Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Grandma would be proud . . .

At least, I hope she would!  You see, every year at Thanksgiving, my grandmother would make home-made ravioli.  I don't remember having them at any other time, although I'm sure she must have made them more often for my grandfather.  This year, I decided to try to keep the tradition.  Grammy taught me to make pasta dough, and I've made fettuccine often.  But I've never attempted ravioli.  So, how did it go?  Well, first I made the well of flour.  Then I added the eggs to the middle.



The next step is to mix it all together.   This part is always pretty scary because the eggs want to run all over the place.  I'm getting pretty good at keeping them under control though.  Before I knew it, I had my dough.



Next up, roll out the dough into strips. Then place the bottom layer into the ravioli mold.  My grandmother bought both the pasta maker and the ravioli molds for my mom.  I'm the only one who has ever used them.  My mom isn't Italian - and can't be bothered cooking anything too fussy.



Okay, now it's time for the filling. These are just plain cheese ravioli, but I'm looking forward to experimenting with more exotic fillings once my technique improves. Mmmmm, lobster ravioli!! Once filled, the second layer of pasta goes on and the mold gets rolled with a rolling pin to seal and cut the ravioli.



The last step is to break them apart.  Oh and boil them up for a taste-test, of course!!



In usual "bad blogger" style I forgot to take a picture of them on the plate before we gobbled them up.  So, how were they?  Honestly?  Eeeehh.  Pete thought they were great, but I can see room for improvement.  First of all, I need to roll the sheets of dough thinner.  I was afraid they'd be too delicate and break so I guess I left them a bit on the thick side.  I also need to put more filling in.  Neither of these things were much of a surprise.  I made 60 ravioli when the recipe was supposed to make 72 and that I had a ton of filling left over.  So yes, next time, thinner and more filling!

Are you trying anything new for Thanksgiving this year?

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

It's done, it's really really done!!!

At long last, Hypoteneuse is cast off.  And blocked.  And FO shots have been taken.  (Click on any of them to get a better look!)


Cast on: 14 February 2008
Completed: 25 October 2009
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpaca Alpaca Silk - Spring
Needles: US7 and US8

This took me forever, mostly because I get bored with scarves / stoles.  This was well worth the effort though.  It's so versatile.  I can wear it as a scarf.

Yikes, not sure what's with the big hair.  It was a windy day!!

I can wrap it around my head on a really cold day.


And if I drape it over my arms, I can even fly!!!


Okay, yes, I may have gone a bit overboard with the pictures.


Can you blame me? After all, this was on the needles for almost two years!!  And we found such a pretty spot for the photo shoot.  You'll humor me with one more picture, right??


Monday, November 23, 2009

Meme Monday - Couple's Meme

I saw this MeMe over on Allison's blog.  It's probably more than you ever wanted to know about me and Pete . . . but it is MeMe Monday.  So here we go.


How long have you been together?
Our first date was on June 26, 1999.  We were married on June 26, 2004.  Because I'm dorky like that.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
We met in March of 1999.  It's kind of a long story, but also kind of amusing.  A friend of mine kept asking me to go to a Singles Group with her.  I wasn't interested - I was convinced there wouldn't be any "good" guys there.  She talked another friend into going with her.  They both used to pester me to go with them.  One week, the Singles Group meeting was going to be at a restaurant that made The Best nachos so I agreed to go - just for the nachos.  I met Pete that night and decided the Singles Group wasn't that bad.  The rest is history.  Oh, and those two friends who talked me into going to the group?  They are both still single.

Who asked whom out?
I gave him my phone number.  Actually, I was too chicken, so a friend gave it to him for me.  A few days later, he called and asked me out.

How old are each of you?
Oh geez, you would have to ask.  No snickers, okay?  I am 41.  Pete is 35.  Shut up.

Whose siblings do you see the most?
Pete's.  My brother is in Colorado and we only see him every few years.  Pete's brother was in Virginia.  Then he was in Utah for a while, so we didn't see him much.  Now he's renting an apartment a few towns away from us until the New Year, so we see him several times a week.

Did you go to the same school?
No.  Even if we had grown up in the same town, we wouldn't have ever been in the same school at the same time.  Unless I stayed back a few years or he skipped a few grades - or both.

Are you from the same home town?
We aren't even from the same home state.

Who is smarter?
I'm not really sure.  We both did really well in school.  Pete probably uses more knowledge on his job.  I probably have more common sense and a better memory.

Who is the most sensitive?
Most certainly me.


Where do you eat out most as a couple?
I'm not sure we really have a favorite place.  It depends on what kind of food we're in the mood for.  We are lucky to have a bunch of really great restaurants in this area.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Probably to San Diego last February.

Who has the craziest exes?
I don't know.  Me?  I certainly have the most exes.  (That doesn't make me sound trampy, does it??)

Who has the worst temper?
Me me me me me!!!!  Poor Pete, I don't know how he puts up with me!

Who does the cooking?
I do.  Pete's not a bad cook.  But he's a slow cook.  And a very messy cook.  So I do most of the cooking.  He usually makes breakfast on the weekends though.  And if we want chicken cutlets, he always makes them.  His are a lot better than mine.  Not sure why, but they are always so juicy and yummy.  (Great, now I'm hungry.)

Who is the neat-freak?
That's me again.  He is a slob.  When he had his apartment in New Jersey and we were doing the long-distance thing, I used to take a week of vacation time to stay with him a few times a year.  I always spent the first few days cleaning his apartment.


Who is more stubborn?
I was going to say me again, but he's pretty stubborn too.  In a battle of wills, he's usually the one who gives in though.

Who hogs the bed?
Not me this time!!!  He constantly migrates to my side of the bed in his sleep.  K.C. sleeps on my side too.  I have no room!!

Who wakes up earlier?
On week days, he gets up first and I get up while he's eating breakfast.  On weekends, I'm always the first one up.

Where was your first date?
Tavern On Main. After dinner, we walked on the beach and sat on a bench and talked.  Years later, he brought me back to the same bench to propose.  It's the bench I am sitting on in the picture at the top of this post.

Who is more jealous?
I think it's probably a tie on that one.

How long did it take to get serious?
We had been dating for 6 months when he got the job offer in New Jersey.  I told him the choice was his, but that I wouldn't do a long-distance relationship again.  (I had been in one with my college boyfriend after graduation and it ended in a mess.)  Pete decided the job was too good to pass up.  I decided being with him was too good to pass up.  I think the minute I decided to do the long-distance thing again, it got serious.

Who eats more?
I always give him a larger portion of dinner.  So I'll say he does. 

Who does the laundry?
Me.  But when I was working, we both pitched in and did it.

Who’s better with the computer?
Probably me.

Who drives when you are together?
He always does the driving.  We never talk about it though.  We usually use my car, and I just hand him the keys on our way out the door.


Sunday, November 22, 2009

Sunday Snapshots . . .

Today was a good day.  It started with a big cup of coffee and time to browse through a new magazine that came in yesterday's mail.



Which inspired me to do a bit of baking using one of the new recipes in the magazine.  It was a huge success.



Then there was a walk along the seawall in town.



We all enjoyed the view, especially Chloe, my brother-in-law's dog.  (My dog-niece??)



The walk continued along the beach.



Where there was a sign with a sense of humor!  I loved this.



We even took some great pictures of my latest finished knitting project.  And some not so great ones as well.



I could use more Sundays just like this one!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

"Bee" My Honey . . .



A year or so ago, we noticed something going on in the yard next door.  At first we thought our neighbor was putting in a garden.  Then we noticed some weird box-like things going in.  When we saw him out there in a full beekeeper's suit, we finally knew what was going on.  Our neighbor was raising bees!  I thought it was really cool.  Pea wasn't as thrilled.  He was stung when he was little and his mother rushed him to the ER.  He was fine, but traumatized.  And still screams like a girl whenever we see a bee.  (But that's our little secret, okay?)

As time went on, Pea stopped being so paranoid about the bees.  We really don't see many of them in our yard. After all, they have a bee paradise next door, so why would they venture to the bee ghetto that our yard must be?


Bee Paradise

As we found out yesterday, having a neighbor who raises bees had a big advantage.  That advantage is fresh honey!  Our neighbor brought over a jar yesterday.  We spread it on our toast this morning and it was the best honey I've ever tasted in my life!!


Mmmmmm, Honey

I can't wait to try baking with this stuff.  I already have plans for some home-made granola sweetened with just this honey.  And a couple of loaves of honey-wheat bread.

Do you have any good honey recipes to suggest??