pie reportage :sept post 4

warning: avoid this post if hungry

The competition was tough at the neighborhood pie contest this year.

Mine was good (above left) but it wasn't award winning. Some were amazing.

As you can see.  Spending part of the afternoon under a tree eating slices of as many pies as you wanted to try with a bunch of your family, friends & fave neighbors?  Definitely a blue ribbon day. 
(That's fig tart, lemon basil pie, and peach melba with the crazy crust. The top award went, deservedly,  to the plum galette in top right photo)

tossing off FOs & catching ZZZs

Red Scarf action!  Linda & June at their shop,  Knit New Haven, hoisting this year's harvest of red scarves. Let me tell you, those are some really, really nice scarves. Since I was heading down to DC and was going to see the OFA folks, I personally delivered them. You sent yours, right? If not, you're one scarf ahead for next year, just remember where you put it till then.

My two scarves were finished and amongst the delivered.  I kind of hid the striped one in the bottom, it was looking more rustic and folksy by the minute. No need to reassure me, I have faith a rustic, folksy loving student will be matched with it.  It's just that there were so many lovely, very polished looking knits. The top one is my worsted weight version of the Gathered Scarf designed by Maryse. Great pattern! Considering  it involves increasing , decreasing & changing needle size- not difficult but a little bit more time consuming than your straight knit- it still seems to be an uber quick knit. The ruches add high entertainment value, that must be it. I might try an  even chunkier one for myself, just for funs. Or see what happens if you knit it as a tube ina lighter weight.

I also knit a thick cowl for myself that I've failed to shoot, it's starting to look a little worn so I'd best hurry that one up. Me not finding a way to take a photo of an FO is so ridiculous, I shot 1000 images in the last two days but no, sorry, too hard to include a cowl. L-A-M-E.

A carbohydratey FO. Soon as it got chilly in November I was back with the breads from that work of genius Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes. I've been doing different filled breads for a while, sometimes cinnamon & brown sugar, sometimes cheese or vegetables or both. Rarely do they come out as evenly swirled as this one, usually there are unsightly bulges. So I have to show it. . It's the Eurpean Peasant Bread recipe with sundred tomatoes and sharp cheddar baked in. And very super crusty (extra cornmeal on it.) FYI you can't go wrong with that filling. Stuff your old shoes with sundried tomatoes & sharp cheddar and bake: also good.

You know what else is taking up my time? Sleeping. I jumped right on Ann and Arianna's bandwagon. Soon all those REM will result in a thinner, cheerier me. With less problems remembering stuff. If it works, I'll be able to remember to tell you about it.

lessons learned

I started the month with some intentions & some assumptions.
Like NaPoBloMo. My day late start might have tipped you off to the outcome, right? I assumed it might bother me if I couldn't pull it off. There were three or four misses. Am I bothered by this? nah. Isn't it poetic justice this very post is actually too late to count as being in the month. Lame but OK. I also assumed if I posted regularly, I'd then have more bloglines subscribers. Ha! I lost one. Quantity? Quality? Whatever.

I intended to knit for the Red Scarf Project & to spread the word that more scarves are needed. My finished scarf needs blocking & fringing. I'm goning to squeeze out another. Better than that, Knit New Haven is dedicating all their Thursday Nights in December to Red Scarf Project knitting, they are now a Red Scarf Dropoff spot and they have a poster for the project on their window, on a very busy New Haven street. And it works! While I was there yesterday a customer saw it, and stated right then she was going to jump in & knit one. Yay for a new shop that's stepping up for the local knitting community and a good cause. See you there Thursday? if I can pull it off I am going to make Red Velvet cupcakes for the occasion. No idea how you make them but that's why they invented the internets, right?

I intended to see if the one good brussel sprout experience I had, a year ago in Montpelier VT, might be repeatable. I assumed I'd cook them passably well, and then I'd kind of let it go for another year till harvest time. Nu-uh! They were so good, I had to make them three more times that week, one of which was on Thanksgiving. So, referring to the rule of food partisanship , I will now be making roasted brussel sprouts with garlic sauteed red pepper & onions, couscous & a quick sprinkle of parmesan cheese for many many years to come.

about those breadsticks

I wasn't trying to throw a pity party. But here's the thing: once a food appears at a family gathering and gets any kind of partisan support, it can never, ever be taken off the menu. The homemade breadsticks gained a huge following back when there were lots of little kids wanting to help make doughy snakes while the kitchen was buzzing with Thanksgiving cooking. Now those little hands are attached to big teenage & twenty year old bodies, none hankering for some extra work. But we must have those breadsticks on the table !
That's the Aperol Spritz in my mom's hand. Molto buono with breadsticks and a little goat cheese. Worth the effort.
This year, sister Marla and my parents did all the bread stick shaping. Not that they had any choice. I threw the mountain of dough at them the minute they walked into the house, gracious hostess that I am. We went for 50 long sticks (the length of the baking tray) instead of 100 the width of the tray. They look good set out in vases that way.

They're more crispy than chewy, but not dry. Want to make some? Ok, I'll share the recipe, it was given to me by someone I photographed on assignment in the 80's, and I have no idea where she got the recipe. Or maybe she made it up herself. She had a farm stand and made breadsticks to go with her jams & fruit butters.
(don't worry. I won't turn this recipe thing into a regular feature.)

Breadsticks ---makes approx 100 12" sticks or 50 20 "
recipe may be halved , divided by thirds or multiplied

In large bowl, dissolve 3 packets of yeast and 3 tablespoons sugar in 2 cups of warm water
Mix in:
6 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 teaspoons salt
3 cups unbleached white flour

Beat until smooth , this should take several minutes.
Add, kneading in bowl, about 3 3/4 cups additional flour. Turn onto flat surface and knead for five more minutes.

Place back in cleaned bowl, coat lightly with olive oil, cover and let rise till doubled (at least an hour). Punch down.

Divide into walnut sized balls and roll between hands into very thin sticks, the length or width of the baking tray. Giving them a slight twist when placing them on trays helps them not to shrink back in length.

Let rise on baking tray for 1/2 hour. Pre-heat oven to 325 degreesF.
Before baking, brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with coarse salt and seeds (we did black sesame this year, you can do any, or you can do herbs too).

Bake for about 20 minutes or until dark golden.

coookie monsters unite

The winners have been notified - I'll share blog names once they respond. Your flavor suggestions have me salivating. Mostly. Not so sure about the lavendar....although I'd love the scent. All are noted by the baker, and she thanks you !

For the 62 folks who didn't win, I'm sorry. Go treat yourself and order a consolation treat. I'm telling you, you'll like 'em.

If you want o find me tomorrow, look on the roof of the new Sonic DriveIn opening in Massachusetts. I Am.Not.Kidding.

cookie time : contest

My similar knits were saved by single mindedness: I gave the shawl a couple days of attention. It's in cast off stage now, in all its glorious Noro-ness. The asparagus Annette sweater's traveling to Florida with me in a few hours for some one-on-one attention. Because who wouldn't want to handle wool in Miami in August.
So ....what better time for a cookie break? How about chocolate chip?

Last month I had the thrill of doing a photo shoot for my BFF, a professional in the restaurant & baking biz , a cookie baker extraordinaire who's just opened her new cookie business. You can find her on etsy at Imperial Cookies.

To celebrate, I'm having a virtual cookie tasting contest. Hustle on over to her etsy shop, read her descriptions, come back and leave me a comment here saying which one is your favorite flavor. Or...what you'd want to see when she adds her next cookie to the lineup.

Since I really want to share the cookie love, mention the contest on your blog, let me know that you did, and you get entered twice.
Leave your comments by midnight Sunday August 23rd.

There'll be two winners---because I can never decide on one of anything. Drawn randomly, and each winner gets a pound of Imperial Cookies cookies of your choice.

Not that I'm trying to influence you, but these are incredibly good with tea. Or red wine.
Just saying.