Kaiso
02 Jul 2010 3 Comments
in Material, Photos Tags: Flickr, Japanese, Judy Sumner, kaiso, Knitted Socks East and West, knitting, socks, yarn
Hi, my name is Megan, and I’m addicted to knitting socks.
Once I completed my first sock (a simple, solitary little thing fit for a Cabbage Patch doll, but complete with a solid gusset and properly turned heel), I was hooked. Sock knitting fever has gripped me with a fervor I could not have anticipated in my wildest dreams. I seek out sock yarn, own every size of small double-pointed needles, and can’t pull myself away from the abundance of pattern books in Barnes and Noble. I think I have a problem.
I completed my first actual complete pair of socks sometime in the beginning of February, after about two months of concentrated knitting that wasn’t nearly as tedious as I expected.
The pattern for these socks comes from a fabulous book that appealed to me on so many levels - Knitted Socks East and West: 30 Designs Inspired by Japanese Stitch Patterns, by Judy Sumner. How do I love this book? Let me count the ways:
- The title grabbed me. I love all things Japanese, and the combination of Japanese patterns with something I knew how to make was impossible to pass up.
- The photos within are gorgeous! Light and clean, they would appeal to knitters and non-knitters alike.
- The patterns are elegantly simple, different and intricate without complication.
- The patterns use more than just knits and purls, incorporating stitches such as cables, the wrap, the twist/slip stitch, the three-stitch lift, and the pkok. For someone like me, who was getting bored with knits and purls, but not ready to take on multi-colored or larger projects, these new stitches offered a welcome challenge.
- That said, while the patterns require a little more brain power to work than just mindlessly knitting in the round, they are short patterns with plenty of repetition, so they are easy to memorize.
- Most importantly of all, the directions are incredibly clear. Had I never attempted a sock before, I probably could have used this book to get me started. The illustrations are simple, and nothing about even the most intricate of patterns is confusing.
I feel that Ms. Sumner does a much better job summing up the design of this sock, Kaiso, than I ever could, so I will use her words to describe the sock:
The lace design and fluid bands of this lace pattern look to me as if they could be moving under water, like seaweed. The Japanese word for seaweed is kaiso, and varieties of it have been used for centuries in Japanese cooking.
This sock design is a very simple one, using only knits, purls, yarnovers, and decreases to create a lace pattern that is reminiscent of the feather and fan design familiar to many Western knitters. Here, it has been simplified and modified with garter bands that add a rhythmic feel as they flow up and down.
The most difficult thing for me when knitting socks is getting over the adrenaline of finishing the toe and completing the first in the pair and moving on to the second. Just when you think you’re finished, the realization that you’re only halfway done sets in, and honestly, it gets kind of depressing. It’s the same feeling I get when I shave my legs. If the end result wasn’t something I could actually wear and show off, I probably wouldn’t be as excited about it. With the success of this sock, I think I may have to work my way through each and every pattern in this book. Perhaps I’ll make it a goal to knit them all by the end of next summer, a la Julie and Julia. I could actually do it, if I really try. Here’s to following through.
New toy #1: birthday present
01 Jul 2010 2 Comments
in Material, Photos, Technology Tags: camera, Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS, DSLR-A230, Flickr, Olympus Camedia D-425, Sony
I’ve had a great point-and-shoot, pocket-sized camera for a little over a year now: a burgundy Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS. It was a tremendous upgrade from my previous Olympus Camedia D-425: easier to use, bigger screen, clearer photos. It fits snugly in my purse so I can be ready to take a shot whenever the mood strikes me. That said, while I love that little camera, I’ve always felt like there was something lacking.
So, imagine my delight when my birthday rolled around this year and Hubby presented me with a truly awesome gift: a Sony DSLR-A230. This bad boy is big, hefty, and the closest thing to my dad’s old manual camera without using actual film.
One of the things that bothered me about the PowerShot was the inability to focus on the precise object I wanted. Don’t get me wrong – the autofocus is quick and accurate. But oftentimes the camera and I disagreed about the subject of the photo and thus on what to focus. It made for some frustrating photo-taking.
The Sony, on the other hand, while it can easily be set to automatic, encourages everything manual, from focus to aperture to shutter speed to probably a lot of other stuff since I know squat about the workings of manual cameras. But that is the great thing about it being digital: I can learn all about all those intricate functions of light and science by experimenting, and I can do it all without wasting precious film.
So far, I have only found one problem with the camera, and it has nothing to do with the actual photography. The aforementioned manual camera that once belonged to my father had been sitting in a cabinet for about ten years. Upon realizing that he had completely forgotten about it, and asking my mother for permission, that piece of nostalgia is now sitting on my desk, waiting for a new battery and ready to go again. Along with the camera came a great soft case, some extra lenses (super zoom!) and – the best part of all – the shoulder strap that kept that camera and my father inseparable during my youth. And herein lies the problem: the metal clasps that attach that strap to a camera are far too big and bulky for the likes of my new toy.
My hope is to get a new lens (macro zoom, fisheye, wide angle, etc.) every year. (Those things are expensive, you know, and I’m not made of money.) I also hope to eventually know enough about the particulars of fine photography that I won’t have to spend two whole minutes setting up a shot to get it just right.
In the meanwhile, check out some of the shots I’ve taken so far:
Whole wheat almond milk honey-sweetened pancakes with sauteed apple topping
10 May 2010 1 Comment
in Food, Photos Tags: honey, om nom nom, pancakes, apples, cinnamon, breakfast, lunch, delicious, almond milk, Bisquick
Did you ever wake up and think, “Man alive, I could really go for some pancakes!”? I did this morning and let me tell you, gentle readers, the craving took hold like nothing I’ve felt in months.
(Haha…morning. I should clarify. I woke up at the bright and early hour of about 11:30AM, which is still technically morning. However, by the time I got myself coherent enough to turn on the stove, it was well past noon. So, I suppose this meal was technically lunch.)
I don’t do Bisquick anymore. It’s loaded with salt and makes everything taste the same. I’m pretty proud of the fact that I’ve been making pancakes from scratch for the past five years or so. It’s super easy to do; certainly it isn’t any more difficult than mixing Bisquick. And pancakes made from scratch are generally made with fresher ingredients, and therefore are probably better for you.
The healthfulness of these pancakes, however, is completely obliterated and nullified by the sauteed apples, which are loaded with brown sugar and butter. The way I figure, though, I came out even.
Whole wheat almond milk honey-sweetened pancakes with sauteed apple topping
Pancakes:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 cup almond milk
- 2 tablespoons oil (canola, safflower…whatever strikes your fancy or whatever you have lying around)
- 1 large egg
Preheat oven to 250°F. Have an oven-safe plate and some foil ready – these will keep your pancakes warm while the rest finish cooking.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
In a larger bowl, whisk together honey, milk, oil and egg. Add dry ingredients to wet mixture. Stir just until combined.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Melt a small amount of butter – just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Pour batter in by tablespoonfuls (I like using my large cookie scoop). Cook until the surface of the pancakes begins to bubble and the sides just begin to brown. Turn with a thin spatula. Cook until browned on both sides.
Keep pancakes warm in the oven until ready to eat.
Sauteed apple topping:
- 2 apples (any kind will do – this morning I used Crispins), sliced or cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon (This number is arbitrary – I usually just shake in as much as I feel like. I encourage others to do the same.)
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add apples and saute until tender, about 6 minutes.
Combine water and corn starch. Add this mixture, brown sugar and cinnamon to apples, stirring to combine. Simmer for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened.
Duxelles pizza
09 Apr 2010 2 Comments
in Food, Photos Tags: artichokes, duxelles, Flickr, French food, mushrooms, om nom nom, pizza, Pizza Hut, recipe, shallot, sherry
Although I don’t eat it nearly as often as I did once upon my youth, I still love myself a good slice of pizza. Unlike the younger version of me, I’m not as attracted by giant slices of greasy cheese Pizza Hut monstrosities. Don’t get me wrong – I love the taste, but I know my intestines will pay for it for the next forty-eight hours. (Isn’t adulthood great?) What I do love these days is a good slice of the kind of pizza at which I used to turn up my nose: vegetable pizza.
That’s right, gentle readers. I want my veggies, and lots of ‘em. I like my pizza piled high not with cheese and pepperoni, but slices of gently roasted tomatoes, broccoli florets and the like. My younger self would scoff at the abomination of my current pizza preferences. ”Ha!” she would exclaim haughtily. ”You can’t trick me into eating vegetables! You think you’re so smart, but I’m on to you.”
Fast forward about twenty years to a
pizzeria just minutes from my parents’ house. My mother ordered for us, as she had had this particular pie before and knew I would love it. Instead of a traditional tomato-based sauce, it was a mushroom sauce, also known as duxelles (French for “om nom nom”). Atop it was arranged slices of plum tomatoes and roasted garlic, chopped artichoke hearts and crumbled goat cheese. Certainly not the traditional pizza in any sense, but I was game.
Oh my. I had never had anything like this before. It was so delicious that I just had to try and recreate it at home. It only took about six months before I tried it. Why? Two reasons:
- The idea of the duxelles sauce, which made the pizza so nomable, was a little intimidating. It could easily turn out a little wonky, so I wanted to be sure that I got it just right before I tried using it as a pizza sauce.
- Honestly, I kind of forgot about it.
When I discovered that it was so ridiculously easy, I facepalmed at the realization that I could have been eating this delectable slice of heaven months earlier.
(I am probably bastardizing the original French recipe here, but I’m not too worried about it. The results taste heavenly and to me that’s all that matters.)
Duxelles is made by chopping mushrooms (button, cremini, portobello, whatever) extremely finely. I used about 12 ounces (a box and a half, if you buy them prepackaged at the grocery store). With that same fine touch, chop a small shallot. Into the frying pan goes the mushrooms and shallots, along with some fresh thyme leaves and a heaping glop of butter, because what good would French food be without butter? What happens next is really quite phenomenal. The mushrooms will absorb all the butter, and then release it all back into the pan along with their own juices and a generous sploosh (read: about 1/3 cup) of sherry. After some simmering, the liquid will evaporate, leaving you with some mighty delicious, mighty soft and pasty mushrooms. (I usually give it a little whir with my immersion blender, too, just to make sure it’s extra creamy.) What you get out of this adventure is a perfect sauce to spread upon your pizza dough.
I usually make my own pizza dough and lay it thinly over my wonderful pizza pan (the circular type with holes in the bottom for even cooking). Spread on the duxelles and top with rinsed (if canned), chopped artichoke hearts and sliced plum tomatoes (which I forgot when I made the pizza featured in the above photo), and sprinkle on some goat cheese. Brush the crust with a bit of olive oil and bake for about 20 minutes at 450°F, until the cheese starts to brown. It won’t melt like mozzarella, but it complements the mushrooms so well!
I’d be curious to know what other veggie combinations others think of to use on a duxelles pizza…
What did you do for Easter?
07 Apr 2010 5 Comments
in Photos, Seasonal, WTF Wednesday Tags: awesome, Easter, Flickr, marriage, wedding
Personally, I had a great Easter weekend. What did I do, you ask? Well…
I GOT MARRIED!!!
Not dead
20 Feb 2010 6 Comments
in Animals, Blogging, Photos Tags: cat, Flickr, kitteh, Mai
No, gentle readers, I am very much alive. I’ve just had nothing of interest or value to post for the last thirty nine days.
Until I get myself back into regular blogging mode (which will hopefully be sometime in the relatively near future), here is a photo of my kitteh. Her name is Mai. She likes to smack my face while I’m sleeping. She’s weird.
Windowpane Scarf
07 Jan 2010 7 Comments
in Material, Photos Tags: knitting, scarf
I have a really bad habit of starting a knitting project and leaving it half finished. Scarves usually feel the brunt of my lack of follow-through. At least with a hat or a sock I know I can finish quickly, so I am more motivated to complete it. But scarves go on forever, especially if the pattern is small and intricate. However, I do actually manage to finish something on the rare occasion. This time around, after months of alternate excitement and near-death boredom, I finished the Windowpane Scarf.
This monolith of a scarf (as modeled by yours truly to the right) is about 12 inches wide and 80 inches long, including the fringe. I used about a skein and a half of Red Heart Super Saver worsted weight yarn (7 oz./198 g.) in Carrot, and a set of size 8 knitting needles.
The pattern, with a couple small tweaks (because I messed up early on and decided I liked it), is easily memorized, so it was the perfect project to work on while vegging in front of the television.
Of course, credit should be given where credit is due. This pattern was not my own. Heavens, no. It came from here.
Kittens
12 Oct 2009 7 Comments
in Animals, Photos Tags: awwwww, cat, cute, kitten, litter, Popeye, stray cats
My friend’s neighbor’s house seems to be a cat factory. Apparently all the stray cats in the area like to congregate under the shrubs and porches and other sheltered places on her property. What do they do there? They have kittens. Lots and lots of kittens.
See that squinty little guy in the front? I call him "Popeye."
There are five in the latest litter, which I got to see this weekend. I am told that they are only a few weeks old. Each one is just big enough to fit in my hand. They are they softest little things; even their little claws haven’t really sharpened yet. The tiny mews that escape their mouths are so precious that I can’t help but squeal when I hear it. The best part is that while they are just courageous enough to be curious about people, they are still too young to know that they should probably run away when one of us tries to pick one of them up.
All I know is that I must have some seriously good karma going on. If I didn’t, my conscience would have shut itself up and not reminded me that 1) my grandparents don’t like cats, and 2) we have a very large dog that could swallow a kitten whole. If that karma weren’t so good, I would be well on my way to becoming the crazy cat lady with hundreds of cats inside and out, to whom I would leave all my worldly possessions when I die. It took every ounce of my moral fiber not to take one of those little squirts home with me.
But honestly, though – how lucky am I to be able to resist a face like this?
say what?