Inspired by Tapas

Fried Goat Cheese with Honey and Sweet Onion Recipe

Last week my friends and I took part in Boston's Restaurant Week by going to Tapeo, a tapas restaurant on Newbury Street. Everything about this restaurant was incredible; the food, the drinks, the service etc. We spent the evening trying all sorts of tapas and decided unanimously that our favorite one was the Queso con Miel. I couldn't resist trying to make the delicious treat at home. And now I'd like to share it with you.

Ingredients:
fresh goat cheese
flour
bread crumbs or cornflake crumbs
egg
chopped sweet onion
honey
canola/ vegetable oil

Step 1

Pour canola oil/ vegetable oil into a deep fryer and turn it on to heat up while preparing the food.

Step 2

Slice the goat cheese and roll into balls about 1 inch in diameter.

Step 3

Roll the cheese in flour until it is completely covered.

Step 4
Things are getting messy at this point. Beat 1 egg and dip the freshly floured cheese ball in it.

Step 5
Roll the floured, egged cheese ball in the bread crumbs or cornflake crumbs. I decided to use Kellogg's Corn Flake Crumbs because I had a feeling the flavors would compliment each other. Turns out I was right.

Step 6
Prepare a plate by covering it with paper towels. Place a few cheese balls into the deep fryer at a time for about 30 seconds or until they are golden colored. Carefully remove them from the deep fryer with a strainer spoon and put them on the plate.

Step 7
In a small bowl mix the chopped sweet onion and honey.

Step 8
Serve. Dip the fried cheese balls in the honey and onion, take a bite, and try to tell me it's not delicious.

Bon Appétit

Record Timing (see what I did there)

Making a clock from an old record is fun, easy and makes for some pretty unique wall decor. I made this specific clock as a gift for my father because music is a huge part of his life and I thought it would be a nice way to thank him for passing down his impeccable music taste to me. 

Supplies:
The main feature for this clock is obviously the record itself. Luckily my Dad had a bunch of old records for me to choose from, but I'm pretty sure you can get them fairly cheap at Salvation Army. I decided on Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon because of it's iconicity and because I liked the geometric theme it would create upon completion (triangle within a circle within a square).

I also needed some clock pieces -they come in sets at Michaels. 

I got a T-shirt frame to encase the clock. This turned out to be a really good choice because all of the pieces fit inside perfectly.

Step 1:
Put the clock numbers on the record. I don't really have any suggestions on making sure the numbers are lined up correctly, I just chose to wing it.

I lucked out on this next part. The album I used had a poster in the sleeve and I used that as the background to the piece and applied it to the back of the t-shirt frame. Then I cut a hole in the center of the piece and inserted the clock motor.

Next, I placed the record on top. Conveniently, there is a hole in the center of the record just big enough for the clock motor to fit through. When the clock is finished, all of the pieces are contained in the frame, except for the clock motor. That part sticks out the back and has the frame hanger you need to put it up on the wall.

To finally make this a working clock, I put the hands together, put in a battery, and set the time.

I put the frame together and had myself a pretty little clock in no time (pun intended).

Boston's Most Valuable Blogger Awards

I have some very exciting news today. My blog has been nominated and chosen as a finalist for CBS Boston's "Boston's Most Valuable Blogger". Booyah! Head over to their site and vote for me here http://boston.cbslocal.com/most-valuable-blogger-voting/ . Creative Soul Spectrum is listed in the "Everything Else" category. Quite an appropriate place for me I think.  You can vote one time every day until Sept 9th, so have at it!

VOTE


As always, thanks for the support!

Bikini Makeover

This project started out as a fib...

Every summer my friends and I go to see the band 311 when they come around and we all get together at a friends house for some poolside pre-show fun. Since some (read: most) of these friends are die hard 311 fans, I decided to inform them (read: fib) that I would be sure to arrive wearing my best 311 bathing suit. I thought there must be a way for me to get my hands on such a suit, but to my dismay one did not exist. When life does not hand me what I want, I make it...

First thing I did was buy a black suit. This one had some extra flair that I needed to get rid of in order to see my vision through, but luckily I was able to recycle even further and use the pieces for a separate project. See Project Here

Top (obvi)

bottom (obvi)

Next I created a screen that I would use to print on my suit. The top design is the 311 logo and the bottom one is the 311 logo plus a little sunset scene that I added for some summery pizzaz.

 Next I tested my prints on paper to make sure they were good to go before printing the final piece. (Props to my little brothers for the beautiful plaster-fun-time creations that I use as paper weights)

 After I removed the skull beading and tassels from the bathing suit I added my own beads for a more appropriate look. Then I printed my screen on my suit, let it dry overnight, and just like that my fib was absolved as I arrived at the pool in my new 311 bikini.

Rock on!