52 Projects in 52 Weeks

Just some of the patterns I’ve researched.

I joined a little group in Ravelry that is going to attempt to finish 52 projects in 52 weeks. Wait… I know what you’re thinking… she must have mad knitting skills to be able to accomplish so much but unfortunately, I don’t. What I have is mad magical thinking. I don’t know how I’m going to do it but I’m going to give it my knitting all. I’ve gone to the library, I’ve researched patterns and I’ve got my yarn all ready to get started on June 1st our official starting date. As the beginning date has loomed ever closer, I've noticed myself starting to hedge my bets. At the beginning of my research -- sometime in mid May-- I was thinking I could probably finish a baby sweater a week, maybe even a blanket. Now I’ve started telling myself that each sock should count for two projects so that a pair of socks should equal 4 projects. (toe and heel count for one, leg and cuff for the second –see?) but I think my heart is in the right place -- lets just hope my hands and needles are there too. Wish me luck, I'll be posting my work right here.

Showering with Satan

Having grown up in a large family I learned early on the trials and tribulations of sharing everything. My parents were loving but pretty strict. They emphasized the importance of family, education and economy. It was my parents belief that we would develop stronger ties if we shared rooms and everything else. Accordingly we were paired up with a sibling of the same gender and closest in age. In my case, I shared a room, a bed, clothes (unwillingly) and even the shower with my little sister. We got along as most sisters do, with what my mom called “tiger” love. Loosely translated, we loved, and bickered, and laughed, and hated each other in equal amounts every day.

For most of our childhood we went to Catholic school and religion class was something I enjoyed very much. The majority of the classroom time was filled with high drama. Our young minds were fed highly-colored stories of saints, martyrs, miracles, heaven and hell. Being a very imaginative child with a flare for the dramatic, the class suited me to a tee. Each nun or priest had a different style of teaching – one nun was particularly good at capturing our imaginations. Her specialty was gory detail, and as a result her classes were very scary and fascinating. If you ever wanted to know how many whips the devil carried or how much pain a person could suffer in purgatory – she was the one to go to. She never tired of telling us stories and I absorbed everything she said with mouth wide open. As a result I was scared out of my pants about everything.

One story that really stuck to me was about “junior devils.” Junior devils spent their time on earth trying to turn you into one of them. They started out as ordinary people but became possessed by the devil because they had opened the door to evil. According to her, just about anything -- from being selfish, to not praying, to swearing to telling lies opened the door to evil. In the playground we discussed ways that we could tell an evil possessed person (junior devil) from a “good” person. We all agreed that a j.d. would not be able to handle holy water (sizzling would be a dead give away), would not be able to say prayers for longer than a minute and would definitely not survive in church without horrible pain. As a matter of fact, if you stared hard enough into their eyes you might be able to see hell fires dancing deep within. (That particular tidbit was my own concoction.) By the time I left 5th grade, I felt holy and pretty prepared to identify evil doers. I even had a little altar complete with bath crystal “incense” in my room to help me pray for the souls in purgatory. I wasn’t sure about the whole becoming a martyr thing, but I felt my perfect prayer hands and holy head position (eyes slightly lowered with faraway holy-thoughts middle distance focus) might help make up for that.

One evening as my sister started washing my hair it occurred to me that she was a classic no-goodnick, a sinner really, and thus was open to becoming a junior devil-- if she was not one already. But what could I do there in the shower? I couldn’t really check her eyes for hell fire (my own were closed tight against the shampoo) and would be unable to for at least 5 minutes. I had no holy water on hand to check the sizzle-factor and the shower was no church. What if at that moment she was thinking of ways to make me like her and take me to hell? I thought about my poor parents, and the hell fires as I searched through my mental catalog for ways to identify j.d.’s. Then I hit upon it… singing church songs. It was practically like being in church, singing hymns was like praying in rhythm. Quickly I suggested that we both sing one of our favorite hymns “Hallelujah” and we both began to sing. When she didn’t start shrieking out in pain, I knew we were okay. From that day forward, whenever it came time to wash our hair, I would begin to sing the hymn of the day and she would join in thus ensuring that Satan was not in the shower.

Having dinner with her recently we began to reminisce about the old times and I told her my suspicions of her junior devil status in the shower. She couldn’t believe that I had thought she was the devil. Junior devil, I corrected her and she got a little miffed then started laughing. It was dark outside so we got up, paid the the check, got in the car and started the long drive home. We were both quiet, a little too quiet… if you know what I mean… so I began to sing “Hail Mary.”

21st Sunday It’s A Birthday!

This birthday was so special we had to celebrate it twice -- this time with the grandparents. Last week was all about the fish and cake, this week the young master requested meat and pie and so it was. A delicious flank steak was prepared by the father of the lucky boy with an Emeril-inspired marinade. To round out the meal, fennel rice (a Williams Sonoma recipe) a spring salad with goat cheese, refried brown beans and guacamole. For dessert a Key Lime pie from Cooks Illustrated was quickly scarfed down so quickly in fact, that the pie disappeared before a picture could be taken. This particular pie recipe has been a favorite since the first time I made it. The pie is easy to make, appears complicated and it’s really scrumptious -- what more could one ask for? Suffice it to say it is amazing. Below is the recipe for the Cooks Illustrated Key Lime Pie. I’m licking my lips just looking at it.

Cooks Illustrated Key Lime Pie
Key Lime Filling
4 teaspoons grated lime zest
1/2 cup lime juice from 3 to 4 limes
4 large egg yolks
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Graham Cracker Crust
11 graham crackers , processed to fine crumbs (1 1/4 cups)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted

Whipped Cream Topping
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 lime , sliced paper thin and dipped in sugar (optional)

Instructions
For the Filling: Whisk zest and yolks in medium bowl until tinted light green, about 2 minutes. Beat in milk, then juice; and set aside at room temperature to thicken. The process takes about 40 minutes.
For the Crust: Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix crumbs and sugar in medium bowl. Add butter; stir with fork until well blended. Pour mixture into 9-inch pie pan; press crumbs over bottom and up sides of pan to form even crust. I use a glass to press it in well. Bake until lightly browned and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
Putting it Together: Pour lime filling into crust; then return to oven. Bake until center is set, yet wiggly when jiggled, 15 to 17 minutes. Put pie to cool on wire rack; cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours. (Can be covered with lightly oiled or oil-sprayed plastic wrap laid directly on filling and refrigerated up to 1 day.)
For the Whipped Cream: Up to 2 hours before serving, whip cream in medium bowl to very soft peaks. Adding confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, vanilla, and continue whipping to just-stiff peaks. Pipe the whip cream over the filling and garnish with optional sugared lime slices.

Rub My Belly or Winning Fascination

Rub my belly or just rub yours and pretend its mine. I'm officially lucky. I've competed (really just been assigned randomly) in two Ravelry pools and have won two.*

My second win -- Dancing with the Stars ,with an underdog no less, Shawn Johnson, just occurred on Tuesday. Do I sound smug? It might just be that the enormous smile on my face distorts my voice or it really might just be smugness. In fact, I feel very smuggy, and I don't feel like apologizing. I got more gifts yesterday from my original win. In case you want to know, the brown long yarn is made from llama fur. Please feel free to drool again. If you want to see more of my winnings click on the picture.

* In the interest of the complete truth - I've also lost two pools, (American Idol, and Top Chef) but I don't really count those and neither should you.

Yes -- I am A Pod Person, Take Me to Your Leader

Growing up there were very few things that I would not try or eat, one them was yogurt and the other granola. It helped my cause that both my parents thought that one was bird food and the other hippy-food. If anyone had told me that I was to become a granola-eating, yogurt lover, I'd have laughed (maybe even hysterically) right in his/her face. However, about two years ago, I just up and decided (after watching husband do it for years and years and feeding it to my kids too...) to give it a whirl. It wasn't love at first taste, but it was not bad. Now I love it -- plain yogurt with fruit granola and a dab of honey, well, it's the bomb!

Not to toot my horn too much, but TOOOT... I make a lovely granola using Kathleen Daelemans' recipe as a base and adding a couple of tweaks here and there. I make a double batch which usually lasts about a month and a half but only because I add a ton of healthy cereals to the granola base. It gives us much needed fiber into all of our diets and makes a handy healthy snack to boot. I've added the recipe for your review. Try it, I think you'll like it.

Kathleen's Granola Recipe with my Tweaks (which make it that much better)
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup water
3 teaspoons cinnamon
5 generous teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
8 cups old fashioned rolled oats
4 cups chopped pecans, walnuts, slivered almonds
1/4 cup flax seed
dried raisins, fruit to taste
Healthy cereals to taste

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Combine the brown sugar and water in a large microwave-proof glass measuring cup or bowl. Microwave on high for 5 minutes or until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from the microwave, add vanilla, salt and cinnamon and stir to combine. Set aside. Grind the flax seed and combine with nuts, and rolled oats in a large bowl. Add the sugar syrup to the oatmeal mixture and mix until thoroughly combined. Spread the mixture on the cookie sheets and bake for 6o minutes until golden and crunchy. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. You can add dried fruit and store in an airtight container or you can take the base granola and combine it with healthy sugar-free, high-fiber cereals to add more fiber and grains to our diet. I use cheerios, bran flakes and others of that ilk. This stuff is darn good!

20th Sunday is Really a Saturday and a Pre-Birthday Dinner

This delicious gathering was a pre-celebration for a very special someone who was born to a very young couple on a stormy evening in May. Our beautiful, blue-eyed boy with the lopsided grin, who for the most part has made his parents very proud, was of course the guest of honor. His younger brother carefully decorated the cake and set out a special table setting for this most momentous occasion. Having a special engagement on Sunday we moved our usual Sunday dinner to Saturday and prepared some of the boy’s favorites. Dinner was a joint effort with many hands on board for prep (including the birthday boy’s). On the plate – Cedar Plank Salmon with a miso-ginger glaze (specialty of the Pater), green rice, refried beans, roasted asparagus with parmesan and lemon, and fresh roasted corn. (I’m not a huge fan of salmon, but this salmon was incredibly delicious. Maybe the creator of the miso-glazed salmon will honor us with a glaze recipe.) Despite the heaping amounts of food consumed, a chocolate cake with strawberry preserves and cream cheese frosting was dispatched within minutes. A well-fed group then toasted the birthday boy and presents were opened. Huzzah, Huzzah, another year under the belt!

Ravelry and the Race!

I dabble in a web community dedicated to the needle-arts (mainly knitting, crocheting, spinning) called Ravelry. I can't tell you how many happy hours I've wasted looking through all the incredible yarns, designers, fellow crafters and projects. I've gotten involved in several groups one of which was a pool to see who's team (randomly assigned) would win the Amazing Race. A most exciting game followed, and after much nail biting and screaming at the tv and at my team, they won. That's right... I won! For having won, my fellow racers are sending me little knitting presents. Today my first package arrived -- beautiful, beautiful sock yarn. Drool away -- oh and thanks Oona!

New Addition

Most of my friends and family are unaware that Saturday night of last week I became a mom again. It seems almost serendipitous that Mother's Day was on Sunday but that's how life works out. I met our new little guy and knew immediately that he would fit in to our family unit. Yes I know, more men in the household, believe me I know, but he brings many unique qualities. He loves art, has a great sense of humor and is just plain happy. He wears his emotions on this face. You can easily tell when he's had enough, or he's happy or sad (though we really haven't seen this yet). He's pink like his dad but looks quite a bit like his older brothers. His name is Bruce and he is the sweetest companion a mother could ever hope for. I don't want his brothers to be jealous but... I think he may be well on the way to becoming my favorite. Aunties get ready to dote.

Mother’s Day 19th Sunday

 

On Mother’s Day, we had a delicious meal shared with my favorite ‘slaws. No pictures of the food but I can guarantee it was eagerly devoured by all. The table setting was prepared by Number 2# son. Don’t you love the detail? The internet was studied in order to prepare the napkins, and the flowers carefully picked from some lilac trees in back. The menu -- guacamole, refried bean, fresh green salad with goat cheese, bone in ham, lumpy mashed potatoes, green beans, fresh bread, chocolate cupcakes and cherry pie. No mothers were harmed making the meal, but this mother was full to the gills, extremely happy and totally exhausted by the time the end of the meal rolled around. A special salute to all the moms out there and to my mom who made me what I am today. I miss you.

I Want To Go To There

Two years ago, after a planned trip to see our eldest in Mexico fell through,  Jr, R, and I went on an unplanned but incredible trip to Spain. We used some reward points we had accumulated, transferred  over the tickets we had purchased and ended up paying for just the hotel and meals. We even got free upgrades and flew business class. (Flying business class is an experience in itself which I think everyone should be able to experience at least once in their lives.) Everything about the trip was magical. I took out two books from the library, asked a very dear friend to take care of the house and Lydia and flew off into the sunset. We spent an unforgettable week getting lost, eating delicious food and experiencing a different culture in every way possible. We walked, rode the metro, took a tourist bus, took a zillion pictures, saw a marathon, we even went to hyper-market – WOW!  The only thing I regret is not having my oldest with me. Now we’re hoping to repeat the fun somewhere else on the Continent with a few more people in tow. We’ve discussed as a group --Madrid, London, Scotland, France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland.  Once we make a decision, we’re thinking of renting an apartment and going some time later in the year. For now we’re working hard on spending as little as possible, selling stuff on ebay, and looking for cheap flights. Saving our pennies is proving to be difficult as the stupid economy is not helping our little business, our house is crumbling and retail temptation lurks in every corner. Still I have hope that sometime this year we’ll be posting from Europe.

18th Sunday – It’s all about the Chicken!

 

Today’s chicken recipe was almost a winner in our own 2008 Iron Chef competition. My entry  for the competition was tandoori chicken and it was damn good.  Up until then I was under the impression that I did not like Indian food. But this recipe  (tried under duress) was amazing and has happily opened the door for my wanting to try Indian cuisine. The secret ingredient for the competition was yogurt and after desperately searching for a recipe I settled on the tandoori chicken. Who’d a thunk that yogurt could taste so good on chicken? Certainly not me!

This Sunday dinner was shared with our good friends and consisted of Tandoori chicken, spiced basmati rice, homemade naan bread, and lightly sautéed green beans with garlic and butter. The dessert was a type of  homemade brazilian chocolates featured in Fine Cooking called brigadeiro with ice cream. The brigadeiro chocolates were amazing and created by my two favorite guys. My favorite part of the meal was definitely the chicken closely followed by the naan  bread. For your delectation I have included the souped-up recipe for  the tandoori chicken that I honed from Epicurious .

Tandoori Chicken

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

4 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt ( I’ve used low-fat with no discernable taste difference)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

4 lbs. chicken (the best are the chicken breast and thighs)

2 cups jasmine rice

3 cups water

Purée first 7 ingredients in processor. With machine running, gradually add oil through feed tube and process until blended. Transfer 1/4 cup herb mixture to small bowl; reserve. Add yogurt and lemon juice to remaining mixture in processor and blend.

Place chicken in  a large ziplock bag. Pour yogurt mixture over chicken; turn to coat and refrigerate. Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Place chicken on the grill. Cover and grill until chicken is cooked through, turning every 5 minutes, about 30 minutes total. Meanwhile, combine rice, 3 cups water, and reserved 1/4 cup herb mixture. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, 5 minutes.