Wild Salad and new children's projects!

 Once upon a time, I lived in the Bronx.  I was interested in foraging for wild food.  My friend Lois and I went on a foraging outing in Central Park with Wildman Steve Brill.  At that time, we had to dodge the park police!  We had a blast.  His specialty was "Five Borough Salad"! Another friend's little son and my husband at the time formed a movement called "Men Against Wild Salad" or "MAWS"!!  Today, my sister sent me a clip to  a bit of video from youtube with Steve Brill that's current:

In knitting news, here is the start of two small people's items:

This will be a Tomten jacket for a wee one, I know not who...

 I saved the copy from an ANCIENT copy of Vogue magazine!! 

from 1988...note I wrote "bad directions" the first time I knit it, probably 18 years ago...

 And this will be a Fabled Cardigan for my niece

Here are some garden photos...

I am going on vacation on Friday to, well, somewhere in Europe. I look forward to sharing with you some fibery finds from my trip!

More baking than knitting

There was likely more baking than knitting this last weekend, although some of the latter did happen.

A bit of a celebration of sorts forced me in to the kitchen.  While I try really hard not to bake sweet stuff because I eat too much of it, I really had no choice.

Found a recipe from my favorite baking book for whole wheat cinnamon rolls.  Who knew, before Judith Fertig taught me, that yeast dough would rise in the fridge??  What about all that " put in a warm place to let the dough rise" business??

Anyway, while the recipe says to grind one's own flour from wheatberries, I didn't, but I swear I'll do that once I retire.  I swear.  Rather,   I used King Arthur white wheat, which is my go to...  I didn't forget to use Grandma Helen's ancient rolling pin, which adds a dash of those  je ne sai quoi old wood fragments, the matrilineal rolling pin version of sour dough??  (Its handle fell off about 5 years ago, still works great...).

There's a reason that I knit rather than, say, sculpt;  it's that I don't create matching 3 dimensional free form shapes well  (I'm very bad with  the Lucia bun S shape...)

However, the result looks pretty fine, on a tea saucer also inherited from Grandma Helen. It also tasted pretty good, the cream cheese drizzle on top used a WHOLE BOX of confectioner's sugar, which sort of mitigated the taste of the tannins in the whole wheat.  A particular teenager wasn't unhappy with the lack of white flour

And then...at yes, I confess, Walmart, I found the cutest little mold for gingerbread men cookies, which was convenient as I had some frozen gingerbread dough left over from Christmas (these pictured are unbaked).

Really cute although really the wrong time of year...

On the knitting front, I have had some gauge-related frustration with a pair of socks that I've been working on and put aside last month, waiting for patience to return. I  got back to them this week, figured out which needles I needed, and steamed ahead

They are for that nice man, done in Poems sock yarn.  Do love the slow color gradation.  I'm on a size zero.  Just heard on a podcast today that the smaller the gauge, the better they wear.  That's good news, I'm at about 9 stitches per inch here...

Holiday Baking in Retrospect (fiber free post)

Well,  once the rush of holiday knitting ended, the holiday baking began.  I try never to bake as I eat too much, but with two sons in the house, one must cave at least at the holidays.  My family has several somewhat traditional cookie recipes, but I decided to go another way this year.  

I have always wanted to try to bake Danish pastry.  I located a recipe in my favorite baking book, which by the way is Prairie Home Breads by Judith Fertig.

As a warmup, however, I made stollen for Christmas morning.  I use my Grandmother's recipe, which she got from a friend in Vermont long ago.  I made three, one for me and the boys, one for my folks, one for my sister and her family.  I like using a baking pan so that the slices are not too long and narrow.

Next, some Lucia Buns for Christmas dinner.  Not the traditional date for these buns, however my sons asked for them.  Sometimes they show up at Thanksgiving dinner as well; they are  pictured here from last year.  I cheat; I don't do individual shapes, I just roll them into a rough ball and put in the baker a la monkey bread.  This recipe is also from Prairie Home Breads.

OK, then on to the Danish.  I learned from Ms. Fertig's book that Danish pastries can be made in to all different shapes.  This would be my cookie dough.  I can be a bit sloppy at times,  so I tried hard to follow the recipe to the letter.  Prepared dough (used the Kitchenaid) 

and chilled and rolled out butter.  Layered dough and butter, refridgerating a few minutes in between folding and rolling out.  Really, not terribly difficult.  I did not get perfect layers, but the end result did not seem to suffer.

Then, once all folds done, refridgerate overnight.  Now, here was my learning aha moment...I thought that yeast did not actively work when dough was cold.  WRONG!  Here we are out of the fridge the next morning (compare above and below): 

 Next, the fun begins.  Divide the dough and refridgerate parts not being worked with.  I made a filling, an almond paste from the book.  Roll dough out flat, spread filling, rolly jelly roll style

Slice, allow a little rising time and bake:

For the next batch, I went with something easier but a little Scandinavian, some Swedish Lingonberry jam

These pictured below are before baking.  The jam was slippery and I used my new trick to refridgerate the roll before slicing. 

Their final appearance was not perfect, but quite delicious.

Next year, I will bother to hand-form the Lucia Bun S shape, but I will use the refriderator trick to work the dough more easily!

So, New Year's celebration is easier:  make olive tapenade hors d'oeuvres with pre made pizza dough, take to sister's and eat steamed oysters. 

Happy New Year!



 

Holiday Knitting Begun

I think that part of the discipline of being a lace knitter is being able to put it down to work on something else that perhaps you don't want to work on quite as much.  I find that difficult.  To wit:  holiday gifts. 

I'm not really in the mood this year for holiday knitting, usually it's full steam ahead...but I was good last week and started two items

a pair of socks (two views)

 and a hat (more gray than purple in real life)

I do like starting things, even if they're not lace.

I still have globe basil in the garden and happily stumbled on this recipe for bread machine focaccia with basil.  Why it's in the Southern food section at about.com I haven't a clue.  It was very well received by all.  I used fresh basil in the bread, and before baking it gently spread some marinara sauce and grated parmesan on top. It didn't last long!

Not alot of knitting, basil content alert

The garden is maxing out in the heat.  The string beans and tomatos are done.  It's hot where I live, and almost time for the second crop, contents to be determined.

One of my favorite books is Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  A la Barbara and her family,  I am working to include my garden produce in my meals, and working a bit toward being a locavore.  Here's part of the basil crop

I made a basil and olive oil mix in the cuisinart to freeze.  Added a little lemon juice to keep it from turning too black. I'm not a big pesto fan, so I leave the cheese out.  A favorite salad dressing involves  basil, olive oil, walnuts, a little red wine vinegar, s & p, some grey poupon, whizzed in the blender.

I found a really cute bag of small red, and white onions, and yellow shallots.  I cut a little "X" in the root end, popped them in to boiling water for 20 seconds, popped them out of their peels, threaded them on skewers, too cute!

added some of my basil mix and balsalmic to marinade them.

  It's hard to describe how good they were once grilled on my stovetop grill (here with watercress, farmer's market tomatoes, millet with seasonings

I redid the border on the Noro afghan:  much better in this triangular points edging.

 

Vintage WWII Hat, Bonnet Drama Notes, Thoughts on a Ditch Iris

I  like to knit from vintage patterns, and have a bit of a collection from when I frequented garage sales and flea markets.  That's a hobby that I will have to rediscover after I retire.

My friend Bob had this nice hat FO on Ravelry, his "World War II Cap."  The pattern is from a Bucilla book from 1940, which someone whose website is here kindly transcribed for all. Here's my version, I confess, in Vanna's Choice from Michael's

As son R and son B are heading out for summer adventures in northern climes this summer, I am trying to finish new hats for them, and this looked like it would do the trick for R, who asked for a "beanie."  Now, I don't think of a beanie as warm hat, but that's what this is called.

And on a completely different, subject...like... where have I been?  It took this article reprinted in a local paper for me to learn that what I am addicted to is the "bonnet drama"...I guess I'm more of a  Janeite than a Charlottan...nevertheless, bring on the Bronte....

on this general subject, do try this, you won't regret it

I've not embedded a video before so if it doesn't work try this link.You may also like this,  made me roll with laughter, but be warned, there is language content if you are sensitive to that sort of thing...unhappily, "Jane Austen's Fight Club" video has been removed from youtube.  It was also rip roaring fun.

 indeed, you may wish purchase your own Jane Austen Action Figure

I have had lousy luck growing irises here in SC.  It's been 5 years in this house, and the only regular repeat bloomer is what a former coworker called a "Ditch Iris," in other words, one that you dig up from a ditch.  

My sister called me several years ago and said "there are irises by the side of the road 10 markers from the hospital (where I was working at the time)".  I loaded a shovel in the back of the Honda and started counting markers.  No, it was no one's identifiable property.  I stopped and hastily dug some up.  Wild iris?  Formerly cultivated? 
 

PLEASE let me know if you do.  

Dinner last weekend:  saffron risotto, tomatos, basil, local shrimp

Current Sock Project

OK  all that said about my not loving sock knitting, I am now working on a pair of socks for someone, hopefully that person isn't reading this.  This person may have figured something out as I did take some foot measurements.

In the past I have enjoyed the color changing yarn so I picked up this lovely stuff

its Supersocke 100 and is lovely and soft, merino, angora and polyamide...what is polyamide anyway? 

Looked it up...here's the scoop via Wikipedia....apparently it's nylon...maybe it's German for "nylon".

Also in the past I have had sock fit issues, so I did a Ravelry search and used this top down sock calculator.  

More later when we see how this proceeds

Some bread machine advice:  if you're VERY lucky, which apparently I am today, you can put the ingredients for not bread machine bread to do "dough only" for two loaves not just one, and have it not spill over on the rise in the machine, only almost

and come out with this

rye with anise instead of caraway seeds.

Giving thanks: I am thankful for time for knitting, and edible flowers

I am hard at work to finish my hap shawl.  The goal is to finish this weekend.  Photos by Sunday at the latest.  I don't want to post any photos till I'm done.

I am also working on another holiday UFO, a sweater for my little nephew.  The sweater is also from the Noro Kids book.  This one is called Alex, also in Plymouth Encore.  Here it is in progress

Today, I am working on art in food.  I have always been interested in edible flowers.  Once upon a long time ago, my friend Lois and I drove from New York City to Capriland's in Coventry, Connecticut.  Adelma Grenier Simmons was still alive and looked like a little gnome in a woolen cape and little cap.  At lunch we were served a salad that was covered in edible flowers.  I recall that they brought the composed salad around to the tables before serving it so that we could see it first.  Several years later, my friend Susie gave me a cookbook that Adelma authored.  

From roaming around on the internet, it appears now that Caprilands is closed.  Adelma passed away in 1997.  HOWEVER we can still grow herbs, including edible flowers, and her legacy lives on.   Here is a list of edible flowers from our friends at wikipedia.

In the past, I bought a collection of edible flower seeds from some seed catalog that also no longer exists.  But I recall that it included johnny jump-ups, borage, calendula, chives and nasturtiums.  

Here in South Carolina, the pansies and johnny jump-ups bloom all winter.  My Thanksgiving salad is adorned with johnny jump-ups.  I think it looks really fetching.

I do love nasturtiums; I'll start some from seed after the winter solstice.  Both leaves and flowers are edible.

I have also baked Lucia Buns.  While Lucia Day is December 13th, this is my excuse to bake the fragrant but delicately scented Lucia buns, lussekatt,  for my whole family.  The recipe I use is from Prairie Home Breads, which is a favorite baking book.  The book contains lovely recipes from our Grandmothers from the old country, preserved in midwestern culture.  I cheated and did not hand form each bun, rather, I did them "monkey bread" style.  Each one has a raisin in it.  

Happy Thanksgiving!  Be sure to go for a walk afterwards, or before, or both!