Another lapbook finished, FINALLY

This is Mallory's much anticipated, long awaited, oh-my-LORD-Mommy's-getting-irritated Art Appreciation Lapbook. A full 4 months in the making. Without further ado:





This is the front cover...its one of her favorite paintings, by Renoir; we happen to have a copy of it made by a friend of my Aunt Martha's. For years I thought it was supposed to be Aunt Martha and a couple of her sisters. One day at our co-op in Maine, they were working with art cards, and one got flipped over and there it was-- The Daughters of Catulle Mendès. I was shaking, thinking OH MY GOSH WE HAVE A RENOIR IN OUR HOUSE!! Within an hour, I found out that no, we didn't, it was a copy done by her friend, and the original is at the Met in NY.

Some dry mix recipes

I love these, and should use others more often! I haven't bought bisquick in a long time, this recipe for pancake mix is fantastic. If you let it sit about 10 minutes after you make the batter, you get extra fluffy, light pancakes! Make sure you use really fresh baking powder.

FOR THE MIX:
12 cups flour
4 cups dry instant powdered milk
3/4 cup baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. salt
I use a huge tupperware container, so that it seals really well, and there's room to shake it to mix. You can use ziploc bags, but you'd need a 2 gallon size to give it some good shaking.
FOR THE BATTER:
1 1/2 cups of the mix
1 cup water
1 egg
2 Tbsp oil
I do usually double the recipe, I guess the original recipe yields about 10 pancakes maybe--definitely not enough for our family, lol!

The other recipe for today is taco seasoning; I've tried several over the years, and most used corn starch and flour, so I was skeptical about this one, but it came out great, everyone loved it. I can't attest to the taste (the whole no meat thing) but it smelled delicious, and actually blended much much better than the packaged stuff.

Mix together:
6 tsp. chili powder
5 tsp. paprika
4 1/2 tsp cumin
2 1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
I used all of it for about 2 lbs of meat. Next time I'll probably at least double the recipe, and store it in a small glass jar. The original recipe said about 7 tsp. equals 1 package of taco seasoning. (don't forget the 3/4 cup water, bring to a boil, then let it simmer for about 8 minutes).

Now....anyone have a really great homemade milk bath recipe? Or a good recommendation for lavender oil? Actually, I do have a good milk bath recipe, I just need to find a good lavender scent to add to it, something that actually smells like lavender. Mmmmm, lavender; I can't wait to order plants for this year. I wonder how big my lavender plant is in Maine, I hated leaving it. And my rose bush in Georgia, and rose bushes in Florida. I'm babbling. I don't have a blog--its a babblog....

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Update September 16, 2013
Didn't take me this long to find the lavender oil, but I forgot I had posted about looking for some. Auro Cacia, info HERE is wonderful!