Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Almost Midsummer Already?

It's been a while, since late spring a couple of weeks ago, and now it's summer. Something ate one of the two teeny eggplants in the garden, and the zucchini are still in flower, with a few tiny squash turning up. A few tiny green tomatoes are emerging. The knitting has been on two sweaters, so not much progress to report. I'm really enjoying Hjalte now, and I don't feel like each row takes half an hour now that I've gotten used to it. It's still a BIG project, though. And it looks like my boring version of Tussie Mussie is really going to make the jump from swatch to sweater, since I'm at the increases past the waist. I will have to shop for a fun closure to make it a more interesting piece, but a light sweater will be useful here. Hjalte is my complicated knitting and Tussie is my mindless knitting (I actually knit in the dark at outdoor-with-a-fire book club, until someone said something funny that made me drop a stitch), so I'm not starting anything until those are finished. Well, we'll see. I have quite the queue on Ravelry, almost all involving stash yarn (except Fifi, which Amy enticed me with), so I won't be bored.

Reading: I'm re-reading Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, one of my all-time favorite reads. I've been really moving through books for the book blog, and it's amazing I've gone this long without re-reading these.

Writing: Yes, indeed, the writing nook has not seen this much action in...ever. I've been up here a lot, noodling around. Not a lot of page count progress to report, but a bit of poetry, a few half-formed ideas, and a line here and there are certainly better than nothing.

Cooking: Wow, lots of cooking. We finally got our grill our third summer living here. You know what's awesome? Grilled pizza. Mmmmm. I did make it with the fennel and the super-easy, delicious tomato sauce. Matt had pepperoni on his instead. I didn't share the Gruyere for the pepperoni pizza, but made him use mozzarella. I'm still sort of afraid to use the grill, so I did all the prep and Matt was in charge of the grill. I have to get less intimidated by the grill.

More Strawberry-Black Pepper-Mint preserves. What else? Oh! The Great Mojito Truffle Experiment! I had these in my head for a while, inspired by the huge patch of mint in the yard, and I finally did the first draft. And they were a hit! I did one batch with a creamy white chocolate-based center and a bittersweet chocolate version (because that's what I like the best). I think the white chocolate were more what I was going for, but I really liked the bittersweet. I used my book club as guinea pigs, and the truffles were well-received, with the group pretty divided on which version was best. I have to type up my recipes before I forget what I did...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mojito truffles - you are a wonder. Cannot wait to hear more about those.

Gruyere really is worth keeping to yourself. Good move.

I'm no expert on the grill, but I'm less timid than I used to be. Heidi helps with her kick-butt recipes. Embrace that grill! Well, not literally.

Everyone needs a Tussie Mussie, with or without the tuss and muss. The knitting-by-the-fire thing probably works better without. :)

I am again envious of your garden progress. Although my first tomato seeds never did sprout, I am happy to report that upon second planting we have liftoff. Given how cold it's been so far this season in California, I don't think they'd be flourishing yet even if planted (successfully) sooner.

At least that's what I tell myself and my not-at-all-green thumb.

String Bean said...

Ohhh, grilled pizza is the BEST. My sister is supposed to give us her Weber grill, but it hasn't made it's way over yet. Hmm...

I want some truffles. I've been craving chocolate like a heroin addict who's had to put up with a methadone-stingy nurse. Chocolate! Just give me a little more!!

Our garden sucks. Some flowers. Yup. Rental gardening is just no fun. :P Glad to hear you're having fun planting everything under the sun. Have you tried onions?

I looked up Hjalte on Ravelry. Wow. Awesome cables. Can't wait to see how yours looks when it's done.

YarnThrower said...

I'm afraid of the grill, too. In spite of a past career in which I was one of only a few women in the field (in my day), I am anything but a feminist, so I'm not afraid to say that I think it's maybe a guy thing... I know I could figure it out, though I have no interest in it, and as long as my husband is the only one in the household who is sort of efficient and knowledgeable about it, I see no reason for me to step into that territory. I think it is sort of the way my husband views my relationship with the washing machine... Hmmm... Now that got me thinking.....

Have a great Thursday!