greenclogs

Friday the 13th

Can I just say that it was quite a day and leave it at that? I don't usually buy into the whole Friday the 13th thing, but man. Today kicked me in the rear end. I will say that it ended well. A dear friend from college came to town and she came with us to a birthday party (a 29th birthday party. I feel old) in oldtown Scottsdale. We listened to cool music and hung out with beautiful people and ate yummy sushi. And yes, my doctor says sushi is fine, as long as it's from somewhere reputable. I indulged mostly in unagi and spider rolls anyway because that's what sounded good. It put me in a better frame of mind for starting out well this weekend. I needed it. 

The best part? The bathroom of the place. It was kind of medieval Japanese dungeon meets high tech Japanese toilet. I mean really, how often do you run into an intentionally heated and multifunctional toilet in a nightclub? Me, not often. 

more comfort food

Last week we made apple cider donuts with apple cider from the farmer's markets. We had some good friends over to help us eat them, and they went fast. Ours weren't as lovely as the ones at Smitten Kitchen, but I think that was because I had a lot of trouble keeping the oil at a consistent heat. I've always resisted buying a deep fryer, but if I were going to make more donuts then I would definitely invest in one. And I may need to perfect this recipe. 

Clearly we're deeply into fall food around here. What are your favorite fall recipes? I'm looking for some new inspiration. 

French onion soup

I bought a bunch of onions last week with the intention of making French onion soup. I got caught up in making sweet potato soup, potato leek soup, vegetable chili, and bacon and kale strata. The French onion soup was shoved to the back of my mind until Melana mentioned that she was caramelizing onions for said soup. In a flash, Jeff was slicing onions and I was headed to the store for bread and cheese. When dinner rolled around, we had this. 

Oh. My. Goodness. Why don't I make this more often? It was amazing. We used a pretty standard recipe. Caramelize 3 large onions (sliced) on low heat for about 45 minutes (we had bay leaf in there too, but not the thyme that most recipes call for because we were out). Season with salt and pepper. Add 4 cups of beef broth. We added some dark ale instead of wine or sherry because it's what we had. Let simmer for about 30 minutes, until the flavors meld. Ladle into flameproof bowls and cover with 2 slices of baguette, then cover with cheese - I think we had about 1/2 cup of finely grated cheese per bow. Gruyere is standard, but we used Beecher's Flagship Cheddar and it was wonderful. Broil until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Dig in. mmmm.....

By the way, Gunnar enjoyed it but skipped most of the onions. Annika opted for leftover potato leek soup instead. I think she'd love it if she could get past the word "onion." Someday. 

something finished!

We're going to do a new photo shoot tomorrow on a non-pregnant model, but I'm so happy to have finished something! This is the Hostess Apron from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. The fabric is by Joel Dewberry and has a coordinating print on the inside of the band and ties. It was intended for my sister-in-law, but I think she will swim in it. So, the next one is for her, scaled down for the petite flower. I think this one is going into the Christmas gift category, since obviously it isn't going to fit me for quite sometime. I'm just getting bigger right now. 

I had only one problem with the pattern, but it annoyed me enough to put it away for 2 weeks. Maybe I'm just hem challenged, but if you follow the rules of geometry, folding up a large hem on a garment that is not square will result in folding up too much fabric for a smooth hem. The pattern instructions say to hem the sides first, which takes away the obvious solution of squaring up the fabric at the bottom for an even hem. I was irritated, and will amend the pattern on the next go-around. However, if there is some magic way to trick geometry that I do not know, please feel free to enlighten me. I've run into this on several patterns in this book, so maybe it's me. 

That said, this makes a darling apron and I'm pleased with how it turned out. It's perfect for when your spouse cooks for the party and you throw on the apron to look like you did all the work. 

Next time, I'll make it reversible by adding contrast fabric to the back, and just seaming them together (hence removing my hem issue altogether) and add pockets to both sides. I think that will make it more versatile without adding much extra work. It makes an ample sized apron, even on 20 week pregnant me, so be aware of that if you're tiny. I'll try and get better shots of the whole apron tomorrow. Not cuter, but more informative. Because really, I don't think we could have gotten a cuter shot. 

A preview of tomorrow's project finishing:

I'm pretty excited about it.

reunions

Okay, technically this is posted too late to be a Monday post, but I have a good excuse. At about 9:00 tonight, as I was settling in, I got an Facebook email from a high school friend (that I haven't seen since high school) that he was in Phoenix on business. Did I have time to see him on short notice? I thought about it for a few seconds, and got myself into the car and headed south to Chandler. And really, I'm so glad that I did.

I spent a lovely two hours getting to know someone again who was part of what seems in some ways a distant past, and in other ways like yesterday. I've seen a few people from high school this year, thanks to the magic of Facebook, and I am so grateful to know these people as adults and to like them even better than I did when we were teenagers. It is such a gift to sit and talk with someone who shares part of my history and who rounds out that experience. I'm very grateful to have these beautiful people back in my life.  It is so very good to look back and laugh and cringe and know that it really did all work out just fine. We turned out okay.

dream of sky

95

i thank You God for most this amazing 
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees 
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything 
which is natural which is infinite which is yes 

(i who have died am alive again today, 
and this is the sun's birthday ;this is the birth 
day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay 
great happening illimitably earth) 

how should tasting touching hearing seeing 
breathing any lifted from the no 
of all nothinghuman merely being 
doubt unimaginable You? 

(now the ears of my ears awake and 
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

e.e. cummings 
100 Selected Poems

I held this in my heart and mind today through the ups and the downs. 

We're trying some new routines in an effort to make the days easier
as we prepare for the new little person to arrive. We're working on
taking things in stride, understanding that all is not fair in this world.
We're working on not expecting perfection from ourselves or from others, 
instead expecting our best efforts and continued practice and improvement 
and pride in all of our work. We're practicing patience and grace. 

We are alive again today, and every day. 

weekly menu planning

No photos now - it's late and I need to head to bed. I thought I'd do a quick farmer's market report. 

Today was the first big farmer's market day with the main organic produce broker in the area attending. Also happily in attendance was the bakery from the Phoenician Resort with its chocolate cherry sourdough bread (amazing) and rosemary bread. Today we took home both of those breads, scallions and pinto beans from our favorite little farm (a husband and wife who get up at 4AM on Saturday to harvest their veggies for the market. 4AM, people!), local white cheddar cheese, brussels sprouts, fennel, carrots, leeks, green beans, broccoli, tomatoes, Tuscan kale, salad mix, pomegranate, golden beets, and probably a couple of other things that are escaping my grasp. Combined with the grains, beans, potatoes, winter squash, onions and garlic already in the house, I think we have the makings for a yummy week of lunches and dinners. I just need to make it to the grocery store for dairy and pasta to round things out. 

I'm planning on making a savory bread pudding with the rosemary bread, the kale, and probably some Italian sausage for tomorrow. We also have a big hunk of banana squash, courtesy of one of our favorite farmers for making a pie. He swears it's better than pumpkin pie and we're going to find out. We'll make a couple of soups - the curried sweet potato of course, and something with the pinto beans, as well as a potato leek for our lunches. I'm liking the idea of a root vegetable gratin. And lastly, I see a lot of salad this week with goat cheese and dried fruit or pomegranate seeds and hazelnuts that I bought last week. The rest of the veggies will likely land in a stir fry and in a frittata. We're trying to limit our meat consumption to twice a week, so using the vegetables in a variety of interesting ways is important. I'm so thankful that the farmer's market is back in action.

Feel free to leave any "must make it!" suggestions in the comments. I'm always looking for new ideas. Happy weekend!

baby knitting

Knitting for the upcoming baby has started in earnest now that we know there's a little girl coming our way. The Betty Lou cardigan is my first girly project out of Vintage Baby Knits. I want to knit basically everything in there. I've also knit a pair of soakers, and have started another sweet cardigan pattern. The yarn for this one is Spud & Chloe Fine, a new yarn from Blue Sky Alpaca. I love the stitch definition that the lace pattern has. I haven't washed it yet. so I can't vouch for durability. I'll be sure to report back. 

Back to the knitting!

Dang, that was a long night

Just squeaking in here with the post of the day. Tonight, instead of my usual knitting group, I went to Tempe with some friends to see the Pioneer Woman talk and get a book signed. The bookstore was NOT prepared for the crowd. There were over 300 people there, and let me tell you, that was a lot of people in that little store. We gave up on finding a seat, and camped out in the parenting/baby names section and brainstormed while we listened. After the talk, two of us stayed to get books signed and chat up Ree, while the others were smart and headed home. 3 hours later, I have a signed cookbook. Three hours, people. I'm glad I went, but man, now I know why I don't usually do that. It's exhausting. Ree was very charming and lovely, as were her sister-in-law and mother-in-law. Much more gracious than I would have been after all that book signing!

Tomorrow, I have actual craft content. I know. Crazy talk. 

some musings

Gunnar just started playing soccer this season at the age of 11, after never being interested in playing. He's enjoying having time with friends now that he's home doing his own thing for most of the week. It's been years since I sat on a soccer sideline, and even more years since I played, and it brings back quite a few memories. I'm a bit surprised at how quickly he's picked up the game from a strategic standpoint. I think that *not* playing for all these years has been a benefit for him in the long run because he doesn't have years of chasing the ball rather than really playing a position to overcome. He started playing with the maturity to understand how it all works. He's very athletic, so the skills are coming quickly. Overall, I think we've been way happier as a family with waiting until middle school age to start team sports. I'm missing my quiet Saturday mornings, but it's only a few more weeks. 

I should have an in-progress shot of the super cute pink baby sweater that I'm knitting, but I don't. I'll show off the finished product once I've muddled through crocheting the sweet scalloped edge with my total lack of crochet skills. Thank goodness for my knitting group and its knowledge of all fiber related activities. So, in case that wasn't hint enough, we're having a girl. Yay girls! Especially from a make-cute-stuff-for-baby standpoint. I adore my boy, but he's harder to sew for. And really, isn't it all about the cute things you can make? We're kind of at a name impasse, so if you have a name you love but never used, feel free to throw it into the mix. We had a pretty firm list for Annika that Annika was not on, and it came out of left field at the end. So, I always remain open. You just never know where that perfect name comes from. 

I've decided to finally make an advent calendar this year in addition to making our Christmas gifts because I am a Crazy Person. I think I'm going to riff off of this one, but with less expensive materials. and maybe some Christmas-y fabrics as the background colors on the pockets. Now I have to figure out if this is a family advent calendar, or if there's one for each child. Maybe we start with one, and add 2 more before next Christmas. Oh, and one for LIndsay because according to her, you're never too old for an advent calendar. Do you have an advent calendar that you fill every year? What do you put in it that doesn't mean that you spend $$$ on the filling? Coins? Candy? A lego brick? I was thinking a combo of those things, as well as some notes with fun things to do that day. Your fabulous ideas are welcome! If there are some great ones, then I'll do a post devoted to advent calendars. 

Well, for not having a lot to say, I sure said a lot. I'm going to go eat my macaroni and cheese and watch the Top Chef All-Star reunion. I'm ready for baseball to be over so Glee comes back on. Oh, by the way, the lemons are ripening on the tree and we're trying new recipes. Good stuff coming in the next few weeks.