Changing things up a bit

My original thought of this blog was to catalog my knitting and cooking adventures with other stuff sprinkled in. Suffice it to say things have changed quite a bit and priorities are now out of whack. I'm no longer a married woman living a single-girl lifestyle. I have been lucky. My husband allows me to be me which meant vacations without him, nights on the town with friends and overall lack of responsibility. I've been married for almost 12 years and put off having a child until last year. So now my main focus is Teagan Celeste. While I'd argue that I have or ever had a strong maternal instinct, it has kicked in more than I ever anticipated. I'm officially re dedicating this blog to chronicle Teagan so she may look back upon her early life. A cyber baby book if you will as I have no intention to start one. I will try to document her journey with me. Or us. Since she was born in November I'll need to go back in time before the memories disappear.

Almost-Vegetarian Pasta

The genius of this recipe is that it is a one-pot supper and only takes about 30 minutes from start to finish. The veg is sautéed and set aside. Some flavorings are awakened, then splashed with water and broth. The pasta is dumped into the pool and simmered aggressively until al dente. The veg is added back into the pan with the pasta to warm through and dinner is served.
If you would like to make this completely vegetarian, use vegetable broth or all water. If you want it to be vegan, then don’t add the cheese.

I have only made this with spinach, but I think peppery arugula would be a great alternative.

Mix up the veg assortment as you like. Perhaps asparagus in lieu of green beans. Maybe toss in a few sweet peas. Or even corn. Julienned basil would be a nice touch or perhaps some chopped parsley for freshness.

Almost Vegetarian Pasta
Inspired by Cook’s Illustrated Skillet Penne Pasta with Sausage and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Serves me, my husband and enough left-over for his lunch, a tradition 4 servings.

2 Tbsp. pine nuts
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil, separated
1 zucchini (green or yellow), halved lengthwise and sliced
½ red bell pepper, medium dice
¼ to ½ red onion, sliced thinly or medium dice
2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
Pinch of crushed red pepper
5-6 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained, chopped
1-15.5 oz. can low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 ½ cups of water
8 oz. penne pasta
Salt and pepper
Handful of fresh green beans, trimmed and halved
½ bag baby spinach or arugula
Goat Cheese, Parmesan Cheese, Pecorino Romano, etc.

1. Toast pine nuts in a 375 degree oven for approximately 5-8 minutes, checking often so they don’t burn. Alternative, you could toast the nuts on the stove in a dry sauté pan over medium heat. Again, checking often and tossing frequently to avoid burning.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add zucchini, red bell pepper and onion and sauté until just beginning to brown. A bit of color is not a bad thing but don’t over-caramelize. Slide the cooked veg onto a plate or in a bowl and set aside.
3. In now empty skillet, reduce heat a bit and add 1 tsp. olive oil. Add garlic, crushed red pepper and sun-dried tomatoes and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper, chicken broth, water and pasta to skillet. Increase heat to high and bring to boil. You want a hard simmer to cook the pasta and reduce the liquid at the same time.
4. Simmer for approximately 9-10 minutes, until pasta is ALMOST cooked through, stirring occasionally. Add the green beans and stir. Simmer another 3-4 minutes.
5. Total simmering time approximately 13-15 minutes or LESS. Cook until pasta is al dente and liquid is reduced and somewhat thickened.
6. Remove from heat or simply turn off burner. Toss in spinach (or arugula) to wilt. This should not take very long and the residual heat from the dish should be sufficient to wilt the greens.
7. Serve with toasted pine nuts, goat cheese, parmesan, or romano cheese, in combination or whatever you like. Perhaps a bit of cracked black pepper. Maybe a drizzle of some nice aged balsamic vinegar would be a nice touch. For extra richness, drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive.

Possible Accompaniments: Crusty bread with butter or seasoned olive oil for dipping. Leafy greens tossed with an easy vinaigrette.

damnit

I went an entire week and forgot to blog. Well not really. It wasn't for lack of trying. Stupid computer at work or maybe blogger was down when I did try earlier this week.

Anyway, quick update. I'm still knitting Skew. I am almost 1/2 way done with the 2nd sock. Trying to stick with it until they are done.

Oh, and I tried to buy a teeny-tiny crochet hook (1 MM) over the weekend. FAIL. I called ahead. I called a bead store, then called Arcadia Knitting. Arcadia said they had one. I said, Great. Should have said, Please Hold. Arrived the next day. Out. Of. Stock. Damnit. Arcadia said they are ordered and I asked if they would call when in-stock. She said Yes. So, here's to hoping she keeps her end of the deal.

Once I am in possession of said teeny-tiny crochet hook, I will immediately want to start working on Haruni. Wollmeise is caked and ready to go. Beads I purchased about 3 or 4 years ago are a perfect match. Size 4 Addi Lace needles are waiting. And an unfinished Skew sock won't stop me. Project monogamy will get kicked to the curb.

In the meantime, what did you think about OSCAR? It was kind of ho-hum for me. Loved that Hurt Locker beat the big-bad-wolf Avatar. Loved that a woman has finally busted THAT glass ceiling. Mixed feelings about Monique's backstage comments. Not really thrilled about Sandra Bullock's win. Don't get me wrong, I like her. But her body of work, nor the performance in The Blind Side (Hello? Kathy Lee Gifford impersonation), was worthy of an OSCAR. Jeff Bridges win wasn't surprising either. But I'm not a member of the Academy.

I am working on a lengthy post about Costa Rica and hope to have that up with photos over the weekend, so stay tuned...if you are reading!

Doesn't fit and no gold medal for me

Damn socks don't fit. I knew there would be trouble brewing when I attempted to try them on shortly after grafting the heel. Damnit. Granted it was in high-humidity, so there is a glimmer of hope that in Chicago they may slip on. Doubt it.

Aw, well. I will probably still knit them up, but the excitement for that is waning terribly. It's a more complicated pattern, so I'm not confident in adjusting the size to fit my high arch. Perhaps someone on Ravelry can help, but now I'm too tired to look for it.

The vacation was great. Costa Rica distracted my knitting abilities. Too many monkeys hollering, macaws crowing and sites to see. It was relaxing. I should have knit more, but I didn't really care what I did, as long as I tried to enjoy every quiet and sometimes loud moment of it.

I will post some photos soon...maybe a video and stuff about what we did...er, didn't do.

Hope it's enough

I'm in the midst of packing for vacation.

I'm limiting the knitting projects to just two: Haruni with beads and Skew socks.

I'm about 1/2 way through the 1st Skew sock. I hope that these two projects will be enough to keep me busy during the down time in Costa Rica...we shall see.

I'm also bring two books: Chelsea Handler's book and Julia Child's memoir.

Hopefully I can post while I'm there. I will try to post an update about the job situation, as requested by Ms. Kate (IrishDiva) herself.

Otherwise, see you next week!

Olympic Inspiration

for all to read...

Click here.

Frogger

I realized late last night that my stitch count was off, but I just couldn't figure out why.

I was working on the inner ankle portion of the Skew pattern. I was supposed to have 84 stitches, but I only had 78. WTF?

It dawned on me that I didn't increase enough to begin with. So I ripped back about 5-6 inches of knitting back to the toe.

Sonuvabitch! Oh well, at least I know it seems to knit up quickly.