joyouslybecoming:

I just made a batch of soup using what I had around here. My main goal was to make something easy on the digestive system, with chinese medicine "heat" qualities to quell the dampness in and around me. It turned out scrumptuous and I wanted to share the recipe here with you all. Enjoy!!

Pumpkin Corn Chowder

1 small pie pumpkin - cut in half, seeds scooped out. Wrap both halves with foil and bake for 40 minutes on 400 degrees or until soft.

olive oil

2 leeks, chopped tender white area

4 large cloves of garlic, chopped

1 large sweet pepper, chopped

1 hot pepper, chopped

small handful of pineapple sage

dash celery seed

fresh thyme

dash dried savory

fresh grated pepper

sea salt

small bag of frozen corn or 1 1/2 cans

32 ounces of vegetable or chicken broth

a cup of ginger tea or a little chopped ginger

In a dutch oven sautee leeks in olive oil till soft. Add garlic and saute a minute more. Add peppers and saute 5 more minutes. Add chopped fresh herbs, salt, and pepper and saute another 30 seconds. Add corn, pumpkin and chicken broth.

While this is cooking, in a separate pan saute 6-8 mushrooms in 1 T coconut oil or olive oil. When they start to brown add rosemary, salt and fresh pepper.

Add the sautéed mushrooms to the pumpkin chowder. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

I'm just settling in back here at home after a wonderful several days at Art and Soul art retreat in Portland OR. What a great opportunity to create with fellow artists, meet new friends, and catch up with old ones. I always treasure the time I get to spend with "my people" at these events.

I taught a painting class there called "Every Face Tells a Story", my final teaching before my year sabbatical. I'll be using this off time to write a book on my art process for Northlight Press as well as tinker, play, re-gather, and call back my creative energies so I can fling them out in a new pattern and process.

I often don't get around to posting class work on my blog, as sometimes the end of one event ushers in the beginning of another and it's been a super busy year. This time it worked out and I want to share with you the body of work that this particular class created. It was a first time photo challenge for my IPhone 4 as the lighting in the hotel was not great but I had to use it as I forgot my Canon in the car. I apologize for the blurry photos - the pictures do not do the paintings justice by a longshot.

Many of these women were new to painting and all of them were new to this particular process of creating paintings that I developed for my own work. As you can see, the pieces are phenomenal - what a dynamic group of creative women they were. A big thank you to each one of you for contributing the energy to make this experience so rich and satisfying.