Archive for the ‘Things I’m a Fan Of’ Category

Random Recipe: Pancakes

Monday, October 11th, 2010

FruitI made delicious banana pancakes the other night, and I thought perhaps you’d like the recipe. It’s taken from the King Arthur Flour website, and then altered to make it extra delicious.

1.25 cups (5.25 ounces) self-rising flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1-2 dashes of cinnamon (depending on the fruit)
1 cup (8 ounces) milk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) melted butter
1 banana, 1 peach, or a bunch of berries (about a cup)

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. I have a totally awesome heavy ceramic mixing bowl that I use that has Piglet on it, the smallest of a set of 3.

Mixing Bowl

Measure the milk in a 2-cup measuring cup, then add the egg and whisk it in. While whisking, pour the melted butter into the measuring cup, and whisk them together until blended.

Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until blended.

Cut up the fruit. Bananas can be sliced, peaches should also be sliced into flat chunks, blueberries can just be tossed in as is, but strawberries also need slicing. Flat is good, so it doesn’t make weird lumps.

Lightly grease a skillet and heat it over medium heat until a drop of water dances or you get too impatient to keep waiting. I use a one-third-cup measuring cup to pour batter onto the skillet, making one pancake at a time. Place the fruit, if using — I usually get about 4-5 banana slices per pancake, or half a dozen berries, or 3 blueberries and 3 chunks of peach (heavenly).

Cook until the bubbles on the surface begin to break and the edges are starting to look dry. Turn the pancakes over and cook until lightly browned, about one more minute. This will also deliciously caramelize the fruit.

Remove from the pan and eat while you make the next one. The last pancake is always either really big or really small. I usually make an extra big one to eat with a big grin at the end.

I usually get about half a dozen big, delicious pancakes, eat half, and save half for the next morning. And yes, I eat them with syrup so they’re extra super sweet.

Mmmm pancakes

Categories: Daily Art, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
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Better Than Snail Mail

Saturday, October 9th, 2010

Better Than Snail Mail by Amy Crook

Better Than Snail Mail by Amy Crook

I drew this snowy owl several years ago for the program book at a convention, and then ended up making Cafepress swag out of it on a whim. I have it on a coaster and some greeting cards, actually, though I never bought the t-shirt for myself.

It also was the basis for my shoulder tattoo, although that owl is carrying a book rather than a letter.

Categories: Daily Art, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
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Weeble Wednesday: Dagon

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

Weeble Dagon by Amy Crook

Weeble Dagon by Amy Crook

Today I’ve got another of HP Lovecraft’s creations, made into a creepy-adorable weeble. Dagon has his very own eponymous short story, but he also is alluded to in “Shadows Over Innsmouth,” the short story from which I illustrated a fishy Deep One earlier in the year.

Lovecraft had a real horror of all things fishy and oceanic, and it shows in the tentacled, scaley (and often quite overblown) descriptions he gave in his stories. I’ve tried to mix the macabre with the cute in my depictions, and I’ve had a lot of fun choosing which creature to cartoon next.

I’ll be adding him to my series of Lovecraftian Greeting Cards on Etsy as well, which are perfect for this spooky season.

Weeble Dagon, 5″x7″ pen, ink and copic marker on watercolor paper.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Endless: Delirium

Friday, October 1st, 2010

Endless: Delirium, 1/2 by Amy Crook

Endless: Delirium, 1/2 by Amy Crook

Today’s print is the last in a series of 4 which were inspired by Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, and the only one that I printed twice, once in a single color (below) and once in a sickly rainbow of shades (above).

Delirium was once Delight, though the story of how she went from one to the other remains untold. To represent this dual nature, there’s two intertwined sections of the plate, with butterflies fluttering in the light and — though they’re nearly impossible to see now — frogs hopping around in the darker sections of the image. Delirium was in many ways the most whimsical of the Endless, but at the same time represented a social loss of innocence.

Delirium, 2″x2.75″ etching on 6″x6″ watercolor paper, edition of 2, $199 each with free shipping.

Edition

Endless: Delirium, 2/2 by Amy Crook

Endless: Delirium, 2/2 by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Endless: Despair

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Endless: Despair by Amy Crook

Endless: Despair by Amy Crook

Today’s print is the third in a series of 4 which were inspired by Neil Gaiman’s Sandman.

This plate represents one of a pair of “twins,” Despair, the sister to desire. I went entirely abstract with this one, as Despair wears no clothing, squatting in her domain of mirrors, listening to people’s murmurs as they look at themselves. The dripping aquatint shading grows dark and darker as it goes down the image, layer upon layer of the illusions we build to cover up the darkness inside.

Despair, 2″x2.75″ etching on 6″x6″ watercolor paper, 1/1, $199 with free shipping.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Weeble Wednesday: King in Yellow

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

Weeble King in Yellow by Amy Crook

Weeble King in Yellow by Amy Crook

The King in Yellow is the fourth weeble in my series of depictions of the mythos of HP Lovecraft. He’s often associated with Hastur, and originally appears in the short story “The Repairer of Repuations.” He is the titular character in a play said to reveal such irresistible truth as to drive any reader or viewer mad.

In keeping with the Neil Gaiman theme of the week, the play is a central part of a pastiche of Lovecraft and Sherlock Holmes that he wrote, entitled “A Study in Emerald.”

King in Yellow, 5″x7″ pen, ink and Copic marker on watercolor paper.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Endless: Desire

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

Endless: Desire by Amy Crook

Endless: Desire by Amy Crook

Today’s print is the second in a series of 4 which were inspired by Neil Gaiman’s Sandman.

This plate represents one of a pair of “twins,” Desire — whose sister is Despair. This time I used delicate lace to give texture to the top half of the plate, and below we have a pile of shiny, discarded hearts. The face of Desire is reflected in the largest, central heart, vague yet compelling as it represents the secret desires hiding in us all.

Desire, 2″x2.75″ etching on 6″x6″ watercolor paper, 1/1, $199 with free shipping.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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