Just thought I'd come clean. Here on The Internets, for all the (tiny subset of the) world to see!!!! I have made a baby. Not just another CD this time, but an actual human baby! Penn Atticus was born in Davis on August 26. Both of us are doing really well, and Penn's dad has been a real inspiration. If there were a Nobel Prize for soothing (of baby and mom alike) and diaper-changing, he would be the first recipient. No real plans have materialized yet, but the intention is to go on tour with a new album in April of oh-eight. With or without Penn remains to be seen. (Anyone with nannying inclinations, do email.) But until then, I'm lying low. Cheers! xox

Well, folks! After years of traveling the world, making headline news at every turn and visiting the most exclusive nightclubs to discover "what's hot" in pop music... wait a minute. That's Paris Hilton. I am Lis Harvey. And I don't know what's hot! But I do know what's fun: new music, immediate satisfaction, and thimbles. I've spent a couple of recent weeks in various retreat/recording modes, and things are sounding amazing in the studio. This time around, I am controlling all the levers and switches (and "mwa-ha-ha"s and bubbling beakers full of green fluid). And I am so very, very pleased to announce that a new album will be born in February! Featuring... all new songs! I'm even happier to say that you can preorder the CD right now, granting yourself both immediate satisfaction and points toward sainthood.

In more immediate news, I'm taking some new songs on the road. My "Sharp As A Thimble" tour starts in California this weekend, and will be coming soon to a venue near you... if you live in CA, OR, WA, MT, ND, WI, IL, NH, MA or NY, that is. Come and say hi! I've named the tour after our president. Um, I mean a lyric in a new tune. And thanks to the machine shop at the University of California, you'll be able to examine an exciting (if overly literal) new line of Lis Harvey tour merchandise: sharp-as-a-thimble necklaces! They are wicked neat, if I do say so myself. Very Antiques-Roadshow. Many of the thimbles are, in fact, antiques, and over half of them came from the UK. On little thimble boats. With little thimble suitcases and tiny thimble children. Each one has been fashioned into a pendant on a silver-plated, ball-bead chain. (Not the young ones, of course.) You can order them off the website as long as I have them on hand:
www.lisharvey.com/music/merch.php Tshirts are so June 2006. Sewing notions are the wave of the future! That's all I've got for now. Thimbles and music and love, oh my...
xox

(visit my website - lisharvey.com - for tour dates & venues & stuff)

Ever wonder who I'm related to? Besides my birth moms, PJ & Liz? Well, this doesn't biologically answer that question (either), but here are my cousins Charlotte & Rachel, online with an amazing new website about their documentary, Rachel Is. You can get a peep at my lovely Aunt Jane, the author, as well. In addition to its being an adorable display of my fam, this website will be of particular interest to anyone who believes in civil rights for all, and in the fair treatment of mentally challenged people in America. If you want to read about why there are no Hummers involved, click on the FAQ.

www.JacktarFilms.com

xox

So, apparently, Hostess Snoballs are made of beef fat. "They're beef fa-a-at!" (Soilent Snoballs.) It's true. Or, at least true enough to be horrifying. Each and every pillowy little cake-puff is injected - inexplicably - with beef fat (what?!) and pork gelatin (why???) before it is dyed pink or purple or green and sent to your friendly neighborhood convenience store. [Take a moment to retrieve your jaw from the floor.] If you are cool with that, well, ok. But it gives me pause. Total kitty paws!

Here is a recipe for gourmet snowball cakes, ala Hostess but with a purer understanding of the words "dessert" and "appetizing." Elaborate and time consuming, yes, but hazardous to your health and well-being? No.

xox
p.s. special thanks to the lovely Doris Muramatsu from Girlyman, for finding this recipe and saving the day!

Pink Snowballs
by David Leite
Makes 6 large treats

David says: It took some tinkering before these perfect domes of fuzzy Day-Glo pinkness became the Marilyn Monroe of the snack rack. Hostess Sno Balls originally were chocolate cupcakes covered with ho-hum white marshmallow and shredded coconut, hence the name. Not long after, Hostess decided to jazz them up by using tinted pink coconut. And it wasn't until 1950 that the icing on the cake, so to speakthe cream fillingwas added. Although Sno Balls still turn heads after all these years, I've given them a face-lift using a rich cake made from Dutch-processed cocoa along with a
slathering of ethereal Italian meringue.

INGREDIENTS:
CAKE
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for coating molds
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting molds
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon chocolate extract, optional
1 teaspoon powdered instant coffee dissolved in 2/3 cup boiling water

MERINGUE FILLING AND FROSTING
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, preferably Baker's Angel Flake Coconut
6 drops red food coloring

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
Domed cupcake pan with six 1/2-cup molds, 3 1/2 inches in diameter by 1
1/2 inches deep.

METHOD
1. Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour the molds. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars until fluffy, about 5
minutes.
2. Meanwhile, sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a medium
bowl and set aside. Add the egg and then the yolk to the butter and sugar
mixture, scraping the bowl after each addition. Add the sour cream and
extract, and mix until combined. Alternate adding the dry ingredients with
the instant coffee mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Fill the
molds almost to the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean,
about 20 to 25 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack and let cool 5 minutes.
Run the tip of a knife around the rim of each cake and lift out. Place
domes on a rack to cool completely.
3. In a small, heavy saucepan combine the sugar and water. Place over
medium heat and boil, covered, for 3 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook
until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage (235° to 240°/112°C to 115°C)
for another 3 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, using a stand mixer, beat the egg whites on high speed. When
frothy, add the salt. Beat until the whites are glossy and hold soft
peaks. When the syrup is ready, pour it in a very thin stream down the
side of the bowl into the egg whites. Continue to beat on high until the
mixture cools, about 8 to 10 minutes. When cool, beat in the vanilla;
reserve about 3/4 cup. Add three drops of the red food coloring to the
remaining meringue.
5. Place the coconut in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, add
three drops of food coloring and pulse 15 times. Pour into a large bowl.
6. With a serrated knife, carefully slice off the top third of each
snowball. Pinch about a tablespoon and a half of cake from the bottom
section and discard. Fill the hole with a dollop of the white meringue and
replace the top. Thickly frost the top of the snowballs with the pink
meringue. Then generously sprinkle each one with coconut until completely
covered. Tamp down gently to maintain the domed shape. Serve on individual
plates.

Bring a box of tissues to Nanny McPhee! (Says the girl who cried all the way through Home Alone.) What a great film, but I confess it made me leak a little. I love that Emma Thompson, what a gorgeous gal... and I know I'm not the only sucker for Brit actors. Friends, write and tell me i am not alone! Oh, I almost sobbed out loud when I saw Derek Jacobi... :) Good actors are such wonderful, flexible things.

Oopsles, I posted a new blog on my vanilla website. Have a look! My little journal. xox

Hi guys! MySpace is a forgiving world, where there are no rights or wrongs. Right? Then here goes. I am about to share... a recipe! Here's to eating your Daily Five* in 2006. (You could basically get your required veggies in one sitting with this snack.) Krispy Kale [for those who prefer potato chips to vegetables, e.g. me.] ingredients: one bunch kale, one teaspoon olive oil & a bit of kosher salt - Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. (180 Celsius) - Chop a bunch of kale leaves into big, chunky pieces (lose the stems). Rinsing beforehand is not a bad idea. - Toss kale with olive oil (about 1 teaspoon). - Arrange kale on a cookie sheet or in a large oven-safe pan, and bake for 7 minutes. - Remove, toss leaves a bit, sprinkle a teaspoon of kosher salt (or a bit less of regular salt) over the whole mess, and bake for another 8 minutes or so. (15 - 20 total.) - Gobble. A fork is optional, as is sharing. *Daily Five is five servings of veggies a day. Helps you to live without dying. xox

my new little studio has been upgraded to waterfront property! northern california is raining in the new year. xox