I've been waffling about goals for 2008 (in a number of areas of life, but let's start with knitting), and I found La's Mission through TurtleGirl's Bloggy Thing. It could not be more perfect for me! I have a lot of abandoned projects in-the-making, not much knitting time, and too much yarn to justify additional purchases. I've been organizing Ye Olde Stashe and thinking I really ought to do more de-stashing, but really, I need to make some plans for the yarn I want to use and figure out what is never going to happen.
Here is the challenge:
The saying goes that yarn and fiber does not have an expiration date. This is about change. Fiber that has been sitting in your stash…
-Find it!
-Remember when you bought it!
-Remember what did you want to do with!
Look for:
12 things – could be 12 balls of sock yarn for 12 pairs of socks
12 balls of yarn that you refuse to throw out or that are left over from another project
12 balls of roving
12 WIPs
12 UFOs…
The clock is ticking. Everything – meaning the 12 things you picked - needs to be gone by December 31, 2008. It is up to you to achieve your goal and finish 12 possible missions.
You can…
…Fullfill its original destiny!
…Do something completely different!
…Donate it!
…Throw it out!
…Set it on fire! But then we want to see the video on YouTube!
The goal is to get these 12 items out of your stash by the end of 2008!
And here are a few rules:
1. You commit to the 12 tasks and put your list either on the Ravelry group or on your blog.
2. You finish all of your tasks by December 31, 2008.
3. If you don’t accomplish your goal, you will have to donate the selected items.
So, I am going to actually post my 12 goals, and maybe stick them on the template so I don't forget about them. My larger goal is one FO per month (I know, this is unbelievably sad and pathetic, but I didn't even come close last year), but here are my 12 stash items and my plans for them:
1. Gryffindor Sock Yarn: I want a pair of Gryffindor socks for me this year. I made a pair for Matt and then lost momentum and didn't make mine.
2. Opal Sock Yarn in Tiger: I bought this to make a pair of socks for Matt for Christmas 2005. Enough said.
3. Opal Sock Yarn from Christmas: I got this at Christmas, and I'm working on Waving Lace Socks for me. On the needles.
4. Lorna's Laces in Vera: socks for me.
5. Lorna's Laces in Happy Valley: socks for me.
6. Tons of Peruvian Silk from elann.com in orchid: Destined to be a Henley Perfected.
7. Malabrigo in Velvet Grapes: Simple Knitted Bodice for me. On the needles.
8. Rowanspun 4-Ply in Siren: Tussie Mussie for me. On the needles.
9. Zephyr Wool Silk in Black: Irish Diamond Shawl on the needles for ages. Meant to be a Christmas 2007 gift for my mother-in-law, but fizzled out, and hanging out on the needles.
10. Sunshine Yarns in Strawberry Banana: either socks or something for Lilah.
11. Lilah's Noro Silk Garden: Only one skein, which makes it challenging. I have to find something to do with this and knit it for her before the end of the year.
12. 7 balls of Peruvian Silk in dark purple: Find something to do with it and knit it! Maybe for Lilah, because she loves purple.
I have older stash yarn, including a really annoying bag of Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton in various colors, Debbie Bliss Merino Aran in various colors, and a ton of feltable worsted weight in various colors, so I'll call it a bonus if I get rid of them this year. This list goes with my determination to knit socks this year, and except for the Irish Diamond Shawl, it may actually be do-able. We'll see! I'll save progress photos for next post, since this knitting section is pretty big.
Reading: I was reading, erm, romance novels. Ahem. But now I'm reading Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, a juvenile fantasy novel that I bought entirely for the title (but I guess a smidge for the pirate-y cover). It's extremely odd. I thought it would be more of a pirate adventure, but so far, not so much. It's very meandering, but I'll wait until it's done before deciding if that works or not. I like the voice, which is a narrator in the Dear Reader tradition, but I'm starting to wonder where the heck it's going. Still no sign of the Ironic Gentleman (a pirate ship) halfway through.
Writing: Not a thing, darn it. I need to have a goal for writing in 2008. Maybe "Do some writing" would work. Ten words a month? Actually, I'd like to actually complete a draft of the murder mystery this year, which requires some help from Lilah and Matt. As I was typing this, FedEx brought my writing desk! I'll set it up at Lilah's next nap, whenever that may be.
Cooking: I made some kickin' granola (well, if granola can be described as kickin'). My first attempt was not that great. I was inspired by a Cooking Light recipe in the December issue, and it just didn't work out that well. My husband said nicely that it was okay, but he didn't like "those chewy things." "Which chewy things?" I asked. "The apricots? The dried cherries?" He didn't know. I mostly thought it was sort of blah. So I took this granola recipe I found on allrecipes.com and cut it in half because it looked like it would feed a platoon. I also cut down on the honey and oil, because, well just look at the nutritional info. I added vanilla and cinnamon because of the aforementioned boring granola experience. I thought it was really nice, and Matt liked it too. I made it with the original proportion of sesame seeds, which was A LOT of sesame seeds, so I cut the amount (reflected below).
Great Granola
INGREDIENTS
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cups honey
1/4 cup apple cider
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 300.
In a large bowl, stir together the oats, almonds, walnuts, pecans, sesame seeds, flax seed meal, coconut, sunflower seeds, salt, and cinnamon. Combine oil, honey, cider, and vanilla in a microwave safe measuring cup and microwave for 2 minutes on high, stirring every 30 seconds, until mixture is well-combined and warm. Pour over the oat mixture, and stir to coat evenly. Spread out in an even layer on a jelly roll pan coated well with cooking spray.
Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until the oats and nuts are toasted, stirring once halfway through cooking. Immediately after it comes out of the oven, stir in the raisins and dried cranberries. Let stand until cooled, and stir again to break up any large clusters. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
I also made hummus and baba ghanosh. And this awesome black bean soup from the Jan/Feb Cooking Light. Even Lilah loved it, and it was easy.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
The State of Other Stuff
After doing my State of the Yarn post, I started thinking (especially prompted by Rachel's hilarious comment) about the State of Other Stuff. Thinking about it, I managed to accomplish a lot in 2007--it's just not as obvious as a pile of knitted objects. I still want to increase my knitting output and (for the love of Pete) get back to my writing (dare I say, complete draft finished in 2008?), but I'm not such a slacker, I guess. Scroll down if bragging annoys you, and you can see my knitting progress!
Things I accomplished in 2007:
1. Made it through a full year of baby-related sleep-deprivation, with sanity more or less intact. Lilah is a bad sleeper. A *bad* sleeper. She thinks sleep is a waste of her time. She hates going to sleep, and she hates staying asleep once she's finally succumbed. A friend of mine was talking wistfully about a friend whose baby goes to sleep at 7:00 pm and wakes up at 7:00 am WITHOUT WAKING UP ONCE. I could not comprehend this. "How long does your baby sleep at once?" I asked. He sleeps 10 hours, then goes back to sleep for two more after having his diaper changed. Oh, and he takes two naps, 1-2 hours each. I stared at her, dumbstruck. "And you're complaining? Last night, it took two and a half hours to get Lilah down, and she woke up four times, once for over an hour! And I'm lucky if she takes one one-hour nap." She seems (knock on wood) to be doing a bit better. For the last week, she's had one 6-8 hour stretch of sleep. Not to whine or anything (okay, I'm whining!), but constantly getting a maximum of 4 hours of sleep at once is tough. But if she takes a decent (over an hour) nap, she won't take a second one.
2. Made it through a year of breastfeeding. Lilah has actually never had formula. It was really important to me to breastfeed for her first year. And I made it!
3. Made all of Lilah's food, except for baby cereals (for the iron content). Lilah has never had jars of baby food, and I'm really pleased about that. It took almost no time for me, and she's turned into a great eater. We're transitioning to feeding her our food (sometimes with modifications), and it's going very well.
4. Made it through a year of cloth diapering. It actually isn't that much work, and when she's been learning to walk, the extra padding on her rear end comes in handy :)
5. Moved from Madison to Atlanta. The house is reasonably the way we want it, too, although we still have a few boxes here and there, and no pictures on the walls.
6. Increased our square footage at least threefold, and added a yard. And managed to keep the place, not spotless, but free from Health Department interference.
7. Made friends and got involved in our new community. (Remember all the bake sale posting?)
8. Kept up with my reading, even some literary reading (although the proportion of "comfort reading" (re-reading favorites or reading more fluffy fare) to literary is not exactly where it could be), which is nothing to sneeze at. I also started (and keep up with!) LibraryThing.
9. Lost all the baby weight plus 20 extra pounds that had been hanging around since college. Went down 2 sizes from just before pregnancy.
10. Kept blogging! Not always often, and not always interesting, but I've kept the blog going. I've enjoyed the people I've "met" through blogging, as well as having a record of my main pursuits, even when I just keep posting "nothing new" in the writing column over and over.
Okay, bragging over. Onto the content.
Knitting: I'm on the foot part of Sock #1 of the Waving Lace Socks from Favorite Socks. I'm using Opal, which is not my favorite, but I think the colors, which are vaguely oceanic, complement the waving pattern nicely. I wore my only handknit pair of socks yesterday (Jaywalkers), and I may rip those out after I finish knitting all my current sock yarn (in addition to what I posted last time, I have Opal in Tiger (for my husband), a Sunshine Yarns skein in Strawberry Banana, and Gryffindor stripe). They look nice, they really do. Only it's a huge pain to get them on and off my feet. I read that the pattern was inflexible, but I assumed that since it was a sock pattern, they'd at least be functional, but they're really not. So, I'll be screening my sock patterns more carefully.
I also cast on for the Simple Knitted Bodice with my Malabrigo. My word, this is soft. Knit bloggers are always going on and on about Malabrigo, and I get it now. It is luscious. And the colors are just out of this world. But I knit a few rows on this, then switched to my sock, and the Opal felt like sandpaper in comparison. This sweater has been on my list since I saw Rain's lovely version. And the Malabrigo is perfect. I have four balls and ordered two more. There are no dye lots, so I'm really crossing my fingers and praying to the knitting gods that they look okay together. This may be the worst progress photo ever. The lighting in our house is really challenging, especially on cloudy days, and I need to find somewhere I can consistently get decent photos. The other problem with the sweater is that it's just a couple inches of stockinette right now, and so likes to roll into a ball. But here's an idea, anyway:
Rachel inspired me to get the Winter issue of Interweave and add the Henley Perfected to my queue. If you haven't seen it, check it out here. It's the kind of knitted sweater about which a non-knitter would say in awe, "Wow, that looks like something you could buy in the store!" and think it's a compliment. I have Baby Alpaca from Elann in a light orchid color, and lots of it. I had started a tank, but wasn't really into it, so I ripped it out, and I have more than enough for the Henley Perfected. I stopped getting Interweave, mostly because of a lack of knitting time, but also because there aren't that many patterns I was into. But there are a few sweaters in this issue that I might like to knit (I really like the Gathered Pullover). Although, if the skirt makes the size 2 model's rear look big, there's no way I would ever attempt it. And there's a ruched tank that looks like a maternity top, again on the size 2 model. So those won't make it to my queue.
Writing: You know the story: no time, no energy.
Reading: Not Just a Witch by Eva Ibbotson: Heckie can turn anyone into an animal and Dora can turn anyone into stone. The two are best friends until a falling-out over a hat. They end up duped by a furrier looking for exotic pelts, but join together to make everything right in the end. Not her best effort, but a cute story nonetheless.
Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson. Tired of waiting for the next dark wizard to take his place, Arriman the Awful decides to marry. He auditions all the local witches with a contest--whoever performs the darkest magic wins. Belladonna desperately wants to win, but flowers and fluffy bunny rabbits tend to spring up all around her and she finds dark magic impossible to perform. With the help of an orphan named Terrence, she comes up with a plan. This one is really cute and charming. Terrence is adorable, and Belladonna's inadvertent white magic is very funny. Arriman is a hoot. This is one of my favorite Ibbotsons, and that's really saying something.
Books 2 and 3 in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The first is The Lightning Thief (the author is Rick Riordan), and 2 and 3 are NOT a disappointment. If anything, they're even better than the first.
I also read Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich. Everyone says the between-the-numbers Plum books are not as good, and they're right. But this was still fun. Grandma Mazur at the slots, Lula modeling underwear, a guy who thinks he's a leprechaun...what's not to like? And it's a fun diversion while waiting for Fearless Fourteen to come out.
Cooking: From this month's Cooking Light, I made Tomato-Braised Beans Over Polenta and Orange-Cranberry Wheat Germ Muffins. This beans were really good. Every year, they tweak their format a bit, and for 2008, the Inspired Vegetarian column is looking at a different world cuisine every month. This month was the Veneto, the region in Italy that includes Venice. The recipe calls for cannellini beans, although the notes say that cranberry beans are authentic if you can find them canned. I found dried cranberry beans with no effort at all, and prepared them. (Seriously, how hard is that? You dump them in a pot with water and leave them overnight. The next day, you drain them, add more water, and simmer them for an hour and a half or so.) Lilah LOVES cranberry beans, as it turns out. Matt thought the muffins tasted rather healthy for him, but I like them. They're not big, though, for 200 calories per muffin. I could eat three pretty easily. From the December issue, I made
Peanut Squash Soup. I'd made this before, but this time I started out doubling the recipe, and made it thicker, like a stew. I only had one squash, so I added a sweet potato. I also took some out for Lilah before adding the peanut butter and chile. She loves the mild, peanut-free version. She's getting really insistent about eating what we're eating. She'll point vigorously past her own dish to indicate ours. My little brother mostly pointed and grunted until he was, like, four, and then we couldn't shut him up, so I'm trying not to worry that Lilah mostly points. She says Dada, Mama, Ki-Kat (for kitty cat), and Meow. When Matt comes home, she rushes to the door, saying "Da-Da!" and smiling up at him. She yells "Mama!" and pounds on her tray when I'm not making her dinner fast enough. Hmmm. Anyway, I also made oatmeal cookies. Nothing fancy, just the recipe from the barrel of Quaker Oats. But yum!
Peanut Stew (adapted from Cooking Light)
Ingredients
1 TBL peanut oil (I used canola for Lilah)
4 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (1 medium)
4 cups cubed peeled sweet potato (1 very large)
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
4 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cup natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Preparation
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add squash and next 6 ingredients (through coriander); sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add broth, peanut butter, tomato paste, and pepper, stirring well to combine; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes or until the squash and sweet potato are tender. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve over brown rice.
Note: Cooking Light called for reduced-fat creamy peanut butter. I have never seen the point of this. It has the same calories, and they just replace the fat with sugar. Or high-fructose corn syrup. Once I tried natural peanut butter, I can't even eat Skippy or Jif, with the corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils (or palm oil). It's completely different, and it's real food. Worth the slightly higher fat content.
Things I accomplished in 2007:
1. Made it through a full year of baby-related sleep-deprivation, with sanity more or less intact. Lilah is a bad sleeper. A *bad* sleeper. She thinks sleep is a waste of her time. She hates going to sleep, and she hates staying asleep once she's finally succumbed. A friend of mine was talking wistfully about a friend whose baby goes to sleep at 7:00 pm and wakes up at 7:00 am WITHOUT WAKING UP ONCE. I could not comprehend this. "How long does your baby sleep at once?" I asked. He sleeps 10 hours, then goes back to sleep for two more after having his diaper changed. Oh, and he takes two naps, 1-2 hours each. I stared at her, dumbstruck. "And you're complaining? Last night, it took two and a half hours to get Lilah down, and she woke up four times, once for over an hour! And I'm lucky if she takes one one-hour nap." She seems (knock on wood) to be doing a bit better. For the last week, she's had one 6-8 hour stretch of sleep. Not to whine or anything (okay, I'm whining!), but constantly getting a maximum of 4 hours of sleep at once is tough. But if she takes a decent (over an hour) nap, she won't take a second one.
2. Made it through a year of breastfeeding. Lilah has actually never had formula. It was really important to me to breastfeed for her first year. And I made it!
3. Made all of Lilah's food, except for baby cereals (for the iron content). Lilah has never had jars of baby food, and I'm really pleased about that. It took almost no time for me, and she's turned into a great eater. We're transitioning to feeding her our food (sometimes with modifications), and it's going very well.
4. Made it through a year of cloth diapering. It actually isn't that much work, and when she's been learning to walk, the extra padding on her rear end comes in handy :)
5. Moved from Madison to Atlanta. The house is reasonably the way we want it, too, although we still have a few boxes here and there, and no pictures on the walls.
6. Increased our square footage at least threefold, and added a yard. And managed to keep the place, not spotless, but free from Health Department interference.
7. Made friends and got involved in our new community. (Remember all the bake sale posting?)
8. Kept up with my reading, even some literary reading (although the proportion of "comfort reading" (re-reading favorites or reading more fluffy fare) to literary is not exactly where it could be), which is nothing to sneeze at. I also started (and keep up with!) LibraryThing.
9. Lost all the baby weight plus 20 extra pounds that had been hanging around since college. Went down 2 sizes from just before pregnancy.
10. Kept blogging! Not always often, and not always interesting, but I've kept the blog going. I've enjoyed the people I've "met" through blogging, as well as having a record of my main pursuits, even when I just keep posting "nothing new" in the writing column over and over.
Okay, bragging over. Onto the content.
Knitting: I'm on the foot part of Sock #1 of the Waving Lace Socks from Favorite Socks. I'm using Opal, which is not my favorite, but I think the colors, which are vaguely oceanic, complement the waving pattern nicely. I wore my only handknit pair of socks yesterday (Jaywalkers), and I may rip those out after I finish knitting all my current sock yarn (in addition to what I posted last time, I have Opal in Tiger (for my husband), a Sunshine Yarns skein in Strawberry Banana, and Gryffindor stripe). They look nice, they really do. Only it's a huge pain to get them on and off my feet. I read that the pattern was inflexible, but I assumed that since it was a sock pattern, they'd at least be functional, but they're really not. So, I'll be screening my sock patterns more carefully.
I also cast on for the Simple Knitted Bodice with my Malabrigo. My word, this is soft. Knit bloggers are always going on and on about Malabrigo, and I get it now. It is luscious. And the colors are just out of this world. But I knit a few rows on this, then switched to my sock, and the Opal felt like sandpaper in comparison. This sweater has been on my list since I saw Rain's lovely version. And the Malabrigo is perfect. I have four balls and ordered two more. There are no dye lots, so I'm really crossing my fingers and praying to the knitting gods that they look okay together. This may be the worst progress photo ever. The lighting in our house is really challenging, especially on cloudy days, and I need to find somewhere I can consistently get decent photos. The other problem with the sweater is that it's just a couple inches of stockinette right now, and so likes to roll into a ball. But here's an idea, anyway:
Rachel inspired me to get the Winter issue of Interweave and add the Henley Perfected to my queue. If you haven't seen it, check it out here. It's the kind of knitted sweater about which a non-knitter would say in awe, "Wow, that looks like something you could buy in the store!" and think it's a compliment. I have Baby Alpaca from Elann in a light orchid color, and lots of it. I had started a tank, but wasn't really into it, so I ripped it out, and I have more than enough for the Henley Perfected. I stopped getting Interweave, mostly because of a lack of knitting time, but also because there aren't that many patterns I was into. But there are a few sweaters in this issue that I might like to knit (I really like the Gathered Pullover). Although, if the skirt makes the size 2 model's rear look big, there's no way I would ever attempt it. And there's a ruched tank that looks like a maternity top, again on the size 2 model. So those won't make it to my queue.
Writing: You know the story: no time, no energy.
Reading: Not Just a Witch by Eva Ibbotson: Heckie can turn anyone into an animal and Dora can turn anyone into stone. The two are best friends until a falling-out over a hat. They end up duped by a furrier looking for exotic pelts, but join together to make everything right in the end. Not her best effort, but a cute story nonetheless.
Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson. Tired of waiting for the next dark wizard to take his place, Arriman the Awful decides to marry. He auditions all the local witches with a contest--whoever performs the darkest magic wins. Belladonna desperately wants to win, but flowers and fluffy bunny rabbits tend to spring up all around her and she finds dark magic impossible to perform. With the help of an orphan named Terrence, she comes up with a plan. This one is really cute and charming. Terrence is adorable, and Belladonna's inadvertent white magic is very funny. Arriman is a hoot. This is one of my favorite Ibbotsons, and that's really saying something.
Books 2 and 3 in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The first is The Lightning Thief (the author is Rick Riordan), and 2 and 3 are NOT a disappointment. If anything, they're even better than the first.
I also read Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich. Everyone says the between-the-numbers Plum books are not as good, and they're right. But this was still fun. Grandma Mazur at the slots, Lula modeling underwear, a guy who thinks he's a leprechaun...what's not to like? And it's a fun diversion while waiting for Fearless Fourteen to come out.
Cooking: From this month's Cooking Light, I made Tomato-Braised Beans Over Polenta and Orange-Cranberry Wheat Germ Muffins. This beans were really good. Every year, they tweak their format a bit, and for 2008, the Inspired Vegetarian column is looking at a different world cuisine every month. This month was the Veneto, the region in Italy that includes Venice. The recipe calls for cannellini beans, although the notes say that cranberry beans are authentic if you can find them canned. I found dried cranberry beans with no effort at all, and prepared them. (Seriously, how hard is that? You dump them in a pot with water and leave them overnight. The next day, you drain them, add more water, and simmer them for an hour and a half or so.) Lilah LOVES cranberry beans, as it turns out. Matt thought the muffins tasted rather healthy for him, but I like them. They're not big, though, for 200 calories per muffin. I could eat three pretty easily. From the December issue, I made
Peanut Squash Soup. I'd made this before, but this time I started out doubling the recipe, and made it thicker, like a stew. I only had one squash, so I added a sweet potato. I also took some out for Lilah before adding the peanut butter and chile. She loves the mild, peanut-free version. She's getting really insistent about eating what we're eating. She'll point vigorously past her own dish to indicate ours. My little brother mostly pointed and grunted until he was, like, four, and then we couldn't shut him up, so I'm trying not to worry that Lilah mostly points. She says Dada, Mama, Ki-Kat (for kitty cat), and Meow. When Matt comes home, she rushes to the door, saying "Da-Da!" and smiling up at him. She yells "Mama!" and pounds on her tray when I'm not making her dinner fast enough. Hmmm. Anyway, I also made oatmeal cookies. Nothing fancy, just the recipe from the barrel of Quaker Oats. But yum!
Peanut Stew (adapted from Cooking Light)
Ingredients
1 TBL peanut oil (I used canola for Lilah)
4 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (1 medium)
4 cups cubed peeled sweet potato (1 very large)
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
4 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cup natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Preparation
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add squash and next 6 ingredients (through coriander); sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add broth, peanut butter, tomato paste, and pepper, stirring well to combine; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes or until the squash and sweet potato are tender. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve over brown rice.
Note: Cooking Light called for reduced-fat creamy peanut butter. I have never seen the point of this. It has the same calories, and they just replace the fat with sugar. Or high-fructose corn syrup. Once I tried natural peanut butter, I can't even eat Skippy or Jif, with the corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils (or palm oil). It's completely different, and it's real food. Worth the slightly higher fat content.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
The State Of The Yarn
First, a quick comments round-up. Rachel, thank you for the cousin information. I've always been fuzzy on those distinctions. And thank you for Lilah's happy birthday wishes. We went to the aquarium for her birthday, and she loved the penguins and the pink and purple fish. Her penguin thing is a crackup. She's loved penguins since she was 5 or 6 months old. Thank you to everyone who was nice about my Branching Out and Fuzzy Feet. I was really pleased with both of them. I want to do more gift knitting this year, if I can fit it in.
Well, I updated my 2007 Finished Project list (to the left), and I was pretty appalled. Really???? That was it??? No sweaters and only eight items. Boy, motherhood has really slowed me down! We've been doing lots of cleaning and organizing while my mom is out visiting for two weeks (which is totally like having Mary Poppins over), and I decided to catalogue my stash and take a look at the projects I'd like to add to my to-do list. And maybe set a goal like, one FO a month at least! I want to knit socks for me, because I have only my Jaywalkers as far as hand-knit socks go, and I was suddenly bitten by the sock bug. I would like to expand my sock-knitting capabilities, as I have only done top-down, heel-flap socks on dpns. I am a newbie sock-knitter, though, and kind of a spaz about it, so I don't feel like I can modify patterns to suit my needs at this point. So when people say, "Oh, I did XYZ pattern, but I changed it to toe-up and magic loop and short-rowed the heel" I am in awe. I need a pattern to spell out what to do right now. Fortunately, there's my Christmas sock knitting book, and also knitty. I have some goodies to show you because I got a big box of yarn for Christmas.
Here is the Noro Silk Garden that Lilah picked out:
I have one skein and want to do something cool with it. No idea what, yet.
Christmas gifts:
Lorna's Laces in Happy Valley:
Malabrigo Worsted in Velvet Grapes:
Opal Cotton:
Lorna's Laces in Vera (I love this color):
(By the way, I started this post ages ago, and I'm only partly through my cataloguing. Not that I have a huge stash, but I had to unravel some UFOs and move things around.) I have so many good yarn pictures up that I think I'll wait to post my current project, socks on the Opal yarn. The yarn is nice, but I think I like Lorna's Laces better. I love the colors, though, like the ocean. I'm not all that thrilled with the dpns, which are still awkward to knit on. Turtlegirl helpfully pointed out that her Red Dwarf Sock pattern was on two circs and toe-up, both sock techniques I really want to try. I love the pattern, but all my sock yarn is fingering weight, and I have no sport weight. I have Interweave Knits' Favorite Socks book, and I'm starting with a top-down, heel flap sock since it's been a while for me and sock knitting. I like it quite a bit so far, despite the dpns.
Any ideas for the Malabrigo? The chunky would work perfectly for Cherie Amour, but I'm not sure about the worsted. It's 864 yards, and I adore the color.
Reading: I've been reading quite a bit. I'm trying to read What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy by Gregory Maguire and having trouble getting into it. I may need to read something else first.
The Lightning Thief: I had such a great time reading this book. And I took one of my Christmas B&N gift cards and ordered 2&3 right away. And probably I'll be pre-ordering #4. This was such a fresh take on juvenile fantasy. And such a sneaky way to get kids interested in learning about Greek mythology. There are two ways to go with this sort of story; either put the hero into a magical world or bring the magic into this world. Harry Potter goes the first way, and the Percy Jackson books go the other. Matt asked what I was reading and I told him "post-Harry Potter juvenile fantasy." He laughed and asked if we were already at the post-Harry Potter age of literature. I guess I just think of juvenile fantasy written since Harry Potter became an unstoppable force as inevitably influenced by it (at least authors publishing new books, especially series--authors who were already writing don't really have this problem). And Riordan really could have pitched this to his publisher as "Harry Potter, but in New York and with Greek gods." But his writing is crisp and witty, Percy is an immensely likable hero with whom kids will love to identify (especially kids who tend to not like reading, those with dyslexia and ADHD, both of which Percy has as a result of being half-blood), and the book was just plain fun and action-packed to the hilt. He's charting Percy's hero journey, and the necessary archetypal elements make comparisons to Harry Potter inevitable. It didn't bother me, though, because Riordan's story is original and inventive, and the ways he finds to bring Greek gods into modern-day America are endlessly creative. I can't wait to read the next installment.
The Beasts of Clawstone Castle by Eva Ibbotson: Madlyn and Rollo go to spend the summer with distant relatives who live in Clawstone Castle, a crumbling money pit opened to the public to raise funds to preserve a herd of white cattle. The children audition ghosts to help bring in more visitors, but a terrible fate befalls the cattle, leading to their quest (together with the memorable collection of ghosts) to save them. Ibbotson has written several ghost stories with a twist. In the tradition of Dial-a-Ghost and The Great Ghost Rescue, the ghosts are good guys and the bad guys are very human. She has subtle anti-animal-cruelty and environmental messages in the text, but nothing preachy or extreme. Madlyn and Rollo are good kids who want to help out their great-aunt and great-uncle as well as the cattle. Ibbotson, as always, is very, very funny in a dry, witty way that I really enjoy. I would definitely recommend this, as well as her other books.
I read Died in the Wool and Knit Fast, Die Young by Mary Kruger. I thought these were fun mysteries, not the best, but enjoyable reads. I'd pick up #3 once it's in paperback, but I wouldn't rush out to buy the hardback. In Died in the Wool, Ari discovers the body of tightwad customer Edith Perry in her shop, and she sets out to help the police solve the murder. In the second, Ari is at a wool festival when she stumbles into the well-hated knitting magazine editor as she's dying (stabbed by a knitting needle). With yarn an important clue, Ari is in a better position than the police to find the culprit. Ari is likable enough and Josh, the cop in charge of the case, tries to keep her in the real world. I have a few gripes: there's almost no comic relief (except some extremely bad puns), in each book, there is a second murder that seems really unnecessary (almost as though Kruger got halfway through the first book and thought the death count was too low and so threw in another), and in each, Ari confronts the killer Jessica Fletcher-style. However, unlike a lot of cozy mysteries these days, the writing is very good, the book is well-edited, and I thought the character development was well-done. If you enjoy cozies and/or knitting, chances are you'll like these. I thought they were better written and the characters more fleshed out than in the Maggie Sefton knitting mysteries.
I also read The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood, the third Beatrix Potter mystery by Susan Wittig Albert. These have all been utterly charming. As a bonus, you could easily read these to kids, as there's no adult content of any kind. The first is The Tale of Hill Top Farm in case you're looking to start these. Talking animals, nosy villagers, charming children looking for fairies--if that sounds saccharine and cheesy to you, well, you might not like these. They're gentle tales that evoke Miss Potter's own charming tales for children, and the mysteries take a back seat to the intrigue of the village and of the animal communities. If you're looking for pulse-pounding suspense, this is not the mystery for you. But if spending a couple of hours in the company of a cast of charming characters, both human and otherwise, then light a fire in the fireplace, make some tea, and sit down with one of these novels.
Writing: Just notes, but I've been able to work in some plotting and ideas.
Cooking: Nothing special I can think of. Just the usual stuff. Maybe I'll come up with something good for you guys before my next post :)
Well, I updated my 2007 Finished Project list (to the left), and I was pretty appalled. Really???? That was it??? No sweaters and only eight items. Boy, motherhood has really slowed me down! We've been doing lots of cleaning and organizing while my mom is out visiting for two weeks (which is totally like having Mary Poppins over), and I decided to catalogue my stash and take a look at the projects I'd like to add to my to-do list. And maybe set a goal like, one FO a month at least! I want to knit socks for me, because I have only my Jaywalkers as far as hand-knit socks go, and I was suddenly bitten by the sock bug. I would like to expand my sock-knitting capabilities, as I have only done top-down, heel-flap socks on dpns. I am a newbie sock-knitter, though, and kind of a spaz about it, so I don't feel like I can modify patterns to suit my needs at this point. So when people say, "Oh, I did XYZ pattern, but I changed it to toe-up and magic loop and short-rowed the heel" I am in awe. I need a pattern to spell out what to do right now. Fortunately, there's my Christmas sock knitting book, and also knitty. I have some goodies to show you because I got a big box of yarn for Christmas.
Here is the Noro Silk Garden that Lilah picked out:
I have one skein and want to do something cool with it. No idea what, yet.
Christmas gifts:
Lorna's Laces in Happy Valley:
Malabrigo Worsted in Velvet Grapes:
Opal Cotton:
Lorna's Laces in Vera (I love this color):
(By the way, I started this post ages ago, and I'm only partly through my cataloguing. Not that I have a huge stash, but I had to unravel some UFOs and move things around.) I have so many good yarn pictures up that I think I'll wait to post my current project, socks on the Opal yarn. The yarn is nice, but I think I like Lorna's Laces better. I love the colors, though, like the ocean. I'm not all that thrilled with the dpns, which are still awkward to knit on. Turtlegirl helpfully pointed out that her Red Dwarf Sock pattern was on two circs and toe-up, both sock techniques I really want to try. I love the pattern, but all my sock yarn is fingering weight, and I have no sport weight. I have Interweave Knits' Favorite Socks book, and I'm starting with a top-down, heel flap sock since it's been a while for me and sock knitting. I like it quite a bit so far, despite the dpns.
Any ideas for the Malabrigo? The chunky would work perfectly for Cherie Amour, but I'm not sure about the worsted. It's 864 yards, and I adore the color.
Reading: I've been reading quite a bit. I'm trying to read What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy by Gregory Maguire and having trouble getting into it. I may need to read something else first.
The Lightning Thief: I had such a great time reading this book. And I took one of my Christmas B&N gift cards and ordered 2&3 right away. And probably I'll be pre-ordering #4. This was such a fresh take on juvenile fantasy. And such a sneaky way to get kids interested in learning about Greek mythology. There are two ways to go with this sort of story; either put the hero into a magical world or bring the magic into this world. Harry Potter goes the first way, and the Percy Jackson books go the other. Matt asked what I was reading and I told him "post-Harry Potter juvenile fantasy." He laughed and asked if we were already at the post-Harry Potter age of literature. I guess I just think of juvenile fantasy written since Harry Potter became an unstoppable force as inevitably influenced by it (at least authors publishing new books, especially series--authors who were already writing don't really have this problem). And Riordan really could have pitched this to his publisher as "Harry Potter, but in New York and with Greek gods." But his writing is crisp and witty, Percy is an immensely likable hero with whom kids will love to identify (especially kids who tend to not like reading, those with dyslexia and ADHD, both of which Percy has as a result of being half-blood), and the book was just plain fun and action-packed to the hilt. He's charting Percy's hero journey, and the necessary archetypal elements make comparisons to Harry Potter inevitable. It didn't bother me, though, because Riordan's story is original and inventive, and the ways he finds to bring Greek gods into modern-day America are endlessly creative. I can't wait to read the next installment.
The Beasts of Clawstone Castle by Eva Ibbotson: Madlyn and Rollo go to spend the summer with distant relatives who live in Clawstone Castle, a crumbling money pit opened to the public to raise funds to preserve a herd of white cattle. The children audition ghosts to help bring in more visitors, but a terrible fate befalls the cattle, leading to their quest (together with the memorable collection of ghosts) to save them. Ibbotson has written several ghost stories with a twist. In the tradition of Dial-a-Ghost and The Great Ghost Rescue, the ghosts are good guys and the bad guys are very human. She has subtle anti-animal-cruelty and environmental messages in the text, but nothing preachy or extreme. Madlyn and Rollo are good kids who want to help out their great-aunt and great-uncle as well as the cattle. Ibbotson, as always, is very, very funny in a dry, witty way that I really enjoy. I would definitely recommend this, as well as her other books.
I read Died in the Wool and Knit Fast, Die Young by Mary Kruger. I thought these were fun mysteries, not the best, but enjoyable reads. I'd pick up #3 once it's in paperback, but I wouldn't rush out to buy the hardback. In Died in the Wool, Ari discovers the body of tightwad customer Edith Perry in her shop, and she sets out to help the police solve the murder. In the second, Ari is at a wool festival when she stumbles into the well-hated knitting magazine editor as she's dying (stabbed by a knitting needle). With yarn an important clue, Ari is in a better position than the police to find the culprit. Ari is likable enough and Josh, the cop in charge of the case, tries to keep her in the real world. I have a few gripes: there's almost no comic relief (except some extremely bad puns), in each book, there is a second murder that seems really unnecessary (almost as though Kruger got halfway through the first book and thought the death count was too low and so threw in another), and in each, Ari confronts the killer Jessica Fletcher-style. However, unlike a lot of cozy mysteries these days, the writing is very good, the book is well-edited, and I thought the character development was well-done. If you enjoy cozies and/or knitting, chances are you'll like these. I thought they were better written and the characters more fleshed out than in the Maggie Sefton knitting mysteries.
I also read The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood, the third Beatrix Potter mystery by Susan Wittig Albert. These have all been utterly charming. As a bonus, you could easily read these to kids, as there's no adult content of any kind. The first is The Tale of Hill Top Farm in case you're looking to start these. Talking animals, nosy villagers, charming children looking for fairies--if that sounds saccharine and cheesy to you, well, you might not like these. They're gentle tales that evoke Miss Potter's own charming tales for children, and the mysteries take a back seat to the intrigue of the village and of the animal communities. If you're looking for pulse-pounding suspense, this is not the mystery for you. But if spending a couple of hours in the company of a cast of charming characters, both human and otherwise, then light a fire in the fireplace, make some tea, and sit down with one of these novels.
Writing: Just notes, but I've been able to work in some plotting and ideas.
Cooking: Nothing special I can think of. Just the usual stuff. Maybe I'll come up with something good for you guys before my next post :)
2008 Finished Knitting Projects
Novelties:
Octagonal Washcloth
Z Scarf and Drawstring Bag
Going Green Coffee Cozy
Arrowhead Lace Headband
Sweaters:
Simple Knitted Bodice
Wraps, Shawls, and Scarves:
Bags:
Baby Stuff:
Pink Placket Neck Pullover
Striped Placket Neck Pullover
Placket Neck Pullover
Alpaca Baby Shawl
Last Minute Purled Beret
Socks and Hats:
Waving Lace Socks
Month-by-month:
January: Waving Lace Socks
February: Last Minute Purled Beret
March: Simple Knitted Bodice
April: Going Green Coffee Cozy
May (but really finished June 1): Arrowhead Lace Headband
July: Alpaca Baby Shawl
August: Ummmmm....
September: TWO Placket Neck Pullovers
October: Pink Placket Neck Pullover, Z Scarf and Drawstring Bag
November: Octagonal Washcloth
Octagonal Washcloth
Z Scarf and Drawstring Bag
Going Green Coffee Cozy
Arrowhead Lace Headband
Sweaters:
Simple Knitted Bodice
Wraps, Shawls, and Scarves:
Bags:
Baby Stuff:
Pink Placket Neck Pullover
Striped Placket Neck Pullover
Placket Neck Pullover
Alpaca Baby Shawl
Last Minute Purled Beret
Socks and Hats:
Waving Lace Socks
Month-by-month:
January: Waving Lace Socks
February: Last Minute Purled Beret
March: Simple Knitted Bodice
April: Going Green Coffee Cozy
May (but really finished June 1): Arrowhead Lace Headband
July: Alpaca Baby Shawl
August: Ummmmm....
September: TWO Placket Neck Pullovers
October: Pink Placket Neck Pullover, Z Scarf and Drawstring Bag
November: Octagonal Washcloth
Just Under The Wire...
Two more FOs for 2007!
My husband's Fuzzy Feet:
I had just read an entry from Turtlegirl's Bloggy Thing in which she was making Fuzzy Feet and had chosen to double the yarn for a sturdier slipper. Since my husband has worn holes through his last two pairs (the most recent lasted one winter plus a bit of this one), I decided to try this. I had plenty of Cascade 220 in my chosen color (leftover from Pinup Queen from SnB, which I think I did pre-blog...I should do a Blast from the Past post with my early work--heh heh!) so I started, using size 11 needles and knitting the foot to 11 inches before decreasing for the toe. I felted the heck out of them and they're a bit snug. These loosen up, though. I usually wear them over two pairs of socks while still damp and let them dry.
Pattern: Fuzzy Feet from Knitty
Yarn: Cascade 220 (held doubled) - 2 skeins and a bit of a third - no idea on the color, a dark greeny-blue
Needles: Size 11 for men's feet
Notes: I already went on and on quite recently about loving this pattern and I still do. Doubling has made for an extra thick slipper. We'll see if it keeps them hole-free for longer this time. I knit longer as directed for my husband's longer feet, and the fit is great. I actually finished the knitting on December 31, but felted on January 1. Since only the washer did any work on it today, I'm counting it as a 2007 FO.
And my Branching Out gift scarf:
Pattern: Branching Out from knitty
Yarn: Rowan Cashcotton in Pretty, one skein
Needles: Size 8
Notes: Love the pattern, love the yarn!
Knitting: I started a pair of socks for me with Christmas presents. I got Favorite Socks (an Interweave collection) and Charmed Knits. I also got a box full of delightful yarns, but I think I'll introduce them on my next post.
Reading: I read The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell. Wow. After I finished it, I sort of sat for a few minutes, then decided I needed to read something fluffy (Died in the Wool by Mary Kruger--thank you, Holly!!!). This is a rather slim (under 250 pages), poetic novel about family secrets and betrayal. It was literally relentless, with no chapter breaks, which made it even more difficult to put down. Three voices are balanced (ambitious for such a short book): Iris, a young woman who discovers she has a great-aunt in an institution (for whom she is now responsible), Esme, a woman committed to an asylum over 60 years ago as a young woman for being difficult and inconvenient for her family, and Kitty, Esme's sister who is now afflicted with Alzheimer's, and always spoke of being an only child. This could easily have been a mess of a book in less capable hands. O'Farrell's writing is stunning and she handles the three voices brilliantly. The book doesn't so much have plot twists as revelations that gradually tease out family secrets to reveal the betrayals of Iris's family. The pacing is flawless. I wanted to find out what had happened, but I didn't really want the book to end. It's haunting and horrifying and beautiful. I can't recommend it enough. To my delight, O'Farrell has written three previous novels, which I will have to look into.
Writing: Ha! I figured out that the person I thought committed the murder didn't actually do it. This is great progress, as I was never that happy with the solution. While my mom is here, I want to re-write the first chapter, which I have loads to change in.
Cooking: Not too much. My dad and I did Christmas dinner. He handled turkey and his famous Macadamia Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and I made Simon & Garfunkel dressing (parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, along with apple, onion, celery, and pine nuts--yum, I love dressing), cranberry relish (my Aunt Mindy's recipe with lots of orange), and apple-pear cobbler. I made Black Bean Corn Enchiladas last night (recipe at left).
Lilah has a new cousin (first cousin once removed, I guess). My cousin's wife had her baby on December 27, the day after Lilah turned one, by emergency c-section (mom and baby are fine). They live on opposite coasts for now, but I hope they can meet soon. Welcome to the world, Maggie!
My husband's Fuzzy Feet:
I had just read an entry from Turtlegirl's Bloggy Thing in which she was making Fuzzy Feet and had chosen to double the yarn for a sturdier slipper. Since my husband has worn holes through his last two pairs (the most recent lasted one winter plus a bit of this one), I decided to try this. I had plenty of Cascade 220 in my chosen color (leftover from Pinup Queen from SnB, which I think I did pre-blog...I should do a Blast from the Past post with my early work--heh heh!) so I started, using size 11 needles and knitting the foot to 11 inches before decreasing for the toe. I felted the heck out of them and they're a bit snug. These loosen up, though. I usually wear them over two pairs of socks while still damp and let them dry.
Pattern: Fuzzy Feet from Knitty
Yarn: Cascade 220 (held doubled) - 2 skeins and a bit of a third - no idea on the color, a dark greeny-blue
Needles: Size 11 for men's feet
Notes: I already went on and on quite recently about loving this pattern and I still do. Doubling has made for an extra thick slipper. We'll see if it keeps them hole-free for longer this time. I knit longer as directed for my husband's longer feet, and the fit is great. I actually finished the knitting on December 31, but felted on January 1. Since only the washer did any work on it today, I'm counting it as a 2007 FO.
And my Branching Out gift scarf:
Pattern: Branching Out from knitty
Yarn: Rowan Cashcotton in Pretty, one skein
Needles: Size 8
Notes: Love the pattern, love the yarn!
Knitting: I started a pair of socks for me with Christmas presents. I got Favorite Socks (an Interweave collection) and Charmed Knits. I also got a box full of delightful yarns, but I think I'll introduce them on my next post.
Reading: I read The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell. Wow. After I finished it, I sort of sat for a few minutes, then decided I needed to read something fluffy (Died in the Wool by Mary Kruger--thank you, Holly!!!). This is a rather slim (under 250 pages), poetic novel about family secrets and betrayal. It was literally relentless, with no chapter breaks, which made it even more difficult to put down. Three voices are balanced (ambitious for such a short book): Iris, a young woman who discovers she has a great-aunt in an institution (for whom she is now responsible), Esme, a woman committed to an asylum over 60 years ago as a young woman for being difficult and inconvenient for her family, and Kitty, Esme's sister who is now afflicted with Alzheimer's, and always spoke of being an only child. This could easily have been a mess of a book in less capable hands. O'Farrell's writing is stunning and she handles the three voices brilliantly. The book doesn't so much have plot twists as revelations that gradually tease out family secrets to reveal the betrayals of Iris's family. The pacing is flawless. I wanted to find out what had happened, but I didn't really want the book to end. It's haunting and horrifying and beautiful. I can't recommend it enough. To my delight, O'Farrell has written three previous novels, which I will have to look into.
Writing: Ha! I figured out that the person I thought committed the murder didn't actually do it. This is great progress, as I was never that happy with the solution. While my mom is here, I want to re-write the first chapter, which I have loads to change in.
Cooking: Not too much. My dad and I did Christmas dinner. He handled turkey and his famous Macadamia Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and I made Simon & Garfunkel dressing (parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, along with apple, onion, celery, and pine nuts--yum, I love dressing), cranberry relish (my Aunt Mindy's recipe with lots of orange), and apple-pear cobbler. I made Black Bean Corn Enchiladas last night (recipe at left).
Lilah has a new cousin (first cousin once removed, I guess). My cousin's wife had her baby on December 27, the day after Lilah turned one, by emergency c-section (mom and baby are fine). They live on opposite coasts for now, but I hope they can meet soon. Welcome to the world, Maggie!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
The Crock Pot Chronicles
Haha! Not really. But you may recall that I bought a Crock Pot and used it to augment my vegetable broth making capacity. And I have done NOTHING with it since. I didn't have time to assemble recipes in the morning, and a helpful commenter suggested assembling the night before and plugging it in in the morning. Brilliant! I used it to make Black Bean Chili, a Cooking Light archive staple in our house. And it was BETTER than on the stove top. The onions got much softer and the liquid absorbed better, making it thicker and yummier. So I decided to try it for a lunchtime soup for me. Scroll down for the recipe and comments on my Split Pea Soup.
Knitting: The beginning of my gift Branching Out:
Yeah, that's it for knitting news.
Reading: Re-reading Suzann Ledbetter's Hannah Garvey mysteries. I'm on the fourth, West of Bliss. These are really fun.
Writing: I picked out a desk that will fit in the tiny space I have available (the dormer in the guest room). I am very excited about it. Here it is if you're interested. I just need to find a good chair to replace my boring rolling office chair that's not all that comfy.
Cooking: Yesterday was a rough day. With my parents coming in the following evening, the house was still a disaster. Lilah declined to take her afternoon nap, which plays havoc with my sanity, and prevents me from getting anything done. I realized that I had to have rice pudding. Right now. This hardly ever happens--generally, chocolate is my stress-reducing food (Matt starts to worry about me when he notices I'm stockpiling chocolate in the pantry). And so I couldn't find my recipe. Searching CookingLight.com just made me mad (which is strange; I usually find something there that will work or can be adapted). So I broadened to a Google search. After looking at one recipe, I whined, "But I don't WANT to bake it! I want to make it on the stove!" At another, "I don't WANNA cook the rice first!" And another, "I don't WANT eggs in it!" Seriously, I was whiny yesterday. I knew I wanted cardamom. I knew I wanted it on the stove. I knew I wanted no eggs, and no pre-cooking the rice. I wanted almonds and I wanted raisins. So here's what I made. And it was AWESOME. Exactly what I needed!
Rice Pudding My Way
4 cups vanilla soy milk
1 cup basmati rice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds
1/4 cup golden raisins
Combine soy milk, rice, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cook until thickened (about 20-30 minutes), then add remaining ingredients. Cook until desired consistency is reached. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes. Serve hot.
Crock Pot Split Pea Soup
This is based on assorted vegetables I had in the fridge and needed to use up. If I'd had any that weren't well past their prime, I would have used leeks, celery, spinach, and potatoes and left out the green beans. And dialed down the turnip a bit. And I'm not sure I'd use parsnip. But I'm glad I didn't have those things, because this was fantastic as written. Even my husband, who secretly wishes I'd throw in a ham hock, loved this soup. Very, very thick, and it filled my big Crock Pot to capacity. The flavor was earthy and subtle, and it was just excellent.
2 cups chopped parsnip
3 cups chopped turnip
3 cups chopped carrot
3 cups chopped onion
2 cups frozen green beans
1 lb yellow split peas
2 TBL chopped rosemary
2 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
4 cups vegetable broth
4 cups water
2 TBL olive oil
2 tsp sea salt
Combine in Crock Pot and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours+. Puree using an immersion blender.* Adjust salt and add black pepper.
* I love my immersion blender. I think mine cost $10 in 1999 and is still kicking. It has a little attachment for whipped cream, too.
+ I put this in the fridge overnight and plugged it in at 8:00 am. At noon, it was nowhere near done, and I think using hot broth and water would have made it do-able for lunch, but starting from cold, it took 8 hours on high. I did add between 1-2 cups of boiling water in the morning because the split peas had absorbed so much liquid overnight that the liquid wasn't covering.
Knitting: The beginning of my gift Branching Out:
Yeah, that's it for knitting news.
Reading: Re-reading Suzann Ledbetter's Hannah Garvey mysteries. I'm on the fourth, West of Bliss. These are really fun.
Writing: I picked out a desk that will fit in the tiny space I have available (the dormer in the guest room). I am very excited about it. Here it is if you're interested. I just need to find a good chair to replace my boring rolling office chair that's not all that comfy.
Cooking: Yesterday was a rough day. With my parents coming in the following evening, the house was still a disaster. Lilah declined to take her afternoon nap, which plays havoc with my sanity, and prevents me from getting anything done. I realized that I had to have rice pudding. Right now. This hardly ever happens--generally, chocolate is my stress-reducing food (Matt starts to worry about me when he notices I'm stockpiling chocolate in the pantry). And so I couldn't find my recipe. Searching CookingLight.com just made me mad (which is strange; I usually find something there that will work or can be adapted). So I broadened to a Google search. After looking at one recipe, I whined, "But I don't WANT to bake it! I want to make it on the stove!" At another, "I don't WANNA cook the rice first!" And another, "I don't WANT eggs in it!" Seriously, I was whiny yesterday. I knew I wanted cardamom. I knew I wanted it on the stove. I knew I wanted no eggs, and no pre-cooking the rice. I wanted almonds and I wanted raisins. So here's what I made. And it was AWESOME. Exactly what I needed!
Rice Pudding My Way
4 cups vanilla soy milk
1 cup basmati rice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds
1/4 cup golden raisins
Combine soy milk, rice, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cook until thickened (about 20-30 minutes), then add remaining ingredients. Cook until desired consistency is reached. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes. Serve hot.
Crock Pot Split Pea Soup
This is based on assorted vegetables I had in the fridge and needed to use up. If I'd had any that weren't well past their prime, I would have used leeks, celery, spinach, and potatoes and left out the green beans. And dialed down the turnip a bit. And I'm not sure I'd use parsnip. But I'm glad I didn't have those things, because this was fantastic as written. Even my husband, who secretly wishes I'd throw in a ham hock, loved this soup. Very, very thick, and it filled my big Crock Pot to capacity. The flavor was earthy and subtle, and it was just excellent.
2 cups chopped parsnip
3 cups chopped turnip
3 cups chopped carrot
3 cups chopped onion
2 cups frozen green beans
1 lb yellow split peas
2 TBL chopped rosemary
2 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
4 cups vegetable broth
4 cups water
2 TBL olive oil
2 tsp sea salt
Combine in Crock Pot and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours+. Puree using an immersion blender.* Adjust salt and add black pepper.
* I love my immersion blender. I think mine cost $10 in 1999 and is still kicking. It has a little attachment for whipped cream, too.
+ I put this in the fridge overnight and plugged it in at 8:00 am. At noon, it was nowhere near done, and I think using hot broth and water would have made it do-able for lunch, but starting from cold, it took 8 hours on high. I did add between 1-2 cups of boiling water in the morning because the split peas had absorbed so much liquid overnight that the liquid wasn't covering.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Happy Feet!
I have made many pairs of Fuzzy Feet, and I finally have a pair of my own! One Christmas, I knit gifts for everyone (everyone!) and the only thing I could come up with for my uncles and male cousins was Fuzzy Feet. I had my husband sort of block them for me after felting (my feet were too small), and he loved them so much, I made him a pair. He wore those out, so I made him another. This all started two years ago, and I have just now made my own. They are fantastic! So comfy and warm.
The details:
Pattern: Fuzzy Feet from Knitty
Yarn: Cascade 220 in a light grey
Needles: Size 10.5 circs and dpns (for guys, I went up to a size 11 and knit the foot longer and that worked perfectly)
I love, love, love this pattern. It is quick, easy, and fun. And the end result is wonderful. Everyone loves these. Now I just have to make a third pair for my husband, who has worn through his pair from last winter.
And a happy story! Our next-door neighbor had asked us early last week if we had seen her cat, who hadn't come home the night before. She's an outdoor cat who comes inside every night. (This is why we're indoor cat people. But lots of people around here have roaming cats.) It's a credit to Matt's love for animals that he was really worried because Natasha is sort of his nemesis because she prefers our landscaping as her litterbox. We were thinking the worst for over a week, when my neighbor came knocking on our door and said, "I think Natasha's stuck in your shed!" I found the key and opened the door and we waited, and waited, and waited (for about 20 minutes) and Natasha came tearing out of the shed and ran to her front door. Our neighbor told us she ate and drank quite a bit and then wanted back out, but she's an indoor kitty for now. What's weird is she went missing on a Tuesday, but my husband was in the shed getting gardening gloves to carry in the Christmas tree on Sunday and she didn't come out. She is really skittish, though, since even with her mom calling her she waited and waited before bolting out. It was Friday when we found her in the shed. So, yay! Kitty's back home where she belongs.
Other knitting: I am making a Branching Out for my brother's girlfriend as a last-minute Christmas present. This is another Knitty classic that I make over and over. These make excellent gift scarves and are fun to knit. For this one, I'm using RYC Cashcotton 4Ply in Pretty, which is a pale blue that will be perfect for the recipient, who is elegant and blonde and now lives in San Francisco where it can get chilly enough for a scarf. I've done a smidge more on my cardigan, but when it got cold here, the Fuzzy Feet took top priority and now I want to get the scarf done before my brother's Christmas visit so he can bring it to his girlfriend.
Reading: I have been in another re-reading rut. I suspect the reason for this is twofold. First, I finished a pretty huge literary novel and I usually need some downtime. Second, re-reading is a de-stresser for me, like a bubble bath or chocolate. It's very comforting to re-read my favorites. It's been mysteries recently, the Donna Andrews series about Meg Langslow, the Dorothy Cannells, and now Suzann Ledbetter's Hannah Garvey series (starts with East of Peculiar), which I've recommended recently to friends and realized I'd like to read again. Hannah is the manager of a retirement community and gets mixed up with an elderly Mod Squad. Delbert and the other senior detectives are a hoot and these are very fun, good-natured mysteries. There's a newish one out, Halfway to Half Way, but the older four are out of print. Easy to find used and cheap on amazon and bn, though. I really want to re-read the Harry Potter series again and also the Thursday Next series.
Writing: No time :( So many ideas that my "Mystery Novel Notes" file is getting LONG. But I think I have a lot of good stuff when I get the time to re-write. You know, when Lilah's 18 or something.
Cooking; I mentioned the bake sale for my Playground Revival Committee over Labor Day weekend. It was a huge hit, so we decided to offer some of our high-volume sellers for pre-order so people could have them last weekend as holiday gifts or just to enjoy around the holidays. It went quite well and I had six pans of gingerbread and four loaves of rosemary focaccia to make. Wow. So dinner for us lately has been, "Honey, what do you want from the Chinese place?" and "How about veggie burgers again?". I did healthy up a banana bread recipe from Cooking Light (the Molasses Oat Banana Bread) for my neighbor with chemical sensitivities (she looked after our guys over Thanksgiving, and she actually comes over and spends time with them, which is wonderful). Basically, the less processed, the better, for her (and she can't have dairy either). So I used raw honey instead of sugar, white whole wheat flour, canola oil instead of butter, organic bananas, and such. It came out really welll. (For those who want to try it, subbing honey for sugar has some tricks--lower the oven temp by 25 degrees, use 3/4 cup honey per 1 cup of sugar in the recipe and reduce other liquid ingredients by 2 TBL).
Molasses Oat Banana Bread (Chemically Sensitive Version)
Adapted from Cooking Light
Ingredients
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup regular oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
2 TBL canola oil
1/3 cup dark molasses
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 bananas)
1/4 cup vanilla soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine flours, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
Place honey, oil, and molasses in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, soy milk, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan lightly coated with canola oil. Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean (check starting at 45 minutes). Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Post-Thanksgiving Knitting Extravaganza!
Edited to add this super-cute modeled picture:
Or what passes for extravaganza around here these days :) I suddenly realized that Lilah has only one hat, and it got cold here! She has no mittens whatsoever. Ack! And with a mother who knits. So I picked out a number of patterns and yarns to knock off a few of each. Here's the beginning:
Pattern Details:
Earflap Hat from Knitting for Baby by Melanie Falick and Kristin Nicholas
Yarn: Brooks Farm Four Play in Poppies (rescued from the ill-fated T-Twist)
Needles: Size 9 dpns and circular
Notes: This hat ended up huge, even on Lilah's big melon. I made the large (12-24 months), and skipped the earflaps since the hat itself covers Lilah's ears. I used i-cord instead of the three-row garter stitch thing in the pattern, because I think it looks neater. I like the way it turned out. I got it on her head once, but didn't have the camera. I will post a photo when I can. I love these colors (which are more Neapolitan Ice Cream than Poppies) for baby stuff. I have enough to do a baby sweater, so I'll have to find a pattern in a worsted weight. I'll need to make her hats on smaller needles, as this won't be super warm, but it's cute and it'll work here most of the season.
Pattern Details:
Toddler Mittens from Knitting for Baby
Yarn: Brooks Farm Four Play in Poppies
Needles: Size 5 and 8 dpns
Notes: This was a cute, quick, easy pattern, and as above, I love the yarn. I like this book, which has several lovely patterns, but the organization is a bit odd. It's organized by knitting technique (garter, circular, cable, and my favorite, the lovely vague "exploring the possibilities," where I found this pattern). There's an index, though, which has patterns organized into hats, etc.
Comments from last time: I love you guys! I love that I can point out what, to me, are perfectly visible errors or wonkiness, and you guys swear it's fine. Thank you! Tim, still working on the mystery revision--I've got a boatload of notes, which will hopefully make revision go faster. Maybe I'll give up sleeping. Marie, yes it's Rowanspun 4-ply, with which I have a love-hate relationship. But knitting this sweater is making me lean toward the "love" end of the spectrum. Thank you for recommending Three Bags Full! Sounds great! Knitpastis, I know there are some people who just will never like tofu, and you might be one. That's cool. But I converted Matt to tofu--he'd never had it prepared properly. What you have to remember is that it has little flavor of it's own, but marinate it in something yummy and grill or stir-fry it, and it's nice. Matt had only ever had it fried to death, which makes it spongy and unappealing. If you ever come here, I'll make you some :)
Reading: I read Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, the third installment in the Peter Pan prequel trilogy by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. I loved it! I really enjoyed the whole series. They make no attempt to mimic Barrie's style--it's written in contemporary language. This is perfectly fine. Start with the first, Peter and the Starcatchers. The adventures of Peter, Molly, and the others are a rollicking, fun adventure in their own right, and that they explain occurrences in the novel Peter Pan is a bonus. I am now reading Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl, and loving it. I really want people to just leave me alone so I can finish it, and I'm usually pretty resigned to the stop-start reading I do nowadays by necessity.
Writing: See above.
Cooking: We were traveling, but last night I made a pasta sauce chock full of mushrooms. Matt liked it, but (diplomatically) said he prefers my usual Pasta Della Casa (a bright, tomato-based sauce with various herbs and veggies, depending on my mood). He compared it to Bolognese sauce, and I think that's probably accurate. I enjoyed it quite a bit with its depth of flavor and mushrooms galore, but don't try it if you only tolerate mushrooms.
Pasta Con Pomodori e Funghi
1 pound penne pasta, cooked according to package directions and drained
1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
1 oz. sundried tomatoes
2 cups boiling water
1 TBL olive oil
1 TBL minced garlic
8 oz. white mushrooms, rinsed, trimmed, and sliced
8 oz. cremini (baby bella) mushrooms, rinsed, trimmed, and sliced
1/3 cup red wine
1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed chiles
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Soak porcini and sundried tomatoes in water for 20 minutes. Drain (reserve liquid for another use--it's a flavorful broth) and chop. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and mushrooms and saute until mushrooms begin to give up liquid. Add wine, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cooking until wine is visibly reduced. Add remaining ingredients (including soaked tomatoes and mushrooms) and simmer over low to moderate heat (as needed to maintain a light simmer), uncovered for 30 minutes or more. Taste and adjust seasonings. Remove bay leaf. Serve over penne, topped with freshly grated pecorino cheese. Serves 4-6.
Or what passes for extravaganza around here these days :) I suddenly realized that Lilah has only one hat, and it got cold here! She has no mittens whatsoever. Ack! And with a mother who knits. So I picked out a number of patterns and yarns to knock off a few of each. Here's the beginning:
Pattern Details:
Earflap Hat from Knitting for Baby by Melanie Falick and Kristin Nicholas
Yarn: Brooks Farm Four Play in Poppies (rescued from the ill-fated T-Twist)
Needles: Size 9 dpns and circular
Notes: This hat ended up huge, even on Lilah's big melon. I made the large (12-24 months), and skipped the earflaps since the hat itself covers Lilah's ears. I used i-cord instead of the three-row garter stitch thing in the pattern, because I think it looks neater. I like the way it turned out. I got it on her head once, but didn't have the camera. I will post a photo when I can. I love these colors (which are more Neapolitan Ice Cream than Poppies) for baby stuff. I have enough to do a baby sweater, so I'll have to find a pattern in a worsted weight. I'll need to make her hats on smaller needles, as this won't be super warm, but it's cute and it'll work here most of the season.
Pattern Details:
Toddler Mittens from Knitting for Baby
Yarn: Brooks Farm Four Play in Poppies
Needles: Size 5 and 8 dpns
Notes: This was a cute, quick, easy pattern, and as above, I love the yarn. I like this book, which has several lovely patterns, but the organization is a bit odd. It's organized by knitting technique (garter, circular, cable, and my favorite, the lovely vague "exploring the possibilities," where I found this pattern). There's an index, though, which has patterns organized into hats, etc.
Comments from last time: I love you guys! I love that I can point out what, to me, are perfectly visible errors or wonkiness, and you guys swear it's fine. Thank you! Tim, still working on the mystery revision--I've got a boatload of notes, which will hopefully make revision go faster. Maybe I'll give up sleeping. Marie, yes it's Rowanspun 4-ply, with which I have a love-hate relationship. But knitting this sweater is making me lean toward the "love" end of the spectrum. Thank you for recommending Three Bags Full! Sounds great! Knitpastis, I know there are some people who just will never like tofu, and you might be one. That's cool. But I converted Matt to tofu--he'd never had it prepared properly. What you have to remember is that it has little flavor of it's own, but marinate it in something yummy and grill or stir-fry it, and it's nice. Matt had only ever had it fried to death, which makes it spongy and unappealing. If you ever come here, I'll make you some :)
Reading: I read Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, the third installment in the Peter Pan prequel trilogy by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. I loved it! I really enjoyed the whole series. They make no attempt to mimic Barrie's style--it's written in contemporary language. This is perfectly fine. Start with the first, Peter and the Starcatchers. The adventures of Peter, Molly, and the others are a rollicking, fun adventure in their own right, and that they explain occurrences in the novel Peter Pan is a bonus. I am now reading Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl, and loving it. I really want people to just leave me alone so I can finish it, and I'm usually pretty resigned to the stop-start reading I do nowadays by necessity.
Writing: See above.
Cooking: We were traveling, but last night I made a pasta sauce chock full of mushrooms. Matt liked it, but (diplomatically) said he prefers my usual Pasta Della Casa (a bright, tomato-based sauce with various herbs and veggies, depending on my mood). He compared it to Bolognese sauce, and I think that's probably accurate. I enjoyed it quite a bit with its depth of flavor and mushrooms galore, but don't try it if you only tolerate mushrooms.
Pasta Con Pomodori e Funghi
1 pound penne pasta, cooked according to package directions and drained
1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
1 oz. sundried tomatoes
2 cups boiling water
1 TBL olive oil
1 TBL minced garlic
8 oz. white mushrooms, rinsed, trimmed, and sliced
8 oz. cremini (baby bella) mushrooms, rinsed, trimmed, and sliced
1/3 cup red wine
1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed chiles
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Soak porcini and sundried tomatoes in water for 20 minutes. Drain (reserve liquid for another use--it's a flavorful broth) and chop. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and mushrooms and saute until mushrooms begin to give up liquid. Add wine, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cooking until wine is visibly reduced. Add remaining ingredients (including soaked tomatoes and mushrooms) and simmer over low to moderate heat (as needed to maintain a light simmer), uncovered for 30 minutes or more. Taste and adjust seasonings. Remove bay leaf. Serve over penne, topped with freshly grated pecorino cheese. Serves 4-6.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
I've been knitting! Really!
Lilah and I had a little trip to California to visit my parents, and I got a little knitting done. Not as much as B.C. (Before Children) trips, when I would knit in the car, on the plane, while we sat and watched movies or talked, but some! I finished the waist decreases on my No-Tuss, No-Muss Tussie Mussie. Here she is:
Even though I'm knitting back and forth, you can see I've still managed to leave a bit of a ladder at the sides. I don't suppose it will show that much, and I hope blocking will decrease the effect a bit. I wasn't really pulling the stitch after the markers very snug. It's curling wickedly right now, but again, I have high hopes for blocking. I have three boring inches, then the waist increases. But it's getting closer to sweater-ness. I think the sleeves on this are going to feel endless to me because I'll be impatient to get the sweater done. We'll see!
Reading: I am now on LibraryThing! My library is right here. My friend Holly talked me into it, and it is great fun. She and I post to On My Bookshelf, book news, reviews of what we've read. You might notice I just copy and paste my book reviews between here and there.
As you know, I read a lot of mystery series. I have my favorites, but I always hope for a new series that I'll love. I've tried several lately, with mixed results. I finally have a new favorite, the Cece Caruso series by Susan Kandel. They are smart, funny, well-written, and well-plotted. The West Hollywood setting is fun and well-realized, and Cece's career (biographer of mystery authors) adds a fun, fresh element to this series. I read Not A Girl Detective first (about Carolyn Keene, the pseudonymous author of the Nancy Drew books) because I loved Nancy Drew, though it's the second in the series. It was great fun, and I zipped through the first, I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason, as well, and though I'm less of a Perry Mason fan than a Nancy Drew fan, I still loved it. I'm nearly finished with Shamus in the Green Room, the third (which, interestingly enough, is called Sam Spade in the Green Room in the preview printed at the end of Not A Girl Detective--this makes more sense, as I have no idea who Shamus is and I only have about 60 pages left). Christietown is the fourth, and then I'll be going into withdrawal.
Suzanne Brockmann writes suspense novels that are also romance novels (I phrase it this way because I think the suspense is more central than in most romantic suspense novels). All Through the Night, the 12th in her Troubleshooters series, is a short holiday novel about a wedding. Here's the biggie: Jules and Robin, two guys, are getting married. Brockmann includes a letter at the end of the book explaining that her son is gay, and the thought of his not being permitted to marry really upsets her. She's donating all proceeds from this book to Mass Equality. The book isn't perfect. Brockmann sort of drops at least one outside subplot, and every two pages, the guys are looking at each other and either thinking or saying how much they want to have sex. The straight couples do this a bit, but not to the sex-crazed extent to which Jules and Robin do. This seemed a slightly overcompensatory way of not shying away from gay sex, but it plays on the perception many people have that gay relationships are only about sex (which, in turn, leads to stereotypes like all gay men are promiscuous). Brockmann is careful to state over and over that Robin and Jules love each other and want to be together, and she shows this admirably, but it's a bit obscured by all the sex, sex, sex that gets a smidge tiresome (and I believe I would have felt that way if it had been a hetero couple as well). But I just skimmed past those bits when they got annoying, and I still recommend this book for two reasons: 1. It may be the first gay romance novel written by a mainstream author and 2. Brockmann does suspense very well, and I stayed up WAY too late reading this one, even though I was jet lagged and exhausted. You don't have to have read the previous books in the Troubleshooters series to follow this one.
Writing: I went to a fantastic creative writing class at Emory before we left for California, led by Jim Grimsley. I think he had just started at Emory when I was there, so I didn't have any classes with him then. He's a fantastic writer and a really, really good creative writing teacher (these do NOT always go together). The class was on revision, and I have a clear idea of how to restructure my murder mystery now. Sadly, I do not really have the time. I may send Lilah and Matt to the zoo or something this weekend and try to get a jump on that. It's hard to get excited about revising when I don't have the time to do it.
Cooking: We were traveling, but we grilled a couple of times, so I do have recipes. My little brother has a Carne Asada recipe that he loves, so we made that, with Tofu Asada for me. Sounds weird, tastes good. The amounts may be a little off, since he made a huge amount of marinade for lots of beef and I just used a little, so I'm estimating. Taste it on a chip and see how you like it--it should make a nice salsa if the proportions are good. After we skewered the tofu, we popped portabella mushrooms in the marinade and grilled those, too. Yum. On the Grilled Tofu Veggie Skewers, we made veggie skewers for the non-vegetarians, too, so there may be extra veggies. I can't think of that as a bad thing!
Tofu Asada
1 pound extra firm tofu, cut into 12 rectangles
6 small portabella mushrooms, rinsed
2 TBL fresh lime juice
2 TBL chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 serrano chile, minced, seeds removed (or leave in for extra heat)
2 TBL chopped cilantro
Combine tofu, lime juice, onion, garlic, chile, and cilantro in a baggie. Marinate at least 20 minutes, turning as needed to cover all tofu. Remove tofu and place on skewers so that long sides of rectangles will touch grill. Place portabellas in bag and marinate 20 minutes. Grill on grill sprayed with nonstick spray, turning once, until tofu and portabellas are browned (tofu will take several minutes longer). Serve with black beans, corn tortillas, avocado, and any other accompaniments you'd like.
Grilled Tofu and Veggies
2 zucchini, cut into 1-inch slices
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
8 oz. white mushrooms, rinsed and stems removed
1 pound extra firm tofu, cut into 1.5 inch pieces (12 chunks)
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 tsp dark sesame oil
Marinate tofu in soy sauce, vinegar, and oil for at least 20 minutes, turning as needed. Arrange with veggies on skewers. Spray with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until tofu and veggies are browned, turning once.
Even though I'm knitting back and forth, you can see I've still managed to leave a bit of a ladder at the sides. I don't suppose it will show that much, and I hope blocking will decrease the effect a bit. I wasn't really pulling the stitch after the markers very snug. It's curling wickedly right now, but again, I have high hopes for blocking. I have three boring inches, then the waist increases. But it's getting closer to sweater-ness. I think the sleeves on this are going to feel endless to me because I'll be impatient to get the sweater done. We'll see!
Reading: I am now on LibraryThing! My library is right here. My friend Holly talked me into it, and it is great fun. She and I post to On My Bookshelf, book news, reviews of what we've read. You might notice I just copy and paste my book reviews between here and there.
As you know, I read a lot of mystery series. I have my favorites, but I always hope for a new series that I'll love. I've tried several lately, with mixed results. I finally have a new favorite, the Cece Caruso series by Susan Kandel. They are smart, funny, well-written, and well-plotted. The West Hollywood setting is fun and well-realized, and Cece's career (biographer of mystery authors) adds a fun, fresh element to this series. I read Not A Girl Detective first (about Carolyn Keene, the pseudonymous author of the Nancy Drew books) because I loved Nancy Drew, though it's the second in the series. It was great fun, and I zipped through the first, I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason, as well, and though I'm less of a Perry Mason fan than a Nancy Drew fan, I still loved it. I'm nearly finished with Shamus in the Green Room, the third (which, interestingly enough, is called Sam Spade in the Green Room in the preview printed at the end of Not A Girl Detective--this makes more sense, as I have no idea who Shamus is and I only have about 60 pages left). Christietown is the fourth, and then I'll be going into withdrawal.
Suzanne Brockmann writes suspense novels that are also romance novels (I phrase it this way because I think the suspense is more central than in most romantic suspense novels). All Through the Night, the 12th in her Troubleshooters series, is a short holiday novel about a wedding. Here's the biggie: Jules and Robin, two guys, are getting married. Brockmann includes a letter at the end of the book explaining that her son is gay, and the thought of his not being permitted to marry really upsets her. She's donating all proceeds from this book to Mass Equality. The book isn't perfect. Brockmann sort of drops at least one outside subplot, and every two pages, the guys are looking at each other and either thinking or saying how much they want to have sex. The straight couples do this a bit, but not to the sex-crazed extent to which Jules and Robin do. This seemed a slightly overcompensatory way of not shying away from gay sex, but it plays on the perception many people have that gay relationships are only about sex (which, in turn, leads to stereotypes like all gay men are promiscuous). Brockmann is careful to state over and over that Robin and Jules love each other and want to be together, and she shows this admirably, but it's a bit obscured by all the sex, sex, sex that gets a smidge tiresome (and I believe I would have felt that way if it had been a hetero couple as well). But I just skimmed past those bits when they got annoying, and I still recommend this book for two reasons: 1. It may be the first gay romance novel written by a mainstream author and 2. Brockmann does suspense very well, and I stayed up WAY too late reading this one, even though I was jet lagged and exhausted. You don't have to have read the previous books in the Troubleshooters series to follow this one.
Writing: I went to a fantastic creative writing class at Emory before we left for California, led by Jim Grimsley. I think he had just started at Emory when I was there, so I didn't have any classes with him then. He's a fantastic writer and a really, really good creative writing teacher (these do NOT always go together). The class was on revision, and I have a clear idea of how to restructure my murder mystery now. Sadly, I do not really have the time. I may send Lilah and Matt to the zoo or something this weekend and try to get a jump on that. It's hard to get excited about revising when I don't have the time to do it.
Cooking: We were traveling, but we grilled a couple of times, so I do have recipes. My little brother has a Carne Asada recipe that he loves, so we made that, with Tofu Asada for me. Sounds weird, tastes good. The amounts may be a little off, since he made a huge amount of marinade for lots of beef and I just used a little, so I'm estimating. Taste it on a chip and see how you like it--it should make a nice salsa if the proportions are good. After we skewered the tofu, we popped portabella mushrooms in the marinade and grilled those, too. Yum. On the Grilled Tofu Veggie Skewers, we made veggie skewers for the non-vegetarians, too, so there may be extra veggies. I can't think of that as a bad thing!
Tofu Asada
1 pound extra firm tofu, cut into 12 rectangles
6 small portabella mushrooms, rinsed
2 TBL fresh lime juice
2 TBL chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 serrano chile, minced, seeds removed (or leave in for extra heat)
2 TBL chopped cilantro
Combine tofu, lime juice, onion, garlic, chile, and cilantro in a baggie. Marinate at least 20 minutes, turning as needed to cover all tofu. Remove tofu and place on skewers so that long sides of rectangles will touch grill. Place portabellas in bag and marinate 20 minutes. Grill on grill sprayed with nonstick spray, turning once, until tofu and portabellas are browned (tofu will take several minutes longer). Serve with black beans, corn tortillas, avocado, and any other accompaniments you'd like.
Grilled Tofu and Veggies
2 zucchini, cut into 1-inch slices
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
8 oz. white mushrooms, rinsed and stems removed
1 pound extra firm tofu, cut into 1.5 inch pieces (12 chunks)
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 tsp dark sesame oil
Marinate tofu in soy sauce, vinegar, and oil for at least 20 minutes, turning as needed. Arrange with veggies on skewers. Spray with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until tofu and veggies are browned, turning once.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Bonus Post for the Day: Tagged!
String Bean has tagged me with a sock meme, and though you guys know I am a pretty lame sock knitter, I shall try to play!
1. What's your favorite sock yarn? (please note that the word 'yarn' is singular. Just pick one. I know it's hard.)
I guess I'll go with Lorna's Laces. They're just so soft and a little sproingy. My experience here is limited, understand.
2. What's your favorite type and brand of sock needle?
Clover bamboo dpns. I am afraid of knitting socks on either one or two circs, and I hate metal needles. Someday, I will conquer the fear of circs for socks, but metal needles hurt my hands.
3. Do you knit your socks toe up, cuff down, or sideways?
I've only done cuff down, but want to try toe up next time, whenever "next time" shall be.
4. Do you knit both socks at once or just one at a time?
One at a time.
5. What's your favorite toe and why?
There's more than one kind of toe? Hee hee. Nah, I know there's more than one, but I just do the sort of basic one. Now that I read there's a short-row toe, I have to try that!
6. Favorite heel?
I've only ever done heel flap, but I want to try short row "next time" (see #3).
7. Do you prefer plain or patterned socks?
I've only done a couple of pairs. I loved the patterned socks with Lorna's Laces, but I love the plain socks I made with Sunshine Yarns Gryffindor stripe yarn. So, to make a long story less long, it depends.
8. Who do you knit the most socks for?
It's 50-50 right now, between me and my husband, but my next pair will be for me.
9. Do you darn your socks? If not, what do you do with them?
I darn them (or worse!) when I drop a stitch or break a needle. Oh wait, I see what you mean! I haven't had to yet. Probably will when I need to.
10. Do you only wear handknit socks?
No, I have my one handknit pair, and everything else is from the store. Obviously, I need to knit more socks! I don't even have handknit slippers right now (I covet my husband's Fuzzy Feet).
Bonus question: What pattern, if any, is your basic "I-just-need-a-pair-of-socks" sock pattern based on? Do you keep it written down or memorized?
I guess the Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns socks. That's what I used to make the Gryffindor socks (more or less) and I am not a good enough sock knitter to have it memorized!
I tag Tim and KnitPastis. Haha, just kidding Tim!
By the way, since I forgot in my last post, Happy Halloween and/or Samhain to everyone!
1. What's your favorite sock yarn? (please note that the word 'yarn' is singular. Just pick one. I know it's hard.)
I guess I'll go with Lorna's Laces. They're just so soft and a little sproingy. My experience here is limited, understand.
2. What's your favorite type and brand of sock needle?
Clover bamboo dpns. I am afraid of knitting socks on either one or two circs, and I hate metal needles. Someday, I will conquer the fear of circs for socks, but metal needles hurt my hands.
3. Do you knit your socks toe up, cuff down, or sideways?
I've only done cuff down, but want to try toe up next time, whenever "next time" shall be.
4. Do you knit both socks at once or just one at a time?
One at a time.
5. What's your favorite toe and why?
There's more than one kind of toe? Hee hee. Nah, I know there's more than one, but I just do the sort of basic one. Now that I read there's a short-row toe, I have to try that!
6. Favorite heel?
I've only ever done heel flap, but I want to try short row "next time" (see #3).
7. Do you prefer plain or patterned socks?
I've only done a couple of pairs. I loved the patterned socks with Lorna's Laces, but I love the plain socks I made with Sunshine Yarns Gryffindor stripe yarn. So, to make a long story less long, it depends.
8. Who do you knit the most socks for?
It's 50-50 right now, between me and my husband, but my next pair will be for me.
9. Do you darn your socks? If not, what do you do with them?
I darn them (or worse!) when I drop a stitch or break a needle. Oh wait, I see what you mean! I haven't had to yet. Probably will when I need to.
10. Do you only wear handknit socks?
No, I have my one handknit pair, and everything else is from the store. Obviously, I need to knit more socks! I don't even have handknit slippers right now (I covet my husband's Fuzzy Feet).
Bonus question: What pattern, if any, is your basic "I-just-need-a-pair-of-socks" sock pattern based on? Do you keep it written down or memorized?
I guess the Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns socks. That's what I used to make the Gryffindor socks (more or less) and I am not a good enough sock knitter to have it memorized!
I tag Tim and KnitPastis. Haha, just kidding Tim!
By the way, since I forgot in my last post, Happy Halloween and/or Samhain to everyone!
'Tis The Season
(By the way, scroll down for ACTUAL KNITTING CONTENT. No, I'm not kidding. Close your mouth or you'll catch flies.)
Snuggle season, that is! Geronimo and Mirando are snuggling at almost every nap now:
When we first moved in, the guys mostly stayed near us in the house, but they now feel at home and have established their favorite spots in the house. One of them is on the blue blanket on the guest bed. And it's cold enough that they're napping together. So cute. They tend to sleep at night on the bed with us, which is very sweet.
Yarnthrower, I tend to call anyone older than me Mr. or Ms. at first. My parents had drilled that into me, and it's stuck. Usually the person quickly tells me to call them by a first name, but it's a nice courtesy, even if it's old-fashioned. It sounds like a good idea to model that for your kids! And thank you for the compliment :)
Thank you for Crock Pot suggestions! Beth, it didn't even occur to me to assemble the night before. Duh. I shall try that soon. Rachel, doesn't HP7 make so much more sense now? I love that JKR didn't make it really obvious, but knowing it really enhances the book, in my opinion.
Knitting: I have been knitting! Not a ton, but see for yourself:
It's Tussie Mussie! I decided to go with single strand on size 5 needles, and I like it so far. I thought, what the hey, I'll do the cute nosegay pattern until I saw "make bobble" in the chart. Ugh. Scratch that. So I'm knitting it without the pattern and also knitting it in stockinette instead of reverse stockinette. I'm calling it the "No Tuss, No Muss" Tussie Mussie. Tee hee hee. (You have to imagine that as one of the chuckles Marge Simpson does when she's laughing at one of her own bad puns.) I'm excited about a new sweater for myself. And excited to post knitting content, too. I'm hoping it becomes a habit, but you never know.
Reading: Just mystery re-reading. Gearing up for Special Topics in Calamity Physics, which I expect to either love or hate, as with most post-modern novels.
Writing: I have a writing workshop at Emory this Saturday on rewriting, so I'm really excited about that.
Cooking: I made Pasta with Lemon, Beans, and Greens again. It is so good. I also made Pasta Geronimo (recipe at left). I'm making Tuscan Chickpea Soup (another Cooking Light recipe) tonight--a late start means I'll do this in the stock pot-- and possibly Rosemary Focaccia (surprisingly enough, this was a huge seller at our bake sale, so I didn't get to eat any of the 8 loaves I made last weekend). Also on the agenda are Pinto Bean Burgers, a Cooking Light recipe, which sound good, though I NEVER make my own veggie burgers, so I hope they're worth the effort.
Snuggle season, that is! Geronimo and Mirando are snuggling at almost every nap now:
When we first moved in, the guys mostly stayed near us in the house, but they now feel at home and have established their favorite spots in the house. One of them is on the blue blanket on the guest bed. And it's cold enough that they're napping together. So cute. They tend to sleep at night on the bed with us, which is very sweet.
Yarnthrower, I tend to call anyone older than me Mr. or Ms. at first. My parents had drilled that into me, and it's stuck. Usually the person quickly tells me to call them by a first name, but it's a nice courtesy, even if it's old-fashioned. It sounds like a good idea to model that for your kids! And thank you for the compliment :)
Thank you for Crock Pot suggestions! Beth, it didn't even occur to me to assemble the night before. Duh. I shall try that soon. Rachel, doesn't HP7 make so much more sense now? I love that JKR didn't make it really obvious, but knowing it really enhances the book, in my opinion.
Knitting: I have been knitting! Not a ton, but see for yourself:
It's Tussie Mussie! I decided to go with single strand on size 5 needles, and I like it so far. I thought, what the hey, I'll do the cute nosegay pattern until I saw "make bobble" in the chart. Ugh. Scratch that. So I'm knitting it without the pattern and also knitting it in stockinette instead of reverse stockinette. I'm calling it the "No Tuss, No Muss" Tussie Mussie. Tee hee hee. (You have to imagine that as one of the chuckles Marge Simpson does when she's laughing at one of her own bad puns.) I'm excited about a new sweater for myself. And excited to post knitting content, too. I'm hoping it becomes a habit, but you never know.
Reading: Just mystery re-reading. Gearing up for Special Topics in Calamity Physics, which I expect to either love or hate, as with most post-modern novels.
Writing: I have a writing workshop at Emory this Saturday on rewriting, so I'm really excited about that.
Cooking: I made Pasta with Lemon, Beans, and Greens again. It is so good. I also made Pasta Geronimo (recipe at left). I'm making Tuscan Chickpea Soup (another Cooking Light recipe) tonight--a late start means I'll do this in the stock pot-- and possibly Rosemary Focaccia (surprisingly enough, this was a huge seller at our bake sale, so I didn't get to eat any of the 8 loaves I made last weekend). Also on the agenda are Pinto Bean Burgers, a Cooking Light recipe, which sound good, though I NEVER make my own veggie burgers, so I hope they're worth the effort.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away!
We've had three days of rain, which, given our drought, is fantastic news. It was gloomy, and we got rained on making our trek to the store, but we were happy about it. And what better way to enjoy the rain than with a cup of tea and some cookies:
String Bean very kindly returned the tupperware I had sent, with the improvement of stuffing them full of delicious apple cookies. Yum. You can't eat just one of these, seriously. Thank you! Thank you! (If you're curious about the china, it's a traditional Czech pattern. My mother-in-law brought these tea things back for me from a trip to Prague. They make tea taste much better.)
Wow! The response about Miss Allison was really interesting to read! Yarnthrower, I didn't mean people who have their kids call adults Miss FirstName were scary! The title referred to my being on a committee, having a crock pot, etc., and the name discussion was just a very long tangent. I had never come across that naming convention for kids before (except, as others noted, in the context of preschool teachers or dance instructors), and it was really cool to read everyone's reactions. I totally see the reasoning (easier pronunciation than last names, add a level of respect for adults)...I think I just will hate being called Miss Allison (though I was, when teaching "ballet" to 4-year-olds ages ago). Rachel, isn't it funny that I had enough imagination to HAVE an imaginary friend, but not enough to come up with a fun name for her? I also had a beloved pillow named--wait for it--Pillow, and a cherished bear named Brown Bear. Guess what color he was? Well, I shall be Miss Allison and my husband Mr. Matt (or, I suppose, Dr. Matt, which would be hilarious).
Knitting: StringBean, I am a gauge spaz, so I double-checked, and I did the average over four inches, and got 5.5. It might be the way I'm stretching stuff in the photo. Also, while I was trying to take the pictures, Lilah was climbing up my leg, which was distracting. I have decided to use the lighter fabric and use this as a layering piece. If it's doubled, I think it'll be too warm for all but a couple weeks out of the year here! I had to miss my alumni knitting group :( so I haven't found much knitting time, but my cheery red yarn is right on the coffee table where I can see it!
Reading: Just re-reading beloved mystery novels. I will be traveling soon, and I think I'll re-read the whole Harry Potter series again, both to reflect back after reading The End, and in light of the news about Dumbledore.
Writing: I occasionally jot down an idea, but I have some major reconstruction to do, which is going to take time that I just don't have. I am taking a creative writing workshop for alumni at Emory on rewriting, which I'm excited about.
Cooking: I made Black Bean Chili and Jalepeno Cornbread from past Cooking Light recipes, both lovely. It's finally getting cold, so it was perfect. I am having some trouble with Crock Potting, as by the time I get Lilah down for a nap, it's usually cutting it too close to have the Crock Pot finish cooking dinner by 6 or 7. If I want to cook anything on Low, I have to get all the ingredients prepped and in there by 8:00 am, which, hahahah!, will totally not happen. Even on High, it has to get in there by noon. Maybe I need to chop stuff the night before and have it ready to chuck in while I'm making breakfast or something. What else? I did make Red Beans and Rice, and wasn't that thrilled, mostly with the sausage-like vegetarian product I used. It was okay, but not great. I'm not really a "fake meat" kind of vegetarian, so I would have been happier leaving it out and letting Matt brown some real sausage to put in his serving.
String Bean very kindly returned the tupperware I had sent, with the improvement of stuffing them full of delicious apple cookies. Yum. You can't eat just one of these, seriously. Thank you! Thank you! (If you're curious about the china, it's a traditional Czech pattern. My mother-in-law brought these tea things back for me from a trip to Prague. They make tea taste much better.)
Wow! The response about Miss Allison was really interesting to read! Yarnthrower, I didn't mean people who have their kids call adults Miss FirstName were scary! The title referred to my being on a committee, having a crock pot, etc., and the name discussion was just a very long tangent. I had never come across that naming convention for kids before (except, as others noted, in the context of preschool teachers or dance instructors), and it was really cool to read everyone's reactions. I totally see the reasoning (easier pronunciation than last names, add a level of respect for adults)...I think I just will hate being called Miss Allison (though I was, when teaching "ballet" to 4-year-olds ages ago). Rachel, isn't it funny that I had enough imagination to HAVE an imaginary friend, but not enough to come up with a fun name for her? I also had a beloved pillow named--wait for it--Pillow, and a cherished bear named Brown Bear. Guess what color he was? Well, I shall be Miss Allison and my husband Mr. Matt (or, I suppose, Dr. Matt, which would be hilarious).
Knitting: StringBean, I am a gauge spaz, so I double-checked, and I did the average over four inches, and got 5.5. It might be the way I'm stretching stuff in the photo. Also, while I was trying to take the pictures, Lilah was climbing up my leg, which was distracting. I have decided to use the lighter fabric and use this as a layering piece. If it's doubled, I think it'll be too warm for all but a couple weeks out of the year here! I had to miss my alumni knitting group :( so I haven't found much knitting time, but my cheery red yarn is right on the coffee table where I can see it!
Reading: Just re-reading beloved mystery novels. I will be traveling soon, and I think I'll re-read the whole Harry Potter series again, both to reflect back after reading The End, and in light of the news about Dumbledore.
Writing: I occasionally jot down an idea, but I have some major reconstruction to do, which is going to take time that I just don't have. I am taking a creative writing workshop for alumni at Emory on rewriting, which I'm excited about.
Cooking: I made Black Bean Chili and Jalepeno Cornbread from past Cooking Light recipes, both lovely. It's finally getting cold, so it was perfect. I am having some trouble with Crock Potting, as by the time I get Lilah down for a nap, it's usually cutting it too close to have the Crock Pot finish cooking dinner by 6 or 7. If I want to cook anything on Low, I have to get all the ingredients prepped and in there by 8:00 am, which, hahahah!, will totally not happen. Even on High, it has to get in there by noon. Maybe I need to chop stuff the night before and have it ready to chuck in while I'm making breakfast or something. What else? I did make Red Beans and Rice, and wasn't that thrilled, mostly with the sausage-like vegetarian product I used. It was okay, but not great. I'm not really a "fake meat" kind of vegetarian, so I would have been happier leaving it out and letting Matt brown some real sausage to put in his serving.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Now, THAT'S scary!
Halloween is coming, and we have our very own, all-natural decoration up at our house. I'm not talking about the pumpkins and gourds and Indian corn we put up every year, but a big spider who created a masterpiece of a web on our front porch. It's amazing.
Things that are really scary, though:
1. I am on a committee.
2. I am in charge of a bake sale for that committee.
3. I bought a Crock Pot.
Hahaha! Not that I have ever been cool (my junior high was exactly like the film Mean Girls, and I was NOT on the popular team), but this soccer mom type stuff is kind of scary. Oh, I learned something interesting at my last committee meeting (at least it's not the most organized committee, and our meetings are pretty fun). I forget that we're in the South most of the time. A few of our neighbors have actual Southern accents, but it's not that common, and Atlanta in general has a lot of transplants from other states and other countries. But I learned from another Yankee parent that we're expected to teach our kids to call our friends Miss FirstName (so I'd be Miss Allison). That's the polite thing to do. Which is really bizarre. And I forgot to ask this, but my guess is that in the relatively chauvinistic South, the same probably doesn't go for men. I'll have to confirm this, but I can't imagine a Southern child calling my husband Mr. Matt. Not that I can imagine this Miss Allison nonsense, either. I was raised to call adults Mr. or Ms. LastName, and if they wanted to be called something else, to go with that, so the Miss FirstName thing is just strange. Plus, Miss Allison was the name of my imaginary friend as a small child. Weird. TurtleGirl, are you a native Southerner? I was wondering if the same was true where you grew up.
The Crock Pot is kind of funny, since I don't cook meat. But I figure I can chuck soup or stew ingredients in there in the morning and have it be ready for dinner. It also made excellent vegetable broth.
Thank you so much for your kind comments on my little diary. It was nice to do a bit of writing, even if it was short and not my usual thing. It's also nice to hear from other non-domestic goddesses :) I can keep the place clean enough that the Health Department *probably* won't show up, but I have no idea what those people with neat-as-a-pin houses do to keep them that way. My hope is that they hire someone.
Knitting: I finished "swatching" for Tussie Mussie. I put that in quotation marks because I can never stand to do the whole 4x4 square thing. It takes too long. So I did swatchlets, where I cast on about enough for 4 inches and knit until I couldn't stand it anymore (1-2 inches). And I only did that because I was nowhere near gauge on the recommended needles (strange for me), and I wanted to make sure I liked the fabric I could get with gauge. I went ahead and washed the swatchlets and let them dry overnight, because I couldn't remember how the Rowanspun acted after washing. The size 6 needles ended up a little off, but the size 5 are spot on. Oddly, the size 6 with the yarn doubled are as well. Weird. How does that make mathematical sense? Anyway, I just have to decide whether I want the bulkier fabric, or a very light one. Take a look at the size 5 needles, single strand (also held up to the window so you can see the density):
And the bulkier fabric:
I'm afraid the bulkier will be too warm here. In Wisconsin, probably it'd be perfect, but I think I'll get more use out of a light sweater here. But I'm also a little afraid the light fabric will be too floppy and therefore unattractive. Thoughts?
Reading: I've been re-reading favorite mysteries lately. I haven't felt like being challenged, and I can pretend it's research for my own murder mystery. But really, it's like the mac 'n' cheese of literature for me.
Writing: I actually thought of a perfect plot twist for the murder mystery while baking for the upcoming bake sale. I jotted it down, but unsurprisingly, have not had time to go back and write it in.
Cooking: For the bake sale, I'm making sourdough loaves (or trying to--my first attempt did not rise at all, though it tasted like sourdough, which is weird because that means the bacteria the yeast produce were there, but the yeast were having a vacation day or something), baklava (recipe in sidebar link), brownies (recipe also there), and chocolate chip pumpkin muffins (recipe also there). I made Chickpea Gumbo by The Fat Free Vegan. I know the blog name doesn't sound like the most appetizing food blog, but she has great recipes. I must admit that I added a bit of fat back into the gumbo, in the form of 2 TBL of olive oil instead of 2 tsp. I'm making her Red Beans and Rice tonight. Oh! I forgot to mention I made my veggie broth last weekend. I was able to make an extra three quarts from what I usually make by employing the Crock Pot in addition to my two stock pots. I was very pleased with the results. The freezer is stocked! Just in time for it to get warm and humid here again. Sigh.
Things that are really scary, though:
1. I am on a committee.
2. I am in charge of a bake sale for that committee.
3. I bought a Crock Pot.
Hahaha! Not that I have ever been cool (my junior high was exactly like the film Mean Girls, and I was NOT on the popular team), but this soccer mom type stuff is kind of scary. Oh, I learned something interesting at my last committee meeting (at least it's not the most organized committee, and our meetings are pretty fun). I forget that we're in the South most of the time. A few of our neighbors have actual Southern accents, but it's not that common, and Atlanta in general has a lot of transplants from other states and other countries. But I learned from another Yankee parent that we're expected to teach our kids to call our friends Miss FirstName (so I'd be Miss Allison). That's the polite thing to do. Which is really bizarre. And I forgot to ask this, but my guess is that in the relatively chauvinistic South, the same probably doesn't go for men. I'll have to confirm this, but I can't imagine a Southern child calling my husband Mr. Matt. Not that I can imagine this Miss Allison nonsense, either. I was raised to call adults Mr. or Ms. LastName, and if they wanted to be called something else, to go with that, so the Miss FirstName thing is just strange. Plus, Miss Allison was the name of my imaginary friend as a small child. Weird. TurtleGirl, are you a native Southerner? I was wondering if the same was true where you grew up.
The Crock Pot is kind of funny, since I don't cook meat. But I figure I can chuck soup or stew ingredients in there in the morning and have it be ready for dinner. It also made excellent vegetable broth.
Thank you so much for your kind comments on my little diary. It was nice to do a bit of writing, even if it was short and not my usual thing. It's also nice to hear from other non-domestic goddesses :) I can keep the place clean enough that the Health Department *probably* won't show up, but I have no idea what those people with neat-as-a-pin houses do to keep them that way. My hope is that they hire someone.
Knitting: I finished "swatching" for Tussie Mussie. I put that in quotation marks because I can never stand to do the whole 4x4 square thing. It takes too long. So I did swatchlets, where I cast on about enough for 4 inches and knit until I couldn't stand it anymore (1-2 inches). And I only did that because I was nowhere near gauge on the recommended needles (strange for me), and I wanted to make sure I liked the fabric I could get with gauge. I went ahead and washed the swatchlets and let them dry overnight, because I couldn't remember how the Rowanspun acted after washing. The size 6 needles ended up a little off, but the size 5 are spot on. Oddly, the size 6 with the yarn doubled are as well. Weird. How does that make mathematical sense? Anyway, I just have to decide whether I want the bulkier fabric, or a very light one. Take a look at the size 5 needles, single strand (also held up to the window so you can see the density):
And the bulkier fabric:
I'm afraid the bulkier will be too warm here. In Wisconsin, probably it'd be perfect, but I think I'll get more use out of a light sweater here. But I'm also a little afraid the light fabric will be too floppy and therefore unattractive. Thoughts?
Reading: I've been re-reading favorite mysteries lately. I haven't felt like being challenged, and I can pretend it's research for my own murder mystery. But really, it's like the mac 'n' cheese of literature for me.
Writing: I actually thought of a perfect plot twist for the murder mystery while baking for the upcoming bake sale. I jotted it down, but unsurprisingly, have not had time to go back and write it in.
Cooking: For the bake sale, I'm making sourdough loaves (or trying to--my first attempt did not rise at all, though it tasted like sourdough, which is weird because that means the bacteria the yeast produce were there, but the yeast were having a vacation day or something), baklava (recipe in sidebar link), brownies (recipe also there), and chocolate chip pumpkin muffins (recipe also there). I made Chickpea Gumbo by The Fat Free Vegan. I know the blog name doesn't sound like the most appetizing food blog, but she has great recipes. I must admit that I added a bit of fat back into the gumbo, in the form of 2 TBL of olive oil instead of 2 tsp. I'm making her Red Beans and Rice tonight. Oh! I forgot to mention I made my veggie broth last weekend. I was able to make an extra three quarts from what I usually make by employing the Crock Pot in addition to my two stock pots. I was very pleased with the results. The freezer is stocked! Just in time for it to get warm and humid here again. Sigh.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Perfectionism Squared
I keep wanting to post about my Yarn Challenge, but I wanted to have swatch photos to show, and I wanted the lucky winner to have her yarn and other treats already. But at this point, I just have to announce the winner since Little Miss Lilah has not felt that I need to finish my swatching :)
The Winner Is...
String Bean for Tussie Mussie!
I was having trouble getting gauge with the 4Ply, which is a very skinny yarn (a technical term I learned from Knit the Knits (whom I hope will someday publish a glossary of technical knitting terms). On the recommended size 4, I was getting 26 stitches to 4 inches instead of 22. That's just as well, really, as I would have had to buy a couple more size 4 circs to do the sweater. So I'm trying size 5 needles, and my backup plan is to double the yarn and try size 5 or 6. I dimly recall some formula where if you double the yarn, you don't need double the yardage, just 1.3 or 1.4 or 1.7 of it? At 1.7, I would be really pushing the limits of the amount of 4Ply I have, but if it's less, I think I can do it. This yarn is always on eBay, anyway. I haven't decided about the nosegay pattern. I think it's cute, but my sanity may demand an unembellished sweater.
String Bean will receive some lovely yarn and something from my oven, hopefully by tomorrow, unless the Postal Service decides to lose it or something. I don't want to post exactly what, so it will be a surprise for her.
Thank you so much to everyone for your suggestions! And, thank you, Tim! Tim was the recipient of one of my Manly Hats (pattern at left) when he moved to the Arctic tundra. I mean, Canada.
The Winner Is...
String Bean for Tussie Mussie!
I was having trouble getting gauge with the 4Ply, which is a very skinny yarn (a technical term I learned from Knit the Knits (whom I hope will someday publish a glossary of technical knitting terms). On the recommended size 4, I was getting 26 stitches to 4 inches instead of 22. That's just as well, really, as I would have had to buy a couple more size 4 circs to do the sweater. So I'm trying size 5 needles, and my backup plan is to double the yarn and try size 5 or 6. I dimly recall some formula where if you double the yarn, you don't need double the yardage, just 1.3 or 1.4 or 1.7 of it? At 1.7, I would be really pushing the limits of the amount of 4Ply I have, but if it's less, I think I can do it. This yarn is always on eBay, anyway. I haven't decided about the nosegay pattern. I think it's cute, but my sanity may demand an unembellished sweater.
String Bean will receive some lovely yarn and something from my oven, hopefully by tomorrow, unless the Postal Service decides to lose it or something. I don't want to post exactly what, so it will be a surprise for her.
Thank you so much to everyone for your suggestions! And, thank you, Tim! Tim was the recipient of one of my Manly Hats (pattern at left) when he moved to the Arctic tundra. I mean, Canada.
Monday, October 08, 2007
The Days of Our Lives
(The following is fictionalized autobiography. No Cheerios were harmed in the writing of this piece. If the style seems weird, go read Bridget Jones' Diary.)
Sunday: V. unhappy. House is disaster area. Need a better schedule to resolve chaos. Imagine! No more Cheerios underfoot. No more piles of whatever on the dining room table. No more wincing at the state of the bathroom mirrors. House will resemble Martha Stewart magazine spread.
Monday: laundry
Tuesday: bathrooms
Wednesday: dusting and sweeping
Thursday: vacuuming and mopping
Friday: general decluttering
Saturday: make up day
Sunday: off
There! Will have plenty of time for all housework. Am v. pleased with organizational skills.
Monday: Cheerios on floor: 11.5 (v. bad) Laundry complete! V. pleased. Am domestic goddess. Dreamily picture sparkling, gorgeous home, free from chaos, Cheerios, and clutter. Will plan dinner party to show off stunning home and goddessness.
Tuesday: Cheerios on floor: 18 (v. v. bad) Bathrooms cleaned: 1 (v. bad) Had to abandon master bathroom midway, shutting door to keep baby and cats from hazardous chemicals left on all surfaces until baby napped, whereupon wiped everything clean quickly without inhaling.. V. disappointed, but remain hopeful. Remember Sunday is available as make-up day. Am still domestic goddess, but must remember Martha Stewart has legions of servants to keep things sparkly. Must not be discouraged by more real-world situation. Realize have not plucked eyebrows in recent memory. Do so to avoid frighteniing dinner guests and overshadowing gorgeousness of house, Must add weekly beauty masque and home pedicure to schedule.
Wednesday: Cheerios on floor: 22 (v. bad, but improvement) Grocery shopping done! V. pleased, except forgot several things and will have to return tomorrow. Realize forgot to put grocery shopping on schedule. Must not be discouraged by minor setback. Will be amazing domestic goddess by next week, with exfoliated feet and clean floors.
Thursday: Cheerios on floor: 32 (v. horrifying) Grocery shopping done again! Total bathrooms cleaned: 2 (improvement) V. pleased. Making up for early week problems already. Rather discouraged that large tasks for Wed. and Thurs. not completed. Must stay focused and positive and remember the weekend is coming. Remember that becoming domestic goddess not easy. V. disturbed to find Cheerio in living room. Perhaps they are breeding? Resolve to look into Cheerio reproduction or migration.
Friday: Cheerios on floor: 22 (v. good) Total bathrooms cleaned: 2.5 (excellent) V. concerned has taken most of week to accomplish Tuesday task. Wikipedia and Martha Stewart website unhelpful on Cheerio breeding issue. Accused (unjustly) of mumbling, "Bleeping Martha Stewart."
Saturday: Cheerios on floor: 12 (v. encouraging) Dusting finished (not counting books in bookshelves)! Will clean floors after errand to mall to find pajamas that fit. V. pleased to have lost weight, but pajamas now resemble circus tent. Spend two hours installing larger carseat as baby has discovered how to extract and eat stuffing of small carseat. V. concerned about polyester consumption. Locate lovely, fitting pajamas in fourth store, only to realize have forgotten special credit card with bonuses. Return with no pajamas (v. bad, so disorganized) but with baby ingesting no polyester (v. good).
Sunday: Cheerios on floor: 0 (v. exciting! success!) While on floor during Cheerio eradication, notice oatmeal spot on curtain. Follow logical trajectory from high chair to find oatneal crusted on wall. Am not domestic goddess, but unpaid CSI technician. Perhaps can feed baby out on porch in future, then use garden hose for cleanup? Return to purchase non-tent-like pajamas with bonus credit card. V. pleased. Place baby in high chair and sweep floor while performing riveting singing/dancing act, to great applause. Am clearly v. talented. Perhaps will perform at dinner party. Go to Target to purchase plastic dropcloth to place under high chair. Wonderful, beloved, amazing husband has vacuumed during outing. Manage to finish floor cleaning before collapsing in exhaustion. Am domestic goddess at last! Not excited about starting over tomorrow, however...
Knitting: I will announce the winner of the contest as soon as I have swatch pictures to put up, later in the week. You guys are awesome! Fantastic ideas all around!
Reading: Wow, this is going to be a long one. It looks impressive, but most of these are below my grade level. I read the four Peggy Parish books in a couple of hours.
Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange: This was surprisingly enjoyable. Quite fluffy, but fun. It's really superfluous, since you can tell in Pride and Prejudice what Darcy was thinking most of the time, but if you're a P&P fan, this might be worth picking up. I zipped through it pretty quickly, and really liked it. There are some conversations with Bingley and comments on Caroline that are entertaining, and we see a bit more of his relationship with Georgiana. And of course, we find out what happened when Darcy went after the eloping couple. Grange has also written Mr. Knightley's Diary, which I will have to pick up!
Molly Moon, Micky Minus, and the Mind Machine by Georgia Byng: This is the fourth in the series about a plucky heroine who discovers she has amazing powers. These are very cute, over-the-top adventures, beginning with Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism.
Key to the Treasure, Pirate Island Adventure, Clues in the Woods, and The Haunted House by Peggy Parish: Four of the six Liza, Bill & Jed mysteries. I've gotten nostalgic about childhood books, and sometimes I have only a dim memory of a book I loved as a kid, without remembering the author, the plot, or the character names. This makes it hard to search for a book! For this one, all I remembered was that there was a "treasure key" or "key to treasure" or something in the title and it had codes in it. Pretty quickly found Key to the Treasure, and I had completely forgotten it was the first in a series. These are good natured adventure-mysteries that are neither too adventurous nor very mysterious. These are really cute, wholesome mysteries. There are no video games or television shows, and the kids play outside and volunteer to do the dinner dishes without being asked, but they're not disgustingly sweet. They carp at each other like real siblings. I wasn't sure if they would still appeal to kids, or if they would be too dated, but they were recently re-released, maybe because people like me who loved them as kids are now having children themselves.
Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Carson Levine: This was a fun fairy tale set in Never Land. Prilla, a new fairy, hasn't yet found her talent. Meanwhile, trouble is brewing for the Never fairies. There's not much suspense that Prilla's yet-unknown talent will play a key role in solving the trouble in Never Land, but the story is cute and the illustrations lovely.
Writing: None at all. Sigh. For Christmas, I want time to write. And a desk. That's all.
Cooking: I don't think I mentioned that I made sourdough starters, which is just as well really. I missed a day of feeding and the whole wheat one came over all moldy and the bread flour one smelled like one of Lilah's more horrifying diapers. I wasn't that committed, I guess, as I hadn't named them. I found a different technique I may try. It may have been the awful humidity around here lately, or it might be entirely my fault. At any rate, I was bummed, as I was looking forward to some sourdough bread.
I made Pad Thai. Sort of. Let's call it, Not Very Authentic But Fairly Tasty Pad Thai from Allison's House of Vaguely Ethnic Cuisine. I started out with the intention of making authentic Pad Thai by the delightful Pim, and shopping, equipment, and time issues foiled my plan. I have no doubt whatsoever that Pim's method is better than the makeshift method and ingredients I used. But I had already had two bean sprout purchases go bad while I tried to find the time and energy to make Pad Thai, and I decided to just do what I could and see how it turned out. The changes I ended up making were legion: 1. I couldn't find Light Soy Sauce (not low-sodium, but "thin" soy sauce" so I used 1/3 cup of regular. 2. I actually found tamarind, but when I opened the box, instead of a nice, soakable block, I found a bunch of pod things. When I broke them open, there was sticky stuff that I had no idea what to do with, so I gave up on that and used 1/2 cup lime juice. 3. I used 1/3 cup turbinado sugar instead of palm sugar. 4. I couldn't find garlic chives and got regular. 5. I didn't have a wok, so I used my chef's pan. 6. I needed to cook it all at once, so I stir-fried tofu and garlic, removed it to a bowl, cooked eggs and added them to the tofu, then stir-fried 14 oz. of dried rice noodle (soaked in boiling water), added sauce and beansprouts, stirred in tofu and egg, then added chives. Matt and I agreed it wasn't restaurant quality, but it was actually pretty good. Someday, I'll find an Asian market and try Pim's method.
I made extremely healthy muffins for a neighbor who can't have dairy and is chemically sensitive. She looked after our cats while we were in Michigan, and it seemed like a good thank you idea. I actually liked them quite a bit. They do taste 'healthy' and Matt didn't even want to try them (he said diplomatically that he wouldn't appreciate them the way I would) as he's not fond of whole wheat baked goods (except bread). In case you feel you're not getting enough fiber in your diet, here's the recipe for a dozen muffins. They freeze well, then you can defrost one in the morning for breakfast.
Apple muffins (chemically sensitive version)
12 muffins
Note: Next time, I will nix the topping, add two teaspoons of cinnamon to the batter, and sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar. I haven't tested it this way yet, though.
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 cups apples, peeled and chopped
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
Combine all dry ingredients and set aside. In a large bowl, mix oil, applesauce, and honey. Blend in vanilla and egg. Gradually mix in dry ingredients until well-blended. Stir in nuts and apples. Pour into 12 muffin cups sprayed with canola oil. Spread topping over batter. Bake at 325 for approximately 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Topping:
2 Tbl canola oil
2 Tbl whole wheat flour
2 Tbl turbinado (raw) sugar
1 Tbl cinnamon
Mix all topping ingredients.
Sunday: V. unhappy. House is disaster area. Need a better schedule to resolve chaos. Imagine! No more Cheerios underfoot. No more piles of whatever on the dining room table. No more wincing at the state of the bathroom mirrors. House will resemble Martha Stewart magazine spread.
Monday: laundry
Tuesday: bathrooms
Wednesday: dusting and sweeping
Thursday: vacuuming and mopping
Friday: general decluttering
Saturday: make up day
Sunday: off
There! Will have plenty of time for all housework. Am v. pleased with organizational skills.
Monday: Cheerios on floor: 11.5 (v. bad) Laundry complete! V. pleased. Am domestic goddess. Dreamily picture sparkling, gorgeous home, free from chaos, Cheerios, and clutter. Will plan dinner party to show off stunning home and goddessness.
Tuesday: Cheerios on floor: 18 (v. v. bad) Bathrooms cleaned: 1 (v. bad) Had to abandon master bathroom midway, shutting door to keep baby and cats from hazardous chemicals left on all surfaces until baby napped, whereupon wiped everything clean quickly without inhaling.. V. disappointed, but remain hopeful. Remember Sunday is available as make-up day. Am still domestic goddess, but must remember Martha Stewart has legions of servants to keep things sparkly. Must not be discouraged by more real-world situation. Realize have not plucked eyebrows in recent memory. Do so to avoid frighteniing dinner guests and overshadowing gorgeousness of house, Must add weekly beauty masque and home pedicure to schedule.
Wednesday: Cheerios on floor: 22 (v. bad, but improvement) Grocery shopping done! V. pleased, except forgot several things and will have to return tomorrow. Realize forgot to put grocery shopping on schedule. Must not be discouraged by minor setback. Will be amazing domestic goddess by next week, with exfoliated feet and clean floors.
Thursday: Cheerios on floor: 32 (v. horrifying) Grocery shopping done again! Total bathrooms cleaned: 2 (improvement) V. pleased. Making up for early week problems already. Rather discouraged that large tasks for Wed. and Thurs. not completed. Must stay focused and positive and remember the weekend is coming. Remember that becoming domestic goddess not easy. V. disturbed to find Cheerio in living room. Perhaps they are breeding? Resolve to look into Cheerio reproduction or migration.
Friday: Cheerios on floor: 22 (v. good) Total bathrooms cleaned: 2.5 (excellent) V. concerned has taken most of week to accomplish Tuesday task. Wikipedia and Martha Stewart website unhelpful on Cheerio breeding issue. Accused (unjustly) of mumbling, "Bleeping Martha Stewart."
Saturday: Cheerios on floor: 12 (v. encouraging) Dusting finished (not counting books in bookshelves)! Will clean floors after errand to mall to find pajamas that fit. V. pleased to have lost weight, but pajamas now resemble circus tent. Spend two hours installing larger carseat as baby has discovered how to extract and eat stuffing of small carseat. V. concerned about polyester consumption. Locate lovely, fitting pajamas in fourth store, only to realize have forgotten special credit card with bonuses. Return with no pajamas (v. bad, so disorganized) but with baby ingesting no polyester (v. good).
Sunday: Cheerios on floor: 0 (v. exciting! success!) While on floor during Cheerio eradication, notice oatmeal spot on curtain. Follow logical trajectory from high chair to find oatneal crusted on wall. Am not domestic goddess, but unpaid CSI technician. Perhaps can feed baby out on porch in future, then use garden hose for cleanup? Return to purchase non-tent-like pajamas with bonus credit card. V. pleased. Place baby in high chair and sweep floor while performing riveting singing/dancing act, to great applause. Am clearly v. talented. Perhaps will perform at dinner party. Go to Target to purchase plastic dropcloth to place under high chair. Wonderful, beloved, amazing husband has vacuumed during outing. Manage to finish floor cleaning before collapsing in exhaustion. Am domestic goddess at last! Not excited about starting over tomorrow, however...
Knitting: I will announce the winner of the contest as soon as I have swatch pictures to put up, later in the week. You guys are awesome! Fantastic ideas all around!
Reading: Wow, this is going to be a long one. It looks impressive, but most of these are below my grade level. I read the four Peggy Parish books in a couple of hours.
Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange: This was surprisingly enjoyable. Quite fluffy, but fun. It's really superfluous, since you can tell in Pride and Prejudice what Darcy was thinking most of the time, but if you're a P&P fan, this might be worth picking up. I zipped through it pretty quickly, and really liked it. There are some conversations with Bingley and comments on Caroline that are entertaining, and we see a bit more of his relationship with Georgiana. And of course, we find out what happened when Darcy went after the eloping couple. Grange has also written Mr. Knightley's Diary, which I will have to pick up!
Molly Moon, Micky Minus, and the Mind Machine by Georgia Byng: This is the fourth in the series about a plucky heroine who discovers she has amazing powers. These are very cute, over-the-top adventures, beginning with Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism.
Key to the Treasure, Pirate Island Adventure, Clues in the Woods, and The Haunted House by Peggy Parish: Four of the six Liza, Bill & Jed mysteries. I've gotten nostalgic about childhood books, and sometimes I have only a dim memory of a book I loved as a kid, without remembering the author, the plot, or the character names. This makes it hard to search for a book! For this one, all I remembered was that there was a "treasure key" or "key to treasure" or something in the title and it had codes in it. Pretty quickly found Key to the Treasure, and I had completely forgotten it was the first in a series. These are good natured adventure-mysteries that are neither too adventurous nor very mysterious. These are really cute, wholesome mysteries. There are no video games or television shows, and the kids play outside and volunteer to do the dinner dishes without being asked, but they're not disgustingly sweet. They carp at each other like real siblings. I wasn't sure if they would still appeal to kids, or if they would be too dated, but they were recently re-released, maybe because people like me who loved them as kids are now having children themselves.
Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Carson Levine: This was a fun fairy tale set in Never Land. Prilla, a new fairy, hasn't yet found her talent. Meanwhile, trouble is brewing for the Never fairies. There's not much suspense that Prilla's yet-unknown talent will play a key role in solving the trouble in Never Land, but the story is cute and the illustrations lovely.
Writing: None at all. Sigh. For Christmas, I want time to write. And a desk. That's all.
Cooking: I don't think I mentioned that I made sourdough starters, which is just as well really. I missed a day of feeding and the whole wheat one came over all moldy and the bread flour one smelled like one of Lilah's more horrifying diapers. I wasn't that committed, I guess, as I hadn't named them. I found a different technique I may try. It may have been the awful humidity around here lately, or it might be entirely my fault. At any rate, I was bummed, as I was looking forward to some sourdough bread.
I made Pad Thai. Sort of. Let's call it, Not Very Authentic But Fairly Tasty Pad Thai from Allison's House of Vaguely Ethnic Cuisine. I started out with the intention of making authentic Pad Thai by the delightful Pim, and shopping, equipment, and time issues foiled my plan. I have no doubt whatsoever that Pim's method is better than the makeshift method and ingredients I used. But I had already had two bean sprout purchases go bad while I tried to find the time and energy to make Pad Thai, and I decided to just do what I could and see how it turned out. The changes I ended up making were legion: 1. I couldn't find Light Soy Sauce (not low-sodium, but "thin" soy sauce" so I used 1/3 cup of regular. 2. I actually found tamarind, but when I opened the box, instead of a nice, soakable block, I found a bunch of pod things. When I broke them open, there was sticky stuff that I had no idea what to do with, so I gave up on that and used 1/2 cup lime juice. 3. I used 1/3 cup turbinado sugar instead of palm sugar. 4. I couldn't find garlic chives and got regular. 5. I didn't have a wok, so I used my chef's pan. 6. I needed to cook it all at once, so I stir-fried tofu and garlic, removed it to a bowl, cooked eggs and added them to the tofu, then stir-fried 14 oz. of dried rice noodle (soaked in boiling water), added sauce and beansprouts, stirred in tofu and egg, then added chives. Matt and I agreed it wasn't restaurant quality, but it was actually pretty good. Someday, I'll find an Asian market and try Pim's method.
I made extremely healthy muffins for a neighbor who can't have dairy and is chemically sensitive. She looked after our cats while we were in Michigan, and it seemed like a good thank you idea. I actually liked them quite a bit. They do taste 'healthy' and Matt didn't even want to try them (he said diplomatically that he wouldn't appreciate them the way I would) as he's not fond of whole wheat baked goods (except bread). In case you feel you're not getting enough fiber in your diet, here's the recipe for a dozen muffins. They freeze well, then you can defrost one in the morning for breakfast.
Apple muffins (chemically sensitive version)
12 muffins
Note: Next time, I will nix the topping, add two teaspoons of cinnamon to the batter, and sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar. I haven't tested it this way yet, though.
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 cups apples, peeled and chopped
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
Combine all dry ingredients and set aside. In a large bowl, mix oil, applesauce, and honey. Blend in vanilla and egg. Gradually mix in dry ingredients until well-blended. Stir in nuts and apples. Pour into 12 muffin cups sprayed with canola oil. Spread topping over batter. Bake at 325 for approximately 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Topping:
2 Tbl canola oil
2 Tbl whole wheat flour
2 Tbl turbinado (raw) sugar
1 Tbl cinnamon
Mix all topping ingredients.
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