Monday, May 11, 2009

sigh


www.dailydanny.com (discovered via Apartment Therapy)
It's times like these I wish I owned my fridge...



Sunday, May 10, 2009

"I could write a blog...I have thoughts!"

Couldn't have put it better myself.

I can tell this will be my favorite movie of the year.



Ironically, I've never actually cooked anything by Julia Child. Though I do own her cookbook...perhaps I too should embark on a "recipe a day" challenge!

off topic

Dear WaMu/Chase/Whatever the hell you are called these days:

I cannot log into my online banking account. I apparently have forgotten my login name.

I see that I can only retrieve my login name from the telephone customer service...and this brings me to my complaint disguised as a general inquiry because I did not see COMPLAINT as an option.

Your telephone "customer service" is the worst I have ever experienced in my entire life. All I need to do is speak to a human being. I understand this is a lot to ask these days. However, you claim to have customer service 7 days a week. I did not receive any service. For some reason my account number and social security number followed by the pound sign are not working. Therefore I can not be ROUTED to an operator so I just keep getting redirected to the original recording. I tried to pretend to open a new account thinking I would HAVE to be able to speak to a human being who could then manually connect me to your online support. But no! Your sales department is closed! So there is not 7 day a week service after all. Fabulous! You should not advertise having customer service available 7 days a week when it is NOT actually available. I understand if you want to be closed on Sundays! Just say so instead of wasting my time.

I understand that this message will most likely never be read by a human being, and if it is, I understand that the human being reading this will have absolutely no power to change anything at all. So, to answer the question that has surely entered your mind by now: YES. I only wrote this to make myself feel better. And YES, I DO feel better taking out my frustrations in this little box.


Thank you and I hope you are having a better Sunday than I am.

-Katherine



Yes, I did actually send this. And yes, I do feel much better ;-)

Monday, May 4, 2009

Down to business - 2 Recipes & a Craft

It's business time.

Recipe #1 - Basic Risotto how-to

No recipe link here...this is a dish I make quite often so I just kind of do it from my memory. I'll do my best to write it out for you. The nice thing about risotto is that it's great for vegetarians because you can always add meat on the side and it's great for those who are gluten-intolerant because it's all rice. You can use whatever veggies you have on hand.

Ingredients:
Arborio Rice (it will double in size as you add the broth)
1 yellow onion
garlic (either finely chopped, or run through a garlic press)
parmesan/parm reggiano cheese or a mix of both
1 Tetra-Pak veggie or chicken broth (though it never hurts to have extra)
1/2 cup dry white wine (I like to use extra dry Vermouth. Martini and Rossi preferred)
Various vegetables: My favorites are asparagus, mushrooms, tomatoes, fresh basil, but you can really do anything...butternut squash, zucchini etc.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 large wok-type pan
1 small saucepan (to heat the broth)


First you should cook up your vegetables. In this case, I steamed the asparagus and sauteed the mushrooms in olive oil. When they are done, just put them aside on a plate to add at the end.

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Now chop up the onion and peel a few gloves of garlic. Pour your broth into a saucepan and turn on low. This is an ESSENTIAL step. The broth must be hot in my experience or else your rice will turn out all mushy and weird.

Pour a liberal amount of olive oil in the pan and saute the garlic for a couple minutes until nice and fragrant. Add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes, do not let them brown/caramelize.

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Next, add a few more tablespoons of olive oil and stir in your rice. Saute the rice in the oil for about 3-5 minutes. They say the rice should appear "transparent" over time...I've never noticed this effect.

Next add the wine to your taste and simmer until it is all absorbed. Your stove should be on about medium heat. Do not let the rice "cook dry" thus sticking to the bottom of the pan. This is not a "set it and forget it" meal.

Add the broth about a half a cup at a time letting it fully absorb before you add more. Give the rice a few stirs. There is no need to constantly stir as that can create mushy rice, but make sure the broth is evenly distributed.

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Taste the rice as you go...it should be firm to the bite but not raw. The rice should be about double in size. When the rice is done, turn off the stove and add any spices you like. I am a fan of the obvious salt/pepper but also fresh basil (or dried) and even a little oregano or rosemary. Then add the cheese. I add a lot of cheese because cheese is DELICIOUS.

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It should melt quickly. Fold it into the risotto.

Lastly, add your vegetables and you're done!
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Yum!

Recipe #2 - Curried Cauliflower ala Williams-Sonoma
Click here for the recipe.

I used this basic recipe, but added half a yellow onion, a couple of tomatoes, three red potatoes and frozen peas to make it a full meal. I also cooked up some brown jasmin rice on the side. Perfect!

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Beautiful cauliflower from the Farmer's Market and other veggies from my corner-store.

I chopped up all the ingredients and then poured them into a big salad bowl. I then sifted the spices through and mixed them up with my hands. Finally, I spread them in a single layer on a couple of baking sheets and cooked at 425F for about 45 minutes. The recipe says that it should only take about 30, but potatoes always take forever.

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Take the veggies out every once and awhile to turn them. If they start to stick (which mine did) you can give them a quick spray of cooking spray (I use Pam Organic Olive Oil).

Then I mixed up the sauce which was just yogurt and dijon mustard. I was a bit skeptical about the sauce...never had THAT at an Indian restaurant, but it turned out to really compliment the dish! I didn't add all of it though.

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Ta da! Aside from the fact that it takes a long time to roast the veggies, this was a very easy and delicious dinner! It was especially good because I don't often cook Indian. I just realized that this was also a gluten-free dinner...I am accidentally on a roll.


AND FINALLY...a craft update. So after discovering those felted coasters I decided to take a stab at felting myself. I discovered this adorable little yarn store near the Marina called Greenwhich Yarn. Super cute, very helpful ladies, great selection and it's been there for 30 years. A bit far away, but totally worth it. I walked all the way back (about 2 miles) and it was super fun...great walk through a few fun neighborhoods.

At first I wanted to make placemats, but then I decided to try something smaller since I'm just experimenting. I opted for hot-pads.

These were quick to knit up. I did them in an afternoon. I used size 15 needles, and double stranded the yarn (one verigated and one solid). I cast on 30 stiches and used a basic stockinette stich.

The end result pre-felting:
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I washed the pieces twice on the hot cycle at my local laundromat. Unfortunately, I just don't think the water got hot enough because they didn't shrink nearly as much as I thought they would. I think I'm going to try and refelt them again the next time I do laundry. Or maybe try another laundromat. Even better...maybe I'll have to mooch off a couple of friends who are LIVING THE DREAM and have their own in-unit laundry. Someday...

The end result post felting:
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They're a bit large and a bit square. But still kind of fun. I'm happy to be back into knitting and I'm looking forward to more trying out some more felting projects. I also think I'm going to crochet a cute border and a knob-loop on these so I can actually use them in the kitchen.

What else should I felt?


Hiking Yoga

So before I launch into cooking/crafting, I wanted to do a quick life-update.

This Sunday I went to "free yoga" at Lulu Lemon Athletica. This is a very risky activity for someone like myself. Now you might be thinking this is dangerous because I have weak knees or something, but no...it is far worse...I have a weak sense of willpower when it comes to overpriced workout clothes. You see, Lulu Lemon is incredibly expensive, but also incredibly cute and fun. I realize that the people behind Lulu are pretty smart. It is rarely a "free" yoga class for most of the attendees. After all, you're spending an hour in the store...surrounded by their products being taught yoga by instructors wearing the clothes and everyone is so friendly...and then they ask you if you have any questions and all of a sudden you find yourself in the dressing room with 3 pairs of stretch pants and a $50 sports bra. Oh yes, it is a great marketing tactic.

When under retail attack I normally resort to one of humanity's natural defensive instincts: Fight or Flight. In the case of weekly yoga, I choose Flight and book it out of the store as fast as you can say "Namaste". (Note: this strategy has worked flawlessly, I realize I have not EVER purchased something from Lulu Lemon.)

This brings me to the actual point of this post. This week, instead of our usual class in the store, we did something a little (read: a LOT) different. When I walked into the store with my mat this rainy Sunday morning I was greeted with, "Oh good, you wore your running shoes. This week we aren't doing regular yoga. We're doing HIKING YOGA!"

Gulp.

What is hiking yoga you ask? It is yoga-bootcamp. A 90 minute, intense power walk/run (in the rain!) through the hilliest part of San Francisco then pausing at the top of a mountain to do a bunch of yoga poses.

In conclusion, I survived. It was a very intense workout but it was really really fun. Everyone was really great and the instructor was fabulous and encouraging. I even met a really nice girl who is a fellow knitter and classic movie/musical lover! Yay for new friends. Also, I am proud to say that I kind of kicked butt on this hike. I definitely ran up one of the longest, steepest blocks in the city, leaving the group in the dust and was applauded by a complete stranger who happened to be standing on the corner.

I guess walking uphill everyday is paying off!

Saturday, May 2, 2009

really?

This company can charge $72 for 3 felted COASTERS???? REALLY? I am clearly in the wrong business.

Now they are quite cute as you can see here:
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I mean, they have the nifty "five green stitches" which are kind of cool and asymmetrical and then there is the little grommet so you can loop them all together or something. But these really do seem incredibly over priced. (Especially because they have a little disclaimer saying that these coasters are not appropriate for setting a tea kettle on DESPITE THE PHOTO.)

And yet, they clearly seem to sell! I have heard of this brand before on numerous web-blogs and they are having a sample sale at the Fort Mason Center today. Are the hipster-yuppies aka huppies that well off and/or that lacking in knowledge of a basic craft that used to be a mandatory skill just 50 years ago that they will pay this much for a circle that has been thrown in the washing machine?

Now I am no knitting master, but I have been known to pick up ye olde needles once and awhile, so maybe there is something more to these than meets the eye?

I sincerely doubt it.

In other news, happy Saturday all!