Today I'm playing with the color of my text. What do you think of this pale gray? I quite like it, myself---and that surprises me. I expected it to be more of a strain to read than the bright white, but it might actually be easier on my eyes. Score another one for little sis, who recommended it. Do you like it? Let me know.
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Here's a glimpse of what's on my needles (well, one set of needles) this morning: Anna Dalvi's Fields of Malachite shawl from Ancient Egypt in Lace and Color in Lisa Souza Lace in the Lake Superior colorway. I took this photo with no flash in natural light, but had to use the "enhance" button on iPhoto and then move the temperature setting a little toward the blue. The true color is somewhere between this photo and the one I took using my flash. You can see that image, and the unenhanced flashless photo, below. I've just recently started playing around in iPhoto and HP Photosmart, and it's really interesting how you can make the same photo look much, much better (even Microsoft Word has interesting possibilities). What are your experiences with programs other than Photoshop? Flash versus no flash? Digital cameras in general? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
These apples are lasting longer than expected, thanks to a stomach virus that took out most of my family, one by one. We didn't have the time to cook them or the desire to eat them. But now . . . I adapted this recipe from Latin American Cooking: A treasury of recipes from the South American countries, Mexico and the Caribbean by Susan Bensusan et al, part of 'Round the world cooking library. Judging by all the food stains on the pages, I knew it must be full of delicious recipes.
So far I have only tried a handful of them . . . over and over. (Well, the tortillas I only made once or twice.) Of those, these apples and the Torta de chocolate recipe are my favorites. But there are many entrees and appetizers I have yet to try. I always wonder what someone changed when they adapt a recipe, so I'll tell you: whole wheat instead of white flour, half the sugar (and make it brown!), increase the cinnamon from a single wimpy teaspoon, and don't peel the apples. Also don't bother buttering the dish, since you're adding liquid to it. Stuffed Apples 1/3 cup whole wheat flour 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup butter 1 Tablespoon cinnamon 6 large apples 1/2 cup orange juice 1/4 cup water whipped cream Combine the flour, sugar, butter, and cinnamon. Blend with the fingertips until it holds its shape when squeezed. Fill the centers of the apples with this mixture and sprinkle any remaining filling over the top. Add the orange juice and water. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 to 60 minutes or until the skins are burst. Serve hot with whipped cream. Ancient Egypt in Lace and Color by Anna Dalvi, pub. Cooperative Press, 2012. This beautiful book begins with descriptions of the symbolic significance of the six colors used in the Egyptian art of the Old Kingdom: green, red, white, black, yellow and blue. Not surprisingly, patterns for 12 lace shawls in each of these colors follow, accompanied by summaries of the gods, myths, and places that inspired the designs.
The photos by Caro Sheridan are both lovely and distinct, including images of the shawls laid out flat to reveal every detail. You can tell this photographer is also a knit designer!
Dalvi includes a bibliography for those inclined to delve further into Egyptology for curiosity or inspiration---and indeed, many of the stories piqued my interest. I'm already looking forward to her next book. Disclosure: Cooperative Press sent Kangath a copy of Ancient Egypt in Lace and Color FREE for review. Kangath was not compensated for the preceding review. All opinions expressed in the review are the blog author's and are not necessarily the opinions of Cooperative Press or Anna Dalvi. I bet you're wondering what I did with all the apple peels when I made my pie. Or maybe not. Nevertheless, it's an interesting story. I didn't throw them away or compost them. I saved them. To make syrup! Oh, this is such a yummy recipe. Make it with any amount of peels and try it with pancakes. Apple Peel Syrup apple peels 1/4 cup vinegar 1 cup brown sugar 1 Tablespoon cinnamon 3 cups water 1/4 cup cornstarch 1/4 cup cold water 4 Tablespoons butter Cut the apple peels into small bits and store in vinegar until ready to use. Combine peels, vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, and 3 cups water in a heavy nonreactive saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and peels are tender. Mix cornstarch with water and add to syrup. Stir constantly until syrup thickens and turns clear. Remove from heat, add butter, and stir until melted. This is me in my new tri-color Troche. I didn't have enough worsted weight yarn on hand to make the whole hat out of one color, so I came up with this combo--and it pleases me. Click on the photos for a larger image. I knit one stitch of one color and one of the other for transition round on the brim. The crown was two and two. The pleat was a little trickier. I had a little solid brown left, so I used slipped stitches to continue that color in the pleat while knitting the rest of the round in the multi. There are four little stalactites of the multi growing down from the crown. I plan to sew the pleat a little more firmly in order to make them more effective when worn. You can't tell from this photo, but they look pretty cool. If you plan to knit this pattern for yourself (and I highly recommend it---it's a blast), be sure to check my project page (not up yet---link coming soon) because there are a couple of typos in it. |
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February 2018
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