Pischi Days

Summertime and the Livin' is Easy

 

        Summer is here and school is out! Thanks to the fabulously cold winter, spring was delayed and the garden has been bursting at the seams inspite of the winter freeze. June also heralds the start of what forecasters promise to be a busy hurricane season. So, watch out for signs of Alex.

As I'm sure all have heard our beautiful gulf coast is now an oil slick, the worst spill in history. Oil has reached the beaches of Louisiana and will soon make its way around the peninsula and onto our beaches. Tom and I were reminiscing of the early '80's when a trip to the beach always included a can of Zippo lighter fluid and a roll of paper towel to clean the tar balls off our feet, thanks to frequent tanker spills in the Atlantic. We'd blissfully put those days away.

So, back to more pleasant things like knitting…

  I made a rare after Christmas pilgrimage to the mall earlier in the year and hit the evil Anthropologie empire. Home to overpriced stuff and more stuff. I couldn't resist opening up my thin wallet and snagging a couple of Frosta Design crochet basket kits slashed from $60.00 to $10.00. I just now cracked the first one and uncramped my knitting hands and begged them to take on the position, the crochet position. They had forgotten how. As persistence would have it, they remembered and soon I was hooking my way towards a great basket. Those clever and generous Swedes; much to my surprise, I still have a huge ball leftover so another basket is in the works.

     A leftover Ravelymics project has limped over the finish line. No excuses, it was napping in a bag, sleeping away spring. These are super cute and great on the feet. Mountain Form Slippers only take about 100 yards to make. I used the last of the pea green Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, getting yet more mileage out the yarn that won't go away.  Not to be forgotten, blueberry season was late this year and I totally expected few berries, what with the freeze. I was shocked at the abundance of blueberries. The bushes were loaded and I picked 25 pounds. In the spirit of sharing, here is a great breakfast recipe that showcases any berry, freshly picked.

 

Cheese Blintzes

Ingredients
    •    1  cup cottage cheese
    •    1/2 cup whipped light cream cheese
    •    1/4  cup  sugar
    •    1  cup flour
    •    1 1/2  cups  skim milk
    •    1 1/2  tablespoons  vegetable oil
    •    2 1/2  teaspoons  vanilla extract
    •    1/4  teaspoon  salt
    •    3  large eggs
    •    2  cups  blueberries or other fresh berries
    •    2  teaspoons  powdered sugar
    •   
Prep
Place cottage cheese in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add cream cheese, sugar,  vanilla; blend until smooth. Cover and chill.
Place flour in a medium bowl. Combine milk, oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, salt, and eggs, and add to flour, stirring with a whisk until almost smooth. Cover and chill.
Heat a 10-inch crepe pan or nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high. Pour 3 tablespoons batter into pan; quickly tilt pan in all directions so batter covers skillet with a thin film. Cook about 1 minute.
Carefully lift edge of crepe with a spatula to test for doneness. The crepe is ready to turn when it can be shaken loose from the pan and the underside is lightly browned. Turn crepe over; cook 30 seconds on other side. Place crepe on plate to cool. Repeat procedure with remaining batter.
Spoon 3 tablespoons cottage cheese mixture in center of each crepe; fold sides and ends of crepe over filling to form a rectangle. Place filled crepes, seam sides down, on a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap.  Place a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat until hot. Place 4 blintzes, seam sides down, in skillet; cook 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn blintzes over; cook for 2 minutes. Repeat procedure with remaining blintzes. Serve warm with blueberries, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Yum!

Macarones and Mother's Day

It was another beautiful week here in Florida with weather vacillating between 70-something and hotter than Hades. I celebrated Mother's Day by quietly graduating college, albeit, 30 years later than most.   
I have left the bakery job and am taking the summer off to reconnoitre and figure out what's next on the school and job front. I really loved school and see the appeal of returning in the fall, the perennial student.

My knitting has taken a turn towards the simple and practical. I have been an avid fan of the purl bee. The knitting projects are always simple, practical, and stylish. 

      
I particularly loved the Pom Pom Peds. I had several skeins of Spud & Chloë Fine in my stash leftover from a failed fair isle attempt. Casting yet another project was not a problem. I needed something whose pattern was easily memorized and portable. This did the trick. Spud & Chloë Fine is a blend of silk and wool and comes in a variety of summer colors with names like Snorkel, Lipstick, and Cricket. I couldn't resist the heavy ad campaign and my sock yarn tastes are running towards solids and semi-solid colors anyway. The socks only take about 125 - 150 yards with some left over. They knit up in a weekend and are on your feet in a flash.  I knit an arch support into the pink pair in hopes of relieving my sore arches.As usual Dorrit is up to his old antics and couldn't let me cross the threshold without a nip in the toes.

This Mother's Day had me standing in the kitchen over Boeuf Bourguignon a La Julia Child. I just watched Julie and Julia last week and ordered the Art of French Cooking from our local library. This is really a winter dish, but I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. This recipe is not one that can be thrown together at the last minute, but the taste is worth the labor. 

I bought a copy of I Love Macarons as Haslams in St. Pete. These colorful bites have been making the blog rounds here and in Europe where they are sold in lots of pastry shops. The most famous are those sold in Paris at Ladurée. Here is my first attempt, a simple vanilla macarone with vanilla butter creme. I did not achieve perfect macaronage but they were delicious anyway. I definitely will be making these again.

In the words of Julia Child, "The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude." 

Happy knitting and bon appétit!

May Day, May Day

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday week. I treated myself to a trip to Stitches South in Atlanta. It was a quick drive up I-95 with one of my knit sisters for a two night stay at the Hyatt. We baring slung the bags into the hotel door before we headed to the show. Then barely made it in the door when the WEBS booths hit us squarely in the pocketbooks. The show was filled with many exotic goods that we just don't get to fondle very often. I also loved the jaw dropping samples that were on display to try on. 
I succumb to the Berroco Kirri sweater, the same on the Yarn Harlot is knitting. I finally got my hands on some Habu Stainless yarn, tencil from Just Our Yarn, and my favorite purchase, a quirky kit from Coloratura. It's a simple garter knit scarf in silk merino aran, hand dyed with a generous silk scarf to match. The scarf is knit with several button holes through which the silk scarf is threaded. Then, its up to you to create a look. I wasn't allowed to take any photos at the show, but here is a peek at the scarf.   

Tom whipped up my favorites for breakfast, Sour Cream Pancakes with blueberry syrup and fresh strawberries. My big present was a new bicycle basket for last years present a retro Trek Navigator. He also treated me to a much need set of Knit Picks Options, so I won't have to borrow Bonnie's anymore.
I headed out the door for the first of my four finals for the semester, a 6000 word history essay, chronicling America's political challenges in the 19th century. All to be whipped out in 90 minutes, notes allowed.
After that head splitting exercise, I headed over to Rene'es to play in her yarn. We spent a blissful afternoon logging her massive stash into the Ravelry database. It was fun to see what other knitters buy. She has envious collection of delectable yarn. My reward was a bottle of my favorite, Lindeman's Framboise Lambic and a Salmon on Naan sandwich.
Have to dash, my doorbell just rang and it's off to the Spanish River Grill with some of my favorite friends and knit models, Carolyn and Kathryn. Wish me luck, three more finals to go and graduation…phase one is over!

Spring has truly sprung and with the cool and unusual weather, we have poppies in our garden.