Some sauted squid

Hello again (virtual) reader,

As mentioned in my profile, I do have a particular interest in roasted squid, so here is one way of cooking it. Technically, we're talking about "sauté" squid rather than "roasted", but hell, who cares? (not to mention WHO's reading this?....)

You will need:
- Squid
- Chopped onions
- White wine
- tomatoes
- Green peas ( I use some frozen variety rather than a canned one, never really liked the canned ones. Don't ask...)
- some parsley, herbs, salt, pepper, tabasco....
- some olive oil

- Rinse the squids under tap water, and separate the "tentacles" from the body (this is optional, I just like to have a variety of shapes on my plate)
- In a pan, heat the oil and gently fry the onions, add the squids. It's preferable to have a really hot pan in order to give the squids a nice colour. After a minute or so, turn the heat down to medium
- Let the squid give out it's water, let the mix gently simmer until there is almost no liquid left.

- Add some green peas, white wine, chopped tomatoes. Let the mix simmer again for approx 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile add some salt, pepper, herbs, tabasco sauce....
- Turn off the heat, and add some freshly cut parsley.

Et voilà! Serve with rice, or whatever else you please. Bon appétit!

Treflon

Making tiny leaves

Hello again,

I saw this neat article by the super talented Mr. Calvin Tan, about making leaves http://zyclyon.blogspot.ch/2007/10/yeah-right.html  and thought the idea was absolutely brilliant. So after spending the equivalent of the foreign debt of Mexico on Eduard photoetched leaves and a bottle of Fimo Deco Gel, I decided to have a go.

Here's a picture of various sets partially covered in a mixture of Fimo Deco Gel and oil paint.

2 points worth mentioning:
- It is vital to use artists' oil (I guess enamel based would do as well) to colour the gel, using acrylics just turns it into a chewy mess
- Take extra care to apply the mixture carefully, without any of it flowing "under" or "between" the leaves. I was careless and ended up spending an insane amount of time just cleaning the 2 photoeched sheets (the ones on the right in the picture), because the mix had somewhat "encased" it in an rubbery shell.

Once this is done, I just stick the whole thing in the oven according to the Fimo instructions. (Roughly 15 mins at 120 degrees Centigrade, or something like that...). Then with a small blade, gently lift each leaf, one by one.

Here are a few leaves attached to a small piece of "zeeschuim",aka "Teloxys Aristata", a kind of shrub-like plant that seems to exist only to be used in scale modelling.... Prior to attaching the leaves, it has been given a quick coat of matt black.

And here's another one, with differently coloured leaves

And, as usual, to put things in context, here are some views of the final scene.

Happy Modelling!

Treflon