27 March 2007
Another Show and Tell...Another Impending Adjustment
As the months roll onward and essay crunch times diminish, I have come to the realization that..damn, after exams in April, I'm going back to work. I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. On one hand, a reliable income will be swell. On the other hand, am I going to return and find my job fulfilling...and do I want that? So many questions and (as usual) so few answers. The good news: I'll see my friends everyday AND no school means no homework so my nights will be free for writing, knitting and whatever else comes up.
So, on top of essay madness, March means birthdays! And birthdays mean show and tell. First of all, I want to show off Joe's birthday cupcakes. They didn't last long enough to be photographed together. I named them "Black Forest (cup)Cakes" and if you want to try your hand at them, do as follows:
1. bake chocolate cupcakes (I used the Rich Chocolate cake recipe from Good Housekeeping)
2. make boiled icing
Mix 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar.
Bring to gentle boil. In a separate bowl, mix 2 egg whites and 1 tsp of vanilla. Once the sugar mixture is boiling, remove
from stove. Add the egg white mixture and beat with electronic mixer (don't try this by hand, you'll be at it all day) until
thick and creamy. It tastes like marshmallows.
3. shave dark chocolate using a potato peeler
4. add maraschino cherry
5. Buckle up cuz you're going to heaven.
Voila:
The next item in the Birthday Show and Tell Edition is my mom's hat. It's Odessa (which can be found at Magknits) which is just the right level of challenging for me. I had to re-start it three times because I couldn't get the ridges to swirl properly (you'll see what I mean in the picture). So in this project I learned to trust a pattern (it really does mean what it says..maybe I'll be able to apply this knowledge and begin to trust maps and driving directions...one day) and knit with beads.
It is modelled once more by that friendly bear.
Next up is First Sweater Take 2. It's a whole new pattern (Wicked by Zephyr style) and a whole new yarn (Manos del Uruguay in Flame) so hopefully it'll be a whole new experience (success...!?).
Have a great day...don't let the gloomy weather get you down.
Erika.
So, on top of essay madness, March means birthdays! And birthdays mean show and tell. First of all, I want to show off Joe's birthday cupcakes. They didn't last long enough to be photographed together. I named them "Black Forest (cup)Cakes" and if you want to try your hand at them, do as follows:
1. bake chocolate cupcakes (I used the Rich Chocolate cake recipe from Good Housekeeping)
2. make boiled icing
Mix 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar.
Bring to gentle boil. In a separate bowl, mix 2 egg whites and 1 tsp of vanilla. Once the sugar mixture is boiling, remove
from stove. Add the egg white mixture and beat with electronic mixer (don't try this by hand, you'll be at it all day) until
thick and creamy. It tastes like marshmallows.
3. shave dark chocolate using a potato peeler
4. add maraschino cherry
5. Buckle up cuz you're going to heaven.
Voila:
The next item in the Birthday Show and Tell Edition is my mom's hat. It's Odessa (which can be found at Magknits) which is just the right level of challenging for me. I had to re-start it three times because I couldn't get the ridges to swirl properly (you'll see what I mean in the picture). So in this project I learned to trust a pattern (it really does mean what it says..maybe I'll be able to apply this knowledge and begin to trust maps and driving directions...one day) and knit with beads.
It is modelled once more by that friendly bear.
Next up is First Sweater Take 2. It's a whole new pattern (Wicked by Zephyr style) and a whole new yarn (Manos del Uruguay in Flame) so hopefully it'll be a whole new experience (success...!?). Have a great day...don't let the gloomy weather get you down.
Erika.
02 March 2007
Lamingtons! Lamingtons! Lamingtons for Tea!
Ever since I came across the recipe for Lamingtons on the Joy of Baking website I have been dying to try the recipe but never had the right occasion. It’s not often that I am invited to or host afternoon tea so when my professor announced that we would be having a Victorian Tea Party in class, I jumped at the chance to whip some up. Lamingtons is a type of Australian tea cake and they are good! Have a look at these photos and see if they don’t make you want to run out and buy some desiccated coconut!! The recipe is pretty straightforward. You make a white cake, dip it in chocolate icing and roll it in desiccated (it means dried…I had to look it up!) coconut. They don't take long to make but it's good to have some time to let the cake cool before you cut it into squares so that they're firmer when you dip them in the icing. Here’s the link to the recipe:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/EnglishTeaParty.html
(Lamingtons are on the right, fourth row down…for some reason I can’t link directly to it).
The tea party in class was a blast! Local author, Alan Cumyn, came by to discuss the life of a novelist and to read from his books. He was a really engaging speaker and he reserved half of his time for answering questions. When he worked for the public service, he said he’d get up at 6am, write for an hour and then on his walk to work he would think about his characters and the story would stay fresh in his mind. He also advocates not outlining a work of fiction to death and allowing it to grow organically from its original seed of inspiration. (Tho he does recommend some outlining for younger writers as they start out). So now I’m all fired up again and I have some tricks to keep in mind for when I go back to work in May.
In knitting news, I finished my first sock! Its partner is coming along too. Thanks for the BC yarn, mom!!
When these are done I’m going to get back to the Somewhat Cowl. Hopefully I can finish it and wear it a couple of times this spring. Oh! I can’t believe I forgot about my bobble hat!! I’ve been seeing these all over the internet and I wanted one of my own so I made up the pattern. This is the first time I’ve ever done any inventing and I’m so happy with how it turned out. Here’s a picture of a friendly bear modeling it:
Have a great snowy weekend!!
Erika.
http://www.joyofbaking.com/EnglishTeaParty.html
(Lamingtons are on the right, fourth row down…for some reason I can’t link directly to it).
The tea party in class was a blast! Local author, Alan Cumyn, came by to discuss the life of a novelist and to read from his books. He was a really engaging speaker and he reserved half of his time for answering questions. When he worked for the public service, he said he’d get up at 6am, write for an hour and then on his walk to work he would think about his characters and the story would stay fresh in his mind. He also advocates not outlining a work of fiction to death and allowing it to grow organically from its original seed of inspiration. (Tho he does recommend some outlining for younger writers as they start out). So now I’m all fired up again and I have some tricks to keep in mind for when I go back to work in May.
In knitting news, I finished my first sock! Its partner is coming along too. Thanks for the BC yarn, mom!!
When these are done I’m going to get back to the Somewhat Cowl. Hopefully I can finish it and wear it a couple of times this spring. Oh! I can’t believe I forgot about my bobble hat!! I’ve been seeing these all over the internet and I wanted one of my own so I made up the pattern. This is the first time I’ve ever done any inventing and I’m so happy with how it turned out. Here’s a picture of a friendly bear modeling it:
Have a great snowy weekend!!
Erika.
Labels: kniticisms, The Undercover Kitchen, witticisms
