Category Archives: kitchen

greenery.

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On Friday afternoon, I got a call from N., who happens to be one of my favorite people. (Boh likes him a whole bunch too.) N. is a friend from my life in the southwest who made a move eastward last year. He didn’t move here (that would be too good to be true) but he grew up in the next town over, so I get to see him whenever he is visiting his parents. Anyway, Friday was a long day. It was the last day before the boy returned, and I had purposefully planned some meetings and things to do in order to make the day seem, well, less long. And I finished those. And it was only mid-afternoon. And then N. called to tell me that we were going on a walk. Just what I needed.

We snacked on zucchini bread, Boh gnawed on a stick, and the sunshine and weekend-announcing breeze were enjoyed by all.

And then I made a huge pot of green beans for dinner. And waited. And he’s home now, though he probably wouldn’t call here “home,” exactly. And I am happy.

More knitting soon.

a grown-up rooster?

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So, yesterday this rooster voluntarily bought a blazer. My first thought, in the dressing room: Wait — does this make me a grown-up? (As soon as I walked out of the Gap, I called my mother. I knew she’d be proud. I mean, I did own a blazer in high school, but it was more of a costume. I wore it for Mock Trial. This time, I actually went looking for the blazer.) Feel free to skim down to the actual knitting at any time, because I’m going to keep talking about this. Every season, but in the summer, especially, I try to purge things I don’t wear/don’t need from my closet/life. And this year I had a realization. I am harboring two entirely different wardrobes: one for the girl who lives in ripped jeans and beat-up carhartts, fleece, long underwear, plaid shirts and puffy vests while she camps, cooks, and wanders, and one for the girl who wears dark jeans, big jewelry, and aims to at least feel like a confident/hip grad student as she attends classes and meetings, reads, and teaches section. The line between these two roosters is blurrier than I’m making it sound here, and I hope it stays that way. I don’t want to lose that first girl — and I’m not just talking about attire — to the second. And I don’t think I will, though I want to be mindful of the ways in which my life has changed over the last few years. I had to chuckle, though, when I realized that I could no longer just get rid of things I haven’t worn in the last year — because the next time I’m in the desert, the next time I’m pitching a tent, the next time Boh and I are adventuring — I’m going to both want and need that stuff! Besides, there’s something about a blazer that dresses up even the rattiest, most comfortable shirt.

Finally — some knitting! I’m making progress on my textured shawl. I love the way the textured stitch looks in this handspun, but I’m anxious about the size and drape of the overall shawl. I’m going to keep knitting, though, and then cross my fingers and block the hell out of it. (Good plan, right?)

It is zucchini-time at the farm, which means it is zucchini bread-time in my kitchen. Here’s the first loaf of the summer. Yum.

Boh wants you to know that he is being VERY good this morning.

A knitterly friend has proposed a trade: I’ll spin this fiber, and she’ll do something painterly (her work is stunning) or sewing-related for me! I am really excited to dive into this spinning project. These bags of natural fiber are both labeled alpaca, though I’m thinking that the brown stuff is a blend…or at least baby alpaca. It is so much softer! I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Happy Friday!

there and back.

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Apologies — I didn’t intend to just stop posting this week! I think I’m still recovering from my whirlwind 36 hour (+travel time) trip to LA for the wedding of a dear friend. I’m up early this morning, enjoying a full mug of coffee before heading off to an 8 am yoga class, and I have some photos to share. (Not much knitting, I’m afraid.)

The hotel was less than 3 miles from the Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. How could I not go? (Especially after TAing a class this spring that covered the Reagan presidency.) Let’s just say that the view was fantastic. The rest? I was surprised at the lack of any sort of coherent narrative (triumphant or otherwise) about Reagan or his presidency. Don’t get me wrong; there was quite a bit of material suggesting that Reagan single-handedly won the Cold War, but it was repetitive and rather disjointed. Instead, the focus seemed to be on the spaces Reagan inhabited: “his” Air Force One (commissioned in 1973, decommissioned in 2001 — he logged the most mileage and negotiated to display it when it was retired), a Cadillac from his motorcade, a replica of his Oval Office, and a scale model, dollhouse style, of the entire White House.  I have lots more to say about the ways the volunteer tour guides described the various exhibits, as well as the mandatory posed photo at the entrance to Air Force One (not unlike those roller coaster photos you have the option to purchase at an amusement park), but I’ll stop there for now.

The wedding took place at a stunning temple high above the Simi Valley. I posted a handful of photos from the pre-wedding receptions and the ceremony itself on Flickr, if you’re interested. (Click through on the sidebar.)

Despite the briefness of my trip, I had a fantastic weekend. It was so nice to catch up with dear friends, and especially wonderful to see the bride and groom so happy.

Boh stayed with his best friends this weekend, and when I picked him up (after a red-eye and an hour and a half drive from the airport), he didn’t seem to want to leave. Once we got home, however, he made himself comfortable. Here he is after our much needed afternoon nap on Monday.

This pizza was made with bbq sauce. Note to self: in the future, check the cupboard for tomato sauce BEFORE making pizza dough. (You know, if tomato sauce is important to you. The bbq sauce was actually pretty awesome, and I’d do this again.)

I call this “unstuffed zucchini.” Last night I looked at my farm share and thumbed through a favorite cookbook full of recipes contributed by CSA farmers, and stumbled across a whole page of ideas for stuffings to use in vegetables. This is a mixture of onions, tomatoes, chopped basil, garlic, ricotta and mozzerella. I sauteed the veggies, mixed in the cheese, and then instead of stuffing the zucchini, I simply chopped it up with some summer squash, poured the stuffing on top, and baked it until it developed a nice crust (45 minutes or so). Let’s just say there isn’t any left.

And there you have it. I’m about 15 rows from the end of my hemlock ring, and I will be almost sad to finish it. I’m going to have to make another, as this one will soon be winging its way to LA in honor of the union we celebrated last weekend.

In other news, the boy returns tomorrow. Hooray!

pancakes and procrastination.

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My friend T. and I picked a few pounds of blueberries on Tuesday afternoon, which meant that on Wednesday, I made pancakes for breakfast and lunch.

Boh has continued his efforts to take over the couch at every opportunity.

And I have directed all of my powers of procrastination into my hemlock ring blanket. I’m sure I’ll be able to get back on track once I’ve exhausted the episodes of Arrested Development available on Netflix. (I’m halfway through Season 2.)

I’m still reading, just nowhere near as quickly or effectively as I’d like. Note to self: get on that.

paws off, please.

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Somebody really likes my hemlock ring blanket.

Unfortunately, lace (even with heavy worsted weight yarn on big needles) + dog paws does not equal a good idea. Poor Boh.

Here he is again for scale — as you can see, I’ve begun the feather and fan section of the blanket, and might need to start looking for a longer circular. I’m using something in the 32 inch range right now, and I can see that this is going to start growing exponentially very soon.

Also, last night I made zucchini and onion pizza. I think I might have the leftovers for breakfast. Yum!

FO: new day (also, zucchini and chard).

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This is 150 yards of squishy, shiny, 2-ply made from 4 oz. of Spunky Club corriedale in the New Day colorway. The orange bits are my favorite part.

And here’s the zucchini ricotta galette I made for dinner last night. (I had company.) When Deb posted this recipe recently, I knew I had to make it. I think I’ve made every galette recipe she’s posted, and they’ve all been absolutely delicious!

I’m part of the way through plying the Pigeonroof Studios merino in the chard colorway, and I am absolutely loving the way the colors are combining. So pretty! In fact, pretty enough that I might put off the reading I must finish before my afternoon meeting to ply just a little bit more…

the tour.

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I’m actually planning to be near my wheel for most of the Tour de Fleece this year, so I’m in. Not that I was able to decide ahead of time what to spin — my options felt sort of overwhelming. After doing most of my cleaning and unpacking, I sat down to catch up on Ravelry, and was so inspired by the prettiness in all of the tour threads that I put a new bobbin on the wheel and started spinning.

This is Hello Yarn targhee in the garland colorway. I’m spinning thinnish singles that I’m planning to navajo-ply. This first picture is what I had last night. (I may have stayed up slightly past my bedtime to post this in the TdF threads before midnight.)

This is my bobbin around mid-morning.

And here it is after a bit more spinning this afternoon. I love watching each bright color appear!

Here’s one more shot of the bobbin — note what appears to be an enormous bug at the upper left. After uploading these photos, I went back to the wheel, and the bug was still there. Nowhere near as large in real life, but I encouraged him to find a new perch all the same.

I finally cast on for my textured shawl recipe shawl, and made some serious progress while catching up on the final episodes of The Good Wife and hiding from the heat! I’m using a handspun 2-ply made out of this gorgeous green wool from Friends’ Folly Farm. I only have about 257 yards, so we’ll see how big it gets. I might think about a contrasting border, a la some of brokeknits’ most recent projects.

Plus, blackberry muffins were made (with last season’s berries). Along with a bunch of pesto-minus-the-parmesan that went straight into the freezer.

Whew! We are going to sleep well tonight! (Who am I kidding? Boh is already asleep.)

bachelor buttons and wedding pinwheels.

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Bachelor buttons in the late afternoon.

One and a half rows to go on the wedding pinwheel. (I will finish it today. I must, if I’m going to block it before I head home for the wedding!)

Tuesday = farm day. Thus, my kitchen overflows with flowers.

If I were to hang this photo on the wall, its caption would read: Pesto. Soon.

The boy and I picked about 12 pounds of sugar snap peas today…and ingested another pound or so, I’d imagine. After a string of hot, humid, sticky days, today was perfect. Breezy, partly sunny, and cool. An afternoon in the pea patch followed a morning spent with my friend T. picking strawberries on the second last day of the season.

A perfect day. These are destined to become jam.

I love summer.

And now, back to that pinwheel.

pesto makes everything better.

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I made a jar of homemade pesto on Tuesday morning, and yesterday, as soon as I had finished ripping out my ishbel and posting the sad photos here, I made a beeline for the stuff. Pesto makes everything better.

Boh and I took a nice, slow walk yesterday morning — extra slow, because this rooster pulled a hamstring in last weekend’s soccer match. Boh waited patiently while I photographed neighborhood flowers with my phone. Aren’t they lovely?

When I look at this photo I hear: “Now wait just a minute young lady…”

And this one! What a ham! Thank goodness for a decent camera phone.

And now, since this purports to be a knitting blog, I give you my citron. I’m in the middle of section 4, and I’m planning to add a few more sections to make a more substantial shawl. I spent a few hours on this last night while catching up on podcasts, and fell in love with it all over again. I intend to work only on this and the pinwheel for the next week, in hopes that I’ll finish both in time for the wedding. I’m counting on Boh to keep me on track.

ishbel revisited.

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Hey, remember when I was afraid of lace? Well, I’m working on that. This week I dug out my ishbel, and started the lace section. I may have had a slight freak-out when my count was off by one at the end of the first chart, but after lots of squinting at my shawl, I’m pretty sure I did something silly near the edging, because everything *seems* to be lined up in the body of the lace section. So I k2tog’ed the offending stitch, and moved onto chart B. Fingers crossed that everything will turn out…

Also, I picked a few more quarts of sugar snap peas, and turned some of them into these most delicious, incredibly simple pickled sugar snap peas again this year. Yum.

The pinwheel blanket has entered blob-land, and I’m well into the second skein. Hoping to keep cranking away on this so that it is done long before the wedding (on July 2).

Boh in a blanket. Or in more traditional dress, depending on your reading of this photograph. This look really seems to highlight Boh’s soulful eyes.

Alright, time to get to work!