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Live Your Creative Life

I am not big on New Year's Resolutions.  The way I see it is that any day is a good day to make a change for the better, make new plans, start something new, finish something old, make a habit, break a habit, whatever strikes your fancy.

I did have a thought that "more life, less work" would be a good plan.  It went right out the window on January 2nd.  So much for that idea.  January 3rd fared even worse in that regard.  Third time was apparently the charm because I managed to stop working fairly close to five o'clock.

Will I now magically stop working on time every day from now on?  No.  Of course not.  But I will keep trying, and maybe eventually I will come out on the plus side.

In addition to increasing the ratio of life to work, there is the matter of quality of life.  What do I want to do with all of this time I will have once I stop working so much?

In addition to continuing to follow my passion for knitting, spinning, and things fibery in geneal, I want to read more, for certain.  I used to read voraciously when I was younger and didn't have grown up responsibilities or the great time drain the Internet.  My reading appetite increased and decreased over time, and my tastes changed.  I moved into a house I had to share with another person, so I got rid of a lot of my books.  Then I started knitting with greater focus and frequency which led to greater skill and the discovery of fabulous yarns, so my disposable income went into yarn rather than books.

Last year, and it may have started in 2017, I started to rediscover books and their enchanting possibilities.  What I have not as yet rediscovered is my reading attention span.  I worry that reading takes away from my knitting (and now spinning, which I picked up last year), which it does because I can't really knit and read at the same time, but I need to not worry about it.  I knit for pleasure and to learn and create and as meditation, but I read for those same reasons, too.

I used to read almost exclusively fiction, but now I find myself interested in the stories of people who were or are participants in and observers of history, as well as novels by and about people who are different than me -- live in a different part of the world, speak a different language, or have experiences I will never have (for good or ill).  I want to learn more about my chosen hobbies of knitting and spinning, try new techniques and improve overall.  To that end, I have set myself the goal of knitting my way through Milarrochy Heids by Kate Davies.  She has also written a memoir, Handywoman, which is on my reading list, as is the memoir of Jane Hawking, who was married to Stephen Hawking for thirty years.  If the film The Theory of Everything is to be believed, without her there would have been no Brief History of Time.  I am embarrassed to say that it never occurred to me that he had been married and that his wife would have been his primary caretaker, facing all of the challenges that responsibility would entail.

There are plenty more titles I could add to the list, along with movies to see, podcasts to explore, and music to hear, but they could (and probably should) merit posts of their own.  Or I will post sidebar lists.  Or both.

How this writing thing is going to work is still a mystery, but I am to keep writing because writing is writing.

Is this thing still on?

Planning to write is not writing. Outlining, researching, talking to people about what you're doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing.

~ E.L. Doctorow

I have been doing a lot of thinking about writing publicly, as in resurrecting the blog.

Ever since (and maybe a bit before) I heard those words "president-elect Donald Trump" come out of my kitchen radio on that fateful day, I have felt less inclined to keep quiet and more like I have something to say.  Out loud.  And not just to the cat.

In the last couple of years, my eyes have been opened not only to the depth of misogyny and racism and intolerance of whomever might be the "them" of the moment still so prevalent and entrenched in this land of the free and home of the brave but also made me really angry about it.  It has also made me angry that I hadn't realized just how safe and isolated my life is.  And how luxurious.

I have a house and a car, neither of which has been threatened or destroyed by wildfire or hurricane or tsunami or earthquake.  I have heat and electricity and drinkable hot and cold running water.  (Hot running water is my absolute most favorite modern luxury.  There aren't too many things in life better than a nice, long, hot shower.)  I have plenty of clothes and food.  I have a tiny bit of money in the bank.

As I was becoming more angry, I was also becoming more grateful.  Every night, especially if it has been a difficult day and I am having trouble falling asleep, I make a gratitude list.  If job stress is keeping me awake, it can be difficult to be grateful that I am employed, but I can still be grateful that I don't live in a war zone, and the roof is still attached to the house.

2018 has been a challenging year.  A number of major events which I knew were inevitable came about in fairly quick succession.  They were the kinds of things which I expected to be horribly devastating and had no idea how I would handle.  I didn't always handle them well, and there were moments when I definitely wanted the world to stop so that I could get off, but I survived them all not too much the worse for wear.

I might write about those events.  I might just write about food and yarn and books and movies.  I might rant about the injustices of the world.  But I am pretty sure that I need to stop thinking about writing and start writing.

To Swatch or Not to Swatch -- the eternal knitting question

Okay, so maybe not eternal, but frequent and the subject of much debate.  I'm not sure that I can add anything new to the conversation, but as I become more experienced as a knitter, I do more research into techniques and fiber, and I pay more attention to the technical side of knitting -- how needle size and fiber content and ply affect stitch definition, drape, and gauge.  When I ran across this post from Love Knitting, I felt compelled to add my two cents' worth of input to the conversation.

While I see the value of a swatch, especially for a garment which needs to fit, I don't think that it is the be all and end all. It needs to be a guideline because a 4x4 inch square is only going to tell you so much.  If there is more than one stitch pattern involved, make a swatch for each because your gauge may vary significantly.

Washing and blocking the swatch gives you some indication of how much the piece might grow, but it doesn't tell you what the sheer weight of the fabric will do to your gauge or how long term wear will affect the item.

If it's a cowl or scarf or shawl, maybe I don't want to match the gauge in the pattern. Maybe I want something tighter or with more drape. I take it on a case by case basis.

When the gauge on a pattern matches the gauge listed on a yarn's ball band, I get a bit suspicious.  Did the designer really match the yarn's ball band gauge exactly?

The real reason for knitting a gauge swatch -- or otherwise determining gauge --  is that each knitter's gauge is unique.  And the knitter is not the only variable.  Needle material and shape, yarn weight and fiber content, and the combination of the two are all factors.  (Therefore, I'm not sure how much sense it makes to compare worsted weight knitting on square wooden needles to fingering weight knitting on round metal needles, as was done in the aforementioned post, unless it was to make that same point.)  In addition, each knitter's preference is unique.  You might get the recommended gauge and not like the fabric.  If so, find a gauge which gives you a fabric you do like, keeping in mind that it may mean making other modifications to the pattern (i.e. stitch count or yardage requirement) in order to end up with a pleasing (and properly fitting) finished object.

While I am far from an expert knitter, my advice is this: do what makes you the most comfortable and yields the best personal results.  Don't be afraid to experiment.  Realize that not all experiments will be successful.  Be prepared to try, try again, whether by ripping out and re-knitting or starting a new project.  Practice, practice, practice.  With or without a gauge swatch, your knitting will definitely improve with practice and persistence.

ETA: Shortly after I finished this post I came across Jill Wolcott's thoughts on the subject of swatching and wanted to include them because she has lots of interesting things to say about knitting.

A little snow

Front of the house

Mailbox

Path to the patio, under the grape and hop trellis

The patio, fire pit, and bird feeders

Back under the trellis

The fence is about six feet tall, so minimum three feet of snow on the ground in the back yard.

Food riff, aka "the egg thing"

The inspiration for this particular food riff (aka "the egg thing") came from this recipe: http://www.sassyradish.com/2013/01/gruyere-and-pancetta-quiche-with-hash-brown-crust/

I have made several variations (I rarely make something exactly the same way twice due to on hand ingredients, whim, etc.), and it is a grand and glorious thing, but it is rather labor intensive.  I wanted the same experience of essentially a meal in a slice  – potatoes, eggs, veggies – without quite so much work.

The first egg thing

Grease a 9x13 Pyrex pan with unsalted butter.  Don’t skimp here.  Make sure the pan is well coated.  None of this cooking spray nonsense.  Not only does the butter add a little extra savory yumminess, but it also makes the thing practically hop out of the pan, making it easier to serve and clean up afterwards.

Slice 3 or 4 fist-sized potatoes into ¼” slices.  I am a fan of red potatoes.  And I don’t peel them.  Use pretty much whatever potato strikes your fancy, although I wouldn’t recommend large “baking” potatoes.  Peel or not, as you prefer.

Line the bottom of the pan with the potatoes and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.  (If you grease the pan with salted butter rather than unsalted, skip the salt here.)

Slice up whatever other veggies you want to use.

The first time I did half a medium-sized onion, a small-ish zucchini (maybe 6 inches long), a yellow squash the same size as the, and a handful of small plum tomatoes, layering them over the potatoes in that order.  This last time I didn’t have yellow squash, and I added portabella mushrooms between the zucchini and tomatoes.  I think I sliced up a couple of shallots as well as a small onion, too.  I am a fan of sweeter onions, but any kind will work.  Scallions, too.  Or leeks.  I separated the onion slices into rings.

The layers shouldn’t really reach more than about halfway up the side of the pan.  (If they do, you’ll need more eggs and longer cooking time.)

I haven’t done a meat version, but adding cooked bacon or sausage or prosciutto or ham or pancetta could certainly be a happy thing.

Sprinkle some shredded cheese over the top.  I would say no more than a cup.  A light covering.  Not like pizza topping cheese.  I like to mix a bunch of cheese blends together – parmesan, asiago, romano, mozzarella, provolone, cheddar, Monterey jack.  You could crumble in some feta (and add some olives while you are at it – ooh!  and marinated artichokes – go for that Mediterranean feel) or add dabs of fresh ricotta.  (It’s not a recipe!  It’s a food riff!)

Beat half a dozen eggs together with a good splash of milk (I totally don’t measure – 3 or 4 tablespoons maybe?) and about ¼ cup of sour cream.  (I just scoop out a nice heaping tablespoon – flatware tablespoon as opposed to measuring tablespoon.)  I prefer light sour cream.  You could certainly use whole fat, but I would not recommend fat free.  Also, you could use crème fraiche instead if you like that sort of thing.

The main thing I learned from the quiche with has brown crust recipe is that the sour cream is key to helping the eggs set nicely.  That and beating them thoroughly to aerate them.  I beat with a fork for probably about 90 seconds.  An electric mixer can probably do it in half the time, but then you have to clean the electric mixer.  A whisk works, too.

Add salt and pepper to taste.  If you like herbs and/or spices, add them to the egg mix now.  I like some Bouquet Garni, Herbes de Provence, or an Italian blend.  Fresh basil, rosemary, tarragon, etc. are good, too.  If you like heat, add some chilies or red pepper flakes or a clove of minced garlic.

Pour the egg mixture over the layered potatoes and veggies.  They will not be completely covered.  The eggs will expand and mostly cover them as they bake.  If you are really concerned that there is not enough egg, beat up one or two more and add them.  (I did that the third time, and I don’t think that it turned out quite as well.)

Bake uncovered at 435 (yes, 435 – I like to add 5 or 10 degrees, might just be my oven) for about 35 minutes.  Maybe check at 30 minutes.  Inserted knife should come out clean.

Let sit for 5 minutes or so after removing the pan from the oven.  Cut and serve.

It reheats nicely or could even be eaten at room temperature.  I eat it as is, but you could top with more sour cream or salsa or whatever strikes your fancy.

Have fun!

Tumblr

Since writing "real" blog posts has become daunting for some reason, I have started a tumblr blog.

http://minervasowlchatter.tumblr.com/

 

Longer than a tweet, shorter than a blog post, but still something to say and share.

 

I'm still getting the hang of it, and the layout is a bit boring, but so far it's kind of fun.



Happy New Year - Welcome to 2014

2013 was a busy year for me.  And an expensive year.  I did less of some things (reading and writing) and more of others (canning and knitting).  My activities were generally more, well, active, except maybe the knitting.  Knitting is a sedentary activity for sure, but I spent a lot of time knitting at the local yarn and fabric shop where I perhaps bordered on social, getting encouragement and soaking up inspiration and creativity from fellow knitters, which does wonderful things for the energy level.  But canning and cooking are decidedly physical activities.  And getting rid of stuff, which I managed to do a bit of, tends to be a physical activity.  Most physical of all is going to the gym and working with a trainer on a regular basis.  One of the handier side effects of going to the gym has been impressive relief for the muscular issues associated with the tendonitis in my right elbow.  Those issues kept me from knitting much at all in the last several years

The things I did more of have inspired me to continue to broaden my horizons in those directions.  The success of Project Homemade Homegrown Christmas has me plotting what to knit for gifts in the coming year (and they may not all be Christmas gifts).  I discovered that there are nieces with interest in knitting and cooking, so I am back to thinking about the family recipe cookbook project which has been dormant for quite a while.

I pickled eggplant as well as cucumbers, and there are jars of red wine vinegar and white wine vinegar fermenting in my basement.  The cucumber pickles are getting rave reviews, so I wonder what else I can/should pickle and ferment.

I added applesauce, tomato jam, carmelized red onion relish, and apple butter to my repertoire.  While I plan to make all of those again this year, the books those recipes came from have plenty of others which I want to try.

I dabbled a bit in baking -- oatmeal cookies, sea salted toffee chocolate chip cookies, and cheddar cheese scones.  Take note: warm cheddar cheese scones spread with homemade apple butter are the stuff of pure happiness.

The next few months will be about planning as well as doing, but I definitely want to keep up with the more active pursuits, so I don't know yet what will become of this blog.  It always seems like a good idea to record recipe adventures, but once I get caught up in the process, I have to pay enough attention to what I am actually doing that I don't take notes or pictures.  Once I am finished, I am often too tired to sit down and write about it right away, and the aforementioned lack of notes and pictures makes it difficult to do later.  I have considered a voice recorder, but electronics and food preparation don't necessarily get along too well, especially if there is a lot of liquid and steam involved.  Then there is the matter of transcription.  Maybe shorter posts.  I'll have to keep thinking about it.

Happy 101st birthday, Julia Child!

“Maybe the cat has fallen into the stew, or the lettuce has frozen, or the cake has collapsed. Eh bien, tant pis. Usually one's cooking is better than one thinks it is. And if the food is truly vile, then the cook must simply grit her teeth and bear it with a smile, and learn from her mistakes.”

― Julia Child, My Life in France

More Julia quotes here: http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/3465.Julia_Child

More Improvisational Cooking

If you are going to try cooking without a net (or written recipe), now is the time to do it.  Or at least now is the time to do it in the parts of the world where it is summer and there is abundant, fresh, local produce to be had.

Marketing departments want you to believe that summer is almost over so that you will stock up on school supplies and buy new fall (or even winter) wardrobes, but there are still almost seven weeks of official summer left.  Seven weeks!  And the end of summer actually means the height of harvest for some crops.

One of my favorite summer dishes is the delectably simple insalata caprese: layers of ripe tomato, fresh mozzarella, and leaves of fresh basil drizzled with a little something -- usually balsamic vinegar and olive oil, but I tend to just go with Kalamata olive oil and skip the vinegar, but each to his own.  I slice the tomatoes, grind just a little bit of high quality salt over the slices, and let them sit for a few minutes before I add the basil and mozzarella.  Tomatoes *love* salt, but just a touch.  Fresh, ripe tomatoes are delicious on their own, it's true, but a hint of salt really opens up the flavor without making them taste salty.  (Reading Salted by Mark Bitterman opened up a world of salt possibilities.  It's amazing how varied one little compound can be.)

I wasn't quite organized enough to make the mozzarella myself, so I bought it at the grocery store, but the basil and tomatoes came from local farmers.  As I was eating, all I could think was "When real food tastes this good, why did I ever eat processed junk?"  Sure, the industrial food is convenient, and I am quite certain that it is specifically designed to be addictive, but I also believe that real, fresh food (even if it is not necessarily local -- I do love avocados, which definitely don't grow around here) has the power to break that addiction.

But I digress.

This past weekend it was finally cool enough to do some canning, so on Saturday I stopped at a roadside stand selling pickling cucumbers, and yesterday I made pickles.  I had a good handful of fresh dill left over, and I bought a bulb of fennel at a farmers' market, so I decided to try an improvisational version of what I refer to as "green soup."  "Official" green soup is actually split pea, fennel, and spinach soup from Vegetarian Times.  I didn't have split peas or spinach, but I had a bunch of frozen summer squash I have been wanting to use up, so the recipe went something like this:

2 small leeks, halved, rinsed, and sliced crosswise, about 1 cup, maybe a little less
2 large cloves of garlic, chopped
10 or so grinds each of salt and pepper
1 medium bulb of fennel, leafy fronds removed, but stalks included, 1 - 1 1/2 cups
4 containers mixed frozen summer squash, probably 5 or 6 cups
The handful of fresh dill left over from making pickles, chopped
Some other miscellaneous seasonings I thought would be a good idea - Sunny Paris and Pasta Sprinkle
Enough homemade turkey stock to cover the lot, somewhere in the vicinity of 4 to 6 cups

I used to be obsessed with measurements, but the more that I cook, the more I learn that it is about proportions and balancing flavors -- not to mention adjusting to taste.

I sauteed the leeks and garlic in a little olive oil for a few minutes over medium heat, adding the salt and pepper along the way.  The fennel went in next, and a few minutes later the squash.  I heated the turkey stock to a simmer before adding it to the pot along with the dill and other seasonings.  Then I brought everything to a boil and lowered to a simmer.  After about 30 minutes of simmering, I pureed the whole batch with the fabulous immersion blender and let it simmer another 30 minutes or so.

At the risk of sounding synesthetic, it *tastes* green -- fresh and summery and bright and naturally sweet.

After dinner last night, I have just enough to cover lunches for the entire week, and I think that I will try a different sort of topping or additive each day and see what happens.  Last night -- a few dabs of sour cream.  Today - magic cheese.  Tomorrow -- perhaps a squirt of citrus or some fresh tomatoes.  From there -- who knows?