Happy Trails

Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That

I've been wanting to write for a while, but wasn't able to come up with a coherent theme for everything I wished to share. Finally figured no theme worked just fine, so here we go.

We've been cooking more. Cooking with Ina, mostly. We have *almost* every one of the Barefoot Contessa's cookbooks, and we enjoy going through them from time to time, picking out things we normally wouldn't try. Over the last few weeks, there have been epic wins, and epic fails.

Tomato Goat Cheese Tarts: Epic Win.

These were unbelievably delicious, and I was especially proud that they came out looking exactly like the photo in the book. It's somewhat of a finicky recipe in a way--there are a lot of steps, some of which either take a long time (properly caramelizing the onions) or make a mess (rolling out the puff pastry and cutting it), but in the end--SO worth it. While she suggests this could make a great (albeit heavy) appetizer, I disagree. If you're going to go through that much trouble, make it a meal. We had these for lunch last weekend with a nice big salad, and it was perfection.

Spring Risotto: Epic Fail.

Well, alright. Maybe not an EPIC fail, but a fail nonetheless. I don't really GET risotto. I mean, it doesn't fit into any sort of category that makes sense to me. Is it rice? Is it pasta? Neither. Do I like it? Hrm. Do I enjoy watching Chef Ramsey scream about it being improperly prepared on Hell's Kitchen? ("Where's my F*CKING RIS-OT-TOW????") Absolutely. That's pretty much why we decided to give this a go. And now we kind of get why risotto puts Ramsey in such a bad mood.

In the opening paragraph of the recipe, Ina says that after a bad day, she loves to make this meal. She turns the music up, pours a "nice" glass of wine, and starts stirring. Having made this ourselves on a weeknight, when each of us had busy days at the office, I can only conclude two things: either Ina is a sadist, or she is a drunk. That's the only way you can possibly "enjoy" or get through all that stirring.

Now, let me be fair. I probably didn't have the heat on high enough, and so it took about twenty minutes longer for the rice to get tender than it should have. MAYBE. The last time I made risotto was out of the Newlywed Cookbook (which, by the way, is probably the worst collection of recipes I've ever laid eyes on--I actually threw it away, not wanting to subject another to the perils of its pages by donating it), at our old apartment. It was a mushroom risotto, and we went to about 4 different stores to get all the different kinds of specialty mushrooms (fresh and dried) that the recipe called for. It was expensive, and was at a time when we really couldn't afford it. I stirred my flipping butt off with that dish, and when we sat down to eat, it was like we were eating shroomy sand. I may have cried. Hard. And then consoled myself with a "nice" glass of wine. Or four. Anyway, I probably didn't cook it long enough that first time. But two sub par risotto experiences in a row can't be coincidence. It just can't.

In the end, this was edible. There was a lot of citrus in it (lemon juice and lemon zest) and this was a good learning experience--I do not enjoy lemon flavor in savory dishes. For me, it's reminiscent of floor cleanser (like the papaya we had on our honeymoon--it was like Mr. Clean from a tree!), so, all in all, while we won't be making this again, we did learn a few things: Higher heat for risotto--be drunk, feel sadistic, or feel determination that making this meal WILL be an adequate substitute for going to the gym, and no more lemon, thank you very much.

I ended up using the leftover marscapone and about a zillion other cheeses that we had in the fridge for a bangin' mac n cheese this week, but alas, no photos. *sniff* It was good, though!

Last weekend we also pumped these out (a little homage to the Rooster).

We tried the recipe featured in the Feb/March 2010 Fine Cooking Magazine, and "Ahhhhhhhhh" (angels singing) they were fabulous. We did the pork/shrimp filling, and they did not disappoint. There are a ton of these left, sitting patiently in the fridge, and we'll be eating them again soon. While I pan-seared these, I think we'll just boil the others--cut down on the oil. 

Last weekend we also met up with my best friend from high school, Andrew, and his lovely wife Heather and their son, Sam.

We've come a long way, yeah?

 They're expecting a baby girl this fall, and we're so happy for them! Andrew is going into his internship for med school in August, and we were excited to get to see them before they went back to the midwest. Best of luck with Boards, Andrew!

There have been many requests lately for more pup pictures/updates, so here you are!

The little guy is doing great. We had his 9 week vet visit this past Monday, and everything is A-OK. He's even doing much better this week with the potty training, which is very exciting. Salmaan continues Puppy Kindergarten at home--almost every evening, and has an excellent teaching assistant in River.

Here's a video I took last week of them romping around--JJ is quite tough, and while we were a little worried about how rough and tumble they get, the vet said it was perfectly normal and a great sign.

There's also been some progress on the knitting and spinning front, but that's for another post. For now, it's back to the needles for me! Happy Saturday!

Oh, Hai!

We are pleased to introduce the newest member of our family, Jayden Ravine. I have been DYING to share this process with everyone here in this space, but there were a lot of "ifs, ands or buts" involved, and it wasn't until today that it was all a sure thing. 

We made the financial commitment back in early September of last year, and waited with fingers crossed that the litter we chose would "take". (Actually, when we reserved River, that litter didn't take, and we were able luckily to bump over to the reservation list of another litter, and so were blessed with her in more ways than one). 

Well, this litter DID take (as we found out in January), and this little guy, along with one brother and five sisters, was born on March 29, 2010. We had first pick of the boys, and decided we would make the drive down to Shalgo Farm to make our selection in person today.

We spent about an hour with all of them, and visiting with Jackie and George. After a while though, one of the little boys particularly started to grow on me.

There was a gentle energy about him, which actually is something that really attracted me to Salmaan when we first met. We also thought his energy would be a great compliment to River's. I looked at Salmaan, our eyes met, and we knew it was the right fit. We brought River with us of course (see her in the background), but interestingly, she wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with the pups. Even after we picked the little brother and tried to introduce them, she just wanted Daddy-love. I don't think she would have been interested even if we had dipped the little guy in peanut butter. That's saying something.

Jackie convinced us not to worry, and assured us that this behavior was completely normal. It was great to be able to talk to her one on one, and she was full of words of wisdom that I know will help us when little Jayden comes home.

For now, though, he's going to stay at the farm, chill out with his siblings and graduate from Puppy Kindergarten. We'll go get him in the latter half of May, and I'm sure there will be much to share when that comes to pass!

For now, I'll leave you with one more shot of that adorable little panda bear face!

 

We're Marching On...

I have that new song from One Republic stuck in my head, although when he sings the chorus, it sounds like he's singing "we're MARSHING on", which is just sort of weird.

Anyhoo!

I have no clue where this past month went. It flew by so fast I feel I have a little bit of virtual whiplash. I've also missed updating the blog, which is something I plan to remedy not only today, but also in the coming months.

March was packed with happenings. Salmaan turned 30 this month, and closed the first quarter of his life with great aplomb. He excitedly donned the Blackhawks jerseys he had been gifted, and still has some shopping to do with a few gifts cards he was grateful to receive. We had a chill weekend full of relaxation and time together. We also went to a John Mayer concert in Charlottesville, which, I have to say, was completely disappointing. I had purchased the tickets long ago, before he made a complete and total ass of himself in the Playboy and Rolling Stones interviews, but even after that I was still hopeful that he would put on a great show. We were left wanting. 

In all fairness, however, my lackluster assessment might also be colored by the fact that I contracted a very nasty stomach virus after the concert, and was more ill than I have ever been before. It lasted a long time, and after about 7 days of feeling awful and missing way more work than I was comfortable with, I realized just how important my health is, and how much I take it for granted. I'm sure I will drift into that bad habit again sooner than I would like, but for now? It's wonderful to wake up in the morning feeling good and ready to take on the day.

March 20th also marked my two year blogoversary! Woohoo! Yay blog! I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I really love this space, and I feel blessed to have found such a creative, supportive community of knitters, crafters, cooks, spinners, writers, and just downright cool folks. Thanks for reading!

March also gave me some time to sit down with my rental wheel before I had to return it to the shop, and I created a couple more skeins of yarn. The first skein I completed was a fitting project for spring as things seem to be bursting into bloom all around us--this is 137 yards of heavy worsted two ply, spun out of 4.4 oz. of superwash merino from Pigeonroof Studios in the Crepe Myrtle colorway. 

I was really pleased with how this turned out, and very much enjoyed working with this fiber. It is slowly but surely knitting up into a nice knobbly gift for Little Niece. (Hooray for superwash and kid-knits!)

Another FO to share is this skein of 112 yards of heavy worsted two ply, spun out of 4.4 oz. of superwash BFL from Pigeonroof Studios in the Black Walnut colorway.

 This ended up being a pretty entertaining project. First of all, I have always found Krista's photos to be very accurate on her shop page, but that was not the case with this particular batch of roving. When it came in the mail, I was so happy to oggle over it as I had experienced a particularly long and frustrating day at work. Upon opening the package, I took the fiber out of its bag and laid it on the kitchen counter. Salmaan turned around to oggle it as well and gave a bit of a start, asking, "Sheesh, are you sure it isn't still alive???" I laughed my ass off, because he was totally right. It looked like road kill. And maybe, JUST maybe that perception was fueled in no small part by the fact that River had killed a squirrel in our back yard the night before. And maybe, JUST maybe it took us about a half hour to get her to let it go so we could toss it over the fence into the woods. Maybe. In any case, while I have tried really, really hard to imagine this yarn as being a reflection of some sort of woody, barkey, nutty goodness....I still kind of see roadkill. ;-) I have no idea what this will become, but I may be tempted to give the FO eyes and a gaping mouth. But don't worry, I won't toss it over the fence into the woods. Promise. In the end it provided us both with more than a few laughs, and for someone who normally knits in a palette more reminiscent of Rainbow Bright's wardrobe, a nice, earthy departure.

And thus ended my two month long relationship with Babe the rental spinning wheel. We returned it a couple of weekends ago in the village of Powhatan, and enjoyed an early breakfast with a good friend at a local restaurant, The County Seat. The food, I must say, was really quite good. And cheap. We'll be back.

Regretfully, there has been very little knitting at Chez K this past month, but again, that's something I plan to remedy in the coming days and weeks. Little Niece is turning 2 in May, which I think is probably JUST old enough to start worrying about monsters under the bed....don't you think? ;-)

FO: Handspun Thorpe

Project completion in one day. I like it.

 

Pattern: Thorpe by Kirsten Kapur of Through the Loops

Yarn: 135 yards Pigeonroof Studios heavy worsted handspun merino, colorway is Summer Fruit. Border is Malabrigo Merino Worsted, colorway is Pearl Ten

Needles: #9 dpns and #9 circs

I purchased this yarn what feels like ages ago from Pigeonroof Studios' Etsy shop. I adored it instantly, and cast on for a Turn a Square. I knit it to completion in a little more than two days, and it was so huge, it could have contained a men's regulation basketball. That's. Big. I tried to felt it in the dryer, but to no avail. I frogged and rewound the ball into a neat little cake, and it has been antagonizing me from its home on my bookshelf ever since. Until this past Saturday.

I came home after a nice lunch out with Salmaan, and decided today was the day I knit my very own Thorpe. I like this pattern, and am quite familiar with it. After turning out so many for the holidays last year, I never got around to making one for myself. It's a great pattern--terribly fiddly at first, but then it just FLIES. I like the crocheted border, as well. It's fun to be a hooker, if only for a moment. 

Motivation for this project arose out of my desire to get into a new morning groove--wake up, throw on clothes, walk River around the neighborhood at lightening speed (I have consistently clocked us doing 2.14 miles in 30 minutes flat--which includes puppy naughtiness and stopping to readjust training collar and pick up poop), come home and eat a real breakfast sitting down and actually chewing, (yes, I am writing about poop and breakfast in the same sentence--egads!) and then doing my regular morning routine. It has happened....well, it hasn't happened yet, but that's because I haven't had a deliciously warm handspun hat to help me brave the chilly winter mornings, yeah? Yeah. Mmm hmm. Yup. 

 Crap. No more excuses. Tuesday morning, here I come! Look out, world, there's a tired dog and oatmeal on the horizon! 

 

Day to Day #1

You know those random things that happen, that would be totally blog-worthy if they were part of a great story, or if you could relate them to a quote from some really famous author? Yeah. Those things happen to me EvErY dAy, and I needed a place for them, because they're never part of a great story...and I might as well be illiterate when it comes to quality literature.

• While stopped at a red light, I looked in my rear view mirror and saw an old man in the car behind me using his rear view mirror to brush his beard. At first I couldn't quite comprehend what I was seeing--it almost looked like someone was lying upside down--face to the ceiling of the car, while brushing their hair. Or a large poodle was in the driver's seat of the vehicle, being brushed from behind. He was doing it with a regular hairbrush. He was so distracted that he had to be beeped at to move when the light turned green. I thought it was awesome.
• Phone conversation with attorney at work:

Attorney: You sent me a letter telling me that I had to include the amount of child support that husband is to pay to wife, in their final decree for divorce.

Me: That's right. I did.

Attorney: Well, the reason I didn't include it is because they haven't agreed on a specific amount.

Me: I know. And that's a problem, because Virginia Code Section 20-60.3(6) requires a specific amount. Besides, it wouldn't make much sense to agree to pay child support without specifying an amount, would it? What if husband suddenly refuses to pay? How is the Court supposed to hold husband accountable for not paying an amount that was never agreed to by the parties?

Attorney: I'm not quite sure I understand...

BTW, this isn't just Contracts & Family Law 101, this is like, Common Sense 101. After 20 minutes of walking this guy through pretty much the entire process of a divorce, he had the balls to ask, "So, it wouldn't be too much to ask for you to call me when this final decree has been entered, would it?" Me: "Yes, yes I think that would be too much to ask."

• Boss went to the Masters this year. And he brought me back a Masters candy bar--it had a special label and everything. I don't really eat sweets, so I just set it on my desk in my cubicle. It has been there for weeks. It was there yesterday evening when I left to go home. It was NOT there this morning. I think the cleaning staff took it. Not that I REALLY mind--I wasn't going to eat it anyway...but, a WHOLE candy bar? That's pretty brassy, don't you think?