Sunday morning, hot

Our temperature is now officially in the too hot for me range. High 90s is what it feels like. Just right for Handsome Son and his regular shore runs. He's picked up his season pass to his favorite shore location. Me, it's a season pass on a cool sofa except for early morning walks.

Between the early heat and torrential rain everything's growing beserkers. I used to have a wonderful English teacher who still spoke in the accent of an earlier age, clergy pronounced clargy, berserk pronounced bersark. So she comes to mind when I encounter those words.

And the ginger plant you had to squint to see a few days ago is now leaping up

The review of the canteloupe ginger jam, speaking of ginger, which is really a sauce, follows.

Here's the first trial. Even though the recipe said jam they also said great on meats, ice -cream and in general more of a sauce than a spreadable jam. 

I'd agree. The taste is way more than a sweet jammy thing. The salt as well as the ginger make a terrific combo, much more interesting than jam. I used it in breakfast oatmeal and, well, I may need a second bowl.

I really recommend you try this. One regular sized canteloupe makes four cups of dice. I added a couple of tablespoons of diced ginger. Not much sugar, just one cup. It is pretty sophisticated. 

It needs a bland partner such as plain bread or meat or, as here, oatmeal. I tried it on cornbread and there was too much going on. They were in competition. 

Speaking of the best, June is Pride Month, and happy month to our blogistas who celebrate. And to us who are proud to call them our friends and neighbors. I wonder when we'll rewrite Paul to include "neither gay nor straight" in his list of how we're all one in  love, nothing separating us. I think he got it, so long ago.  As well as all the  expressions of gender. And if you don't know why June is the month, look up the history of the movement and learn about the courage and suffering that have paved the way to this day.

Couple of important birthdays coming up: sister Dogonart on the 11th, well into her tenth decade and following this blog still.

Later will be Handsome Partner, who left us ten years ago but is still very much with us. We'll do a strawberry shortcake, his favorite birthday thing, in his honor.

Leaving now to continue fiddling away at Mitered Squares while the sun shines.

But not before I come back to remember that not only did I vote early in our primary, I got an acknowledgement from the County Clerk. Or Clark

Good neighbor, Mitered Tunisians, Breadtopia and Misfits

Busy day of many moving parts punctuated by thunderstorms.

Early this morning my neighbor came over to collect my car key because he wanted to inflate my tires while he was doing his own. He did mine first, honestly, he's worth all the strawberry jam and little somethings that end up at his door. Then he went on to attend to his pickup.

I was busy working on my first lace weight project using the blue yarn and a fine hook to try a Tunisian Mitered Square. Tricky getting something this small going until you have enough to hold while you work. 

Also getting your eye in to this scale is a trick, after the yarn I've been using. But I prevailed and now I have another scissor fob. You can see the relative size against the first one.

Scissor fobs are useful for helping you locate the scissors which have buried themselves in the threads and needlebooks and fabric in your bag. They're also good to keep track of your own stuff in workshops where several people might be using similar scissors. For embroiderers,  they're a chance to make a little personal stitchery. In my case they're also a handy destination for idle musing.

In the middle of this I heard the front door open, thought it was neighbor though he usually announces himself so as not to startle me. 

Looked up and there's a total stranger in the living room looking at me in bafflement. Beautiful young Indian lady. I asked if maybe she'd come into the wrong house? 

She said, I think I must have, sorry, sorry. Not the first time people have done this. They go by a vague set of directions, don't check the house number, end up chatting with me. Off she went to try again. 

Then knitting group on-line,  and I left when I heard a thump at the door, thought it was my Misfits box and it wasnt. It was my Breadtopia!!

I had finally realized what was putting me off making bread.  It was the mixing of the dough with a wooden paddle, best tool available but annoying, and hard on my hands.

A bit of research brought me to Breadtopia and this lovely dough mixing tool from Poland. While I was there I picked up some parchment paper already in sheets, and  some flour. 

I like very much how organic, small crop flour producers love to explain about their flours, how they work and why and what's the best use. 

I learned about bolted flour, too. It was pretty much a grain education. Bob of Bob's Red Mill is similarly a good teacher. They all love their product, real artisans. So now I can get on and make bread. 

Meanwhile I had a pasty for supper.These pasties are getting to be the kitchen drawer of cooking. Any old stuff ends up in them. 

Today was the original onion, mushroom, sausage, with additional leftover sweet potato, the last of the garlic Rondele soft cheese, and chunks of roast chicken. It was definitely a complete meal in your hand.

I ate it in the middle of a whirling dervish of a Misfits prep, when the box finally got here, through a massive thunderstorm.

Owing to consumer error, there are a lot of leeks. I meant two leeks, not two sets of two. Good thing I have the freezer. 

And between the leeks, scallions and white onions, I definitely have my share of the allium family.

I always prep rapidly, since the produce arrives cool and in good condition, and I want to get the best out of it, which means keeping it fresh or rapidly frozen while it's still at its best. I sound like a spokescook for Big Ag! Nooooo.

Anyway the cauliflower finally showed up, and my plans for it can now happen. The leeks and potatoes will be soup and possibly pasty filling. The broccoli will be just steamed, bit of butter. The mushrooms, who knows, they're always good somewhere. I expect if I try,  can figure out uses for the chocolate chips.

And the other items will find good homes in various dishes I have yet to figure out. The strawberries and blueberries might be jam. I wonder if you can make canteloupe jam.. with ginger? Must check.

After all this I sat down with a cup of tea and a little bowl of strawberries. They're different from our local ones in flavor.  Both are good. Our local ones are nearly done. The storm today probably didn't help, if the flattened plants on the patio are any indicator.

Nodding off now..

 

Chai and Tunisian mitering

The chai arrived today from Reluctant Trading. They're expensive and they're good.

And the smell when I opened the airtight container was wonderful. Just what you hope for. I could identify cardamon, cloves, nutmeg, other spices. I'm looking forward to trying it. 

I can probably reproduce this myself, but these guys have wonderful spices, so I'm trying them first.

In other news, I learned a new skill. I made a Mitered Square in Tunisian crochet. 

I found I had a couple of Tunisian hooks I didn't know I had, including this plastic one which is much easier to use than the long metal one. 

It has a cable which enables long rows of stitches. Like the cables on circular knitting needles except the crochet ones are finished with a stopper instead of meeting another needle end as for knitting.

The cable is a bit resistant and I may need to heat it a bit to make it more flexible so it doesn't keep turning the hook over.

And I tried a new idea. Instead of making a crocheted chain, I cast on stitches as if to knit, and got a nice firm starting edge.

You need an odd number of stitches to make this work, so I cast on 23, enough to try out the technique. 

It's done in simple stitch, with the middle three stitches picked up together. This is why you need the odd number, to allow for that middle stitch with an even number on each side of it.

And, as you see, it worked. Very pleased about this new learning. I can use this as a scissor tag, too. It needs to be steamed because it's curly still.

You can make this with a regular crochet hook, no need for the long type. 

I listened to Donna Leon for the short time it took to make it.

Spaghetti and meatballs for lunch, roast chicken and yellow potatoes for supper. The last of the fig cake at teatime.  Such excitement.

Wonderful walk today in real sunshine.