Auction update!  I’m just waiting on the last payments to come in from the auction and then I will donate all the funds collected to the Red Cross International Response Fund! Will keep you updated. We raised over $2,000!

I just love mushrooms. I am a certified mushroom fiend. But here’s the thing, I don’t really like mushroom soup…or at least not the ones I’ve tried so far. So when I saw a recipe for creamy mushroom soup in this month’s Vegetarian Times (February 2010), I just had to give it a try. Of course, I couldn’t just make it straight from the pages either….I had to modify it to suit my tastes. The recipe called for soy creamer, but I opted to use cashew paste instead. Using cashews not only gives the soup a creaminess, but helps to thicken it and adds a delicious nuttiness.

You will also note that I used more everyday mushrooms for the soup, but added some browned exotic mushrooms as a topper for flavor, texture and visual appeal. You can honestly use any mushrooms you want for this soup though and I think it would turn out amazing!

Creamy Mushroom Soup…hold the cream

2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups of fresh mushroom, mixed variety like button & crimini
1 cup of fresh mushrooms, exotic like shitake, oyster, king trumpet etc. can use dried as well
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/3 cup of red wine
1 cup of raw cashews
1/4 cup water
S +P to taste

1. Add the cashews to the food processor and pulse until chopped. Add the water and blend until you get a watery paste. You can add more water to get the desired consistency.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Saute the mushrooms and shallots until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and continue to cook until garlic becomes fragrant. Add salt + pepper.
3. Turn up heat and add the red wine. Simmer for about 2-3 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half.
4. Reduce the heat and add the vegetable broth. Then add the cashew mixture and stir well.
5. Cook for about 30 minutes.
6. Add butter to a saute pan. Once melted, add exotic mushrooms and saute until browned. If using dried, soak beforehand.
7. Transfer soup to the blender and puree until smooth. Ladle into bowls and top with the browned exotic mushrooms.

Treat your valentine or yourself to these Valentine’s Day pretties from the  Winter Love Galleria!

1.  Monkey & Squirrel  2.  Flapper Girl

3.  Rabbit & the Duck  4. Stephanie Fizer

5.  SweetBeaker  6. Pretty Messes

7.  crystal j. silk  8. My Sunset Road

9.  A Punkin Card Company  10. Freshie & Zero

11. Jorgensen Studio  12. Phydeaux Designs

13. CJ Recht Jewelry  14.  Polarity

The Indie Fixx Galleria is an online showcase of handmade, indie-made & vintage goods. Think of it as an ‘indie mall’ featuring a mix of designers & boutiques to provide a curated shopping experience. Participants do pay a fee to take part, but the Galleria is juried.

By guest contributor Amy Anderson

When I think of paper crafts, I usually thinking of origami and scrapbooking. Sure I can turn a piece of paper into a sailor’s hat or a crane, but the practical uses of these crafts are rather limited. Patricia Zapata expands the realm of paper craft in her book Home, Paper, Scissors and gives directions on accessories that are cute and useful.

Patricia divides up the book into sections of decorating, entertaining, and gifting with 33 crafts to choose from. I can’t say that I would want all of the designs in my home, but there are some very creative and unique crafts.

The Pillar Tealight Cover is a fun way to spruce up the lighting at dinner parties.  A simple curl of vellum paper turns a regular tealight into a glamorous centerpiece.

I’ve seen magazine bowls at upscale art shops and figured I could make one myself. Now I know how, and it’s as easy as glue, scissors, and pages from old issues. What a fun way to recycle and make something beautiful at the same time.

In addition, Patricia’s gift wrapping techniques are a nice change of pace from generic paper. Learn how to make your own gift bags, bows, and boxes that are great to have on hand for holidays.

Unless you have a wide range of paper sitting around your house, you’ll probably have to make special purchases for these crafts. Not many just use scraps—they require materials from tracing paper and cardstock to textured papers and foam board. Plus you’ll want to have a variety of glues, scissors, and craft knives handy. But if you have the time and supplies, Patricia’s ideas are inexpensive and recyclable additions for the home. And they’re definitely cuter than my origami sailor’s hat.

About the contributor: Amy Anderson is an Indie Fixx interns and is also a student at Northwestern University. Amy has wanted to be a journalist since she was just 5 years old and she is also into the indie design and crafting scenes as well. In addition to writing the occasional post, she also helps me with a variety of projects.

Lauren Haupt is seriously one of my favorite jewelry designers…I own a couple of her pieces and could easily spend about $300 in her shop right now. I’m so pleased that Lauren agreed to let me pick her brain in an interview for Wednesday Indie Artist Fixx.

1. What’s the name of your business, what do create and sell and how did you get your start?

My business is Lauren Haupt Jewelry, but if you recognize my work from Etsy, you’ll see my user name is LocalLibrary. It’s an old name, I first created with Etsy and unfortunately unchangeable, unless I start a new shop account.

I am a creator/designer/constructor of necklaces and earrings. After realizing in college that furniture design wasn’t for me, I moved on and took a few metals and jewelry classes and fell in love. I love creating with my hands and this allowed me to continue to create material pieces while experimenting on a smaller scale with different styles, materials and ideas. A few months later, I took a part-time job at a bead shop where I gained invaluable information about materials, resources, trends and fabricating jewelry with beads, chain and wire. These are the skills I primarily employ, while I envision the future to hold a fully functional metalsmithing studio.

I heard about Etsy in a magazine I believe (Readymade?) and decided to sign up, post some new jewelry and see what happened. I freaked out when I saw not one, but two necklaces sell. And I realized I had no idea what to do next! I didn’t have packaging, business cards, anything really. It’s been a learning, discovering, resolving process ever since.

2. What are your inspirations in your art and life?

My inspiration come from everywhere; art mimicking life, life mimicking art. I have been inspired to create a piece from a chair I saw on display at MoMA, just as easily as I’ve found myself putting in an outfit I wouldn’t normally be drawn to because I’ve been inspired by a pair of earrings or necklace I’ve made.
Quality construction, complementary colors, beautiful lines, simplicity/complexity… I feel like these qualities inspire happiness and confidence in me and my goal is for that to be transferred into the jewelry I create.

3. What’s your creative process like?

I don’t have a specific method, and it tends to come in waves. I might see one color or one shape that I love and end up creating 5 different pieces around that idea. I sit down with my materials, tools, and the ideas in my head and play around until I have something finished in my hands and am leaping out of my chair to go try on in front of the mirror. Although it’s not always easy and it can be discouraging, especially if I work for a long time on a piece and have to throw up my hands and call it a day. One of my goals for this new year is to try out something I learned back in my furniture design classes: Measure twice, cut once.

4. Share something silly about yourself.

I am currently taking a cake decorating class! I’m so excited by it. I don’t have these aspirations to become a big fancy cake-shop owner but I’m excited about showing up with an awesome cake for someone’s birthday. Or maybe if I’m at the grocery store and I overhear at the bakery counter that no one is available to customize a birthday cake from the cooler, I could jump in a save the day! A girl can dream…

5. What blogs and mags do you read and what shops do you shop at?

Oh gosh, too many of both. It is sort of a joke among friends how many magazine subscriptions my fiancé and I have for one household but I really started jumping on the band wagon after Dominio went under and now Gourmet. I felt guilty about stealing the knowledge for free from Barnes and Noble.
I use Google Reader to organize all the blogs I check, three favorites being Moco Loco, The Dieline, and Smitten Kitchen. I don’t even feel right about naming those because they are so many more I love too! *couIndieFixxgh*

6. What 3 things can’t you live without?

1. My soon-to-be-husband, Alex. 2. My dog, Zen. 3. And my computer: it’s my business’ lifeline.

7. What’s new or in the works?

I’m glad you asked… I’m in the process of creating some pieces from my most popular ‘wings’ collection in all sterling silver. I’m very excited. I don’t have anything final ready yet, so I can’t honestly say how beautiful and amazing they will be, but I have a good feeling.

I would also like to say thank you to everyone out there that took the time to read this and/or has purchased (or received and worn) something from Lauren Haupt Jewelry. I am so truly grateful.

Today is the last auction benefit the Red Cross International Response Fund!

You can still bid on Day 9 Auction items as well until January 27th at 11:59 pm EST, so let’s make it count! Be sure to visit the Haiti Relief Fundraiser page for all the details about the donaters and the auction particulars.

How does it Work? Each day I will share a new batch of items you can bid on via the comments. You will be able to see everyone’s bids and rebid if you get outbid. The highest bidder will win the item and pledges the amount bid towards the Red Cross International Response Fund. The item will then be sent out in the mail to you from the artist, crafter or designer who donated it.

How to Bid. Leave a comment on this post with the following:

• your name
• your email address
• the item number
• your bid amount

Keep checking back throughout the day to see if you have been outbid. I will do my best to keep up with moderating comments, so you will be able to see everyone else’s bids. If you are outbid, rebid! You may bid on multiple items, just be prepared to win! The goal is to raise as much money as possible!

Item # 1 Tree Print w/ Rachel Carson quote from Earmark Invitations

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts” ~ Rachel Carson.  A gorgeous print with a distressed design and a large illustrated tree. It is simple and beautiful and we hope you agree. Print is 8″ x 10″ and is matted in a 11 x 14 double mat with a laid texture. Valued at $20

Bid on it and make it yours! The bidding period for this item will close January, 28th at 11:59 pm EST.

Item # 2  Spinning World Necklace from Sherry Truitt

The spinning world is a seasonal diagram found in the front pages of a 1935 world atlas. This is the view of earth called, spring begins. It’s a great piece for new beginnings. The world is forever preserved in domed magnifying resin and is set in a 16mm sterling silver loop bezel and hung by a 1.5mm, 16″ long sterling beaded chain. This necklace is ready to ship in a signature box. Valued at $40

Bid on it and make it yours! The bidding period for this item will close January, 28th at 11:59 pm EST.

Item # 3 Charcoal Soap and Squalane from Zaja Natural

This listing is for 2 sets of 1 charcoal soap and 1 squalane each. There will be 2 winners–the 2 top bidders will each win a set. The charcoal soap is a gentle facial bar that will leave your skin feeling smooth and thoroughly cleansed without stripping your skin of its natural moisture. Perfect for all skin types. The squalane  is a clear, odorless and colorless oil of very low polarity that is perfect for moisturizing your skin. Squalane is believed to boost the skin’s ability to naturally regenerate, nourish, hydrate, oxygenate and protect itself. Valued at $33.50

Bid on it and make it yours! The bidding period for this item will close January, 28th at 11:59 pm EST.

Item # 4 - Vase from Plays with Mud

Sweet little rustic-inspired vase, perfect for pencils or flowers.  Approximately 4″ tall and 3.5″ in diameter.  The glaze breaks along the text, making the variation and design of this vase completely unique.  The text reads “you make the world a brighter place”, because you’re making the world brighter by participating in this auction. Valued at $15

Bid on it and make it yours! The bidding period for this item will close January, 28th at 11:59 pm EST.