MarthaJeanne - 2023 other stuff

I guess this is 'other stuff'. Jerry heard from his former pastor, who now heads a Methodist office for ecumenism in Rome that he felt very homoured to be included in the ecumenical guests on the steps of St Peter's for Benedict's funeral.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-64172570

See the man over towards the right standing head and shoulders above everybody else? Black robe with preaching bands. That's Matthew. And although he may be standing one step higher, he really is very tall.

I'm trying to sprout spelt to bake bread with. If you google sprouting grain, some sites won't mention light. Others insist the the sprouts need partial sunlight. Others insist on a dark cupboard. Most other details are similar. Hmmm. Maybe this isn't really very difficult.

I was downtown today, just at the bookstore. The weather is cold and nasty, I'm short of energy, so instead of dropping me oof and leaving me to do multiple errands, Jerry drove around in circles to pick me up again. I had Grains for every season on order, and it needed to be picked up. Since my last visit the UK magazines had also come in, so it was a good trip.

BBC Good Food for January had a good looking vegetarian rice dish with spinach, lemon, walnuts, feta... I added most of the piece of ham that needed using from the refrigerator. Half of it is in the freezer, and I look forward to enjoying it again.

Grains is also good to look at.

It's five o'clock, and getting dark outside. The days really are getting longer!

>4 MarthaJeanne: The older I get, the more I notice that.

I spent four years in India from the time I was 10. To me it seems normal that the sun comes up at 6 in the morning, and goes back down at 6 at night, with very little twilight. That's how it's supposed to work.

Well, I have no objection to it being light longer in the evening, but this constant change ... We left India in 1968, and it still doesn't feel quite right. And that goes double late December when the sun comes up at 7:42 and goes back down at 16:02, and you don't see it anyway because of the high fog all day. We have more than an hour more now, and although it's been very cloudy, at least some days (like today) the sun does manage to break through now and again.

Then there was the June we were in Iceland for the summer solstice. We went out to the coast and watched the sun dip down below the horizon, ... , and back up a few minutes later. Now that was really weird! We headed back to our hotel, but the Icelanders were just heading out for a 'night' on the town.

Today I even had the weft break. This yarn is not really suited to weaving. I guess the amazing thing is that I haven't had more trouble. Still, the cloth is really beautiful. I also had to wind a new red shuttle.

Next challenge: since my preferred notions shop has closed, where can I buy waistband elastic? I ought to finish the weaving in a few more sessions. If I had the elastic, I could be wearing it as a skirt later this month. I think I will add a cotton lining to keep the wool off my legs.

Do you remember back when changing light bulbs was a constant task? I was really shocked when my bedroom light did not work today. It is so nice not to be doing this all the time.

When we moved back to Vienna from Geneva, over twenty years ago now, We needed a new living room light fixture. We went to a lighting store, and I said I wanted something that
a) shed a white, even light
b) did not need to be taken apart to change the bulbs
c) would work with energy-saving bulbs.

He couldn't show us anything that fit my criteria, and was particularly upset by c), as 'there will always be proper light bulbs available'. That shop has been a Chinese restaurant for at least 15 years now.

I just had a really good session on the bigger loom. The yarn was behaving, and I am very close to using all the warp. However, I did use the whole green shuttle, so had to stop for now. Next time should do it.

I wonder how much cloth I will have. No idea how much warp I made. Just checked. I did not mention warp length when I talked about starting this cloth back in November.

I've got so much of this yarn left, but it really isn't good for weaving. I guess I need to look for a good knitting project. One problem is that being lazy, I don't like knitting sweaters. Too much shaping required.

Finished the weaving. Yes, the final few centimeters had a number of problems, but that is only to be expected. I'll finish tying off tomorrow.

>10 MarthaJeanne: Can’t wait to see it!

My daughter has been wanting one of those SpeedWeve gadgets to darn clothing. I got her one for Christmas and it has sparked an interest in weaving.
At the moment, she’s set up her sewing room (finally!) and making clothing for T.
It seems she is being so much more positive in her activities in these winter months compared to the last few years.
I’ve got a tabletop loom to give her when she comes to visit next week. It’s been stashed away for decades. I picked it up because it cost almost nothing.

320 cm before wet finishing.

Yesterday I bought Japanische Muster stricken thinking that some of the patterns might work with the Japanese yarn I bought last year that is not good for weaving, althoughthe cloth is wonderful. This is a mixture of 45% silk, 43% wool and 12% mohair.

I spent the evening winding balls of the green. This was going fairly well until the skein fell off the skeiner. After that, I guess the amazing thing is that I did manage to wind the rest of it. I'll use this to make tube scarf Tomomi as a practice before using the red for a sweater. The pattern calls for 4-5mm needles. The yarn says 3.5-4. Guess I'll see what I come up with downstairs. I generally like larger needles.

Sample is not working tonight. Will try again tomorrow with longer cable.

I have now created a sample. Better tool, better light, and not so tired all helped. I have come to the conclusion that lace knitting is easier with light yarns than with dark ones. Oh, well.

I used 5mm needles. I certainly don't want the finished product any more dense. What should be 5cm is over 7cm. The book gives directions for reducing the number of stitches in such cases, and I come up with 96 stitches instead of 144. No complaint there.

I still need to go to the yarn store. The longer cable is too long for something 50-60 cm in the round. Also, I think they might have waistband elastic. And if the have the square knitting needles in this size, I will buy them.

I bought a new cable, and the shorter points that the shopkeeper recommended - in 4 1/2 - a small sample worked well, so I now have the first two rows finished. This is going to work. And then I will decide whether I can knit the lovely sweater.

Now I have to go freeze the second fish pie. (We ate the other one for supper.)

Two rows went quickly and easily.

Next two even better.

Well, it looks like I'm back to Zoom squares. Seems we have a wedding in September. But this one will be an afghan, not a bed sized blanket, at least if I want it done by then.

As you can see, the lace doesn't show up well with this yarn. On the other hand, that means the mistakes won't either.

I have finished the small ball I was working from, and moved to a larger one. I think this will be enough for the rest of the piece.

Hmmm. At some point a few rows ago I got turned around. Not sure how I want to deal with this.

Best to set it down and walk away for a bit.

Took it all out. Started again. Back to where I was a week ago, with first two rows done.

Not too upset, because there were a lot of mistakes in the first few rounds that I am no longer making. Plus, it was bigger than it was supposed to be, so I now have 12 fewer stitches in each round, so it will grow faster.

This yarn! Even just knitting, it now and again decides to just disintegrate. And I get frustrated and want to scream, and then my fingers say how nice it feels, and my eyes say how beautiful it looks, and I'm hooked again.

I'm over 30 cm after three repeats. It's looking good.

This has a crochet border each end. I've done the bottom one in white, but may do the other one in green.

I've finished it. Jerry even says, "Cute!"

It can be worn as a scarf sort of thing around the neck, or the back can be pulled up to cover most of the head.

I call that a good omen. I wound the red yarn into a ball to start the sweater, and I wound ONE big ball. The yarn never fell apart.

In case you were wondering - Eight at night is not a good time to try to set up a new knitting pattern.

I am coping this afternoon with the start of the red sweater. It will work.

Back when I ordered Bayeux Stitch and Opus anglicanum, I knew that this was merely for reading, because I would not be able to actually do it, but the books sounded so interesting... Well, I started the first one last night, and it is at least twice as good as my (already very high) expectations. This woman really knows what she is talking about! Having myself worked at spinning embroidery yarn on a drop spindle, just for a tiny piece, everything she says rings true. And I started with commercially combed wool.

So somehow I found myself looking for the wool canvas she recommends on line today. Guess what - she actually sells it, along with the naturally dyed yarns I was also coveting while reading last night. I have access to yarns for weaving, knitting, etc. But embroidery is that much harder on them. And there is a lovely griffon kit on her website. And I'm not at all convinced that I will be able to work it when it comes. I told Jerry all this, and he just ordered it for me.

https://www.opusanglicanumembroidery.com/product/griffin-kit-medieval-embroidery...

I am coping this afternoon with the start of the red sweater. It will work.

Back when I ordered Bayeux Stitch and Opus anglicanum, I knew that this was merely for reading, because I would not be able to actually do it, but the books sounded so interesting... Well, I started the first one last night, and it is at least twice as good as my (already very high) expectations. This woman really knows what she is talking about! Having myself worked at spinning embroidery yarn on a drop spindle, just for a tiny piece, everything she says rings true. And I started with commercially combed wool.

So somehow I found myself looking for the wool canvas she recommends on line today. Guess what - she actually sells it, along with the naturally dyed yarns I was also coveting while reading last night. I have access to yarns for weaving, knitting, etc. But embroidery is that much harder on them. And there is a lovely griffon kit on her website. And I'm not at all convinced that I will be able to work it when it comes. I told Jerry all this, and he just ordered it for me.

Jerry is a good man.

Poor man. He got all excited this morning at an email saying, "Your package has shipped." Until he opened it, and the package that shipped wasn't his electronics, but my griffin.

He really needs the electronics so that he can finish setting up his new laptop and all the extra bits he needed the new laptop for. But our favourite electronics store has gone just online. Which is not what we liked them for, and they aren't doing a good job of it. Well, this order used up the credit we had with them. A well stocked store with informed and friendly staff beats Amazon, even if their prices don't. But poor online service with the same high prices just doesn't.

And, Lo and behold! the big box electronics store that is all we have left gave him some really good service this week.

aha! I had no idea of the scale of it from the other picture. Cozy!

It wasn't that cold today - 12°, but windy. My fingers froze, my ears didn't.

>29 MarthaJeanne: I now have enough on the red sweater that I can see the pattern forming.

What's more, in the pattern I can read the previous pattern row to know what I should be knitting. I need the book to tell me how to work the raglan in each pattern row, but even that makes sense now.

There are now enough stitches that I need to move to a longer cable between the needles.

See! Lots of progress!

Progress on the griffon as well. Royal Mail is now tracking the package.

So who is your patron saint?
Saint Homobonus, St. Anne, St. Clare of Assisi, or St. Blaise?

I usually stick to Martha of Bethany.

It feels like every time I work on the sweater it takes longer. On lace work like this, the best way to not get mixed up is to do a 2 row session - one pattern row, one knit row. Problem is, this is a top down raglan pattern that adds 8 stitches every two rows, so every session is 16 stitches more than the previous one. It adds up. I already have twice as many stitches as I started with. So it isn't just a feeling. I also added eight more stitch markers in today.

I'm over 200 stitches now, and the last double round took me 40 minutes.

>31 MarthaJeanne: Well, we both had tracking info this morning that the packages are out for delivery. The doorbell just rang, and after answering it he said, "I win!" Mine will be the next doorbell. Probably time to shower and dress.

ETA My package has now come, too, a few hours later.

Progress on the knitting. I had done little or nothing on it for the past few days. Today I was able to pick it up again mid-round, and do the next double round as well. Not only was that the round in which the new repeats had to be marked, but I also ran out of the ball of yarn, so I had to wind the next skein and start it. I have just a couple of double rounds before I need/get to take the sleeve stitches off and decide how to adjust the size of the body of the sweater.

I have just put the sleeve stitches to rest. The stitches on the round needle are much better now.

On the other hand, I have these weird bits at the underarms that need several more rows before they aren't in the way. Also, my yarn broke at a very bad place, and in the process of getting it fixed I managed to grab the wrong end, so I'm now working from the outside of the ball.

On the positive side, the directions now say "repeat these 4 rows until you are 20 cm from the total length you want." After that comes some fancier lace work and the sleeves. But for now, it's very easy.

We're out of bread, and tomorrow is a holiday. From the one starter I made a bread. That is actually about ready to be baked. The rest of the starter, I added egg and yoghurt and melted butter to. Part of that is a loaf with spice and dried fruit. The rest is the base filled with a cheese and rhubarb filling. That has more spice in it, and I precooked the rhubarb, using part of the liquid to soften up the dried fruit.

The real question now is how to manage the baking. The rhubarb cheesecake thing should not be baked as hot as the bread. It could go in soon, though. The fruit bread needs quite a bit more rising time. I guess I heat up the oven for the regular bread. Let it cool a bit for the cheesecake, and fire it up again after for the fruit bread.

I'll be starting the lace border on the sweater later today. I also wound the next skein into two balls, so that there is plenty of yarn to keep me going. Yes, I will probably need the fourth skein, too.

>45 MarthaJeanne: This needs a lot of concentration, and longer stretches of knitting than I've been doing. Just finished the second pattern row of the lace border.

Bah! The book has a misprint. An upside down triangle is supposed to be a sign for turning three stitches into two, but if you follow the directions, you turn the three into one. I found a good video on Utube, but I'm too frustrated to try it now.

Ruth likes my math, so what about this one: knit 2 together. Move the second stitch back to the lefthand needle, knit two together from the back. I start with three and end up with one.

According to the video, I want to do the left leaning decrease without letting the second stitch drop, and then knit that together with the next stitch.

I've been stuck for a few days. I'm fairly sure there is still a mistake in there, but I was finally able to more or less complete the repeat and move on.

>48 MarthaJeanne: Imperfections are life.

I thought you’d like to see this crocheted canopy in Malaga Spain:

https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2021/08/crocheted-canopy-malaga/

I brought my bigger loom up and put it out in the shack. That's where it lives in the summer so that I can work on it outside. Even if I don't get it warped up, I need the space in the basement so I can open the bed once it gets too hot to sleep upstairs. I'm almost feeling inspired to work on the smaller loom.

The mosquitoes have arrived. We got my screen up yesterday, so last night was quite pleasant. With the window open there was a nice breeze. Jerry put up the screen strips on the terrace door this morning. Apparently a new species of mosquito is moving in, one that feeds in the daytime. The usual ones are evening feeders.

I have two loaves formed and rising. The base dough is spelt and oatmeal, one has dried berries and sage added, and I used bits and pieces of other flours to get the dough to the texture I wanted. (Added gluten, salt, canola oil)

It already smells so good.

I have other kitchen tasks on my to do list. Not sure how much I will get to. One is marinating tandoori chicken for Jerry to grill tomorrow. (Tonight he's bringing pizza home.)

Another is two strudels with bought puff pastry. (I know, but they no longer carry the whole wheat strudel dough I used to buy. This isn't whole grain, but it is spelt and butter. There is a whole wheat version, vegan and tastes horrible.) One will be apple with mixed dried berries, the other Topfen (fresh cheese) with bluebarb. It will taste good, even if it isn't as traditional.

In theory I could do the tandoori at any time, and ought to prepare the strudels while the bread is baking.

My goodness! after months of slow rising in a warm oven, this bread dough is doing a lot just on the counter. I can smell the yeast in the living room, and yes, even the sage in it.

Bread is in the oven, but I don't have the energy for the strudels just now. Shame to waste the hot oven, but I have to face my limits.

Oh, yes. I bought a kilo of rhubarb to chop and freeze. That is a priority.
ETA Rhubarb now in freezer.

The bread is wonderful - especially with a slab of Iberico cheese on top. Yum!

I've done 7 of the lace pattern rows on my sweater. Only 24 to go.

Missed the Wordl today. I had my streak up to 119.

This is totally off topic.

The Austrian Socialist party has been having a lot of internal debate. The head of the party was a woman, who took over when nobody else wanted the job, and was doing quite a good job But she got a lot of disrespect, probably because she is a woman. Finally one of the men decided he wanted her job, and it was decided to poll the party members. Before that happened a second man decided to run as well, mostly to give those who didn't like either of the 'main' candidates another option.

After the poll it turned out that all three had about 30%. The old head was in third place and said she was dropping out. The actual decision had to be made by a party conference, which was held on Saturday. After the vote there it was announced that man A had won 53% to 47%. Not overwhelming, but still a win. Everybody made the expected speeches, and promised to work together as a united party.

Today it turns out that whoever was entering the vote in the Excel worksheet got the columns mixed up. Man B won. He has asked that the vote be rechecked before he starts taking over.

Politicians!!!

I did get bread made today. Sourdough and yeast. A fairly plain loaf; one with greek oregano, thyme, sage, feta and olives; and the third with dried berries, candied ginger and spices.

Now I'm trying to get the energy together to go empty the first drier load.

The friendly fruit grower in the next town had both peaches and red currants yesterday, so I have https://onlycrumbsremain.com/easy-peach-and-redcurrant-cake/ in the oven. Besides my normal adjustments I added thyme and lemon peel to the batter. I probably should have added more thyme, as I can't really taste it raw. The lemon is certainly a good addition.

The recipe only says to grease the pan, but I was taught to grease and flour the pan. When I came to Europe I learned that using crumbs instead of flour gives a better crust, and have since learned to adjust it according to the recipe. This recipe uses ground almonds, so I used those. The mixture of butter and almonds on the crust should add extra flavour. (It also says 'oil or butter', but I recall advice that if you can only afford a little butter, use oil or margarine in the dough/batter, but butter for the pan, as you taste it more there.)

The cake is good, but (as I thought) an hour in the oven is much too long. I turned the heat down to 160 after 30 minutes, and took it out after another 15 minutes. Once or twice I noticed the thyme, which was good, and would have been even better if it had been more obvious.

This weekend is the big summer event at HGM - the military history museum (motto: Wars should be kept in museums.) This includes a lot of reenactment groups camping out and giving demonstrations and a 'medieval market'. Free entry for anyone in historical costume (even if the look is spoiled by a walker). It's always a lot of fun.

Last year my old costume was way too big for me, so I bought a new one. I also hung around a demonstration area and helped out when American tourists and German demonstrators had trouble understanding each other. I always take my spindle along, too. Last year Jerry dropped me off on his way to church, and picked me up later.

But it's supposed to be sunny and 33° tomorrow. I can't see being out in that for over two hours. I just don't think I can do it.

Well, better luck next year, I guess.

>60 MarthaJeanne: Not a lot of variety around here. Third time making this cake. A little change of fruit, of spicing, but basically the same cake.

I just heated up frozen burek for my supper.
Note 1: It is too hot to have the oven on.

While I was at it, I ground up some ginger biscuits in the mortar, and quartered purple plums, mixing the together to make a strudel using bought puff pastry.

Note 2: It is too hot to manipulate puff pastry. It got very sticky.

Anyway, all out of the oven and it's off. The strudel looks good.

Note 3: I managed to eat some burek, but it is much too hot to even think of eating strudel.

I have now eaten a bit of the strudel. It is very good. I seem to have gotten the proportions right. Still juicy, but not dripping.

It's cooler, so I'm baking bread today. I tore off pieces of the savoury loaf, flattened them and started cooking them on the stove. When the first side was done, I flipped, and added salami, basil, slices of tomato and cheese. A short visit under the hot grill gave me mini pizzas to enjoy.

Back some time ago I wove a blanket using my 'standard' white merino and a bag of purple glittery yarn I found in my stash. But my loom being only 60cm wide, the 'blanket' was actually three lengths of fabric that I hadn't yet sewn together. This requires a large, empty table, which means outside. I can't do it in winter. Nor am I about to do it in a heat wave. So today I finally cleared the outside table, washed it down, and started sewing.

It turns out that there is an extra 30-40 cm of the central length, so I'm planning to fold it over and make a pocket before binding the end. This way it should be possible to fold the blanket up into the pocket making a sofa cushion when it isn't in use as a blanket. I'm not sure exactly if or how this will work, so once the three pieces are sewn together I will have to experiment.

Assuming this all works out, I will then embroider S 2023 S on the pocket, and Jerry can take it to our youngest son's wedding in September.

It's about 150 cm wide, and 200 cm long.

I have one seam done, and the other about half, but as the sun sinks towards the West, it is dazzling my eyes, and I have had to come inside.

I need to descale the steam bit of my oven. First I couldn't find the manual. Jerry finally printed the relevant section out after I had trouble getting to it online.

Good. Now collect the bits and pieces. Special tablet, check. Liter measure, check. hose. Can't find hose. Maybe found the right hose, but where is the suction cup that should be on it?

Well, guess I'm not doing it today. It's a long complicated procedure. We need to stop at the store where we bought the oven and see about getting a new suction cup, maybe with the hose. We also should probably pick up more of those tablets along with dishwasher tabs.

When we were at the fruit stand on afriday, the owner gave me a small container of 'Kriecherln' Maybe damsons in English, they are like quite small purple plums.

Yesterday Jerry harvested the rest of our sloes for me - the ones that were still on the bush. Both were a lot sweeter than I expected. Most of the sloes have ended up on the ground, and had to be raked up. I've had rhe bush for a while, but this is the first year it has really produced.

I just threw both in a pot with a little wine to get things going, some apricots, and a little sugar. I've had enough for tonight, but I'll boil them up again in the morning and freeze it in cubes. It was about a third each of the fruits, making 1 kg. I cut the apricots in eighths and pitted them, but just threw the others in as is. It was 150g of sugar.

It's gotten cooler, and we have the missing piece, so I descaled the oven last night. Cake in there now which I could have done anyway.

Well, the stove is working again. Thursday evening some fool idiot forgot to turn off a burner. Then she set the water cooker down on it. I keep getting flashbacks to holding the cooker with the bottom of it burning and dripping long strands of black melted plastic. The repair man cleaned it all up this morning and glued the sparker back into position. Let's try not to do that again.

Then we went to the supermarket. Too many mothers were there after picking up their kids from a short first day of school. Now often there are one or two hyper kids in there, but today there were lots of kide, and all hyper.

>72 MarthaJeanne: I used to do that on the first electric stove I encountered at college. But you - er, some fool idiot had a flame to see?

It was turned way down, and burns very blue. It's not at all bright. I had the main dish on the table and was mixing up the instant mashed potatoes. And there isn't a lot of counter space. Yes, I know, the cooker should have gone back up on ots stand at the back of the refrigerator, but it isn't that easy to reach. The potatoes are better if they are whisked right away.

The orange flames from the plastic I could see.

The purple blanket/cushion is done and ready for Jerry to take to the US tomorrow.



The two Ss are for Steven and Sam(antha).

It was still giving me headaches yesterday. I decided I did not like purple cloth I had bought to bind the top edge. However I had also bought white satin ribbon, and could find it! What was harder to find was a pointy needle that I could thread. At least every third or fourth try.

What I have not done is trimming the fringes. I just don't trust my concentration. Sam will have to do that if she wants even fringe.

>75 MarthaJeanne: Is this a wedding they are celebrating?

Yes, that's why Jerry is off to the US tomorrow.

Well congratulations all around!!

Well, he's off. I even got up to say goodbye and tuck a few cookies into his backpack.

Back in bed now.

I must be a bad wife. Jerry is complaining thar at his hotel in Colorado he has to do his own laundry. I answered that that wouldn't bother him if I were along, because then I would end up sitting in the laundry room all day.

Been there, done that. I can't recall ever having a hotel do our laundry. The closest was a motel we checked into because they had wash machines and driers for the use of guests. They also had a swimming pool and exercise room that he used.

I remember spending the day doing the laundry while husband and sons investigated museum and other attractions, and once I had the laundry done they were ready to move on, and were quite surprised, even upset, that I wasn't.

Come to think about it, I'm doing my own laundry right now - with some of his thrown in as well.

Sorry for the rant.

>80 MarthaJeanne: According to Jerry’s view, you have been the perfect, if invisible, launderer. This should prompt him to appreciate you more now, right?

He's supposed to get home tomorrow. His car to JFK has taken over twice the normal time, but should be getting there about now.

Now if the airport stays open...

Tell him to be careful on those stairs. Does he have his paddle with him?

The moon woke me up.

I've known for some time that he reached the airport very early. Now his flight shows up on the departure board. Looks good. Now if the moon would just move off my pillow!

His flight is expected in a few minutes early.

>75 MarthaJeanne: Apparently Steven was impressed by the blanket, and also impressed that Sam could just fold it right back up into the cushion.

He's here. We went shopping. There are clothes to wash tomorrow.

Oh, yes, he made supper.

Jerry just showed me a picture of two people. I immediately recognized the taller one as Jerry, and then did a double take, because the taller one had long dark hair, and the (much) shorter one had little hair and a light beard. My goodness, Steven looks a lot like his father.

We've been having a stinkbug invasion recently, with two or three in the house each evening. I managed to crush two this evening in my bedroom before they realized it, so no stench. The problem is that they are very noisy flyers, so you know they are there, and I still have very strong memories of upsetting one that landed on me in my sleep twenty years ago. I hit at it without knowing what I was doing, and my bedding, my night gown and I were covered with the smell. I had to deal with that before I could get back to sleep.

I bought the materials for a cross stitch project. The coarsest cloth I could find. Two skeins of each colour. Jerry has copied the pattern at 300% for me. It almost seems to be working so far. It's from a US magazine. The UK ones are easier to work with, but I really like the pattern. It's called Midnight Irises, although the flowers look more like tulips to me. Very geometric and symmetric.

I'm in a bad mood. I not only want my normal Friday shopping excursion, I also really want to buy gugelhupf pans. But it has been raining all night and not showing any signs that it might stop.

>90 MarthaJeanne: And you have no boat! Poor dear.

How much cake can one couple eat in a week?

You mean I don't need a new pan until we have eaten this cake.

But I WANT it! and I want it NOW!

Taking a break. For some reason I decided I have to have mousaka tonight. So far I have the cheese custard made, and the meat sauce is simmering on the stove. Now I 'just' have to get the eggplant ready, and I'll be ready to layer it all up.

>94 MarthaJeanne: Yes, that was the right supper for tonight. I based it on the recipe in Flavours of Greece, which I have used before. Half a recipe, but more eggplant than it calls for. I have leftovers for tomorrow breakfast, and a second casserole in the freezer for another evening.

When it tastes so good, even that amount of work is worth it.

>91 2wonderY: I bought two new pans yesterday, and we have finished eating the first one. Now may I bake another one?



OK, not quite finished, but I haven't had breakfast yet.

>96 MarthaJeanne: who am I to argue with Marie Antoinette?

We got our Covid boosters this evening. Jerry also got flu, but I said one is enough.

I made trouble. He wanted to walk, but I was not prepared to walk there and back in the cold and the dark.

It's been a challenge, as the whole set up we knew is gone, and we had to go to a new GP in our area who is doing them. But he was good, and I've been in much worse doctor's offices.

When we went shopping this morning I picked up a package of cut up mimestrone vegetables. I told Jerry I wanred a big hunk of lamb or beef for stewing. The first thing we found was chopped meaty lamb bones. First time I've noticed that! I bought two packs, and they are browning in the oven with onion, bacon, and a small amount of the veggies. I already have a pan ready for boiling them up with bay leaves, lomg pepper, lemon peel and the dregs of a bottle of red wine vinegar. Since I love buying various vinegars, but don't use them as much as I should, getting rid of a vinegar bottle is great. It also extracts calcium from the bones, and Jerry is out this afternoon, and won't have to small it.

I'll start by making broth, and turn some of it into a stew. I also bought a piece of lamb shoulder, that should still be big enough for a roast after cutting some bits off for stew. After all, there are only two of us. Or just turn allof it into stew and freeze most of it.

I also intend to take the current piece off the 25cm loom today. I've also started doing zoom squares for a peacock shawl. It needs 150 squares, so it is a long term project. I would also like to get a bit more done on my cross stitch project.

I should really bake something with the apples that are getting old. I have the stuff for a cheater's tart tatin, for an apple and nut gugelhupf with cheesecake filling, or a puff pastry apple/blackberry strudel. Not to mention baking bread.

Not sure how much of this will actually get done. I have already fed the birds, and brought in the good bird bath. They just get a plastic pot saucer in the winter, but I make sure there is liquid water in it if it gets resally cold.

I got the piece funished. It is over 3 meters long, and the similar wider piece is over 5 meters. Now I just have to figure out how to use them. The also match the crocheted vest from last year. https://www.librarything.com/topic/340123#7847922

I've also been picking over the szecuan pepper, separating out the twigs and seeds from the flavourful husks. I've about half filled my storage can. Once it is full, I will throw away what is left in the grinder and fill it with the fresh harvest. Then fill the can up again. Still a fair amount to work through.

Jerry had so many invitations to various functions today that he started saying he had to celebrate Thansgiving with his wife.

I did make pumpkin pie, having managed to get canned pumpkin. (Hush, it wasn't Libby's, but it was fine. The Libby's recipe is available online.) Of course I've had a hankering for pumpkin pie for weeks, but only finally got the pumpkin on Tuesday. I bought two cans, so I can do it again when I have the energy.

Pie is a lot of work, and I had to lie down once it was out of the oven. When Jerry got home he put potatoes in the oven, and I eventually came down and heated up the precooked goose and made gravy. It was good.

I've been playing with my sourdough today. As expected, it didn't do much overnight, but I took off some and added more water and flour. This time it became more active. I added an egg and some flour mixed with baking soda to the batch I removed, and made banana pancakes. That was a good breakfast, and reassured me the the flavour of the sourdough hadn't gone off.

Eventually I took off a small amount and added flour and water to put back in the refrigrator after an hour or so to start 'feeding". From the rest I created a basic bread dough. No salt or fat yet.

Once that had risen nicely, I pulled off a piece. I chopped half an orange and zapped it with some cranberries. I chopped in walnuts, added some yeast, some honey, melted butter, and mixed it with the sourdough. This went into my new bundt pan. The yeast made it rise faster, so it got baked before dinner. Definately bread, and not cake, but I like it.

By now the rest of the sourdough was getting rather frisky. The smaller part of it I chopped with Grammeln (cracklings?) and goat's cheese. The larger part got salt and olive oil for a plain bread. Those two are in the cool kitchen to rise overnight, and will get shoved into the oven in the morning. They have no added yeast, and the kitchen really is quite cool, so that should work.

Did I say something about a cool kitchen? I was really rather concerned that the breads would rise too far overnight. In stead, they did very little. Si I stuck them in a 30° over for two hours, which got them going again, and they are now baking.

Because it is cold today with a hard frost overnght, I decided to defrost the freezer we have next to the kitchen. Just a small one, but it is convenient. It has needed defrosting desperately for months. But defrosting is best done in cold weather.

A few take aways.
We need to eat gulasch. I always include a package of letscho in it (Hungarian style paprika, tomato stew). There are currently three packages in the freezer. I am not sure if I have gulasch base in there.

The top drawer doesn't come out until you have gotten rid of lots of ice - top, in the rails, along the sides.

The top drawer goes back in better if you put the front of the drawer to face out.

I rearranged a bit, but did not sort through the drawer of home-made leftovers.

Made gulash today. We had some for supper - a good batch. There are four bags or the base in the freezer now.

I had to laugh when I checked the recipe though. It calls for 6 onions. Last year was a really bad year for onions, they were all small, and often not really good. But I had just gotten some of this tear's crop. They are enormous. At least double the diameter of last year's best attempts. So one of these is about 8 of those. In the end I used 3 new ones and one old one. It seemed about right. I have heard it said that meat and onions should weigh the same, but I disagree. That's too much onion. It ends up too sweet. Of course, In the generations of women cooking here in the first half of the last century, they would have been lucky to have as much meat as onion to put in their gulasch.

Miserable weather. It snowed all night, and is still snowing. At 0.9°C, so it isn't really sticking, just slush. Lots of slush, some mostly liquid, some mostly heavy. The olive tree is very unhappy. It has leaves and even after we tried to knock the heavy snow off, it is still bowed down. The birds stripped the feeders this morning. Now refilled. That always happens when we get snow cover, but this time even more so, as they need to get back to cover ASAP.

Jerry cleared the car earlier. Then we cleared it again before shopping. Then cleared it again after shopping before driving home. There also weren't carts available. He waited to get one while I started with a shopping bag. Sorry, couldn't skip that, but He's in hospital next week, and I want to eat. But why everyone else was running around with full carts while store staff restocked in almost every aisle, I don't know.

Next Saturday will be even worse after a Friday holiday.

Interesting. We got an ad for digital TV streaming, and it included a bag of microwave popcorn.

Then I was naughty and bought some overly chemical potato chips at the supermarket, and they have a 'chance to win 12 months free streaming."

Obviously both companies see a strong relationship between watching hours of television and eating snacks. (At this point I have to say that popcorn is whole grain, and therefore a relatively healthy snack if you are going to sit around with your biggest exertion stuffing your face, not like the chips whichI should not have bought.)

>107 MarthaJeanne: Sometimes you just hafta chip! I didn’t think I liked potato chips until I tried honey barbecue and then daughter brought ALDIs ridged chips into the house. I’ve got bags of both stashed in the basement pantry.

I do like panettone. This is a good batch.

I made a sage bread because of lesmel's postings.

Still looks delicious!

>111 lesmel: Maybe because it's the same picture.

I had a piece for breakfast with ham and cheese heated up in the microwave. Very good. I haven't posted this in refreshments, and there is only one piece left.

>112 MarthaJeanne: Yes, but hours later! Do we need to get you to your magic number?

>114 lesmel: I don't think I'm going to make it.

BTW The bread is all gone.

They assured us last night that we would have no chance of a white Christmas. Much too warm for that. Good thing we decided to go out shopping early. Now this white stuff can accumulate on the car without worries. I'll go hit the olive tree in a bit. At least I chopped off the branch that kept landing right over the bird bath, dropping its load in at irregular intervals.

>116 MarthaJeanne: And so is the first panettone. Good thing there are two more in the freezer.

>>115 MarthaJeanne: But we can try!

Having made panettone, there were 5 egg whites sitting in the refrigerator. What does one do with 5 egg whites? I'm not a big meringue fan, but I have found a 'Mohnmakronen' recipe that I love. Yes, the other ingredients are held together by a sugary beaten egg white mass. But those other ingredients are a package of poppyseed filling mixture, crumbled marzipan, ground almonds, chopped sultanas, rum, cinnamon. With all that, you hardly notice the egg whites.

The first panful is in the oven.

I couldn't find the cookbook. My eyes are acting up. So I made Jerry look for it. Red, about this size, title in German. He was reading off titles. Backen im Advent? Sounds good. Even better, it fell open in his hands to the Mohnmakronen.

I have discovered that the iPad camera can function as a magnifying glass. Not really good for trying to read books, but a big help on things like recipes.

Yes. Good.

>121 MarthaJeanne: Jerry is such a treasure. You should keep him!

>120 MarthaJeanne: Mohnmakronen sounds really good!

>123 2wonderY: Just a small worry: Right after the wedding he said he thought we should agree on a trial period to see if it works out. That was in 1978, and the 50 year trial will be over in just 5 years.

I think we can get you to 150!

>117 MarthaJeanne: I had really hoped we would get a cold Christmas this year. I have been running around in tees and shorts and sandals. Also, in the Houston area, we are supposed to get soaked by storms today & Christmas Eve.

Of course Jerry said he thought you put bowls of egg white in the refrigerator so that after a few months they have gone bad and you can throw them out. He had that from Ben and Jerry's homemade ice cream & dessert book.

>121 MarthaJeanne: I bought two, oversized magnifiers with LEDs & handles. I should carry one with me b/c print on cans & boxes are nearly impossible to read these days!

>107 MarthaJeanne: There are some nights when popcorns ends up as my dinner. Occasionally, it will end up as my lunch; but it is less satisfying that way. 😂

>129 lesmel: I know I did that a couple of times with the boys. They enjoyed it, and I didn't feel too guilty.

These days I'm more likely to dip spelt crackers in spicy cheese spread - Liptauer - when I just can't get anything more formal together.

It stinks in here. The oven was very smoky during my baking today. Besides the mohnmakronen, I made buttermilk biscuits for supper. So we have told the oven to clean itself. But it feels like each time I opened the oven door in the whole living room.

>131 MarthaJeanne: It's a lot better this morning. Our humidifiers are actually called air washers, so I made sure they were full and running at top speed last night. I was up at midnight and it was clear that things were getting better. This morning there is still a bit noticeable if you come in from outside, but nowhere near like the eye watering stuff from last night.

Just a warning to everyone that you should not try to smuggle radioactive materials into the Vienna UN buildings (which include the International Atomic Energy Agency). Jerry had a test including radioactive tracers last week. He was warned to avoid babies and pregnant women for 24 hours. The next day - about 25 hours after the test, he set off a loud alarm when trying to drive into the VIC. No big deal, they were fairly sure it was medical before questioning him. Nice to know the security works.

>124 lesmel: When you have a 'hot' husband you have to hang on to him.

Said 'hot husband' was shopping the other day, and I suggested that he look for 'interesting fruit'. He brought home a pineapple. Well, I like pineapple, but my idea of preparing pineapple is opening a can of chunks. But if I do that with a fresh one in the kitchen, I will feel guilty. So I guess no pineapple until this starts rotting.

>135 MarthaJeanne: I bought one too! I’ve never cut a pineapple. It does look pretty, eh?

>135 MarthaJeanne: pretty, yes. Easy to deal with, no. Separating the edible parts from the woody core is a hassle, because you really have to cut more away than you want to. But the complicated bit is getting the skin and all the eyes off. Not sure Jerry has ever done that. I have. Not a fun occupation.

BTW, if you have never had a fresh pineapple before, don't try to add it to a gelatine dessert. There is an enzyme that eats protein. Your lovely gelatine salad will not gell. On the other hand, that same enzyme can be used to soften tough meat, just not too long. Heat kills the enzyme.

>135 MarthaJeanne: My brother grows pineapples in his yard in FL. He says they are really good! I can't eat fresh pineapple without suffering the torments of the damned. I get an almost rash inside my mouth. If the pineapple is cooked or from a can, it's less likely to happen.

>138 lesmel: Probably mostly that same enzyme.

>139 MarthaJeanne: I would assume so. It hurts, I can tell you that!

We spluged at the supermarket the other day on a 30€ hunk of lamb. I have cut it up with onions and bacon,several root veggies (prepared for soup at the supermarket), along with garden herbs: a few other flavourings and a good glug from a bottle of marsala. We looked for either red wine or port, and that was what we found.

Jerry decided it looked really good, so there will be a picture once he sends it to me.

BTW Safari does not like the word glug.

>141 MarthaJeanne: That pan came with the oven. I don't use it much, because it is big and heavy, but sometimes it is just what you want. It slides into the holders on the side of the oven, so it is very easy to pull out a bit for stirring.

BTW, the stew looks a bit different now, and the house us beginning to have this lovely aroma.

And this:



is what's left on the table now. There are also 3 bags of 'Lamb Stew Base' in the freezer. IE still need potatoes and final veggies. The original ones are blended into the broth.

I love lamb. I don't buy it often b/c of the price; but I like to splurge once or twice a year.

They used to carry steaks cur from the neck, and we bought them regularly, but paying more for ones we don't like as much seems a poor deal, so it's a rare treat now.

I Used frozen rhubarb to make a crumble. I sweetened the rhubarb with apple, dates, candied ginger, and spices. The crumble included oatmeal and walnuts and cinnamon. I am now enjoying it withe salted caramel ice cream.

This is of course mostly medicinal, as both rhubarb and oatmeal help digestion. Actually, so does ginger, though differently. Isn't it nice when medicine tastes this good?

>146 MarthaJeanne: I prefer ginger to peppermint when my stomach disagrees with my brain on what I should have eaten. I also use it when I get car/motion sick.

>147 lesmel: Car sick 'meds' for the boys were always ginger cookies. For me chocolate covered ginger. Of course, sometimes we took them in advance to prevent car sickness.

A friend of mine used to buy ginger capsules at the pharmacy for that purpose. Yuck! Ginger should be celebrated!

>146 MarthaJeanne: I have to say that the rhubarb- date combination really worked. It doesn't really taste much like either, rather the sourness of the rhubarb and the sweetness of the dates balanced each other out. Add in the textures from the oatmeal crumble, and it is very good.

I got the air washers all cleaned for the new year. Back when we lived in the hills overlooking Vienna, sort of on the o
lower edge of the clouds, they needed major cleaning every week. They really picked up a lot of gunk. Out on the opposite outskirts of the city right on the border to the National Park, they only need rinsing every few weeks. This time the main floor ones were a little dirtier than usual because of the oven cleaning event. Starting the year with a clean slate feels good.

The neighbours have long since started with fireworks.