Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year!

Jenny

Tu + Dios =       You and God equal happiness.  I haven’t seen the sky writer around in a long time!  There used to be an elderly gentleman who would sky write, but when he passed away the sky writing stopped.   He used to practice during the week, you would be driving by and look up to see rows of e’s or a’s in the sky.  It was cool, I have missed that!  I don’t know why, but 90% of the sky writing down here in South Florida is religious.   This is the first I have seen in Spanish, but that doesn’t surprise me, living in this area.  I’m just glad it’s back, and close to my house!

These are easy, fast, and if you give them as gifts, you will knit them forever as people will ask you for replacements when they wear out.  They even convert the sponge users to cloth! This cloth is magical!

The other work in progress is a cookbook I’m working on for my daughter for Christmas!  I recently took a trip and used TripAdvisor for advice.  They sent me an e-mail that if you post a review on their site, they will give you a free photobook from Shutterfly.  I thought, hmmmm…. a cookbook would be good!  So I am cooking and baking my way through 15 of her favorite childhood recipes to photograph and write up for the book.  Here is one of her favorite cookies, Oatmeal Scotchies.

I have never used Shutterfly, but I did  use  Blurb to make a book of a European trip taken earlier this year.  I highly recommend Blurb, the book came out fantastic, I was very pleased with the  colors, the paper, the binding, they did an excellent job. You can see a preview of the book here.

The weekend has much promise to be had…. cooler weather is coming… a trip to Epcot for the Food and Wine Festival, and plenty of down time is in order!

a food stylist I'm not

front of the brochure

the back

When I first moved to South Florida, the Everglades was no more than a big swamp to traverse on the way to the west coast.  Over time, I  have started to see the  ”River of Grass”  for what it truly is: a beautiful, vast, changing landscape that supports diverse wildlife and supplies us with clean drinking water. 

                                                       this is how I used to see the Everglades

Recently on TV there was a program on PBS about the Big Cypress National Preserve, and they interviewed Clyde Butcher about conservation, education, and of course, his photography of the Big Cypress Preserve. He said this, which I loved:  “I’m asked, why black and white? It keeps everything the same importance, a tree, the sky, the water, it’s all variations of greys, and it becomes one. And nature is one.  So when the black and white brings it to a one-ness- that you can understand that everything is interrelated. “

Thanks, Mr. Butcher. I get it .

liberal interpretation of the recipe

Paired with some Italian bread, fresh fruit, and apple cake for dessert, it was just enough.  

Picnickers on the other side of the lake were interesting to watch:

There was Proscceo to drink, this may be my new favorite wine…dry, fruity, and bubbly!

 It was nice to take time out from the usual weekend routine to enjoy family, food, and the beautiful Florida outdoors.  Sets a nice tone to start the week! 

yum

Well, WIP Wednesday has a nicer ring to it, but Wednesday was reserved for a Root Canal Wednesday. Yeah, not fun. But once they numb your tooth, really the hardest thing is holding your mouth open forever. So not much knitting this week, but I have been thinking about what I see when I look at my knitting. Does anyone else do this?  Think of the knitting in terms of what was going on or where you were when you knitted different parts of your item? Here’s mine:

This is the back of the Wide Collar Vest.  I cast on for this watching  Ted Kennedy’s  funeral was on the TV.  Like him or not,  his death was the end of a political era that was fascinating to observe.  I wonder  if history will be kind to him, or will he be defined by his failures? Time will tell.   I watched and knitting this memory into the vest.  Next memory stitched in was fretting over a sick dog over a week or so.  An adjustment to the medications and she has recovered nicely, thankfully.   Knitting helped take my mind off the anxiety and helplessness I felt with her ill. She’s back to trying to eat anything not tied down, especially knitting and paper.  That’s how I know she is better!   Not to have the Vest Of Misery, there are good memories stitched into the vest, too.  A recent trip to Tampa to see the Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays was just what I needed! 

stingrays at the ballpark

Something kind of weird about petting a stingray at a ball game.  My impression of Tropicana Field is how small it is!  Seems so much bigger on TV.  And the fake grass looks better on TV, it looks like chenille on TV! Not so much in person.  I did get to see one of my favorite former Red Soxers- Gabe Kapler! He played for the Sox ’03-’06.  He ruptured his Achilles tendon running the bases, of all things, but came back to professional baseball and now plays for the Rays.  I liked that he and his wife started a foundation to educate people about domestic violence and helping women out of abusive relationships.  His jersey is the only player jersey I  own, and probably me and 4 other people have the Kapler #44  Red Sox jersey. And, yes, I did wear it to the game! 

Most recent knitting was done to the marathon US open coverege, which I watched faithfully every evening.  I love the Open, and am thinking of attending next year. Maybe I’ll wear this vest!

I’ve been working on the Jo Sharp Wide Collar Vest  and looking forward to the miles and miles of stockinette stitch. There is something comforting about the rhythm of the stitches, I am enjoying this so far. 

 This is about 10 inches of the back.  The color is approximate despite the crappy picture!  I get about 9 inches per ball,  the pattern calls for 9 balls which I think is all I have.  Hope it lasts!

I am still cooking my way through the Barefoot Contessa Recipes (such hard work, I know ).  I had high hopes for this very easy to make dish.  The only modification I made was to halve the recipe.

the ingredients

Simple enough ingredients!

The recipe:

Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad

2008, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, All Rights Reserved

Ingredients

• 12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeds (not cores) removed
• 1/4 cup good olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 16 ounces fresh salted mozzarella
• 12 fresh basil leaves, julienned

Directions

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with the garlic, sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 2 hours until the tomatoes are concentrated and begin to caramelize. Allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature.

Cut the mozzarella into slices slightly less than 1/2-inch thick. If the slices of mozzarella are larger than the tomatoes, cut the mozzarella slices in half. Layer the tomatoes alternately with the mozzarella on a platter and scatter the basil on top. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Serve at room temperature.

This recipe appeals to me because according to Ina, you can take the basically un flavor -full Roma tomato, cook it slowly to concentrate the flavors, and end up with a great tasting tomato dish.

before cooking

 

after cooking

 

The finished dish:

it's pretty!

 

The verdict:  Ina is right, cooking these tomatoes does concentrate the flavors rather nicely.  The thing I didn’t like was the texture of the tomatoes, they were mushy.  I think I would try this again, but use the tomatoes on bruschetta.

I also think I like it better somewhat chilled.  I will save this one for winter cooking, and try again.

I have been knitting on my Wide Collar Vest, and practicing some crochet, too!  Pictures to come soon.

I’m fortunate enough to live within a short drive to the beach.   As much as I love the beach, sometime it is easier to just stay home and think how much I would like to be at the beach.  Why is that?  This summer I am making the effort to go  as often as I can, and am always rewarded with such a sense of well-being.  Sometimes it’s dinner at the beach, other times it’s to walk the beach, or to bring a chair and knit or read.  Oh, and swim!  The water here in the summer is like bath water. There is a coral reef a short distance from the shore, and people shore dive and snorkel from the beach.  I’m always amazed how busy the beach is at night, too.  It really is a treasure.

ahhhhhaaaaaaaaaa

This couple  had to be in their 80′s, and spent all their time  in the water, swimming.  I hope I’m like that at 80!

~7:30 PM.  No one was in any hurry to leave.