A Quick Succession of Busy Nothings

Guilty Pleasures...

2012-01-28T19:54:00.002-06:00

I have a bit of confession to make. I am sort of obsessed with cosmetics. I love looking at beauty magazines, trolling the makeup aisle at stores, watching makeup how to videos, and I desperately adore Sephora. I am sort of rubbish at applying it so I think I purchase more then I actually consume, but it remains a guilty pleasure.

I did have some thoughts on some popular products that I have tried and my experiences with them. Now, please remember these are my experiences (for better or worse) and your mileage may vary. Also, I know rubbish all about what I am doing. I thought though that might be why it is helpful information

MAKE UP FOR EVER 5 Camouflage Cream Palette - No. 1
I have generally very very fair skin and a lot of problem areas including somewhat impressive dark under-eye circles. In fact even though purple eyeshadow is highly recommended for my hazel eyes, I never where it for fear of looking like I lost a fist fight. I heard good things about this palette and decided to give it a try. The nice thing about this palette is that it gives you a green and a peachy tone for hiding redness and some common skin coloration issues. There is a also a variety of shades of concealer which can be blended for a multitude of skin types and skin problems. The problem is that these are very thick creams. And, you really need to let them warm up to cover well. I found that they drag across my skin a bit. They are good concealers, but if you have problems with blending (like I do) this may not be the best choice.

Revlon Color Stay Foundation – This was recommended for its coverage which is okay but it feels sticky/tacky on the skin and I thought that it smelled like paint. It definitely felt like makeup which rather than making me feel beautiful made me feel more aware of my imperfections. I am really not a fan of this product. I tried giving it a second chance but I just do not like the way it wears.

Revlon Photo Ready Compact – I actually really love the coverage of this cream to powder foundation. It really softens and smooths out skin’s imperfections. I find it a bit messy and I am often heavy handed with makeup so I have to be super careful when applying this. However, I have to say this is probably the best coverage foundation that I have found.

Mary Kay Eye Make-Up Remover – Probably the best eye make-up remover on the market hands down. Or at least I should say that for $15 this is the best product I have found and is good enough that I don’t feel the need to try more expensive versions out there. It is admittedly more expensive then the box store brands out there. However, it does an incredible job of removing your eye makeup and leaves your skin feeling soft and nourished afterwards. Worth every penny.

Tarte Smooth Operator – This tinted moisturizer is a recent find for me. I have really oily skin but it is also incredibly sensitive and so the products that deal with oil are too harsh for my face and the products that are for sensitive skin just get absorbed by the oil. This moisturizer seems to get along with my skin and it has pretty good coverage. It is not as good as the Photo Ready but it is a little more forgiving to apply for my non-skilled-ness and I can apply it with my fingers which gives me more control.

Eye Primers – I have tried Urban Decay’s Primer Portion and while I love the packaging I just don’t think that it delivers. Everyone speaks very highly of it and I realize that it is a generally well regarded product. I just don’t think it does its job as well as e.l.f.’s Eye Concealer. Granted I have thin and highly veined skin over my eyes so I like that e.l.f.’s Eye Concelear provides me some coverage, but I also think it does a better job of priming the lids for my shadows than Urban Decay. I haven’t had a chance yet to try e.l.f.’s eye primer product but I would like to after my positive experience with their concealer.

Girl Meets Pearl – I really want to like this product. It smells of raspberry’s, it provides a soft pinky glow to the skin, it is generally lovely. I just can’t figure out a way to work it into my beauty routine and have it do what my face needs. I keep playing with it though. It is one of the prettiest and subtlest illuminizing products that I have found which I also like.

L’Oreal HiP Eyeliner – I picked up a metallic silver in this pencil liner, and it is really creamy and really pigmented. It went on very smooth, and I am really interested to try some of their other HiP liners.

Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Concealer – I love this stuff. Really great coverage. It blends into the skin. It seems almost fool proof. Love love love…which means they are probably discontinuing it.

Mascara - I have a mascara curse. I have long dark eyelashes which I would love to highlight with mascara. However, I always get dark fallout under my eyes which extenuates the circles and tiredness around my eyes. I have tried waterproof and smudge proof and smudgy waterproof of every brand I can afford and I have little to no success. Mary Kay had one years ago that was great and while their Ultimate is close I still get the fall out. I am crushed.

Thoughts on mysteries

2012-01-28T19:00:00.002-06:00

I just started my detective fiction course for school and I thought that his assignment might help better expound upon some of the things I have been trying to convey through this blog for some time.

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There is something comforting about a murder mystery or at least certain murder mysteries for me. I am speaking particularly of the ones where one finds oneself in a small hamlet, with an over large cemetery. These are the ones where every time you meet a new character they are either a victim or a murderer. Stir in a lead character with some pluck and let the mayhem ensue. It is a little certainty in an uncertain world for me as a reader. I particularly like mysteries where the lead sleuth is an amateur. When I was a little girl, I wanted to be Jessica Fletcher when I grew up, and I am still drawn to that kind of mystery novel protagonist.

I didn’t cut my teeth on Sherlock Holmes like most people do. I always thought there was something pretentious about Sherlock Holmes that made me less interested in reading those stories. It wasn’t until the recent BBC production of Sherlock Holmes that I saw a version of him that I was drawn to, and having heard the portrayal is generally accurate to the novels, I have been excited to read the books. Doyle has been in my reading queue for a bit, so the fact that I get to read them for this class is an added bonus.

Anyway, my first real eye-opening introduction to mysteries came when I was about 10 with “Angie’s First Case” by Donald Sobol (of Encyclopedia Brown fame). It was the first chapter book I had really been engaged in, and the first time I was so enthralled by a book that I curled up and read it cover to cover on a Saturday afternoon. I loved the experience so much I have been afraid to re-read it for fear that it would no longer be what I imagined it to be. For this reason, I have lost most of the story line and couldn’t offer much comment.

My favorite mystery/thriller novel though is probably “Cranes of Ibycus” by Mary Craig. This was a book my mom picked up at a library book sale when I was a teenager which I promptly borrowed. It was so much more then I expected to be, and the story was so driving that I couldn’t put it down. A couple of years ago, my mom gave me the book when I asked if I could borrow it again. As much as I was afraid of the disappointed nostalgia, I fell in love with it all over again. I tend to prefer the type of mystery where an amateur gets caught up in a complex problem (murder or otherwise) they can’t solve, and the story becomes a journey through all of the clues and processes that lead them to a resolution. Many times, and “Cranes of Ibycus” is not an exception, the character grows through this experience and there is nothing more important to me in a story of any genre of fiction then character development.

This book is not a murder mystery per se and it certainly isn’t detective fiction. But it is does feel so thrilling while one is reading it. The characters are ones that you can care about which is actually a fairly important factor in a novel for me because it means that you start to care about the same things they do and one can get caught up in those near-death or near-awesome experiences. It is an out-dated and out-of-print book but one of the most enjoyable reads I have ever had.

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Actually writing this I found that there is another out-of-print book by Mary Craig and I purchased it on Amazon. I may have to wait until June to read it but I wanted to find some of that same reading experience again.

Winter Break

2012-01-16T10:38:00.004-06:00

My winter break has been lovely in that I have really enjoyed getting back to reading books for me. Of course, I didn't even make a dent in my list because a friend of mine introduced me to a new author, Jennifer Cruise. She has been exactly what I needed to the point that even books I was looking forward to reading couldn't hold my attention when I know there is a Cruise novel that I haven't read yet.

Granted it is chic lit, and you can see Cruise's formula after you read a few. It makes no illusions to being amazing classical literature. However the author delivers strong, quirky female characters that as a reader you can't help but cheer for. These women are beautiful in their individuality and the romances are fun and exciting if a little too fast to jump the "forever" hurdle. (However, I dated my husband for years before we got married so I am probably more cautious then most).

My friend bought me a copy of "Bet Me" and gave it to me on New Year's. I started the book at 10 pm and read it straight through until 6 am. I didn't have to work that day so I just basked in the luxury of being fully immersed in a book.

Spring semester starts this week and I am taking a Detective Fiction class so my reading list will switch back to required reading. Having picked up my books for class, I am really excited about the list this semester. This is the class I am taking for me. I already have my lit requirement, but I couldn't NOT take this class.

I have been a bit of a hermit this weekend. I went to Sow's Ear with some friends on Saturday and talked about books and movies with two fabulous women I know. But Sunday I just curled up and watched Netflix and worked on knitting my new winter hat. I was able to get it done, but it means that I didn't get much else done. It is this pattern and I used Cascade Eco Duo for the hat. I have to say Cascade yarn's are just a pleasure to knit with and Eco is a new favorite. It was so soft, the springy-ness was just right, and I loved watching the colorway progress. I have some more and I want to make some matching mittens.

I need to go back to being productive. I recently got a promotion at work which I am enjoying for the most part, but it is a significant increase in my work load. So, even though today is a holiday, I need to go be productive. I have a pot of Earl Grey and I am pretending I also have a healthy supply of motivation.

Wonderstruck!

2011-12-14T18:51:00.003-06:00

The first book I picked up in my "books I want to read" whirlwind (what Algrebra?) was Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick. It is a young adult novel which contained two stories, one illustrated and one written, that become woven together later on. It was a lovely read. I love how unique this type of storytelling is, and the way the stories are told adds something to the experience. One of the characters is deaf so seeing her story rather than being told her story really brings the character to life. I loved the illustrations. It was the type of illustration I was always drawn to as a child, and I find comforting as an adult. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Yay!

2011-12-11T14:15:00.003-06:00

Finals this week so I am not done yet. In fact, I still have quite a lot of work to do before next Friday. But, I am done with the reading! I love to read so I am not complaining that I had to read this semester. I just miss reading books that I choose. My winter break queue is a little unrealistic, but I can't wait to dive in. There hasn't been much string or books for the last few months, so I am looking forward to getting to make some me choices again. Of course, I also have a laundry list of things that I need to get done now that school isn't sucking up all my time, but hopefully I will get to read at least one of my collections or maybe finish a pair of socks. YAY! Ok, now that is out of my system, back to the homework. *sigh*

I got to meet Gail Carriger

2011-11-20T14:15:00.002-06:00

Yay! TeslaCon was this weekend and one of the main draws for me was the opportunity to get a chance for an autograph from Gail Carriger author of the Parasol Protectorate (Soulless) series. I really loved the book Soulless and the series itself would probably be my favorite if it weren't for the unfortunate issues at the end of book 2.

One of the events at the Con was a reading with both Gail Carriger and George Mann. (I didn't know much about the later, but I had heard he had some work with Doctor Who so I was intrigued. He seems to write mystery/detective fiction himself so I picked up a book of short stories he was selling at the event and an autograph from him as well). They both read short stories/excerpts and answered questions during the panel. Ms. Carriger read from a short story that has not been published yet (and sadly we don't know if it will be) that was really wonderful. During the Q&A session she talked a little bit about how she can tell if her work appeals to her sci-fi fan base or her romance fan base because of their reactions to the ending of book 2. The sci-fi fans are used to tragedy and horrific cliffhangers while the romance fans tend to feel more betrayed by the book 2 issue. It put the books into perspective for me and the series in general, and so I plan to go back and re-read it with fresh eyes.

I think this panel was my favorite of the Con. The two of them had excellent things to say about the craft, about books in general, they really opened my eyes to some things, I heard really drool-worthy things about Carriger's next series, and I may have been introduced to a new author. Yay! The rest of the event was a bonus after that.

I also came to realize that tea may become a requirement for my happiness. About half way through the day I kept thinking, dammit if I could only have a cup of tea. Alexia Tarabotti knows what she's talking about.

There is more to come about what I have been working on the last few months as well as the Con in general but I need to do some homework.

In the interim - a video about an 1870s gown that I saw on Ms. Carriger's site:
http://www.indigomultimedia.com/portfolio/art-of-dressing

The wheels on the bus go round and round

2011-09-04T21:41:00.001-05:00

It has been 4 years since I was in school. Thoughts from the week-and-a-half:

My lit teacher seems pretty awesome actually...Even though I only have her for an online course, but she lets her personality come through. I am hoping I can take an in class course with her at some point. And I am glad that I opted to go with this course in general. I think the class is going to help me develop the skills that I want it to and expand my horizons.

Math is a lot of busy work. I am glad that I opted to go with the algebra level I did. It puts me a little behind, but right now I think it was the right choice. We will see how it will translate next semester. But OMG the busy work...I spent about 6 hours doing my homework. I am not even kidding.

I am not sure about anthropology yet. This is the course that topic-wise I was the most excited about. And I still am to an extent. I opted not to go into anthropology because I don't think it will translate to the career path I want, but I still have a strong interest in this field of study. I am not sure how the actual class is going to go for me. From the first class, my learning style and the teacher's presentation style don't match. However, it is only the first week.

And just because I was curious:
I have 112 pages to read in Frankenstein (I am at page 93) and then I have 3 papers to write (in the first three weeks). I also need to watch a Disney film for one of those papers which I am hoping I will accomplish tomorrow.

For cultural anthropology I have read 67 pages and had two pages of reactionary responses to complete (in the first week). I also need to find and start reading a book on cultural anthropology for my final project.

For Algebra - 580 problems - 6 hours of work. Test on Thursday.

I am sort of proud of myself, but I am actually wondering how I am going to make this work without three day weekends every week. Never mind...I am not going to think about it. I will do this. There is no question.

American Players Theater

2011-08-28T21:29:00.003-05:00

I had the privilege to attend two shows at the American Players Theater this summer: Taming of the Shrew and The Critic.

I really enjoy APT and I try to get to at least one show if I can. This year some friends, and I decided to coordinate and go to the Taming of the Shrew on opening night. There were some really amazing performances. I particularly loved Tracy Michelle Arnold who played Katherine. She was deliciously naughty and then deliciously lovely (and her last costume was breath-taking). Matt Schwader who also played Tranio was really really good. He did amazing things with both his performance and his body language to bring the character to life, and I was continually impressed by him. I found myself watching him and what he was doing whenever he was on stage. The performance as a whole was enjoyable though I found some of the costuming jarring.

For a birthday present, two of my friends conspired to take me to The Critic later in the season. i was told that this was one of the funniest performances they had done yet. Specifically that "it is slow but then it gets really funny and then you cannot believe how funny it is". One of my favorite actors was in this show (Darragh Kennan) so I was delighted to get to see him perform. There were some issues with the audio, so I had a hard time hearing some of the things that I really find humorous (the snarky asides and the sarcastic jabs). I also was introduced to Jim DeVita who I had never seen perform, and I thought he did an amazing job as Puff. I really loved some of the costume pieces in this...particularly Mr. Dangle's morning coat at the beginning and the Spanish Fleet costume towards the end.

One of the things that amazes me every season is the way in which they use their stage. The basic stage construction is standard and then they add a few items here and there for each of their rotating summer shows. The way in which they use this basic set and the way in which they enhance it every summer is stunning to me. I don't have that type of creative mind, so it is always such a delightful surprise with each show.

Simon the Sheep

2011-08-09T20:23:00.002-05:00

A new project I am working on. If anyone wants to take pictures of Simon on your travels, let me know:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/simonthesheep/

Nostalgia

2011-08-09T19:48:00.002-05:00

All of this talk of gaming and LARPs and role-playing reminded me that my first RPG experience was actually when I was pretty young. My older brother and his friend used to play red box D&D when they were in high school. I was actually in elementary school, and since my brother got stuck watching me a lot, I was around when they played. At one point in time they made me a character and every once in a while I got to role some dice. I had no idea what was going on in general; it was just fun to get to be a part of it. Apparently, I got a lucky die role that significantly advanced my character and that was the end of my game playing.

However, they decided instead to make up a little interactive scenario for me. Looking back I realize it was my first LARP. I was a little squire who was learning to sword-fight (I was given rules/commandments by the master) and then sent off into the woods to go on quests or return things to the dungeon. After my first one, they gave me a little red squire's tunic and I was so proud. I dashed about in my costume following clues. I remember one time I had solved everything and reached the location but couldn't find the dagger. It was above my head, and I just couldn't think to look for it. They had taken a wedge of old wood and spray-painted it copper and made a hilt out of duct tape. I loved those games when I was a kid and they are some of my fondest memories.

Years later I was going through my closet and I found my little squire's tunic. My mom told me the real reason they made it for me was because they couldn't see me in the woods and the bright red fabric made it easier for them to track my movements.

GenCon Wrap Up

2011-08-09T11:59:00.009-05:00

Things got a little hectic at GenCon so the rest of my posts will have to be summarized in one. When last I left off, I was getting ready for my evening LARP on Thursday night. This one was based on the Spycraft RPG from Crafty Games and took place on a research facility in Antarctica. I walked into the room and was only the second female in the room so I was a little concerned that maybe I missed some directions. It worked okay though. I ended up playing a doctor sent by the Agency to assess the research being done at the facility. I was able to accomplish my main objective. The latter part moved a little slowly after that but I think that was more because not all of the GMs they were expecting showed. The story was interesting though.

On Friday, my LARPs didn't start until the afternoon so I spent the morning just relaxing. I went for a swim and took care of some things online and reviewed my character data for my first LARP that afternoon. This one was set in Paris in a vaguely Victorian+fantasy setting. I played a sorceress with a scientific bent who was invited to an evening party because her recent work had put her in the press a lot. This suited her interests because it meant having the opportunity to network with new potential clients. I ended up accomplishing my task but there were all sorts of subplots I completely missed out on.

Afterwards, I had a quick dinner and met my husband for dessert at Circle City Bar and Grille in the Marriott Hotel. They really make an effort to accommodate the geek clientele that descends upon the city with special menus and decorations. And the food is pretty good too. I only had dessert but I almost never order dessert in restaurants because the quality is only fair to middling most of the time. This was amazing however. It was a "butter cake" which had a flavor and texture somewhere between a sugar cookie and a pound cake with ice cream and some sort of creamy egg custard poured over it. So rich and so sinful and so good.

That evening I played in a Castle Falkenstein game based on the Courting Murder scenarios. This game focused more on figuring out the various plots and subplots and attempting to manipulate the situation to work out in one's characters favor. I failed miserably at this one. I enjoyed it, but I think this type of game may not be the best fit for me. At least without some sort of puzzle or task to throw in. It is interesting how one's alliances change when they find out you might be useful in a pinch. It was also a little weird because I had found I was willing to start being more brave and come out of my comfort zone a bit in the LARPs I had participated in until this one. It may have been that I actually new some of the other players which threw off my game a little bit. I am not sure. Interesting dynamics and I learned some things.

Saturday morning was the LARP I attempted to costume for. I borrowed a skirt and blouse from a friend (along with an unbelievably fabulous hat) and I made a vest to go with it so that I could be vaguely suitable for a steampunk LARP. This LARP was billed as being more "immersible" and I thought my modern dress would stand out more in this scenario.

When I started signing up for events after GenCon registration, I wasn't really sure where to begin. I don't know that much about LARPing or where I fit in the genre. Also, from some pre-Con advice I received, GenCon LARPs can be so widely variable from one group to the next so you can't always imagine just what exactly to expect. I ended up choosing this LARP for a very silly reason...the group hosting it dubbed themselves "The League of Unspeakable Adventure" and I thought that if the name was any indication they must be be fun. And they were. The set was indescribably cool...in fact I forgot a couple of times that walls weren't walls and almost knocked them over. The GMs were great. It took me a while to warm up into my character (which was really more me then the group I believe) but once I came up with an idea and went to the GMs for help, they were totally game. They went out of their way to help me with my idea and help make things work. And I don't think it was just me. I talked to some other people who played other LARPs they ran that weekend and even though the experiences were vastly different in terms of the way the story evolved they too sounded like the GMs really did their best to make the game fun and successful. They work with the Rise of Aester world. If this group comes back next year I will absolutely sign up for whatever they run. I need to start working on my steampunk costuming

After that, I changed and headed over to the exhibit hall to do my crawl through the vendors. There is a ton of stuff to see and hear. I heard the TARDIS music and was immediately drawn to it. It was interesting to see all the demos and games taking place. Gaming really exists on a multitude of levels and it is going in so many exciting new directions. I drooled over the model building stuff. I really loved dioramas as a kid. In fact in school whenever a diorama project came up, I was there. I built some really fun stuff in our basement when I was a kid. Nothing brilliant mind you but I really loved it. I think I would get into model building as an adult except it is really expensive and there isn't a good place for it. It was fun to stare at the displays though and imagine. I watched some board games. It is interesting that the games I thought I would love were not quite what I expected, and the games that seemed less then stellar grabbed my attention in the end. I really liked Fortune and Glory from Flying Frog Games. I also picked up a copy of the game Impossible Machine. It is a simple mechanic but I like the concept. And, Brothers Knudson are good at including visual aids in their game instructions.

Some of the artists I saw that I liked (including Echo of course):
Jared Blando - I really liked his cartography work.
Doug Kovacs - he had some really interesting Green Man based art work
Fallenlights - she had some really lovely pieces and I think some of my friends have some of her work because I have seen them before. I actually bought a little pin from her booth
John Stanko - I thought his work really had a life and vitality of his own. I was really moved by the emotions he was able to capture on the subjects faces.

I met up with my husband after my crawl and we went out for dinner at a sushi restaurant and then I headed off to play True Dungeon. This game was a last minute addition to my schedule. I enjoyed the experience immensely but I was also frustrated by this game. Knowing what to expect though I fully plan to play again in the future. The interactive puzzles were fun even with some set backs. The dragon ultimately ate my face.

This doesn't even cover all the other intangible GenCon impressions. Some of the costumes were so amazing. And, I really liked the feeling that people seemed like they were free to be themselves. I don't think I have ever been somewhere that people could just explore their weird geekiness in a non-judgemental way.

I definitely had a great time and I am already thinking about all the things I want to do next year.

Gen Con Day 1

2011-08-04T15:20:00.006-05:00

I have arrived in Indianapolis for my first Gen Con. My husband has been going for many years and this was my first opportunity to get to go with him. Given my recent obsessions with LARPs, I think I was a little more ready to take the big leap.

The drive down was nice and productive; I got some knitting done. We arrived last night and went out to dinner at Buca di Beppo which was really good if a little overwhelming. It is family style Italian and there is an unbelievable quantity of food. I really enjoyed their garlic mashed potatoes and while everything was very tasty I think I enjoyed the red wine sangria the most...or at least that was the thing I was craving the most. By the time we were done with dinner it was too late to stop in and get my swag bag and the pool had closed do I just took a shower and went to bed.

Saturday morning, I played the ever popular "stand in line for an hour and a half" game. I think it was the most well-attended event of the Con if perhaps not the most loved. I did a quick browse through the exhibit hall and spotted a few things I liked and a few demos I want to try later on (I didn't have enough time today; There was a lot I missed but I get overstimulated pretty easy). I got to meet Echo and I did buy a few of her prints. Her work is so amazing. I was really shy though and a total fangirl but she was gracious. (It looks like she updated her website and I just realized that some of my favorite pieces of visual advertising have also been her pieces. Not surprised at all).

LARPs generally take place in Union Station which is such a gorgeous space to play in.

I participated in my first LARP this morning. It was loosely based upon the Girl Genius comic. I played a spark/heir. It was enjoyable in that they made some really interesting puzzles to play with. It was a little hectic for me so I am not sure if I was very much fun to play with. I had a lot of ground to cover in a short period of time, so I didn't succeed on some of my goals. All the puzzles were so distracting, and I wanted to fix them all. At one point we couldn't find the pieces to fix a puzzle so we started improvising and at one point there were 5 characters holding times onto the grid to complete the circuit. It was appropriate if you know anything about Sparks from the comic and the GM considered giving us the win except that it would have really rearranged the storyline. While looking for clues, I also overturned a chair and found a "You are a winner" sticker on the bottom. Sadly it was only a coincidence.

It finished earlier then expected so I had time to go for a swim and take a shower. I am going to wrap a few things online and then go grab some dinner. I rushed through my lunch because of timing constraints and I would like to take a more leisurely time of it with dinner. Then it is on to the next LARP of the evening.

Murder Mysteries

2011-08-01T10:52:00.005-05:00

My general love (bordering on obsession) of the murder mystery genre has often been mentioned here in this journal. Recently I have been watching Murder She Wrote on Netflix while I knit. It is good background noise to keep my brain busy and I can tune it out when I need to concentrate.

When I was a kid I loved this show. My dad and I were both night owls and there was often Murder She Wrote reruns on TV. I grew up wanting to be like Jessica Fletcher when I was older. In fact I think she is the reason I once harbored desires to be a writer. The show isn't nearly as brilliant as I remember but nostalgia does excellent things for the palate.

I also have been enjoying the Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple. I don't really enjoy most versions of this but there is something sort of sassy and naughty but for the most part still respectable about her portrayal.

On the book front, I have been reading the Lady Julia Grey novels by Deanna Raybourn. I enjoyed the first two very much but I am less enthralled as I go through the series. I do have to say that this author knows how to write an opening page. I have some other general issues with her style and that may be what is making me loose interest. I will finish reading the current one and try her next before I make any decisions.

Dice Bag

2011-08-01T10:49:00.005-05:00

Gen Con this week. I am super excited. So much I thought I would celebrate by making myself a new dice bag. Squee!

This idea came from a knitted project someone posted on Ravelry. I opted to sew something similar but I love her idea.

Things that make me go grrr!

2011-08-01T10:07:00.004-05:00

A friend recently shared this article with me. I can't even begin to tell you exceedingly frustrated I am by this sort of thing. It is a perfect example of what is wrong with body image in our culture.

Everyday we are given conflicting viewpoints: you should be a size 0 and spend 24 hours a day in a gym to be valuable, but you also deserve the right to eat whatever you want without consequences. And don't worry about dieting. There is a quick-fix fool-proof no fail diet that will guarantee you can eat whatever you want and still lose weight. Only big fat losers are unsuccessful...and it goes on ad nauseum.

I am obese. And no not the whiny "I need to lose 5 vanity pounds" overweight but clinically obese. I have struggled with my weight since I was a kid and have been seeing nutritionists and counselors since that time. I take responsibility for my choices, and I do not blame anyone for the end result of those choices. I am, however, frustrated to no end by articles like the above that make people feel guilty for trying to make improvements in their overall health picture.

Yes, I agree that there are a lot of "hidden" factors in what makes foods go from healthy to not. However, this article with it's snide condescending tone completely misses the mark on what could have been an informative reading. Rather then scaring people by associating iced tea with obesity, I believe it would be far more helpful to show people how to look at their food choices and be aware that even when one thinks they are eating healthy, they may be missing some of the finer details.

I am not saying the writers aren't correct. Eating a cucumber = good. Eating a cucumber with mayo = less good. That doesn't mean that this is the reason someone is obese. People need to be aware of what they are eating. One of the reasons that weight loss regimens fail is because people become defeated. They work really hard and either show no progress or stall. How many people read that article in the midst of making new and healthy lifestyle choices and gave up because they felt that there was just no point; no matter what they, do they are wrong?

Yes, covering your granola with sugar and oil and chocolate and other goo increases calorie load. Not accounting for that change can mean that a person may go over their calorie requirements for the day and not burn off some of those extra calories. Those non-utilized calories may get stored in the body. But, that doesn't mean one shouldn't eat granola. It is high in fiber which is good for your colon and it is more filling because it takes more time for the body to digest. The addition of fresh/dried fruit allows for more nutrients and adding milk or soymilk will give one the extra protein to get through to the next meal. It is not a bad choice. You just have to read the labels on the box of granola to see what else you are getting. Not all granolas are made the same. And if you can't find one that meets your dietary needs, make your own. It is actually really easy and there are some great recipes. A lot of commercial brands add the extra fat/sweeteners to make it taste better because lets face it, fat and sugar taste good but that doesn't mean granola can't taste good without them.

Read labels I guess is what I want to say. And be honest with yourself. Calories are not inherently evil. And any nutritionist will tell you that your body needs some fat in order to maintain itself (though probably not in the quantities we consume it in this country). Yes, some health foods stop being healthy when you add other flavorings or change how they are processed. I don't think that means that people should stop eating dried fruit because there are more calories per volume then fresh fruit. (By the way who eats a cup of raisins...that is just icky. There is a reason they are sold in little boxes). Even with the higher sugar content...dried fruit is still better for you then fried potatoes.

There is no perfect wonder food that will give you all of your bodies daily nutrition requirements and not contribute to your calorie count for the day. Be smart about your nutrition. One of the things I am working on right now is trying to break down the barriers created by years of body image contradictions so that I can figure out what is causing me to eat the way I do. It is a hard process. This type of thing doesn't help.

Chicago

2011-05-31T09:28:00.005-05:00

Our first honeymoon, aside from spending time with my spouse, was sort of disappointing due to a variety of factors. It will be a while before we will be able to afford the trip to Greece we would like to take; however, we decided to try a second attempt and take a long weekend in Chicago. We were heading there for a LARP over Memorial Day weekend and decided to combine the two.

While preparing itineraries for a conference that was being held in Chicago a year or so ago, I stumbled across a website for a museum. I have been wanting to visit the International Museum of Surgical Science since I came across it. This seemed like an ideal time because they had a special exhibit, similar to the more well-known "Body Works" exhibits displayed across the country, that incorporated preserved human tissue in among the regular information. I have to say it really enhanced the information and education the museum provided. While the quality of the preservation was not good as other examples, it was more closely tied to what I wanted from that type of exhibit...education. Anyway, there were a lot of great displays, and it was really rewarding to see things I encounter at work. I also really enjoyed the apothecary shop display they had and the cross-sections linked to the x-ray technology really enhanced the information. As an added bonus, the museum is housed in a historic house/mansion so there were some neat little nooks and crannies including a bathroom hidden in the wall.

Following the IMSS, we went to the Adler Planetarium. I have never been before. The building was beautiful and it was so great to be on the lake during a storm with all of those windows. My brain was a little overloaded at that point in time from my first museum trip so we were much more leisurely. I saw some beautiful old telescopes but most of our educational time involved watching some of their shows. There are some great interactive events for kids like remote control simulation with a "Mars Rover" and crater formation. I think this is definitely a place I would like to go to with my kids someday. We didn't make the aquarium, but I am looking forward to going back for that purpose.

Chicago is an interesting city. There are places of absolute beauty with amazing architecture and installments and in the same panorama you get some of the ugliest ill-kept landscapes I have seen. There is a lot of juxtaposition.

We got to do one of my favorite things on this trip...camping out in our hotel room, watching TV in bed. It was great to get some downtime during this trip to watch bad cable snuggled up in bed. It is such a decadent luxury.

Sunday afternoon we went to a friend's house to participate in a LARP. This is my third LARP experience. I have to say while I have long been a geek, it wasn't until I found a joy for LARPS that I really felt like a gamer-geek. Most of my fandoms don't have a community outlet (at least not collectively). LARPing however usually requires other people.

This LARP had a lot of elements. In fact there were a lot of good story lines and a number of ways in which the game could be altered based upon the choices the character made. This was both good and bad. I love storytelling which is what I think LARPs do better then RPGs and there were definitely a lot of stories. However, it was occasionally frustrating to try to accomplish my character's goals when they depended on others who decided they wanted to play a different game. The game was certainly not what I expected. I had a good time overall; I definitely learned some things about LARPs.

UW Service Day

2011-05-17T20:26:00.001-05:00

In an effort to save funds and jobs, the prior administration instituted two academic years of mandatory furlough time. We are reaching the end of that period and the final mandatory day for some of the campus offices was May 17.

Some employees offered to donate their unpaid furlough time by assisting with projects in the community. There was a wide variety of services to participate in and I was honored to be a part of it. One of the great things about this was the questions I got when people saw my t-shirt. Given everything that has been going on politically in our state, it was nice to be part of a positive force.

March/April Updates and Other Things

2011-04-09T15:47:00.006-05:00

Sorry for the generally lame blog titles. Given that I am approaching once a month posts this seems a fitting theme for my titles. And as this is an update, things may ramble and jump around a bit as I try to touch on all the things I wanted to share.

I have vaguely eluded to the fact that my work life has sort of sucked as of late. In general I like my job and my bosses. However, due to a series of unfortunate coincidences I have been doing the job of two people by myself since mid-December (though I am willing to argue almost 9 months but feel somewhat unkind in doing so). Anyway, while the over time has been awesome, the lack of personal time is making for a crabby and generally unhappy me. Projects have been accumulating around the house at an alarming rate and my ability to care about them has dropped progressively. I know this sounds angry and unpleasant and sort of defeatist but that is how I am feeling...defeated. It will improve I know and there is light at the end of this tunnel. It is just a slow process getting there.

To combat all of the general ickyness and malaise, I have been taking what spare time I can and pouring it into string. I finished the lovely leaves and fishies scarf. I am currently blocking it. I am very bad at blocking. There will be more pictures once it is blocked and the weather improves enough that I feel safe taking it outside.

I also started the Pretty as a Peacock shawl. I don't like lace in general. I just think it looks too fussy. Some of it can be beautiful but most of it just isn't my style. But this shawl is so indescribably beautiful. I know myself however and did not want to pay the expense of a project I would never finish. The deal was I had to finish the leaves/fishie scarf first before I was allowed to purchase the materials for and start the peacock shawl. Having accomplished the first task I decided I deserved the chance to play with the shawl. It is slow going and a bit more complex then I may be ready for but the silk I found is so perfect and the pattern is just lovely. I am excited. My goal is to have it done by halloween. wish me luck!

Above is my progress thus far. This was taken during one of my recent visits to Sow's Ear with two amazing ladies for a day full of tea and giggles and string and general awesomeness. The little sheep in the picture is Simon but there will be more about him during another post.

I have also been reading a great deal. Mostly just murder mysteries which I know some people consider fluff, but I have to say I don't really care. I grew up reading mysteries and have re-discovered my joy for them as an adult. And, I honestly feel that even though the writing is not always superb and the plot sometimes predictable, I have learned more from the time I have spent with mysteries then I ever did from the agonizingly painful process of the steady reading that comes from classical literature. Don't get me wrong, there is some truly brilliant classical literature out there (and really in any genre if you look hard enough), but so much of it is just depressing. My brain enjoys the plot dissection that comes with a good (or even a bad) murder mystery.

That said, I am not sure I liked the book "Virals" by Kathy Reichs. It was a foray into young adult fiction. The book was okay I guess. I think my disappointment is more that I come to expect something different from her then what this delivered. I sometimes wonder if I might have liked it better if she had used a different pen name.

I am still continuing my journey through young adult fiction. I did really enjoy the book "Revolution"...up to a point. At first I was uncertain where the author was taking me, and then as things developed I was really excited to take that journey with her. Things got a little weird towards the end though and I am not sure I was able to follow. I think I am interested enough in the authors style though to try some of her other novels.

Next up on my reading list: "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake". Honestly, I picked up the book because of the title alone. I am not sure where the the book is going to go but I am intrigued.

I had a lovely conversation about the books I loved as a child with my workout buddy last night. I cannot begin to tell you how much I love talking about books with other people. We talked about shared favorites and why we love them. We talk about the fear of re-reading books we loved as a child in case we no longer enjoyed them. And we talked about that amazing feeling when the book still touches your heart.

One of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman, recently posted a blog regarding his friendship with the late Diana Wynne Jones (another amazing writer). Mr. Gaiman is pretty amazing in his own right and to hear him talk about his respect/admiration for her gave me a little more faith in humanity. One of that parts of the post that has stayed with me was a quote of hers: "Children are much more careful readers than adults," she'd say. "You don't have to repeat everything for children. You do with adults, because they aren't paying full attention." I certainly agree. I am consistently frustrated when I read a series how each book has to beat the reader over the head with the back story found in prior books. I am also a little worried that perhaps my distance from childhood is why I could not follow some of the other authors I have been reading lately. I am becoming too much of an adult. I find this very sad.

Today was a day for getting things done though. I cleaned out my desk (which took some doing), cleaned all the winter mud from the front foyer, got a haircut (I was rather shaggy, got some laundry done, and did a little reading. I wanted to knit a row or two of my shawl though and hopefully I can catch up with some friends after that.

Salt-Crusted Chicken

2011-03-19T10:28:00.004-05:00

I have long been a fan of the Chocolate and Zucchini blog. I love her style of writing and her general outlook on the world. Her culinary tastes are different than mine, but I have appreciated and even occasionally enjoyed the new things food doors she has opened up for me.

When I saw it, I couldn't wait to try the recipe she shared for Salt-Crusted Chicken. I had a real struggle with the dough on this one. It does not want to stay together so mine did not come out nearly as beautiful as hers. The chicken however came out so moist and tender and flavorful. I am not sure I want to try the salt-crust again mostly because it was messy and felt a little wasteful, but I definitely a convert to salt-brining (I have never tried it before). I am tempted to try the bread-crusted chicken she posted a few weeks later simply because the dough is then usable.

I also recently played with a kitchen toy I hadn't take the time to try out yet. I know that Alton Brown has long been a promoter of this gadget. We got one for our wedding and I just never took the time to mess with it. I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am for not trying it sooner. I placed it in some chicken breasts I was baking, set the temp I want, and let it go. The alarm went off and the chicken was PERFECT! I have had GOOD but never PERFECT! Totally in love with this concept and very angry at myself for my laziness at not trying it before.

What is happening in the frozen north...

2011-03-05T14:17:00.003-06:00

I try to keep this blog about books and knitting and cooking and things that delight me...the busy nothings that make life so satisfying for me. However, sometimes the real world does intrude, and things need to be said.

Our current Governor here in Wisconsin has introduced a bill that among other things will destroy the right of state employees to collectively bargain. There has been a lot of media swirling about since thousands of people have converged upon the capitol to voice their concerns over what this bill means to our lives and livelihoods.

I have opted not to protest. Not because I don't think it is important and not because I am not outraged. But because it is far too emotional of a thing for me to be able to handle. I am a little ashamed of myself in some respects or not taking a more active role, but I am only coping with everything by keeping busy in the little nothings of my day-to-day life. I am staying informed though, and I have contacted my representatives and written letters. I have been boycotting the stores that are supporting this bill and the parties responsible.

The thing about all of this that people outside of the state (and even those who aren't affected by it within our borders) need to understand is that state workers aren't upset about the money. All of the things they are taking away our unions have already offered. State workers (or at least those in my union) haven't had raises in 6 years and even accepted a 3% pay cut in mandated furlough time two years ago in place of a raise in order to protect our jobs. Many of the people in my department have second jobs to help make ends meet or are currently going to school part-time because they know that financially our jobs are not long term solutions for them or their families. I myself have a second job currently and plan to go back to school this fall.

I don't look for employment elsewhere because I really care about what I do. I also haven't taken any personal days to protest because that would negatively impact the people I work for and their patients. I understand that the economy has left shortfalls in our budget and that is going to impact me. I understand the need to tightened our belts even when there isn't a lot of slack left to tighten. And most of the protesters are in agreement.

The thing we are really upset over is the loss of collective bargaining. The loss of the ability to have our unions fight on our behalf. I am someone who doesn't think that unions are automatically awesome. Like any organized bureaucracy there are downsides/flaws with having unions. However, overall what they do is protect workers and their rights and give the "little guy" a voice. While I have occasionally had some frustrations with my union's representation, I think that overall it is important that it is in place, and I think that the reason I didn't have to worry about my job 2 years ago was because the unions were able to negotiate a fair exchange with the state to help protect our jobs.

Taking away our collective bargaining rights completely changes the game for a lot of us. I am not very good at explaining it so I will let Rachel Maddow in her infinite wisdom do the talking.

And for some background reading on what is really going on:

A Primer on the Wisconsin budget process

and editorial from my old home town about what these protests really mean.

I am proud of the peacefulness and the strength of protesters in Wisconsin. I am still apprehensive about the future, but I hope that this energizes the base in November. I know that I won't forget.

Snow Day and other February Updates

2011-02-28T13:47:00.004-06:00

So I am a little behind but better late than never I suppose. Work has been difficult as of late. It is manageable over all, and while I don't really want to go into it, i hit my breaking point in early February and opted to take a personal day before I made a stupid decision based on my mood.

It turned out to be a brilliant stroke of planning as we ended up getting blizzard conditions and the city shut down. I have lived in Wisconsin my whole life and have seen my share of winter storms, but this was a new experience for me. It wasn't really the snow that was the issue. We only had about 4-6 inches. It was the wind. I got caught out in it briefly coming home from bus stop. The force o the wind left me a little disoriented on a few times and I occasionally couldn't open my eyes because of all the debris it picked up. It only got worse from there. At one point I looked out the window at the howling wind and was a little unnerved by the scene outside. It was like something out of a sci-fi/fantasy movie.

The weather made for a perfect day to stay in my pajamas and get stuff done around the house. I got all my laundry done AND folded. This is almost unheard of for me. I got the kitchen cleaned and promptly made a mess again. I have been long to make this caramel-apple pie and had some apples to use up, so I decided to tackle it.

Essentially, you make the crust, the apple filling, and the caramel sauce all separately, assemble them together, and then bake it in the oven to meld them all together. I am utter rubbish at sauces so the caramel sauce didn't turn out quite as caramel-ly as I had hoped for texture wise but the flavor was there. It was a lot of fuss (and a lot of dirty dishes), but overall I think it turned out well if slightly too sweet.

Because my husband can't have apples, I also made a cake for him. Nothing special; just a quick mix. Of course, domestic bliss was short-lived when I burnt dinner while I was on the phone talking to my mother and ignoring the simmer that had turned into a boil.

I applied for school for this fall, got some knitting done, and even played some video games. It was exactly what I needed as far as days of go, and because I was so productive, I could spend Saturday with my friends drinking tea and knitting. I am only 2 repeats away from finishing the lace scarf. Hooray!

Later on in the month I came down with a nasty respiratory infection. Normally when I am sick, I hunker down with some tea and string and bad movies and fell sorry for myself. However, I was so sick and feeling so lousy the best I could manage was to prop up a book on my pillow and lay in bed. (This was probably a good thing because I was reading the Mortal Instruments series and couldn't put them down. I would have been completely non-functional until I had finished them, so while I hated being sick, I had a good reason to stay in bed reading). The URI knocked me completely low. I ended up needing an inhaler to help me breath for a bit.

And I love love loved the Mortal Instruments series. It was angsty or sure and occasionally annoying that nothing good ever seemed to happen for these characters until the end of the 3rd book. But I couldn't put them down. I am debating whether or not I want to read the 4th book which is coming out in April. They were so dark for so long and the 3rd book had such a satisfying ending I am afraid to jinx it.

Cake Party

2011-01-09T13:33:00.001-06:00

One of my favorite places in the universe is the Sow's Ear. It is my knitting store of choice and my cafe of choice as well it comes down to it. It is full of string and tasty food and coffee smells. Even the most aggravating human beings I know don't rub my nerves when I am there. I can spend hours there knitting and petting string and enjoying their tasty sandwiches (My favorite is the Savory Sow with brie and roasted red peppers). The staff is awesome (one of the coffee guys even knows how to rock a bowler hat). It is such a happy place and in many ways feels like home for me. It is the sort of shop I would like to have if I ever owned a shop. I even like the way the string still smells like the shop even after I have had it home for a couple of days.

The other great thing this place has is knitters. There are some locals who just really enjoy the atmosphere but even many of them eventually can't resist the allure of string for too long. Knitters are a strange group. Maybe it is just that we all know that string is something that needs to be shared and so it overcomes any social awkwardness or misanthropic tendencies.

Anyway, I met some friends there and while we were happily enjoying all that the Sow's Ear has to offer I overheard someone at the next table talk about a cake party. The following exchange ensued:

Me: I am sorry for eavesdropping but I must know what is a cake party and why have I never heard of it before?
Lovely Woman Wearing the February Lady Sweater: Well it is a party where everyone brings cake and then you eat it.
Me: Wow...I definitely need to steal that idea.
LWWFLS: Be my guest.

So yesterday, two of the most awesome women I know descended upon my house, and we had a cake party. I made a jam cake with caramel icing that was completely full of fail and some lovely oreo cheesecakes that were unbelievably full of win. We ordered Chinese food, drank tea and wine, ate cake and snacks, and watched hours of chick flicks and played with string. It was one of the best days I have had in a long time, and needs to be repeated...with better cake options :)

Fondue!

2011-01-02T20:29:00.004-06:00

We hosted for the second time our New Years Day party which involves food and games and such. I think it went well though I really over-cooked. We had ranch chicken wings, bbq pork, pita with 2 kinds of hummus, various cheeses, chips, etc. And there was fondue!

I found a recipe online for a traditional three-cheese fondue and I really liked the way it turned out. I was skeptical of how it would work because I am not a fan of swiss cheese or cheeses of that ilk. I bought some nice specialty cheeses from a local market and it turned out dangerously yummy. I also made a chocolate fondue that we flavored with cinnamon that was creamy and decadent and .... *drool*

Fondue is totally awesome!

I also had an amazing time at the LARP (called "Clerical Error) I went to the other day. I was worried at first given my lack of experience, but it ended up going well and the way the story unfolded was just plain awesome. They are running the game at Intercon K this year so I will refrain from going into more detail. I think LARPs are something I want to explore more of in the future.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T20:28:00.001-06:00

I have yet to find a better way to say what I wish for everyone in the new year, and so I will once again rely upon the wisdom of the ever brilliant Neil Gaiman:

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself."

Green of indefinable wrongness...

2010-12-29T14:15:00.003-06:00

Isn't that just wrong? Absolutely and completely terrifyingly wrong? It is of course why it had to be done. I stumbled across a recipe for Mountain Dew Jelly while searching for something else. I immediately shared it on a social networking site and my wonderful friends being who they are asked if I wanted to come over and make some. My friends are awesome! We made two separate pots of jelly so we added green food coloring to one hence the different colors. It actually doesn't taste horrible. I am not quite sure what you would eat it with, but that really wasn't the point. I think I might try root beer or cherry coke next.

What else has been going on since I last wrote...Well I had my first LARP experience in early November. It was unbelievably cool and I am actually traveling to Chicago tomorrow for another one (different designers).

There hasn't been much on the crafting front. We finally found bookshelves to suit our purposes and so much have my time has been spent unpacking. We have only two boxes left and if I am lucky those should be mostly dealt with this afternoon. Hooray for being moved in to our wonderful new home.

I did a lot of playing around with recipes from the Artisan Bread cookbook. Not all successes but some good experiments.

We are having a party on New Years day so I have been playing with recipes for that. I just made some roasted red pepper hummus as well as some edamame hummus (soy beans replace the traditional garbanzo beans). I bought a small food processor (I don't like them in general because of the noise but I thought it might be handy to have a small one around) last year and thought this was a good excuse to play. They didn't turn out too badly though I don't think I am a hummus convert as of yet. The second recipe came from one of the cookbooks I got for Christmas that is written by the local agricultural society. There are all sorts of neat things in this cookbook and I am actually going to make the orzo stuffed peppers for dinner tonight. Wish me luck. I also got a fondue pot and I am disturbingly excited to play with that as well. Inaugural melty goodness this weekend.

I have been home this week and it has been so wonderful to get more time to make meals. I made vanilla belgian waffles with strawberries and chocolate coffee this morning. There is a small part of me that wishes I could stay home and cook all the time.

Bread!

2010-10-31T10:19:00.005-05:00

I made bread! No really, I realize this doesn't sound like anything monumental but it is vastly encouraging for me. I have never had much luck with it. I follow all the rules, I read all the instructions, and I can just never make it work. I have a 50/50 chance with focaccia but those just aren't very good odds. I have learned to accept the fact that if there is yeast in the dough there is a high likelihood for fail if I am the one making it.

However, at the Cooks Collegium last weekend I was presented with what seemed like a pretty fool proof bread recipe. I was enchanted with the idea of beautiful fresh baked bread, and I had to give it a shot.

And it worked. I made bread! Granted I have only made it once and it is possible that this will become the 50/50 sadness of my previous "reliable recipe" bread attempts. I remain hopeful. I am also excited about experimenting because a lot of the recipe is based on ratios so you can alter the dry to wet ingredients you use as long as you maintain the ratios and still have success. Hopefully there will be future happy bread posts. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I love cooking events...I always come home with such exciting recipes and kitchen ideas. I have a couple of others waiting for me in the kitchen I can't wait to try.

With the bread, I also took some pointers from the Good Eats bread episode (I have been watching these a lot lately...they are uber helpful), and I think between the two of them I had a good approach. One of them in particular is the proper temperature bread is supposed to reach in order for it to be considered done. I think that this is why I don't like a lot of homemade breads because a lot of times they end up really dry. Turns out the bread should be between 205 and 210 degrees F. Any hotter and it reaches the boiling point so all the water boils/evaporates away.

I should have put it on a rack instead of cutting board though. The steam all settled at the bottom and loaf got a little soggy there. I also cut into it too early and it didn't have enough time to set. It was still a little dough-y. Fresh baked bread is a challenge in patience.

Torta Bianca (updated)

2010-10-31T10:08:00.002-05:00

Previously I posted a recipe for Torta Bianca a couple years ago. I felt that the recipe needed some work and just have not taken the time to make the corrections that I wanted to. I decided that I wanted to make this tart for a potluck at the Middle Kingdom Cooks Collegium that took place last weekend.

Life intervened and I did not end up getting the chance to make cheese as I did before and I was just going to use cream cheese. However, my traveling companion is quickly becoming a cheese goddess and made some neufchatel for me to use. This had a much better texture than the cheese I usually make and worked perfectly.

One of the things that I was hoping to correct was the 'oily' texture my original tart had to it. I thought that it was just an issue of too much fat being added but decided to do a little research. By research, I mean watch the Good Eats episode on cheesecake :)

Turns out that one of the issues may have been that I didn't allow the pie shell to cool enough before adding the filling. The shock of heat caused the butter to separate and created the slimy texture. This made a lot of sense given my general impatience. I also approached the recipe as a cheesecake rather than just a recipe with some instructions. I wiped the cheese longer and to a much smoother texture than I did previously. I slowly incorporated the wet ingredients. And by using just ginger this time I improved the likely hood of snow white tart.

It is one of the interesting things about period redactions...the way you approach things can change what you ultimately get.

Anyway here is the new recipe:
12-16 ounces homemade cheese at room temperature (depends on what type of cheese you use. It should be a soft white cheese. You can also use 16 ounces of cream cheese)
6 egg whites
1 cup of sugar
4 tablespoons of butter, softened
1 tsp ginger
1 cup milk
salt (to taste)
Rosewater/additional sugar

I beat the cheese and butter together until smooth, added the sugar, salt, and ginger. I mixed the egg whites and milk together and gradually beat these into the cheese mixture. This was poured into a pie shell and baked at 350-375 (depending on your oven) for 1 hour.

Sprinkle lightly with rosewater and sugar.

End of Summer

2010-10-05T09:30:00.006-05:00

My toes are cold this morning - second day in a row so fall must be officially here. I suppose that means now is as good a time as any to wrap up my summer.

I did not really accomplish much on the crafty front with the crazy hours I put in at work all summer and moving into our first home.

I am still getting used to the space but I can't begin to describe how much I love it here. I am also starting to learn the personality of my new kitchen. It sounds odd but we seem to be a little shy around each other. It is getting better.

I did manage to do some canning at the close of the summer season. I made pickled green beans for my husband using some of the produce from the farmers market and also the end-of-summer jam he loves. It is a combination of peaches, pears, plums, lemon and ginger and is unbelievably tasty. It comes out this gorgeous blush color. Sadly my impatience meant I took it off the heat too quick so it is a little thin. Still workable but you have to eat PBJ very quickly :)

I also made some sekanjabin as well. It was a drink I was introduced to through the SCA and while not a big fan at first it has really grown on me. When properly diluted it is really very refreshing.

I am on vacation this week from work so I decided to use the time to get some knitting projects started. I had a bunch of time I needed to use up so while not an exciting vacation hopefully it will be a relaxed one. It is starting to look like it won't be as productive as I originally intended but after all these years you would think I would know that about myself. I have gotten 3 of my 5 knitting projects started. My intent is to cast on a bunch of different patterns/yarns into various projects so when I get a moment I can pick something up and knit on it rather than stalling because I don't feel like casting something on. Mostly just socks although my sweater project is staring at me waiting for me to get the courage to make a swatch. I know I shouldn't be daunted but I am.

On patterns and things and other stuff

2010-10-01T17:53:00.004-05:00

I had this brilliant idea that I was going to sew my Halloween costume this year. I have long been obsessed with the awesomeness of costuming but my dislike and frustrations over sewing have turned me off to actually becoming a costumer. However, my desire to have truly awesome costumes has brought me to the realization that I am going to learn how to sew one way or the other.

I have done some sewing in the past. I actually made the vest my husband wore for our wedding. Mostly though it has been a "close your eyes and go" situation.

So, I took myself down to our local fabric megamart to look at patterns. And I quickly decided that I was in over my head (and my budget this month). I am proud of myself in that I finally decided to start small and bought a pattern to make an apron instead. It was a significantly better idea then spending money on a project I couldn't really afford that had a high likelihood of failure. I guess I will try the one step at a time approach.

This does mean that I am now clueless as to what I am going to do for Halloween this year. I think I will try to hit some thrift stores this week.

I have also been thinking long and hard about learning to make hats. I love hats and I am starting to realize a passion for crazy wild hats. They are expensive though and part of me has been wondering if it would be more affordable to make them myself. My one fear is that I am not really much of a designer so I don't know where I would come up with ideas but I thought I wouldn't worry about that so much just yet. For now I am going to work on assembling the skills. YouTube user "Threadbanger" has some interesting how-to videos and some of them involve hat making.

In my quest for acquiring costuming skills, I have been paging through pattern books. Particularly costuming because that is really the kind of sewing I want to be doing. Here is the thing I don't understand about the costume world. I have seen in Halloween stores the costumes with the slutty-I mean "vamped" up versions of a theme. The sexy nurse, the sexy cartoon princess, etc where the hemline falls just below the butt cheek and the neckline falls in the middle of the cleavage. But you can also get patterns to make these.

For me costuming is about the escape and the better the costume the better the escape. I suppose I can see the appeal of sexy costume role-play but really good costumers can make some truly sexy pieces without having to cheapen it. Oh well, I guess I shouldn't judge. To each their own. Off for a walk and probably some playing with string later.

Fallen

2010-10-01T10:39:00.004-05:00

I recently finished Fallen by Lauren Kate. It is a book aimed at the young adult/teenage audience. It is difficult to describe without giving away too much of the later half of the book. The first 3/4 is mostly setup of the characters and there is a lot of angsty soul-searching on the part of the heroine.

I am not really what one would call "well-read". I read a lot to be sure but not one would call "steady" reading. Most of the books on the list of books a person is supposed to have read I have found endlessly boring and have preferred to stick with books that amuse my brain rather than strengthen it.

However, I realized that there was a lot of really great fiction geared towards young adults that I missed when I was a teen. I read a lot of best-seller/murder-mystery type books at that time in my life. I have been trying to read more of what I missed.

The thing I like about the fiction written for this age group is it lacks some of the...and I have been wrestling to come up with the right word for it...but it lacks some of the pretentiousness and the boundaries that come when writing fiction for adults. And not even sci-fi and fantasy are able to overcome those boundaries.

I am not sure why but for some reason when I open the cover of a young adult novel, I feel like the author is giving me much more freedom as a reader to explore my own imagination within the structure of the world they are creating in the book. Maybe we loose something as adults as we get older and become more experienced that we expect the fiction written to target an adult audience mirror. Maybe we loose something as we gain wisdom and perhaps it is the connection to our imagination. Which is odd because there is quite enough examples of junk literature cluttering the adult fiction section. And I am certainly guilty of considering the devouring of a brain-candy novel before a more serious tome.

But even where the fiction is light and unencumbered it still lacks the freedom that youth fiction has.

Anyway, Fallen was in a recommended reading list based upon other books I had read so I thought I would give it a shot. It was pretty angsty. Don't get me wrong - at 15 I would have gobbled up every word and probably not left my room until I had poured through the whole series. I still have enough of a connection to that part of myself to see how it would have appealed to me. However, I have also lost enough of it to find it somewhat unpalatable now. I am not sure that I want to finish the series. I may but I am just not the sort of person the book is really written for.

You can't always go back to who you were and what you used to love I guess. I am finding this out when I try to re-visit some of my old favorite TV shows. Occasionally nostalgia is ruined when one attempts to re-discover.

Small Comforts...

2010-09-25T08:01:00.003-05:00

There is something comforting about a murder mystery or at least certain murder mysteries. I am speaking particularly of the ones where one finds oneself in a small hamlet, with an over large cemetery. These are the ones where every time you meet a new character they are either a victim or a murderer. Stir in a lead character with some pluck and let the mayhem ensue. It is a little certainty in an uncertain world.

I am generally a fan of mystery type shows by which I mean at the beginning of the show there is a problem which through a series of steps clues begin to unfold leading the cast down a path of twists and turns ending up at a resolution. And they come in so many delightful forms these days: Castle, Bones, Leverage, etc

But every once in a while I like to return to the classics. Maybe it was all those late nights watching Murder, She Wrote reruns with my dad.

On Jane Austen and other things

2010-09-06T10:30:00.005-05:00

As of late my biggest project for the last couple of months has been buying and moving into our new condo. I think I am officially a grown up now (or if I wasn't after getting married I am now). I haven't been doing much crafting in general, I am not in the right frame of mind to play with recipes, and even my knitting has been only plodding along.

I have been reading however. My latest brain candy are a series of mysteries utilizing Mr. & Mrs. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice fame. The series isn't brilliant literature by any stretch and the author occasionally over uses stereotypes to an annoying degree but overall they have been enjoyable reads. I have waxed poetic (that is a nice of way saying I was unreasonably indignant) over my absolute disgust at the whole "Classic novel + Monster" series that has been showing up on bookshelves of late. I am somewhat mollified that Jane Austen has not been the only target but only slightly.

While I am waiting for the next two books in the series to come to my local library, I picked up Pride and Prejudice again. I haven't read it in a while because the movie adaptation is so faithful to the book I haven't really needed to. But there were a few things I had forgotten and wanted to get re-acquainted again. In doing so I think I discovered what it is about Ms. Austen's works that is so important to me. Her characters are so perfectly drawn that you can really imagine them - good qualities and bad. They feel more real than any of the other characters I have enjoyed in novels. Re-reading Jane Austen is like being re-acquainted with long lost friends. Which why the idea of having my "friends" eaten by sea monsters or zombies is so entirely unpalatable to me. (Well, that and it doesn't need fixing). So while I don't mind reading some Austen based fiction (as long as the author remains true to the original characters) I do have a problem with Austen-based abominations.

In any case, my brain is getting stuffed full of fun literary bits at present even if my string habit is being somewhat neglected. I am almost finished with my fingerless mitts and am very close to the half way point on my lace scarf.

In other news, Sharon Shinn has a new book coming out in October...SQUEEE

Reading...

2010-07-13T08:41:00.003-05:00

As of late my reading list has been mostly the Temperance Brennan series by Kathy Reichs. I have long been a fan of mysteries though I wouldn't say that I would read just any mystery. I have to find either the characters or the concept palatable. Which doesn't mean that they are necessarily "good" fiction...just "tasty" fiction. And, I really like this series. I like the science; I like the concept; and I like the way the story progresses. It has even helped me find appreciation for the series Bones. I have always thought that this was a show I should like but could never get into. It turns out I needed to see the pilot. It made the rest of the series make sense, and has been my brain candy for the last few months as I work through back episodes.

In between my dives into the world of forensic anthropology there have been a few other side adventures. I picked up a copy of some of Jane Austen's short stories and essays that she wrote as a young woman. They were interesting and you could really get a sense of what a clever woman she was. They weren't brilliant necessarily but it was evident that hers was a mind that didn't often get to use itself to its full capacity. It was unlike anything I have ever read. I didn't get through all of it but I think it will be worth a revisit every now and again (though perhaps not in a full dose all at once).

It also seems I have a strongly tuned radar for Jane Austen inspired modern fiction. I don't always read them but I am always curious. I recently picked up Vanity and Vexation by Kate Fenton and was pleasantly surprised. It is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice but the author I think took pains not to make it the exact same novel. All the elements were there (well mostly) but they were used differently enough to make the story interesting. I of course knew where the novel was going from the first page (at least generally) but I didn't mind riding along with the author to get there. It worked. I have certainly read worse. And of course there are some "adaptations" I refuse to believe exist.

There is also another kind of book I need to find more of...autobiography/biographies in which food/recipes play a role in the storytelling. Books about food have always been comforting and I have stumbled upon a few books in which the author shares their story with the support of kitchens, recipes, and food. I have enjoyed them and need to find more...I am just not quite sure how to go about searching for them.

Egg Drop Soup

2010-06-12T11:26:00.004-05:00

Egg Drop Soup is quickly becoming my new comfort food and I figured out a way to make it in a way I find very tasty:

1 quart chicken broth
ginger, garlic powder, onion powder
2 tablespoons corn starch
3 eggs, gently beaten
salt, pepper, other seasonings as needed.

1. Bring to a boil chicken broth with ginger, garlic, and onion powder.

2. Mix a couple tablespoons of the broth with cornstarch. Add cornstarch. Simmer until it begins to thicken - about 5 minutes. I find I need to stir frequently while this is happening.

3. Reduce heat to gentle simmer. Beat 3 eggs very gently (I don't like keeping yolks and whites separate so I don't like to beat the eggs too much) and pour in a circular motion over the broth. Allow to set. Stir gently until heated through. Serve.

Completed Knitting Projects

2010-06-12T11:20:00.005-05:00

This hat was made for a friend of mine. I actually ended up making this hat twice as I needed a practice run with the pattern. I was pleased by the results of the second and want to make one for myself.

These turned out unbelievably soft if not necessarily the prettiest socks I have ever made.

---

Currently on the needles:

I only have the toe left of the second Devils Snare Sock. I should hopefully finish that this weekend in between packing.

My lace scarf is progressing very slowly. I am actually a little proud of it so far and I am worried I might mess it up. It requires my concentration so I can't knit on it while watching TV with most of my projects so it may be on the needles for a long time.

I also have a skein of fingering weight wool in a color way I totally love. However, it is really unpleasant to knit with. I was going to make socks but I don't think I can bare to work with it that much so I think I am going to make some fingerless gloves instead. It also doesn't have enough give to be as successful as socks as I think it would need to be.

Updates on Knitting

2010-03-28T11:28:00.004-05:00

I finished the first sock of the Devil's Snare pattern using my Opal Harry Potter yarn. The yarn is probably too busy for this pattern but it makes my geek heart happy so I don't mind one bit. It needs a bit of tailoring to really fit. I think. I just finished the ribbing on sock number two and need to move into the lace again. I really love the heel flap and the pattern in general so I may use it again on a yarn that shows off the lace better. It gives me a good reason to purchase some KnitPicks yarn but honestly who really needs a good reason for yarn shopping :)

Sock number one completed. I started on the ribbing for sock number two. I love how soft this yarn is. My knitting wasn't so grand and I am disappointed in the colorway. I loved it on the skein and it was called "Sapphire" but once knitted it is mostly green and yellow.

These were a lot of fun and knit up very fast. I picked the wrong yarn weight and didn't do a swatch so they were enormous. I gave them to my husband though so hopefully no more cold hands after being up late playing video games.

Books and Knitting

2010-03-28T09:45:00.004-05:00

I recently stopped by Frugal Muse in Madison to see if I could find any other copies of books by the Yarn Harlot and was pleased to find one. I of course needed to browse through the rest of the string section and found an inexpensive copy of "In Praise of the Needlewoman" by Gail Carolyn Sirna. Essentially it is a selection of art work spanning 1595-19something showing women playing with string in some manner or other: embroiderers, knitters, lacemakers, etc.

A brief glance through and I found a selection of paintings I always really liked and so I picked it up. And I am glad I did because there are some really wonderful images in there, many of which I have never seen before. It also has me re-assessing some of my favorite paintings. I always thought what drew me to them was the domesticity of woman working on some sort of project. It is what has always interested me about research in the SCA. I don't care at all about wars and kings and trade agreements. It is the domestic arts of history that I want to know more about, and apparently, the more they involve string the better. So, all in all I found the book a lovely bit of eye and brain candy. I have read a few blurbs but sadly I must admit that most of my perusal has been just to look at the pictures.

In other news, yesterday, I needed a bit of me time so I drove over to the Sow's Ear for some happy knitting and coffee time. String really does transcend boundaries. For some reason I can chat with strangers when my hands are full of string and needles. It is kind of a fascinating phenomenon. Anyway, while there I decided to pick up a copy of "The Complete Guide to Natural Dyeing" by Eva Lambert and Tracy Kendall. I haven't been able to afford a copy of the out-of-print "Wild Color" and this book had some similar features that I really liked. I think I also want to pick up a copy of "Teach Yourself Visually: Hand-Dyeing" by Barbara Parry to round out my background information. It had some different techniques and a different approach to teaching. Hopefully between the two I will get a good base knowledge before I start playing with dyes this summer (or at least that is the plan).

As for my knitting right now I have a ridiculous amount of stuff on my needles (at least for me). And I am starting to really branch out in the stuff I am willing to try and the things I want to make. However, I am also finding myself increasingly frustrating at my skill level with knitting. I very desperately need my pattern when it is anything other than garter or stockinette. I need to make little check marks and tallys and I need to re-write things if the original pattern isn't clear enough for me to follow. I know so many knitters who seem to be able to just knit by memory complex laces, socks, and sweaters, and I am completely unfunctional without my pattern. That isn't to say I am not learning. I am starting to recognize mistakes, I am getting better at reading my knitting, and I am even able to look at something when it is finished and understand how it could have been improved with some changes to the pattern but I certainly don't feel comfortable re-working the whole thing. I am also afraid to frog anything unless it is in the early stages. Even if I am unhappy with the results it seems horrific to me just to pull the whole thing apart.

I really want to make a sweater for myself. I have all the tools. The thing is the sweater I want to make has this sort of empire waste where above is just basic knitting and below is the lace pattern. For my basic person I think that in order for it to be flattering the lace will need to start below my breasts. The original model is a significantly more petite woman with much more perky breasts and from some of the other examples I have seen online the sweater really isn't flattering if it doesn't fall correctly. I don't know how to take my swatch piece and then from that figure out how the pattern is going to fall with the increased size so that I can make a flattering sweater from the onset and make alterations if needed. I will be heartbroken if it turns out poorly I think even though I know it is a first attempt. This is where clinging so desperately to my patterns is becoming a problem.

I will get there. I am just not very patient.

Re-reading Jane

2010-03-20T15:55:00.000-05:00

I decided to re-read the two novels of Jane Austen's that I have only read once. (Mansfield Park is not included on this list because it took me 6 months to get through it the first time and I just can't do that to myself again.) Usually, I find myself reading Sense and Sensibility or Persuasion, the later being my favorite, when I find my brain in need of a dose of Jane. I don't read Pride and Prejudice anymore simply because the A&E movie version is so faithful to the original narrative that I find it tedious to read what I can watch.

Anyway, I first picked up Northanger Abbey. I honestly can't say why I only read this novel once. I remembered liking it when I first read it but for some reason it just didn't stick the same way that Persuasion did. The characters are beautifully drawn. More than that, it is a joy to watch our heroine, Catherine Morland, grow into a young woman through the progression of events she encounters as the story unfolds. It is fantastic story-telling and is one of the best examples of my favorite element in fiction writing - character development. I am sorry it took me this long to re-discover it.

Next of course was Emma. I was indifferent to this the first time I read it and I still am I suppose though perhaps with a little more educated non-chalantness. Emma is just not necessarily someone I would ever want to take tea with. That isn't to say she is a bad person. On the contrary at the heart of it she is a good person who just hasn't figured out the world yet or rather she is a good person; she is just really bad at it. I think a lot of it is that she lives a life of privilege in a small neighborhood. She doesn't really have a chance to learn from experience because her world presents a predictable set of incidents to react to. Her stubborn misplaced snobbery I think is more the effect of not knowing better and never being given a mirror to see her behavior reflected in.

What I think I respect the most about this book is that Miss Austen created a heroine who is undeniably flawed. She is real because despite all her more charming characteristics she is still just as fallible as the rest of us. This is especially true when compared to some of the other characters in the book. While Emma may never be my ideal friend, I think I would have found her society infinitely more enjoyable than say Mrs. Elton's.

On another note, I was discussing with a friend recently about the fact that Emma is always cast as a blonde in film adaptations (even the delightful "Clueless") when she is never described. And it is true. Emma as a person is never described. The best I could come up with is the repeated references to her as "fair cousin" "fair sister" "fair friend" which is more in reference to her character than her coloring I think but it is possible that someone else misconstrued this. *shrug*

Knitting Progress

2010-03-10T22:17:00.002-06:00

As part of my resolution to venture out of my safe zone when it comes to knitting (lumpy squares and stockinette tubes), I decided to try the Devil's Snare Sock pattern. I liked that the lace part was on only one section (my all the way around lace effort turned into epic fail the first time I tried that) and I loved the detail on the heel flap. I even saved my special Opal Harry Potter yarn for this purpose.

I finished the first sock tonight and it didn't go to badly. I had a few false starts but a friend quickly cleared things up. They are a little to big and I think I know how to fix that but I am not willing to frog the sock to do try it (I am conquering one fear at a time here). The variegated yarn doesn't really show off the full effect of the pattern but I still love them and I think I may use the pattern again in the future.

Now, I need to finish the second sock...sigh

"Free-Range Knitter"

2010-03-10T18:58:00.006-06:00

I recently picked up a copy of "Free-Range Knitter: the Yarn Harlot Writes Again" by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.

I was somewhat skeptical. I have seen her blog, and while I do not dislike it, I also never really got into it*. I am not a huge blog reader in general, and I am not much of a person for books that are collections of stories or essays. But, I thought I would give it a try, and I am really glad I did. I enjoyed it immensely; it was honest, thoughtful, insightful and rather witty. It is the kind of writing (aside from perhaps a few style changes) that I always wished I could do.

One of the things I really appreciated about it was that it made me feel more like I belonged. I am neither a very good nor a very fast knitter. I knit because I find the movements relaxing, I like that my boredom can be turned into a sock, I have a somewhat unhealthy addiction to string, and I always feel like I need to be doing something with my hands in order to be really comfortable. Most of my knitting to date has been lumpy dishrags (garter stitch squares of cotton) and basic stockinette socks. I don't look at a pattern and immediately go "I can do that!" Actually, my reactions to interesting patterns are usually jealousy (I wish I could do that), longing (I need that beautiful bit of string), or frustration (even if I get up the courage to do it, it will take forever and come out wrong).

So, I have never really felt like a real knitter. I think about knitting a lot (I think about string more often) but I always feel that I can't be a real knitter until it becomes intuitive. I watch women knitting at yarn stores or gatherings or in public and they knit complex lacy bits of knitting without seeming to need to follow a pattern or even look at their hands. Whereas, I cling desperately to my pattern and make little tally marks to track where I am as I go along. That isn't to say that I think the knitting community is unwelcoming - I have actually found them to be quite the opposite. And, as I have become more exposed to knitters in general I have started to feel more open not only to the fact that despite my deficits I might just be a knitter and maybe just maybe I can start to pick up more complex patterns. But for some reason, I needed to hear the author talking about all sorts of different knitters to be able to truly feel like my own particular idiosyncratic tendencies as a knitter have their place. It helped to bring home to me that I am a knitter when I found myself laughing at the knitting-related references/jokes; it helped to draw me into the shared experience that is being a knitter.

I was a little envious (ok extremely envious) of how much the author is able to find knitting time. I have tried traveling with my knitting but I can't seem to manage it in most circumstances (although it never occurred to me to bring my knitting to the movie theater). I found the bus I was too squished and confined; I think I need my elbows to steer when I am knitting which is difficult to do when I am trying to politely hold them in at my sides. Walking by itself is hazardous at the best of times for me so the idea of walking and knitting seems ludicrous (I used to walk home from school and read at the same time and to this day I am not sure how I managed to keep myself from getting hit by a car). And then there is my charting problem. I need my pattern, especially as I start to explore more complicated applications for my knitting. And while my sock knitting has helped me to better understand how things go together to the point that I am starting to learn how to fix my mistakes I still couldn't turn a heel without my pattern.

So knitting has become sort of a special treat for me. It is special time I steal for myself to play with string. It relaxes and inspires me at the same time even if I am frustrated by how little I get to do compared to how much I want to. Some day I will get to knit all the complex things I am afraid of. Someday I will find the courage to frog something I truly loved that didn't turn out. And some day my stash will be epic and will I make no apologies for that.

So Thank you Stephanie Pearl-McPhee for helping to solidfy in my own mind that I am a knitter. It was a wonderful journey and I shall be looking for more of your books.

*In fairness my visual/tactile learning style can't handle reading that isn't a fiction based novel (I think my dreams of grad school are probably doomed).

Felted Slippers

2010-02-21T10:50:00.002-06:00

These are made with Berroco Peruvia yarn using this pattern. I also added non-skid leather patches to the bottom.

They were a really enjoyable knit and for the first time felting a piece that i actually intended to use I was happy with the results. I felted them too small for my toes to have enough wiggle room so I am hoping to find a good home for them.

Project Backlog

2010-02-07T10:47:00.007-06:00

There were a bunch of projects I completed recently I didn't want to post as they were thank-you gifts for the people who helped out with our wedding. Now that we are mostly recovered...

I decided to make gift bags full of fun goodies, pretty bits of silliness, and where I had time a hand made item to express my sincere thanks for everything people did for us. It still amazes me how awesome our friends are and our day would not have been successful without everyone's help.

My former roommate likes froggies and has a kitchen painted a lovely fluorescent green (it is a much better color than this and much better than you are probably thinking). She was a huge help organizing and implementing successful cleanup after the wedding so my groom and I could retire to our hotel. I found this pattern and thought it appropriate for her gift bag.

This was my first attempt at hardanger. My maid of honor and dear friend did such an amazing job with the bachelorette party and keeping me sane in general. She recently purchased a home and her front room was decorated in these colors. I am not sure I like doing hardanger work but I really liked this pattern.

These were originally going to be a holiday gift for a friend until I found out (shortly after finishing them) that she doesn't like wool - not even the amazingly soft cloud like wool I used on my wedding socks. These are a thicker tougher wool designed to be worn with boots so I figured they would be right out. Happily the wonderful woman who made all of the tasty-tasty food for our wedding liked them and has been enjoying their thick cozy warmth.

This was a silk scarf form I had purchased and did some embroidery on as a gift for the woman who made our unbelievably flavorful cake.

White Wool Socks

2009-11-22T12:11:00.005-06:00

Wedding Socks are completed!!!! I had thought it would be neat to knit some pretty lacy socks for the wedding but that attempt was full of fail. So, I just did what I know how to do - basic socks. The wool is lovely and soft and I am sorry I couldn't better showcase it with greater skill, but I am just not there yet. It is nice to know I will have something that I made and it was good to have a project for the wedding that I find calming

Dobra Tea House

2009-11-01T11:11:00.002-06:00

I had stopped into Dobra Tea House in Madison once but was somewhat overwhelmed by the selection and underwhelmed by the comfort so I ended up not staying. However, a friend of mine and I had wanted to meet up for an afternoon of tea and chatting and she recommended this place so I gave it another try.

My problem with it originally was that I don't like rickety tables - they seem unwelcoming and the wicker ones provided looked like they would topple over if my clumsy self looked at them funny. So, we tried one of the little nooks filled with pillows and small lap table. This was much more cozy when I sort of snuggled up in the corner and I think is the way to go in the future.

The tea selection was still overwhelming (they give you a book for a menu) and it wasn't really organized or navigated well but my friend pointed me the right direction and I ordered the Masala which was a nice spicy blend and some pita bread covered in cinnamon, sugar, and butter (anything that involves those three elements has to be awesome right?).

Much better experience when I actually gave it a try but I think the key is having good company to spend it with.

We also managed to hit the "free" section of the library book sale and each found some really great young adult fiction (young adult fiction is awesome because it isn't afraid to explore things - it never seems limited by unused imagination). All in all the day was a win.

Reading...

2009-11-01T11:04:00.002-06:00

I recently found a used copy of a Sharon Shinn novel I have been looking for only to discover it was the third in a series rather than an independent novel so I of course needed to buy the first two just to say caught up - obviously. I believe these are classified as some of her young adult novels but they were just as magical and captivating as always.

I am not sure what it is about her writing that draws me in so much. I was once reading a novel of hers that on the service wasn't really very good but I still couldn't put it down. I devour every page wanting to see where the story takes me and sad when it ends and I have nothing left to read.

In updating my Book list I discovered there are 3 or 4 new ones I haven't read yet - I feel so behind! Sadly, I need to wait until after the wedding or I will never get everything done.

Flowers

2009-09-27T09:43:00.002-05:00

One of the things that was important to me for the wedding was the flowers - I knew I could never afford to cover the entire place in flowers but I had some specific requirements for the bouquet. I wanted my bouquet to incorporate flowers that remind me of people in my life - irises are my favorite flowers and they remind me of my dad, daffodils remind me of my mother (my dad brought them to her every spring), red carnations are my maid of honor's favorite flower, calla lily's for the groom's mother, and roses because a lot of people said those or couldn't pick a flower (I picked peach because those are my favorite). However, as with everything wedding related, the price of the bouquets was more than I expected. I discovered I could make what I wanted myself for less.

Pear Pudding: Budino di Pera

2009-09-27T09:36:00.004-05:00

Pear Pudding: Budino di Pera

In an effort to use up eggs, I thought I would try something a little outside my comfort range. I am not generally a fan of custard but I was intrigued. They are a little fussy to make. The only alteration I made was to crush some oatmeal to coat the sides of the ramekins with rather than bread crumbs which was a texture thing for me - I am not a fan of the taste of soggy bread.

Veggie Quiche

2009-09-05T16:32:00.002-05:00

I have a ridiculous amount of eggs that needed to be used up and since we are going to a grill out tonight (and I hate coming empty handed) I thought I would make a quiche.

I am not a big fan of quiche actually so I don't know much about them. I also didn't want to buy a lot of extra ingredients so I looked online at different recipes and ratios and came up with this.

Favorite crust recipe of your choice
1 large onion
2 cups diced peppers
1 cup assorted mushrooms
minced garlic
8 eggs
2 cups milk
2 Tbsps mustard (I only had yellow but dijon would probably be better)
1 + cup of shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbsps Parisian Herbe blend (dill, parsley, chive, and some other stuff)
seasoned salt
black pepper

1. Prepare, roll out, and spread your pie crust in the bottom of pie pan and bake in the oven at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 or 375.

2. Saute onions, garlic, and green peppers in either olive oil or butter until soft. Add mushrooms. Sprinkle with seasoned salt. Spread these in the pre-baked shell.

3. Whisk eggs, milk, mustard, and spices together until fluffy. Fold in cheese and pour over veggies. Bake in oven for about 40 minutes or until golden brown and set.

I think this actually makes about 2 quiches. I have both leftover veggies and goo. I tried to turn the egg goo into some sort of pan fried thing but the milk ratio just made it boil and get sort of lumpy. That was not a good idea. I think I am going to add tomatoes to the veggies though and make a pasta sauce for work this week.

Anyway, it looks tastey. I haven't tried it yet. We will see how it goes over tonight.

Crafty Updates

2009-08-16T09:11:00.004-05:00

Not a lot has been going on in the crafting front. My flowers died about a week or so after posting those pictures so that was timely. Not really surprising but always disappointing.

I seem to have lost my steam with the craft projects. I think part of it is that I have a lot of knitting projects that require my attention so I can't knit when I usually do which is while I am watching a movie or something and I have been spending my Fridays with the boy rather than going to knit nights. I started working on the blanket of many colors again as that is something mindless that I can do while watching television. I am debating whether or not I just want to finish the present skein of yarn or add one more to it. It is really long but not very wide. It is endlessly pet-able though which was its original purpose.

However, after visiting my favorite knitting store yesterday while my mom was in town visiting (that place really is shangri-la to me) I was inspired to get my projects off their needles and cast on something new. So I finished the first of my slippers and started working on the last part before the toe decrease on the second of my bulky socks. I was also somewhat frustrated by the general lack of organization in my yarn stash so I went through all my stuff and updated my ravelry stash to reflect it. And I think I want to make some wrist warmers out of the beautiful yarn my mother bought me yesterday so I have to get other stuff done before I can start those. I also need to stop purchasing yarn and start using what I have to finish the projects currently in my cue - socks for the boy, more dishtowels, flower wash cloths, some more baby socks out of my leftover sock yarn for the multitude of newborns amongst my general acquaintances, etc. I really want to try the February Lady Sweater at some point and doing so means I need to get my other projects done.

I have also delayed the wedding planning entirely too long so I have been working on that a bit too. I am slowly gathering all the materials for my bouquets and I had the first meeting regarding menu planning. There is a lot to do but I think we can get it done. Oh and my fiance's vest - I MUST START WORKING ON THAT!!!

And as a fun bit of nonsense I picked up a couple kits below that I thought might be fun. I really enjoyed them and want to get the rest of the series. I think they will look really nice on my tree this year:

Birthday Swap

2009-08-16T08:54:00.005-05:00

So this is somewhat late in posting but a couple of months ago I participated in a birthday swap with fellow Gemini's through Ravelry. A name was drawn for us of someone participating and we sent them a package with $X amount of stuff and then someone else would send us a package.

This was a lot of fun to compile especially since I am horrible at finding bargains usually and it really forced me to spend inside my budget. I even made some stitch markers but i am not sure they turned out very well. Anyway this was the pictures my partner took of the package I sent her:

(I couldn't resist sending a wind-up toy - I like sharing the madness!)

And this was the amazing package I got from my swap partner:

I can't wait to play with the undyed yarn - I am thinking indigo and tumeric and then making one of the Islamic pouches that were discussed in one of the recent SCA craft publications. *squee*

Flowers that Aren't Dead!

2009-06-15T23:47:00.002-05:00

I am so excited. These flowers have been alive for a couple of weeks. I discovered the secret to not killing plants within the first 7 days (if you are me anyway) is that I should leave them completely and absolutely alone. The best gift I can give them is my absence. And they are so pretty that I am in no way shape or form offended. These photos were from a couple weeks ago but they are still alive (at least as of Saturday).

For those of you just tuning in, I have sort of a brown shriveled thumb and am always sort of disappointed by my eager if misplaced gardening efforts on our patio each spring. Last year I had a total of like 6 string beans and some woody mint. I decided to go with flowers (since I love them but can't justify buying them for myself to slowly die in a vase on my desk) and that I would just leave them alone. I think as we get towards the drier months of August I will have to intervene with an occassional watering but thus far *knocks on wood* I have living plants

Hooray! For those of you who like photos...Enjoy!

Viking Apron Dress

2009-06-15T23:30:00.005-05:00

In an effort to extend my garb/tunics until I can manage to make more time period appropriate SCA garb for myself I decided to make myself a Viking Apron Dress.

I actually finished this about 2 weeks ago but I was waiting for my broaches to arrive from Raymond's Quiet Press before showing it off. My measurements were off in a few places but overall the dress worked out pretty well. The style was more flattering than I expected. I even got bold and embroidered with some wool twill thread. I apparently need a weave to follow to do anything more complex so it is just a simple chain stitch. Interestingly with all the embroidery I have done, I have never embroidered a garment I made. It actually got me excited about embroidery again and I have pulled out a bunch of old projects to finish.

I am hoping to make a head covering to go with the dress prior to WW but I don't think I will make an embroidered one until after the event. Currently, however I have been waylaid by a modern fun little project instead.

Fully Loaded Oatmeal Cookies

2009-05-31T10:27:00.005-05:00

At present these are not done yet but I wanted to remember what I did before it was too late.

One of my co-workers really loves homemade baked goods full of lots of stuff so these are made in honor of her birthday. I mixed a couple of different recipes together and came up with this:

Sift together:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Whisk together:
1 cup butter (2 sticks) melted
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

Add the dry and wet ingredients together. Then fold in:
2 cups quick oats
3/4 cup dried fruit mixture (I used a combination of craisins, cherries, blueberries, golden raisins)
1/3 cup sunflower kernels (if you opt not to use these add 1/2 tsp salt to recipe)
3/4 cup chocoate chips
Optional: 1/2 cup coconut

Form into balls. Place 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Let sit on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to baking pan.

Heraldic Embroidery

2009-05-03T08:40:00.001-05:00

This project completed December 2004

Based upon documentation found in Donald King's "Opus Anglicanum: English Medieval Embroidery". From my research, it appears that heraldic embroidery was occassionally done in either plait or cross stitches in silk thread combined with couched metallic thread. This embrodiery is an attempt to learn how to use plait stitch. There are several different types of plait stitch; the one used may not be the period form. I also attempted to try couching in such a way that a pattern was formed--notice the Laurel leaves on the silver. Materials used: silver passing thread, colored silks, linen ground, silver-tone beads (exact composition unknown though they did tarnish) couched with linen thread.

(Device registered to Master John Chandler)

Or Nue

2009-05-03T08:34:00.002-05:00

This was completed circa 2003 or 2004? I am not sure which.

I have been trying to find documentation for how or nue was executed. There are lots of examples of pieces that were done but not a lot of good explaination on the techniques used. This is an attempt to try one theorized technique--I stitched the image row by row in the colored thread. This meant that I had up to 6 needles acting at once. I've also seen people lay the gold thread first and then go back over it in colored silks, but I worried that this would cause uneven tension and allow limited access to the image beneath the gold. I would be happy to hear suggestions.

I understand that varying the spacings on various couched colored threads created depth and shading to the image couched on the metallic thread. For this project I was just trying to figure out a plausible way to recreate the style and was thus more concerned about creating an image. I will work with shading as I progress in my skill level.

(Materials used: gold colored passing thread; colored silks; linen ground)

Goldwork Sampler

2009-05-03T08:23:00.003-05:00

This was completed circa 2004 as part of my entry for the Laurel Prize Tourney

Goldwork Sampler

Gold and silver threads are a valuable addition to an embroidery, and their use has been abundant throughout history as evidenced by historical writings, scripture, and surviving pieces. This sampler aims to provide aid in how metal threads may be worked and what materials are available.

1). Pearl Purl---This purl, like other forms is manufactured by wrapping gold wire in a spiral tube, however, one side (the exposed edge) is convex creating a look of a string of tiny gold beads. This is generally seen outlining figures of gold that have been appliqued to the ground of another fabric to help round out the edges. There are extant pieces of goldwork showing outer-edges being outlined in gold pearls. I cannot speak with certainty whether or not these were executed with actual gold beads or pearl purl as I have not seen the pieces, however, as most beadwork usually doesn't survive intact my guess is that pearl purl has been used in these cases.

2). Smooth Purl---A smooth round hollow tube made by wrapping wire like a spring. It is a very pliable material. Be cautious when using purl and bullion (the larger form of purl) as stretching too much will distort the material. Purl may be cut to any length. Smooth purl is specifically created by wrapping a flat wire spirally around for a bright polished finish. The flat wire creates a wider surface area for greater reflectivity. Rough purl is similar except it uses a rounded wire giving it a duller appearance. Smooth purl can be seen on the cuffs of a dalmatic from the Royal workshops at Palermo (1130-1140).

3). Check Purl--this type of purl is created by wrapping flattened wire in varying patterns which creates a greater number of surfaces from which the light can reflect. When one looks down the coil, I find that it looks as though it was wrapped around a triangle and then turned so that the next coil is wrapped at a different angle. I have yet to find any documentation for this thread to be used in our period of study.

4). Passing Thread--This is one of the most common examples of metal fibers available. Essentially, it is made by wrapping gold around a core material. Silk is the most durable, but it can also be wrapped around linen and parchment. The Maeseyck embroideries of the 9th C. use passing thread with a core of human hair. The earliest form of gold thread was passing threads. Pure metal was beaten into thin plates and then cut into narrow strips. Several centuries later, it was drawn into wire form. It is known that in the 13th C, English ladies created their own gold thread by spirally twisting gold around a core of silk or flax before working it. Passing thread comes in a variety of sizes.

5). Couching--This is the most common method of applying metal threads to a ground. It is far to valuable to waste by pulling through the fabric, and gold thread is, in fact, usually too inflexible to be much use in regular stitching. Couching is executed by laying the metal fiber on the surface fabric (occasionally, two layers are used for stability) and tacking it down with another thread such as silk or linen. I show couching in three shapes. Generally speaking, it is easier to work from the outside in except when making circles when the shape is more easily maintained by working outside in. Some things to watch for: when turning corners it is sometimes easier to stitch the threads separately to help minimize gapping rather than stitching over two threads as is generally done. Even so, it can be a difficult area to navigate, as is evidence by my example.

6). This was created by cutting check purl into a bunch of little "beads" and randomly laying them at different angles. Pearl purl is couched along the outside to finish the look.

7). Underside Couching--This technique reached its height in the 13th and 14th C though examples my bee seen as early as the 12th. It almost exclusively existed in England and the technique vanished in the 15th C. It is executed quite similarly to surface couching with one notable exception. When the tacking thread goes back down through the fabric, it exits through the same hole, thus drawing a small loop of metal thread with it. This adds both durability and flexibility as the "hinge" of thread allows more movement and protects the couching thread from wear and tear. Extant pieces illustrated this point more fully; in pieces where the silk has deteriorated on surface couching, the gold threads hang loosely, however, in underside couching pieces of metal threads are perfectly preserved in original form as is seen in the Ascoli Cope.

As the skill of craftsmen progressed, underside couching began to be worked in patterns. The couched threads were staggered from row to row to create zigzags, geometric elements, and foliage. They even used multicolored silks to enhance the effect (though these were usually hidden). When trying this oneself, an embroiderer may wish to draw guidelines on the fabric. This technique is difficult to master as seen in my sample the rows should lay straight and the tension should be even.

8). Raised Work--This technique was much more common in the 14th and 15th C; there is less evidence of its use earlier. One of the most beautiful examples is the badge of the Order of the Dragon from 15th C. Hungary. Wrinkles around the mouth, veins of the wings, and overall "bone" structure of this three dimensional embroidery add more life and charm. The technique is executed by first padding the ground with threads or fabric (usually silk, wool, linen, flax, and/or cotton when available), usually in the opposite direction as the threads being laid, and then stitching over it. Another example of this can be found on the interlacing border of a 15th C chasuble. My example uses gold purl that is wrapped very tightly so as to look like passing thread and is stitched down with silk. The raised threads are waxed cotton that have been stitched down to the thread. To help enhance the design, lay a couching stitch on either side of the raised piece.

9). Or Nue (Shaded Gold)---This technique reached quite heights in Italy and Flanders in the 15th C. The technique creates blocks of stitches in colored silks--the overall effect is that of graphic images highlighted by sparkles of gold. Varying the space of stitches allows the embroiderer to deepen the effect with shading.

Pigment Translation

2009-05-03T08:18:00.002-05:00

This project was originally completed sometime in 2003.

Colors: The Story of Dyes and Pigments By Francois Dleamare and Bernard Guineau.
As the title suggests, the book takes a look at the history of dyes and pigments, how new colors were created and how changes within the textile and dying industries were effected by these changes. One of the things that I enjoyed about this book was the amount of information about Roman and Medieval dying methods and the evolution of processes during the time period. I’ve always been sincerely disappointed by the small paragraph of information many authors use to mention any history on an artform that existed during the Middle Ages, so it was definitely refreshing to have an entire chapter with beautiful color photographs devoted to the era. It’s a nice read with some interesting information. In the back there is an appendix of sorts that contains exerts from documents as well as a good listing of books for further reading. One thing I would have liked would be a glossary of commonly used terms for easy reference as I read the book. It’s a nice place to get started if you’re interested in or ever think you could be interested in pigment history.

Pigment Translation:
While perusing this book there was an image taken from an example of a 16th-century recipe recipe for making fine-grained scarlet lake. The recipe was in French and as I could easily see every letter in the image, I decided to attempt a translation. While there are a few words that I am still unable to find any modern equivalent/translation of, the following is what I was able to come up with. Thanks to Eliane for assistance with the translation

Pour Faire Lacca de graine fine.
Pren une livre de tondure d’ecarlate fine, et la mets en une poelle neuve pleine de laissue, qui ne soit point troup forte: puis la fay bouillir tat que la laissiue en prenne la couleur. Ce fait, pren un sachet, large par en haut, et agu par bas, au-quel verseras la-dite tondure d’ecarlate, et la laissiue, mettant un vaisseau dessous: puis presse bien le sachet, tellement que toute la sustance, et toute la couleur en puisse decouleur, apres lave la tondure, et la sac, au-dit vaisseau, ou est la couleur. Et sil te semble que la tondure ait encore d’avantage of couleur, tu la feras bouillier avec autre laissiue, faisant comme par-avant. Ce fait, mettras chaufer au feu la-dite laissiue coulouree, mais ne la laisse point bouillir: et faut tenir toute preste, sus le feu, quelque poelle nette, avec de l’eau nette, la-quelle, estant chaude, y mettras cinq onces d’alun de roche pulverise: Et incontinent que tu le verras dissoudre, pren un sachet, comme le premier: et quand la couleur sera chaude, ote-la du feu, et y boute le-dit alun: puis jette ainsi tout ensemble au sac, mettant dessous quelque vasseau plomme: et regarde si par en bas la couleur en vient rouge, lors prendras de l’eau chaude, et la verseras au sac, y versant aussi tout ce qui estoit coule, au-dit vaisseau, sous le sac: et verse tant de fois ce qui coulera par en bas, que tu verras que la liqueur qui en sorte, ne soit plus rouge, mais claire comme laissiue: ayant ainsi ecoule toute l’eau, la couleur demourera au sac, la quelle tu deferas d’une spatule de bois, la mettant au fond du sac, et la reduis toute en une masse, ou en tablettes, ou comme bon te semblera: puis la mets saicher, sus un carreau neuf et net, a l’ombre, ou a l’air, et non pas au soleil. Et par-ainsi tu auras une chose excellente.

For making a lake of fine seed.
Take a pound of tondure of fine scarlet, and put it in a new pan full of laissiue, that isn’t too strong: then make it boil as long as the laissiue takes in the color. That done, take a small cone-shaped [big on the top and skinny on the bottom] bag, into which, pour the above mentioned tondure scarlet, and la laissiue, put a tiny vessel underneath: then press the bag well, so much so that all the substance and all the color draws forth. After, wash the tondure and the bag as well as the vessel where the color is. And if it seems that the tondure has more color, you should boil it with another laissiue, done as before.

That done, heat in fire the previously mentioned laissiue color, but don’t leave to boil: And you must keep ready on the fire, a clean pan with clean water, which is warm, and add 5 ounces of powdered alum: And once you see that it is dissolved, take the bag, like the first: and when the color is warm, take it away from the fire, throw in it a bit of alum: then throw thus all together in a bag, place underneath some lead vessel: Look to see if the bottom color is turning red, at that time take the warm water and pour it in the the bag, in it also pour all that had sunken into the vessel beneath the bag: and pour so many times that which runs in the bottom is a sort of liqueur that isn’t red, but clear as laissiue: having poured off all the water, the color will stay in the bag, that which you defer to with a wooden spatula, and put it in the bottom of the bag, and reduce it all in a lump or in bars or as it seems good to you: then let it dry, in a clean and new box, in the shade or in the air but not in the sun. And by thus you have an excellent thing.

Pears Poached in Port

2009-05-03T08:15:00.002-05:00

This originally compiled circa 2000 I believe (I am transferring data from my original website). Not my best work but again an effort to help me mark my progress.

Poached Pears
Pears appear in a multitude of forms throughout medieval cooking and their use dates back thousands of years before period. They were often served at the end of a meal with other sweets and were thought to have medicinal properties. Chiquart’s "On Cookery" includes instructions for baking pears that were thought to help the sick, and scribes from circa 2750 BC recorded medical prescriptions that include a poultice made of pears, figs and thyme. In Siena, in 1326, candied pears were served at the end of every meal of one particular knighting ceremony, and the lower classes of Rome sometimes ended their meals with a dish of grapes, pears, and apples.
Recipes for pears cooked in wine and spices appear throughout English manuscripts. Surprisingly, there are few examples of similar dishes in French, Latin or Italian manuscripts. There was mention in some French and Italian menus of "Pears with Hypocras" however, a recipe did not appear until the 1400s. In fact, Le Ménagier de Paris mentions that they were "like turnips." This is different from sweet pear desserts of the English.
Pears were pureed, baked, or poached with spices in wine. With the poached recipes particularly, there are many variations, almost all include wine, pears, sugar, and cinnamon. Other ingredients include anise, cloves, mace, dates, currants, and vinegar. Also, salt or ginger was used. (Ginger can sometimes be an interesting alternative when trying to cut salt from ones diet). In "Forme of Cury", there is a recipe called Peeres in Confyt which adds mulberries to enrich the color and has the final dish served with the cooked pears in a pyramid shape with the syrup poured over top. This created an interesting variation of color when serving.
Color was important in medieval cooking. The authors of The Medieval Kitchen: recipes from France and Italy state that color "defined dishes an were an element in the cooks choice of ingredients." Meaning, that the kind and color of sauce determined which spices to use to preserve the integrity of the dish—for example, a yellow sauce may have used saffron, etc. The recipe from which mine is based, Perys en Composte from Harleian MS 279 Potage Dyvers, includes the addition of "Sawnderys" or sandalwood. Sandalwood, sometimes called dragon’s blood, adds an old rose/reddish color to dishes. The Boke of Godecookery website recommends the use of red food coloring instead, as the affect is similar without the difficulty of trying to find the spice and the unpleasant taste that sandalwood can sometimes add.
The following is the modern variation that I use when making poached pears:
2 cups of red wine (I prefer port)
1 tbsp sugar
4-6 pears
3 cinnamon sticks
a couple drops of food coloring
pinch of salt
powdered cinnamon to taste
In saucepan, heat through the wine, sugar, food coloring, salt and cinnamon sticks. I let mine simmer slightly to thicken a bit and to remove as much alcohol as possible. Remove cinnamon sticks. Peel and slice pears. Add these to wine mixture and heat at low. When pears are translucent (this may take awhile depending on how many pears and how firm they are), taste and add sugar and powdered cinnamon to your liking. Pears may be served warm or chilled. Keep refrigerated.
While many recipes call for the pears to be parboiled, this isn’t as necessary with modern pears as they are probably sweeter and softer than those available in period. While slow cooking wasn’t really a possibility in a medieval kitchen (hence the parboiling), it can break the pears up too much. I find the flavor to be better when they are simmered with the wine to soften them. For authenticity, or for particularly hard pears, you may wish to parboil them.
Also the original recipe called for 2 tbsp of powdered cinnamon to be added to the simmering process rather than cinnamon sticks. This can make the mixture gritty and requires straining of the cinnamon. For ease and for a subtler flavor I used cinnamon sticks. As mentioned above, you can also add dates or currants along with other spices.
Enjoy!

Bibliography
Hieatt, Constance B, Brenda Hosington, and Sharon Butler. Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks 2nd Edition. Canada: University of Toronto Press, Inc, 1996.

Matterer, James L. "Perys en Composte." 2000. .

Matterer, James L. "Apples & Peres." 2000. .

Redon, Odile, Francoise Sabban, Silvano Servent, and Edward Schneider. The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 1998.

Tannahil, Reay. Food in History. New York: Three River’s Press, 1988.

Roman Necklace

2009-05-03T08:12:00.001-05:00

This project originally completed prior to fall of 2004. Exact date unknown

The instructions for the necklace came from Fire Mountain. They based it on a Roman necklace dated from the 2nd C. CE. Their source was the book "Ancient Gold Jewelry at the Dallas Museum of Art" by Barbara Deppert-Lippitz, photography by Tom Jenkins, (ISBN 0-936227-19-2). I haven't compared the model with the original so I'm not sure how closely it mirrors the one in the original source; however, the original model used gold and emerald while my remake is garnet and gold-filled wire. Each link is made with a simple "S" shape.

A Bodice and Skirt

2009-04-05T12:38:00.006-05:00

A good friend of mine agreed to help me make some new garb for the SCA event this last weekend, The Kingdom of Northshield's Coronation for Stephen and Ailleanne. I have gained quite a significant amount of weight since I first joined the SCA so most of my garb either doesn't fit me or has been worn out after 9 years in the Society. I have several tunics which are good for working in the kitchen but are really less than flattering on me.

So we decided to make a cotton bodice and skirt. Nothing terribly fancy as much of my time in the SCA is spent in the kitchen. My garb needs to be comfortable, keep me mobile, and be washable. She drafted a pattern for the bodice using instructions found on the Elizabethan Costuming Page. I was skeptical about it given that bodice's always look smaller then clothing I would normally wear but it worked out perfectly. I found some sturdy cotton fabric and we managed to make it reversible. My friend did most of the work but I think I could make another (except maybe for the cable channels) now that we have suitable pattern.

The skirt was nice and full and just made from my friends own costuming experience. The pleating technique she showed me was amazingly easy and turned out beautifully even with my uneven spacing. I think I was a little too cautious with my hem because I do trip over that but that is fixable and she was correct in her advice to hook the skirt tighter then I would normally wear it because the bodice will pull me in quite a bit. I will need to fix that as well.

The pictures are somewhat wrinkly because I never managed to get photos while I was wearing it. It fulfilled all it's functions and I felt good wearing it. It makes me want to play more actively again. I still haven't changed my mind that costuming is far more fussy then I enjoy but I think I could make this outfit again.

My other task this last week was trying to make a suitable head covering. After years of trying I finally managed to figure out how to make a veil work only I don't really wear the appropriate costume for veils anymore. The only other head covering I have managed is the turban style head wrap that always looks better on everyone else. It will at least stay on my head. I used to use fake hair and do hair wraps/braids similar to what I found in photos. Over the years my hair has become progressively thinner and can no longer support length or the fake braids and that is no longer an option. However, appropriate head dress/style really makes an outfit I think and is something I have been striving to improve.

I wanted to find a head covering more appropriate to my new garb so I tried the coif pattern found at the Elizabethan Costuming site. It definitely did not work out the way I expected. I tried (to the best of my limited costuming ability) to adapt the pattern to fit my head but it was still too small. I used the idea from the Extreme Costuming website of anchoring the coif to a forehead scarf but I don't think I managed to execute it properly. I ran out of time to perfect it so I did some creative pinning to make it look somewhat presentable. However, it kept slipping off my head which is really not a functional option when my garb needs to be something I can work in. I think if I can figure out a way to perfect it I may eventually make an embroidered one. And the Attack Laurel's site definitely gave me a better perspective on how I can improve it. I just need some practice.

Weekend of Knitting

2009-03-22T11:06:00.007-05:00

Friday night I went to the Late Night Knit at the Sow's Ear. I had gotten a few notices from friends who had hoped to be able to go and I was looking forward to seeing folks but decided that even if no one showed I still wanted to go. I am slowly getting more comfortable doing things on my "own" again. As much as I love my partner it is good to be able to remind myself that I am still cool with just me.

And it is such a lovely place...warm beverages at just the right temperature and labyrinthian rooms full of shelves stuffed with yarn. And knitters are a lovely group...everyone just seems happy to be somewhere knitting. As always the place is packed so I wound up sharing my table with some people I hadn't met before and was glad I had the opportunity to chat with them.

I finished the second of the basic baby socks.

They knit up really quick and the second one on the left is starting to show promise as "k1 p1" ribbing is concerned. Not great but significantly less woofy then the first attempt.

Although I think I knitted the first one wrong because when I went to do the final decrease on the toe it happened very differently and I think I like the original way I did better. I need to wash and block the hat and socks before I send them off to my aunt. The hat is going to probably be too small and the socks probably too big which I am hoping will be forgiven.

Saturday the full force of the ick I have been slowly coming down with hit me. Horrible cough and my entire body ached. As in I think I now know where my spleen is. Which means I got pretty much nothing done except for a load of laundry and some banana chocolate chip bread (the bananas needed to be used up).

The rest of the day I plunked down on the couch and watched some movies... mostly some Netflix stuff and of course one of my three favorite crafting movies Pride & Prejudice (the good version from A&E...no I do not want to know about the zombies. There are no zombies in Pride & Prejudice). It is excellent because it is so long and I have the thing practically memorized so I can concentrate on the knitting when I have to and not miss any of the story. I wonder if Jane Austen knew how much she would be loved centuries later.

Anyway, while watching I started making the flower washcloths I have a pattern for. I am thinking of making a bunch as presents. The cotton chenille is unbelievably soft and which is making up for the non-stretchy nature of the fiber. I would be highly annoyed otherwise. I probably would have gotten further but I got tired a few times and worked on the Blanket of Many Colors instead.

I think I have enough projects to get me through the end of the year and probably the end of next year as well.

However, Some day when I do not totally suck at the knitting thing I am going to attempt this:
http://www.flintknits.com/blog/?p=151

I have seen the February Lady Sweater every where in the past month and a wide variety of shapes and sizes and I know that someday if I really really try I could make it...possibly. I am hoping that I will have worked up the courage to try next spring.

NO! I am not going to start anything else knew until I finish what is on my current needles (except for the blanket of many colors which is my "I want to knit but not really concentrate on the knitting" project and has no deadline).

A Cambridge Pudding

2009-03-14T20:40:00.008-05:00

A Cambridge Pudding.

(John Murrell: A new booke of Cookerie; London Cookerie. London 1615) http://www.uni-giessen.de/gloning/tx/1615murr.htm

SEarce grated Bread through a Cullinder, mince it with Flower, minst Dates, Currins, Nutmeg, Sinamon, and Pepper, minst Suit, new Milke warme, fine Sugar, and Egges: take away some of their whites, worke all together. Take halfe the Pudding on
the one side, and the other on the other side, and make it round like a loafe.
Then take Butter, and put it in the middest of the Pudding, and the other halfe aloft. Let your liquour boyle, and throw your Pudding in, being tyed in a faire cloth: when it is boyled enough cut it in the middest, and so serue it in.

My initial review of this recipe sounded like a boiled pudding. I have never had or seen one but I had heard of them so I did some online perusal. And found this:
http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=42205
While not identical it gave me some good ratios to start with. I opted to leave the suet out as I had some difficulty finding it and what I did find was in larger quantities then I needed. I wanted to try the recipe first and see how it tasted before investing in ingredients that might go to waste. I also found another pudding recipe from the same Murrell reference that gave the option “If it be a fasting day leaue out the Suit…”

1 ½ cups butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
3 eggs
½ cup warm milk
4 cups (280g) stale breadcrumbs (not dry)
1 cup (150g) wheat/white flour mix
1 cup (150g) currants
1 cup (170g) pitted dried dates, chopped
4 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp pepper

Combine dry ingredients and incorporate the wet ingredients until the dough holds its shape. Form into a round loaf. Tie up into cheese cloth. (I prepped the cloth by soaking it first and then sprinkling the center with flour to form a barrier to hold the moist pudding in and help form the skin needed for the pudding to hold its shape).

I slowly immersed the pouch into boiling water and tied the ends to the handles of the pot and put a lid over. This then boiled for six hours. I had to replenish the water periodically.

After 6 hours I removed the pudding and unwrapped it and allowed it to cool.

The pudding became more firm and darker in color as it cooled.

The flavor was good and I seemed to have found a good balance with the spices. I don’t think that anything is missing by not adding the Suet and since Coronation takes place during Lent in our modern year I decided to leave it out. It had a good flavor but needed a sauce. I couldn’t find anything else with in the same text but I decided I will serve with an almond cream which uses almonds, cream, mace and sugar.

Baby Hat

2009-03-07T16:41:00.004-06:00

Wow! This knitted up really fast! I had some sock yarn that I wanted to work with but I didn't feel like tackling another pair of socks so I decided to make this cute baby hat I had a pattern for. I was a little unsure of a few things but I managed to figure them out. I guess I am getting to be a better knitter despite myself.

I used Sockotta. I think it patterns a little more distinctly than Berroco Sox but I am not sure which one I like better. I have a ton left over so I am going to make a pair of socks to manage. I had forgotten that my aunt was pregnant (I don't keep in touch with my extended family that much) so starting and finishing it was rather convenient. Her shower is tomorrow and since I have to work I will send it, the socks, and a card soon. I think I am going to make another set for the original mom-to-be this was intended for. Then I should probably get back to some other projects.

I really liked how this one pattered on the top with the decreases. The I-cord was a first attempt so it is rather woofy. I found lots of instructions on how to start I-cord but absolutely none on how you finish it off. My first was a little disasterous but I tried doing decreases on the second until I got down to one stitch and then finishing it off like I usually do for a cast off. I then pulled the tail back down through the cord which seemed to correct the end shape. Not perfect but better then the first attempt. Look at me experimenting.

It is a good thing I am starting to get hooked on this because I have too much yarn to just drop the knitting thing but I worry how long my interest will last. My embroidery obsession is pretty much gone and I am hoping the knitting one doesn't follow suit.

Knit! Knit! Knit! My First Socks!

2009-02-21T12:48:00.005-06:00

Hooray! I made my first pair of socks! I went to the Late Night Knit at the Sow's Ear last night and I made so much progress on the last sock that I was able to finish the toe this morning (of course when I should have been doing other things).

The store and concept are great. Knitters really are cool people it seems and very welcoming. I also bought myself a long-coveted skein of the Opal Harry Potter yarn. I think I am going to save it for when I am feeling brave enough to make fingerless gloves.

I also recently finished the Mobius scarf for the boy:

I didn't think very carefully about it though and did the black part wrong. It curls in on itself (you are seeing a picture of the blocking which didn't help). The boy likes it though so I win.

In other crafty bits not much else new. I recently played around with a recipe for orange chocolate chip cookies using bits of candied orange peel. Not quite orange-y enough but still good.

Bento

2009-01-31T12:23:00.003-06:00

I was recently given some bento making supplies. I often search the web for neat bento images because I think it is a really neat way to do lunch. I am not all that creative and my first few bentos always left me really hungry. It turns out I was eating child size ones when I did some reading. So, I started making something similar to those shown above (those are two seperate days I was just thinking ahead) and then supplementing it with a sandwich or something. They have been fun and I am amazed how contentedly full I am the rest of the afternoon. I have been lazy this last week or so and I have been noticing the difference.

Fried Rice

2009-01-31T12:18:00.003-06:00

I received some nice new pans for the holidays (mine are sort of a hodge podge of what I received as hand-me-downs and what I could find on sale. Nothing really reliable so this was a wonderful gift) and proceeded to experiment.

We had some leftovers I wanted to use up so I fried two eggs and scrambled a bit, added some left over rice, frozen peas/carrots, and a healthy dose of soy sauce and sauteed until tender.

It wasn't too bad.

Nachos!

2009-01-31T12:13:00.003-06:00

My fiance really loves nachos and I have slowly been coming up with my own recipe for making them at home based on our own personal preferences and what I come across online.

Essentially:
Brown hamburger or ground turkey and then add about 1 cup of water mixed with a healthy dose of taco seasonings (Penzey's has a great mix).

I drain a can of diced tomatoes (I like Del Monte's mixed blends and usually use the green pepper/onion one), a can of sliced olives, and some chili beans.

I layer chips, shredded cheese, the veggies, and meat until the pan is full and pop it in the oven for 10 minutes until the chips soften and the cheese gets all melty.

Incidentally the dish pictured above was a holiday present that I am really liking. I never would have picked it out for myself but I am glad I received it because I think it is going to fill in some gaps in my kitchen utensils quite nicely.

Dark Sweet Cherry Crisp

2009-01-31T12:08:00.003-06:00

There is a brand of frozen fruit I like. It is a little expensive but the fruit is generally better than what I can get fresh (except of course when it is in season) and it is already cleaned/de pitted/ de whatever. It comes in these huge bags. I had bought a large bag of dark sweet cherries with the hopes of making cherry crisp. In my online searching I mostly found tart cherry recipes but this one looked really promising.

I doubled the recipe since I had well over twice that much fruit and I mixed some cinnamon and nutmeg in with the oat/crisp portion. It turned out really yummy!

Year End Project-y Goodness

2008-12-27T10:12:00.002-06:00

So I am rapidly approaching the end of the year and I don't think I will make my 52 "things" before that time. It was really exciting and encouraging at the beginning of the year and I might try for the the thing-a-day again in early spring but will need to plan it out a bit.

That is not to say I have not been busy. For Thanksgiving this year I was tasked with making pies. I made 2 apple and 2 pumpkin pies. They turned out okay. They needed to be baked a little longer I think but it was a good experience. I even had enough pumpkin filling to make little pumpkin "custards" so that one of the gluten intolerant guests could enjoy dessert as well.

I also tried a chocolate nut pie. It was a different take on a pecan pie. Essentially using mixed nuts. I only really liked the effect when I got a mouth full of peanuts. I like other kinds of nuts but not many and the flavors of them were significantly enhanced in the pie. If I make it again I will just use peanuts I think. Though it was tasty and rich.

While at Bards N' Cooks I managed to turn the heel on my bulky boot socks but to date I have yet to finish one complete pair of socks. Mostly I have been working on the baby sweater for my co-worker. I have all the individual pieces done so now all I have to do is assemble and make the collar. Wish me luck.

It seems my knitting queue has kind of exploded. I need to make a mobius scarf for A along with some typing gloves. I have another friend who just found out she is having a baby and would like to make something for her. And I have socks to finish and some projects for myself I would like to do. I guess I need to become a faster knitter.

For the holidays I had good intentions of making a bunch of homemade gifts but the month sort of got away from me. I ended up getting a good part of the baking done that I wanted to however. I made extremely tiny snickerdoodles, fruit puffs (dried fruit cookies), lots of ginger cookies, some pecan tortes that I am not sure how I feel about, chewy peanut butter chocolate bars, and some candy cane bars that I am rather disappointed in.

I also made a beaded necklace for my grandmother for the holidays. I wasn't pleased with how it turned out. I couldn't seem to find any inspiration with the beads and so I think that hobby has become one I am no longer interested in. I think I might use up my beads and make a bunch of bracelets, etc for gifts for folks and then back my tools away. It is kind of expensive and I find the knitting far more relaxing though not as sparkly.

So all in all I think I can say I did what...maybe 45 projects this year. Not bad. Sadly not my goal but fairly productive.

A Thing-A-Week Part 40: Rocky Road Bread Pudding

2008-11-23T10:19:00.002-06:00

This recipe also came from the same magazine as the Harvest soup. This was a weekend of trying foods I normally don't like but was intrigued by high quality recipes. Again, this is not mine so I will give you the ingredients and my instructions. If you know the source, please let me know as I want to give credit where due.

It turned out really well and was excellent served warm with vanilla ice cream.

Rocky Road Bread Pudding

1 cup salted nuts (I used a blend of cashews, almonds, macadamia nuts)
1 lb. brioche or challah with crusts removed (I could find neither so I used 1lb. croissants) cut/torn into one inch cubes
3 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
¾ cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla bean)
8 oz bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chopped
½ tsp kosher salt
4 large eggs + 2 egg yolks
1 1/3 cups mini marshmallows

(You can toast bread and nuts if you wish. I opted not to.)

*Grease a 13x9 inch baking dish. Seriously...need to grease your dish. This stuff sticks.

*Coarsely chop nuts.

*Bring milk, cream, and sugar to a boil. Add vanilla, chocolate, and salt. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth.

*Whisk eggs and yolks in a large bowl. Gradually (don't curdle your eggs) pour hot chocolate mixture into eggs whisking until blended. Pour over bread cubes in baking dish making sure all are coated. Let stand for a bit (the recipe recommended 45 minutes but I was in a hurry and did about 20. No adverse affects but it would probably be more pudding like if left longer). Heat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a kettle with water and boil.

*Put 1 cup of the marshmallows and 3/4 cup of the nuts into soaked bread and mix in. Place baking dish into a larger roasting pan. Fill with roasting pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the dish with the bread mixture. Bake 50 minutes.

*Scatter remaining nuts and marshmallows over top and bake another 10 minutes. Cool on a rack and serve warm (with ice cream…okay so that is optional but really really good)

A Thing-A-Week Part 39: Harvest Soup

2008-11-23T10:18:00.001-06:00

At my part time job there is usually a ragged collection of magazines for folks to browse through between calls that have been donated by other co-workers. I don't remember where on earth I found this recipe but it looked really good and I don't even like squash. Since it is not mine I am not including the complete recipe just the ingredients and general outline of instructions. If anyone has the source I would love to have it.

I made this for the Greyfeathre gathering last week and it went over fairly well. I really enjoyed it and I think it will be included in my "someday" Thanksgiving menu when I finally am able to host Thanksgiving dinner in my own home. This was not originally a vegetarian recipe but I converted it to one by using a good quality vegetable broth and it worked really well.

4lb. pumpkin or squash of your choice, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2 inch chunks.
3 tbsps olive oil
1 onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 small leeks, sliced (about 1 cup)
About 8 oz of russet potato, diced (I added a lot more but I like potatoes which may be why I liked this)
1 stalk celery, diced
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
6 cups of broth (whatever kind you like)
2 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper

*Roast the squash or pumpkin at about 425 for 45 minutes. I used acorn squash because I couldn't find any pumpkins. I couldn't get the peel off easy enough to fuss with it ahead of time so I just halved the squash, scooped out seed goo, and put some butter and salt and pepper in the core.

*Saute the diced veggies with a little olive oil until tender. It takes a bit so it is a good way to kill time while the squash is roasting. I added a little season salt as well but that is optional.

*(I put this all in a crock pot and cooked it on low as I didn't have a lot of pots and stove space for the party. You can also make on the stove). I scooped out the roasted squash and added the vegetables to a the crockpot. I added the broth and let cook. When everything was soft, I pureed it with a stick blender and seasoned with salt/pepper to taste.

I didn't get a chance to make this because I ran out of time but it looked like a really nice addition. It is sprinkled on top of each individual serving)

Mushroom Topping
Saute:
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp buter
• 1 Tbsp minced shallot
• 3 cups assorted mushrooms (whatever you like)
Toss this together with:
• 2 Tbsp fresh chives
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste.

A Thing-A-Week Part 38: Cake in a Mug

2008-10-19T13:31:00.003-05:00

So I found online the following recipe:

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract

Essentially, you mix all those ingredients in that order in a large coffee mug and microwave it for about 3 minutes and you get cake...theoretically. I tried it and what you get is a large brown lump of slightly burnt cocoa with a sort of waxy rubbery texture. It is cake if you squint really really hard. I wasn't really surprised but a little disappointed. There has to be a way to manage the science to get something more cake like. I think chocolate is right out unless it is a white cake with chocolate chips because the temperature is too hot and too fast for cocoa which burns fairly easily.

I didn't take pictures but this website is almost exactly what it looks like. Although their's looks more like cake so perhaps the wattage on my microwave is too high. It could have been that my cocoa was too good as well. I have noticed some recipes only really work with a more generic cocoa.

Although in doing a web search there are all sorts of variations online so perhaps it could just have been a bad example. I am not sure whether or not it warrants further investigation though because at the end of it, I know that mixing all of the same ingredients and just baking it an oven will yield good cake as opposed to sub standard cake. And no one deserves sub standard cake.

A Thing-A-Week Part 37: Stew

2008-10-05T13:45:00.001-05:00

It's a very Hobbit dinner Charlie Brown!

So I have never been much for stew. My father always made gallons of it whenever my mom was out of town and my brother and I grew up hating the stuff. But I wanted something hearty and autumn-like that I could cook all day in the crock pot. I thought I would give it a try.

I have learned from my limited cooking experience that it is time and attention to detail that makes simple food so wonderful. So I decided to put a little energy into everything rather than just dumping it all in the pot. I did a little research and looked at a few recipes on line and this is what I came up with:

1. Mix flour, paprika, salt, and pepper. Roll cubed beef in the seasoning mixture and then place in a frying pan with hot olive oil. Sear/fry until brown on the outside. Transfer meat to crockpot.

2. Dice an onion and place in same frying pan to absorb the flavors of the meat drippings and olive oil. Add diced garlic. Saute until slightly brown. Transfer to crockpot. Deglaze the pan with a little port and add to the rest.

3. Dice 4 potatoes and about 2 cups of carrots and add.

4. Add broth (beef would have been better but I had some chicken that I needed to use up) and add Worcestershire sauce and a bay leaf. Let cook for 4 hours on high.

5. Mix 1 tbsp each of flour and cornstarch with about a cup of water. Whisk vigoursly until there are no lumps and add to put. Then I seasoned with some seasoned salt, pepper, nutmeg, and mustard powder. Remove bay leaf.

I served with buttermilk biscuits I had made from scratch (I need to remember not to roll those so thing when I am making them or they don't puff), chedder cheese, and apple cider. It was very hearty and not bad. I thought the base needed more flavor but I think I might try making the thickner on the stove with a little port and using beef broth next time.

A Thing-A-Week Part 36: Soap!

2008-09-17T23:19:00.002-05:00

I made soap! I have always really wanted to make soap...ever since I joined the SCA really. All the reading I did said "Oh my god! Soap is so dangerous. We don't even know why we make it!" And not having any chemistry background I sort of gave up hope.

Recently someone in the local group has been experimenting with soap and was gracious enough to allow me to play too! So we made a hot process soap using vegetable ingredients. The bonus of the hot process method is the lye is no longer caustic by the end of the night so it could be used the next day. It is also a more period method (though these ingredients were not). It is kinda ugly as it is hard to mold with the consistency it is at. Cold process soap requires about 6 weeks before it is non-caustic but it takes a mold much better.

This is what I got from the process. I am certainly not the expert and there are far better resources online. Essentially, it was Crisco, canola oil, water and lye. The fasts are softened so that they can interact with the lye. The lye is added to water and then allowed to cool while the fats are warmed until they reach a temperature within about 10 degrees of each other and then they are added together and mixed until they reach trace - a sort of thick pudding like stage. With cold process it is then poured into molds and left to sit for a while. With hot process, it is heated some more and goes through a couple of stages of something I am not quite sure how to describe.

When the lye is all reacted out, it is mixed with scents and then poured in molds and allowed to set. The two lighter colored bars were frozen to get them out of the mold. They were also in smaller molds so they are set up a little more.

I am going to try them tomorrow. I am not sure I added enough scent so hopefully I don't smell like crisco tomorrow.

Stuff I have been up to...

2008-09-17T12:02:00.000-05:00

I haven't been terribly productive lately. I am not sure that I will make my 52 things before the end of the year but I have some time. Griffin's Needle ate a lot of my August and I haven't been feeling terribly motivated for getting much else done. I never could get the hang of Augusts but we are well into September and I am starting to feel more antsy to do things.

My kitchen experiments have been full of fail recently so I haven't been sharing those. I had made some Fruity Oaty bars for needle arts but they were a little dry. I had also tried making flour tortillas but couldn't get the temperature regulated so they weren't turning out as well as I would have liked. I like the recipe but I need to get some better equipment.

Upcoming Projects:
*Halloween party planning (need to make my costume and some decorations)
*Finish some scroll banks
*Try making cold process soap
*Make jam
*Do some candle experimentation
*Finish my underdress
*Use up my beads. I haven't been doing much beading so I have a ton that I need to figure out something to do with them. I thought I might try making some ornaments or something. Need to do some research online
*Continue slogging through my knitting projects. I am ready to turn the heal on the second sock of the first pair. I still have the other pair to go, my gigantic technicolor blanket, and I want to start making a felted bag for myself and some baby gifts for a co-worker.
*Re-do my class notes for KWB&C and register for the event
*Do some research on Tudor feasts

And probably a bunch of others I am forgetting

A Thing-A-Week Part 35: Lentil Salad

2008-07-26T14:11:00.001-05:00

No pictures of this....It turned out well but lentils are not...photogenic.

Essentially I used the following recipe:
http://www.ummah.net/family/recipes/lentil.html

It smells kinda odd (I think it is the cumin) and it is not visually attractive but it tastes really good. I am someone who never thought they would like lentils until I helped out with making lunch for 35 year and I was corrupted.

I think it is a definite win. I just hope it is a fair vegetarian option. I am not sure about quantity though. According to the bag the amount I made was 14 servings. I didn't measure final volume.

A Thing-A-Week Part 34: Pan Perdy

2008-07-26T13:54:00.001-05:00

28. To make the best panperdy
To make the best panperdy, take a dozen eggs, and break them, and beat
them very well, then put unto them cloves, mace, cinnamon and nutmeg, and
good store of sugar, with as much salt as shall season it: then take a
manchet, and cut it into thick slices like toasts; which done, take your
fryin pan, and put into it a good store of sweet butter, and, being
melted, lay in your slices of bread, then pour upon them one half of your
eggs; then when that is fried, with a dish turn your slices of bread
upward, and then pour on them the other half of your eggs, so turn them
till both sides be brown; then dish it up, and serve it with sugar
strewed upon it.

I started with:
6 eggs
2 tbsps sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp each mace, clove, nutmeg.

I ended up with WAAYYY too much spice so I added 2 more eggs and some milk (I was bad I know but I just couldn't see making "french toast" without milk...I am weak!)

I also baked the toast more because I wanted a faster way to make a lot of it and I wanted to see if it would work so I put it in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees flipping half way through.

It was yummy and I got about a dozen slices. I wasn't true to the original recipe but if my next experiment goes well...I have breakfast!!! *fingers crossed*

A Thing-A-Week Part 33: Makshufa

2008-07-26T13:42:00.001-05:00

A number of years ago Matthias of Rolling Oaks lent me all of his back issues of Tournaments Illuminated. From there I got a bunch of feast/recipe/cookery type articles that I periodically refer to mostly when I have feast planning questions. They have come in handy a number of times.

There was one from the Winter 92 by Elizabeth Cook on an Islamic Dinner. I wanted to find some thing sweet dessert type thing to serve with my lunch and one of the first recipes I tried might be the winner...Makshufa.

The recipe reads:
"Take equal parts of sugar, almonds (or pistachios), honey, and seasme oil. Grind the surgar and almonds, and mix together. Add saffron to color, mixed with rose-water. Put the sesame oil into a basin and boil until fragrant: then drop in the honey and stir until the scum appears. Add the sugar and almonds, stirring all the time over a slow fire until almost set: then remove"

I don't know about the authenticity of above but it looked interesting. I stuck with the original redactors proportions as they seemed reasonable. It turned out like an almond brittle (the rose water is a bit weird) but the rose water masks the caramel/buttery flavor. While strange at first I have to say it has really grown on me. And I can make it a week ahead of time. The only problem is that it has to stay cold or it is really sticky but that may be a fault on my part. I may have needed to cook it longer. I am thinking of making an almond, a pistachio, and a sesame variety for lunch.

Currently testing my kebab recipe and the lentil salad. More on that later.

A Thing-A-Week Part 32: A New Hat

2008-07-06T22:47:00.001-05:00

One of my assignments is to make a hat. This is my first attempt. I couldn't really find any instructions on how to make it so I guessed. It turned out vaguely hat shape so I count that as a win. I am not really into big extravagant hats but I always liked this style and hoped it would help me keep the veil and wimple actually on my head. Despite my best efforts circlets pop off my head and veils fly away. I am not so devoted that I want to staple it down so I am hoping some extra weight will help. I have an oddly shaped head, fine hair, and apparently eyebrow muscles with a purpose so most hats find comical ways to be anywhere but on my head. This has lasted a half hour so we shall see this coming weekend how well it works.

I didn't do that great of a job (this is a prototype for a better hat hopefully someday) as my sewing skills are really not all that functional. Yes, I know I embroider but embroidery and sewing are not the same thing in my universe. If I mess up embroidery I just end up with an ugly thing and some lost time. If I mess up sewing I could potentially end up naked. But I continue to try because better garb makes me feel more comfortable at events. And, I really don't like showing modern hair so starting with a hat seems like a safer step.

I know this sounds like a kind of grumbly post but I really am sort of excited about my little hat... imperfections and all.

A Thing-A-Week Part 31: Cloth bag

2008-07-05T00:39:00.001-05:00

I finally finished the bag I wanted to make for carrying things to events. Baskets can be so awkward.

Two Things: Cheese Tarts

2008-07-05T00:28:00.002-05:00

Cheese Tarts:

95 Crustless "Sienese" Tart
Sienese tart. Take twenty almonds and blanch them thoroughly, and pound them as fine as possible. Then take half a libra of sugar, twelve eggs, and a fogletta of milk, two quatani of cinnamon, and the proper amount of salt, and half a quarto of fresh probatura cheese, pounded until it need be pounded no more. Then spread a mold with butter, and then flour it, and put the mixture on top. And set the mold or pan far from the fire, covered, with a moderate fire. And note that you can put into the mixture a ladeful of lasagne cooked in good broth. And when it is cooked put sugar and rose water on top. (bu 49v-50)
(recipe can be found here: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/706842.html)

I didn't like the ratio that the tertiary source used so I went a different route with some of my ratios. I didn't want to use 12 eggs so I also tried to cut everything in half. I am not sure I interpreted the measurements correctly. I found differing sources on the web as to the meaning of some of the measurements so my reasoning on this is simply what sounded good to me. I also used a more coarsely ground almond as I don't have the equipment to do a fine grind on almonds (or anything really). I am curious what this recipe would be like with almond paste as ground almonds and sugar if mixed in a certain way (though recipes I have seen vary on this) make almond paste. I opted not to add the lasagna and broth.

a handful of coarsely chopped almonds
1 cup of sugar
6 eggs
1 cup milk
8 ounces of homemade cheese at room temperature
cinnamon
salt
rosewater and sugar sprinkled over the top after it has baked

I gradually whipped all the ingredients together and poured into a greased/floured springform pan (10 inch I believe) and baked at 325 for 45 minutes. the center was jiggly but maintained it's shape. It was a big custardy omelet. This was a little oily and I really don't know why. It was tasty even if the texture is something I don't usually enjoy. I would love to mold this in something next time I make it but I am concerned as to how it will seperate. The springform was just for ease of use but I wish I had some better kitchen molds for baking. My copper molds I have sort of collected from scattered second hand stores so while they all have neat shapes I don't think they are up for oven use.

94. Torta Bianca: White Tart
White Tart. Take a libra and a half of good fresh cheese and cut it up fine, and pound it very well; take twelve or fifteen egg whites and blend them very well with this cheese, adding half a libra of sugar and half an oncia of the whitest ginger you can find, as well as a half libra of good, white pork lard, or instead of lard, good fresh butter, and some milk as much as needed; this will be a good third of a boccale. Then make the pastry, or crust, into the pan, as thin as it ought to be, and cook it nicely with fire both below and above; and make sure that the top is a little colored from the heat of the fire; and when it seems cooked, remove it from the pan and put fine sugar and good rose water on top. (Ma 158)

For this recipe I actually followed a lot of the measurements that the teritary source I used redacted them as. The egg whites were halved but a lot of the other ingredient ratios also seemed to be halved as well so it worked out. I did make a few changes. I add more cheese then they originally wrote simply because I wanted to use it up and I used poudre douce instead of ginger because there was already ginger in the cheese and I wanted something to offset that a little. This meant that it wasn't going to be a truly white tart because the spices would be a little darker.

For the crust: I used flour, butter, salt, and water. I rolled it out and laid it in a pie pan to bake for about 15 minutes at a higher temperature before adding the filling.

12 ounces homemade cheese at room temperature
6 egg whites
about 2/3 a cup of sugar (I think I used a little more)
9 tablespoons of butter, softened
1 tsp poudre douce
1 cup milk
salt

I beat the cheese and butter together, added the sugar, salt, and spices, the egg whites, and then milk. This was poured into a pie shell and baked at 375 for 1 hour.

The top came out really brown and I was worried I had burnt it but the crust looked fine. When I cut into it, it was snow white. The flavor was actually really good and I don't like cheese cake or custard. It was a little oily and I think I will cut back on the amount of butter and maybe the milk as well as it seemed too runny when I poured it in the shell.

I did forget to put the rose water on this one after it baked. I need to remember to do that next time. I remembered with the first tart but forgot with this one.

x-posted

---
Redon, Odile, Francoise Sabban, and Silvano Serventi. Translated by Edward Schneider. The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy. University of Chicago Press. 1998.

A Thing-A-Week Part 28: Cheese!

2008-07-01T18:48:00.002-05:00

I finally got around to trying the Cook-A-Long recipe for May...a soft cheese. I don't understand enough of the chemistry that goes into making cheese so I tried the original author's recipe as I wasn't brave enough to test a new cooking method and one that didn't have the safety net of portions. It actually isn't really difficult overall it is just somewhat time consuming and you have to really pay attention. I didn't understand what the instructions meant by how much of a curd needed to form before I stopped adding vinegar and I didn't find anything on the internet. I got a pretty soft crumb to my cheese so it doesn't hold together real well. I mashed it up into molds because my patties weren't holding together and I thought I remember reading somewhere that cheeses and butters were sometimes molded in period.

I didn't really like the ginger/honey combination for flavoring. In looking at some of the period recipes I have found I am surprised they didn't mix savory ingredients with their cheeses. Ginger, Cinnamon, Honey, Mace, and Pepper seem to be the common additives. I am also somewhat curious as to how it would work with the ale I see in a lot of recipes but I am not sure I am brave enough to mess with a formula that I know works until I have tried it a few times.

I believe I am going to take Merouda's suggestion of making the cheese into a tart because I think it would work really well. I plan on trying that this weekend. Actually, I spread some of the cheese on a piece of bread and covered it in the conserve I also made and it was mighty tasty.

All in all it wasn't nearly as terrifying of an experience as I thought it would be. I am very boring in my personal tastes I guess because for me my favorite cheese is a smoked mozzarella--salty, smoky, and yet simple and creamy. This wasn't quite to my tastes but I am definitely excited about experimenting.

I also wonder how this cheese would work in place of the goat cheese in a recipe I have for herb encrusted goat cheese.

I am thinking of hosting a cooks day at my place again after WW and having people make cheese and cheese based recipes.

A Thing-A-Week Part 27: Conserve of Strawberries

2008-06-29T09:29:00.001-05:00

From "Delights for Ladies"

50. To make conserve of Prunes of Damsons

Take ripe Damsons: put them into scalding water: Let them stand a while: then boile them over the fire till they break: then strain out the water thorow a colander and let them stand therein to coole: then strain the Damsons thorough the colander, taking away the stones and skinnes: then set the pulp over the fire againe, and put thereto a good quantity of red wine, and boil them well to a stiffenesse, ever stirring them up and down; and when they bee almost sufficiently boyled, put in a convenient proportion of sugar: stirre all well together and after put it in your gally-pots.

51. To make conserve of Strawberries.

First, seethe them in water, and then cast away the water and strain them: then boile them in white wine, and work as before in damson; or else strain them being ripe: then boile them in wine and sugar until they be stiffe.

---
Redaction:

One of my favorite foods from the modern world are gummi style candies. While I know that it is unlikely that I will be able to ever document gummi bears as we know them today, I decided that it would be interesting to explore all the different way fruit was preserved in period from candying to conserves and gelatins.

I decided to make the conserve of strawberries mostly because it required few ingredients and they were all things I could find easily. I started by boiling the strawberries. I like to use frozen strawberries (I have found a high quality brand that delivers far better results then I am able to get in the produce section) but because the freezing process already weakens the berries cell structure the boiling step sort of became unnecessary. I realized I was loosing color by doing this so I strained them and mashed the fruit up instead so I would essentially have the desired fruit pulp from the conserve of damsons. To make up for the color lost I added a small amount of red wine with the white (I estimate that there was between 1.5 to 2 cups total wine added). I have seen this done in other fruit compotes from period to enhance color and thus felt it was an okay decision. I then boiled the fruit in white wine until it was completely broken down and
added 4 cups of sugar. The 4 cups I used was based on a modern jam recipe that didn't use pectin. My hope was to get something that was somewhat thick and I wanted to avoid too much trial and error. I brought it up to a rolling boil to thicken it and then removed it from the heat to cool. I poured it into a pan (thought it could easily be jarred) and also a small mold more to see how it held up. It didn't but I wasn't surprised. The flavor was excellent. Really amazing. The wine brought a flavor somewhat different from modern jams but it was still nice and rich. The color is beautifully dark so I may keep the red wine in for sheer aesthetic purposes.

A lot of jams I have made in the past have used lemon juice and it is amazing how differently the fruit tastes without this ingredient. I like lemon juice because I personally feel it enhances a fruits natural taste. This may have been why there was variation in using the wine.

Adventures in Knitting

2008-06-01T11:25:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I had a lovely day spent with a good friend hanging out and knitting. She took me to Lakeside Fibers in Madison which was my first non-chain knitting store experience. It was absolutely beautiful. The store was huge, with a varied selection and wonderful layout. A lot of thought went into that store. There were all sorts of lovely things I would have loved but I am waiting to expand my collection until I have more experience.

We then stopped at Hilldale Mall and picked up some chocolates at David Bacco Chocolates. They were wonderful. I especially liked the Exotic Caramel and the Cardamom Ganache Cube. After that we browsed the mall a little bit and went to dinner at Imperial Garden.

When we got back to her place we watched Creature Comforts (yay talking amoebas!) and did some knitting. She attempted to help me make a small sock in order to show me how they work but the pattern I found for free was a little difficult to understand and it didn't work very well at all. I sort of understood how it worked though and I am going to try again with a different pattern. I really enjoy knitting in the round and there is a wealth of wonderful yarns out there that I would like to play with beyond just making lumpy squares so I am willing to try making socks. I am still rather intimidated by it.

A Thing-A-Week Part 26: Sushi

2008-05-11T11:31:00.001-05:00

Saturday I went to get groceries and also stopped at Brennan's and got a bunch of produce. I was feeling adventurous and wanted to try making sushi. They aren't very pretty but it was a first attempt. These are avocado and cucumber.

Also with my produce selection I chopped up and roasted some veggies and made some baked chicken for lunches this week. And, on my health kick, I packaged up some snacks for myself to help with portion control which is one of my biggest problems.

One of the things I like about Brennan's is that they have samples. I had what I thought was a mango while at the store. I thought I didn't like mangoes but this was wonderful. It was sort of creamy like coconut and fruity like peaches and pineapple. So I bought one. I wasn't really sure I picked up the right one as there seemed to be two different fruits labeled the same thing and I think I grabbed the wrong one. *sigh* It was not yummy. I didn't get yummy fruit.

Um....A thing...

2008-05-06T21:19:00.001-05:00

So I finally decided my desire for socks out weighed my fear of actually making them. So I cast off my practice tube and ended up with a wrist band of sorts.

A Thing-A-Week Part 25: Happy Muffins

2008-05-06T21:12:00.000-05:00

Cherry Muffins
Since my class ended up not doing the redaction, I had some leftover cherries to use up. I didn't want to make the cherry pudding again as it is really more than the 2 of us can eat. I had limited supply of a lot of the usual baking ingredients. Muffins seemed like a good solution. I hunted online for a fruit muffin recipe that would maximize the amount of cherries I could use up while not stretching my ingredients on hand.

These turned out really well. Not too sweet. I added some vanilla and some of the dried fruit zest I had and I ended up using almost all the cherries.

A Thing-A-Week Part 24: Layer Cake

2008-04-19T12:57:00.001-05:00

I had a ton of the chireseye left. It was good but not really that good. So I was curious if it might work as a filling for a layer cake. It was late when I got the notion so I whipped up a really simple chocolate cake. This turned out to be an adventure in and of itself. I only had half the amount of cocoa powder that I needed. So I need to add more of something but something that would add flavor. So I grabbed some instant pudding powder from the pantry. Sadly only vanilla but I was feeling adventurous. It turned out to be a sort of good idea as it made the cake denser/chewier and therefore able to stand up to the moisture from the cherry pudding without turning into a soggy mess. This might be the way to go again only perhaps with chocolate pudding instead. It turned out kind of yummy actually and might be worth doing again.

I sliced the two cakes in half horizontally so that I could end up with three layers of cherry goo and use more of it up.

A Thing-A-Week Part 23: Rice Pudding

2008-04-15T21:49:00.001-05:00

Aaron had made me rice for my lunches for work but I ended up being sick and not eating it so we had a bunch of leftover rice. I didn't want it to go to waste and Aaron really likes rice pudding so I thought I would give it a try. I found a recipe on line for making rice pudding from leftover rice. It turned out pretty good. It was a little runny and I added to much cinnamon (I thought it tasted fine but it turned brown). And the boy was happy. It seems my Thing-A-Week has been mostly food stuff but at least some of those things are taking out of my normal kitchen comfort zone.

A Thing-A-Week Part 22: Knitted Shawl

2008-04-13T11:39:00.001-05:00

So I attempted to knit this: http://tinyurl.com/4g5cha

It is made with all sorts of interesting fluffy yarns that are knitted in with a soft base yarn on these GIGANTIC needles. They were 1 inch thick and Aaron stayed as far away from me as possible while I was working on it. They are designed to knit large items quickly (they are called speed stix) but I essentially ended up with a big piece of netting that stretched in weird ways and is definitely the lumpiest thing I have knitted to date. I don't think my knitting skills are really at a level to handle this kind of project and there are some things I am still kind of faking because I am not sure how to do them. The colors are pretty (I am very happy I was able to figure out color-combo on my own because I didn't want to use the intense colors the pattern recommended). It is a little to short to be at a comfortable length for me but I can snuggle up with its softness. I do want to at some point make a lacy shawl I have seen patterns for but I don't think I am really ready for that yet. This also took me a lot longer than 4 hours (as the pattern suggested) but I did manage to get it done this weekend.

A Thing-A-Week Part 21: For to make chireseye

2008-04-13T11:06:00.002-05:00

For to make chireseye:

ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

For to make chireseye, tak chiryes at þe feast of Seynt Iohn þe Baptist, & do awey þe stonys. Grynd hem in a morter, & after frot hem wel in a seue so þat the ius be wel comyn owt; & do þan in a pot & do þerein feyre gres or botor & bred of wastel ymyid, & of sugur a god perty, & a porcioun of wyn. & wan it is wel ysodyn & ydessyd in dyschis, stik þerin clowis of gilofre & strew þeron sugur.

- Hieatt, Constance B. and Sharon Butler. Curye on Inglish: English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth-Century (Including the Forme of Cury). New York: for The Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, 1985.

GODE COOKERY TRANSLATION: http://www.godecookery.com/mtrans/mtrans06.htm

For to make Cherries, take cherries at the feast of Saint John the Baptist, & do away the stones. Grind them in a mortar, and after rub them well in a sieve so that the juice be well coming out; & do then in a pot and do there-in fair grease or butter & bread of wastel minced, & of sugar a good part, & a portion of wine. And when it is well cooked & dressed in dishes, stick there-in clove flowers & strew there-on sugar.

I only had one big issue with this recipe and that was the translation of clowis of gilofre to clove flowers. It is a minor thing but clove-gillyflower in looking at the OED was used to reference both the spice or the gillyflower (an ancestor of the carnation) in period text and they are obviously very different things. Again this is a minor detail but it reinforces the point that it is good to look up unfamiliar terms.

I was redacting this recipe to see if it could be made in a crock pot. This meant I had to use some larger quantities then I normally would and I ended up making quite a lot of the chireseye.
I started with:

2.5 lbs frozen dark sweet cherries (cherries are not at their peak at this time of year and where they can be found they are a little expensive. I have generally found that frozen fruit that doesn't contain any additives or a "sauce" are of good quality and these were some of the sweetest cherries I have ever had).

1/2 cup butter (I am guessing this to turn out something like a pudding and many puddings are creamy. I thought adding a little more butter would help balance out the acidity of the fruit. And I had a lot of fruit so in comparison it wasn't really all that much)

2 cups unseasoned bread crumbs

1/2-3/4 cup sugar

1 cup of port wine

I began by mashing the fruit until it was almost a puree. I have neither a food processor nor a mortar and pestle large enough to really work this much fruit so I used a potato masher. It actually worked rather well overall. I opted not to sieve the fruit not because I didn't think it was important but more because I was testing the recipe more for viability for my class. I wasn't looking for a perfect redaction. I plan to bring cheese cloth to class and allow students to make their own choices as to what they want to do. I also wanted to leave the juice in as much as possible as I didn't want it to burn in the crockpot.

I then added a stick of melted butter, the wine, some sugar (this seemed like plenty at this point as the fruit was very sweet), and the bread crumbs. 16 ounces of bread is about how much I have seen for modern bread pudding recipes and it seemed like a good starting point. I personally don't like the texture of sauces thickened with bread crumbs so I tend to lean to the side of less rather than more. I also didn't know how much the bread would absorb and I needed to make sure that the recipe was thick but still moist so that it didn't burn.

This all went into a crock pot on low for a little over an hour. I stirred it frequently to make sure it didn't burn. It also thickened a lot as the bread absorbed the juice from the fruit and I ended up adding some more cherry juice to balance a bit. I also noticed that it became more tart as it cooked so I ended up adding a little more sugar (about 1/2 to 1 cup). It still tasted rather grainy/starchy but I found that this improved with a night spent in the fridge. I warmed some up this morning with a little cinnamon/sugar sprinkled on it (as it really needs a little spicy zing) and had it for breakfast.

For my class I am going to bring in whole cloves and try to find some candied flowers.

A Thing-A-Week Part XX: Peach Cobbler

2008-03-23T12:54:00.000-05:00

...okay so Genius Photographer I am not. This is yet another recipe inspired by the murder mystery series I am reading. In the book it was called "Minnesota Peach Cobbler" and was an answer to the main characters business competition who supposedly made a famous Georgia Peach Cobbler. It was described as having a cookie like layer for the crust and so I was curious.

You start with frozen peaches (it is the Midwest afterall and it is hard to find fresh peaches out of season). They are covered in a spiced flour sugar mixture and baked in the oven for about 40 minutes to thicken the syrup and "thaw" the peaches. I ended up stirring it up a bit when I took it out of the oven so that the sugar that settled wouldn't burn. Then you dab this paste-like cookie dough on top(I actually changed this a bit by adding some vanilla and a little lemon juice as it didn't seem like it would have much flavor to me). There doesn't seem like there is enough dough to cover the cobbler and it doesn't look very pretty because it is really hard to work with but I put it back in the oven and hoped for the best.

I couldn't believe it when I took it out of the oven. The crust had puffed up and spread to cover the entire cobbler. And it was really good. I think this would also work well with frozen berries.

A Thing-A-Week Part XIX: Snickerdoodles

2008-03-15T22:55:00.001-05:00

So my craving for cinnamon lately lead to my decision to try to make snickerdoodles. I never used to like them until recently, but somewhere in the last year I developed a fondness for the crisp, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookie that explodes with cinnamon sugar goodness.

I went to the old standby Joy of Cooking for my recipe. It came together really well--incredibly simple if somewhat sticky. They exploded in the oven to sort of gigantic proportions. But, they were all nice and puffy in the oven. They fell into flat little pan cakes once they left the oven. I thought perhaps my pan rotation thing was causing them to fall (my mom always rotated her cookie pans--cookies baked for half the time on the bottom rack and were then moved to the top rack and another tray was added to the bottom. I don't know why she did it and no cookbook has ever described it that way. I just do it because she does it and a lot of what I know about cooking is copied from watching my mom and other folks in the kitchen). So, I decided to leave the pan in the oven the entire time to see if that helped. Nope. The baking was more even but they still turned into flat little pancakes.

They taste fantastic. Exactly what I wanted but I am not sure why on earth they are doing this cycle of explosion/implosion.

A Thing-A-Week Part XVIII: A Pie of Parsnips

2008-03-15T20:57:00.001-05:00

As part of this month's Cook-A-Long I also tried to make the Pie of Parsnips.

To make a pie of fresh Parsnips. Take the parsnips well washed, & put them to boil until they are cooked, then take two or three chopped onions & fry in butter, a salted lemon in pieces, nutmeg, & pepper, a little chopped mint, & put all together in the pie, & butter enough.

Note it is necessary to cut the parsnips into pieces, when the pie is half cooked put therein a little Spanish wine.

I was somewhat skeptical about this recipe only because it didn't seem like something that would appeal to my own particular taste preferences but part of this experience is trying new things.

I started by peeling and dicing the parsnips and putting them into water to boil. I decided to season them as they were boiling so that the flavor would be more incorporated so I added some salt, pepper, and about a 1/4 tsp of nutmeg. While that boiled, I zested a lemon and brined the peel in salt water and lemon juice. I had forgotten to salt my own lemons ahead of time and hadn't located any commercially. This may have overall impacted the final product. Once the parsnips were cooked I removed them from the heat and drained them before mixing in onions fried in butter, the brined lemon zest, and the mint. I baked this in a crust made of butter, flour, salt, and water for about 45-60 minutes at 375 degrees F. I didn't have any wine on hand either so there again I missed a step which may have impacted the overall product.

Having tasted the pie I am still not particularly crazy about it. There are definitely a lot of flavors going on...the onions and nutmeg added some sweetness, the parsnips seemed sweet and woodsy at the same time but had an interesting bite to them. The lemon and mint kept hitting me at different points throughout. Part of my opinion may have been changed by the ingredients I didn't have access to while I was making this. I also wonder if this would work better as pasties rather than a whole pie so that all the flavors sort of come together at once in a more concentrated way rather than in a larger pie. I am also thinking that pairing this with a creamier dish or a spicy meat might complement it. Overall it was an interesting experience and I am glad I gave it a try.

A Thing-A-Week Part XVII: Chicken Cordon Bleu

2008-03-15T20:23:00.000-05:00

Eliane lent me a copy of "The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry" by Kathleen Flinn. It is essentially the story of the author's experiences while studying at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. I am actually really enjoying the story and it is definitely the type of book I love reading. I think the only thing I don't like about it is that I am not in the mood to read it so I am probably rushing through it faster than I normally would. I really love food memoirs though (well food books in general I think).

There are also recipes scattered throughout the book at the end of each chapter. While Chicken Cordon Bleu has nothing to do with the school itself, the author choose to include a recipe for it and I was inspired to give it a try. And not only give it a try, but really take my time and think through each step. I tend to be impatient and rush things and that is when disasters happen.

One of the problems with this recipe though was one of the ingredients...bread crumbs. I wasn't really in the mood to make my own bread crumbs but all the bread crumbs they sell in the store have high fructose corn syrup or MSG. Both of which my boy won't eat. I checked the organic/specialty diet foods aisle (I really hate that word "organic" but that is another rant) and all I found were gluten free bread crumbs. I have never worked with gluten free products and I wasn't sure of the differences so I went another route. Crisped Rice cereal. I have used this before as "breading" for chicken and have had some really good experiences with it. I grabbed a box of the organic variety though as the original name brand stuff has HFCS too and hoped this wouldn't alter things too much.

The other issue was the cheese. I really really don't like Swiss. I love mozarella and decided to use that instead. Aaron wanted to try it with the Gruyere which was recommended in the original and I agreed to make some for him using that and even agreed to try it. I also got prosciutto for the ham (another recommendation). I have never had it before though I know a lot of foodie's rave about it so I thought I would give it a try.

So the assembly...I layed out everything to start with. The fillings, the ingredients, the dips, etc so that I wouldn't have to try to hunt for things with gooey meat on my hands. The recipe recommended to cut open the chicken breast so that he breast would lie flat like a book. I am not very handy with a knife so I took a meat tenderizer to mine so that the chicken was relatively uniform in thickness and not cause any weird cooking problems. Then it is sprinkled with salt and pepper, a thin layer of Dijon mustard is spread across it, a layer of prosciutto and cheese is then added and it is rolled into little bundles. I don't have any cooking twine so I secured the bundles with tooth picks. I then rolled it in flour, egg, and the crushed cereal (seasoned with sage, parmesean, and season salt to make up for it not being seasoned bread crumbs) and placed into a foil lined pan. Into the oven it went where it got nice and happy.

I tried the prosciutto straight before baking and thought it was awful. Foodie with a refined since of taste I am not. I couldn't wait to get the taste out of my mouth. In fact I made some instant coffee (I didn't feel like making a whole pot) in an attempt to clear the taste but that was just as bad so I added some Kahlua (both ingredients I keep on hand because they occasionally come up in baking recipes I have). Perhaps I got some bad stuff but I couldn't figure out why anyone would find a perfectly tender piece of melon drapped in the stuff such a delicacy. But to each their own. I think saltines and butter is one of life's simple pleasures. Anyway, I was somewhat worried what this would do to my chicken, but it turns out that the cheese really mellowed the prosciutto and made it taste like a rich very salty ham.

In fact, overall it wasn't too bad. I don't think the cereal negatively impacted the flavor. It was a little salty but it is hard to season raw meat to taste and I haven't gotten the knack for it yet. I agree with the author that a smoky/salty cheese or ham would very quickly overpower this dish and I am glad I didn't choose a smoked cheese. I think that the Dijon mustard was really the key element in the overall finished product. I thought the mozzarella was excellent. I am indifferent to the Gruyere but Aaron really liked it and did a happy dance.

Voila

A Thing-A-Week Part XVI: Knitting Stuff

2008-03-09T12:41:00.001-05:00

This week I made yet another lumpy dishrag (see below) started my fifth. Eliane also taught me how to knit in the round while I was at Eithni's yesterday. I ripped it out when I got home and started over hoping to have things look somewhat more uniform now that I sort of understood the theory but I am still having problems with the tension that falls on the gap between needles. Maybe this will be something that corrects itself as I go along but it is somewhat irksome now. Yes I know I am not going to be perfect right away but I get frustrated with knitting because I seem to keep making the same mistakes with it and I really don't understand why. I am not sure I ever want to do socks (too much counting and other weird stitch things) but I want to try to make some little purses. I was inspired by the one Eliane made off the TI cover.

In other crafty goodness there was much geeky hanging out fun at Gulf Wars North. I got to make lamb patties with Arnora and Iohanna. It was....an interesting experience all things considered :)

A Thing-A-Week Part XV: Chocolate Cherry Delight

2008-03-09T10:39:00.001-05:00

Chocolate Cherry Delights is another recipe I got from one of the Joanne Fluke "Hannah Swenson" mystery novels. The disembodied hand is Aaron attempting to snatch a cookie as I was taking a picture. Basically they are a chocolate cookie topped with a cherry and an interesting fudgy concoction before being baked. They are a little bit fussy and the cookie base is somewhat dry but otherwise they are really addicting despite being exceedingly sweet. I am not sure how to improve upon the dryness of the base as it needs to serve several functions. It needs to be stable. It can't rise/spread too much or the sauce will hit the pan and burn. And, it has to be able to stand up to the moisture of the cherries. I made these for Gulf Wars North and they were fairly well received. I am thinking though I am not going to make these too frequently again due to the fussy level of the recipe.

And, I guess Joanne Fluke has found the perfect gimic for enticing new readers. The recipes inspire me to get into the kitchen so I keep reading her novels so that I get more recipes. I am taking a break for a little bit and am going to read a book that Eliane lent me called "The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry" by Kathleen Flinn.

A Thing-A-Week Part XIV: Cinnamon Rolls

2008-03-02T09:58:00.000-06:00

My mom's comfort food is cinnamon rolls so she tended to make them a lot. I was never really a big fan. But when I moved out I found myself missing mom's cinnamon rolls. I have tried these a couple of times and they are never as good as my mom's. I just can't seem to get the ooey gooey cinnamon thing to happen. I never seem to get enough goo.

I prefer these frosted but Aaron does not so I didn't frost them.

A Thing-A-Week Part XIII: Lumpy Dishrag the Third

2008-03-02T09:56:00.000-06:00

I think this one is my favorite thus far.

A Thing-A-Week Part XII: Mock Apple Pie

2008-02-23T18:31:00.000-06:00

So, This is the experimental pie (see previous post). The book I am reading (also in a previous post) has the main character judging a baking contest. This pie was entered as a novelty Apple Pie. The book describes it as delicious with the only downer being the texture of the apples. And then you find out what it is....Saltine Crackers. Yup. The only fruit in this pie is lemon juice. I was skeptical so I decided I had to try this, and unveil it around others so that people wouldn't think I was making it up.

I brought it over to the Rockband group. The comments I heard were "this is really good" and "I like the cake but the pie is better." I was even floored that it tasted so good. One person guessed what it was but a lot of people couldn't believe it was saltines. The texture is indeed not quite right but it is yummy none the less and wasn't that difficult to make. Mine was rather soupy which is somewhat problematic. And, while I love the pie crust I use I don't think it is really meant to be used as a multi-purpose crust. I should give another friend's pie crust a try.