Zippered Elephants on Etsy

Elephant pouches of all colours and sizes on our etsy shop. These will also be available at the SpeakEasy Spring Craft Show next Thursday. Make sure you stop by and say hi!

::: Nathalie

Recipe: Ravioli Lasagna with Sausage & Mushrooms

Pre-dinner drinks: trying to calm Diana's neurotic tendencies...

4 parts dry sec (or vermouth), 1 part creme de cassis.

My over exposed lasagna shot. The setting sun was super bright.

Dinner at my house yesterday - Diana made my day when she told me I was her favorite cook ever! Thanks bff!

I made ravioli lasagna with sausage and mushrooms (from Chatelaine). The first time I made this recipe I stuck to the directions exactly. It was really good, but a bit heavy on the sauce.

This time, I varied the recipe (since I didn't have crushed tomatoes in my cupboard). I mixed small can of tomato paste with a can of diced tomatoes (796mL) and I got a much lighter, and still super-tasty tomato sauce. Last minute, I threw spinach leaves into the lasagna toss to add colour to the dish.

Here's another variation for the cheese topping. I didn't have mozzarella, so Diana helped me by shredding cheddar and topped if off with some asiago.

Tip: In my house it's just Geoff and I so making a 9 x 13 dish of pasta is too much food for us. I split the lasagna into 3 dishes - one for dinner that night, a little one for my parents, and a portion that I froze for another day's dinner.

This is my favorite kind of recipe - easy & super tasty and relatively healthy. For a vegetarian option - just delete the sausage. Happy cooking. : )

::: Nathalie

Etsy: Vibrant Colours with A Hint of Silver

My latest esty treasury: Vibrant Colours with A Hint of Silver.

I love the Etsy community for being able to buy directly from so many talented artists around the world (who we might not have a chance to know otherwise).

Be sure to click on the treasury link to find out about these beautiful works of art. : )

::: Nathalie

Sources: dahlhaus, mujoyas, EloiseRenouf, etco, sweetestelle, Caracarmina, verabel, Judykaufmann, jennykim, thewheatfield, crystalljackson, OldNewAgain, sushipotparts, Geninne, tushtush, PeggyWolfDesign

German and I stopped by the AGO last week to see the David Blackwood exhibit. I didn't know much a

Recipe: Double Chocolate Cookies

I love chocolate so naturally one of my favorite cookies are Martha Stewart's Double Chocolate Cookies. Straight out of the oven, the warm cookies ooze hot chocolate chips as you bite into them.

I prefer to eat them cooled, when the chocolate chips are solidified and the rest of the cookie is soft. I have them with a cup of hot orange pekoe tea (clear thank you), which is absolute perfection.

Variation: Instead of chunks of milk chocolate, I lazily threw in chocolate chips. And, instead of making over-sized cookies, as suggested, I made them a standard cookie size, using my OXO cookie dough scoop. I ended up with over 4 dozen cookies, perfect for sharing.

Recipe for Double Chocolate Cookies are found here.

A Snowy Spring & Event Meetings

Late this morning: spring in Oakville, Ontario. Please go away snow.

Last night, pre-snow, Diana and I met about the table layout for our upcoming event - the SpeakEasy Spring Craft Show, held April 7th at the Gladstone Hotel, Toronto.

(Sorry about the bad pics. We took them with a camcorder...)

Diana thinking. (Or is she bored?)

Blurry me.

There's now a couch in my bedroom and it's brilliant!

Diana bonding with our linens.

Until next time...

::: Nathalie