Making

 

Finishing sewing projects takes a long time these days.  Knitting is transportable, I can do it in the car or anywhere on the go or while my munchkin sleeps.  But sewing, sitting at the machine, tethered and never able to do more than a seam before my sweet boy makes trouble in my studio is challenging to say the least.  And this light sleeper wakes up at the smallest creak, so I've not been brave enough to fire up the sewing machine while he dozes.  Nevertheless, I plug away seem by seam.  Finally, these two pieces are complete: a lemon top for Mama and some sweet pants for Otto.  (With hopefully more of each in the near future.)

With my, um, new body shape and need for tops that easily lift up or down for easy breastfeeding, this pattern is just the ticket.  I'm keeping an eye out for other Mama-flattering-easy-breastfeeding patterns too, so if you have one, send it my way.  Loose and flowy seem to be more comfortable and flattering these days.

 I adore the Quick Change Trousers pattern from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings.  I've made Otto several sizes in them, which he has grown out of.  They are super cute and reversible, and they are wide enough to provide ample room for a cloth diaper.  It really is the sweetest pattern, and I've enjoyed making some slightly more girly ones for the baby girls in my life too.  (Er, please ignore the fact that a sort of sleepy and brain dead Mama cut the pattern the wrong way so that the birds sit sideways.  Oops.)

 I'm working on several knitting projects, as usual.  All in various stages of knitting, casting on and blocking.  All of them are of my own design and once the patterns are finished (a long and sometimes tedious process, I'm learning) they'll be released.  Among them is this hat, which I'm knitting a second time after my test knitters made some suggestions.  It's in a lovely shade of Malabrigo Arroyo.

 I'm quite pleased with the way this shawl came out and super excited to finish the pattern and get it out there!  It's blocking now, but the pattern still needs a fair amount of work.  It's knit in Quince and Co. Finch.

I'm in the market for a good book.  With the last couple of months getting busy at work I haven't made it to the library.  Out of desperation for something to read I picked up and reread Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  My husband reads the HP books in a cyclical way, over and over, back to back.  Now he's joking that I'm turning into him.  Save me.  Any suggestions?  I was reading Animal, Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver before I had to return it to the library, unfinished.  Perhaps I'll pick it up again and finish it.

What are you working on?

Linking up with Ginny for Yarn Along and Shannon for Watcha Making?


As an aside, I've just decided to trade buttons!  Want to trade?  Email me at threadandladle {at} gmail {dot} com!

Pesto Your Way

I am a pesto fiend.  FIEND.  My sweet son is taking after me.  Just this morning, I made us fresh backyard scrambled eggs with homemade arugula pesto for breakfast.  He ate spoonful after spoonful of the pesto.  All told I estimate that he had about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of pesto for breakfast this morning- and not a single bite of eggs.  (Since my petite toddler doesn't eat much of anything, I think the nuts, olive oil and arugula will do him some good.)

Over the summer months, when the garden is in full swing I make a lot of pesto.  Much of it gets frozen for use over winter and some gets put directly into the refrigerator where we put it on eggs, sandwiches, fresh tomatoes, homemade pizza, mix it with plain yogurt for a yummy vegetable dip or with a bit of oil and vinegar drizzled over fresh salad greens.  There are a million ways to use it -and use it we do.

The making is pretty simple: I never, ever use a recipe.  Mostly, I use what I have.  I'm convinced that it's impossible to make a bad pesto.  You throw all the ingredients in a food processor, process until it's smooth and you're done.  I've learned to tweak here and there, what types of cheeses and nuts I like best, but really any will do, and even if all you have is oil, garlic and greens- it will do. 

Here is a rough guide for you to use at home with whatever you have.  There is no wrong way to make it- just go for it, taste, add more or make a mental note to add less next time.  This is an excellent way to use up summer greens - those that are overly abundant, and those that you just aren't sure what to do with.  (And maybe a good way to get some green veggies into your little picky eaters too).

Basic Ingredients:
2-4 cups greens
1/4 cup-1 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup -1/2 cup nuts
1/4 cup - 1 cup of grated cheese - or just broken into small chunks
2-4 cloves garlic
pinch to 1/2 tsp salt
pinch to 1/2 tsp pepper
optional additions
 

About the Ingredients:
Greens: Think beyond the box.  Basil is absolutely yummy.  But it's only in season during the warm months.  There are so many other greens that make an excellent pesto too (and I have used them all).  Arugula, mustard, mizuna, kale, chives, cilantro, radish greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens, collards, spinach and my personal favorites - garlic scapes or mibuna.  Hardier green like kale or collards tend to be more fibrous so use more oil with those greens.  Anything goes.  If it's an edible green, you can turn it into pesto. 

Nuts: They aren't totally necessary, and some pesto's are just as good without them.  Though the traditional pesto maker goes for pine nuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds and even pumpkin or sunflower seeds will do.  As an added bonus, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds are MUCH cheaper and most who have nut allergies can safely eat these (always check first though!)

Olive Oil: Use a decent oil if you can- but for the sake of our food budget I never spend too much on olive oil.  In a pinch I've used other oils that we have had on hand such as sunflower seed oil, but prefer the flavor of olive oil.

Cheese: Hard cheeses like parmesan, asiago and pecorino all work well, however, you can leave the cheese out entirely in a pinch (I have before) and still have a delicious pesto.  I personally say, "Bring on the cheese."  If you add more than less cheese, you may need to add a touch more of oil, as cheese tends to dry out your pesto.

Garlic: To each his own on how much garlic you like.  Just be sure you won't be kissing anyone who hasn't had any of your pesto.  If you're using garlic scapes as your green there is no need to use additional garlic at all.

Salt & Pepper: Again- to each his own!  I like just a touch of saltiness, and find too much overpowers the other flavors.  Course kosher salt or sea salt makes a big difference in flavor rather than table salt.  We keep pepper grinders stocked and on hand, so our pepper is always fresh.

Optional Ingredients: squeeze of lemon juice, grated citrus rind, dash of nutmeg, tiny hot chili pepper... let your imagination run wild!  I learned in Italy to add a dash of nutmeg and a tiny ground chili pepper to pesto, and almost always make it this way.  It adds a hint of complexity and heat and is delicious.  We use tiny dried chili's that we brought back from Italy and grind them with a bit of salt in a mortar and pestle.  (We STILL have some left, nearly 8 years later!)  Experiment!

Whatever combination of ingredients you use, drop them all into a food processor and you're practically finished.  I have made pesto before without a food processor, and while it is entirely possible, it is a bit tedious.  If you don't have a food processor though, it's totally worth the work.

Share what you've tried!  I'm always in the neighborhood for a new pesto idea...

Peony Walk

Please excuse me if I've neglected this space over the last week.  We had a vacation/staycation of sorts, and so I was kept pretty busy just enjoying my little family of three.  We had a chance to do some relaxing, some cleaning, visiting with family and even some time at the lake (hooray!)  Our week off was wrapped up with a relaxed father's day including brunch out(!) and an excursion to this amazingly beautiful property. 

We had been there before, but never at the right time of year it seems, as we'd never seen the peonies in bloom.  These woods must have been cultivated with peonies at some point, because now it seems they grow quite wild- in the middle of the woods and meadows throughout the property.  It's a magical hidden garden.  I half expected to come upon a locked stone gate.  There is still a cultivated area as well, and I really wished I had a pretty porcelain tea set with me so that I could have an afternoon tea in the garden.  It was a great end to our week together.

This morning Peter went back to work and I have had my first day alone with Otto in weeks!  While I've missed our routine lately, it sure was nice having Peter around.  Otto always ask for "Addy" first thing when he wakes up and walks around asking for him all day until he finally arrives home.

And no wonder.  Look at those goofballs...

They do have so much fun together.  I'm so very thankful for this guy and all he does for us: 95% of the laundry and cloth diapers, gardening his butt off to feed us, giving me Mama breaks daily, cleaning, cooking, and never, ever, ever complaining about anything.  His Mama sure did do a good job, because she raised four sons into wonderful giving fathers and partners.  (Did you read that?  Four sons.) 

Happy (belated) Father's Day to each of them- and my own father and father in law too!

24/52

"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Otto: Post-pajama, pre-bedtime rough house play with Daddy.  

So excited to finally have figured out how to say "Daddy" (pronounced "Addy") and "Mom."  Taking every opportunity to call out to us, often for no particular reason other than because we'll say, "Yes Otto?"  It's been a lovely week of having Dad and Mom around all day and night- sort of a stay-cation week for us, and you have been utterly pleased and in the best mood.  I fear next week, with Dad returning to work may be a bit of a let down for you.

Summer Berry Yogurt Cake

There is nothing more festive than a brightly colored and simply decorated cake.  It screams celebration, and this particular cake screams "summer!"  When there is a birthday or party coming up my favorite thing to think about is "What kind of cake shall I make?"  Recently, as I pondered this I found one last quart of raspberries at the very back of the freezer from last year's harvest and I knew what had to be done.

I dusted off an old recipe, found once on the side of a Stonyfield Yogurt container (I think), but now remains only on a tattered yellow piece of ruler lined paper.  I made it years ago, the pinkest of pink cakes for my darling hubby.  He didn't mind the pink, or the fact that I decorated it with an array of edible flowers.  He remembered and requested it again.  (Though I had to remind him what a dismal failure the frosting was the last time, when he came home to a smoke alarm blaring and me in the kitchen with three botched batches.  I moved onto a frosting far simpler this time.) 

 With a lovely moisture, slight tang from the yogurt, and total berry explosion, this cake is a celebration of sun-kissed summer berries.  It is absolutely divine made with any fresh summer berries, and a fine use of berries picked by little hands.  Though if we're being honest, those ones never do make it into the bucket, do they?  So to rephrase: a fine use of berries picked by adult hands while little hands feed their tummies yummy berries ala Blueberries for Sal.  (The original recipe has been adapted slightly, but the frosting recipe is all my own.)

 To decorate you don't need anything fancy, but this tool and a good frosting tip will make a simple but impressive display.  (Tip: if you've never used a frosting tip before, watch a couple of YouTube videos and practice on the bottom of a plate or cup before doing the cake.)

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup (3 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar + 2 T
4 eggs
1 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped or 3 T extract
3 1/2 cups berries, fresh or thawed
2 cups plain yogurt
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 T rum or water
6 cups confectionery sugar
3 T milk

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease 2 nine inch cake pans.

Cream 1 cup (2 sticks) of the butter and 2 cups of the sugar.  (Reserve the rest for the frosting.)  Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until fluffy.  Add one vanilla bean, 2 1/2 cups of the berries and yogurt.  Beat until smooth.  Sift flour, baking powder and soda.  Add to yogurt mix until blended.  Pour into cake pans, bake 25-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool.

For frosting: simmer the remaining berries with 2 T sugar and rum or water smashing with a spoon to release the juices.  Simmer until it has thickened slightly.  Take it off heat and let cool completely. 

In a mixer, beat remaining butter with confectionery sugar on low, until just incorporated.  Slowly add the milk, vanilla bean and berry mix.  As the frosting comes together, turn up the speed of the mixer and beat until fluffy.

Cut any uneven spots off of the top of the cake to ensure they'll sit flat.  Frost in between the layers of the two cakes.  Frost the sides and top and use a frosting triangle to texture.  (If you don't have frosting tools, just use a spatula or good knife!)  Put your favorite star tip into a pastry bag and add flare around the edges of the cake.  If you have additional berries on hand, feel free to sprinkle them over the top.

Devour and enjoy.

Keeping up with Traditions

It almost didn't happen this year.  With cloth diapers to wash, jobs to work, a toddler to raise and the mundane tasks of the everyday, June snuck up on us.  At the last possible minute (a week before if memory serves) we sent out the invitations and started cleaning the house. 

Chicken was smoked, pork roasted, beer poured, the last of last summer's salsa set out and cake frosted.  It would have been a pity to miss it, our annual party, all in the name of a life made busy chaotic.  Because, after all, this is part of it, right?  These moments are what drive the mundane.  And so, friends and family arrived with nibbles in hand, jokes were told, laughs were laughed, tacos were eaten and all was merry, like it only is with delicious food and good company.  (And the most fashionable among us had on our party shoes.)

I'm so glad we didn't let the chaos and exhaustion a little person brings stop the fun.  After all, doesn't he need to learn how to party too?  Here's to keeping up with traditions, even when life gets ahead of you.  Until next year, friends.

(Cake recipe coming later this week.)

23/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."
Joining in and catching up. 

Otto: Eating rhubarb from the garden after refusing any of the delicious foods presented to you at dinner.

My, my.  How grumpy a little person can be at times.  Like when Mama puts your pajamas on after your own failed attempt to do it yourself -or when she refuses (yet another) nursing session in the middle of the night.  We love you all the same.  Your new favorite thing is to sing "Old MacDonald" or read your little book version of it.  You request it by saying "I-O-I-O."  What a grin you get when Mama and Dad sing it together to you before bed, or when we put a recorded version on the stereo.  You seem to have gotten over your previous fear of sticking your finger in the chicken coop.  My guess is it will return again the next time they notice your dirty little finger poking through towards them.