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Making stuff and doing things
Mar. 13th, 2017 09:28 amCooked: lemon curd cakes with poppy seeds:
Saturday morning after rowing, I visited Berkeley Bowl for a couple of items. Green beans were on sale. After some discussion with my friend S, I determined that my preferred method to cook green beans is to start by sauteeing an onion and garlic in some butter, then add the green beans and cook for a minute or two until they turn bright green, then add in stock or water and cover and steam/cook until tender. I added a bit of smoked paprika towards the end.
I also made pancakes and baked bread, roasted two bunches of broccoli, and made a baked pesto pasta dish with the broccoli.
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sytharin got something like 20 different varieties of tomatoes planted. She's going full-bore on the tomato experiment this year to determine what varieties work best for the Bay Area's weird climate.
I didn't quite reach the point of purchasing the sewing machine I'm looking at (Janome HD1000) because based on the reviews, there's a chance with every machine that the machine has a certain type of manufacturing defect, and it's hard to get it dealt with if you order the machine online. In contrast, if you obtain it from a recommended seller, there's a 25-year warrantee. The closest seller is in Alameda, so it's going to take some logistics to get down there. But given that I've waited this long to obtain a sewing machine, those are minor hitches.
Instead, I watched some videos about how to use your favorite pair of pants to make a new pattern for new pants. This guy seems to have a really good idea of what he's talking about. If I have reasonably good success with this, I will branch out into other articles of clothing.
I also paid a visit to the closest local yarn shop, which is pretty conveniently nearby on Solano Ave. I just wanted some cotton yarn so I could knit up dishrags because I am getting tired of dealing with disintegrating "natural" sponges. But it was a good excuse to visit and ogle all the pretty yarns, and I'll go back if I wind up wanting more yarn for some reason.
I don't want to get too many projects going at the same time, but on the other hand it's nice to work on something that I can start and finish quickly.
Saturday morning after rowing, I visited Berkeley Bowl for a couple of items. Green beans were on sale. After some discussion with my friend S, I determined that my preferred method to cook green beans is to start by sauteeing an onion and garlic in some butter, then add the green beans and cook for a minute or two until they turn bright green, then add in stock or water and cover and steam/cook until tender. I added a bit of smoked paprika towards the end.
I also made pancakes and baked bread, roasted two bunches of broccoli, and made a baked pesto pasta dish with the broccoli.
Meanwhile,
sytharin got something like 20 different varieties of tomatoes planted. She's going full-bore on the tomato experiment this year to determine what varieties work best for the Bay Area's weird climate.I didn't quite reach the point of purchasing the sewing machine I'm looking at (Janome HD1000) because based on the reviews, there's a chance with every machine that the machine has a certain type of manufacturing defect, and it's hard to get it dealt with if you order the machine online. In contrast, if you obtain it from a recommended seller, there's a 25-year warrantee. The closest seller is in Alameda, so it's going to take some logistics to get down there. But given that I've waited this long to obtain a sewing machine, those are minor hitches.
Instead, I watched some videos about how to use your favorite pair of pants to make a new pattern for new pants. This guy seems to have a really good idea of what he's talking about. If I have reasonably good success with this, I will branch out into other articles of clothing.
I also paid a visit to the closest local yarn shop, which is pretty conveniently nearby on Solano Ave. I just wanted some cotton yarn so I could knit up dishrags because I am getting tired of dealing with disintegrating "natural" sponges. But it was a good excuse to visit and ogle all the pretty yarns, and I'll go back if I wind up wanting more yarn for some reason.
I don't want to get too many projects going at the same time, but on the other hand it's nice to work on something that I can start and finish quickly.
