Month: January 2011

UFOs are Landing!

Yarn Balls Rolling!

What was supposed to be a two-week interim stay by my brother turned into five months.  We moved the guest bed in my husband’s office into my studio so that Josh, who telecommutes, would not be kicking my brother out at 5:30 a.m.  All the stuff in my studio, where the bed landed, migrated to the former bed space in my husband’s office.

Last night I dove into the knitting projects which had begun piling up there.  Some people live out a suitcase quite tidily – I admit, I do not – and using borrowed space is sort of the same.  The result was a treasure trove of lost needles (more than few, and lots more than several), projects, yarn.   In the mix I found two sweaters which need finishing up, like weaving in ends, that I had neatly folded into a bag and promptly lost.  Also, a beret or two or three or four in various stages of design and failure.  The list grows.

Paint Brushes Ready to Escape!

The remaining items include the tansu which stores my suzuri and varied painting supplies, rolls of paper, and a box full of ink-painting supplies (mostly sumi and hake brushes) which I have been hoping to sell here on Ink, Yarn & Beer, to see if anyone might be interested in a few specialty items. My light table is also in there and who knows what else!

Photoscaping is Happening!

And while I am at it, a wonderful, easy-to-use, free program to edit digital images just released an upgrade.  Photoscape is a fantastic product.  I use it for quick editing of jpg files (it does not support raw files, as far as I know), especially those with color issues, such as being too red.  For those red ones, I decolor the image to -3 or -4, depending.

Now it has frames!  I used one of the gradated ones for these.  Check it out – there is a bit of learning curve, but I have found it quite easy.

And?

It takes time to re-organize after such a disruption. Available space is different than it used to be as the bed is staying in the studio.  The best part – hooray – is I can paint with far easier access to supplies.

Ciao!

Morning Walk

Wicket (our dog) and I went for a walk this morning, just around the neighborhood, less than a mile, but in that time frame, he sniffed a lot, and I looked a lot.  The cold snap we have had here is gone, for now at least – it was 78 F yesterday – and today is supposed to be the same.

Leaving the house just before 7:00 a.m., the sun was still low in the sky, which is really lovely for light.  I took the little Lumix ZS5, and though I didn’t get any awe-inspiring shots, I did look at the blooms showing up in the flowering pear trees, the new buds on the wisteria, and the golden leaves still clinging to the sycamores.

It has been awhile since I took the time to be outdoors in the earlier hours of the day. I have forgotten how enjoyable the changes in the air and light are as the day begins.  Growing up in rural Illinois, sunrise was exciting throughout the year.  Those memories linger; living in suburbia, it is so easy to forget the joys of the early morning.

Crockpot

Whenever I think of crockpots for cooking, I always imagine there will be a big, soupy mess of overcooked food and soggy vegetables.  Not appealing.

My first crockpot was all one piece, which meant cleaning it was a chore – avoiding total submersion in water to clean off all the scum and debris that dripped out from under the glass lid.  It was also a hideous color and had a cheap feel to it.  The cord was a “safety cord,” so short you had to unplug it to check the mess blurping away inside.

Since then, while the concept has remained the same, construction has improved considerably.  The cooking pot can come out of the heating element.  Well, duh!  It oughta, like this one above, which is very similar to mine.

I always wondered who designed the original crockpot – someone who was cheap?   Someone who had servants who did their bidding?  Someone whose mom or wife did all the cleanup, as a good woman should?  These things were ridiculously poor in design, but clever in concept.  The fact that the pot could not be removed was my big issue.

Since the days of yore, crockpot cookery, also known as slow cooking, has come a long way.  Recipes are not just icky stews, but include all sorts kinds, from soups, to main courses, and desserts.

The other day I found a recipe for Cuban pulled pork, traditionally slow-cooked on the stovetop with citrus.  Someone mentioned they had cooked it all day long on low, in their crockpot, so I decided to do it.  The result was fantastic because all I did was cook the pork, not make an soupy mess to serve for dinner.

Crockpot Pulled Pork (or, What I Did)

Step 1

  • 3-4 lbs. pork tenderloin
  • 1 orange, quartered
  • 1 qt. chicken broth, low sodium
  • 2 large onions, quartered
  • lots of garlic cloves, peeled and left whole (I used about 6)
  • cumin
  • 2 T. peppercorns

Note: Before doing anything, you may want to brown the tenderloin in a pan.  I didn’t, because the crockpot method I looked at did not say to do so; I think it might add to the final flavor.

Pierce tenderloin and place whole garlic cloves inside. Place all ingredients into crockpot. Pour in chicken broth.

Place crockpot on low, cook 6-10 hours.

Step 2

  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • cumin
  • pepper
  • salt
  • chili pepper or other hot pepper powder, flakes

Take pork out of crockpot; pull off any peppercorns. Place into bowl, and using 2 forks, shred meat.

In frying pan, add 1-2 T. olive oil; sautee onion until soft and translucent, or caramelized if you prefer. Set aside in a bowl.

Add more oil to pan.  Add shredded pork; stir fry the meat until it is a bit dry and maybe beginning to brown a bit on the tips of the meat.  Season with suggested spices, or whatever you prefer.  Return sauteed onion to pan, heat a bit more.

Serve with black beans, rice or fried plantains.  We also had some shredded jack-white cheddar, salsa, sour cream, fresh cilantro, and a green salad.  Additionally, we used fresh limes to squeeze over the meat.  It is also good for burritos, tacos, or gussying up with barbecue sauce – but I expect how I would cook it would be a bit differently if barbecued pork was my final goal.

‘Snot What I Want

The Sniffle

In spite of her sniffle,
Isabel’s chiffle.
Some girls with a sniffle
Would be weepy and tiffle;
They would look awful,
Like a rained-on waffle,
But Isabel’s chiffle
In spite of her sniffle.
Her nose is more red
With a cold in her head,
But then, to be sure,
Her eyes are bluer.
Some girls with a snuffle,
Their tempers are uffle,
But when Isabel’s snivelly
She’s snivelly civilly,
And when she’s snuffly
She’s perfectly luffly.

—Ogden Nash