Char and Frank's Fall Art Tour Veggie Chili

Soooooo many of you asked for our Veggie Chili recipe. 
 Here it is:


Char and Frank's Fall Art Tour Chili


8 Medium Onions -Coarsely chopped.
Saute in
3-5 Tbsp Olive Oil
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Blend these spices in a bowl:
2/3 Cup Chili Powder
1/2 cup Dried Parsley
2 Tbsp Cumin
2-3 tsp Black Pepper
Optional:
3 tsp Basil
3 tsp Oregano
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Carmalize Onions at low heat.
Stir in powdered spices - cook 2-3 minutes.
ADD one bottle of Dark Beer.
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Add 6-8 Cloves of Garlic - minced.
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Simmer for 5 minutes.
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5 cans Beans - Your choice.
4 big cans Diced Tomatoes
1/2 to 1 cup Butter
2 tsp salt - Optional (we don't add it)
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8 Green and Red Bell Peppers - Coarsely chopped.
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Optional Ingredients 
(We add them all when we have them.)
2-4 cups fresh Home Grown Tomatoes
More Dark Beer
2-3 Apples - Diced
Butternut Squash - 2-3 cups- Diced.
1 1/2 cup Corn
 HOT..1/2 tsp Powdered Jalapeno Pepper .
  More if you like it.
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Simmer on low heat for one hour.
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Invite your friends over, rent a movie, buy some beer
and
ENJOY!!!

Fall Art Tour 2011

Thanks to everyone visiting our Baraboo, Wisconsin studio this past weekend!
We have done all eighteen years of the Tour
and we are grateful to all attending and shopping.
We are having a few days rest -
then full steam ahead for the Holiday shows.
Thank you we enjoying meeting the hundreds who visited the studio!

Fall Art Tour 2011

Join us at our Baraboo Studio during the
Fall Art Tour!
Both Mariella and I will be in the studio.
We will be show casing our new Leslie Trewyn Collection.
 This is a chance once a year to visit our studio and discuss our work.
Basketmaker, Kristie Weber-Mickler
will be making baskets in the garden
and Frank will have a booth full of his work.
 On Sunday we offer a Veggie Chili Brunch.
Our studio open at 10 AM on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and closes at 6 PM each day.
 Hope to see you in the Baraboo Studio!

Char's Leslie Trewyn Collection

Char from Helen's Daughters and painter, Leslie Trewyn,
 decided to collaborate on a Helen's Daughters handbags collection. 
Leslie lives, paints and has a gallery in Green Lake, Wisconsin.
 Leslie's bold folk art designs, flat shapes and vivid color
complement Char's color and texture sense.
 Here are the first dozen images.
 Char will be showing and selling this new collection at the
Galena Country Fair this weekend
and
in her studio in Baraboo during the Fall Art Tour.
She will also be selling Leslie's book, showing a life time of painting.
Check www.fallarttour.com  for info.

The Fall Finish - Helen's Daughters Downtown Garden

The sunflowers haven't bloomed yet; it's October
and we're still keeping our fingers crossed.
This is the finished Fall Downtown Garden.
 It was awash in color in July and now we have golds and browns.
We'll leave it there until March.  Many seeds for the birds to eat in January.
Thanks to someone helping us weed in September.  
We'll be back in April to start again.
Yes, we're planting daffodils  bulbs for a little spring color.
Hoped you all enjoy our Helen's Daughters Downtown Garden.

CranFest - Busman's Holiday

Mariella and Char  - Helen's Daughters - met in Warrens, Wisconsin
for a Bus-man's Holiday!  Thousands of people travel to this little community
and it's a huge fundraiser for every school, church and non profit in the area.
  Warrens is a major cranberry supplier for Ocean Spray.
Warrens celebrates the harvest and just about everything else.
We had fun just being spectators. 

Country Living Fair - Columbus, Ohio

What an adventure!  Our friend, Karen, volunteer to join us on this Journey.  We left Wednesday for the ten hour van road trip to Columbus.  Traffic was light, this made the trip an easy drive.  I can't believe we talked for 10 hours straight!  Thursday we set up the booth on the Ohio Village State Park grounds in Columbus.  We walked the village and everything said you're welcome to the Country Living Fair.  Friday was the first day.  People came from everywhere - New York, Atlanta, Texas, Colorado, California, Canada.  One of our first customers was from Portage...Wisconsin...ten miles from our Wisconsin Studio.  The grounds were divided into sections - Collectible/Antiques - Food Court - Artisans - Stars (We weren't stars this year, but we're working on it.) - Sponsors - Country Living Publications - Pumpkin and Gourd Market.  It was exciting, en-lighting, and we sold quite a few Helen's Daughters handbags.  Two of our handbags will even be going to Saudi Arabia during the Hajj at Mecca.  Saturday and Sunday were near perfect days. Blue skies and cool  temps.  About 15,000 came through the Country Living Fair Gates.  The tear down was easy.  We were out in two hours.  Headed back to Wisconsin, family and the real world.  Another 10 hour drive and conversation and home by 3 PM Monday. Huge thanks go to Karen.  After two weeks in Canada with her family, she jumped in our van and spent another six days with us in Ohio! We now call ourselves the "Bohemian Babes from Baraboo"!  Thank you Stella Corp, Country Living Magazine, Ohio Village Staff  for a successful fair - we WILL return in 2012!!