Ok, it's just the first edge of the first half, but I've still been knitting my head off. This thing has grown into a beast and I love it. I made a mistake (of course) where instead of knitting 4 repeats of the middle section, I knit 8. Oh well, I just won't knit the other 4 when I pick up the middle for the second half. I know this means it won't be symmetrical but I don't care. I'll love it anyway.
Another big thing I've been doing a lot of lately is cooking. A. Lot. I've always loved to cook, but lately I feel like I'm starting to COOK. In a new way. I read The Omnivore's Dilemma earlier this summer. Wow. Between that and a way more successful recession garden this year my thoughts about food and where it comes from and what's good to eat have been changing significantly. I pay attention more. Our meals have been much more veggie-centered and there's a lot less red meat and processed foods around. And I think it's great. And it's changed the act of cooking itself for me. Earlier today I was cooking and thinking that I'm starting to cook the way I knit. I think about it, just like I always think about knitting so much. And it's not unusual for me to find myself in the kitchen for long stretches of time, kind of just finding my way along something involved, but totally enjoying it. I've abandoned almost all of the frozen stuff I used to rely on for quick midweek dinners and found ways to whip up a quick pizza, or stack a bunch of veggies and hummus in a wrap for a veggie sandwich. On the weekends I try to snatch longer stretches of time trying out the new recipes I came across during the week that I've been thinking about. Which brings me to this weekend- last night the husband grilled up some lamb chops (yes there is still some meat, I cannot give it up entirely) and I made the Summer Squash Gratin from my new favorite food blog 101 Cookbooks. I adore this blog and the recipe came out decent-I think some of my modifications might not have been that helpful. Oh well, can't win them all, husband liked it a lot though. Then this afternoon I whipped up The Cream of Fresh Tomato Soup from Barefoot Contessa, just to try it out and to stash in the fridge for some lunches this week. That was a big success-yummy and it helped me cut down the surplus of tomatoes from the garden that was starting to build up! Then for dinner this evening I continued my ongoing summer of 2009 experiment of pizza on the grill.
Yum. This one I'm still getting the hang of-hence the one unintentionally heart-shaped pizza and the other one that's kind of shaped like a kidney. Every time I make the pizza on the grill I start out thinking it will be the last, I'm still struggling with the dough a little, it always seems like it's going to just fall to shreds until I actually get it on the grill and cooking. But then once it's there it's just so easy, it gets so nicely charred and crispy. And it's soooo tasty that when we finally do get to eat it we always wonder why we don't eat these all the time. Here the big one and the heart shaped one are BBQ chicken pizza-BBQ sauce, chicken, monterey jack cheese and red onion. The other 2 are simple-homemade pesto and feta cheese. All were delicious. Enough to make me keep trying I suppose!
