novamade

it's better with cheddar

I already made an apple pie (with raisins and rum, it was a good time); and, I like to be original; but, I have become not just a little obsessed with the whole cheese in the crust of fruit pie thing.  I am blaming those of you suggesting the cheddar and apple pairing in response to my Gruyere and pear pairing last week.  Because of your suggestions, I made my usual apple pie recipe from Joy of Cooking with the Pate Brisee crust--with the cheddar, don't forget the cheddar.  Thank you.

After thinking of all the ways to add cheddar to an apple pie (chunks mixed with filling? slices on top of the bottom crust before putting in the apples?), I came to the conclusion that I didn't want cheese floating around in my apple pie filling, it just seemed weird and incongruous.  So I did the same thing as last week and grated the cheese (maybe 3-4 ounces worth?) into my pate brisee dough.  I used sharp cheddar, I think I will go with extra sharp cheddar next time; but, this is still the best apple pie I have ever eaten.  It was incredible.

Clearly, I am never making apple pie without a cheddar crust again.  Because seriously, it was amazing.

You know what else is amazing?  When people tell you that you make their day.  Apparently, I make a lot of you smile, and that makes me smile.  Thank you Opal, Haley, Lisa, Kirsten, Tiennie,  Rangsiwan, and Rachel.  I am glad that I make your days; but, is it me or the pies?  I wish I could send you all your own personal pies, I really do.

I was thinking of just letting this go by without any sort of public acknowledgment on my part; but it seemed a good opportunity to share some blogs that you might want to be reading if you aren't already.  It was hard to crunch this down into a list of ten or less, so I decided to list the last ten blogs I have had a conversation about with someone who  isn't involved in knitblogging or blogging in general.  Or as a friend of mine would say, "real" people, as opposed to  us unreal people who blog.  Right.

Adam of Adam Knits.  I am trying to convince Special K that he wants to knit, I frequently refer to Adam and his knitting (and dyeing) skills as an argument for why engineers should knit.  Adam is an engineer who knits, Special K is an engineer who does not knit.  I recognize that my argument would be a lot more persuasive if my husband actually knew Adam or read his blog.  Details.

Diana, aka Ms. Bestitched.  She knits she sews and her posts always make me smile.  Diana is one of the first people to leave a comment on my blog and she has one of the cutest little girls in blogland, I heart LL and Diana hearts Little Sir (seriously, she sent him maracas, if that isn't love, what is?!).  I frequently find myself talking about Diana and LL in normal conversation with local friends who ask about how I met them.  "Well, I haven't met them...really.  I know them through blogging..."  This is usually where I get the look that seems to say "oh, she is talking about her imaginary friends again."

Kirsten,  who goes Through the Loops on a daily basis.  Kirsten is talented as all get out (you have probably knit one of her patterns, or you might have one of her patterns queued up to knit, if not go peruse and add one), but her kids are really talented and impressive too.  Her teenagers sound so extraordinary and likable, and I have to be honest, teenagers kind of scare me (despite the fact I have a child, children in general scare me, but there you are).

Christy who claims that she is Neither Hip Nor Funky, but who is, in reality, both.  Her brand of wit and humor is something I totally subscribe to.  Also, we both got spinning wheels at the same time, and it's been fun watching her progress, maybe sometime, I will show you mine.

Leslie, who is a good Friend to Knit With.  She is a skilled knitter and everything, but she bakes too.  I bake pies every week, she bakes cookies every week.  I have recently been told that defending a pie baking habit by using a knit-blogging cookie baker as your sole defense is a weak argument.  That person now gets no pie.

Ashley who is dogged.  Because I still want to be like Ashley when I grow up.  She knits, she quilts and she does these activities with such wit, style and flair.  She is one cool cookie.

Parikha who lives at 617 awesomeville.  She knits, and her photography skills are pretty amazing and I have a special place in my heart for people who get excited about cooking, baking and chocolate truffle making.

Stacey who hearts orange.  This is not a knitting blog, it is more pictures and anecdotes about everyday life.  Stacey is actually a "real" person to me.  We studied to be archivists together at library school.  My very first conversation with her was about the evils of addiction to caffeinated beverages which contain vanilla.  She just got back from doing humanitarian work in Africa and she was stuck in line with a crazy person talking about vanilla flavored cola.  I am so glad she never held this against me.  Stacey is, without a doubt, the coolest person I know (she climbs mountains and zip lines through trees in countries she doesn't actually live in.  That's cool.).  She also has an amazing talent for gift-giving.  She always knows the perfect thing to gift.  That is talent, people.

Do you know Mo of Mo Rocca 180?   Maybe it's an acquired taste thing; but, I love Mo Rocca.  That's right, I said it.  I love Mo Rocca.  Don't worry, Special K knows all about it.

And last, but certainly not least, Rangsiwan who is also known as YaiAnn.  I am pretty sure that Rangsiwan and I are somehow related.  I find inspiration on her blog all the time.  We talk baking, quilting and sewing quite a bit, and I have very few friends who are as enthusiastic about these things as I am besides her.  She knit me a sock that I plan on knitting the mate to this month.  It's red.

You are probably aware of a good number of these bloggers, but if not, please do go get acquainted, you'll be glad you did!

And to end, here is something I am glad about.  I am glad that when I decide to try to make something new for a friend, I make a "prototype" for myself first. 

Practice makes perfect, right?  It's a little on the small side, but it will hold a sock project.

More about this tomorrow.  I have gone on for too long, and you are probably tired of reading.  So tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel.

pie for everybody!

Pie, the banana cream variety

Today is National Pie Day.  I have no idea why the 23rd day of January was designated to be such an auspicious day, it is sort of random, really.  But far be it from me to argue; because, as you all know, I am a fan of pie.  So in honor or National Pie Day, it's randomness and its tastiness, I am going to give you a few bits and bobs that I have been thinking about lately.  Also, Kwana tagged me for randomness, so here you are:

I recently got a pair of new glasses.  Due to the weird shape of the bridge of my nose, I can only (really) wear glasses with nosepads.  The new glasses have nosepads; they are also pretty shiny.  I heart them; but, they are hip and funky.  I am not.  Every day I fail to live up to the expectation of coolness set by my glasses.

It's no secret that I like to bake pies.  But I actually enjoy making cookies more than I like making pies.

We are scrumptious.  Ice box cookies from Martha's Baking Handbook.

And as much as I like making cookies, I like baking cakes more.  I think it's because cakes make me think of birthdays (which I also like).  A whole lot.

Maida Heatter's boston cream "pie", it's not a pie, actually.

I really like baking and sweets in general; but if given a choice, I would pick savory over sweet every time.

Martha's mini-corn puddings, they want to be sweeter next time.

Before I started knitting, I was a quilter.  I had no idea what I was doing; but, I was really into it.  I think it's fair to say that I am into it again. 

washed, pressed, and ready for a good time

I recently prepped fabric for five quilts.  Five.  That's like saying, "oh yeah, I cast on for 5 sweaters for Special K last night."  It sounds and reads a little on the ridiculous side, doesn't it?

we want to be ironed and then cut into pretty pretty squares

That's it.  It was random, and it is what has been going on around these parts...lots of baking, quilt prep and Tomten avoidance (I have no idea why I thought striping it as much as I did was a good idea). 

Happy Pie Day, everyone!

here a tag, there a tag...

So I had a full weekend, how about you?  I was trying to think of a creative fun way to hash out the minutiae of my weekend when I discovered that I had been tagged for a meme (thanks Mike).  I don't love memes, but I don't hate them either...  I like learning more about you guys, so I don't know, maybe you feel that way about me too.  So as I was saying, I was tagged for this Crazy Eights thing, which I hadn't really seen in the knit-blogosphere so much as the blogosphere in general. I thought it would be fun to see if I could give you some of the fun (or not so fun) doings of my weekend (with pictures, because that is what I am about here) in a meme.  How is that for a Monday. 

So here's the rules:
Each player starts with eight random facts or habits about themselves. People who are tagged are now obliged to write an entry telling us eight things about themselves and post these rules. At the end of your blog entry, tag eight new, unsuspecting bloggers and list their names. (Oh, and leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged JUST IN CASE they missed that day on your blog.)

1.  I have no feeling in the left side of my chin (have I shared this before?), when I had jaw surgery years ago a nerve was severed leaving my chin all numb but tingly at the same time (trust me, it feels as weird as it sounds).  It's a problem when I eat ice cream, which I do quite a lot (the kid too).

2.  One of my favorite places to get ice cream (at the moment) is a place called Michael's Dairy.  It's situated in a big red barn and there is a huge lawn and all the ice cream is made with fresh stuff.  This is more exiting when getting fruity ice creams, lots of fruit bits.  I like ice cream so much I bought an ice cream maker.  But because I am lazy, I have never used it.  The sad part about this little vignette of ice cream consumption and consumerism is that the ice cream maker was purchased 5 years ago--it's still in the box, all new and shiny.  Ice cream, anyone?

3.  I am a clumsy person (this is no secret); but I have this irrational fear that the clumsy gene has been passed to Little Sir and I am always afraid he will do irrevocable damage to his person.  I have tons of permanent scars (we will just call them badges of honor, shall we?) and I would feel like a bad person if I "allowed" my kid to have similar scars.  When Little Sir started walking,  these fears of mine multiplied exponentially.  Whenever he gets near pavement, I have a mini-stroke (you don't even want to see my knee-scar from my worst pavement incident...I was 20, sigh-Little Sir isn't even 2!).  Clearly, I need to get over my hang ups.

4.  I have an unexplainable love for Vietnamese food.  I could eat it every day, 3 times even.  I see nothing wrong with driving to a town an hour and a half away for good Vietnamese food, isn't that what Saturdays are for?

It looked better before I starting noshing; but, whatever.

5. I have a weird thing about Ikea furniture.  I love putting it together.  I have no idea why.   I do not need Ikea furniture (at the moment); but, they also make toys that provide the opportunity to harbor feelings or accomplishment and disdain, just like their furniture.  And since all the toys are at kid level in the show room, Little Sir quickly picked out his favorite. A rocking moose (?).

Cute moose, right?  Yeah, not so much.  I now harbor great feelings of hate towards this moose and all the time that it sucked out of my weekend.  Time that I could have spent...knitting.

6.  When I started my second Sockapalooza sock, I came to the realization that I really, really am not a fan of bright colors.

I tried with the Pomatomus, and I love it--sort of; but, I am not sure if I could ever see myself wearing day-glow yellow socks (as lovely--if I do say so myself-- as they may be--maybe this is why I can not bring myself to finish the second sock?).

Or, maybe not.

7.  Bright colors make me think of clowns, which are fine...but then I start thinking of the somewhat affiliated mime and then I get irritated.  I think mimes are weird...when I see them performing on the street, I often want to hurl things at them.  I don't know why, mimes just really irritate me. If you have a relative, or are yourself a mime, please know that I am not making a judgment on you personally... I just find the whole mime profession (?) a little strange (and really, the same could be said about archivists, but I don't think we irritate people...ok, nevermind).  But it is good to know that I am not the only one who feels this way...

8.  I can not think of anything for #8 (I think I like the 6 and 7 things ones a bit better, 8 is taxing).  If you are still with me, I offer you a veritable smorgasbord of me.  I am living through a sort of local 15 minutes of fame right now.  To a certain extent, one (that one would be me) likes to maintain anonymity in the blogosphere, but then you go and do an interview and get all famous and everyone knows your business--all of your business.  So, should you really want to know all about me,  go here.  It's out there and you could certainly find it on your own, should you be so inclined.  There is no such thing as anonymity any more, is there?

I am going to break ranks on this one.  If you are reading this list and thinking to yourself, "I really need to do that Crazy Eights meme," well, consider yourself tagged. 

And because I was tagged as a Rockin' Girl Blogger as well this weekend (twice!) by girls who rock, here are a few of the girls that rock my world.

Ashley at dogged.  I want to be just like Ashley when I grow up, but without the Rhiannon socks, because I just couldn't pull them off with the same class as she will...when she finishes hers, ahem.

Diana at bestitched.  She was one of my first commenters, and I love LL.  And she does so much with yarn that is not wool, it's crazy!

Julie at Fricknits.  She is hilarious, her kid is cute and her project write-ups are fun and witty.  I really enjoy her blog.

Nora at Black Dog Knits.  She reminds me of the beauty of everyday things.  She creates amazing things by hand, and she writes about it all beautifully (and in a succinct way that I am incapable of co-opting).  I like her style.

And if you read through all of this, this is me giving you a cyber-star µ.   Happy Monday!

the randomness of me

I really enjoy reading these lists when other people write them; but I never think I have anything all that compelling to share so I usually breathe a sigh of relief when I am not tagged.  But Christy tagged me and then Kristy tagged me (and who is going to argue with two wonderful women named Chr/Kristy?  So in coming up with 7 random things, I feel like I should think of a few things that might be of interest that aren't already in my "100 things" list.

1. I had a very regimented childhood.  My dad served in the Army and had an appreciation for order in all things.  He also had a weird preoccupation toward physical fitness.  He would wake me up at 5 in the morning for "morning calisthenics" (and if you are wondering, this started when I was 6 years old--I thought all kids did this until I realized one morning that I was the only kid running on the road at 5 in the morning).  I think this is the basis for my hate of running and most things that could be described as exercise.

2. I attended the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and had the time of my life (no, really)--well, except when there was the running....oh, and the push-ups (and there were these weird, tortuous leg lift things, butterflies they were called--I hated those). 

When you grow up in a regimented setting, military life is the only thing you know and it becomes very easy--I took comfort in it, actually.  I liked the rigidness and the structure of it all.  It helped me frame my world--it gave me a box to think outside of, if you will.  And then I was medically discharged for a jaw joint disorder for which...

3. I had my jaw broken, reset and wired shut for 6 weeks.  During those 6 weeks, my mother became a culinary expert on things that can be blended with broth and juice.  Delicious, right?   The surgery was totally necessary.  My jaw joints don't lock open or shut, I don't get migraines all the time like I once did, and I don't suffer from facial pain anymore, which was a huge issue...the one unfortunate thing from the surgery, is that...

4. I have a crooked smile.  My smile is not symmetrical (the asymmetry is pretty obvious) and I am really self-conscious about it. 

I don't love being photographed so much (though I recognize that being in a camera crazy family, it is a necessary evil).  My mother asked me about my smile for the first time two months ago.  She didn't say anything sooner because she didn't want to hurt my feelings (it's been years people).  Yes mother, I know my smile is crooked.

5. I have a ridiculous laugh.  It got me in trouble quite a bit while I was living through #1 and #2 (I did a lot of push ups...a ludicrous amount, actually).  When I really get going, my laugh works in stages.  First there is the high pitched giggle that becomes inaudible as I run out of air and then there is the snorting that happens when I try to breathe while laughing.  It is ridiculous and unfortunate.  When I was a kid, my dad used to say "it's best if you don't laugh."  He said it a lot.  It made me laugh--it still does.

6. I am very close to my dad, closer than you might think given #1 (I think it helps that he doesn't wake me up to run with him anymore). 

He is a little anti-social (and usually not a baby person, but he thinks Littler Sir is the cat's pajamas)--I am one of the few people who understands him, which is too bad.  He is really funny and very entertaining, if you get the chance to know him (which most people don't).  I was scared that my dad wouldn't like Special K.  I shouldn't have been concerned.  My dad LOVES Special K (he refers to him as his "son" not his son-in-law. 

He thinks my husband is brilliant and the best son ever.  Yeah, he totally is.

7. When I was pregnant, I slipped and fell on a patch of black ice in my drive way (stupid New England weather).  I was hospitalized and put on medication so I wouldn't deliver early (at 26 weeks).  I didn't have a maternal bone in my body until the moment I thought something would happen to "my baby."  I am the clumsiest person alive (I think this has been mentioned before), and really, I fall all the time; but that particular fall was life changing.  I was no longer just an oven with a bun. 

It's nice to know that Little Sir hasn't suffered too negatively from my clumsiness as of yet.  That doesn't mean that he won't need therapy one day though.  As a favor to Little Sir, I am trying to tone down the crazy, I wouldn't want him to go all Augusten Burroughs on me and write some sort of tell all about his wacky childhood because of his screws loose mother or anything.

So there's seven random things, but maybe they aren't so random since some of them are related to each other.  Though they are things that I probably wouldn’t bring up in the course of "normal conversation" on this here blog.

Something in the normal course of conversation...a contest, a real one.  Stay tuned, it's May, and I have one more thing to celebrate.  Why not make it a party? 

brought to you by the letter...

In case you were wondering, today's post is brought to you by the letter O.  Courtesy of Ms. Frick...

So here are 10 topics, truths, themes, what-have-yous starting with the letter O:

Oatmeal: As in my favorite breakfast food.  seriously.  As a rule, I am not a breakfast person, but my favorite breakfast food is oatmeal, with a smidge of butter and a smattering of sugar, if you please.

O-shaped: I am speaking of the magnifier, you see.  It is a fancy magnifier neccesary for viewing a special book...

OED:  A special book also known as the Oxford English Dictionary.  This is the compact version which has all the pages shrunken to fit 9 actual pages to 1.  It's a bit trippy.  One of my most prized bookish possesions, a gift from Special K for finishing my library science program.

Organized:  One way to describe me and the way I roll.... I organize everything, particularly my books and yarn...

Obsessions:  Of which I have many, including books and yarn (and organizing the aquisitions of).  My obsessions often cause me to...

Overspend:  You get it, no explaination needed.

Orange:  The color of food that Little Sir will eat. 

Not green, orange.  It's also the color of yarn I have to knit up for a January gift...

Ouch:  The word I say most often in the English language because I might be the clumsiest woman alive.

Oops:  The word I say most often while I am knitting...or doing pretty much anything, see entry for "ouch."

Over:  As in 2006.... Party on!

Happy New Year everyone!!

6 weird things

I know some people don't like reading memes...I like reading them but I generally don't like doing them because I don't think I have anything all that interesting to offer; but I was recently tagged and my scanner at work is a little on the slow side today, so why not?  Tiennie tagged me with this meme, so here are 6 weird things about me (I don't know if any of this is in my "100 things" list, it very well may be--if so, I apologize for the redundancy):

1. My propensity to catalog things.  Ever since I took a cataloging class in library school I have been "burdened" with this habit.  I catalog everything.  All of my books are cataloged (Library of Conress classification, in case you are curious).  My yarn?  Cataloged.  My fabric?  Cataloged.  CDs? Yep. DVDs?  You betcha.  When I go into a yarn shop, I get anxious because the arrangement doesn't match the way I have cataloged my yarn (and thus organized how I think yarn should be laid out).  As you can imagine, the organization of some books stores drive me insane...yet another reason to shop online.  Yes, it's a sickness.

2. My ears.  In biology class in the 9th grade I had a lab partner who measured my ears with calipers.  After doing some calculations she announced to the class, "Nova is a freak!  Her ears are too small for her head!!!"  A few years ago I asked my doctor to measure again, not because I was self-conscious or anything, I was just curious.  My ears are indeed still disproportionately small for the size of my head, of if you'd rather, my ears are freakishly small.

3. My nose in the nose that knows.  I have a freakishly strong sense of smell.  When eating something, I can usually tell the ingredients based on smell better than taste.  When driving on the road, I can smell resturants yards before we are near them.  When Little Sir needs a diaper change, I can smell it from the next room.  Perfumes drive me nuts, I am not allergic to the scents or anything; but, because my sense of smell is so strong I just don't like sniffing it.  And yes, if you have too much perfume on, I will probably tell you.

4. My memory and the way it works.  While not photographic perse, it's pretty good.  I can remember names, faces, hairstyles and clothes.  Usually if I see someone for a second time after having met them briefly months before, I usually weird them out with my process of remembering: "oh, yes... I remember meeting you last year at the party, you were wearing that purple sweater with the cowl neck and your hair was chin-length angle-layered...that was a nice haircut, by the way."  Yeah, off-putting, isn't it?  I do my best to just think the process, but I frequently suffer from verbal diarrhea...Sometimes I just can't stop it.

5. I talk to myself and sometimes I answer my own questions.  I usually get less stares if Little Sir is around--then it's just cute.  I guess I will take people thinking I'm cute over being crazy any day.

6. I'm kind of a pushover and I know it and still it happens.  Friends who know this about me will sometimes shamelessly take advantage of it (yes I know you are doing it, and I let you get away with it!).  Some of my friends know about my pushover issues and they try to help me fight it, thank you...but it's in my genes, apparently.

So yeah, that's me.  If you are feeling the weirdness and want to do this meme, consider yourself tagged!

And happy first day of winter!!  Sure, it may be balmy outside (it is here in CT); but, my calendar says it's winter...so, get out your mittens...or not.

my life. my blog.

Cara posted this fun meme and since I am just scanning graduation images in the Archives today I figured I would slide this extra scan in.  The picture is an old one.  It was taken by Special K's dad on a visit to the Getty to see a photography exhibit.  I have no idea what I was laughing about, it must have been pretty funny.

The knitting continues, but in fits and spurts..Thanksgiving is tomorrow and if food is going to be eaten I will have to prepare it.  My dad gets in from Florida this afternoon.  The weather turned cold again, this will make him grumpy.  But then he will meet Little Sir for the first time and this will make him happy.  Even trade.

I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!  Don't eat too much!