Cake Disaster

It was a very rainy day yesterday. Lots of wind too so after the gym and groceries, I hibernated. I worked on my, not sure if I like how it's turning out, Kaffe Fassett New Orleans Star quilt with Amy Butler fabric and did some baking.

On the positive front, I got 3 squares done. I realize working on this quilt that I don't really enjoy small piecing projects. This is good information for choosing future projects.

I also made some excellent Chocolate Biscotti from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours. There are some really good recipes in that book.

On the not so great front, I also made the Flourless Chocolate Cake from Caprial's Desserts. It was an absolute disaster. A throw in the compost pail disaster. I've looked at the internet this morning to see if there was a problem with the recipe and didn't find anything. I don't know if I missed something in the recipe. I've reviewed it a bunch of times and don't think so. It was obviously very disappointing. However, huge calorie avoidance from all of the pieces of cake I won't be eating this week.

Seeds

This is one of my favourite times of year. Spring is in the air, the days are getting longer and my seeds arrive for planting in my little area in the basement. I always order too many but I just can't help myself. I usually just order veggies but this year went a bit crazy and picked up some perennials and annuals too.

The last 2 years I've ordered seeds from The Cottage Gardener, an heirloom and organic seed company located in Southern Ontario. Their catalogue is fun to read because they provide stories about the seeds. I have had great success so far with these seeds. The ones I've tried have had an excellent germination rate and the veggies have been very tasty varieties.

I just finished reading The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket. This is a very nice book. It includes lovely photos that inspire me to get creating, cooking and appreciating the world around me.

Great Cookbook

Before Christmas I picked up a copy of the book "Bite Me" by Julie Albert and Lisa Gnat. In addition to being a goofy read (which I am highly in favour of), the recipes are really good.

The first recipe I tried out of the book was Crusted Lamb Chops with Balsamic Reduction, an excellent and fast recipe for rack of lamb. The lamb is coated with a breadcrumb Dijon crust which tastes fantastic with the flavours in the Balsamic Reduction.

Sara Lisa's Iced Banana Cake has more banana flavour than an actual banana largely due to the banana in the icing. Yum.

Other favourites: Walnut-Crusted Halibut with Lemon Wine Sauce, Balsamic Chicken with Sweet Peppers, Southwestern Sweet Potato Fries, Sweet Balsamic Roasted Carrots, Oasted Ray Egetables-Vay with Pecans and Parmesan ...

Books

I am addicted to books. Unfortunately, I am really bad at starting books, particularly non fiction, and not finishing. I have made a resolution to finish my half-finished books before I buy anymore. I am in the middle of Younger Next Year for Women, one of the French Women Don't Get Fat books (the second one), The Gospel According to U2, a Platter of Figs (I enjoy reading cookbooks) and probably some others I have forgotten about.

I've mentioned the Younger Next Year book on the blog before and am enjoying it. It is a bit repetitive given that 3/4 of it has been about exercising 6 days a week and I'm generally at 5 so feel a bit like the choir. Having said that, reinforcements on the benefits of exercise are always motivational.

I am also cognizant of the fact that my blog is called Knit, Quilt, Cook and I haven't talked about cooking once. I seem to be in a little of a cooking lull at the moment for some reason. Likely because I've been spending most spare time on the weekends quilting and now that the Olympics are on, knitting. I'm solo dining tonight and remembered that I had some chili in the freezer and am quite enjoying it with some excellent walnut bread from Longos and the Olympics on TV. I must confess that while I'm excited about the hockey, I really like the curling so am watching that mainly and flipping to the women's gold medal game. the curling is almost over unless something crazy happens so will be full time on hockey before the chili is done.

Snowy Day

It's a snowman day today. Heavy snow that is perfect for making snowmen. A good workout to shovel but perfect for snowmen. One of those snows that coats the trees and makes everything bright even after dark.

Generally, I like winter. I like winter on the weekends when I don't have to go anywhere and can enjoy the cozy feeling of sitting in the living room watching the snow fall while knitting or reading and drinking a cup of tea. I like winter when I'm home in the evening shoveling snow after dinner like tonight. I don't like winter when I have to layer on the clothes before leaving the house in the morning and everything just feels so heavy. I don't like winter when it is just cold and damp with no snow to speak of. Snow makes winter much more beautiful.

Now that I have longer hair and can put it in a ponytail if I need to, I even don't mind wearing a hat. This year I have knit some particularly nice cozy hats that make winter much more appealing. They made great summer and fall projects.

Olympic Knitting or It Is Never Going To Happen

So we're about 1/2 way through the Olympics and I'm still on the back of my project. I have cast off for the sleeve section which always makes me feel like I'm almost done but really it's another several inches of knitting and only 18 fewer stitches.

What I'm taking from this Olympic idea is to be better at setting objectives, be realistic about the 24 hour clock and the amount of time my hands can knit at any one time. That said, I'm significantly into a sweater I didn't even have on my radar screen prior to the Olympic challenge and there are 5 fewer balls in my stash waiting to be knit! The two baby sweaters I'm on borrowed time with are a problem I will not be thinking about for now.

Stress

There are times when I have trouble dealing with work stress. I started a new job a few months ago and it is hard. I have thought a lot in the last year or so about the level of stress my job brings and why I have so much trouble dealing with it. Have I just reached my limit? Do I worry too much about everything? Should I be doing something else? Do I make myself too busy in my non-work life? On the latter point, I know I do a lot of extra stuff in the crafty vein but I think it helps. It distracts me, relaxes me and provides me a comfortable product at the end of the process. The pleasure of sitting under a quilt on the couch after a quick dinner watching the Olympics is not to be under valued. I'm going to do yoga this morning and hope that balances this conflict in my head and helps me face today more calmly.