Category Archives: kitchen

double cowl.

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Sort of the winter equivalent of the double rainbow, I would argue.

Vegetable stock is simmering on the stove. Squash and mushrooms are roasting in the oven (on their way to becoming this). One of the veggie drawers in the fridge is freshly washed. I even scrubbed the mat that goes under my dish-drying rack. Many of you know what this means: there are final exams covering every inch of my kitchen table. I’m about two-thirds of the way through my grading. At least I’ll have soup to keep me going.

One of the good things about grading final exams? The final, which for me, meant two and a half hours of knitting time, interrupted only by the occasional student question. I managed to both knit and kitchener my soaker (clearly I’m a bit out of kitchener practice). Maybe I’ll let myself pick up and knit a leg cuff tonight.

Good luck to everyone working through end-of-semester writing and grading!

chocolate ice cream.

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In a mug.

Yesterday it was cold enough for my 28thirty cardigan — this sweater is almost too warm to wear inside. Dug out my purl scarf to go with it.

Off to continue my packed week of social activities– tonight it is drinks with friends and then a movie. Soon I’m going to have to get back to work. These papers aren’t going to grade themselves…

fake it ’til you make it.

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That’s what K. said today when I tried to articulate that I felt the need to at least “look” put-together, even if I don’t feel like it right now. See?

Wednesday, before I got completely soaked below my raincoat and above my boots. Luckily, the torrential rains turned to snow for the walk back home.

And today, before bundling up in a down vest, handspun fingerless mitts, my handspun wurm hat, and my trusty pink spindle-spun cowl.  Hooray for the arrival of handknit weather!

And here is Boh. He doesn’t fake it.

I came home between commitments today to walk Boh, read for fun, and drink a pot of tea.

And start the last repeat of the basic portion of my terra shawl. Thank you all for your kind comments on yesterday’s post. As I work to process the end of a meaningful relationship, I am just so thankful for my craft and for my community, both here in blogland and in real life.

leftovers (edible and otherwise).

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First of all, my mom is awesome. This is what I just put into the oven — a complete collection of Thanksgiving leftovers. (There’s cranberry relish too.) Plus, my dad gave me a bottle of chardonnay to accompany all this deliciousness. (B and I celebrated Thanksgiving in different places, so tonight we get to enjoy some turkey together!)

My mom also baked a few extra half-size loaves of cranberry bread to send home with me. This is a Thanksgiving morning staple in my house. So tasty.

And now, some blog leftovers — photos I snapped last week but didn’t find time to post.

Last Tuesday, I wrapped this sweet little merino shawlette around my neck before walking Boh, and thought to snap a picture. This is the perfect extra bit of warmth on a windy day.

And then there’s this top, which has a great story that just affirms (like I needed that!) how wonderful the knitting community really is. Did you guys get the email from Quince and Co. about these mitts? (If not, you should totally get on their mailing list.) Well, I think the mitts are adorable, but I absolutely fell in love with the styling. I left a comment on the Quince and Co. blog to ask about the top the model is wearing, and within minutes (THE) Pam Allen wrote me back to tell me that it came from All Saints. And then I bought it. And wore it on Monday, for the discussion of my paper. And I felt super hip. And now all I need are some super long mitts…

Hope you’ve all had a fantastic holiday weekend. So much to be thankful for here at casa rooster.

greens: avocado, kale, terra.

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Power breakfast.

Garlicky kale. (From this recipe.) Seems almost too simple, but this is delicious. (Well, I thought so. B was a good sport and had a bite, but his take on this kale was that it “feels like the skin of a bat.” More for me!)

Time for the second ball of Peace Fleece. I set aside a few hours on Saturday morning for knitting and podcasts, and made some serious progress on this shawl. I’m hoping to squeeze a few rows into my Monday morning to help me get ready for the day — last week’s writing is the subject of this afternoon’s discussion…

plenty.

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(Nope, not talking about the applesauce! I’m only halfway through the bushel.)

I walked into the university bookstore on my way to lecture yesterday to grab a few more brightly colored pens, in anticipation of the scribbling I’ll be doing as I revise my own work this weekend and the pile of papers my students will be turning in on Monday. On my way in, Plenty, by Diana Henry, caught my eye. I picked it up, and after flipping through it, I walked all the way around the table it was on in order to find the other copies. When I wasn’t able to locate them, I decided that I just couldn’t bear to put this copy down, and so it came home with me.

I don’t think I’ve ever taken pictures of the inside of a cookbook before, but this book is gorgeous. Thick paper, saturated colors, beautifully-staged photography, mouth-watering recipes — all aimed at the “home cook.” (That’s me!) This cookbook contains a nice range of meat and veggie options, with lots of discussion about leftovers. This is a cookbook about eating and living well while being conscious of the politics of growing, preparing, and eating food. I’m a mostly-vegetarian cook because I can’t always source (or afford) the kind of meat I am comfortable eating — meat from animals raised kindly and locally, on farms that care about long term ecological health. Diana Henry provides advice for a cook with my politics, and offers an impressive number of recipes for “less popular” cuts of meat — the kind that maybe someone like me can afford from a local farmer. She thinks about refrigerator continuity — a weekend roast that serves as the base for several other possibilities later in the week.

Can you tell I’m excited about this book?

I am also incredibly excited about this blanket — so much so that I’d like to submit it instead of the paper I’m revising to my department for consideration. (Too bad that’s not really an option.) I’m working on the last section of the blanket before the border, and I cannot wait to curl up with this on the couch. Hopefully I’ll have some FOs around here soon, in both written and knitted form…

 

apples/applesauce.

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My university has an orchard, and that orchard began its annual apple sale this weekend: buy half a bushel, get half a bushel free. (Chair for scale.)

Applesauce, simmering.

Packed, stacked, and ready to go into the freezer. This was the first batch of the week. Batch #3 is simmering on the stove right now. I am going to be ready for winter! (If only the paper I’m presenting later this month were as easy to prepare.)