Hi all! Yes, I've been off the reservation again but things have been quite busy. There has been knitting, soap use, and some cooking. All of it has been good and the past few weeks have flown by in such a blur that I can hardly believe that it is June. Where did the time go? Summer seems to be arriving in New York City after a disappointing Spring that never arrived. Sadly, summer in New York is...ugh...I think I prefer winter.
So what HAVE we been doing at Casa CEO/EK? Eating many many many salads, for one. With the lapband, I seen to have trouble with many greens but NOT arugula. I think because the leaves are small enough for me to pulverize with my teeth. Since coming home from Greece, I have been missing the flavor combinations of a good Greek salad. Nobody in New York makes them correctly. There are no greens in a true Greek salad, people. I put arugula in mine because I like it. And the cucumbers are good this season. I've been sticking to grape tomatoes because I like the flavor. The CEO is more conventional as he likes carrots, onions, and imitation bacon bits. But something with which we have both become obsessed are these Wonderful Almond Accents in Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper. They take the salad up a notch every single time.
I also made burgers based loosely on something I read online and can no longer find. I took some hamburger meat, added green onions, every spice in my kitchen cabinet that seemed burger appropriate and then throwing in a bit of all natural ketchup (it's still made by Heinz but without the High Fructose Corn Syrup...which it so doesn't need) and squishing it all together with my hands. Then, I formed patties and pan fried them. It wasn't complex or even well thought out, but it worked. These burgers were tasty. The original recipe calls for bread crumbs. I get that bread crumbs can add heft to a burger and make it go further. I also know the argument that it gives flavor and/or binds them together better. I personally think it is just a way to add needless carbs to a pretty carb free dish (without a bun, of course). But really, I digress.
On the soap front, I recently ordered some Fuzzy Navel Whipped Soap from Etsian Fairy Bubbles. The CEO has been using the whipped soap in Wolf for some time (check out her line for men, its great) and I decided to give some a try. I really like whipped soap but normally take pause as it often has more ingredients that its bar brothers but I decided that this one was worth it and I am glad I did. I've been washing my face with it and I love it. I guess The CEO has really good taste. Other than that, I am still stuck on L'Occitane and Josie Maran. I know I should branch out I haven't wanted to do so yet.
Knitting, oh yes knitting. I finished the Plain and Perfect Socks using KnitCrate's Puddle Jumping (oh how I love this yarn). Both the pattern and the yarn are by Jill Draper and here they are (or one of them, be that as it may):
I don't really feel like I did the yarn justice here. You can't see in the photos but the short row heels really gave me some issues with holes. I was able to sew most of the mostly closed but I think I could use some short row practice. However, this sock use the Kitchener stitch to close the toe and I didn't have any problem with it AT ALL. So that part was nice.
I also finished the water bottle cover with the cabling as well. I didn't take a photo and I still want to add a button to close the flap...but the cabling was really really fun.
I am working on the Beekeeper's Quilt in quiet moments. This was the May KnitCrate project and I love it. Unfortunately, this means that The CEO knows more about hexipuffs than he ever wanted know.
I am also making a shawl for my mom at home and...*spoiler alert for The CEO's family* the first in the socks for his family for Christmas. I won't go into too much detail except to say that it is being knit in an amazing pinky purple color and the pattern is Cookie A. It's a challenge...I almost forgot to get off the bus this morning because I was counting, but I am really excited.
I guess that's all for now. Hopefully, I won't save up so much info between posts next time.
NoM
~EK
So what HAVE we been doing at Casa CEO/EK? Eating many many many salads, for one. With the lapband, I seen to have trouble with many greens but NOT arugula. I think because the leaves are small enough for me to pulverize with my teeth. Since coming home from Greece, I have been missing the flavor combinations of a good Greek salad. Nobody in New York makes them correctly. There are no greens in a true Greek salad, people. I put arugula in mine because I like it. And the cucumbers are good this season. I've been sticking to grape tomatoes because I like the flavor. The CEO is more conventional as he likes carrots, onions, and imitation bacon bits. But something with which we have both become obsessed are these Wonderful Almond Accents in Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper. They take the salad up a notch every single time.
I also made burgers based loosely on something I read online and can no longer find. I took some hamburger meat, added green onions, every spice in my kitchen cabinet that seemed burger appropriate and then throwing in a bit of all natural ketchup (it's still made by Heinz but without the High Fructose Corn Syrup...which it so doesn't need) and squishing it all together with my hands. Then, I formed patties and pan fried them. It wasn't complex or even well thought out, but it worked. These burgers were tasty. The original recipe calls for bread crumbs. I get that bread crumbs can add heft to a burger and make it go further. I also know the argument that it gives flavor and/or binds them together better. I personally think it is just a way to add needless carbs to a pretty carb free dish (without a bun, of course). But really, I digress.
On the soap front, I recently ordered some Fuzzy Navel Whipped Soap from Etsian Fairy Bubbles. The CEO has been using the whipped soap in Wolf for some time (check out her line for men, its great) and I decided to give some a try. I really like whipped soap but normally take pause as it often has more ingredients that its bar brothers but I decided that this one was worth it and I am glad I did. I've been washing my face with it and I love it. I guess The CEO has really good taste. Other than that, I am still stuck on L'Occitane and Josie Maran. I know I should branch out I haven't wanted to do so yet.
Knitting, oh yes knitting. I finished the Plain and Perfect Socks using KnitCrate's Puddle Jumping (oh how I love this yarn). Both the pattern and the yarn are by Jill Draper and here they are (or one of them, be that as it may):
I don't really feel like I did the yarn justice here. You can't see in the photos but the short row heels really gave me some issues with holes. I was able to sew most of the mostly closed but I think I could use some short row practice. However, this sock use the Kitchener stitch to close the toe and I didn't have any problem with it AT ALL. So that part was nice.
I also finished the water bottle cover with the cabling as well. I didn't take a photo and I still want to add a button to close the flap...but the cabling was really really fun.
I am working on the Beekeeper's Quilt in quiet moments. This was the May KnitCrate project and I love it. Unfortunately, this means that The CEO knows more about hexipuffs than he ever wanted know.
I am also making a shawl for my mom at home and...*spoiler alert for The CEO's family* the first in the socks for his family for Christmas. I won't go into too much detail except to say that it is being knit in an amazing pinky purple color and the pattern is Cookie A. It's a challenge...I almost forgot to get off the bus this morning because I was counting, but I am really excited.
I guess that's all for now. Hopefully, I won't save up so much info between posts next time.
NoM
~EK
I love your idea for burgers sounds delicious! I have been mixing mine with my family meatloaf recipe. Ground beef & pork, horseradish & ketsup, an egg & cubes of bread. I leave out the oatmeal but now I am thinking why not leave out the bread cubes.
ReplyDeleteI love those socks. A great place to read up on short rows is here http://www.socktopus.co.uk/2011/02/short-rows-shadow-wraps/
That is such a helpful article. I feel like I can conquer those now. Or maybe soon. I like the idea of adding in pork and horseradish to burgers. That's a must try.
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