Feb & Mar Bead Journal Project and recipe

It's been an interesting few months, and as you can tell, I'm a bit behind on getting my monthly projects completed. In Feb, I was told I had a recurrence of my cancer and it was inoperable, which is how I had managed my last recurrences. Chemo seemed the way to go, although it was not an easy decision, and one I had resisted for four years. So, my beading took a back seat. Although I had finished my Feb in Feb, we needed a new scanner which took a while. These two photos were actually taken with my phone. They are both brooches and pendants.

Feb, for me, has always been about love. I used the darker seed beads as my diagnosis was a dark one. So, we contacted the healing group my husband is part of, and the outpouring of love, support, and such great suggestions of complementary medicine to help support the chemo were incredible. I love using pearls and always have them on my pieces, whether it's jewelry or bead embroidery. I had thought I would use only stones, but this called for glass beads as well. The hearts are Rhodonite and Howalite, as well as red glass and clear glass with a green interior. I also used sequin flowers, as flowers and hearts go together too.

In March, I started my chemo protocol; so that month's project is a healing brooch/pendant. I have an angel looking out for me and a four leaf clover for luck. My sister, Karen L Cohen, also a member of the BJP, came to visit and that visit is represented by the buttons; our Dad was in plastics and buttons were part of his inventory. One of the buttons is the Susan button and the other is the Karen button; wonder who they were named after? My sister still had them (she is concentrating on dealing in buttons and is creating fabulous ones in bead embroidery, enamels, and metals and more) and gave them to me to use. The semi-precious stones I have used are red jasper for healing cancer, hematite for grounding, protection, and promoting new blood cells, mother of pearl for focusing one's attention, malachite for detox against tumors, tiger eye for courage to combat fear, pearls, for calm and beauty, stomach digestion and emotional stress, and turquoise for healing, balance, and strengthening. I added the believe charm, as I truly believe that the chemo is working and all will be well.

I hope to finish and publish my April one before the end of the month. However, we leave for Boston on Wed for my scan and then to meet with my doctor at Dana-Farber. We will know more then. In the mean time, here's a recipe:

Quinoa Salad

The basic recipe comes from a bag of Quinoa. Each time I make it, I change the vegetables I use. This was for the pot luck lunch we went to for the Chinese New Year 2012, Year of the Dragon, and I made one and a half recipes. All of the ingredients are organic, and it doesn't matter what vegetables you use, as they all tasted wonderful.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup Quinoa

4 cups vegetables and fruit combined:

     steamed broccoli, small florettes and stem pieces

     steamed zucchini, small chunks

     cucumber, small chunks

     red pepper, diced

tomatoes, diced

sugar snap peas, cut into pieces

mango, diced

edamame

½ large red onion, minced

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon coconut vinegar (can use any vinegar you like)

3 ½ tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt and fresh pepper to taste

3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted (can use any nuts, like almonds)

½ cup chopped cilantro

Instructions:

1.  Cook the quinoa with the broth as directed on package. Allow to cool. This could be done the day before.

2.  In a large bowl, combine the vegetables and everything else except the nuts and cilantro.

3.  Add the quinoa, nuts, and cilantro, and mix well.

4.   Taste and adjust the seasonings. Can be served cold or room temperature.

ENJOY!

August BJP, Italian Goddess Pin and a Recipe

I finished my August Bead Journal Project, Italian Goddess Doll Pin, over a week ago, but hadn't had a chance to scan her. She's reminiscent of the rest of our trip to Europe.

I choose her colors of browns and greens for both the olive trees and grapevines, which were everywhere in our travels. Her face is a coconut button for all the palm trees we saw, which surprised me. I used a heart because I really love Italy. It's such a warm and welcoming country. The metal piece at her midline is an earring I found, on a Sunday morning, at a Farmer's Market and flea market in Panzano-in-Chianti, a small village near where we stayed in Montefioralle. 

We stayed for two weeks in the Chianti area of Tuscany, Italy. It was all about medieval towns, olive oils, and wines. Yum!!! The sightseeing was spectacular and the food incredibly fresh and delicious. It was difficult coming back to the States and buying tomatoes, even organic and heritage ones.

Since we've been home, I've been doing more work on my cookbook for cancer survivors and people with celiacs disease. Here's a recipe I developed while in Italy, which will be in the book.

Vegetable Montefioralle

The first night at our rental in Montefioralle, Tuscany, I didn’t know what to make. I had bought lots of vegetables, which were all so gorgeous at the Farmer’s Markets in both Lucca and Panzano. I went through what I had, picked out some things and made this. I served it over quinoa. It made a lot, so we had it for several meals. For another meal, I put it over rice pasta. A winner all around!

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

Olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 large leeks, sliced thinly

2 shallots, sliced thinly

1 large or 2 med cloves garlic, minced

4 large tomatoes, diced

½ green pepper, diced

1 Japanese eggplant, cut into 1 inch chunks

1 zucchini, sliced in half, length-wise, and sliced

3 sun dried tomatoes, sliced

Greek Seasoning (the Spice Hunter - http://www.spicehunter.com/)

     or use your favorite spices

Sea Salt

Dried basil

Dried oregano

Vegetable broth

Fresh oregano and basil

Instructions:

1.  Have all the vegetables cut and ready to cook.

2.  Put 2 tablespoons of the olive oil into a deep pan and add the onion, leeks, and shallots.

3.  Saute until starting to brown.

4.  Add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes.

5.  Add the rest of the vegetables and the Greek Seasoning, sea salt, dried basil and oregano to taste.

6.  Add the vegetable broth as needed to keep the vegetables cooking and not sticking to the bottom of the pan.

7.   When the vegetables are tender, add the fresh oregano and basil. Stir a couple of times and serve.