Obsession du Jour

Success on the barbee

Success on the barbee

I've been trying for a couple of weeks to figure out what to do with the last bit of a bag of shrimp that's been in the freezer longer than I am happy about.....which really is any amount of time in the freezer, honestly. Growing up in the South where Gulf seafood is plentiful and cheap, by comparison, I never even acknowledged that frozen shrimp existed. It's only since we moved up here that this has become a requirement for us, and I am not yet so savvy with prepping foods that account for the differences between frozen and fresh. Seriously people, I FLY CRAWFISH IN from Louisianna when I need a fix. Not even kidding. Also it's really not any more expensive (and WAY tastier) than buying the pre-shelled, frozen tail meat in the grocery store....but I digress.

So anyway....it turns out that if you go all old skool and fill an aluminum pouch with sliced onion, the (still frozen) shrimp, lemon halves (after squeezing their juice all over everything), and a whole bunch of a favorite seasoning mix, then toss it in a medium-hot grill for somewhere around 20 minutes, what comes out is pretty darned good peel-n-eat shrimp that takes less than 10 minutes to prep. Color me excited.

And full.

Orange you glad?

Mondays are for navel gazing

Shamelessly stolen from an old friend.  Miss you, hon.  I wish I wasn't such a terrible slouch of a friend and pathologically incapable of keeping up long-distance. :

Bold the stuff you've tried.

1. Venison
2. Nettle Tea
3. Huevos Ranchero
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese Fondue  - oh yeah.  every new year's eve, baby. and, as it so happens, the night I met the person from whom I shamelessly stole this idea. 
8. Carp
9. Borscht Hot and cold
10. Baba Ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
14. Aloo Gobi
15. Hot Dog from Street Car
16. Epoisses
17. Black Truffle
18. Fruit wine made with something other than grapes - not so fond of this. ever.
19. Steamed pork buns - OMG yes. all dim sum all the time, if I could.
20. Pistachio Ice Cream
21. Heirloom Tomatoes
22. Wild berries
23. Foie gras - oh so bad and yet oh so good.
24. Rice and Beans - duh, like every week.
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper - never, ever again.  I'd sooner sing karaoke in front of my bosses. Sober. And then still have to go into work the next day.
27. Dulce de Leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi
32. Clam chowder
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Cottage Cheese
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream with tea - oh America, why must your clotted cream suck so, so much?
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects - on purpose?  not so much.
43. Phaal - heh. see #26 above. no way, no how.
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more - ah...one day. just for the record? my 40th is in a week, so if anyone's feeling generous....or foolish.
46. Fugu
47. Chicken Tikki Masala
48. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut - *sigh* one of the few things I regularly miss from home.
49. Chutney
50. Sea Urchin
51. Prickly Pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini - I must admit it publicly.  I prefer a Vodka martini.  Sue me.
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob Chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweet Breads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs' legs
67. Churro
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu - wow. no, but now that I've looked it up......
77. Hostess Fruit Pie - please. can anyone honestly answer no to this?  really?
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky - so many flavors it seems like this should have a meme all it's own.
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe Beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate - my god.  there's a chocolate i haven't tried?
91. Spam - hi. child of the 70's from the South? you betcha.
92. Soft Shell Crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole Pablano
96. Bagel and Lox - is it really Sunday without this?
97. Lobster
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

I've no idea if this has made the rounds or not, being all out of touch, but if anyone feels like hopping on this band wagon that hasn't already, here's your chance.

Another gratuitous kid picture - I see a patern emerging.  This was "graduation" day last week.  Apparently, according to daycare, we are now officially the parents of a toddler and have a diploma to prove it.    

My cup overfloweth...

I know I've mentioned this before, but the joy just can't be contained.  I LOVE THE FARMER'S MARKET!

The only think not locally produced in this meal are the prosciutto and the ingredients in the mango *cough* margarita.  Even the cheese is local.  OK, it's from Vermont - don't quibble.

Dessert:

Black raspberries with a tiny pinch of vanilla sugar and the barest splash of fresh cream.  Yum!!!

Bear with me folks. I know it's not knitting, but this is the only stuff that gets me through a season that I otherwise H.A.T.E. with an intese and unbridled passion.

Summertiiiiime, and the livin' is....

...well, if not 'easy', it's at least good.  Very good. 

Case in point #1 - Today I am wearing these:

Jaywalkers.  Finito.  These have served me fantastically as backup\subway knitting and I've enjoyed them immensely. The pattern is fun, the yarn is yummy, what more could a knitter ask? I have actually knit three of these socks in that I made a couple of modifications for for sizing on the 2nd sock that ended up making a DRAMATIC differences in both the fit and the striping (go here to see the old look).  Differences that, frankly, I loved so much I was willing to knit the 1st sock over again to get them into both socks.  I believe that the knitting goddess approved of the changes.  Wanna know how I know this?  Behold:

Note the almost perfect matchy-matchiness of the big, juicy, zig-zaggy leg stripes? Absolutely.Positively.Unplanned.Matchiness.  Eerie but kewl.

Pattern: Jaywalker socks (I KNOW you don't need a link by now)
Yarn: Socks That Rock (old skool, pre-weight changes) in colorway 'Moss Agate' from the Great Rhinebeck '06 stash explosion extravaganza.
Needles: Addi Turbos (2 circs, as always) sz #2
Mods:
1. Reduced the total stitches to make 6 stitches between each set of inc/dec, ie: 8 less than original small size in the pattern.
2. Gusset reductions every round rather than every other round.  I pretty much always have to do this. Perhaps it's the uber high arches inherited along with the fair skin & freckles?
3. Stopped the chevron patterning at the heel/ankle.  I did it all the way down on the first sock, but it was uncomfortable once it was stuffed in a shoe for any period of time, so I skipped for the final socks.

Case in point #2:  A fantastic weekend populated by wonderful friends, shoe shopping (which I have always thought I hated), garage sales, baby cuddling, pub food, and a sincere and concerted effort to convince two friends to move into the house next door to the Boston metro area.  Seriously ladies, Boston rocks.  You should live here, and not just because I covet your spinning wheels.  Did I mention all the great yarn shops?

Case in point #3: I got to cook actual food for actual people. I recognize that this is not a big deal for most, but as much as we love to entertain and as much as I love to cook, it has been a real trial this living in a glorified campground, er, I mean renovation zone for so long.  Friday night I really got to do some honest-to-goodness from-scratch cooking, and while I definitely felt rusty (and also cramped, what with the 6 sq inches of counter space in the not-yet-renovated-kitchen), and there were also maybe some timing issues on the hot vs. cold items, in general it felt fantastic & I was pretty happy with the results.  Wish I'd thought to get a picture.  MUST do kitchen remodel next/soon.  Sigh.

Case in point #4: The weekly farmer's market is back for the season!  Wheeeeeee!  Last night my dinner looked like this:

Al fresco pattern trolling dining including fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, onions, and homemade pesto & hummus courtesy of the local market stands and accompanied by a Prosecco 'pop' (why yes, that IS a pink plastic bendy straw. what of it?) courtesy of Ms. Moth Heaven. Seriously folks, how can you not love someone who brings you little individual sparkling wines and straws to go with them?   Dinner tonight will be pan-seared tuna accompanied by (farm stand) beets and broccolini and served with a lucious white wine plucked from the magical cellar of Ms Etherknitter.  See what I mean?  Life - she is very, very good.

Tomorrow, more FO's and a pattern question.  Get out your lace shawl ideas folks.