent pond…A frog jumps into the pond….Splash silence again”, Matsuo Basho………..”The west wind whispered…and touched the eyelids of spring…Her eyes opened wide”, R.M. Hansard…….In pale moonlight…the wisteria’s scent…comes from far away”, Yosa Buson……..”The earth shakes…just enough…to remind us”, Steve Stanfield………”A world of dew is…a world of dew, and yet and yet…A world of dew”, Kobayashi Issa……..”The taste…of rain…why kneel”, Jack Kerouac………”Over the winter…forest, winds howl in rage…with no leaves to blow”, Natsume Sose……..”The lamp once out…cool stars enter…the window frame”, Natsume Soseki………”The snow of yesterday…That fell like cherry blossoms…is water once again”, Gozan…….”A caterpillar…this deep into fall…still not a butterfly”, Matsuo Basho………”losing its name…a river…enters the sea”, John Sanbach……..”everything I touch…with tenderness alas…pricks like a bramble”, Kobayashi Issa…….”First autumn morning…the mirror I stare into…shows my father’s face”, Murakami Kijo……….”lily…out of water…out of itself”, Rick Viriglio………..”The childless woman….how tenderly she caresses…homeless dolls”, Hatiori Ransetsu……….”I want to sleep…swat the flies…softly please”, Masaoka Shiki……….”Delightful display….snowdrops show their pure white faces…to the sun’s glory”, Paul Holmes……….”love between us is…speech and breath, loving you is….a long river running” Sonia Sanchez……………….I remember in high school being taught by my fabulous English teach, Miss Erlich, about Haiku……..I wonder if this form of poetry is still being taught?……They captured my imagination.