It's been awhile since I posted about the birds in our yard. This week I noticed someone odd at the finch feeder. Does this downy woodpecker know he's not a finch? In general I find the birds really don't care much for the rules in our yard. They quite often contradict the "rules". One of these days I'll get a photo of the tufted titmouse with a peanut stuck on his beak for you.
Daniel requested a cake for the last day of school to celebrate his art teacher’s last day as the teacher is moving on to another position next year. Having recently done a bee cake for graduation I had all the ingredients on hand and that was quickly settled upon as "the one". He wanted the bees to spell out J9 (J for Mr. Jacob, I’m not sure where the 9 comes in) but I didn’t think that would work so we asked Jason to pick up some writing icing on the way home. He grabbed the kind with no tip so the J9 is a bit wibbly, other than that it turned out very nicely.
Busy Bee Cake
for the cake:
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/3 cups dark brown sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup honey
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 scant cup boiling water
for the glaze:
1/4 cup honey
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
for the bees:
almond paste
12 sliced almonds
melted chocolate
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a 9-inch removable-bottom cake pan.
Melt 4 ounces of chocolate in a double boiler and set aside to cool.
Cream together brown sugar, honey and butter about 5 minutes or until
fluffy and the color lightens. In a small bowl, sift together the
flour, salt, cocoa powder and baking soda. Beat the egg into the sugar
mixture and then add the chocolate with the mixer running. Slowly beat
in the flour mixture and then mix in the boiling water with the mixer
on low, pausing if needed to let the water incorporate. Transfer the
batter to the baking pan and bake up to 1 1/2 hours. If cake is too
dark at 45 minutes, cover with a sheet of foil. Beginning at 1 hour,
check for doneness every 15 minutes and remove to a rack to cool once a
toothpick comes out clean.
Melt remaining chocolate in a double boiler and remove from heat.
Use nickel-sized balls of almond paste rolled a bit oblong for the
bees. Insert sliced almonds on either side for wings and use a
toothpick dipped in chocolate to draw the stripes and dot the eyes. Set
these aside on a plate and stir 1/4-cup honey into the rest of the
chocolate to form the glaze. Transfer the cake to a serving platter. If
your cake is uneven trim the top off with a long serrated knife and
invert onto the serving platter. Waxed paper under the edges will keep
the platter clean while you work and can be removed after the chocolate
sets. Pour the glaze onto the top of the cake and spread it around with
a spatula, letting a bit drip over the sides. Tap serving platter
gently on the counter to even out the glaze and then place the bees
around the top.
Yesterday afternoon there was a knock at my door. I opened it to find my neighbor standing there all excited about some "big birds" at the other neighbor’s bird feeder. When I saw who’d come to visit I flew back in for my camera but just did catch their backs as they slunk back off into the trees when a little crowd began to form. Priscilla had about ten enormous turkeys sampling her seed!
Jason’s green sweater has been in time-out for quite long enough and frankly I’d have picked it up again much sooner had I not had such a long list of other deadline knitting that kept getting in the way. I pulled it out a couple days ago and spent some time getting reacquainted with the pattern. It did take a little doing to ascertain exactly which row of which repeat I’d ripped back to but once I got going I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to pick it up and continue on where I’d left off. I’ve now reknit several inches of what had been ripped out and am nearly done with the front of the sweater. The back is already done so that leaves the sleeves and ribbed neck left to do.
During the night Jack Frost visited and left layers of ice and snow that had to be cleared from the driveway before anyone could venture out. Daniel was thrilled to have slept in only to wake up and realize he had a snow day.
When I was just about finished with the shoelaces I happened across an FO on Ravelry that prompted me to create a headband with more of the leftover yarn. I needed to create my own pattern since I was using much thinner yarn and much smaller needles but in the end I think I got just what I wanted. I’ve written up patterns for both the laces and the headband and posted them to the sidebar.
For dinner I wanted something simple that would tide us over until farmer’s market day. I snagged some fresh cranberry beans, arugula and a bit of Canadian bacon. The beans are simmered until soft, about 15 minutes, then drained and dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and seasonings. The arugula is drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice as well. I used the Canadian bacon for some little ham sandwiches made with cheddar biscuits and honey mustard. Dinner was ready in under 30 minutes aside from preheating the oven.
Cheddar Biscuits
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups buttermilk
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Blend together the dry ingredients in the bowl of a mixer and then briefly stir in the buttermilk just until mixed. Fold in the cheese then turn out batter onto a floured board and pat into an oval about an inch high. Cut into 3-inch rounds and transfer to a nonstick baking sheet. Bake 25 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
As it turns out, even a half-hearted swipe at cleaning the window improves bird photos significantly (or perhaps it was more the afternoon sun). Here’s our girl watching me work on the biscuits. Now if I can just catch the boy, he positively glows at that time of day although he doesn’t come to visit nearly as often as she does. Perhaps he’s shy.
I got my sunflower snapshot just in the nick of time! I was out on the patio this morning and what did I see but a flurry of goldfinches snaking on my sunflowers. I think it’ll all be gone by afternoon. These "volunteer" sunflowers sprouted from seed that fell from our feeder and was "planted" by the chipmunks aka chippies who have cleanup duty beneath the feeder when the neighbor cats aren’t around to pounce.
Yesterday afternoon I had a trip to the farmer’s market which seems to be doing well. I found some delicious raw milk cheese that was a bit like a Camembert or Brie. It’s got a very assertive flavor so I asked Jason to pick up a bottle of red wine to go along with it and he found a pinot noir that was perfect. This is my contribution to Sweetnicks‘ ARF/5-a-day Tuesday.
Farmer’s Market Salad
4 ounces soft pungent cheese
1 cup blackberries
1 cup cherries, pitted and quartered
1 fresh red onion with green tops
1 head romaine
1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted
red wine vinaigrette
Slice the onion bulb and caramelize it in a bit of olive oil and butter over medium-high heat, about 10 minutes. Chop the green tops. Toss together all ingredients and serve with crusty bread and red wine.
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.
