Olympic Knitting Day 8

Who wouldn't want to knit when the weather looks like this?

I woke up and saw this beautiful drizzle and drank hot tea out on the deck for a couple minutes. Then I packed the kids up and took them to starbucks for hot chocolate (it's been so long since we've had hot chocolate) and went to the craft store for a rainy day project--iron-on transfers and t-shirts. Puddle jumping will be the order of the afternoon.

And I knit:

This is right before the armhole shaping. This means I suddenly have rows that are 40 stitches shorter and they keep decreasing. What is it about armhole shaping that gives me more mojo? My rows are shorter, but that means the futzy end-weaving comes more frequently. Anyway, I am cruising along. At this rate I will be on the neck and arm bands by Monday.

Barring disaster.

Favorite Things Friday: Olympic Moments

My favorite Olympic Moments:



The Men's 400 Relay That last leg is amazing. You can see the adrenaline burst out of those men as they cheer their victory. Mr. Phelps' swimsuit riding a little low on the hips is nice too.

Whitewater Kayaking Finals This is the Olympics at their finest. A man representing a tiny country I couldn't find on a map wins a medal. He is so excited he breaks his paddle and is still jumping around with excitement during the medal ceremony. Who wouldn't want to cheer for Togo after that?

Because Knitting Doesn't Cause Enough Tears

My California connection has just informed me that Trader Joe's has discontinued vanilla paste.

If you see a forlorn mom sitting at Starbucks wearing black and draping half a fair-isle vest over her head like a shroud while jabbing knitting needles through her recipe files you will understand completely I'm sure. Dark chocolate and mochas are always appreciated at a time like this.

Unreasonable Marriage Vows

Goal: Fifteen rows a day. I know I am capable. The real question is if I can be monogamous (to the project--as if!) until the project is finished.

Day 1: Cast-on. Rib (corregated ribbing no less) 17 of 23 rows. Cheer! This will be easy.
Day 2: Finish ribbing and started fair isle. Decide to incorporate Olympic Rings in the design because that would make it harder drive me crazy teach me a lesson look nice.
Day 3: Knit 23 rows but frogged 8. Curse Olympic rings in fair-isle knitting.
Day 4: Spend day at amusement park. Knit seven rows then fall asleep and miss Men's Gymnastics Bronze.
Day 5: Knit 12 rows. Take project to SnB and cruise through 3 rows. Realize I made a mistake and have to frog them. Teach SnB new swearwords. While falling asleep that night remember I am a day behind.
Day 6: Knit 16 rows. Am sick of my colors. The pile of laundry looks big. Decide I should do laundry and maybe cook a fancy, cuban-style dinner. And go out with my family for the evening.
Day 7: Project is definately too heavy. I might get carpal tunnel if I continue to torture myself this way. Fantasize about next project. 5yo requests a new sweater and I seriously consider entertaining request. I am halfway to my car keys when I check myself. Lose count of rows.

Ten more days!

Lack of Dedication

We took the opportunity of having a teenager in the house (and grandparents who are retired) to go to Elitch Gardens.

I haven't been to an amusement park for a while and it was fun. Lots of fun.

However...

I was only able to knit seven of my fifteen Olympic rows last night. I thought I'd be okay but I fell asleep while watching the Olympics. I missed the Gymnast's Bronze too. Not sure which causes more anguish.

Ravelympics

Forgive my terseness. It's nothing personal.

Status Sunday morning:

The reason I ripped out about six rows on Saturday:

Worth it though, don't you think?

Dear Jane Squares

Fanfare

You must forgive my absence.

The Olympics are on. Twice a year I am glued to the television. If this was the only television I watched I would be happy. It pretty much is the only TV I watch.

I also have some guests in town for a few days. Luckily they're easygoing. I am getting a glimpse into the future because one is a strapping gentleman of 14. The first thing he did was set up camp in the kitchen. I am going to entertain myself while he performs the much needed chore of eating all my food cleaning out my kitchen and pantry.

I am also doing a Ravelympics project--cast on during the opening ceremonies, be done by the closing. I'm doing a fair-isle vest and it's enough of a challenge that I can complete it in 17 days without obscenely neglecting my children.

But I fear I may obscenely be neglecting my blog. When I think about it, I'll post pictures of my Knitting.

Rumors, Heresay, Bunk

There is a rumor circulating that someone went to the Colorado Speedway to watch the races. The claim is that this particular person was knitting and eating a slice of Filbert Gateau while watching race cars crash and smelling exhaust.

You can't pin this on me. Would I do such classy pursuits as knitting with good wool and dining on European cakes at such a lowbrow locale?

I plead not guilty.

Whipping, Beating, and other Foodie Pastimes

One thing I noticed about the DB challenge were the numerous "DO NOT OVERMIX/BEAT/BLEND. Wise words to be sure, but I noticed a number of people having problems with the buttercream.

You probably underbeat.

I did an experiment a few months ago because I had some extra cream and thought it would be fun to make butter with the kids. I wanted to see how long it took to overwhip the cream. I whipped for about 15 minutes before I got butter. The cream stayed in a usable consistency for about 8 minutes. This is good to know, as before I was so scared of overwhipping my cream that I usually had more of a puddle than a dollop.

I have never beaten eggwhites so long that they collapse, but it seems a worthwhile experiment. Next time I make hollandaise, I may do just that. Then I'll have a handle on how long soft peaks are soft, stiff peaks are stiff and when destruction is eminent

Anyway, you cooks out there might want to try the same thing just to watch the changes that occur. You may find it takes longer to overbeat than you thought.

And your buttercream might be more successful.

Daring Bakers-July

The July Challenge for Daring Bakers is a Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream. I don't know how DBs choose thier recipes, or how they choose the person who chooses the recipes, but you can follow the link above to get the recipe. I cut, paste, deleted all the info I didn't need and ended up with a three page recipe. That is a challenge! I'm still amazed I haven't found this group before.



Whenever I make a convoluted recipe I assemble all my ingredients to get a quick visual. Not only do I find out quickly if I have enough of everything, but it also gives me a picture to post here. This batch of ingredients is deceptive, most of them get used two or three times, as there are six different parts to this cake.

Another picture to entertain while I blather:



I immediately decided not to veganize. First of all, there were a million eggs and a fair share of cream and butter. Second, with all those eggs, I was in for a mess wih my altitude adjustments anyway.

Altitude adj for approx 5000 feet:

• Increased oven temp 15 degrees
• There were seven yolks and five whites--I used all seven whites.

The cake rose beautifully and (sigh of relief) stayed risen. It was perfectly risen--no dome or sinkage at all! And for some reason, no picture at all! The assembly was straightforward, though there were lots of steps.

New to me:

• I've never successfully toasted nuts before this. Usually there are more cinders than nuts. I had to keep my wits about me (ergo I made the cake last night when everyone was in bed)
• I've never made this kind of buttercream. It came out light and fluffy and perfect. I still don't like buttercream.
• Never made praline, or praline paste. It was surprisingly simple.

I prepared everything last night except the ganache, which I made this morning (and put in my coffee, and debated puring on my eggs, and considered bathing in, but I digress). I had a dark chocolate ganache on my wedding cake (which my mom made) so there is a special place in my arteries heart for ganche.

Voila!

Like my cakestand? The idea has potential--you could stuff a couple pretty flowers or berries in the wineglasses. I especially love the way my 5yo sauntered into the picture wearing only his underwear. All sorts of classy around here, let me tell you.

It's Not Easy Being ???

So, the grand finale of a tour of Brown Sheep is shopping in their Seconds store. These are the yarns that didn't make the cut. They may be off dye-lots, have lots of knots, discontinued, whatever. Of course, the yarn is sold at a discount.

The astute of you may notice a significant trend in my new stash entrants:



The other ladies in my group were giggling at this. I felt no need to justify. I know what I like.
But then my mother said

"You should see her house!" My face turned from sheepish (no pun intended) grin into mild horror.

Exhibit A: Yarn-"Cactus" Living Room Paint: "Olive Oil"


Exhibit B: Yarn "Pistachio" 5yo Bedroom: "Corn Husk"


Exhibit C: Yarn "Peridot", 2yo Bedroom "Grasscloth"

I did have a sweater's worth of a burgandy-ish color. My mom and I found a pattern we both liked and decided to each make it (as a race). When I saw the color she picked (a wine-y color), we knew we needed to switch one (we mean to swap on occasion). The only other color that appealed was, of course, green.

Okay. So I like green.

The other yarns are for a Christmas present. The roving is for a technique I want to try.

Favorite Things Friday: Foodie Stuff

I have an "exotic" ingredient I couldn't do without:

Trader Joes Vanilla Paste-The last time we found this was two years ago (T.J. being not in my area). DH was in Washington finalizing our moving truck and he called me from the store:
DH: They have Vanilla Paste. How much do you want?
Me: How much do they have?
DH: Plenty. Like 20 bottles.
Me: Buy 'em out!
**pause**
DH: No really, how many?

He came home with six. I'm on my last bottle (serious rationing happening here!).

I've heard William Sonoma carried vanilla paste too, at about $20.00 a bottle. Trader Joe's is far more reasonable. If they are still making it, you have got to try it.

Brown Sheep

I got to go on a tour of Brown Sheep today. This is the second time I've taken this tour and it was every bit as amazing. If you ever have a chance to tour a facility like this, do it.

Things I learned today that make me respect Brown Sheep:
80% of their wool is local (within a two-state radius of Nebraska)
They put in a $hiny, expen$ive, water recycling $y$tem. Between reclaiming 90% of their water and not wasting energy heating subterranean water, it will pay for itself within two years. Not too shabby.

The passion the V.P. (daughter of the P) has is inspiring. She has a mind for business and is forward thinking. At the risk of offending people, it felt strange to find this in rural Nebraska. Her business acumen would be welcomed in any large city.

Alas, I couldn't take pictures. I understand why (I would have been surprised if I could) so you will just have to wait until tomorrow for my treat to you.

A picture of the goods I got in their Seconds Store...

Sewing Room Semi-Final

The sewing room is not 100% complete. But it's about 90%. As I'll probably start using the thing before I get completely finished I decided it might be time to start posting pictures.

As you walk through the door the first thing you notice is

My New Cutting Table

This side (ignore the 'workspace' on top--90% remember?)--note the understorage:


That side:


Turn to the left and you will see

My Wall of Shelving and Inspiration.





I will have more of these frames on the wall because I love the way they look (and I have too many UFOs) but just look at all that empty shelf space.

The next wall harbors a large window (north facing) and what remains of my previous mess. A box of trash, two boxes of stuff that lives in other areas of the house, and a whole bunch of empty bins.

The next corner harbors my personal yarn shop (I'm hoping if my room feels like a store, I won't be as tempted to shop elsewhere.

(Of course I painted the pegboard to match. Do you know me at all!?)

Then you pass a large closet that my husband stores Every-Halloween-Costume-He-Has-Worn-For-The-Past-18-Years-And-The-Random-Cr@p-He-Collects-At-Thriftstores-Just-In-Case. It bugs me, but then again, I have a yarn shop in my room.

Next comes my sewing area:

And finally, another wall of storage (look how much is still empty!).

There is one more crawl space after this. DH puts his camp gear there. I avoid camping and the fact that his entire campsite fits into that space scares me. That is one helluva tiny hotel room if you ask me.

But then again, I have 250 square feet of temperature-controlled space to sprawl in while he's camping.

Love That Pasta

One of my favorite things about being an adult (i.e. not under my parent's roof) is that I can make pasta whenever I want. I love pasta of any kind and DH doesn't even enjoy talian restaurants because I can make the same meals for pennies.

Look at the stunning color of this creation:



Pictures don't so it justice.

I made normal old spaghetti. I pureed some roasted beets with a little soy creamer and sea salt. Then I sauteed the beet greens in olive oil, garlic and chile flakes. I tossed the pasta with the beets. Topped it with the greens. Added a dallop of sourcream and sprinkled with marcona almonds and Fluer De Sel.

Kids ate it (minus the greens). DH did not like it. He has a fear of beets but he did try enough for me to be satisfied that he truly didn't like it. I loved it.

But, oh that color.

Chocolatl

Recently I found an ice-cream maker at a thrift store. It was $4.99 and I didn't get it. As fate would have it, DH needed to go later that week and it was still there. It came home with me.

I have an infatuation with mexican chocolate. Ingredients vary but my favorite is strong on the chile and spices, with a gritty texture--usually from nuts. Today I made heaven. I fell in love. My kids liked it. DH says it's the best ice cream he's had. Better than Ben and Jerry (though I hesitate to type such blasphemy).

My recipe for Mexican chocolate ice cream:

• 3 cups total of cream/milk/half-n-half/whatever you have lying around (I used 1 C. cream, 1+ cups half-n-half and the rest skim milk)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 6 oz (half package) dark chocolate chips
• 2 T cornstarch
• 2 T almond meal/flour
• Chili powder (I used about 1/2 t+ and it was spicy but the kids still ate it)
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 1/4 t cloves
• 1 t vanilla

Reserve about 1/4 cup liquid and put the rest in a pot and heat gently. Add chocolate and stir until melted. Combine cornstarch and reserved fluid. Add to hot mixture and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and mix in remaining ingredients.

I am totally guesstimating my measurments. Just taste it and adjust as necessary. It should taste a little stronger and sweeter than you like because freezing dulls the flavor.

Chill mixture completely (you may want to put clingwrap on the surface to avoid a 'skin'). Put in ice cream maker per instructions.

Hide from your family. Don't forget the spoon.

Moldy Green Thumb

"Oh, you only need one or two plants. They'll take over your yard if you're not careful. You'd best plant them in a container."

My basil late July.




Everyone else's basil.




That's what it seems like anyway.

In retrospect, what's wrong with basil taking over a yard? I would love to sit in a yard overcome by basil fumes. I could roll around in it and market it as Parfum Pesto.

Foodies would buy it.

Do I Qualify?

I made the Danish Braid that seems to be last month's daring baker challenge. I tried to get cute and make a bow at the end but it didn't turn out the way I envisioned. Luckily it tasted great.

Recipe

Above is my assemblage of ingredients. After I took this picture I thought "Where are my apples?"

So I substituted four hard nectarines for the two errant apples. They dissolved into the filling, but gave it a thick, apple-butter feel.



See the windowpane? That part that looks like a hole is a thin film of well-developed gluten. When you have this, you know your dough is well-kneaded. I substitued a cup of whole wheat flour and my orange zest and cardamom are still pretty coarse, so the windowpane will tear easier than if it were a simple white dough. The warm, spicy scent of this dough is wonderful. The combination of Cardamon and Citrus reminds me of a Chai recipe I have.

Once the dough has been turned, i.e. stuffed with seemingly half its weight in butter and rolled into 54 layers of flaky goodness, it becomes a vessel for many things other than the strudel-like pastry in the recipe. Think crescent rolls, twisted churro-like sticks, and any manner of puff-pastryish concoctions.

This recipe earned a thumbs up from my family. I love that the pastry can stand on it's own without filling or frosting. That said, I think I will try a spicy pumpkin filling in the fall. I might also try a filling of caramalized onions, mushrooms and chard.

Favorite Things Friday: Cities

I haven't done a whole lot of travel. But here are cities I would willingly visit over and over again.

• Seattle, Washington (would live there again)
• Portland, Oregon-if I couldn't live in Seattle, this one is my second pick
• Kauai, Hawaii-I have a dream to retire here and open a putt putt golf course with my DH. Hey if you're going to dream, dream BIG.