I. Can't. Stop.

The. Knitting.

I'm catching up on previous episodes of Cast-On (a podcast for knitters) -- and if you're a knitter, you must, I mean must, listen to at least an episode or two because it's so good, and funny and practical and...well, just do it okay? -- and I think it's responsible for the frenzy of knitting that has been my life the last few weeks.

I finished a modified Irish Hiking scarf for my Mom (pictures on that to be posted once they're sent to me -- hint, hint Norm :) ) and then cast on for my first ever pair of thrummed mittens using a Fleece Artist thrummed mitten kit. Um, fun!? I finished the first mitt today and it's a wee bit short in the hand so they're going to be a gifted, but here's a pic:

Hee!












And this is the inside! Gah -- it's looks like some kind of mutant muppet hand!














I remember being so enamoured with the first pair of thrummed mitts I ever saw. They were posted on Jen's blog -- erm, make that hole, and they were a just a confection of cotton candy goodness that I think that's the colourway I'm going to have to make for myself.

I know the cardinal rule is to immediately cast on for the mate, but I couldn't help myself and started a cotton dishcloth from Mason Dixon Knitting for a certain someone I know who digs blue kitchen supplies.














She'll probably have to wait until her birthday to get them though.

Finished Objects!

Whahoo! A finished Clapotis knit in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in "Lakeview." Using Shepherd Sock makes a sort of mini-Clapotis, which works fine for me.

I also finished an Irish Hiking Scarf using Elann's Peruvian wool in a sort of mossy green.

And I knit up a wee little neck scarf for fall out of one skein of a hand-dyed wool alpaca blend that I picked up at the little yarn shop in Whitevale. I loved the colours so much I had to have it. Much hugging of the skein ensued before it was knit, I loved it so much. Alas, the scarf is a bit scratchy, but that's not it's fault. I saw the design of this thin scarf in a store and liked the little i-cord flowers that were sewn a the bottom. Actually, I was amazed that I actually knew how to create those flowers: "Hey those are, like, i-cords, stictched into flowers! I know how to do that!"

Next, if I manage not completely pull my hair and give up in frustration is a pair of socks!

Nokedli, Part Two

Here's the next post on making Nokedli, part deux, since Blogger wasn't co-operating.

Okay, so in my last post, we had some sticky dough. The next step is to bring some water to a boil in a large pot with a bit more salt and rest your nokedli maker on top.

No nokedli-maker? You could try making this with a regular box grater or just pinch off pieces of dough with your fingers. The nokedli-maker we have certainly makes it easier, but I don’t think it’s an absolute requirement.

Once the water was boiling, I took half of the dough and placed it in the grater box. When I moved the box back and forth, pieces of dough were grated into the boiling water below. Once the first batch was in the water, I added the remaining dough. The pasta doesn’t take very long to cook and after a few minutes, I had something that looked like this:











Yes, I realize it kind of looks like albino slugs, but stay with me here okay?

Paul's friend Gabriella recommended a mushroom sauce as a topper and here it is plated with some salad.



Yum! The next time I make this, I might make the dough a little runnier to see how it affects the finished pasta. And I want to try making a vegetarian paprikash stew of some sort as the topper. Sounds like the perfect cold weather meal to me.

Nokedli!

Since our return from our trip to Prague, Vienna and Budapest in May, I’ve been meaning to try my hand at making the traditional Hungarian pasta, which I’ve since learned is called "nokedli." Fortunately, one of Paul’s co-workers is Hungarian and asked her sister to bring a nokedli-maker with her to Canada when she visited this summer – thanks Gabriella!

So here’s a photo essay of my first attempt to make Hungarian nokedli according to Gabriella’s recipe:

First, combine four cups of all-purpose flour, one egg, lightly beaten, a pinch of salt and enough water to make a sticky dough.

The dough sort of looked like this:








Ooo, and now you have to wait for the next post because Blogger won't let me post more than three pictures at a time!

I still feel like the luckiest girl in the world

Paul and I celebrated our five year anniversary on Saturday. Whee!

Two minutes

That’s all it takes for me to fully wake up, but during those 2 minutes after the alarm goes off and the time when I actually start to function, I would give anything, pay money even, just to go back to bed. This seems unfair to me. I go to bed at 10 o’clock! Ten! The alarm starts blaring at 5:30 AM so that seven and a half hours of pretty good sleep.

After we came back from our trip to Eastern Europe, I bounded out of bed in the morning, all chipper and ready to greet the day. You know, one of those people. I think it was some sort of reverse jet lag.

It’s worn off now.

And it's only 10:03!

You know how some days when you get dressed in the morning and you think you look fine and then you get to wherever it is your going and you realize you look like a complete tool? Me. Today.

The battle has begun

For the past three days, I’ve been slowly destroying the orange daylily garden in my back yard. On purpose. I’ve ripped off all of the leaves – a struggle that usually ends with me sitting down hard on the lawn clutching a particularly stubborn clump. The real war begins when we attempt to remove the underground bulbs though. Orange daylilies are known for their ability to breed like rabbits and the roots and bulbs are everywhere. Paul is going to have to help me dig them all up because our soil is rock-like clay and my attempts so far have been feeble.

It’s taken me a long time to get to this point. I really resisted taking these flowers out because I thought it was sacrilegious to destroy a plant. I figured that I just wasn’t trying hard enough to appreciate their beauty. Paul helped me see the error of my ways. Orange daylilies are invasive. They kill other plants. Baby lilies have broken through the garden barrier and are making a run for the lawn! No matter where I stick my trowel, I hit a mass of daylily bulb.

The battle was begun, but it remains to be seen who will win the war. I’ve heard of weary gardeners still fighting the fight even years after they’ve attempted to ban these flowers from their garden. We may just have to move instead.

Responsible cleaning

I don't know about you, but nothing makes me roll my eyes higher than cleaning product commercials on TV promoting their disposable (gah! pet peeve numero uno!) and expensive antibacterial products laden with chemicals. I think Mr. Clean oughta be retired.

Organic products and environmental responsibility have gone mainstream and I’m choosing to me optimistic about that. You can now purchase everything from apple sauce to T-shirts to garden fertilizer with the organic label and I think that’s cool. As a consumer, the words “healthy,” “non-toxic,” “organic,” “natural,” “biodegradable,” “cruelty free,” and “recyclable” go a long way with me and I’m libel to snap up and purchase anything that I think will contribute to the health of our household because, darn it, I want to live as long as possible and be in reasonable enough shape to enjoy that long life. There could be a whole other post on the impact of consumerism and how I've been sucked into it, but let's put that aside for now.

Using harsh chemicals to “clean” our house seems, well, counterproductive. For a while now, we’ve been using plain ole (and effective!) vinegar, baking soda, salt and boiling water to clean a wide variety of surfaces in our house as well as some Nature Cleanproducts. And now there’s a new kid in town. They are American, but Method’s products are available at Shopper’s Drug Mart here in Canada and I’m willing to give them a whirl. The products are derived from natural ingredients (which are listed on the label!), toxic-free, biodegradable and the packaging is recyclable. Design gurus may also be interested to know that the bottles and packages where designed by industrial designer Karim Rashid, who has a Canadian connection. Yeah it's a gimmick, but if it gets more people to dump their allegiance to the strong man with an earring, I'm all for it.

The Homemade Lunch

Paul made me his signature tuna salad sandwich for lunch today. Fat-free, full of veggies (including tomatoes from our garden!), on whole wheat bread.

Somehow a meal made by someone else always tastes better than one you made yourself. And apparently, it doesn’t have to be all that good for it to taste better. I remember my friend Jenn telling me that even when her mother just slapped two pieces of bread around some peanut butter and a smear of jam, it always tasted better than when she made her own lunch.

It must be the thought that really counts eh?

NOW I have something to write about

My sister-in-law asked me to serve as Matron of Honour for her wedding!

Whee!!

Gah!!!

Whee!!!

Cue happy dance:

And Paul has been asked to serve as Best Man!

Whee!!

We're both so honored and really, I have them to thank for ending the Toast and Tea blogging moratoriam. Most posting to come...I promise.

I'm back

Yea gods, I haven't updated this damn thing in forever! I have an excuse! Paul and I just got back this weekend from a trip to the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary. Dark, beautiful and romantic Prague, modern, bright and spacious Vienna and mysterious, soulful, absolutley fascinating Budapest. Here are a few shots:

The never-ending cobbled streets of Prague:











The "backyard" of the Shonbrunn palace in Vienna. Schonbrunn was the summer getaway for the court of Maria Theresa (Marie Antoinette's mother):












And finally, a heart-stopping view over the top of the Danube river in Budapest:

Flat, Stale and Unprofitable

Such is life when the project you've happily knitted, blocked and sewn together is a failure. Unless, or course, the baby I'm knitting it for has octupus arms, and a tiny neck, and a torso so short his tiny baby organs are squished together like ass cheeks in a pair of too-tight pantyhose.

I'm going to take my little straightjacket to the local yarn store to see if they can diagnose the problem with the neck. I followed the pattern directions, but I admit to not exactly understanding what "easing fullness" means. The band around the neck is all stiff and hard and tight. If they can't help me, I'M NEVER ATTEMPTING A SWEATER AGAIN.

In the meantime, I'm working on an Irish Hiking Scarf (a HelloYarn pattern) using Elann's Highland Wool in Irish Moss. IT BETTER WORK.

Cerealicious?

Growing up, I have a lot of memories of food that my mother made me for breakfast. I still haven’t gotten out of the habit of breaking the top off my soft or hard boiled egg and leaving it for my mother to eat, even though I don’t live with her anymore. We always ate breakfast in our house. Bacon and tomato sandwiches (in my pre-vegetarian days), cream of wheat, shredded wheat with warm milk, oatmeal with brown sugar and buttered toast dippers, pancakes, and fried eggs and peameal bacon on special occasions.

Mostly though, we ate cereal. Cherrios, Rice Krispies, Corn Bran, Raisin Bran and occasionally fattening bowls of Quaker Harvest Crunch. Cocoa Puffs were a rarity, but not entirely banned. Which is why I’m intrigued by the signs announcing that both “Cerealicious” and “The Cereal Bar” are “Coming Soon!” to the food court in the bowels of the building where I work. Will there be a rotating list of daily cereal specials? Will there be toppings and if so, will they be extra? Will they pour the milk for you or will they provide separate milk containers thereby preventing the dreaded sog factor? What about combos? Can I get orange juice and toast with that? It’s all a mystery at this point. Stay tuned.

Recommended Reading

I finished reading Tracy Chevalier’s book “Falling Angels” today. I always have trouble explaining why I like a book so much without giving the wrong impression to the person I’m recommending it too. That's probably why I haven't recommended any books on this blog prior to today.

My mother is the only person to whom I’ll just say “I read a great book and I highly recommend it to you” and usually she’ll go and put it on her list, which is great because if she reads it, I’ll have someone to talk it over with. Usually, you have to describe a book in terms of “what it was about” and then you end up talking about it in stark terms that can just turn people off. I feel I’m doing the book, any book, a disservice by trying to describe it myself so if you’re interested, you can read the publisher’s description over at Amazon.com. I was going to do a link, but Blogger seems a bit testy today. Anyway, I couldn’t put this book down.

This was written before her book “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” which of course became a huge success as a result of the movie starring Scarlett Johansson. I’ve also read her book “The Lady and Unicorn” and really enjoyed it as a well. I’m going through a stage where I’m reading practically anything that has a storyline connected to artists, famous works of art and art history.

I finished “Girl in Hyacinth Blue” by Susan Vreeland also a novel based on the works of Johannes Vermeer. Also by Vreeland was “The Passion of Artemesia” (a fictional account of the life of the post-Renaissance painter Artemisia Gentileschi), and “The Forest Lover” (a novel about Emily Carr), which despite its Canadian content, I enjoyed the least of all her books.

Then there was “A Birth of Venus: A Novel” by Sarah Dunant set in 15th-century Florence. I’m going to check out what else Dunant has done. “In the Company of a Courtesan” sure looks interesting.

Now, I know they’re only novels, but through reading them, I got a sense of why someone might want to study art history. I also think that novels like these make understanding art appreciation a little easier. There’s just so much to know about one single painting.

Planning

I ordered up a bunch of ocean-y coloured skeins from Elann recently – I’m in love with the colour blue and I like this Highland wool. I plan to use three colours to make a braided-scarf for next winter. I also got a groovy thrummed mitten kit in a Fleece Artist greeny-bluey-oceany colour that I’m totally excited about too.

In other knitterly news, I finished making the back of a wee cardigan I’m stitching for a coworker’s expected baby. So cute! Here’s a picture, but I’m doing mine in a denim-like colour.

While I know that winter is still here, as evidenced by the expected 14 degree drop we’re supposed to experience tomorrow, it just seems like Spring, and all of its possibilities, is upon us. I was out on the back deck on Saturday, peering over the railing at the tiny green shoots of new plants that have broken the surface of the soil (already!) and I want to dig out my planting flats and start some seeds so that they’ll be ready to plant at the end of May. Paul and I are also going to try some gourmet cooking experiments on our smoke grill once winter has passed and we’re saving up now to buy a screen door for our front porch! Why is a screen door so exciting? Currently, our livable space is pretty narrow, so the only north facing window we have is in the powder room at the front of the house, ergo no breeze from the front. A screen door will solve all of that.

Count 'em -- only eight days until the first of Spring!

Cupcake Capers – The Continuing Story

I tried out another set of vanilla and chocolate cupcake recipes, this time from Chatelaine’s online recipe archive. They were okay. Not exactly a ringing endorsement eh? The chocolate was better than the vanilla but again, I want deliciously delectable cupcakes. These are for a wedding after all. And really, should anyone settle for less then decadent when it comes to cupcakes? I think not. Which is why I’m very excited to try another two recipes from Cooks Illustrated magazine. Apparently these have been scientifically tested to be the yummiest cupcakes ever! Woo hoo!

The good news is that I now have the ability to create a pretty mean swirl with the icing. I don’t like Wilton’s icing though. Meh. I mean, the icing should be tasty enough that you want to glop it on to everything – cupcakes, toast, pork chops. It has to be that good. I’ll be trying out the Cooks recipes for buttercream too and I’ll report back in April.

Jinkies!

I was watching Scooby Doo this morning while waiting for the water to boil for my tea. So Fred and the crew are racing through a haunted castle trying to rescue Velma from the evil clutches of the villain-du-jour when they hit a brick wall, literally. Dazed and confused, Fred ruefully rubs his head and exclaims "Wrong door. My bad!"

"My bad"???

They are still wearing the same damn outfits they had on when this cartoon was running in the 70s -- can we keep the lingo period-correct?

Shameful

Okay, I know I’m gullible. I know that marketers and advertisers shamelessly use whatever means necessary to lure people into buying their product. I know that this isn’t even a great commercial and borders on the supremely cheesy, but I can’t help it. The new Tim Horton’s commercial with the father and son sharing a Timmy’s and the father tells the son that he did, indeed, come to watch him play hockey, makes me sniffle. Okay, my eyes even water a bit.

Ugh. I suck.

Disillusioned

The Alien Illusion scarf was completed in time for Paul’s birthday last weekend (see my alien babies?). He says it’s very soft and warm which is a good thing, but I’m not thrilled with how the yarn is wearing. It seems to be “blooming” a bit which annoys me. I probably wouldn’t recommend this yarn (Zara by Filatura Di Crosa 100% merino) because it unravels if you do the fringe.
So, while I’m happy I’ve completed the project and Paul seems happy with it, I’m disappointed that it doesn’t look like the yarn is going to wear well. That’s the trouble with this damn knitting business. You spend the $$$ to get the good yarn, you spend the time to knit up the pattern and dammit, the results ought to be worth all the effort you know? Bah.

Now I’m hesitant to start the baby sweater I was going to need for colleague in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino because I’ve read that it “blooms” as well. I refuse to work with damn acrylic and I refuse to spend $10-$12 a ball on quality yarn that’s going to look crappy after the first wear.

It’s all piss and vinegar today.

Freedom from guilt...

Paul and I are now the proud owners of our very own heavy-duty tape gun. Yes folks, there’s a certain kind of relief and sense of goodwill that comes from knowing that you no longer have to steal your employers’ tape gun for your illicit packaging needs. No longer must we stay late at the office to smuggle the tool past office security and arrive early, sweating and guilty, to replace it before the mail room staff start their day. And all this for only $14.99!

I’m in Training

Yep, cupcake training.

I’ve been asked to create a wedding “cake” out of cupcakes with a traditional cake topper for my cousin’s wedding in July.

Now, I’m no stranger to baking, but the logistics of creating 140 little cakes, plus a larger cake, and transporting the whole kit and kaboodle to the reception venue during the heat of July has me a bit freaked. I’ve got plenty of time to experiment though and the testing started this weekend. I figure that writing about it here will serve as a log of what worked and what didn’t work.

What didn’t work was the first cake recipe I tried. Usually Canadian Living recipes are fool proof, but neither the designated cupcake tester (that would be Paul) nor I liked the results of their white butter cake recipe. It tasted weirdly like cornbread, which isn’t really the texture I’m after. So 30 of these babies are now residing in my freezer just waiting for Paul to get the munchies. The first batch of icing I made separated so that went in the green bin, alas.

On Saturday, I tried out Martha Stewart’s white pound cake recipe pictured here with some lovely coloured petals. (Thank god the girls were over and managed to eat a few for me). Not bad. One batch made 35 cupcakes so I’d only need to quadruple it to get the required number. I also tested the idea of freezing (with icing) and it worked fine – took about 3 hours at the most to thaw. I didn’t love them though so I’m on the prowl for additional recipes to test. I also didn’t like the buttercream recipe that I tested out on them. My friend Carolyn (who knows all there is to know about buttercream) has recommended this one so I’ll be giving that a try when I bake another batch next weekend.

So, two cake recipes, two icing recipes and nothing to show for it yet except a freezer full of duds and some indigestion. Stay tuned.

It's done! It's done!

Wah-hoo, it's done! I was finally able to give my Mom the throw I made her. Yippee! Here it is in all it's glory!

She says she likes it and that's all that matters. Love you Mom!

A new twist on the veggie burger

Paul and I were reading this article in The Star about a place called J-Grill at Major Mack and Kennedy Road that has the distinction of being the only place in the GTA (so far) serving "rice burgers." What are rice burgers? It's a stack of tasty meat or veg sandwiched between two patties of sushi rice. Paul ordered the BBQ beef (which he captured a bit fuzzily with his cell camera above) and I got the "kinpira," which is a cold salad of carrots and cooked burdock with sesame seeds (below).

We added an order of potato croquettes (fried mashed potato balls crusted with Japanese breadcrumbs) that were to die for --- sooo good. The burgers rocked but our eyes kept straying to the huge bowl of udon soup that the girl next to us was slurping back at warp speed. I think we're going to have to go back.

No Criminal Intent

So I was rushing around at lunch today, running errands, thinking about projects I had to finish at work before the end of the day, issues I need to deal with on the weekend blah blah blah and I popped into Lewiscraft with the intent of picking up a pair of 4mm bamboo needles to replace the one I lost in Greece so that I can finally finish Paul’s Alien Illusion. I also needed to figure out the recommended needles for my stash of Sugar & Cream cotton yarn on the off chance I feel like knitting up a wee iPod cover this weekend. Anyway, I picked up the needles, found the Sugar and walked back up the aisle muttering to myself about needles and gauges when I realized I’d quickly walked out of the store and was five paces away with the unpaid-for needles still in my hand! Gah! “No really officer, I didn’t mean to shoplift a set of $2.50 needles, really.”

Nobody’d noticed I’d pilfered anything but a suspicious shopkeeper might have clued in that I was guilty of something when I arrived at the cash desk with a red face and a (rather loud) “I’d like to pay for these please!”

Hungry?

Ha -- hmmm, the idea of knitting sushi has some appeal, but I think I'll be saving my yarn for this!

One project down, many to go!

Yay! I finished a project!

I finally added a liner to my Unbiased bag that I made for my friend Jenn who lives in Australia (who isn't a regular reader of this blog, so I should be safe).


It was a birthday gift and I made a wee wallet thingy to go with it. Hee!

How cool is this?









Ooo, or this?


How much would I love to get the waffle fries for Paul and how far would his eyebrow raise for spending $25 (US) on a mouse pad is really the question.

I'm tempted. I'm seriously tempted. Check out more options here.

Europe Bound (again)

I hope I don't jinx myself...but it looks like a May trip to Europe is becoming a reality! Yee-ha! We got together with a group of friends on Sunday and came to the conclusion over a few pints that an 11-day Prague, Vienna, Budapest trip was do-able.

I'm so looking forward to Budapest especially. I'm not sure why. Likely because when I was reading The Historian, I got a glimpse into 1950's communist Hungary and was intrigued.

I'd still really like to visit Amsterdam though...and Stockholm. And Paris. And maybe Turkey. Egypt would be awesome too. And Russia....

I couldn't help it

I've done it. I've subscribed to Interweave Knits magazine. It was only a matter of time. I had to! Look at the sweater on the cover! I covet!


I'm still working on my Mom's blanket. Poor Mom. She had her cochlear implant operation and while the actual surgery went well, her recovery from the effects of the anaesthetic (yes I did have to look up how to spell that) did not. She's finally being released from the hospital today and hopefully she's on the mend. One side of her poor head is covered in staples though!

Must. Finish. Blanket.

I think I'm going to swing by my local yarn store and get one of those kitchy lables to attach to the finished project. You know, one of those "made with love from your hardworking daughter" type lables so that it'll be impossible for her to throw it out. Ever.

The best line in a story I’ve come across in a while...

"You can certainly cook. It's a pity you are such a detestable crank in other respects."

Ha! Is it wrong that I aspire for someone to say that about me? Alas...