It's bootie time

Hi, Everyone,

It's a warm Wednesday summer night in San Diego.  I feel good and I'm listening to "the King":  Love me tender.


I have a few new things to show you. First some crocheted booties.  

No idea why I made so many.  They're like potato chips. I just couldn't stop. 

Then I liked the "Peruvian mix" colorway so much,  I got some more and made Dan a hat, Me a hair band, A sutra case and a "manly" pair of slippers, size 11.  Dan doesn't like that style, so we'll see who gets them at Christmas.  Not one of the "big feet" guys, LOL.

 Tonight was the annual stash sale at the Knitting Guild.  I bought this necklace partially finished.  After I got home I finished it.  

Like the Hallmark bag? LOL.  

I made turkey mole today and it was out of this world.  Wanna know how to make it?


Turkey Mole 


Break up about 6 large dried chili peppers into a heat-proof bowl and add  about 2 cups boiling water.  After a few minutes process (blender, food processor, stick blender, etc) until smooth.  We're doing the modern version of the molcajete here.


In a crock pot put:

The chili sauce
1 frozen turkey hindquarter (it will thaw as it cooks)
3 minced cloves garlic
1 large onion, chopped
6 ribs celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
3 diced potatoes (after they are well cooked they will thicken the sauce)
1 round Mexican chocolate 
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried oragano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
cayenne to taste for heat ( I used 1/2 teaspoon)
1 cup tomato sauce (leftover marinera is what I used.  A couple of sliced tomatoes works, too.)
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup wine vinegar
pinch dried thyme
Salt and pepper


Add water to cover.  Cook on low 2 hours. Cut the turkey into chunks and return to the pot, including bones.   Stir everything well.  Now that the chocolate and peanut butter are softened, they will mix in easily.  Let 'er rip for another few hours, until the smell is just killing you.  Serve over rice, or anyway you want!  I imagine a vegetarian version could be made by omitting the turkey and adding garbanzo beans and olive oil. 
 
Lilo sez." Hi!"  She's headed out the window to see what is afoot.


Now that I wrote about it,  I have to have a taste of mole before I go to bed. 


Goodnight.
Julie

Coming back, Happy New Year

Hello, Happy New Year!

Sorry I've been away so long.  The holidays were a busy time for me.  I'm a Buddhist who was raised Christian.  Dan's what I lovingly call a BU-Jew.  Relatives of every possible combination.   So we just celebrate ALL  the holidays.  Even Hindu New Year with an Indian  friend, Kesh, some years.  Now that I think of it, not since his wife passed away.  Now that's sad.  This year I'll have to make a point to look him up.

Result of all this holiday foolishness?  About a hundred hand knit gifts.  And a bout with bronchitis that did not help.  But I'm back now. 

This year I'm pruning the gift list and starting earlier.  I already have 6 put away in the "magic drawer".  Sigh, I say this every year.   I never learn, do I?

Last night I finished a fun pair of slippers from yarn I got from my garage-sale-loving friend, Nhien.  The ball band of one of the balls was dated 1961. Great, intense colors.   These are very purple, darkly luminous psychadelic purple, even though they photographed more blue.  The pattern is from the same era as the yarn, very retro.



I also recently (since New Years)  finished a keyhole scarf with a ruffled edge.



And a pair of bright orange socks in a small women's size, with fufu  yarn along the top edge to trim the cuff.  In my mind, I have my friends classified by the size of their feet, LOL.  There are several who might fit these small socks.  Hmmm, I wonder who likes orange, I mean really likes 'em really orange. And has small feet.



And a Sutra case for an English language Sutra.  I like the floral lining.  The outside looks like Mexican tooled leather, but it's a suede-like fabric.



And another Sutra case sized for a Japanese language Sutra, much smaller.  This one has a piece of Guatamalan fabric from my friend Kim's mother (who is Guatamalan) in it.  The lining is the same pink and black floral that wraps around to the front flap: outside shot.



and inside shot. This one has an added extra inside pocket.  My Nam Myoho Renge Kyo card for scale.   I only had the one small piece of the great Guatamalan fabric, so I had to build up from there.



I have been reading Poetry in Stitches by Solveig Hisdal and now put colors together I never would have before, like rust and pink. The olde time fiber artists from Norway had a very different color aesthetic.   I'm beginning to like it.    I hope they would approve.

Tonight it was pouring cats and dogs, (winter in San Diego) so we decided we needed comfort food.  We're both getting over colds.  We went to the Souplantation in Point Loma.  Hot soup and salad and muffins, perfect for a cold rainy night... 

Keep warm and dry, where ever you are.

Lilo, busy reading the mail, looks up to say goodnight!



Ta Ta,
Julie

• Location:home
• Mood: full
• Music:Gardens of the world