Weekend Musings

I've realized my idea of perfection in terms of Saturday mornings.  Wake up early while everyone is still sleeping, have a quick bowl of cereal, get dressed, drive to the market, knit with friends over cups of Balinese coffee, buy vegetables and fruit, drool over the cheese, smell the flowers, and return home to children fed and dressed - that part was just luck and a wee bit of timing.

Now it's Sunday morning, and I'm still in my pyjamas.  I've already got a roast and vegetables in the slow cooker, and the littlest has decided that today would be a good cupcake day.  She didn't have to convince me much, and now they are in the oven baking.   Next up, I have some finishing to do on a Simple Beret and the Ptarmigan Cowl, and there should be plenty of time to read a few chapters of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.  I'll be staying under my cozy blankets and soaking up the sun from the front window like a lazy cat.  It won't be all lying about as I have a soccer game after dinner.  Think of it as conserving energy. :)

N

Thursday cake

I came home from work today craving a slice of cake.  Two layers, yellow cake, chocolate frosting, home made.  So I made it. 

And I ate it.  Despite not having gone to the gym in over a week.  Happy Thursday!

Not all it's cracked up to be

"Crack is whack."

                                                                                                                 - Whitney Houston 

I'm a little late jumping on the Crack Pie bandwagon but on Monday I finally found an excuse to make it.  The recipe is from Momofuku, a trendy restaurant and bar in New York City.  This pie costs $44 if you want to buy one from their Milk Bar and has a major following.  Earlier this year the L.A. Times published a recipe for it and it's been sweeping the blogs since.  With a name like Crack Pie, it's gotta be good, right?  Well, Monday was Mr. T and my two year wedding anniversary so I used it as an excuse to make the pie, which contains butter, lots of sugar, egg yolks, all in a homemade oatmeal cookie crust and weighs in at a whopping 432 calories per slice.  We didn't get around to eating the pie until the next day because we had an amazing dinner at Bar La Grassa (I highly recommend the soft egg and lobster bruschetta--to die for!) and we were too stuffed to eat anything else.  We finally settle in after dinner on Tuesday with a slice each of Crack Pie, although the creator of the pie recommends that you eat it "with a spoon, while it's still in the pie plate, with your favorite someone."  While Mr. T quite liked it, I thought that it was just too sweet for my taste.  I didn't dislike it.  The filling is buttery and sweet, not unlike a pecan pie without the pecans, and the crust it crunchy and just a little bit salty.  The crust is definitely the best part.  I'm not saying that I won't enjoy eating the rest of the Crack Pie, I just won't be needing to go into rehab any time soon.

Best Blueberry Muffins

As promised, I have what I believe is the bestest blueberry muffin recipe I've ever baked.  I found it in a James Barber (LOVED that guy!) recipe book that is no longer available in print, and I've tweaked it a bit to my liking. 

Blueberry Muffins

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Mix dry:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
dash of cinnamon

Mix wet:
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 egg

Mix the two together being careful not to overstir, and fold in 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries.  Spoon into lightly oiled muffin tins, sprinkle a little sugar over top, and bake in a 400F/200C oven for 15-20 minutes.  Take out of pans immediately, and cool on racks.  Makes 12 muffins. Enjoy!

N

Blueberries Here, There & Everywhere

Just popping in to say that I still have probably 5 pounds of blueberries left!!!!   Please do not misunderstand me.   I'm far from sick of them.  this is a pretty sweet situation to be in.  So far I've made blueberry sherbert, blueberry muffins, blueberry salad and blueberry sauce.  I'm thinking blueberry pie next.

I definitely have to share some of these recipes as I am fully aware how mean it is of me to post these images of mouth-watering food and not point you in the right direction.  Mea culpa.  First I must put in a day of hardly working, I mean working hard.

Toot, toot.
N

Sign Me Up

When I began knitting, I never once thought that one day I would find all things 'sheep' would send me loopy.  Then came the combination of two of my loves, and I had to be picked up off the floor - sheep AND food!  Not just any food - a cherry cake ball coated in white chocolate icing with four black licorice legs, vanilla sprinkles and a black jujube nose on a stick!!  How flippin' cool is this???  Thanks, Rebecca!

Now, T, it's your turn. Copy.

N

Post Gathering on the Green

I added another piece of sweet art to my Cara Simpson collection at the Gathering on the Green this year.  It is entirely made of fabric - half quilted and half embroidered.  I wish I was half as talented.   I should round up all my pieces and stage a little collage.  Add that to my to-dos.

Knitting has been non-existent this week.  We've been busy.  One night was spent watching the oldest play Helena in her class's rendition of A Midsummer's Night Dream in which family and friends were seated cabaret-style.  That was pretty neat. And hilarious.  The kids in her class are koo-koo for cocoa puffs.  To give you an idea of what I mean, do you know the part where Oberon doses the sleeping Lysander with magic?  Well he did it while dancing to Thriller. :)  What else did we do?  Soccer practice, board meetings, a baseball game, and a movie.  Craziness.  I think we'll just sit back and take it easy this weekend.  I'm going to finish the dress for the Bumblebee,  bake some of these cookies, hang out in the backyard, and knit.  Bliss.

What's on your plate this weekend?

N

Recipe for a Nice Day

Baking bread in less than five minutes is perhaps the sweetest thing next to having the littlest beg for more bread and butter.  The giant hug I got for baking the second loaf knocked me off my feet.

A pound of cherries from the farmers' market - all eaten by cherry monsters.

Chillin' at the neighbourhood spray pad with friends followed by eating ice cream cones on really high stools.

Additional highlights included:

• 
  
  washing the car and doing laundry (Seriously.)
• 
  
  knitting (I finished one sock and one hat.)
• 
  
  visiting my parents who just returned from a Baltic cruise and receiving a giant hank of sheep wool from Estonia (I hugged them so hard, they nearly fell over!)
• 
  
  catching up with Community (how did I miss this very smart and funny tv show?)
• 
  
  lots of easy laughter with teenagers (that's practically worth gold!)

N

In Today's Mail

Dear T,

I found myself in a kitchen wares store the other day.  I hadn't been there in years, and when I first walked in, I couldn't think of one thing I needed in that store.  After a complete walk-through of the store, I settled my eyes on a wall of stainless steel pots, and after deciding on one and nearly calling it a day, I hollered over to the salesperson, "Would you happen to have any pizza stones???"  I have no idea what made me think of a pizza stone at that very moment as I have never seriously considered buying one until months ago when you recommended Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, but you also noted that I would definitely require a pizza stone.  But I didn't have the book, and I really think in these cases that the book needs to come before the stone.  However, the store had a pizza stone, and I threw the pot back on the shelf, and I bought that pizza stone.  And it's a very good thing that I did!

Thank you SO much for the book and the fabric and the skirt pattern (I will make oodles of them!), and most of all, thank you so mother flippin' much for the crocheted acorn basket!   Honestly,  I think I screamed when I opened the box.  Well, and there was the unicorn card!  I'm still not sure how that one got past me.  You've been holding on to that one for a while.  I'm impressed.  And humbled.  You did good.

How'm I supposed to top that?

N

Using Up the Lunch Apples

Don't let the tin foil plate fool you.  I made this entire pie from scratch.  The pastry and the pie filling.  See, we buy lots of apples for lunches.  Work lunches and school lunches.  This isn't to say that they get eaten.  I also unpack lots of apples at the end of each work and school day.  The girls rarely eat them.  The cookies and popcorn are always gone, but the apples mysteriously return home.  Another reason I always have a mountain of apples, besides no one eating them, is that one daughter will only eat green apples and the other, only red, so I buy double what we could realistically eat.  I'm indiscriminate when it comes to eating apples.  I will eat any put in front of me.  I also like to smell them.  But I really can't eat ALL of the apples myself.  So every couple of weeks, I am forced to come to terms with a load of rotting apples.  I make a lot of applesauce because I am really lazy.  This week, I cracked open a veritable cookbook, and I was lured by the recipe name - Best Ever Apple Pie.  Hells ya.  It was fairly easy with the exception of peeling and slicing many an apple.  I did good.  My only complaint is my timing.  How come I didn't churn this baby out Easter weekend or another time when I was needing to dazzle friends and family with my superb baking skills.  I really like to be fawned over.   Instead the four of us sat around with forks hunched over the table  in our pyjamas, and admittedly there were some mumbles and grunts and empty plates that indicated a job well done. Who am I kidding?  That'll do.  I'ma gonna take it however I can get it.  The next day, I went to the Goodwill and picked myself up a glass pie plate.  I'm set.

N

Sweet things

When 2:30 rolls around I grab a cup of tea and something sweet as a little pick me up. Unfortunately this frosted doughnut wouldn't be able to satisfy anyone but if you're doing some sewing it would come in handy. I crocheted this doughnut pin cushion for my sister whose birthday is coming up. The sprinkles are straight pins so keep an eye on it before someone takes a bite!
This is an actual cake...no yarn here. Mr. T was out of town for a conference so upon his return I decided to surprise him with a chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream. Yum! I'll take advantage of any opportunity to have cake.

Meeting a Challenge

I've conquered the art of baking bread from scratchety-scratch.  I think two perfect loaves counts as conquering.  Don't ask for a repeat performance just yet.  I'm still recuperating.  It takes a long time.  And I didn't use a bread machine.  Just two noodle-y arms.  Whew!  The rear loaf is whole wheat sandwich bread and the front loaf is cinnamon raisin.  A couple thick slices of the whole wheat with some cheddar made the most delicious grilled cheese sandwich I've had in forever!  MMmmmm.  I used Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads recipe book.  This book is very detailed, and I believe, if followed meticulously, one can not possibly go wrong.  I have a few of his other books on hold at the library.  By the time, my holds arrive, I'll be plenty rested up for another bread baking session.  :)

N

Revolt of the Taste Buds

I got the Spring 2010 Kraft What's Cooking magazine last weekend and was drawn to the vanilla almond strawberry tart.  It looked very pretty.  Appearance-wise, this dessert is a ten.  But I would have liked the graham crust a bit sweeter, and I should know by now that I don't like whipped topping in a plastic tub.   Add this to the list of things I knew I didn't like so changed, but forgot and was quickly reminded.  This list includes knitting with acrylic, shopping in malls, and Aunt Jemima.  I've been whipping my own fresh whipped cream for several years now.  I love freshly whipped cream.  But this recipe called for whipped topping from a tub, and since it was being incorporated into the vanilla pudding, I didn't think I would taste it that much.  Turns out I can taste it from a mile away.  And not in a good way.  So next time, I would substitute this vanilla whipped topping with a good ol' fashioned vanilla custard made from scratch.   This is a case in point for slow is better. All things come to those who wait.  Lesson learned.  Again.

N

PS.  This is not to say we did not eat it.  'Cause we did.  We are weak in the presence of pretty food however horrible it tastes.  Plus a part of me wanted to prove that it wasn't as bad as I describe it.  After eating half the tart, my opinion remains the same.  Bleh.

Biscuits du Citrouille a la Canelle

Once again, I found myself too lazy to go to the store to buy cookies for the girls' lunchboxes, so I found a cookie recipe to use up the canned pureed pumpkin that has been sitting in the refrigerator since Christmas.  Mmm . . .  Pumpkin Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.  Now I just have to pawn these puppies off as plain ol' oatmeal raisin to the littlest.   Please pray these are a hit 'cause I am much too lazy to bake more cookies.

N

PS.  I found the recipe in this book - mine's on loan from the library as are the majority of my books.  And yes, it's a children's cookbook.  So what?

Sweets

I am now absolutely certain that if I didn't work outside the home, I would 'make' every day in epic proportions.  Oh yes.   So far on my four days of no work, I have baked dozens upon dozens of squares and cookies, I have sewed up two origami wraps (thank you, Queen of Origami!), made trees for my impromptu winter village, made holiday cards, and knit two fairisle hats with one skein of Briggs & Little.  And I'm reading a really awesome book with very little punctuation and lots of wit.  And I watched Where the Wild Things Are, and tears streamed very heavily when Carol waves good-bye to Max.  There is something very moving about a beast with sadness.   I am pretty sure I had to look away at one point.

Today we're going to get our skates ready for ice skating, and I'm going to brush up on my turkey cooking skillz.  I even bought a baster.  It's as if I'm getting very serious about turkeys.  Watch out, my friends!

N

An Ode to the Middle of December

We're 3/4 dressed for the holidays.  We're waiting for the tree to accustom to being in the house, and then it, too, will be 'dressed'.   Lights, ribbons, balls, snowflakes, icicles, acorns and the occassional monkey or My Little Pony.   I was going for simple and classy, but then they excitedly brought home disco ball ornaments and gorillas.   A block of butter is making its way to room temp on the counter for several batches of snowballs.  I've wrapped four gifts, and already I am tired of wrapping.  This inevitably happens every year.  It's tradition.    These are just my random thoughts from one half glass of white zinfadel.  Call it my ode to the middle of December.   I need to buy egg nog.   One litre should be sufficient.  I usually get over-zealous and buy two litres and one will eventually rot, and when I pour it down the drain, I will gag and swear off egg nog forever until next December.  I will say to everyone I converse with from now until the 25th that we MUST get together before the holidays, and I will consequently slap myself for dangerously overbooking my social calendar.   If I ever complain of loneliness, hit me over the head.   The holidays are for connecting and being grateful and GIVING.  Must remember to love a bit more.  Smile and think productive and positive thoughts.   I need to get the skates sharpened.   I think this is the year that the Bumblebee must learn to step away from the wall.  I shall entice her with chicken nuggets all wrapped up under the tree.  That kid loves meat.  I'm also planning my second turkey dinner which excites me to no end.   I'm going to have to make room in the fridge.  Could this post be more random??? 

Cheers!
N

Soda Bread: A Review

Any hope of dieting has just flown out the window.  I've discovered Soda Bread.  More importantly, I've discovered Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food.   The book is described as 19 culinary lessons and more than 250 everyday recipes that illustrate just how easy it is to eat wonderfully well if you cook, eat, and live by these fundamental guidelines:

• eat locally and sustainably
• eat seasonally
• shop at farmers' markets
• plant a garden
• conserve, compost and recycle
• cook simply
• cook together
• eat together
• remember food is precious

I decided to start with the soda bread because it had four ingredients, required no rising or kneading, and was true to its word of taking under an hour from start to finish.  Really.   And it's delicious.  Funny thing is, it was so simple that I continued to bake because I hadn't even begun to scratch my itch to bake.  So I baked my ol' stand-by chocolate chip muffins.   I then offered up my gift of bread and muffins to my little family, and they gobbled up my bread and left the muffins on the counter all sad and chocolate-y.   Now I must figure out what to make next.

N

Friday Night Knitting Club of One

My sister has her graduation ceremony this evening, so when she asked if I could watch her two youngest, I didn't hesitate to say yes 'cause graduating is pretty special, and it's not as if I get to hang with them all the time since we live an hour apart. Are you like me, and if someone lives an hour away, you think of it always as two hours away? I mean, it takes an hour to drive there and another hour to get home, so that's really two hours. Y'all think like that, right? I admit it's the pessimist in me - everything is always half empty! : ) Anyways, the kids are absorbed by the Wii, so's I might as well be invisible. I did manage to coax the two littlest girls to come upstairs and chop apples for applesauce. They chopped much faster than I could peel. I also caught many apple slices being popped into their mouths. The applesauce smells wonderful. I also chose this quiet time to spray winter boots with stainguard, so the applesauce is overtaking the potent chemical smell in the foyer. Next up, knitting. One purple 80% cashmere, 20% silk cowl . . .

Happy Friday night!

N

30 Days of Happiness :: Day of Rest

Today the girls and I are resting at home - all in one place peacefully. Yesterday was spent scattered and apart. El is writing. The Bee is under the covers fighting off a cold or infection of some sorts while watching movies. I am making. Cooking broccoli soup, baking zucchini muffins, knitting sleeves, and contemplating cookies for lunches this week. The house smells wonderful, and plenty of sunlight is pouring in through the windows. I can hear typing (my own and the oldest's), snoring from the bedroom, and the faint sound of cartoons with the occasional sniffle. The Bee wants to make rice krispie squares this afternoon which will mean a short walk to the store for cereal and marshmallows. I look forward to squeezing in some fresh air.

Happy Sunday.

N

30 Days of Happiness :: Princess Tea Party

I'm chalking this one down as another success. I want to tell you all about it - every single moment of happiness, but I am zonked out. Seriously. I eeked out enough energy to bake a quiche for dinner and then clean it all up, but now I am going to rest. Tomorrow. Promise. Just know that fun was had. : )

N