Helloo!

I wanted to welcome readers from JudaicaJournal, where my afikomen bag has been so kindly featured today. Thanks, Dr. Mom!

I also want to offer a hat-tip to Rebecca who sent me a copy of the book How to Read and Why in connection with her reading challenge by the same name. It is a great book and an exciting challenge. In the future, once my eyes are better (see below), I will be posting my own progress as I read through the selections discussed in the book.

Also, I’d like to welcome my friend Anna to blogland. Anna takes a great picture, knits a great sock, and never ceases to amuse me.

My apologies for being such a poor blogger. I don’t recall how much, if any, of this that I’ve shared here. For the better part of a year, I have been dealing with some eye-health issues. As of yet they have not been able pinpoint what exactly is causing the trouble and the treatments have not helped. What this means is that much of the time I am unable to craft or read or do anything that involves, you know, actually seeing. So, please bear with me while I heal, because I have many a posts and projects to share yet.

To end on a fun note, Chara Michele is organizing an informal meetup of Seattle-area craft bloggers. It will be held on Saturday, September 6th at 2pm Victor’s Coffee in Redmond. Space is limited, so email Chara at chara@charamichele.com if you would like to rsvp or need more information.

 

Pesach Baking

For the past few weeks, I’ve really been in the mood to bake, but I’ve had to restrain myself or else we would have had to toss a few dozen cupcakes before Passover started. Luckily, there are a ton of recipes for unleavened baked goods around the internet. We will definitely have our fill of sweets this week and I will have my fill of baking. Alas, a brisket currently occupies my oven, so I’ll have to wait a few hours more.

Martha Stewart is a surprisingly great source for Passover recipes. For the Matza House that she made last week with Joan Rivers, I think she should be deigned an honorary member of the tribe. Here are a few recipes that I’m eyeing for the week:

• Passover Apple Cake from Arthur Schwartz.
• Glazed Hazelnut Squares
• Coconut Macaroons which use sweetened condensed milk, unlike the French Almond Macaroon recipe from the NYTimes. I think I’ll experiment with a few different macaroon recipes and figure out what I like.
• Chocolate Torte with Passover Fudge Glaze with more hazelnuts, mmm….

Here are some of the non-Martha recipes that I’m considering:

• Damp Apple and Almond Cake by Nigella Lawson
• Passover Chocolate Cupcakes (!) from Cupcake Project with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting, although if I want to serve these at my seder (I do), I’m going to have to find a non-dairy topping.

Who says you can’t make cupcakes while escaping slavery?

 

Linky Linky

The recipe for these double chocolate oatmeal cookies comes from Everybody Likes Sandwiches. Last night, while surfing the web, because Friday’s are So Exciting around here, I stumbled on this recipe and headed straight to the kitchen for cookie goodness. They are good and easily Pareve/Vegan too! (Use margarine instead of butter, which I do almost by default anyways.) The dough has a very different consistency than other doughs. It has no eggs and so is not wet. I worried that they might crumble in the oven, but they held. Of course, I had to add a roasted hazelnut to each cookie. Mine didn’t spread like those pictured with the recipe and I’m not sure why, but I like them this way.

Here are some other recipes I want to try:

• Cheryl’s Yummo Eggplant over at Belle Epoque
• Fried Okra from This Vintage Chica
• Refrigerator Pickles at Happy Things

With a break from the rain today, perhaps we will have a picnic…

 

Long Weekend Link Dump

I’m still doing well here, albeit a bit bored and unsure of what to do with myself. I’ve been drifting here and there, around the house, moping because its a nice day and I can’t ride my bike. I want to sew so bad, especially since I’ve been reading the May Skirt Sew-a-long. I’m just itching to make a skirt. Unfortunately, that won’t be happening by the end of the month.

Instead, I’ve been stashing inspiration:

• Knitting aside has a nifty method for winding a pull skein. I really like this method, because instead of wrapping the skein around your thumb, you wrap it around two pencils or knitting needles.
• Given my new love of Blackwork, I have been enjoying browsing through the Blackwork Embroidery Archives. In particular, they have an informative article about the double running stitch and working more complex patterns.
• Primrose Designs is also a great resource for embroidery in the form of Janet’s Embroidery Primer.
• The next time I get home, I’m definitely going to plan it around Crafty Wonderland’s Craft Extravaganza. The next event is June 10th, but I already have plans to go o a booksale that day, so we’ll have to go in July.
• Because I am a nerd, I do have to leave this Friday post on a science-y note, Lab Cat has written some interesting posts about food science and food chemistry.

And here’s a pic from my archives to tide you over:

 

The good, the bad, and the ugly

Good: I finally got my invitation to the much discussed Ravelry.com.

Bad: I’m getting ready for surgery tomorrow.

Ugly: I’ve been very sick today, hardly able to hold down water.