My allergies have really knocked me down today, so all I’ve got for you is a series of photos from my dinner prep (and enjoyment) last night. First, I made a mess in the kitchen. (And by mess, I mean Farro with Green Onion Sauce, Toasted Walnuts, and Asparagus, from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Cooking. I subbed brown rice for farro and lemon juice for the zest, and tried to stick to her instructions.) The outcome? A delicious, satisfying sunset meal (pictured above).
Happy weekend!
‘Morning, all. I’m feeling cautiously optimistic about this sore throat, and a little stir crazy from almost two full days on the couch. Time to catch up on some blogging. First up? Salsa.
I saw this super simple recipe over at A Friend to Knit With — and while I would’ve kept on scrolling in my old apartment because it called for using the broiler (and I was never able to clean that one well enough to feel good about using it), on Saturday morning I thought, what better way to celebrate a new stove? And so I ventured to the grocery store on graduation morning for salsa ingredients. And it was worth it. (I did use onions, too. They just aren’t in the pictures.)
Initially I was worried that it would be too spicy, but it mellowed a bit in the fridge. (Or maybe I got a mouthful of chile seeds when I tasted it? Either way, I was really happy with the results.)
As you can see, Boh was also worried about the spiciness of the salsa. Saturday night, a small group of friends from the department came over to hang out and enjoy the sunset. There were two different kinds of homebrew (yum!) and Boh made several new friends. I didn’t snap any pictures, but it was really nice to be social again, and I was awake way past my bedtime. Sunday was when I started feeling less than awesome, and I pretty much sat on the porch all day and worked on my Stripe Study Shawl. These don’t count as FO pictures because the lighting is bad and the ends aren’t woven in, but here’s a look at how it turned out:
I really love this, and even though summer weather has just begun, I will keep my fingers crossed for an evening or two when it is cool enough for me to sit on the porch with this shawl around my shoulders. I’ll post official FO pictures once I weave in the ends and find a better spot for photos!
to bring you information of great importance. This rooster just got a brand new oven.
On Wednesday, I went looking for a filing cabinet, but came home with an awesome, solid wood, rustic futon frame. The trouble was, I had help getting it into the car, but arrived back at the lake house in need of assistance to get it out of the car and into the guest room. I texted a few friends and posted on facebook to find help, and H. came to my rescue. Not only did she use her muscles to help me move the futon frame, but her nose detected a gas leak that I wasn’t smelling (maybe I have a bad nose, maybe I’d just not been in that corner of the kitchen). I called the gas company, and they told us to wait on the porch. We had ice cream while we waited for a technician to arrive. Turns out that in this small town of mine, everybody knows everybody. So when the tech identified the leak in a hose connecting the stove to the gas line, he called the person who does maintenance for this house to come over. A couple of new hoses in the kitchen and the basement, and they hooked everything up again. They found one remaining leak, this one in the regulator on the stove. So they ordered me a new stove that afternoon, and moments ago, it was installed. So now I have a new-to-me lake house with a brand new full-size stove! Totally worth not being able to make coffee or heat anything up for 48 hours, if you ask me.
We now return to our regularly scheduled programming. (In other words, I will post knitting soon. Seriously.)
Boh and I enjoyed a gorgeous sunset from the porch last night. Those of you who have been long time readers may remember the pictures I used to take from my front door when I lived in the southwest. I have a feeling you’ll be seeing lots of pictures from my porch.
We live here. (In the, whoa, it looks like we live here, sense.) I have begun to make messes in my new kitchen.
Behold the yarn and fiber closet. I know it has been far too long since I posted about knitting and spinning — first it was the exams, then the move, then the research trip. All that is over now. I spent yesterday afternoon trying to unpack my fiber, which basically meant that I had to go to the store to acquire tools for closet organization. I’m so thrilled with these hanging racks for my yarn and fiber. Stay tuned for a picture of the “book” case (read: yarn case) in my bedroom. And, of course, actual knitting!
The occasion? A pretty lady came to visit and brought maple cream. We spread that on these raspberry pancakes (raspberries I picked at the farm in September), added some plain yogurt, and ate them on the porch.
Boh was very happy to see P. He particularly loves snuggling with her — something he’ll miss once she’s on the west coast. (We were her first stop on her westward journey.) Speaking of journeying, I’m currently visiting college friends (and their very sweet children) while doing some research in an archive that just happens to be where they live. Boh is hosting Ethel Louise at the lake house. More soon!
As you can see, we are hard at work. I am so lucky to have friends who are excited to spend their first hours of freedom from teaching and exams painting my new house.
First dinner — local pizza — on the porch.
Last night’s meal: homemade bread courtesy of Ethel Louise and a spinach salad. You’re going to be seeing a lot of this porch!
I just folded my Lendrum and put it in its fancy bag for the first time. I’m so excited to get my yarn and fiber organized in my office (I guess my books will have to go there too) so that I can get back to spending quality time at my wheel!
There will be internet at the house on Friday, which is when I plan to introduce Boh to his new home. More soon!
My mom sent me an Easter care package: just what I needed. (Seriously. I would not be surviving without EmergenC, especially with all of the germs circulating on campus.)
Boh wants you all to know that he’s tired of reading and writing. We’re almost there, big dog, almost there.
The first Caesar salad of the season. (My dad’s recipe. Also, further evidence that Boh is my dog. He LOVES the smell of garlic. He kept licking his lips and leaning on me while I inhaled this enormous bowl of salad. So silly.)
First daffodils in the yard.
Shorts! (Only for a few hours, on an unseasonably warm Monday night.)
And then a few days of rain. And reading. Both of which create the ideal conditions for Boh to make this wrinkly face. (And, let’s face it, for me to want to knit instead of work. I’m on my final stripe of the shawl. Pictures soon!)
More deliciousness from Super Natural Every Day: popcorn! And not just any popcorn. This is popcorn made with butter, dijon mustard, and thyme, and it was the perfect incentive for diving into my grading. Grade a paper, eat a handful of popcorn, grade a paper, handful of popcorn, paper, popcorn…you get the idea.
I snapped this picture of Boh earlier– he decided to hang out in his box for much of the afternoon. I think he must have known (because of the barometric pressure, maybe?) that thunderstorms were in the forecast for today, so he was preparing to hide. The storm never came, though, and now soft and steady rainfall is predicted through the night and well into tomorrow. Poor Boh. I hope he didn’t worry too much.
In knitting news, I’m almost to the very last stripe of my shawl. Stay tuned!
Have we talked about this? I write in my cookbooks: dates, love notes to myself, substitutions, impressions. This does not strike me as odd — I write in all of my books — but I will say this: my cookbook annotations might make me happier than all my other marginalia combined. I like to flip through them and think back to the meal, the evening, heck, even the kitchen in which I last prepared a particular recipe. You can see my notes on Heidi Swanson’s Sun Toast in the picture. Here’s the toast:
I made it again today, and snapped a cast iron pan picture:
So simple, and seriously delicious. I may rub garlic on all future toast.
Somebody is excited for spring. (And so am I!) It is getting harder and harder to stay inside and read, grade, and write. A few more weeks of this pace. Just a few.
barefoot rooster 