Spicy Pumpkin Soup with Coconut Milk

Here's a recipe for a quick and easy pantry soup
that just so happens to be gluten-free.

Cleaning out the pantry always makes hungry. Come to think of it, so does packing. And lugging laundry. But the truth is, this time of year- anything can make me hungry. I could blame it on shorter daylight. Or the jarring touch of the cold tile floor when I tumble out of bed barefoot and sleepy and weave through boxes of books and movies to locate my tea mug, gone missing since three PM yesterday when I set it down- goddess knows where- to help my husband wrap one of my forty-inch square abstracts.

All of it makes me hungry. But here's my top ten.

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BBTB Monday Chandelier Challenge

Happy Monday! It is a rainy Bitten by the Bug Monday here in SC, but my scrap room is brightened by the addition of this beautiful Chandelier from the Home Decor cartridge. And while the chandelier may not be putting out huge amounts of light, it is brightening my spirits and my day!

I suspect that vinyl may not have been part of Regina's plan when she assigned the chandelier cut, but I had been hoping to add this cut to my scrap room for some time. Regina just gave me the push I needed to get started.

I used a 12.5 x 12. 5 WALL POP from Lowe's to cut the chandelier. The vinyl is slightly sticky/clingy so it attached to the wall with ease. I told my friend Kathy that if I was a woman who liked wall borders this would be adorable all the way around the room (especially with our tall ceilings).

I will add that the photos really do not do the project justice... which is often the case. And this time that is especially true.

♥ Sparkling Indonesia 2 & I was the MC. yayy! ♥

Sparkling Indonesia 2 is the Culture Night show held by PPI-USM (Persatuan Pelajar Indonesia - Universiti Sains Malaysia).
This show purpose is to introduce Indonesian Rich Cultures such Traditional Dances, Drama, Music, & Traditional Clothes.
The performance were performed by the students of IPB (Institut Pertanian Bogor,Indonesia).
As for the Guest Star, they were BUNKFACE, a rising band in Malaysia.


As for me, I was the MC for the show.
it was soo embarassinggg.
Actually on Sparkling 1 Last Year, I was the MC too, but because it was represent in English & more formal so I think I did better last year.
This year is a more casual show & the MC have to represent in Indonesian.
It was a little bit awkward for me. :[
But I guess I wasn't too bad either.. lol.
Caz the show were successfull.

 

getting lunch before the show (rehearseal)

(this was after the MC thingy, i change my Batik to Jeans)

(at the Podium)

(lots of people asked what I wore, well, The Kebaya Top is the Transparant Gold-Brownish kind of color with lots of 'Payet'. As for the Batik under it was a designer made in Kalimantan Barat. The Batik one was given from my mom actually. It's a batik with a cut in the middle showing a bit legs. lol)

(Panitia)

(hampir semua Panitia yg bertugas malam itu)

(Thia, she borrowed my Pink Kebaya, hehee, she actually kinda looks better wearing those than me)

(BUNKFACE performance)

(with the Cutee Vocalist of BUNKFACE, Sam)

(this BEAUTIFUUULL BLUE ROSES is from My Boyfriend before the show to wish me Good Luck. awwwwww how very sweeeeeeeeeeeeeett, it does help me out soo much & built up my confidents. thanks hhney. mmuuaa :] )

with Hney after the show :)

love.love ♥♥

Hey Girl, What's Cookin?

Happy World Card Making Day!! I sure hope you're getting some time to be crafty! So can you tell I'm totally loving these shaped cards I'm making with my Design Studio Software and my Cricut? LOL! I think maybe it's a teensy bit obvious! Anyway, I just love the look of them. For this one, I used one of the new Tilda's, #386 Kitchen Tilda, from the Yummy For Your Tummy Collection from Magnolia-licious. Isn't she just so cute??!! I love her! I colored her with my Copic markers. I stamped and colored two of her, cut them both out and layered them on the card for dimension. You MIGHT be able to tell in the 3rd pic if you click on it and look up close.

That big word circle is from The Cutting Cafe' from a new set called From My Kitchen. Isn't it just perfect with the Yummy Magnolia Collection?? Pop over to The Cutting Cafe' and check it out! I think you'll love it!

That's it for me today! I'm headed back to my stamps and Copic markers to play some more. Thanks so much for stopping by to see me today, and hope to see you back again soon! HUGS!!

Learning to Use My Gypsy with a New Layout

My Gypsy arrived on Wednesday afternoon and I spent Wednesday evening registering, updating, loading cartridges, and getting to know the Gypsy. I found that like all new Gypsy users I had questions. My two top questions were 1) how do I move files back and forth between Gypsy and Design Studio and 2) how do I add additional pages to a gypsy file. After failing to find the answers I call my friend Diane, Capadia, and her answers were "you can't" and "you can't".

In the course of my conversation with Diane I think we decided that "you can't" should have a word added to the end... YET. I fully expect that we will be able to move the files back and forth in the future. I believe that Provo Craft is working on that issue.

I remember when I first loaded and began using Design Studio... I found it frustrating. I came to realize that like most software, it had a learning curve. I feel like I advanced well with DS. I suspect the same concept applies to Gypsy... There is a learning curve and we will all improve our Gypsy skills.

That being said, I completed my first layout using the Gypsy. I love the leaves on Gypsy Wanderings! I developed ideas for two Fall/Thanksgiving layouts using Gypsy Wanderings elements.

I have a busy weekend ahead, but I am looking forward to sharing more Gypsy ideas next week.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake with Maple Icing

Tender and moist pumpkin cake with maple icing. 
For nut-free, skip the chopped nut topping.

Today I'm digging into the archives to share an old favorite. My pumpkin cake recipe. We're so busy sorting, bagging clothes and boxing up books for donation, getting ready for the big move to Los Angeles (next Thursday!) that yours truly has not had time to bake.

But if I did? I'd whip up this moist and tender beauty of a cake.

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No-Bake Freezer Cheesecake

My mother-in-law came for a visit last weekend. Her birthday was just a few weeks ago, so I wanted to make a special dessert for her. Her favorite is cheesecake.

This recipe comes with a warning.

If your 40th birthday is the next week and you'd like to lose 10 pounds first (but would settle for 5), like someone I know really, really well....

{ok...it's me}

....this might not be the best choice to help you reach that goal.

I love this recipe, not only does it have a chocolatey, slightly salty and sweet crust; it has a layer of ganache (!), and is topped with delicious cheesecake.

AND, you make it ahead of time and pop it in the freezer! No baking!

The dangerous part, though...it calls to you from the freezer. I swear! "Remember me? You made me 2 days ago. Let me out into the light. EAT ME!" Well, something like that.

Sigh. Oh well, I think 40 and chubby is a good thing.

Never trust a skinny cook, right?

No-Bake Cheesecake
(modified from MarthaStewart.com)

CRUST

• Vegetable oil for coating the pan
  
• 18 ounces chocolate wafers (about 90), finely ground (4 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt

GANACHE

• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61 percent), finely chopped
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

FILLING

• 32 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 & 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  

Using a paper towel, coat a 10-inch springform pan with vegetable oil. Mix wafers, sugar, butter, and salt in a medium bowl. Pat mixture into pan, pressing firmly into bottom and all the way up sides. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to fill.

Place chopped chocolate in a food processor. Bring cream to a simmer in a small saucepan, then pour over chocolate. Let sit several minutes, then process until smooth. Reserve a few tablespoons ganache for decorating, and spread the remainder evenly on bottom and all the way up sides of crust. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to fill.

Beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and slowly add sugar and salt. Raise speed to medium-high, and beat until very fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in lemon juice.

In a separate bowl, beat the cream with the whisk attachment until medium-stiff peaks form. Whisk 1/4 of the whipped cream into cream cheese mixture, then fold in remaining whipped cream. Pour filling into crust, and use an offset spatula to spread evenly.

Transfer reserved ganache to a pastry bag and decorate as desired. (For my mother-in-law, I wrote "Happy Birthday;" last time, I just made squiggly lines. :) That looked better.)

Cover, and freeze for at least 1 hour or overnight. Unmold cheesecake and serve immediately.


Related posts:

• Julia's Triple-Decker Cheesecake
• Mom's Coconut Cake