Experiments in Food: Gorgonzola Pasta w/Kale and Carrots

Disclaimer: I fully realize how lame it is to post about food and not include a picture. I’m currently in the process of researching digital cameras, so that future installments of Experiments in Food will have pictures of the finished product.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of kale, chopped

1 smallish bunch of carrots, peeled and chopped

half a head of garlic

about 8oz of dried pasta (I used strozapretti)

4 oz or so of delicious gorgonzola (I used Rogue Creamery’s Oregonzola)

4 oz of half and half (I didn’t use quite this much, and added some water–probably would have used milk if I had any)

about a tablespoon of butter

Method:

Start pasta water. Peel garlic and smash with the flat part of your knife. Peel and chop carrots. Heat up some olive oil (your discretion, I never measure this part) and once it’s hot, add the garlic and saute for a few minutes. Add the carrots. While the carrots and garlic are cooking, wash and chop the kale. When the carrots are bright orange and the garlic is getting soft, add the kale. Cook veggies until kale is bright green and carrots are a little soft, but not mushy.

In a separate saucepan, combine the cheese, half and half and butter over low heat. Stir this mixture often until it’s smooth, then turn off heat.

Once the pasta is finished cooking and drained, combine veggies, sauce and pasta. Top with freshly ground pepper and extra cheese if you’d like.

Verdict: Tasty!

What I Would Change Next Time: Not much. I might use a smaller pasta, though, so that I could get a more even amount of veg and pasta in each bite.

Wine: Image du Sud Cotes du Rhone 2005

Edited to add: You know, some pine nuts or walnuts would have been a nice addition, now that I think of it.

Thoughts on Socks

In my previous post on socks, I didn’t really get into detail about my experience with sock knitting, just how obsessed I am with it. Here’s a little more about how I feel about the technical part of it. I’m not adding any links or photos in the body of this post, but I will add a few links at the end.

I’ve only done about four or five pairs of socks at this point, mostly with worsted weight yarn. I tend to really like small, portable projects that can be finished relatively quickly. I have done many hats and arm/wrist-warmers, so socks seem like a natural extension of that philosophy. They knit up fairly quickly, and I can knit them on the bus or while watching a movie or listening to the radio. I like that they give me the option of trying new techniques like lace and cables on a small scale before committing to a larger project that incorporates them. Of course, I could just practice them on yarn from my stash, but it would be less fun, and I like to have something to show for my efforts.

I have tried both the Magic Loop method and knitting on double-points for socks. I prefer the double-points, but mostly because I don’t like maneuvering my circular needle for the Magic Loop– it gets twisty and I feel like I spend more time moving it around than knitting. If anyone has any pointers about this, please feel free to comment. I’m open to trying again, but for now I’m sticking to double-points. I’ve been using Clover Takumi Bamboo needles, but just by default since they’re what my LYS has the most of, and I have a cat that likes to chew on the ends of them.

In terms of construction, I’ve only done cuff-down socks, though I’m interested in trying to do them from the toe up. This month’s Interweave Knits has an entire section dedicated to toe-up socks, and I ordered some lightweight Socks That Rock yarn that I think I’ll use to try out this method. I have done one pair of socks with a short-row heel, but I think that until I get better about modifying patterns to fit my foot more precisely, I’ll stick to the heel flap and gusset for awhile.

As far as fiber is concerned, I’m really loving merino right now. In general, wool is my fiber of choice, and now that I’ve knitted socks out of merino, I don’t have a huge interest in using any other fibers. I’ve used Cascade 220 and Noro Kureyon for thick, warm socks, but now that I have a pair made of merino, I think it’s worth the treat. I love how they feel on my feet, and I enjoy the tactile sensation of knitting merino. It also gives me a chance to work with beautiful hand-dyed yarns that I might not be able to afford for a larger garment, like a sweater.

In the recent weeks since I became sock-obsessed, I have noticed that there is no shortage of sock knitters on the internet. I’ve seen many knit-alongs and sock clubs, but I appear to be late for the party. Is this actually sock season? Though I enjoy knitting socks anyway, maybe next year I’ll try to get in on the sock club action for some camaraderie.

Cascade 220
Noro Kureyon
Blue Moon Fiber Arts, home of Socks That Rock
Interweave Knits

Cute

This picture is dark, but I love it anyway. For additional cuteness, there are plenty of dark and blurry pics of these two on my Flickr.

The Wheel

Ok, so I put it together one evening a couple weeks back, with very minimal help, over about 3.5 hours. I am so proud of myself! Of course, I haven’t used it yet due to the sock obsession I’m currently experiencing, but I’m still glad I bought it.

In its box:

Parts (there was a bunch of hardware, too, but my cat wouldn’t leave it alone if it was uncovered):

Parts, part two (see? there he is wondering where the hardware is):

Front:

Back:

Sock Obsession

The sock yarn I mentioned a couple weeks ago arrived the same day I posted about it. Since then, I have finished one pair of socks, and one sock of a second pair. During the last couple of weeks I have been printing out (and purchasing) sock patterns, browsing for sock yarn, and reading sock blogs. Yesterday I went on an internet sock yarn shopping spree. I think it’s safe to say I have a sock obsession.

Yarn: Socks that Rock mediumweight
Colorway: Fire on the Mountain
Pattern: Rockin’ Sock pattern

I had long admired the patterns of Cookie A. on Knitty, but wasn’t sure I had the patience or sock expertise to do them justice. Last Saturday, while checking out Knitter’s Anonymous for the first time, I found a great pattern that seemed like exactly what I needed: something beyond plain old ribbing, but something that didn’t seem like a lot to keep track of. I’ve just finished the first sock, and I’m smitten. The pattern is easy to follow, and it’s really boosted my confidence level–I’m going for a more involved pattern next time. I don’t have a picture of the completed sock yet, but here it is in progress (apologies for the bad photo, I promise to put a better one up once the pair is finished):

Yarn: Socks that Rock mediumweight
Colorway: Love in Idleness
Pattern: BFF Socks by Cookie A.

Depending on which yarn arrives first, my next socks will either be from the Monkey pattern or Gothic Spire pattern, both by Cookie A. Since I’d never used either of the yarns before (and because I’m kind of a yarn-nerd), I ordered the yarn specified in both of the patterns on-line (I have only seen one of them in my LYS, and in colors I wasn’t interested in). These will be my first purchases from both Shelridge Farms and The Loopy Ewe and I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of both orders. I also ordered some sock blockers from The Loopy Ewe, along with the Gothic Spire pattern. I’m pretty sure The Loopy Ewe will be getting plenty of my paycheck in the future– there are so many sock yarns there that I might actually be able to burn out my sock obsession without using the same yarn twice.

Big props to Cookie A. (is it alright if I just call you Cookie?) for having such cool patterns, and especially such cool FREE patterns. Thank you for sharing.

Today’s Music

Wilco’s “Sky Blue Sky”

Broken Social Scene “You Forgot it in People”

I Can’t Help It

The first time I logged in to WordPress and saw I Can Has Cheezburger?, it only struck me as moderately funny. Sure, I love cute animal pics as much as the next person, but it was difficult for me to get past the grammar. I’m sure that there is a word for that sort of thing, but it interests me less to find out about it than it does to actually begin speaking (or typing) that way, which is very little. (That said, if you know what it’s called, or why they do that, feel free to comment).

Little did I know, those kitties (and other small animals) were wriggling their way into my brain and now I can’t help but check out what the lolcats are doing on a regular basis. It’s still painful for me to read the comments, but now I LOL (ouch) at many of the captions and find myself imagining captions for all the various adorable things my pets do. Beware internet, beware.

Coffee

I think I need to quit drinking coffee again. It’s almost 9:30 (pm) right now and I feel like a zombie. All I can do is stare straight ahead. My thoughts are barely coherent. I’m not asleep, but I’m certainly not awake. All day long I’ve been in this state of semi-consciousness. I’m just moving through my life.

Yes, I am trying to sort through many things right now, but maybe I’m having such a hard time doing that because of the coffee. The highs and the lows. The short bursts of fake energy.

I haven’t always been like this. A few months back, I went on a caffeine hiatus. After a couple days without it, I was sleeping well, feeling happy and energetic, and I didn’t even miss drinking coffee.

I just hope that if I quit again, I’ll get my focus back…and that I’ll finally get a decent night’s sleep.

Crafty

I just finished a spinning class. No, not the formerly trendy class-based cycling type of spinning. Yarn spinning. I wasn’t really sure I would like it, but Dave’s mom had been singing the praises of spinning one’s own yarn practically since I first met her (and she recently acquired some lovely angora goats and a couple of shetland sheep), so I gave it a shot.

Here’s the thing: I LOVE it. I love it enough to have purchased my very own spinning wheel. My project for this weekend is to put it together, since it’s currently living in pieces in a flat box, not unlike the kind you might get your shelving in at Ikea. It’s supposed to look like this once I’ve got it together. When I am sucessful, you can count on seeing pictures.

I’ve surprised myself with this whole spinning thing since I’m not usually the kind of person who has a lot of patience for learning something new–rather, I’m not very patient with things I’m not good at. I have learned the basics of spinning quickly enough, but it’s going to take a while before I have yarn I am really proud of. I know this, and I am ok with it. Spinning just speaks to me in a different way than knitting does. A woman in my spinning class said it perfectly when when she said that spinning is more about the process than knitting is. In my (admittedly limited) experience, it’s often quite difficult with knitting to remember to enjoy the process, instead of just looking ahead to the finished product.

The same woman in the class was also in the process of knitting some beautiful socks that she finished before our class was over. They were knit from Socks That Rock yarn. I was totally unfamiliar with Blue Moon Fiber Arts before this, and I have a feeling that was probably a good thing for my wallet. I’m sure that part of the reason that Amy’s socks are so beautiful is because she’s a talented knitter, but her talent, combined with the colorway in that soft, beautiful yarn totally inspired me to knit a pair of stripey socks. I’m now eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Rockin’ Sock pattern and two gorgeous colorways.

New Music

These are new and good. That will be all for now.

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins “Rabbit Fur Coat”

Neko Case “Live from Austin, TX”

The Shins “Wincing the Night Away”