My Ruby World

Hyperdoodle 06 • My Ruby World

18x24 inches, mixed media on board, 2009

Hi, friends. Sorry for the lapses in my posts. Been busy having fun & makin' art!

I am so excited to be posting about this piece. Every two years, the Johnson County Community College has an art auction that serves as a fundraiser for the Gallery of Art, now known as The Nerman Museum. I love participating in JCCC's art auctions because of the way executive director Bruce Hartman themes the auctions. Every time the college has an auction, Bruce themes the auction by giving each artist the same object to work with. Past auctions have included hand-crafted wooden boxes, colored records, and a gold leaf set, among other things. It's always so cool to see how every one interprets the object they're given.

This year's auction, entitled GLOW, is themed in celebration of JCCC's 40th Ruby anniversary. To carry the ruby theme, they sent every participating artist an exquisite box of ruby colored art materials. Set in dense foam within a ruby box, the materials included a tube of Gamblin oil paint, a couple of Sennelier chalk pastels, some Caran D'Ache pencils, a bottle of Dr. Ph Martin's ink (my favorite item in the box) and several other ruby goodies. By the ned of the night, 120 original works of art were auctioned off, making it the most successful of the eight auctions that JCCC has held over the years.

Needless to say, it feels great to be able to help support the Nerman Museum and their programming. Their auctions have always pushed me in a direction that I might not have otherwise ventured into. I love that. Ruby is not really a color I use as a primary color within my work so I really wanted to explore that. At first, I was only going to use shades of ruby, both dark and light. But as the piece started to take shape, I added oranges & yellows to balance it out and I'm pretty happy with the result. I'm not sure who has the piece now, but hopefully it's providing someone with some happiness.

Rich Nut & Chickpea Chili

About a month or so ago, my husband and I had some friends over for dinner. We were looking for something warm, vegetarian and dairy-free. Browsing in the October 2008 issue of Hallmark Magazine, I happened upon this super yummy chili recipe. Wow - it's one of the tastiest vegetarian chili recipes I think I've ever had. I told several people that I'd post the recipe, so here it is (finally!). Sorry it took me so long! Enjoy!

Rich Nut & Chickpea Chili

Makes 6 servings. Total time 40 minutes.

6 ounces (1 cup) raw cashews

4 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

4 teaspoons olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon sugar

4 cups small broccoli florets (9 ounces)

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 cups water

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

1 can (19 oz) chickpeas, rinsed & drained

12 ounces soy or vegetable protein crumbles (about 2 cups)

Garnishes

1 cup low-fat dairy or soy yogurt

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

3 plum tomatoes, chopped

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/3 cup minced cilantro

1. In a food processor, combine the cashews, chili powder and cocoa. Pulse the mix until it's the texture of coarse meal. Be careful not to turn it into paste.

2. In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic. Sprinkle with sugar and cook, stirring, until the onions are softened and begin to turn gold, 5 to 7 minutes.

3. Add the broccoli, salt and 1/4 cup of the water. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the cashew mixture, remaining 2 cups water and the crushed tomatoes.

4. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas and soy crumbles, and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add more chili powder and salt, if needed.

5. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, blend the yogurt, lemon zest and pepper. In another bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes, lemon juice and cilantro. Serve the chili with the garnishes.

Each serving has 448 calories, 18 g fat, 49 g carbohydrates, 13 g fiber, 29 g protein, 895 mg sodium.