Wednesday, September 07, 2011

almost autumn

There's a nip in the air and a spring in my step -- forsooth, autumn's just around the corner here in the upper midwest. We've been happily munching away on apples and pears from last Saturday's green city market.

I've been knitting away at f.pea's mossy jacket pattern. I'm using the specified yarn, Classic Elite Beatrice, now discontinued. This is a machine washable, heavy worsted weight merino wool with a neat construction -- 3 plies very lightly twisted together, which means that it's very easy to separate the plies (esp. with my pointy Knit Picks Harmony needles).



What's neat is that the 3 plies are different colors -- 1 tan, 1 beige, and 1 variegated. The yarn knits up into a very pleasant variegated, marled fabric -- not garish or awful like so many other commercial yarns. Each of these three plies seems to be a plied light fingering weight. Great stuff! Too bad it's no longer on the market.
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In August I instituted a no-new-yarn policy as we prepare to move, but this has already been bent a bit, as Quince and Co. restocked Lark in pomegranate. Not only did I order one more skein to finish Camilla Babe, but also a color book.

I'm contemplating colors for an Aidez cardigan using Quince's lofty aran-weight Osprey yarn. Frost?  Peacock? Delft? So pretty!

Two small projects are blocking on my dining room table as I type, so I'll be back soon with FO posts.
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in the kitchen

-- I really want to make pumpkin ice cream -- I just saw this recipe, but it's definitely more complicated than I'd like. Any recipe suggestions?  Otherwise I'll probably experiment (I'm thinking pumpkin butter + a slightly less cream-cheesy version of my cream cheese ice cream recipe).

-- Sour cream brown sugar ice cream was on the menu for a get-together last weekend! It was awfully yummy. I swirled fig butter through half of the batch, and that was especially tasty.

  Sour Cream Brown Sugar Ice Cream


2 C. sour cream
1.5 C. half-and-half
1 C. brown sugar, firmly packed (preferably dark brown)
.5 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 T. bourbon
fig butter (optional)

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Pour into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's directions (about 20 min.).

Optional: Pour half the ice cream into a freezer-safe container. Dot a few blobs of fig butter over the top; swirl with a knife. Add the rest of the ice cream. Add a bit more fig butter if desired.

Put in the freezer and allow to harden for at least 3 hours.
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A copy of Moosewood Restaurant New Classics has been sitting in my kitchen bookcase for a few months, sadly unopened and untested. I pulled it out to peruse at lunch today, and the recipes look fantastic! I'm getting very excited about veggies again. 25 tape flags now mark recipes that were calling my name. I'll keep you posted as to the successes.
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Jane Austen fans, the Los Angeles Review of Books features an interesting review article on two new books about Jane Austen.  

11 comments:

pdxknitterati/MicheleLB said...

The mossy jacket is really sweet, and such a quick knit. Have fun! I'm working on a kid knit right now, too, but it's a toddler project. Quick!

barefootrooster said...

i vote for all of this -- the ice cream (and the fig swirl), the quince and co, the aidez...i have been favorited aidezes myself lately. seems perfect for fall. (if i have that cardigan, i'll be able to figure out what i want to say in my dissertation, right?)

Sharon said...

You have such a great eye for color and pattern. I love that little jacket. Not sure about Jane Austen, but I'm thinking I need the new Moosewood cookbook.

marycatharine said...

That yarn is really interesting, it's knitting up great. Yarn to finish a project doesn't really count... other wise you'd have piles of things just waiting for knitting. More yarn under those circumstances is very sensible!

Chris said...

I love pumpkin ice cream. Well, dairy free pumpkin ice cream, at least. :)

Gigi said...

Busy girl you! I'm so jealous of your fall weather -- we've cooled off down to crisp 91 degrees for the high today -- much better than 105 though!
I've got Aidez in my faves but I hate seaming so it's lanquishing there. Can't wait to see how yours turns out -- beautiful and perfect, I'm sure! And the little jacket is looking very sweet -- love the name ;).
Blessings,
GG

Mia said...

I think you need to knit yourself a sweater now. I am thinking that glacier is a prettier color than the ones you were suggesting.

And I need to read the review.

Pears are lovely in a jam. Don't worry I have more pears to turn into a jam. You will see some soon. I need to get labels done today before I forget what is what.

And I need to get the new Moosewood. I love my Moosewood book. But my new favorite is the Flavor Bible. You need a copy of it as a foodie.

weriem said...

Mmmm, I love the garden and the shawl!

Katie M. said...

Ooh, I can't wait for fall! Thanks for giving me some great ideas for when it finally arrives in Nashville ...

Anonymous said...

pumpkin ice cream

a simple, easy pumpkin ice cream that tastes like pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

1 (16 oz.) can pumpkin
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 t cinnamon
1/8 t nutmeg (optional)
1/4 t ginger
1 cup half & half
1/4 cup orange juice
2 cups whipped cream

stir all ingredients in a large bowl until combined. pour into ice cream maker. makes 2 quarts.

*i didn't use the nutmeg because i don't like it.

hope you like it!

Rue said...

Tat quince color card sounds dangerous. Their yarns are so lovely!

Good luck with the pumpkin ice cream. I just made pumpkin pie from scratch (with a pumpkin!) so I'm with you on craving fall flavors.