Goodbye Caution, Hello Wind!

So I did it! I threw caution to the wind and cast on a sweater yesterday morning that I only owned 1/3 of the yarn for. The Bells of Ireland sweater from the latest Interweave is absolutely perfect for my niece Molly for Christmas. And yes, I hear you talking, starting a sweater on 12/14 for Christmas also has an element of throwing caution to the wind in it but, as I am currently job searching, I have plenty of time for bobbles. It's too dark for photos right now but I promise some tomorrow.

Dillon is my new best friend. Not only did he email me back first thing this morning to tell me that they had the yarn I needed but he encouraged my recklessness.

I think I love him.

The Middle Aged New England Version of The Warriors

So it was supposed to go like this. Leave Manchester, VT at 11:12 am (yes--I looked at the clock). Route 7 to route 279 back to route 7 to route 22 to 295 to the Taconic to the Saw Mill to home at about 2:30 ish.

Here's how it really went. Leave Manchester, VT at 11:12 am. Route 7 to route 279 (overshot 279 and had to double back). Route 279 back to route 7 with a stop at a very nice florist to make sure I was going in the right direction. The sky was quite leaden and the air had some texture to it but no snow. Made the turn on route 22 and admired all the red barns on the way to route 295. Made the turn onto 295 and, hey, is that snow. Ooooo it's so beautiful. Twinkly and light. Lovely. And look, I'm already at the Taconic.

Holy crap! Who flipped over the snow globe! Barely anyone on the road and no plows yet so it was deep and slippery FAST! After skidding out twice and almost hitting another car my shaky knees and I got the hell off the Taconic and sat in the parking lot of a closed realty office to recover. (P.S. Why would anyone drive right next to another car in a snow storm? I mean really, wake up hammer head.) Of course I couldn't find my book of maps in the trunk of the car but a quick call to Sissy had me headed across route 23 back to route 22. Slow going (which was good). Hey look, there's a deli. Maybe they have a map. No map but they did have a very slippery sidewalk (that's how fast the snow came) and I slipped and scraped my poor little pinky on their stucco wall. They were nice enough to tell me where 22 was so off I went.

Hey look! The roads are clearing up a little bit. Now they're just wet. This was a great idea. I may be bleeding but at least I'll get home. Got a map at the gas station on the corner of 22 and 23, figured out where the hell I was and was on my way. Slow going but that was just fine with me.

Slower.

Slower.

Hey what's that? Is that ice. I thought you weren't supposed to be able to see black ice. Holy crap (again) that's not black ice. That's solid ice! For 25 miles. (Still bleeding.) Oh hell, there's a big hill coming up and it's kind of windy. But hey, is that a sand truck up ahead? Yeah!!!!! But why is it stopped halfway up the hill. You've got to be kidding me. I have to stop on ice, on a hill, in a Mazda! I'll never get going again. What's that orange glow on the dashboard? My get gas light is on and I'm stuck on a hill in the middle of nowhere and there is absolutely no way AAA is going to be able to find me. (Still bleeding and crying a little bit.) The sheriff arrived with some volunteers. Got the poor woman stuck at the top of the hill straightened out and got us all going again with some minor tire spinning and swerving. Whew. And a very nice lady going in the other direction who stopped right next to me gave me the lowdown on what was ahead--more ice.

Keep going. Find a gas station. Check the map again. (Bleeding and crying has slowed down a little although my right hand looks like a special guest star on CSI.) Roads getting better. Still slow but not a problem at all. Make a vow that I'm never going over 30 mph again.

I'm hungry. And I have to pee. Look at that cute place. Nice clean rest room, lovely girl behind the counter who gave me a chocolate chip cookie and a really tasty sandwich. And she told me about the woman who had been in a few minutes before me who had been on the road for 3.5 hours for a 20 minute ride. Wow! My day hasn't been that bad. Continue on 22 to Pawling when the traffic stops. Completely. For a while. Knit a little and still hadn't moved so went back to the map. Turned around when I could creep up to somewhere safe and went back the way I had come. This was not what I had planned!!!!!! The feeling of driving away from home was horrific.

Got onto Route 55 just as it was getting dark and, hey, what's that gray thing up there. It can't be a wall of fog can it? This is getting crazy! 55 to Route 292 in pea soup fog to Route 311. Suddenly have the urge to call someone (anyone!) and say "guess where I am" just so when they say "I don't know" I can say "Me neither" and start laughing insanely. Finally get to 84 South and make it to 684. Raining cats and dogs and here's where I start seeing the detritus of the day. Between there and Mount Kisco (maybe 14 miles) I passed at least 9 cars and trucks completely off the road.

FINALLY onto the Saw Mill Parkway. Everyone stayed in the right lane and went really, really slowly (did I mention that that was fine with me). Someone needs to explain to people that if everyone is going 20 mph, you don't need to drive with your flashers on. Wondered what would happen if the lights on the car in front of me gave me a seizure.

Is that the exit for Hastings? Is the liquor store still open? No. Is Stew Leonard's still open? Yes. Are P&E out at Maud's? Yes.

There was wine!

After all that, I counted my blessings and raised a glass to my good luck.

I hope that luck holds out. I cast on this this morning. But I only have half the yarn I need. Flying Fingers is closed today so I'm going to ride my luck and hope that Dillon has some of what I need upstairs.

Unfinished Objects

I've discovered that there are many many kinds of unfinished objects in my knitting corner. And all of them have their reasons.

1. The ones that aren't really unfinished. Case in point--my sister's Hey Teach. It's a great pattern, it's fabulous yarn and it's a wonderful knit. The only problem is my sister is really tall. So I've had to lengthen the sweater, lengthen the bodice, lengthen the arm holes, adjust the sleeves. And that has all involved a lot of trying on and ripping back. It hasn't been frustrating at all as it is such a lovely knit. It's just been time consuming with lots and lots of gaps in between try ons.


2. Other people's UFOs. My friend R started a blanket for her grandson. She works a lot. I am unemployed. This poor kids has been waiting for ages for this present so, being a good grandmother, she asked me to finish it for her. It flew by! Eight rows of stocking stitch and then eight rows of reverse stocking until I ran out of yarn. And although I don't really care for acrylic, Plymouth Encore really is among the best of them. Very soft and machine washable.


My friends M & Rs Mom passed away recently. She was a wonderful knitter and before she died, we had a conversation about a hat she was planning for R. It was very important to her that he have a nice warm hat for winter but never got a chance to cast on. So I cast on for her--sometimes a UFO was never started but it is important to finish it. Of course I made a hat for M as well. By the way, today is their 30th wedding anniversary. Although my stupid state doesn't recognize their marriage, I most certainly do and I wish them 30 more wonderful years.



3. The UFO that is really not your fault. I cast on a blanket with the expectation that I could get more of the yarn. That hasn't turned out to be the case. It should be easier--it's Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky--but this color seems to have disappeared. I refuse to give up though so it remains in the corner as a beacon of hope. Of course now I can't find the photo of it so that'll have to wait for another day.

4. The UFO that I fear. Nuff said. Sometimes my knitting scares me and it needs to stay in the corner until I can suck it up and overcome those fears. If I pick it up and immediately start humming the music from Halloween--back to the corner it goes.

A Shameful Day for the State of New York

The NYS Senate just voted against Marriage Equality in NYS. I mean for crying out loud--what's the problem here folks. How does this affect anyone other than the two parties being married. I have yet to hear a plausible argument against Marriage Equality.

Canada is looking better and better every day.

The Edible Garden

How this (almost) got past me, I'll never know. I checked me email on Friday and found out that, lo and behold, Sunday was going to be the last day of the Edible Garden at the New York Botanical Gardens. That is so perfectly up my alley that I got our free pass, charged up the camera and off I went.

If you've never been it's definitely worth spending a few hours. For some reason, it always takes me back in time. It's serene and peaceful and you could picture Edith Wharton on a bench scribbling away. Unless of course there's something exciting going on and then it turns into everything you love about New York. All different kinds of people, all different voices and languages, all different types of families and singles. It's quite extraordinary.

And you get to see things like this.


It was the most beautiful purple basil that I've ever seen.

And this is Orris Root which smelled amazing. I kept drifting back to it because it smelled so good.


I'm not sure what these are but I want to own a lot of things in that color. It was so vivid and happy.


There were about a dozen vendors handing out samples on the steps of the big greenhouse. My two favorites were Ayala's Herbal Water and Laloo's Goat Milk Ice Cream. The water comes in really amazing, subtle flavors and was so refreshing. I'm not a big fan of either bottled water or flavored waters but these were so unique and delicious that I see a lot of them in future. Especially the lavender mint flavor. The goat milk ice cream had a wonderful, creamy texture and the guys running their table were so nice. I had the coffee and the mission fig (ahhhhhhh---figs) and both were outstanding. There were also very good dumplings from a company out in Brooklyn but they didn't have any takeaway cards so I signed up for their mailing list. I'll let you know all about them when I hear from them.

The highlight for me was seeing Ariane Daguin, the president of D'Artagnan,in the Conservatory Kitchen. She made a lovely dish of ham and mushrooms over polenta. She's so knowledgeable and interesting and just a lot of fun to watch. I wish I had gotten her photo showing how ducks and geese would fly if their livers were on the side (like all other animals). It was pretty funny.


There was one woman in the audience who seemed to be trying to bait her. First she asked about using nitrates as a preservative. Ariane was terrific. She said, yes, they did use nitrates in some of their products because they had too and there is currently no better alternative. Apparently, some companies are now using celery juice to preserve their products to appear greener but the celery has the same nitrates in it that everyone else uses. The woman also asked about force feeding ducks and geese to grow their livers. Ariane gave a great, very clear explanation of how ducks and geese work. They travel very far distances over mountains and seas so they force feed themselves twice a year to grow their liver and thicken their skin (the two places where they can carry the calories that they need to make it to their destination with no food). So it is in their nature to force feed. Unlike a chicken, which everyone agreed would be cruel to force feed as it is not in their nature.

I recently received some confit duck gizzards as a gift (I have wonderful friends) and asked for her suggestions. She jumped right in with some ideas for cassoulette our lentils. Yum to both of them!

I think I want to go work for her!

It's That Day Again.

Today is the day that I commit to peacefulness and kindess. In a way it's a sort of New Year's Eve for me.

It truly blows my mind (in the best possible way) that the worst of human nature brought out the best in human nature. I will always cherish the spirit in my community in the days that followed the 9/11 tragedy. We showed our true colors, were kind to each other, and offered help and support to anyone and everyone who needed it.

I will strive for that every day.

Summer Soup Rules!

I admire my sister for buying ingredients that she doesn't know what to do with. I come from a long line of good cooks and, the fun part, is that we all have our own styles, our own favorites and our own special techniques. Pop can look in the fridge and make an amazing meal out of any and every kind of leftovers. Granny makes a leg of lamb that you could die for. My grandmother made gravy that was like liquid roast beef. Interestingly, she taught us all the technique to make it but it has taken me a lifetime to get even close to what she could do.

So I was up at Sissy's house the other day and she had a package of tomatillos on the counter. This is not an ingredient that is an everyday event around our houses and I commented on it. She, quite kindly I think, said "I don't know what the hell to do with them. You take 'em and come up with something good." (I have to add that this is very different than what she said to me when I poked my nose in a pan of string beans she was sauteing.)

And so I give you (drum roll please):

Roasted Tomato and Tomatillo Soup

1/2 lb. tomatillos with the papery husks removed
2 to 2.25 lbs. plum tomatoes
1/2 a softball sized red onion (or the equivalent of smaller onions)
1 3 -4 inch jalapeno pepper
olive oil
kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
3 cups chicken stock (this really doesn't need to be the good stuff)
1/2 cup heavy cream

Halve the tomatillos and the tomatoes. Cut the red onion into 4 wedges. Halve the jalapeno and remove most (but not all of the seeds).

Spread the vegetables on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle them liberally with olive oil and season them liberally with the salt and pepper.


Put the baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven and turn the temperature on to 400 degrees (no need to preheat for this).

After 30 minutes, give the vegetables a nice mix in the sheet. They will be soft but will hold their shape. Continue to roast for another 15 - 30 minutes (45 to 60 minutes total). Start checking them after 15 minutes. When they are soft enough to collapse, they are done.

Let the vegetables cool for a few minutes and then add them, with all their juices to the jar of your blender. Puree them until they are smooth and then add the chicken broth through the feed tube until the soup is the consistency you like (remember--if you're going to serve this as a cold soup it will be thicker than when it is heated).

Add 1/2 cup heavy cream and blend for just a few seconds to mix.

Serve this either hot or cold.

Damn. I've got to tell you this came out so good! And the roasting vegetables made the house smell amazing. Although there is very little seasoning in this, the flavors really shine through and linger and develop on your palate. If you are vegetarian or vegan, you can use vegetable stock and leave out the heavy cream (I just like a little decadence in it).

I happen to like my soup in a wide, shallow bowl. I'm thinking some really sharp cheddar on 7-grain bread under the broiler for a few minutes until it's nice and browned would be perfect with this. I think I'll cut it up into fingers and pour the soup in a shallow layer around it.