kitty companiona

kitty companiona

Thursday, May 3, 2012

On to New Projects

My cooking binge is over.
I made a lot of creative things last week even though I had some serious pain in my left shoulder.

A few months ago I went to the Asian market in Hagerstown, MD.  I bought some Phillipine pastries that were just delicious.  I wondered what the unusual filling was, and when I looked at the ingredient list, it said 'coconut string'.  Last week I went back to the market and found a jar of coconut string and decided to make my own pastries.


I used a regular sweet roll dough from the book 'The Bread Baker's Apprentice'.  It was a very soft dough and I knew it wasn't going to stand up to filling and rolling so I flattened pieces of dough and put them in muffin tins and put the coconut strings in the middle.  After pulling the dough over the filling, I added come crumb topping.  They came out great.


Then I made Chinese style dumplings.


And pasta with shrimp, fake crab, tomatoes and basil in a garlic, butter and white wine sauce.
That was yummy.



And now I'm tired of cooking and ready to go on to other things.

I think my shoulder problem
came from being so cold.  It was in the 40's here last week and I was freezing!  We are out of wood fior the woodstove and I hate to use fue oil with ther cost so high, so we suffered through.  When I get cold my muscles in the neck and shoulders are the first ones to get tight.  After several days, the pain began.

Yesterday was the first in a week that I felt like  could move my arm.  So at breakfast I drew out a design for a rug.  It's a big one, 42 x 52 inches.  That will give me something to work on for a good long while!  I put the grandmother rug away again.  I just couldn't get into it.  This one should use up lots of scraps with all the big flowers.

 

Since it was warmer and I seemed to thaw out.  Zip and I took a trip to Mannings in Eas Berlin for a yarn buying trip.  Recently I joined an online group called 'Dream Sweater' sponsored by Julie from the Knitting at Large blog.  Those of us who live close enough are going to get together in Frederick, MD about once a month and compare our progress and discuss problems.

Since I have always dreamed of making a sweater by designer Kaffe Fassett, that's going to be my project.  I bought this book back in the 1980's and had felt that all his designs were above and beyond my skill level.



     
 This is one of the easier sweaters in the book.  I plan to make a pullover sweater instead of a vest.


I had tried the intarsia type of color knitting years ago and it was a total disaster.  I'm hoping with the patience of advanced age (that's a JOKE!) and maybe more knitting skill, I'll be able to tackle this project.

Here's the yarn.


My little companions will be glad Mommy has lots of things to work on so they can sit close by and give advice.  And play in Mommy's stuff.

Izzy usually site nearby, quietly inconspicuous.  You can talk to her but she does not like a lot of handling.


Deiter loves being touched and played with.


But the play can get a little crazy!  He looks like the Goodyear blimp with legs!!!


If they get bored they can always fight over a box.


I took some pictures of pretty old homes in East Berlin.  I'll show them the next time.
Have a great weekend, everyone!

12 comments:

  1. Awww... Deiter is still the main dude! :-) You made me hungry with all of your delicious cooking pictures! Good luck with the sweater... too difficult for me!

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  2. Oh my those dumplings and pasta looked great (i'm not a "coconut person") Now I'm hungry! Love the colors you will be using for your pullover! And especially love the kitty pics! That Dieter - he's the most handsome big guy around!

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  3. Pat, it's a good thing that I don't live closer. I'd come to sample your gourmet food. You make food look so good.

    your sweet bread looks yummy.
    Funny, I've been playing with sweet bread too this week and it says to chill the dough for 2 hours before rolling.

    Your rug design looks great as usual. I wish I had your drawing talent.

    I know that your sweater will turn out wonderful.

    I get the same arthritic pain in my neck and shoulders, my hand, back and feet when it's damp cold. It tense my muscles and it burns. Hope that the warm weather is coming soon.

    Hugs, JB

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  4. the food souns and looks yummy. Sounds like fun getting together.
    Cathy

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  5. Always love to hear what you're up to. Wow what a tummy on your buddy!

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  6. Those rolls look like ensaimadas. My sons are half Filipino. My ex-mother-in-law used to make these. They are so yummy. I gave my recipe to my son who cooks for a living. Sometimes they put a sprinkle of cheese on the top.

    I always love to see the kitties. Our Sophie is finally bonded to us...still a lot of kitten in her, she likes to bite and scratch, but she likes us to hold her and purrs and purrs!

    I can't wait to see that rug come to life.
    Have a wonderful weekend!
    Hugs,
    Courtney

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  7. I love the picture of Deiter's big juicy tummy, it just cries out for snorgles!!! Good luck with the pullover, your wool is beautiful colours and I'm certain the sweater will be lovely :-)

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  8. Those treats look really tasty. I love both dumplings and coconut. I had some type of coconut roll thing years ago when I went to the Philippines. So good.

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  9. Love the kitty pics, especially the Goodyear blimp with legs!
    That is one big rug you've drawn out. I look forward to you posting progress. Your knitting will be wonderful, too. You are just too talented!
    Hugs :)
    Lauren

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  10. Yum your dumplings and pastries look wonderful! I've often been tempted to knit a Kaffe Fassett sweater but they look so complicated. He's amazing.

    Kitties are so cute.

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  11. Hello from one cat person to another....yum, shrimp is my favorite...and your home looks grand. I enjoyed your blog!

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  12. Meant to drop by a while ago but blogger would't let me. Your food looks so yummy ...funny thing is I was thinking of making a sweet dough after watching Martha Stewart baking. Is the coconut in strings? ...it sounds like something that was found on a pastry when I was a child.
    I have never heard of that style of knitting ...sounds as though it would be hard but beautiful ...good luck ...love your yarns.

    Thanks for dropping by ...glad your aches and pains are a little better ....is Zip still a non smoker?...give him a hug and say well done.xx

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