Fall Fest Fun Times Fweekend

ust a taste of my very fun weekend in Fargo-Moorhead (or The Mofo as I started calling it) over the weekend. It was a perfect fall weekend to be outside, gallivanting with my incredibly fun hosts, Jer and Fun Times.

We went to a couple pumpkin patches, one full of rotten, deformed gourds and this one, pictured, a roadside farmer's market with a variety of late fall vegetables, decorative pumpkins and picked-over, would-be jack-o-lanters.



This place was also ornately decorated with an enormous selection of these sad vintage plastic critters:



It was a truly red-letter weekend, in that I played pull tabs for the first time. I don't know how they work, but Jer assures me I didn't win.

Fail: Skull Cap

it is the key determinant when choosing a skull cap, meaning it should feel snug and warm - two qualities this project lack. In the end, while the cap looks great, its too short and too big around. By no means is this a complete loss, as I still have quite a bit of yarn leftover to start a new attempt. This time, I'll knit it in the round like my instincts told me, and I'll start with 20 fewer stitches and finish with about 8 more stockinette rows. Hopefully I'll get closer to the fit I want, which given my ginormous head (its like Sputnik, good friends), will require some more yarn : )

Progress Update: Kimono and Skull Cap

ow that I see the last time I updated the Jasmine Kimono, I see how much progress I've made in the last 3 weeks. It really has been going quickly, and now that it is starting to look like a real sweater, I'm less concerned about the fit, especially given how far the front panels will wrap:



I also needed to get started on a second project, this skull cap using this gorgeous Malabrigo merino wool:



I really wanted to work on a project finished by piecing a couple parts together. This pattern is knit flat in two equal halves and then stitched up in a single seam. I'm grateful for the experience, as I'll need it to finish the kimono. However, its killing me not to just double the number of cast-on stitches and knit the hat in the round. I will post again when its all done, very soon.

Have a great weekend, good friends!

Would you watch this TV show?

ately I've been wanting to pitch an idea for a TV pilot about an average man with exceptionally bad luck. One day he's struck by lightning, several times, and now he can see the future. However, its always someone else's future he sees, and the news is never good - in fact, he's meant to help said future dweller avoid their otherwise terrible fate.

Our hero can only see the future during a seizure (a residual side effect of the lightning strike), and the situation is always presented through song and choreography by a Pointer Sisters tribute band.



I imagine they'd establish themselves early in the series with all the Pointer Sister's biggest hits (Jump, I'm So Excited, Neutron Dance, etc) but I also hope they'll cover other pop hits from the era. (i.e. Tears for Fears, Lionel Richie, Foreigner, Van Halen's "Jump")

Without sounding too formulaic, I want there to be a romantic interest who's always just out of reach, someone he's been in love with for years but his bad luck has always kept them apart; now that he helps people, he's rewarded with an opportunity to build a relationship with his muse.

Also, no one else sees the hallucinations from his seizures ; no one else can see the Pointer Sisters.

Antiques

ver the weekend I was invited to attend an antiques show at the fair grounds. I'd never been antiquing before, so this was certainly a fun adventure. Right away I found living room furniture that belonged in MY living room:






I also fell in love with some of the amazing (and price gougey) glass pieces I saw. These were from the same shop, and I was enamored with the use of color and line, particularly the minimalism of the vases in the top image:





While I saw some cool pieces, I was pretty underwhelmed with the selection of furniture (my true love), and couldn't help but feel like there were lots and lots of knick-knacks, doo dads, and gee gaws from several past decades. Eventually, I decided to photograph the saddest things I could find:

Fail: Chicken & Dumplins

nternet recipes are a good starting point for a lot of the dishes I prepare, almost exclusively with the assumption that my adjustments will make them better. However, some ideas are so conceptually flawed that all the corrections in the world can't make enough difference to save the dish.

The facts are these: I used leftovers from a veggie tray at work. It included broccoli. Broccoli should never go in a slow cooker - EVER. Cooking chicken for 5 hours on high is just too long; no matter how big the pieces, they WILL dry out. Drop biscuits go in the oven, not the crock pot. The steaming process, done correctly, would have required more liquid than this dish provided, with more steam than the pot could hold.

Finally, and most crushingly, chicken & dumplins is comfort food. It should feel velvety and lush, not mushy and wet. I need to get Mom's recipe and try this one again; I know now that vegetables go on the side, not in the main dish. The dumplins should cook down in the stock and let off some of their starch, adding body to the liquid. And finally, and most disappointingly, I don't think this is a dish that goes in the crock pot.

For the record:

Chicken & Dumplins (from the internet)

8 new potatoes, scrubbed and halved
2 C crudites (celery, carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli?)
8 oz. button mushrooms, halved
5 chicken breasts, sliced into planks
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 C chicken stock
1 t kosher salt
1 T dried tarragon
1 C frozen peas
2 C baking mix (I used Jiffy, but Bisquick is also great)
3/4 C milk

Add potatoes, vegetables, mushrooms and chicken to crock. In a medium bowl, combine soup, stock, salt and tarragon; pour into crock. Cover and cook on HIGH for 5 hours or until chicken is cooked through. Stir in peas. Mix together baking mix and milk, and spoon individual dumplins into boiling liquid. Tilt lid on crock to allow for dumplins to rise without all the steam escaping. Talk to your cats about what a disappointing life you've led to this point while dining on a bowl of this slop.

Apple Poll: Results!

lection night results are in, and with 100% of precincts reporting, we have a newly elected apple dish:

Apple Brown Betty!

After both votes were counted and carefully re-counted, close runners-up Apple Pie and Apple Tart (1/2 vote each) conceded victory to Betty but vowed to run again in the near future. Also worth mentioning is the lone write-in nominee, Apple Dumplings. If the constituents in this district weren't already in store for another dumpling-based dish this week, we might have seen an even more hotly (and deliciously!) contested race.

Apple Brown Betty

6 medium Haralson apples
1 1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 loaf wheat bread, cubed (I used 10 slices of a loaf from the bakery)
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t ground ginger
1/2 C salted butter

Preheat oven to 375 F. Peel, core, and slice apples (I used an apple corer and sliced the wedges in half), chop bread into cubes (or tear by hand, Martha), and mix spices together, set aside. Grease pie pan with butter wrapper, then layer in 1/3 of the sugar, followed by 1/3 of the apples, 1/3 of the spice mix, then 1/3 of the bread cubes. Repeat twice more, topping with butter (I sliced each stick into 12 pats to help with placement), a sprinkle of cinnamon and a touch more sugar. Cover in tin foil and bake 45 mintues, removing the foil for the last 5 minutes. Serve hot with ice cream.

Peanut Butter Brownies

ately I've been bombarded with desperate "needs" for chocolate - let's call it a medical miracle, shall we? While I try to make healthier choices when it comes to food, sometimes I find it much more sane to just accept that I like brownies - a lot. Especially when they're slathered with peanut butter icing and robed in chocolate glaze.

Also, while I'm confessing my culinary sins, I want to clear the air about convenience items. You've seen my time-honored brownie recipe, Good Friends - you know how amazing they taste. However, I don't always have the time/energy/patience to make everything from scratch. Therefore, today's "Done" is more about the end than the means.

Peanut Butter Brownies
1 pan of prepared brownies (from a mix, if you must - fudgy is better than cakey for this recipe)
Icing
1/4 lb butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 C peanut butter (I like smooth, but chunky works just fine)
3 C sifted confectioners sugar
3 T milk
Glaze
1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 T vegetable shortening

Combine icing ingredients in a large mixing bowl, microwaving if needed to soften cream cheese and peanut butter. Whip using electric mixer just until combined and smooth. Spread over cooled brownies; refrigerate. Meanwhile, microwave chocolate and shortening in a small bowl, stir. Spread glaze over peanut butter icing. Return to refrigerator until glaze is set.

Poll: Apple Dishes

ey Good Friends! I need help deciding how to put my recent apple harvest to work. I figure rather than picking a recipe to try on my own, I'd open it up for your input. I've got some ideas posted here; please rate your top choice in the comments!


- Apple cheesecake
- Apple tart
- Baked apples
- Apple pie
- Apple brown betty
- Apple butter
- Other

Voting ends Wednesday, Oct 13 at 5pm (Central). Thanks!

Finally Fall

ecorating for my favorite season has finally commenced, now that the parade of contractors and handymen has concluded. The subfloor repair and the bathroom plumbing projects required more patience than I thought I could muster, but finally being able to decorate without having to take everything back down now seems worth it. My fall-themed efforts are few but fabulous; see for yourself...

Rhubarb Crisp

atmeal loves company, particularly when I have an entire winter to get through without the same breakfast every morning getting too boring. Also, I'm pretty brave when it comes to trying new things. Why, then, did I think adding frozen rhubarb to my oatmeal would come out just like rhubarb crisp? Let me tell you, good friends, the outcome was still-frozen rhubarb in undercooked oatmeal, tasting tart and crunchy. After suffering through several bites of the mess, I was also feeling tart and crunchy. So, with the leftover fruit, I vowed to make it right. Here's how:





Rhubarb Crisp
2 lbs frozen, chopped rhubarb, thawed and drained
3/4 C all-purpose flour
1/4 C granulated sugar
1/2 C quick oats
1/3 C packed brown sugar
1/4 C unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 t ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine rhubarb with 1/4 C of flour and granulated sugar, transfer to a buttered shallow baking pan; I used a 9"x9". In a separate bowl, combine remaining flour and ingredients, stir until butter is distributed and flour is incorporated. Sprinkle oat mixture onto fruit, bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes. Serve a la mode.

Curried Cider-Pork Stew

pples are in season, and they are surprisingly prominent in this amazingly tasty dish. This easy one-pot wonder will definitely be making the rounds in my kitchen throughout the long, cold months ahead.




Curried Cider-Pork Stew
adapted from Better Homes & Gardens
2 lbs boneless pork shoulder
4 medium apples (I used pink lady and granny smith)
1 T vegetable oil
1 large onion, cut into thin wedges
2 T red curry paste
1 1/2 C chicken stock
3/4 C apple cider
kosher salt and pepper
12 oz baby carrots
3 stalks celery
1 1/2 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed

1. Trim excess fat from pork, cut into 1-inch cubes. Peel, core, and chop two apples, set aside. In a large pot brown pork, half at a time, in hot oil; return all pork to pan. Add chopped apples, onion, and curry paste; cook and stir 2 minutes. Add stock, cider, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add carrots and celery to pork mixture; return to boil. Reduce heat, simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cut remaining apples into 1/4-inch-thick wedges. Add apples and squash to pan. Cover, cook 10 to 12 minutes or until pork and vegetables are tender. Serve with sour cream and Sriracha sauce.

Progress Update: Jasmine Kimono

nitting season is rockin' my world, good friends, and I'm excited to share what I've been up to for the past couple weeks. Even without long stretches of time dedicated to sitting still just to work, I've nearly finished the back of the Jasmine Kimono cardigan I started a few weeks ago.



You'll note that I've started the sleeves and in just a few more rows I'll start binding off stitches mid-row to make the neck opening and the beginning of the front left and right pieces. I'm loving working with this yarn, and will be excited to see where it goes from here!