Recipe: Potato Leek Soup

Okay, so if you have never used leeks before, you must try them...and this is the perfect way to lose your leek virginity. (Yes, I know that sounds wrong, but it made me giggle, so it stays. ;P)

One quick mention is that preparing leeks is easy, but you might be surprised by finding the pockets with sand and soil among the layers if it is your first time using them, so I am going to give you a link to help with prep: How to prep leeks. Now I do use more of the greens than is shown in the video, but that is just preference. Also, as much as I think lavender adds a beautiful flavor to this, it can be left out- especially if you don't live close enough to steal some from my herb garden.

Now to the fun part:

Ingredients 

2 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp chopped fresh lavender
1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp cornstarch
4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup white wine (optional)
2 leeks, sliced
7 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
Gorgonzola cheese for garnish (optional)

Directions

In a soup pot, melt butter, add leeks, salt, peppers, and lavender, then saute for 10-15 minutes at medium to low heat.  some light browning from the butter is fine, but do not brown the leeks or caramelize, just let them become soft and tender.    Add white wine and stir, releasing any browning from the bottom. let cook down for about 5 minutes.  During this time, add the cornstarch to the stock and stir. Add stock and potatoes to the leeks, and bring to a boil.  Turn down stove to low heat and add milk and cream.  Let simmer for 30 minutes. When you are ready to serve, you can leave as is, or blend half in the blender and re-add to create a thicker, more velvety soup.  Garnish with Gorgonzola cheese if desired.

It tastes incredible, and is even better the second day...the perfect comfort food on these cold dreary days :)

Enjoy!

Anniversary Bliss

It is officially the 10 year anniversary of Inspirations by Faith! In celebration, I am offering ALL repeat customer who have supported me over the years (including those who have done business with me through private art commissions), 50% off any one item in my Etsy store.  Just message me with the item you would like to purchase, and I will create a custom listing just for you.  All customers, in the month of September will receive a special anniversary gift valued at $5. There will also be a tons of great items going on sale throughout the month, so make sure to check it out and check back regularly!  This is the perfect time to buy for the holidays...and if you participate in the design challenge and/or Riddle Me treasury, you can get an even bigger discount!

There is something very unique in how we all view anniversaries.  They have a way of making us look back and conjure up the special, often life-altering, moments we connect to a particular date and time.  Some can be joyous occasions. Some are, well, not.  But our minds have a way of letting us lose ourselves in those moments...such an incredible gift!  We can take those re-connections and learn, grow, heal, and even find ourselves inspired into action. 

The one custom order this last month that touched me the most deeply, was a husband's first wedding anniversary request.  It is a very rare occasion for a man to grace the virtual doorstep of my online store.  And even more surprising, he contacted me from overseas on military deployment, inquiring about my Paintbrush Bouquets.  Spending his anniversary away from his wife, he wanted to send her a paper flower bouquet in the time-honored tradition of giving paper on the first anniversary. Now I am an imaginative, and creative person, but it had never crossed my mind how great this item is as a first anniversary gift, and I just love the idea! (Not to mention that "Awwww...how sweet" moment.)  He had me add a very special message, and he picked the custom colors he knew she would love. We waited to ship so she could receive it just before her anniversary with the message on the box for her to not open it until that date.  The romantic in me can just imagine her surprise, and total adoration knowing he put so much effort and thought into making the day special and gifting something so unique.  He later messaged me to confirm the bouquet had arrived safely....and the coup de gras, he shared that it may have inspired her to start painting again.  That just makes my soul dance.

As the years have gone by, I have created many things to commemorate anniversaries of various types.  This one certainly has reminded me the incredible value of having a life partner that supports not just the everyday, but also your dreams and aspirations.  When someone supports the part of you that is inspired, creative, even a little frivolous and unconventional because they know it feeds your soul...you know you have someone in life that is of incredible value.  I know I am blessed to have that in my life {love you, Marc}, and I feel very honored to have been a part of the story this wonderful couple has begun to write.  Happy Anniversary!

The custom paintbrush bouquet :)

I need to share a few important announcements before I go eat the carrot cake my husband just handed me :)

The winner of the Riddle Me Treasury goes to *drum roll* Angela. Congratulations! She will be receiving a wonderful collection of goodies and 40% off her next order! She is a fellow seller on Etsy, and I hope you check out all her pretty wares. The answer, as many of you know, was Anne of Green Gables.  Everyone who guessed should have received a response from me earlier today with your discount coupon. If for some reason you didn't receive it, please drop me a line. If you didn't get a chance to participate, I still encourage you to click the treasury link to get a giggle, and see how the riddle treasury works just in case you want to participate in the next one.

The September design challenge is still in effect, so make sure to join in the fun.  I will announce October's challenge in a couple weeks.

So on that note, I bid you all a happy holiday weekend, and hope you all stay deeply, madly, passionately, inspired by life!

Faith

Pork Chops with Lavender

Just created a new recipe last night that I wanted to share with all of you. Everyone in the family loved it (score!) and it made my taste buds dance. It has just a little bit of a spicy kick, so be forewarned.

Ingredients:
4-6 Thick cut pork chops
2 Cloves of garlic, crushed
1 Small red onion, thinly sliced into rings
1/4 tsp. Coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. Sea salt
Pinch ground Cayenne red pepper
2 tbsp. Lavender leaves
2 tbsp. Olive oil
1/2 cup White wine (Can be substituted with chicken broth)

Directions:
In a large lidded frying pan, heat oil between medium and high until the edges of one grain of rice begins to sizzle in pan. Remove grain of rice and place pork chops in pan.  While pork chops begin to brown, sprinkle the following evenly over the pork chops: cayenne pepper, garlic, lavender leaves, and half of the ground black pepper and salt. Once the pork chop is browned on the bottom, flip over to brown other side, and sprinkle the rest of the salt and black pepper evenly.  Once both sides are brown, lift pork chops and slide onions under them to saute for about 5 minutes, letting them caramelize a bit, but not burn. De-glaze with white wine, turn heat down to lowest setting, cover with lid, and let cook for 10-15 minutes depending on thickness of pork chop.

I served the pork chops with with steamed rice and salad. If you start the rice just before starting the pork chops, and make your salad while the pork chops and rice cook, you can have your entire meal done in roughly 25 minutes. Those of you who live locally can hit me up for fresh lavender from my garden anytime :)

Enjoy!

Recipe by Faith Swientoniowski © 2011

Paper Posey How-To

I wanted to start out this year of blogging with one of my most popular items right now- paper posies. I use them to embellish several different types of items, including cards, wreathes, topiaries, scrapbook pages, and more.

Here is a list of items you will need:

Large flower or scallop punch or die cut (avoid ones with skinny petals)

Inspirations by Faith Color
Wash in Aquamarine

Paper piercer

Small container of warm water

Cotton swab

Protected surface

For this project, I am going to use an old Chinese newspaper as my paper base, but any paper will work well. You can use other types of color washes also. If you would like to purchase from my stock of specially formulated color washes, vintage papers, and Chinese papers, click here. You will note that I am not using protective gloves in the pictures. This is because I do not handle the flower during the dying process, but I highly suggest that protective hand wear be used to prevent staining whenever you are using color washes.

First, punch out your flowers for the project.

 For this posey, I have punched five, but any number, more or less, can be used.

 Pierce a whole in the center and insert your brad. 

 Dip posey in water, face down into the water. Hold there for about 3 seconds.  

 Starting with center flower, begin crumpling petals gently towards the center.  

 Repeat this with each layer until you have a crumpled wad of
layers.

 Gently unfold each layer from last to first, making sure not to flatten the posey or over release. You should be able to see the center brad.  

Spray color wash to create desired effect.

Clean center gently with cotton swab to remove excess color wash.

Let dry, making sure not to touch it during this process.

Here is a picture of the final product. I can’t help but smile whenever I see these sweet little flowers. I hope you enjoy making your own as well!

Celebrating Love

This weekend I had the pleasure of seeing a very dear friend marry the love of her life. Sadly, I hadn't the chance to visit her since my move from the Dayton, Ohio area to Dearborn, Michigan three years ago, so I was terribly excited to be there.  Her and her husband have not only experienced the greatest of joys together, but also have withstood the test of time, uncertainty, and struggle for those precious moments we had the sincere honor of sharing with them Saturday.   I honestly can say, seeing her for the first time in so long, coming down the aisle as a bride, touched me deeply.  Her smile was truly the brightest and most lovely light in the room. And I admit, I was just a tad emotional at that moment. 

I also had the supreme delight in seeing two other wonderful women in my life who came to share in the celebration.  All three are friendships built together during my time designing and teaching for a local scrapbooking store.  We all agree, that the best thing that ever came from our time there is, without a doubt, our relationships with one-another.  It certainly reaffirms in me that LOVE, be it romantic, friendship, or family, is the greatest gift of this human existence.  

Love you Carol, Maribeth, and Kayla!

New Blog for a New Era

Not terribly fond of re-inventing the wheel, I sit here annoyed that I have not been able to pick this blogspot thing up right away. Seems simple enough, but my dependency on the ease of using MySpace left me defiant.  So here I am. Finally.

I had so many wonderful intentions about this year of blogging...and still do.  But the death of my grandmother has definitely rocked my world. My business has been increasing significantly, and I had forgotten all the little quirks about living as balanced as possible despite the need to continually run a business for which you are the sole provider of its content.  I am not complaining, just explaining.  And well, rejoicing in suffering a bit.

I find myself curious as to what will become of me and this blog.   Will it become just another one of my unfinished pieces, or will I see this one to completion.  Will I become dissatisfied with the product, or simply abandon it all together.  I sincerely hope I will stick it out which in turn leads me to the hope that some how some day I will look back and see others who have gleaned a little inspiration from it as well.  So there you go- I dare to hope.

Let's see where that dare gets me...