Dainty Kitty

Ginger Pear Muffins

Ginger Pear Muffins
from Better Homes & Gardens

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup mild flavor molasses
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup boiling water
2 small pears, cut in 6 wedges each
3 oz. dark chocolate broken in small pieces
Raw sugar for decoration

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat the muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray and flour.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. In a second bowl, whisk together molasses, butter, brown sugar, and egg. Pour into flour mixture and stir until combined. Whisk in boiling water (I think this is so it makes the batter easier to pour). Add 1 pear wedge to each muffin, pressing lightly.

Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Sprinkle with raw sugar. Add the chocolate pieces on the tops of the muffins. Cool in pan on rack 10 minutes. Use a table knife to smooth the melted chocolate. Remove from cups and cool completely on a wire rack.

Emily's Notes:  First of all, these are delicious! So perfectly moist and cakey and with just enough ginger to give it a wee tiny bite.   I need to make another batch in the morning because it only made sixteen muffins.  I um, ate two, and I took two to my mom and two to one of her coworkers who is also a friend.    I made a few changes when I made this batch.  I didn't quite get the pear wedge thing - I found this recipe on someone else's site and her pears fell over so I just cut mine into tiny pieces.  I also grated my chocolate and sprinkled it over the top, trying to avoid the pear pieces.  I almost skipped the chocolate all together because they just came out so perfect.  Oh, and I skipped the raw sugar because I  didn't have any.   

With the next batch I think I'll chop up some of the pear and actually bake it in the muffin.  The few bites that had the muffin and pear were divine.  I'm also thinking I might throw the rest of my grated chocolate into the batter rather than sprinkling it on top.  The taste of chocolate is nice but...it really doesn't ruin the aesthetic beauty of the muffin.  I also bought some sugar for the second batch. 

I've also discovered that I don't care for the smell of molasses at all.   That's the only thing I'm not looking forward to with the second batch.  Yuck. 

In closing, a photo of the moist cakey goodness!

Farrow Rib & a Jalapeno Smack Down

I cast this scarf on last night.  I'm not using a pattern, though, I just cast on 25 stitches and am knitting it in the farrow rib stitch (which the owner of my LYS also said she's heard called the mistake rib - it would be hard to spot a mistake).  I'm using Suri Merino in Donegal Green Heather.  I made Dad a scarf with Suri last year and I'd forgotten how good it feels and at six bucks a skein it's an easy purchase.   Look how pretty....

And when I bind off this scarf, I'll have a tale to tell you.

Here's a little tale to tide you over until then: I had a very bad run in with two jalapenos this evening.  I was making jalapeno chicken corn chowder which calls for two chopped peppers.  I was very careful because today was a really bad allergy day for me so my nose was raw and 100% vulnerable to capsaicins.  Yet - even after I washed my hands - when I brushed the area near my nose, my face caught on fire.  I ran to the bathroom to splash water on it but that only made it worse - I think no amount of hand washing can save you after you've chopped a pepper. 

My entire nose was red as well as about an inch to two inches surrounding it.  It went through my head to take a photo for pure posting pleasure but I couldn't stop trying to make it stop burning long enough to pick up a a camera.   I've never been seriously injured so I don't have much to compare things to when it comes to pain but I'm pretty sure this was the worst I've ever experienced. 

I doused a cloth with milk (because you're supposed to drink milk to cool capsaicins if you're eating an overly hot pepper so why not apply it if your face is experiencing the same kind of pain) which helped a bit.  Then I smothered my face in aloe which, if it were at all possible,  made it even worse (I think it was just a case of more fingers touching the face).  I finally called my mom and she told me to put ice wrapped in a wet washcloth on it and that it would probably just have to burn for awhile.  I was freaking out by this point and trying to stay calm.  Seriously - this was unbelievable pain.  The washcloth helped, though (lesson: always fill your ice trays - I was down to my last two).  She called back a few minutes later to suggest the milk so I didn't feel quite so silly about trying that. 

I'm still really tender, though and I'm afraid to take out my contact lenses.  Every time I chop jalapenos I remind myself that I need to pick up some gloves for that express purpose but I always forget.  Not this time.  This incident is burned - no pun intended - into my brain.

So, in order to avoid taking out my contact lenses I'm going to watch an episode of Veronica Mars and knit.

Oh, farrow rib pattern - in case you're curious and not familiar:

Multiples of three plus one
1. k2 p1 end with k1
2. p1 k2 p1 across
Repeat to desired length.

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz

Here's the Noro Hat I made for my dad.  I've never been so stupid when it comes to knitting.  For some reason, I had it stuck in my head that it was knitted on tens.  I didn't have size ten dpns so I even made a special trip to pick some up.  Well, I got several bands into it and realized I was k4, p3 rather than k4, p4...it also seemed to be rather large.  I frogged it and double checked the pattern to make sure I had casted on the right number of stitches.  Yep.  Oh, but I used the wrong needles - it's supposed to be made with eights!  Oops!

If I make another one, I think I might even use sevens or knock it down a few stitches.  It fits okay (my dad's head probably isn't much bigger than mine - physically, that is - ha ha) but I think it might be better if it were a bit tighter.  I'm not fond of how the colors worked out either - the pretty purple got buried since it came up during the knit stitches - but I was going for bright because that's what dad likes.   And bright it is - except for that gray section above the light blue.  A very odd little bit of the skein that didn't seem to fit with the greens and blues.  Oh, one last note - it says it takes a little over one skein but this wasn't true for me.  I probably used two thirds of the second skein.  Luckily it leaves me just enough to make a tissue holder or two. 

Knitting With Balls

If you're looking to get fired up or perhaps you'd like a good laugh, check out this article by Debbie Schlussel.  I'm not familiar with Ms. Schlussel's work but here she talks about "our society's largely successful attempt to feminize America's men"...through knitting and the book Knitting with Balls.  Seriously.  The article is titled, "Men, the New Women, Alert: No, Balls of Yarn Are not Cojones" if you can believe that.

Other choice phrases -

"Just when less and less women in America are knitting, we compensate for it by . . . having young boys knit?!"

"Here's a note for those who mistakenly think knitting is for men: It ain't. Despite the title of this book, cojones do not equal balls of yarn and two wooden sticks. And the same holds true vice versa."

And in closing, "For the record, I do knit. Or did. Takes waaaaay too long to make anything decent. It's strictly for the very bored, IMO."

And this was my favorite - left by Ms. Schlussel - in response to a comment, "THEY'RE SLACKER DUDES BEING ENCOURAGED TO DO SO IN YET ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO BLUR THE GENDER LINES." 

Go over and read the article.  Then read the comments.  They're great - nearly all are in support of men who knit and full of all kinds of interesting information.   I'm actually glad I found the article (through the blog of a male knitter, by the way) for the comments alone. 

Then leave a comment of your own.  I did. 

Emily the Elf

It's amazing how much knitting you can get done if that's all you do from the moment you walk in the door at a quarter after five until you go to bed around midnight.   Although tonight I actually did the grocery shopping, washed some dishes and finally moved the folded laundry - that I did this weekend and left on the couch - to the bedroom.  Where it has yet to make it into drawers and won't until tomorrow night.   

But I finished one of Dad's Christmas presents - the Noro Hat by Saartje de Bruijn - tonight.  Hooray for getting two projects done in one week!  Now I think I'll take a break and crochet a few more dishtowels for another present.  Well, not now because now I'm going to bed.  ;-)  Pictures, hopefully tomorrow!

Anyone know where to find molasses in the grocery store?  I looked in the baking aisle tonight but came up empty handed.  I'm beginning to wonder if I might have to go so a higher end grocery store to find it....

Zakka Style Owl Pennant

I found this via craftzine.com and I think it's my favorite Christmasy tutorial this year.  A beautiful Zakka Style Owl Pennant by Moonstitches.  I love the colors she used - especially the green - and the buttons on the letter E are wonderful.  My granny used to collect owls and she's terribly hard to buy for so I usually get her and her husband a gift certificate and sugar free chocolates (he's diabetic) as well as something handmade.  I think I've found my something handmade!

Cupcake Friday & Other Silliness

The photo shoot didn't happen as it rained pretty much all day yesterday.  We have it tentatively planned for this Saturday but there's already a 40% chance of rain.  It's going to be a busy weekend so I wouldn't entirely mind if it were postponed again.  We think it's going to be too cold after this weekend to do an outdoors shoot so Wini and I are trying to come up with and indoor place just in case.  So far we've only come up with the conservatory in Cincinnati (which would help me cross something off the list!).  I told her if it didn't happen it'd but all right but she's more excited about it than I am.  She said something about my smile lighting up the world or some yadda yadda like that.  But I appreciate her enthusiasm - it's not like I really relish having my picture taken but I think this will be really fun. 

I'm thinking about talking Friday off (one task will be started if I do).  Like I said, it's a busy weekend.  Between the Ohio State/Michigan game and needing to be at Canal Street Tavern at seven in order to stand in line for a decent seat for the Over the Rhine show, I don't think I'll be able to make anything for the Hill Family Thanksgiving on Sunday.  I found some really yummy looking ginger pear cupcakes that I want to try (pa-dow!  yet another task started).  So I might take Friday off to make cupcakes!   Sounds like a perfectly good reason to me!

Did anyone run out and rent Fur last night?  I seem to be a bit obsessed.  It's not due back until Friday...I might have to watch it again.... 

Thoughts on Crazy Pills & Two Recommendations

I take two crazy pills* a day.  Well, I take one - the other I've recently gotten out of the habit of taking but I really need to make the effort again.  I take Wellbutrin in the morning and Celexa at bedtime when I remember.  I started out taking just the Celexa about a year or so ago but it made me amazingly sleepy.  I'd have trouble staying awake throughout the day and would take two hour naps when I got home from work.  My doctor added Wellbutrin to the mix to fix the sleepyheadedness. 

I've been taking it long enough now that I can't remember exactly what I felt like before but I do know there's a difference.  I am a happier person.  I laugh at the letters PMS or PMDD - ha ha ha! 

The reactions I get from others concerning the fact that I take antidepressants interest me.  When I first started talking them, my mom pretty much came out and said she didn't think it was a good idea for me to tell anyone about it.  Right.  I've had a blog for a bazillion years - I'm not one for secrets, Mom.  Besides, if depression is hereditary, it came from her side of the family.  Her mother took something for awhile (and shouldn't have stopped).   My very favorite reaction came from Dustin, whom I was dating at the time.  He didn't like the idea of me taking anything because one side effect is a possible lowered libido.  He suggested that I try something else first.   There was another reason he should have been much more worried about.  After taking the pills for awhile, I realized that he was part of my problem and broke off the relationship.

But I digress.  I had trouble with the idea of taking a pill at first, too, but wanted to talk about it rather than hide it.  I wasn't sure I wanted to be dependent on medication to be happy and I really didn't want to take another pill.  I got over that pretty quickly, though - it didn't take long for me to really feel how much better my life could be.   And, oddly enough, most people I talked to about it were either currently taking something themselves or they had in the past. 

I do still get the occasional unsure reaction - although they're rare.  It's hard to find the words to let someone know that I'm okay.  It's difficult to tell them that this depression isn't something I can cure with mind over matter or a better outlook on life.  It's not just a Bad Day.  I'm a generally happy person but this was out of my hands.  I won't take it forever, I hope, but I'm a better person for it and I'm not ashamed.

And there is a reason for this post.  I had an unfavorable reaction today that turned into something very positive and it just got me thinking.

Anyway, enough of that.

Recommendation One: Fur.  What an amazing, sensual, thought provoking film.  From the story to the sets and costumes - just beautiful.  And I won't give the reason this is odd (just go rent the movie) but I think this was Robert Downey, Jr.'s sexiest role.  Absolutely amazing.

Recommendation Two: Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment.  This stuff is amazing.  Seriously.  I almost wish I'd taken a before photo.  Matt and Brian are certainly not as glaringly noticeable as they were yesterday.  I fully expect them to pack their bags and head out for good by morning.

And, just to make this a little crafty: I finished one knitted Christmas gift today!   Two maybe three to go!

Oh, and there was a typo on my list - number twelve: Take a vacation (longer than a weekend) now financed by my parents.  Um, yeah, that should have read, "Take a vacation (longer than a weekend) not financed by my parents."  That makes MUCH more sense!

*Not meant to offend for those out there who might take an antidepressant.  It's just what I call them to lighten the mood and make it a little funny. 

Elijah's Booties

The baby shower was today and I finished up the booties just in time - late last night.   I also felted them just a little bit so that you couldn't see the seams (they were knitted in three pieces). 

Oh, and in other news, I'm having my picture taken tomorrow afternoon.   So of course I woke up with two giant zits this morning.  They were beginning to rear their ugly little heads last night and I had my fingers crossed that they wouldn't be that bad...ah well, sometimes finger crossing just doesn't work.  They're so bad that I decided to name them - Matt and Brian - because I think they might be sticking around for awhile....

Now back to knitting my brother's three dollar hat....

101 Things in 1001 - The Complete List

R E A D I N G

1. Finish three books I bought but never read/finished (0/3)

2. Read the last five winners of the National Book Award

3. Read two books from the Banned List

4. Get a Montgomery County Public Library card

5. Read 12 books from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list (0/12)

6. Read three autobiographies (0/3)

7. Catalogue books on LibraryThings

8. Read the Lemony Snicket books (0/13)

9. Go six months with no overdue library fines (or at least keep it to one day overdue)

F I N A N C I A L

10. Accumulate, with the hopes of keeping, a savings balance of $500

11. Pay all bills on time for three months in a row (0/3)

12. Take a vacation (longer than a weekend) not financed by my parents

13. Write down all transactions for one week

H E A L T H

14. Quit drinking soda for a week

15. Floss daily for a month

16. Vacuum the whole house on Sundays and Wednesdays (start with one month)

17. Stop biting my nails for 42 days

18. Buy a SIGG or carry my Nalgene, filled, on a regular basis

C R E A T E

19. Refinish the coffee table

20. Make a headboard for the bed

21. Knit a pair of socks for Mom

22. Knit a pair of socks for Dad

23. Knit a pair of socks for Andy

24. Pick a theme and take photographs specifically to make the scrapbook Gina gave me

24. Make/Finish a dollhouse

26. Write with Monet’s Waterlilies at the DAI

27. Finish five UFOs (0/5)

28. Make a quilt – even if it’s a tiny cat quilt

29. Print and frame the Angel Oak photo

30. Make a gingerbread house

31. Finish Granny’s scrapbook (priority)

32. Write in a paper journal twice a month

33. Take a photo walk through Woodlawn Cemetery

G R E E N

34. Switch to energy saving lightbulbs throughout the apartment

35. Use my Green Bags in places other than the grocery

36. Cancel all catalogues – especially those that arrive for past tenants

37. Check out five new (to me) area metro parks (0/5)

F O O D

38. Take a cooking class

39. Finish organizing recipe collection

40. Make pizza dough

41. Try four new restaurants in Dayton (0/4)

42. Try six new crock pot recipes (0/6)

43. Go back to Betty’s for potato pancakes, a veggie burrito and several glasses of PBR

44. Try four new cookie recipes (0/4)

45. Cook dinner for my parents

46. Take The Complete Wine Course

47. Make one thing out of seven of my cookbooks (0/7)

48. Make five recipes from past issues of Cooking Light (0/5)

49. Bake three kinds of bread (0/3)

50. Make macaroni and cheese from scratch

51. Make jelly or jam

52. Make three new salsa recipes (0/3)

53. Cook six REAL meals for just me – main dish and two sides

H O M E

54. Buy one piece of art for the living room

55. Keep champagne in the fridge

56. Keep five bottles of wine on the wine rack

57. Buy two new sets of sheets that I like

58. Buy each cat a basket

59. Gather important documents in one, safe place

H A P P Y

60. Identify 100 things that make me happy

61. See Elvis Costello in concert

62. Buy a good pair of Mary Janes

63. Wake up a half hour early to read, write, knit etc. for one week

64. Fly a kite

65. Make a snowman

66. Buy a quality, flattering pair of black pants

67. Take five photos a day for thirty days (0/30)

68. Weekly coffee shop dates myself

69. Make a mixed CD of songs I like – a soundtrack of me

70. Find a new favorite magazine and subscribe to it

71. Take three three day weekends for no reason whatsoever (0/3)

72. Spend an afternoon hiking by myself

73. Find a straight liquor I love

74. Kiss in the rain

75. Develop two stray rolls of film

76. Go strawberry picking

77. Buy a season of The Muppets

78. Find a tea I like

79. Buy new glasses

80. Buy 10 CDs by unfamiliar musicians recommended by friends

81. Acquire a tent and at least one sleeping bag

82. Buy a piece of lingerie I like

S O C I A L

83. Join the DAI

84. Visit a museum in Cincinnati

85. Attend four wine tastings (0/4)

86. Go for a real English tea

87. Go to a live roller derby

88. Make a new friend

89. Reconnect with an old friend

90. Visit V

91. Call my grandparents weekly

92. Visit my grandparents in Tennessee by myself

93. Finally get back to the Columbus Zoo

94. See three classics at the Victoria Theater (0/3)

95. Keep a birthday calendar of close friends and family and actually remember

96. Call someone to catch up once a month

97. On five random days leave a comment on every blog I read that day (0/5)

98. Say I love you

L I S T

99. Blog about each completed task

100. Donate a dollar to charity for each unfinished task at the end of 1001 days

101. Near the end of the 1001 days, create a new list including those tasks left unfinished

- - -

That was a really hard list to complete (and post - I've tried several times and things keep coming up wonky).  Honestly, I think writing the list may be harder than several of my tasks! 

And speaking of competing...according to this tooI should have my list completed by August 6, 2010...just shy of my 36th birthday.

The rules and details about how to start your own list can be found on Day Zero.