Kiss My Knits!

I don’t have my sense of smell back yet, but I still won’t be eating this.

For the last few years our local store has had ever larger displays of pomegranate fruit. I’ve enjoyed pomegranate juice before, but had no idea how to go about eating one fresh.

I’m all about experimentation and discovery, and I’m always telling Emily that it can be fun to try new things. It’s good for her to see me practice what I preach.

Maybe this is one of those things that I’m behind the curve on, but I had to go to Dr. Internet to figure out how to do this. Em and I read the instructions and watched the video here, then gave it a shot. Pretty easy! I didn’t have a problem removing the fruit from the rind, but I hear that if that’s an issue, you can put the seeds into a bowl of water. The bitter pith will float and the seeds will sink, making it easy to separate.

One thing I think about often as I shop for produce is how thankful I am for refrigeration, highways, and internal combustion engines. Clearly the auto is a mixed blessing with the pollution produced, but imagine how much poorer our diets would be without modern technology. This year, I am grateful that I can easily obtain all of the ingredients in my nutritious Thanksgiving meal, very few of which I would be able to procure without these modern marvels.

For the record, Em and I agreed. The pomegranate was quite tasty.

My husband’s famous pumpkin apple bread, traditional for Thanksgiving. The recipe is from a 1993 Gourmet magazine. I’m a stickler for copyright so I wasn’t going to reprint it… but Gourmet just went out of business and someone else posted it so I say “have at it.”

Dad, we made two loaves. I’ll be by later. 🙂

If you’re planning on making pumpkin pie this year, you may want to shop sooner rather than later.

Wet conditions have damaged the last several years’ pumpkin harvests, particularly in those areas that Nestle subsidiary Libby’s draws from. There may be a shortage of canned pumpkin this season. At Harris Teeter this morning, there was a “limit two per customer” sign on the Libby’s, although the organic pumpkin was still plentiful.

Just a heads-up for the bakers among us.

Well, sure enough, my shoulders and upper back are quite sore today, a result of holding a 75 pound child upright for extended periods of time. Still, as the sacrifices of motherhood go, it could be worse.

My husband and I got a little time this morning together, and went to the local EarthFare. Right now he’s making a coffee bean and anise rub for some steaks, which he’ll grill up later. It’s an experiment, but it sounds like a tasty one. We also got some smallish baking potatoes, just for good measure. And now, my energy’s fading, so since my husband is home maybe I’ll try resting my eyes a little. It’s not easy to do – Em wants a lot of attention and interaction. That’s definitely a good thing and a step in the right direction, but it still wears me out. Early to bed tonight, for sure.

ETA: Dinner was wonderful. Mr. Tvini also grilled a zucchini we’d gotten at the farmer’s market. Delish!

The traditional Christmas ravioli. My husband makes the pasta dough, ricotta cheese, and sauce from scratch. This year the tomatoes were from our garden, and we had a side of spicy sausage from an Italian butcher about 20 miles up the road.

In theory we all help assemble it, but really it’s mainly my husband who is the maestro here. It’s so good. So good.

Christmas went well. Em got overtired just before bedtime and started quietly crying because “I haven’t done karaoke all year.” Really it was because she had been up since 6am, going full tilt. I should have put her to bed early.

Even with the rough finish, she still said, “I think this was my favorite Christmas ever.” Mission accomplished.

And so, exhausted, I’m also off to bed. I hope your Christmas was merry and bright.

Knitting up my handdyed Holly Jolly yarn as thick socks for my daughter. 48 stitches on size 3, gauge is 6.5=1inch. It’s a bit dense on 3’s – if I were someone else, I’d take it to a 4 or 5. Stripes at this gauge are 6 rows long. I’m loving this and want to dye more ASAP.



It’s Thanksgiving. You can’t go wrong with the back o’ the can Libby’s recipe. ‘Nuff said!

I hope you and yours are having a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

ETA: My mom mentioned that my pie crust looked extraordinarily even. She’s right – I used a frozen crust this year! And let me tell you, that crust added nothing to the pie. I won’t be using storebought again. There’s a balance between timesaving and skimping, and this crust crossed over that line!

<----Never used breadmaker manufactured in 1995, purchased from a yard sale two weeks ago, complete with instructional video, docs, and original price tag for $185 (on sale from $260).

Awesome rosemary bread baked by my husband the excellent Italian cook, with fresh rosemary from our yard and extra garlic for more kick.—->

Best eight dollars we ever spent.

CrazyCatLadyMel posted a link to this little gem. For those who like Pushing Daisies and pie, someone came up with a recipe for apple pie with gruyere baked into the crust, kind of like the pie that Chuck bakes for her aunts, except without all the homeopathic antidepressants she added. I cannot promise I will use lard, but I must make this pie.

My good friend the garden spider has finally gone. In exchange, I get these jokers all over the yard. They’re about as long as my index finger, they’re everywhere, and for some reason, they like to make their webs at exactly Tvini-face-height. Why? WHY??

I should not have to don a fencing mask to hang out laundry.

I want my garden spider back.

ETA: Pics from the upcoming new Star Trek movie. I really hope this doesn’t blow, but let’s face it. Even if it the reviews are awful, I am THERE, baby!