Jung At Heart

The weather has changed three times now since I posted on Monday. It was gorgeous when I got up this morning --

And now it is cloudy again. More and more trees are bare and the colors of winter are more in evidence.

Yesterday's breakfast with George Mitchell was as good as I hoped it would be.

After a terrific short speech, he schmoozed with us and then we went over to City Hall to vote. Early voting is the happening thing in Maine this year!

I promised to show you the change in Eve's Variation -- the change from red to shade of green beads. I am a lot happier with the way they look --

Not a great picture, but it gives an idea. I should get a lot more done this weekend to show it better.

Can't say this post has much substance, but I am really pushed for time. I want to write some tomorrow about Ravelry and some other things I have been thinking about. Exciting, eh? 

I love the flavors of Moroccan foods. I first encountered them way back in 1964. That summer, the year I graduated from high school, my brother got my friend and me jobs at the World's Fair in New York. We worked just part-time but we were able to spend the summer away from home, exploring New York and the wonders of the Fair. One day we decided to have lunch at the Moroccan pavilion and that day, my love affair with Moroccan food began. So today, a favorite of mine. I have no idea where I first found this recipe or even when. Over time, I have added and subtracted to it so by now it is an interpretation rather than anything like an authentic version. But it is GOOD.

No pictures today -- just try the recipe.

Chicken with Lemon and Olives

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 chicken, 3-4 lbs, cut into 8 pieces use chicken thighs (the dark meat is more flavorful)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 preserved lemon, cut into wedges or fresh lemon, cut into thin slices including peel

1 cup green olives, pitted

½ cup chopped dates or raisins.

In a large, heavy bottomed skillet, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Add the chicken pieces, and brown, skin side down for five minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low, add the garlic and onions. Add spices. Turn chicken pieces over. Add the lemons, olives, raisins. Lower the heat to low, cover, and cook for an hour, until the chicken is cooked through and quite tender.

Serves 4 to 6. Serve with couscous or rice

I'm preparing this tonight!

I'll have photos of how to make preserved lemons next week. Fresh lemons really are okay in this recipe, though of course, preserved ones are even better.

She's wily and seductive, this one. Just when I am feeling uncertain, it all starts to look good again. Like here --

The little trees will look the way they should even though they are much more delicate in this cobweb weight yarn. And I can already tell the beads, tiny as they are, will give enough added weight to make the drape more fluid.

On Eve1, I used a bead mix from WhimBeads.com called Rose Garden -- a lovely mix of reds and greens. But on this version, I am using a mix of green beads in the edging and mixed red and pink beads in the main body of the stole. No compelling reason except that I think they look better with this yarn.

Choices like that -- which color and size of bead, size of needle -- are such a part of knitting lace, aren't they? And this is part of what I so like about it. The key is to feel free enough of the designer's choices to make your own just because you like them. I think this may be what inhibits some who try knitting lace for the first time -- that they really can make different choices because lace is very forgiving and should in fact become a realization of the knitter's vision and taste.

I added a new tool to my armamentarium -- don't you love that word? -- a faux Ott lamp. Knitting on this dark colored yarn has been driving me batty so I broke down and got one and it certainly does make a difference. It isn't a particularly elegant addition to my living room, but decorating has never been my long suit anyway. Ad besides, it is the  living room, and knitting is a big part of how I enjoy living!

I make great pot roast. And actually it is something I learned from my mother. So I'll start this theme off with Pot Roast.

I start with a chuck roast -- like this one:

I prefer flat to roundish and usually around 3 pounds.

I brown it in a little olive oil in my saute pan --

Then I add a couple of quartered onions, several cloves of garlic, a bit of salt and pepper. Around 1/3 C of red wine, a good splash of soy sauce, and a teaspoon of Thai chili garlic paste. The soy adds a nice full flavor -- called umami, a Japanese word meaning savory.

Now put the lid on and set it to simmer -- really just above warm. And let it cook for at least 3 hours -- longer is even better.

And it will look like this.

Some people put carrots and potatoes in with the meat but I prefer to roast additional vegetables instead. You can reduce the liquid in the pan and make it a nice sauce. Or I suppose you could make gravy, but I am not a gravy person so don't tell me about it if you do this.

There you have it -- one of my favorite cold weather comfort meals.

As much as I love the new version of Eve's Temptation -- and I do love it -- I want to finish the original as well. So I am sharing the love between them, working a bit on each one each day.  

Don't you just love those little beaded picot bits? They just delight me. As you can see I haven't gotten far into the second half.

And Eve II -- well, I will place the large bead for the apple today --

The green is so dark it is hard to show you the detail.  I hope you get the idea from this.

In other news, I think I became a real writer this week as I got my first rejection notice. I have a fairy tale I wrote and after much delay and avoidance, I submitted to the Fairy Tale Review. I rather doubted they would accept it because it is fairly long and psychological. But it was important for me to at least submit it. I'm thinking I will make it available as a .pdf download  to anyone who wants to read it.

These fall mornings continue to be spectacular. Yesterday was especially lovely -

That blush of pink was the only bit of sun all day.

The beads for the apples just arrived -- back to work I go!

I obsessed over the start of this new variation on Eve's Temptation. I just didn't like having such a long point on it. I tried this and then that and ripped out and started again at least a half dozen times. Until I finally hit on something I like. And then I had to keep knitting because I *really* like it! In the process, I got a more rounded bottom on it and changed to 11/0 beads, which in these end pieces are a minor element anyway. I may end up liking this one even more than the original!

Here is a shot of my progress as of this morning -- knit on size 1.5 needles in cash/silk:

See how the snakey element is winding up on the sides? I like that. The trunk of the tree is just now taking shape so is hard to see here. I am loving the sinuousness of the curves. 

I did it! I completed the first half! I was working out al the branches on the tree as I knit along, which meant I charted each row as I knit it. . I haven't blocked it yet. But I think it will be about 45" long and 30 inches wide. Because I knit it on size 4 needles rather than something larger, the fabric is dense and this will be warm and cozy. I have to go through the charts and deal with the evil "missing stitch" thing and get it ready to be tested.  But here is the tree--

If any of you are interested in test knitting, drop me an email. I hope to be able to release it by late November but no big rush.