Socks

I didn't get very much done this evening, because I've been taking a knitting class on Monday evenings. I admit that I'm a geek and was totally enchanted by a book of folk socks. Making socks is probably one of the most boring and mundane things that most people could think of making, but I think it would be awesome to be able to produce something useful out of a ball of yarn and two sticks. Okay, four sticks because you knit socks on four double-pointed needles. Tonight was the last knitting class for me, and I finally cast on my first pair. Okay, that's a lie, I actually tried to cast them on this weekend but kept having to rip them back apart because I have the attention span of a four year old and kept losing count of stitches. But this evening I sort of did better, and you see my effort thus far. We are driving down to Alabama this weekend and that gives me 13 hours of sock knitting productivity BOTH WAYS. Minus nap time of course. :)

P. S. The cake was a hit at work today, I brought home an empty container. Things don't last long once the engineers find them. I think that when the first one discovers food, they lay down a chemical scent like ants to lead the rest of them to it. I did decide that using the banana as an egg replacer does work, but the amount of sugar should be reduced a bit because it was just slightly too sweet for my liking. So maybe I'd try 3/4 cup instead of 1 cup.

Pond in a Box

I have really been enjoying my ponds, and one of the priorities that I have is to set up one at our new place. Aside from the liner, pond plants are one of the biggest expenses in your setup and I wanted to take some of my existing ones with me. So today I went out and divided them and have them wrapped up for their journey. Our smaller pond had gotten very overgrown, so it was a pretty mucky job. So this is going to be the seed for a new pond. Unfortunately I can't take my fish with me because of the distance. :( My box contains: butterfly ginger, horsetails, purple and yellow irises, pickerel rush, umbrella palm, and a water lily. The water lily is one that I bought on eBay, it has dark pink flowers and maroon lily pads.

Notice how I didn't mention that I had water clover in my box? I thought it was really cute the way that the little four leaf clovers floated on the surfact. And they are, but they send out runners EVERYWHERE. I tore out every bit of it that I could find, but I'm sure there are still scraps of it that will grow out. At least I won't be here to see it. >D

So tonight I baked a Pineapple-Banana Nut Snack Cake. It is part of my experiments with egg-free baking. It smells absolutely divine! I'm going to take some in to work tomorrow. Here's the recipe, adapted from the Aunt Bee's Mayberry Cookbook:

Pineapple-Banana Nut Snack Cake

1 ½ c. all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 c. sugar
½ tsp. salt
¾ c. oil
¾ c. crushed pineapple with juice
1 banana, mashed well
1 c. banana, diced
¾ tsp. vanilla extract
½ c. chopped pecans

Grease a 9-inch square cake pan. In a large bowl sift together the flour and baking soda. Add the cinnamon, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the oil, pineapple, bananas and vanilla. Stir to blend, but do not use a mixer. Fold the pecans into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.


It came out really good, but make sure that your pan is 9-INCH. I used an 8x8 pan instead (it's not like it was marked), and when I pulled the cake out at the end of 30 minutes it still jiggled in the middle. If all you have is an 8x8, you can do what I did which is to cover it with aluminum foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or so until a toothpick comes out clean.

Countdown - 28 days

We are 28 days out from our planned move to Alabama. Our neighbor across the street is buying our house, and everything seems to be going smoothly (knock on a sylvan's head). We spent the afternoon outside working on whipping the back yard into shape. It's been raining quite a bit lately, and it's been like a jungle out there. I did the weed whacking while D. mowed. It's been cooling off slightly in the later afternoon, so it wasn't too bad.

I agreed to help one of the ladies at church make a quilt for the fall harvest festival. Unfortunately I'd already committed to it before I found out about the move. So I got my required block rows put together earlier today. I am also working on a TOP SEKRIT project that I've been having fun with.

So one of my favorite dishes to get at the Mexican restaurant is one of their vegetarian platters with a potato burrito. I like them a lot, but they way that they cook it is not consistent from one visit to the next. Sometimes it is plain, sometimes greasy, and sometimes good. So I have been wanting to figure out how to make my own, without using dairy products. I made some tonight for supper and they turned out pretty good. Very spicy. I'm going to be making friends with my Tum's bottle tonight. :( Here's the recipe I used for the filling:

Spicy Potato Burrito Filling
1 Tbs. canola oil
1 onion, chopped
4 c. potatoes (plus or minus), sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 can Rotel tomatoes or other brand of canned tomatoes with green chiles
1-2 tsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. smoked spanish paprika
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c. green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the skillet over medium heat and add canola oil. Add the onion and saute until onions begin to brown. Add the potatoes and toss to combine. Cover tightly and bake until potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes. Remove skillet from the oven.

Uncover and add the tomatoes, brown sugar, paprika, jalapeno, salt and pepper. Add a little extra water if it looks too dry. Place on stovetop over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes. Add green onions and cilantro, toss to combine. Remove from heat and serve.


I really tried to take a picture of it to post, because it makes a very pretty filling, but my camera doesn't take pictures well inside. My house is too dim and all of the pictures came out looking like baby poo. I'll have to make efforts to do better. :)

Goblins in my Garden

So most normal people have gnomes in their garden, helpful sorts that keep pests out and keep some order in. Not me, I have goblins in mine. They kill plants overnight, bring in ants and slugs, and set up tacky ornaments to ruin my reputation as a serious gardener. This isn't necessarily a gardening blog, but I do plan to bore people with my poor garden photography. We are getting ready to move soon and I want it to help me keep in touch with my friends. So, without further ado, here is my first ever attempt at blogging. :)

This is my lotus plant that finally bloomed this summer, my most impressive gardening accomplishment to date. ;)