Big Head, Little Head

It's a warm day (finally!), so the boys like to sit by the open screen door for some observing and napping. It always makes me chuckle when I see Mingus next to Greaseball, because they match in an odd way.

Mingus is such a ham. I can't say it enough. He sees a camera out, and then it's Zoolander time! I swear he sucks in his cheeks so he can appear more svelte.




This is my cue that the photoshoot is over. Subtle, that dog is not.

I think I need a remote control for my camera. I have a few knits that I need to wear and photograph for the old blog, but using the timer on my camera just doesn't get picky me the picture I want.

Yesterday, I did some celebratory yarn shopping. The occasion wasn't momentous - saving some time by fixing a typo on my car's title at AAA versus DMV - but any old reason to go yarn shopping is a good one, right? Sweaters are on my mind, and thoughts of the Backward Cabled Pullover (Rav link) are consuming me. I procured my yarn yesterday: 5 skeins of Classic Elite Yarns Fresco in Mallard Blue.

I got a super deal at one of my LYS, K2tog. Since there were only 5 skeins left, they were in the sale bin with a 15% discount - K2tog pulls yarn to the sale bin when there aren't enough skeins of the same color lot to make a sweater. I also had a coupon for an additional $5 off, so I could not pass up this deal. Fortunately (?), I'm really short, so if I make a short sleeved sweater, I calculated that 5 skeins should be about right. This super soft yarn is 60% wool, 30% baby alpaca, and 10% angora. Already, without even being wound into cakes, the yarn is pilling. :/ Hopefully, with a good shave or two, the pilling won't be so noticeable. After all, the ball band says that this yarn is good for showing off textured stitches. We'll see...

Adventures in Cupcakery: The Quest for the Mochi Cupcake

Awhile ago, the boy and I hosted a paella party and one of our guests brought gluten free cupcakes. None of our guests had celiac disease, but this friend was taking the remaining cupcakes to a work function the next day and one of her coworkers has celiac. OMG, these cupcakes were good! They were like mochi cupcakes, primarily because they were made with rice flour. The recipe she used for her cupcakes is here.

Due to not so recent obsession with homemade rice noodles, I have oodles of rice and tapioca flours hanging out in my pantry, so my quest has become to make even more chewy mochi cupcakes with these remants. Today was try #2, and my recipe tweaks (use oil instead of mayo, use agave syrup instead of white sugar, use glutonous rice flour and regular rice flour) are getting me closer!

The reason I say I'm getting closer instead of "Eureka!" is that these cupcakes are, for lack of a better term, fugly.

Oh, they start out really promising when you take them out of the oven. They are golden and plump!


But a minute later, they deflate and they look like shrunken heads.


I crowned this cupcake Fugliest of All.


A dollop of cream cheese and honey frosting helped disguise the wrinkles, but I need to work on my frosting skills before these can be for public consumption. Another friend swears up and down that using piping bags for frosting application is the best and easiest way, and at this point, I'd have to agree.


I will have to try another recipe tweak again because I already have some ideas on how to make these cupcakes more mochi-like and cute.

Mocha Art

How to disturb a sleeping cat

Zzzzzzzzzzzz...


Huh? What are you doing with the camera?


Dude, I was sleeping!

Get it off! I'm not feeling French tonight!


Lady, you can talk to the paw.

ConvivicalCrafter's cat Kally wasn't feeling very French, either. You can see the furmiliation here. Thanks, Pren, for sending me the link!

I have another cat hat idea brewing. Once it manifests itself (this usually happens when the idea bugs me so much I cannot stop thinking about it), the pattern will emerge. Until then...

Cardamom Cookies

I recently had the pleasure to attend a potluck bridal shower. In lieu of gifts, the bride-to-be asked us to make a dish for the party and to bring copies of the recipes for all to share. Brilliant! The only problem was that I was assigned dessert and the boy is the resident cookie maker. Since I didn't think he'd make cookies for a bridal shower, I found a simple recipe for cardamom cookies in Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. I love her dessert recipes because they are not fussy and not too sweet.


I made the dough at 11 PM in the evening - it took me less than 10 minutes to make the dough and to clean up. I rolled the dough into two 1" logs, wrapped them in plastic, and stuck them in the freezer. The next day, I took the dough out of the freezer as I was drinking my morning coffee. After my second cup of rocket fuel, I slice the dough in 1/4" coins, and popped them in the oven. Easy!


If I were to make these for just the boy and I (I can hear him saying "Yeah, right. You never make desserts for us!"), I would omit the powdered sugar dusting. They taste decadent straight from the oven. However, since I was trying to trick everyone at the bridal shower into thinking that I was a fancy baker, I opted for the topping the cardamom cookies with fairy dust. It worked! People thought I was some kind of baking wunderkind and I did nothing to dispel that notion.

Too Much Fun Cami

Although I love my Mexico Cami, after wearing it a few times its flaws were rather apparent. Cotton knits stretch as you wear them, and eventually bending forward always involved me having to put a hand over my chest to prevent free shows. It looked like I was bowing and doing the flag salute. Hence, the need to knit a second cami.

I knit this tank with even more leftover Curve of Pursuit yarn. (Amazingly, I am almost out of Elann Sonata. Woot!) It only took 3 balls, and as you can see, I had to add stripes since I did not have enough of one solid color. And these are not just any stripes, but Stripes by Committee since I pinged my other 3 travel companions often about their design.

I knit most of this cami while lazing around the Yucatan beaches and sitting in the back of cars and on ferries on the way to more Yucatan beaches. This also means that much of this was knit while I had a frosty margarita or Sol in my hand. Hence, there are some sloppy shortcuts I took that bit me in the butt later. For example, instead of carrying the unused yarn up the sides while I did the stripes, I just cut the yarn and tied a knot. I was cursing under my breath last night as I was weaving in over 30 yarn ends, but at least watching re-runs of The Giro made it less painful. Those uninviting yarn ends are what kept this as a UFO for over 2 months.

The Dirty Details
Pattern: Honeymoon Cami by Julia Trice
Needles: US size 6
Yarn: 2 balls Elann Sonata in Pesto, 1 ball Elann Sonata in Nougat
Gauge: 6 sts/in
Modifications: I cast on 156 stitches and then followed the instructions for waist shaping. I started the stripes 4" from the bottom of the tank.

Mingus is a bad dog, by Vespa

For all you Mingus fans, I hate to burst your bubble, but Mingus is very, very bad dog. Sit back and let me tell you a little story...

I had this stick, see? It was a great stick - a stick so good that other dogs from around the neighborhood howled little ditties about Vespa and Her Great Stick. Mingus, who as we all know suffers from a wide assortment of mental issues stemming from his questionable past, decided that he was going to steal my stick.


He grabbed the other end of my stick, and tugged!


I growled at him! I begged him to leave the Stick alone, but he persisted!


He wouldn't let go! I warned him that he was going to break my magnificent Stick, but he did not care. He continued to tug.


Yes, folks, he broke the Stick. Then, he smirked in his "special" vacant, imbecile way and paraded around the backyard with the partial stick. I hung my head down in mourning.


See? This is why Mingus is a horrible dog! This is why I need to be an only dog again.

Anyone want a malamute? Leave me your info, and I'll email you when my folks are gone. Come quickly and I'll even throw in a couple of cats! Hurry!


xoxo,
Vespa (aka The Angel Dog)

Mm-mmm-mushrooms

Although summer fruits are out in all their splendor, I've been passing them by as I make my way to the mushroom aisle. I've long since abandoned figuring out if my 'shroom cravings have any type of reason behind them. All I know is that if I don't give in, I'll be having mushroom dreams and those close to me will have to hear about mushrooms over, and over, and over again.

Today, I indulged in some humble crimini mushrooms. To make them a lot less humble, I added obscene (yes, obscene!) amounts of butter, olive oil, garlic, Parmesan, lemon zest, and Madeira to the mix. Oh, and pasta. I needed something to sop up all the lovely mushroom juice.

In case you get struck with a nearly unstoppable mushroom craving, the cure involves first melting some butter and olive oil over high heat. Adding olive oil to your butter keeps your butter from separating and burning. Once the fats are sizzling, toss in the sliced mushrooms and stir the mixture.


The mushrooms will start off really dry and spongy, but they will start to release liquid and shrink as heat is applied. Now is the time to get your water boiling if you want to make a pasta dish.

As the liquid evaporates, toss in the chopped garlic and continue to stir. The mushrooms will start to caramelize at the edges. At this point, pour in some liquor and scrape bottom of the pan to dissolve all the delicious caramelized mushroom and garlic bits - today's liquor of choice was a Madeira. I've also used cognac and port - other sweet options. Once the liquor has evaporated, add salt, pepper, and herbs (thyme, parsley, or lovage can make mushrooms sing).


If you are feeling especially decadent, add some cream before you turn off the heat.

Slightly undercook the pasta, reserving at least a cup of pasta water. Add he drained pasta to the mushroom mix over medium heat and stir. The pasta will quickly soak up the mushroom juice. Taste a noodle to see if it is done. If it is still hard in the middle, add a few tablespoons of pasta water, stir the dish, and check the a noodle again to see if it's cooked al dente. Repeat as necessary. Turn off the heat and add salt and pepper to taste.

To finish the dish, I like to add chopped herbs, lemon zest, and grated Parmesan over the top.

Anthropologie Inspired Capelet

The wildtomato household has been a beehive of activity. Most importantly, my little brother, tofuninja, tied the knot! I was a bridesmaid in their wedding, and in honor of this momentous occasion, I knit myself a capelet to go with my dress.

Photo credits go to Milka at Lightbulb in the Sky Photography. Thanks, Milka! You're so very talented, and my brother's wedding is going to be forever remembered by through your creative interpretation.


Knitting this raglan, top down capelet has given me the confidence to make myself a full blown sweater. It was so easy! And the whole "try it on as you go" thing was a treat. And, the yarn! Oh, and I get gushy whenever I think about the yarn! Sublime makes super squishy goodness, and I'll buy more of their extra fine merino in a heartbeat.

The Dirty Details
Pattern: Anthropologie Inspired Capelet by Peony Knits
Yarn: 3.75 balls of Sublime Yarns Extra Fine Merino Wool DK, colorway Milk
Needles: Hiyahiya interchangeable circulars, US Size 7 (love, love, LOVE them!)

More dirty details on my Ravelery page.

Fuzzy Faces

Vespa told me that she was voted the official spokesanimal for our household. She informed me that until I agree to only photograph their good sides, the animals are revolting and will act really bored with me. Eventually, they hope that someone out there will take pity on them and come rescue them from evil me.




"We're warning you now, lady. Back off! I have two fully clawed front paws. You have two eyes. Do the math."