Baking Fail

I had such a spectacular baking fail last night that I just had to share.

Unless I was aiming for chewy chocolate pancakes, that is. Granted they taste fine, but as Mr. Cleaver said "they're not cookies."

So did I...

1. use expired baking powder,
2. over soften the butter,
3. use too much liquid, or
4. forget the eggs?

If you picked #2, you're correct!!

I tried putting the dough in the fridge, but that didn't help (something about the heating permanently changing the structure of the butter). So after two failed batches I decided that the remainder will find a new life as dough - maybe in some ice cream.

School House Tunic #2

Ever since I made my first School House Tunic for the Fall Palette Challenge I have been wearing all the time, pretty much, if it's clean, I'm wearing it.

I fell in love with this pattern for three reasons:

1. I can cut it out and sew it up in day, and I'm not a quick sewer;
2. It looks nice enough to wear to work;
3. It is soooo comfy!

It's also fairly easy to adapt. For this version I added some more substantial button loops (thanks to Mags and Bristol for help with the placement) and I've got fabric lined up for a longer version with some pintucks planned.

The fabric in this one is slightly stiffer than the last one, which gives it a crisper shape, and I'm in love with the Anna Maria Horner print.

• Top: School House Tunic, made by me
• Skirt: made by me
• Tights: Target
• Shoes: Clarks
• Robot Bracelet: by Hobomoon on esty

I can't wait until I have time to sew a third version. Do you have a favorite go-to pattern?

Lent 2012

Another spring and another Lent is upon us already!

In the past I've given up jeans, non-cash forms of payment, television,  and pants.

This year I'm doing something a bit more traditional and giving up meat (with the usual fish on Fridays exeception, because Mr. Cleaver really likes seafood).

Yep - I'm going vegetarian!

It's a veggiesaurus Lex, veggiesaurus! -Jurassic Park

I tend to pick my Lent challenges months in advance and my decision to go veggie is part of the reason I declared 2012 a Year in Food/conscious eating.(The other is that I have high hopes for an edible garden this year).

One of my greatest conscious eating successes so far this year has been the daily addition of fruit, but veggies, particularly those outside the "intro veggie" range (peas, broccoli, lettuce, etc.), are harder for me, so what better way to to expand and explore than to go vegetarian.

All-in I'm pretty excited about the whole thing. (In any case, it'll be warmer than giving up pants).

I've started a folder (and a Pinterest Board) of some recipes I'm going to try, but if you have some favorite recipe links or  vegetarian cooking blogs to share, I'd love to check them out. So fill up the comments with suggestions!

All Spun Up

So I may have made negative progress on my Taos sweater this weekend, but I did finish spinning all my yarn for my sheep heid hat! I'm not 100% in love with the dark brown color, mostly because it and the black are the only dyed fibers and I feel like it sticks out like a sore thumb.

That said, I have a huge knitting backlog of projects to get through, so I probably won't get to knitting the hat itself for a while, so there's nothing to stop me from spinning up something else if I come across something I like.

Spilt Milk & Cookies

I may have been named one of Knitscene's "8 Designers to Watch in 2012," but it doesn't mean that I'm not capable of a spectacular knitting fail every now and again.

[See that shameless little plug I did there? Wasn't sure how to work that in. ;)]

Take for example exhibit A up there. I've always prided myself on even gauge, but both of those socks up there are same yarn, same pattern, and yes, the same needles. Unlike my pal Aimee, my tools aren't to blame it was all me. It's like an inch shorter at the foot and the cuff.

Le sigh...

I plan to knit a third sock and see which one it matches up to (fortunately I have enough yarn), but I needed a little break first (especially since I suffered that sock defeat and a Superbowl loss on the same evening).

[SOCK UPDATE ADDENDUM: I recounted the rows on both socks and it seems that my ability to count and not gauge was the issue. On sock one I did a cable feature every 7th row and on sock two I did it every 6th - shorting myself by several rows]

For something completely different, I started this muted Taos cardigan. The official color name is "blue note," but I have dubbed it Cookie Monster blue. I started it last night at knitting and since it not secret knitting, I'll be sharing my progress as I go along (and check one solid-colored cardigan off my knit-a-lution).

Midwinter Break in Boston

It is Mr. Cleaver and I's longstanding tradition to get outta dodge at least once in midwinter - usually late January/early February. It's been overnight trips to Boothbay and Lake Geneva, or as simple as a day trip to FunSpot. This year we returned to a place we've played hooky in a few times before: Boston.

This year's excursion was specifically inspired by the current special exhibit running at the Museum of Science, A Day in Pompeii (still around until Feb 12th - if you're interested).

I'm a bit of an ancient history geek, having minored in Classical Studies in college, and while my Latin is sadly a bit rusty these days my love of classical art and history hasn't diminished.

The Pompeii exhibit was very well done and if I were to describe it in a single word, it would be "striking."

The preserved artifacts are incredibly well preserved and cover a wide range of items from the sophisticated plumbing pipes and fixtures to intricate statues to wonderfully bright colored frescoes.

Of course the most striking of all are the body casts, which are really a punch to the gut that bring home the tragedy in an all too effective way. I was most shaken of all by the two chained figures - one a man and one a dog, that had no way of escaping the volcano.

We spent a little over an hour in the Pompeii exhibit before enjoying the rest of museum, including a collection of Geckos and a fun exhibit on model-making, which included making your own fish and seeing how long they survive in the environment  (Mr. Cleaver's far out-survived mine.)

The other museum highlight for me what a photo exhibit called "What I Eat: Around the World in 25 Diets." The exhibit featured a series of portraits of people from various countries and that day's food intake, along with a calorie count - which raised some interesting connections, such as the model, cod-fisherman, and refugee who all had similar calorie intakes, though wildly different food choices.

It certainly made not want to think about the bacon and onion ring-covered burger I had for lunch (Yes, there's a burger under there, it's from the 21st Amendment and it was delicious, one the best burgers I'd ever had).

All in all, it was a fun trip, well worth the pre-sunrise train ride down.

Done and done!

After several weeks of joking, last week I gave a co-worker/friend a list of all the little things on my to-do list that I've been ignoring for far too long and gave her full permission to bug me about them. The list contains things like sew the belt loops back on my lady grey coat (done!), order harp strings (done!), and fix tiny rust spot on car (not done!).

In this spirit, here are two things I finished recently.

About a year later than I intended to, I finally made curtains for the built-in bookcase in my living room. The clearance home dec fabric I bought ended up being a bit stiffer than I thought it'd be, but it still looks miles better than being able to see the miscellaneous stuff on the shelves!

And I handed off a sample for a new design on Monday. I don't know when it'll come out (probably fall), but I really like the way this one turned out and I can't wait to show you the whole thing!

Some other things I hope to finish soon:

• a pair of socks for Mr. Cleaver,
• spinning my Sheep Heid yarn, and
• shipping out some submission swatches!

A Few Notes on Cup-pies

At a friend's request, here are a few tips on making cup-pies.

• I'm generally able to get 10 cup-pies out of one regular pie's worth of crust and filling.
• For the bottom crust I cut a 4-inch circle, and used a 3-inch biscuit cutter for the top.
• The thicker the bottom crust, the easier it will be to pop them out of the cupcake tin.
• There's no need to grease or line the cupcake tins at all.
• I probably overfilled these a bit as they leaked a bit during cooking, so a little under the tin rim is probably best.
• Don't forget to vent the top!
• For extra flair, I brushed the tops with milk and then sprinkled them with a bit of granulated sugar.
• I cook them at 350-375°F for 30 minutes, or until the filling bubbles. For this batch then broiled the tops for about a minute to get them golden brown.

Happy National Pie Day!

In America, the National Pie Council (what, your country doesn't have one of those?) declared January 23rd National Pie Day. Being as we for some strange reason don't get this as a day off, I had to do my celebrating yesterday in my now-traditional fashion, with a pie-luck!

I made a batch of cherry cup-pies and a chocolate/raspberry pie that I neglected to photograph.

(Note to all bakers out there, when making a recipe for the first time, read the whole recipes before the morning you attempt to make it. I neglected to do this and caught myself running out of time when I realized that my raspberry pie took FOUR HOURS to make due to refrigerating time for the different parts.)

I think I need to make cup-pies more often, they're adorable and take only a tiny bit more work than a regular pie.

As usual we had a range of savory, sweet, and tart pies.  A pie-luck requires at least three rounds to the table and generous amounts of tupperware for the leftovers.

We also got in a fair amount of knitting and Aimee, Chris, and Maggie split up several balls of Jamieson and Smith yarn for our sheep heid knit-a-long. (I'm spinning mine).

So for those interested, here's a run-down of the pies (if I forgot any my apologies!):

• Savory
  • Red Lentil & root vegetable pot pie
  • Goat cheese and leek egg pie/quiche
  • Pizza Pie
• Fruit-Based
  • Apple Cranberry
  • Cranberry Pear Shortbread
  • Cranberry Sage
  • Cherry Cup-pies
  • Chocolate Raspberry
  • Apricot Cheese
• Cream
  • Chocolate Satin
  • Butterfinger

With all the leftovers I ended up with - I'll be celebrating pie all week!!

Northern California Adventures: The Plates

Maybe it's because I have food on the brain, but I took a lot of photos of food on our California trip, and truthfully we did a lot of eating out while we were there, so I thought I'd share some highlights.

Oxbow Public Market

For southern Mainers, the Oxbow Public Market is like a successful version of what the Portland Public Market tried to be. INside the market there are a dozen or so food-related booths ranging from cupcakes and ice cream, to spices and olive oils, to oysters. Even on a Wednesday the whole market was fairly popular.

We grabbed some delicious Tacos at Casa and had the unseasonable pleasure of enjoying them outside on the patio seating. Casa's food is my favorite kind of Mexican - instead of the heayy refried bean and cheese fare at most Mexican chains, their food was fresh and light and featured some tasty but untraditional favor combos, like my blue cheese/onion/steak taco below.

Buttercream Bakery:

My visits to Butercream are more about nostalgia than anything else. The food at the diner is simple diner fare, while the doughnuts come in regular and fancy varieties. We picked up a dozen of my old favorites, but I most enjoyed the red velvet doughnut I'd never tried before. So much for nostalgia!

Genova Delicatessen

A great deli in an unassuming location, this is the one spot my brother always makes sure to visit whenever he's in Napa.

See's Candies

If you're Californian, or ever been in a California airport, you probably know See's Candies. I used to always try to get to the sprinkled one first - never realized they were mocha-flavored. If you visit one of the stand alone-stores, you get a free sample!

In-N-Out Burger

What is there to say about In-N-Out that hasn't been already said. Of all of my food photos from the trip, this is one that made Mr. Cleaver the most hungry again.

Boon Fly Cafe

I was most excited to visit the Boon Fly Cafe.

One summer during college I worked at the under construction Carneros Inn (its parent/location) as a temp in the accounting department filing papers in a trailer full of soap and shampoo and one day my supervisor took me to lunch at the Boon Fly, which I remembered as delicious.

My memory served me well.

The Boon Fly is my favorite kind of restaurant, simple food done incredibly well. The blackberry lemonade and flatbread pizzas were especially tasty. As a bonus the restaurant boasts a beautifully designed and relaxed atmosphere.

Ghirardelli Ice Cream Shop

After all this food, there's still a place for desert. While in San Francisco we stopped at the Ghirardelli Ice Cream Shop, and let me tell you they do not mess around with chocolate there.

Other notable stops (non-pictured):

Gillwood's Cafe - Napa locals' favorite brunch spot

Norman Rose Tavern - a new spot w/ great comfort food and an impressive tap list that includes several local beers and ciders in addition to the expected wines.