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 A pair of snow goose has started breeding in the local bird sanctuary and their favorite hangout is quite near the road. Frequently I see them crossing from one side to the other and traffic must stop to wait. Last year one of the adults was hit and I was sad to see it limping around with a broken wing and leg. It won’t be long until there are babies crossing with them as well. With my new little camera I can finally share photos of them.
I finished up the Jelly Bean socks earlier in the week. This is Regia sock yarn knit on size 0 needles following Roza’s Socks from the Spring ‘07 Interweave Knits. I used an eye-of-partridge heel and split the toe decreases evenly such that the first half were alternate rows and the second half every row.
Last night’s dinner was quick and easy, you might even call it a "30 minute meal" as Jason called at 6:30 to say he was on his way home and dinner was ready shortly after he arrived. I had intended to do a shrimp and quinoa chowder but when I found out he’d be home late I change my plan to something simpler and went for stir-fry instead.
Julie’s Shrimp Stir-fry
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons canola oil
a few breakfast sausage links, cut into small rounds
1 cup sweet onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
a handful of chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
juice of a lime
hot cooked brown rice
Saute the onion in the canola oil in a large saute pan until soft. Add the sausage, bell pepper, garlic, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until sausage is nearly cooked through. Stir in the shrimp, season with salt and pepper, and cook until shrimp is pink and opaque. Serve over rice, garnished with cilantro and sesame seeds and a squeeze of lime juice.
It seems to be more of a birthday week than a birth day this year. Gifts keep arriving and I become more and more amazed. Mme Purl is coming to visit in May and we’ve been plotting another dye session. Yesterday afternoon I noticed a truck pull up and leave a rather large package next door (their house number is the same as ours only theirs has an R after it so deliveries often get placed on the wrong doorstep). I really thought nothing of it since I knew things were coming but I never dreamed such a large box was for me. I was out late at knitting and when I returned home, there was that gianormous box in the living room. Mme Purl has seen to it that I’m ready to dye! Thanks Mme Purl, life is NEVER dull with you around. I think I laughed for about an hour before I could finally go to sleep, I was just so surprised.
Also arriving yesterday was this book that’s been on my wishlist for quite some time now. The very first time I participated in Secret Pal Diane sent me a copy of Knitter’s Stash and I’ve wanted to knit the embroidered tea cozy from that book ever since.
 Here’s another charming little gift I received, these fabulous wine glass charms. The little teacup has "tea" inside and the beads match the sock yarn I wound up yesterday in anticipation of finishing the Jelly Bean socks today. The Spring Fever socks are coming along nicely as well, the second sock is knitted as far as the middle of the gusset decreases.
I’ve currently got the Whole Grains cookbook from the library and have been cooking recipes based on it all this week. Last night’s dinner was a keeper, even Daniel at it without complaint. I think it would be lovely as a vegetarian dish as well with black beans instead of meat.
Chicken Posole
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 cup chopped plum tomatoes
1 can posole (hominy), drained
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
In a large Dutch oven, saute the onions over medium heat until translucent and softened. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds longer or until fragrant. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer ten minutes. Serve with a squeeze of lime juice, chopped fresh cilantro, and diced avocado.
 Last night I had dinner with some friends and a bit of knitting after. Everyone brought fabulous birthday gifts. A book I’d definitely planned to get, some of Webs gorgeous new hand-dyed sock yarn, some purple Koigu that I had in my hands a few weeks ago and put back, and some of my favorite batik fabrics from a local quilt shop I don’t get out to quite often enough. Thanks so much ladies, you all made gorgeous choices!
The Jelly Bean socks have been coming along rapidly even though it’s my secondary knitting project. This is the second sock nearing completion so I’ll soon be winding yarn and looking for another "mindless" knitting sock to work on at odd moments.
 Just last week I saw a post on a modified tissue holder turned camera case. Yesterday afternoon I decided to give that a try. First I made a plain tissue holder following these instructions but with measurements meant for my camera. I thought that with just a slit down the center it wasn’t very secure and leaves either the screen or the lense exposed so I made a second one that started with a longer rectangle and I overlapped the fold by about an inch. Now the new camera is nice and snug and I’ve got a little tissue holder to boot.
For a birthday cake I asked for the lemon angel food cake we had on my birthday in 2005. Mom says I always asked for angel food cake as a birthday cake when I was little. I’d forgotten that but we planned to have it in ‘05 when my birthday fell on Easter and she reminded me then.
Lemon
angel food cake with lemon curd and
White Mountain
frosting
1
dozen large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla
zest of 1 lemon
2 cups fine sugar, divided
1 1/3 cups flour
Preheat
the oven to 350 F.
Whisk
egg whites, salt and cream of tartar to soft peaks. Slowly add 1 1/2 cups sugar
while continuing to whisk. Add vanilla and whisk to stiff peaks. Sift together
remaining sugar and flour. Stir in lemon zest. Fold the flour mixture into the
egg mixture a little at a time, being careful not to deflate the egg whites.
Transfer
the batter to an ungreased tube pan. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 F until it
springs back to the touch. Cool completely and remove from pan. Slice off 1
inch from the top. Remove about a 1-inch channel of cake from between the inner
and outer edge, about 1-inch deep.
lemon
curd filling
6
large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
8 tablespoons sweet cream butter, cut into pieces
zest of a lemon
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
Whisk
together yolks, sugar and juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook
until slightly thickened and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat
and stir in the butter one piece at a time until it is all incorporated. Fold
in the zest and allow to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap right on the
surface of the lemon curd and refrigerate overnight. Just before use, whip the
cream and remaining sugar to stiff peaks and fold gently into the curd 1/3 at a
time. Put this mixture into the channel of the cake, replace the top and refrigerate
at least two hours.
White
Mountain
frosting
1 1/2
cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large egg whites
In a
small sauce pan, bring the sugar, water, juice and salt to a boil and continue
to cook over medium-high heat until the temperature reaches 240 F on a candy
thermometer. Meanwhile beat the egg whites just to stiff peaks then stream in
the hot syrup and continue to beat until somewhat cooled, about 5 minutes.
Mixture should form stiff peaks. Frost cake.
 We’re celebrating my birthday a few days early this weekend. Jason cooked a fabulous dinner last night and there’s cake in the fridge for later today. As a gift I got a new little camera that can fit in my pocket and will be perfect for pictures when the big camera is too intimidating. This is the Canon Elph with 6 MP and a 1 gig memory card. Should keep me out of trouble, no?
 What do you do when you have one kid home for spring break and the other home sick? French toast goes a long way towards filling those bottomless pits, at least temporarily. I bought a loaf of challah and whisked together a cup of milk, two eggs, 2 tablespoons sugar and a splash of vanilla. I sliced the bread and dipped each slice in the mixture before tossing it into a hot pan with a dab of butter. I am weird in that I don’t like syrup but instead top my pancakes and French toast with honey but the boys topped theirs with maple syrup. I think I made their day.
Chris went shopping this week while he was home and bought himself a wok and an Asian cookbook. He wanted to cook a meal here before trying it in the dorm so he could ask questions and last night he made a fantastic beef stir-fry. I think he really enjoyed it and we definitely enjoyed having him cook!
 The snow is melting so fast it sounds like it’s raining and the jays are fighting for territory in the backyard. I saw a few crocus blooming last week but this week they are coming out like gangbusters anywhere the snow has melted off. The daffodils and tulips are not far behind and I see leaves coming out on the climbing rose and the honeysuckle.
Last night’s dinner was a simple new potato mash with roasted asparagus and fresh-caught pollock which I breaded lightly and served over a roasted red pepper sauce. The sauce couldn’t be simpler: in a blender whiz up a roasted bell pepper, a smidge of vinegar, a few tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper, a clove garlic, a pinch or two of onion powder and a wee bit of thyme. The leftover sauce will be fab with the leftover pasta from earlier in the week, yum!
 Two, count ‘em, two lovely skeins of yarn arrived in my mailbox yesterday compliments of the Minestrone Soup drawings after the great hat deluge. These amazing 550 yard skeins are new to me by J Knits from the Yarn Grove.
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A pair of snow goose has started breeding in the local bird sanctuary and their favorite hangout is quite near the road. Frequently I see them crossing from one side to the other and traffic must stop to wait. Last year one of the adults was hit and I was sad to see it limping around with a broken wing and leg. It won’t be long until there are babies crossing with them as well. With my new little camera I can finally share photos of them.
