Sunday, March 27, 2005

Happiness is...

homemade tiramisu!

I had to make tiramisu for about 15 people, so a measly 4 servings wouldn't work. After looking up several sources and digging in my own recipe books, I came up with a recipe that is mostly a combination of Buca di Beppo's recipe and a recipe found on (don't laugh) cookingforengineers.com.

MAKES: 12

INGREDIENTS:
12 oz espresso or double-strong coffee
1/2 cup sugar
4 lrg egg yolks
1 egg
1/2 cup Marsala
16 oz mascarpone cheese (2 containers)

2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

40 ladyfingers (Trader Joe's work really well)

DIRECTIONS:
Stir 2 tbsp sugar into espresso and chill.

Easy zabaglione: Whisk egg yolks and egg until light and creamy. Pour in remaining sugar and whisk until well blended. Add Marsala. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, then whisk. Repeat 4-6 times, until thick and creamy.

Whip cream until soft peaks form. Beat in vanilla extract.

Beat mascarpone cheese until smooth and creamy. Pour zabaglione onto cheese and beat until smooth. Fold in whipped cream.

Dip ladyfingers in espresso mixture (one at a time) and place in pan. I used a 13x9 pan for this recipe. Spread half the cream mixture over ladyfingers. Cover with another layer of soaked ladyfingers. Spread with remaining cream mixture. Chill for at least four hours.

Note: when dipping ladyfingers, use a shallow bowl with some of the coffee mixture in it and place immediately in pan. They soak up the coffee quickly and start to crumble if you try to do four or five at a time.

Note 2: you can add liqueur to the coffee mixture. Suggestions: a shot of amaretto; a shot of Kahlua; a shot of chocolate cream liqueur... I'll confess I have even used Scotch when I didn't have anything else handy.

Before serving, sprinkle with cocoa powder. If you can find the amaretto-flavoured chocolate bars from Italy, they are even better to grate over the top.

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posted by A M | 9:13 PM | (0) comments
Sunday, March 13, 2005

Hockey!

My son's JV hockey team (Loveland-Walnut Hills) played their end-of-season tournament this weekend. Not only did his team win the championship, but my son got his first penalty! For roughing! The crowd cheered. My little* goon!

*"Little" is a relative term; he is 13 and 5'8".
posted by A M | 12:32 PM | (0) comments
Saturday, March 12, 2005

The library in my basement

Library is too organised a term for it, but I live in hope that we will, someday, get unpacked. At any rate...

My mom volunteered me for a yarn dyeing workshop she is trying to organise in a few weeks, so I ventured to the basement to see if I could find any of the books or magazines I know I have on the subject. Unfortunately, Yarns to Dye For is one of the ten fibre books I don't own. (To put this in perspective, I have the original issue of Piecework. And two hardcover copies of Alice Starmore's Celtic Collection. I was knitting a sweater, moved, lost the book, bought another one, found the book... you get the idea.) Being an incurable book collector, I have lots of non-fibre-related books too. Any remainder table is fair game. In the days before the internet, I even subscribed to a remaindered books catalog. In fact, the next time you and a friend are walking by a remaindered book table and you see a hardcover 600 page tome on the Celts and you giggle and laugh and one of you says to the other, "Who on earth would buy that?" the other one can say, with perfect truth and without feeling the least bit catty, "Audra!"

We are currently Too Broke to really indulge this habit any more, although I picked up a fun historical whodunit book yesterday on the remainder table, but the lifelong collection is standing my thirteen year old son in good stead. Recently he's been fascinated by the Vikings and mediaeval Europe. Today in my basement, while I didn't find any of the dyeing books I was looking for, I did find two books on the Celts, a textbook on life in mediaeval Europe, and a tome on the Vikings. He is thrilled.

I also found a book on Egypt. We searched and searched for a book covering Ramses I when he was doing a report for school and had to be happy with piecemealing a couple of sources. I checked this book out of curiosity today and, sure enough, it had a page and a half on Ramses I, more than the other three books we found at the library put together!

Yeah. I guess this is a summer project, getting the basement library organised. Meanwhile, I will continue to try to figure out how to dye sock yarn. Last night I went to Lowe's and for under $4 I got the materials to make at least two PVC niddy-noddys. I am hoping to get the laceweight yarn wound off now and also hoping to figure out how to paint the sock yarn on the niddy. Whee!

I also found two looseleaf binders with lots and lots of 1-2 page patterns: Christmas stockings, the Dubbelmossa hat, the World sweater, the Anna Zilboorg Turkish sock article and pattern from Piecework, various Wool Gatherings, some Cottage Creations pamphlets... I'm so happy. I thought I'd lost these forever.
posted by A M | 11:42 AM | (0) comments
Monday, March 07, 2005

John's Socks

As promised. These are technically not finished but I only have to graft a toe. I hope the directions are complete, although since I turn heels by counting the stitches left on either side, I'm not promising the heel turning counts are perfect. It probably helps if you've made a few socks before you knit these.

John's Socks (PDF, 350k)
posted by A M | 8:56 PM | (5) comments

Lazy Sunday

No recipe to post, because I didn't really cook. Beth came over to show off her beautiful new wheel (and yarn!) and I spent the day plying some 2-year old laceweight I had been meaning to "get around to" for a while. It was a tussah silk-alpaca-merino-silver glitter blend (and I sort of think it might have had 5% cashmere in it) from Lambspun of Colorado, and I spun it intending to give it to a friend who wanted a lace scarf. I think since it's been so long I should probably knit her the scarf instead of just giving her the yarn now.

My Schacht was behaving really well (I think it was because it wanted to show off for Beth; Beth thinks it was worried I would replace it with a Louet) so I couldn't seem to stop plying. Beth was shamefully neglected because I got both bobbins of singles plied off, mostly onto one bobbin. The remainder wound off into a nice little mini skein of about 50 yds that I think is between a fingering weight and a laceweight. I tried to take pictures this morning. As you can see, I had very helpful help.

Oh, the cuteness...


Got it!


Retrieved, only slightly worse for wear.
posted by A M | 8:18 AM | (52) comments
Saturday, March 05, 2005

Knitting Meme

Beth has tagged me for the Knitting Meme because she says my blog needs to be updated, which is true. I hope to have two socks (and their instructions) posted soon but...

1. Do you knit continental or English?
Continental, although I learned English. I started having carpal tunnel or something in the little finger of my right hand after I took up knitting again and couldn't knit for more than an hour or so without having to stop. I started holding the right needle like a pencil, and that helped with the pain, although it slowed me down a lot. About that time we moved to Germany and I discovered Elizabeth Zimmermann, so I had the motivation and the help to switch to continental. The best part is I can do two or even three colour stranded knitting now with a yarn in each hand! The worst part is that my job has given me tendinitis, so knitting is painful (at times) again. Oh well.

2. How long ago did you learn to knit?
My mother taught me to knit when I was about eight. She started me on orange acrylic yarn and a scarf pattern. Needless to say, I never finished it, and I still can't stand the feel of acrylic yarn (fingernails to blackboards!). After college I picked it up again and started messing with it, and when I moved in with my husband I had a ready made guinea pig who would wear anything I knit. By the time we moved to Germany I had been knitting again for about two years and had enough experience under my belt to really start to learn new things. I have continued to knit ever since and I still love the "process" of knitting and figuring out new things.

3. First FO?
Hmm. Probably a sweater for my husband. He still had it up to a few years ago, even though it was too wide and too short, and the sleeves looked gathered. It was warm, though, so I guess that made up for it.

4. Favorite yarn?
Wow. That's a hard one. At the moment, Misti Baby Alpaca and Lorna's Laces Shepherds' Sock. A favourite all-around worsted is Brown Sheep Naturespun (in fact, I love Naturespun sport and Naturespun fingering too...). Oh, and I love unspun Icelandic pencil roving. It makes the warmest, lightest sweaters. Mmm...

5. Favorite pattern?
Knit in the round Icelandic sweaters... they're a joy and they go so fast. I love the Kilt Hose/Socks pattern in Folk Socks too. I love to knit basic socks with a Dutch heel, if that counts as a pattern. And I love the Fox & Geese & Fences mittens with all my heart. It's one of the most interesting and technique-heavy colour stranded patterns I've ever seen.

6. Favorite pattern source?
I like Fiber Trends for ideas and inspiration, if nothing else. I love Interweave Knits and Knitters Magazine. I just picked up the Best of Lopi book from the library and I really enjoyed reading it.

7. Favorite needles?
Addi Turbos, Crystal Palace bamboo DPNs, and Suzanne's rosewood dpns (size 1 1/2). The latter are my favourite of all time and I wish they were easier to find. :-/

8. Nicest thing you’ve ever knit?
Hard to say... probably a black silk beaded bag I made for my sister about 7 years ago. It took me six months on size 0000 needles and Gudebrod silk thread but the weight and feel of the bag are just beautiful. I should ask her to take a picture of it! I think I am too old to knit something that dark and small now - it takes lots of good light.

9. Most hated project?
Anything that's knit flat... I also hate intarsia. I think I did knit one of the Vogue Knitting cat sweaters, but I never finished the World sweater.

10. What project do you want to knit or technique do you want to learn?
I want to learn to dye my own sock yarn. I want to knit a real lace shawl. The technique above all others that I would love to learn are the socks knit inside socks a la Tolstoy. I have the book but I despair of ever making sense of it!

11. Who are you going to pass this on to?
Unfortunately I don't know anyone but Beth so... there you are then!
posted by A M | 8:10 PM | (8) comments