The hat came hot off the needles, as she knitted it up in a day, wore it for the Tamaleta...or Fiesta de Tamal, as Luis Munoz would call it...
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Michelle can't stop eating Tamales!
The hat came hot off the needles, as she knitted it up in a day, wore it for the Tamaleta...or Fiesta de Tamal, as Luis Munoz would call it...
Friday, January 1, 2010
coming next...new years day eggplant parmigiana at the Blairs!
Spent New's Years Eve at Joan's - knitting and drinking bubbly - YES it can be done!
Currently working on the Eggplant - stay tuned
Currently working on the Eggplant - stay tuned
Tamales - The Perfect 'in between' Culinary Event of the Year....
Shop, return gifts, watch DVD's, play video games, pound the pavement power walking, ski, relax....??????
OR start a brand new tradition : Host a Tamaleta - that's Spanish for Tamale Party! (Or I just made the word up) OK, the official name is "Fiesta del Tamal" according to Luis Munoz, expert translator...and great South American Jazz musician.
It was lots of fun, and my favorite worlds collided as we used YARN (thin cotton classic, variegated) to wrap up the little presents of turkey, tomatillo sauce and masa. There was also a batch of sweet tamales, with bitttersweet chocolate wrapped in corn husks....try it instead of fighting the lines at the stores next year!
Where's Lou???? He's getting the shots of Patron ready for us!
after the tamales were devoured, we returned to our knitting posts and watched 30 Rock episodes. What a perfect way to end the closing days of the year!
slippers for Paloma
Here's a darling pair of slippers for Paloma - made out of Noro
Pom Pom's courtesy of Meridith's cardboard and knitting wisdom
(to be mailed tomorrow, Jan 2nd)
Christmas 2009
Christmas is over. It swoops in, much like Santa Claus on his sleigh, drops off some pretty wonderful gifts, and gallops off into the night, until next year....I didn't get to knit alot before Christmas, but I made up for lost time after Christmas when we drove to Truckee the next day.
Christmas is always a bittersweet time for me, I miss both my parents the entire 2 days. So it's really about showing up, giving gifts, eating the festival of 7 fishes on the 24th, and drinking Maria's Martini's to numb out the ache in my heart that Clara and Frank won't be there anymore. We started a new tradition (I guess last year, but I don't remember it, due to the Martinis)...get a bottle of Anisette (Marie Blizzard, or Brizard?)
and toast to everyonewho has passed on...we sat for a good hour talking about Uncle Jimmy (Caringella), Aunt Sue, Aunt Clara,Uncle Joe, Frank and Clara, and all the great things we love and miss about them. There is healing with verbal communication. Then we opened gifts, laughed and I felt my shoulders were a bit lighter....
Christmas is always a bittersweet time for me, I miss both my parents the entire 2 days. So it's really about showing up, giving gifts, eating the festival of 7 fishes on the 24th, and drinking Maria's Martini's to numb out the ache in my heart that Clara and Frank won't be there anymore. We started a new tradition (I guess last year, but I don't remember it, due to the Martinis)...get a bottle of Anisette (Marie Blizzard, or Brizard?)
and toast to everyonewho has passed on...we sat for a good hour talking about Uncle Jimmy (Caringella), Aunt Sue, Aunt Clara,Uncle Joe, Frank and Clara, and all the great things we love and miss about them. There is healing with verbal communication. Then we opened gifts, laughed and I felt my shoulders were a bit lighter....
Post Crock Pot Episode : Thanksgiving 2009
We spent Thanksgiving this year with the Citrins. It was interesting to note how LARGE their family has grown in the past 4 years...kinda scary for me. Sometimes I look at Sara and Michelle, and try to imagine what it will be like when they both have 'significant others' and possibly even children! Muni and Anneka were children in our wedding, and it's always fun to see how old they are now.It really makes me feel like it was just yesterday, living in Oakland, spoiling them rotten while Bessie worked on her PhD....
Now there is massive expansion in the Citrin - world. Muni married Naya, and they had Paloma (ok, she's very very cute, possibly the cutest I know). Anneka brought wonderful Amani to our family and Amani brought her wonders of books, movies and hi-tech knowledge to our Thanksgiving party. Bessie came, and was beaming from head to toe, to have her whole clan in one spot, along with our small clan (Michelle, don't grow up, ever!, stay 4 forever! - I say that because I never really wanted Michelle to grow up, and 4 was for me, the perfect age to maintain for life....)
Pictures to follow, once I find someone to email me, who took the family shot at Alice Keck Park the day after Thanksgiving....Oh and the bird was fabuloso, the stuffing and fixings delicioso, and pies fantastico!
We spent Thanksgiving this year with the Citrins. It was interesting to note how LARGE their family has grown in the past 4 years...kinda scary for me. Sometimes I look at Sara and Michelle, and try to imagine what it will be like when they both have 'significant others' and possibly even children! Muni and Anneka were children in our wedding, and it's always fun to see how old they are now.It really makes me feel like it was just yesterday, living in Oakland, spoiling them rotten while Bessie worked on her PhD....
Now there is massive expansion in the Citrin - world. Muni married Naya, and they had Paloma (ok, she's very very cute, possibly the cutest I know). Anneka brought wonderful Amani to our family and Amani brought her wonders of books, movies and hi-tech knowledge to our Thanksgiving party. Bessie came, and was beaming from head to toe, to have her whole clan in one spot, along with our small clan (Michelle, don't grow up, ever!, stay 4 forever! - I say that because I never really wanted Michelle to grow up, and 4 was for me, the perfect age to maintain for life....)
Pictures to follow, once I find someone to email me, who took the family shot at Alice Keck Park the day after Thanksgiving....Oh and the bird was fabuloso, the stuffing and fixings delicioso, and pies fantastico!
Crock of S*#$*((@*&$T....
Hi all! Okay I'm behind on my postings...so let's start with the Crock of Shit episode.....
I decided to make my wonderful daughters a nice pot of homemade beef stew-just like Mom made it....
Got the nice lean chunks of sirloin, braised it ever so sweetly over the stove with some olive oil, garlic, a dash of salt and sprinkle of flour....smelled yummy throughout the house. Nothing like the smell of browning beef and garlic to add aroma to the homestead...
Since I have to work for a living, and not stay home all day mothering my beef stew, I decided to pull down the good old crock pot. I've had it since the 80's, beige, baby blue and pink to proof the decade it came from (like my wedding dish set). Threw the beef in with all the delicious sauce it created all by itself, added plenty of water to get through the day....turned the crock pot on HIGH to make sure it stay at optimal heat, and went off to my meeting....
At 3:30 I called Sara, and she turned it off dutily...didn't LOOK in the pot, but it was off. When I came home at 5:00, it was a crock of black poop. Sorry, but it's really the only way to describe it. I couldn't believe a crock pot could burn something so badly...isn't that why they are used, to AVOID burning something while you're away? I mean, my culinary skills are limited, and already have a low percentage of success (50/50) and burning is my worst culinary defect. I really was disappointed in the whole crock industry, and have sworn them off for the rest of my life. I actually threw out the whole pot, lid, poop, and all.
Now I'm ready for that pressure cooker!
I decided to make my wonderful daughters a nice pot of homemade beef stew-just like Mom made it....
Got the nice lean chunks of sirloin, braised it ever so sweetly over the stove with some olive oil, garlic, a dash of salt and sprinkle of flour....smelled yummy throughout the house. Nothing like the smell of browning beef and garlic to add aroma to the homestead...
Since I have to work for a living, and not stay home all day mothering my beef stew, I decided to pull down the good old crock pot. I've had it since the 80's, beige, baby blue and pink to proof the decade it came from (like my wedding dish set). Threw the beef in with all the delicious sauce it created all by itself, added plenty of water to get through the day....turned the crock pot on HIGH to make sure it stay at optimal heat, and went off to my meeting....
At 3:30 I called Sara, and she turned it off dutily...didn't LOOK in the pot, but it was off. When I came home at 5:00, it was a crock of black poop. Sorry, but it's really the only way to describe it. I couldn't believe a crock pot could burn something so badly...isn't that why they are used, to AVOID burning something while you're away? I mean, my culinary skills are limited, and already have a low percentage of success (50/50) and burning is my worst culinary defect. I really was disappointed in the whole crock industry, and have sworn them off for the rest of my life. I actually threw out the whole pot, lid, poop, and all.
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