A local librarian (thank you, Georgia!) told me she makes the best perogie dough using only flour and sour cream.
She was right! I just kept adding a bit of sour cream to some flour until I had a hunk of dough which I kneaded a bit. It rolled out easily with a bit of elasticity (dough with egg in it snaps back and needs some stern rolling to expand) and then could be cut into rounds which folded nicely around a mixture of mashed potato and cheddar cheese, sealed by moistening with water on the edges and then boiled in water until the perogies rose to the surface and bounced around a few times. You don't have to be Polish or Ukranian to know how many bounces - but it helps.
Here are the perogies which did not get immediately boiled and eaten but put on a cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen and then sealed in a zip lock bag. They then can be boiled as above or put frozen into a frying pan with some butter.
The richness of the dough got me wondering .....
.... how it would work to make pasta ... dum de dum de dum ..........
... de dum .... de dum ...
They looked fine.
I think I am being overly optimistic about the flavour - almost anything tastes good covered by tomatoes and garlic and mushrooms gently sauted in a zest of olive oil smattered with some fine cheese- and I would have to compare to pasta made with egg which - in my experience (thank you Cristina!) could almost be eaten raw.
The texture was nice; I would do the noodles thinner next time no matter what the dough: that was the first time I used a pasta machine to roll and cut them; sure beats a rolling pin and a pizza cutter!
Next I tried using the dough for a galette - apple and fig.
Nope. Maybe if I rolled it much thinner and baked it less but - likely would still have been - nope.
Definitely yes for perogies, again!
A magnetic paper holder (the kind that is meant to go on a fridge), a bottle cap; press bottle cap into soap.......
....... clip paper holder onto towel rack over sink.... introduce bottle cap to magnet .... dah dah .....
Soap drips into sink, dries between uses.
It can also be clipped to the faucet handle in the tub.
I knew Christmas was coming - it seems to follow Halloween year after year - but it was only when I saw a Christmas card a few days ago in the Polish Deli (a mailed card: some Polish people are extra prompt!) and then read somewhere "Christmas is just over a month away" that I 'paid attention' to the fact.
What came to mind is this Christmas tree I knit last year and put on Christmas cards. I thought others might be interested in doing the same.
This tree is 3 ½ “ tall by 2 ½ “ wide on a 5” by 7” card front. It looks very pretty mailed in a translucent vellum envelope.
Bowdabra gold bow wire 50 feet makes 2-3 trees
#4 US needles
Cast on 1 st leaving a 12 inch tail
Knit one row
Inc in this st (k into front and then back) (2 sts)
Inc in first st, K1 (3 sts)
Inc in first st, K2 (4 sts)
Continue to increase in this way until 15 stitches
Cast off 6 sts loosely. Knit across rem. 9 sts
Cast off 6 sts loosely. K 3
Knit 3
Knit 3
Inc 1 st in all 3 sts (6 sts)
Cast off loosely
Stretch tree into shape. Arrange ‘presents’ (the last increase row) under tree. Form the 12” (initial tail) into an angel with a loop for head, and a loop for each wing. Wrap any remaining wire around for body or cut off tucking end behind. Secure tree to card with glue stick or instead of hiding the two ends behind the tree poke these through card and secure on back.
The bow wire is flexible, a bit tricky to work with; knit loosely. To keep it from crimping or tangling I held the loop (as it comes in the package) with a large bulldog clip (a clothespeg also works) and only unwound a foot or so at a time as I knit. Some kinks occurred and I just knit them into the tree, pretending they were decorations. Larger needles give a more open looking tree. Have fun!
Here it is shown on the card and that is what the bow wire looks like. (click on photo to enlarge)
This year I am knitting the tree with green plastic coated wire and thinking to make it a bit larger to hang on a tree or in a window. So far I have found the wire in the suitcase with other wire (sometimes I amaze myself) and found the pattern - but have not yet knit it.
The golden tree on the card originally appeared in Paulette Lane's Knitting Pattern-a-Day 2007 calendar. Yes, it is my design.
Wanting a shallow bowl in which to put my safety pins that I use like straight pins when making garments and which don't work well in a pin cushion, I remembered such a bowl from the past.
Yep, I had a cardboard carton of eggs in the frig in the shade of cement. The remaining eggs are now balanced in the lid. (Reminder to self: open and close frig door gently.)
I tore the egg carton into small pieces and soaked them in hot water for a bit, then put them in the blender with enough water to cover and whirled until it turned into mush. Proper name for mush when making papery things is slurry.
(It is advised not to use a blender you use for food to do this. Not sure why but you have been advised. This blender is actually used only for paper making but has been doing double duty
because the food one is waiting on a part. I may find out why the advice has been given.)
I added some dried rosemary and scented geranium leaves for fragrance and look to the slurry once it was blended and then poured it (over the sink) into this colander and then put it into a bowl while pressing the slurry evenly into the colander. I wanted a rustic edge but this could be cut straight once it is all dried.
Then I took some of my 'cloud' handspun and put bits and pieces on top of the slurry. What you can't see (I forgot to photograph it) is that I took some lengths of that wool and laid it randomly on the bottom of the colander first.
You can sort of see it here.
The colander then got put on a floor hot air register until it dried but it would have been put outside in the sun and wind if the weather had been sunny and windy. On top of a counter would do as well.
Once dried it had shrunk a bit so came out of the container quite easily.
This is it.
And here, holding the pins so they are easily accessible.
All sorts of fibre can be used. I just had a thought that newspaper colour comics could be used in the mug-deep tea strainer and which would be a fun container for a certain two-year-old I know. We've started collecting things on our walks and such a vessel would be easier on the 'collection' than our pockets.
(re-post)
I came home from the daily outing awhile ago and the birds at the peanut and suet feeders and the seeds on the deck scattered. They flew into the Major tree and I could see some of them; their abundant presence sometimes makes the tree look like it is squirming.
After sweeping the seeds which were spread about the deck by the birds into a neat pile again I put a sheepskin on the deck chair, drew up a stool, got the pillow out of the wood box, tilted the chair back and relaxed.
Dressed for outdoors I was cosy. A nearby cedar hedge was being trimmed and the fragrance was splendid. The sky was cloudy with a line of brightness to the south that said the sun might, just might, likely would, make another appearance, Victoria-style. A few drops of rain had spotted down when I was sweeping the deck. Only worth mentioning because I had noticed them on the faded green of the deck chair. The trees in my vision were leaf -free, haunting in their silhouettes.
When I had remained still in the deck chair for a few minutes the birds began to return to the feeders.
The nuthatches will approach if I am upright and sweeping so they were the first back and gave their small chirp of greeting.
A downy woodpecker came next and when I turned my head a bit to see him better he startled and flew away from his perch on the peanut column.
Then a couple of juncos landed on the deck railing and I am sure they noted that the seeds were all once again in a tidy pile but decided to wait until I was no longer in attendance to descend to the deck floor. They seem to only eat on a flat surface but when I have observed them up close they seem to be awkward on their feet and a grip would serve them better. But I have never seen them on a feeder that needs gripping.
The chickadees came in fast and furious to both the suet and the peanuts and flew so low across me that I could feel the breeze from their wing beats. Some of them did a sudden stop and somersault backward when they realized I was there. Most of them would have preferred to not have the excitement of a stationary human so near their feeding stations. It is different if I have a hand out with peanuts on it that do not have to be pecked out of the feeder. Reclining in stillness I pose a threat that only a few are able to ignore.
The bushtits must have been at some other feeders; they usually arrive en masse around four o'clock.
The phone rang. I made it indoors in time to pick up the phone and hear the caller hang up. No message was left. In a fairytale I would have call ID with video and see a cheeky chickadee calling.
Often, when I am sitting outdoors in the cool months on a restaurant patio or park bench or picnic table or veranda steps, people will say, "Aren't you cold?"
Often this triggers my cranky meter and I am tempted to say, "Freezing. An absolute idiot for sitting here enjoying the sights and sounds and smells of nature."
Mostly I smile and reply, "No, I am warm; I am dressed for the weather." And mostly people will smile back and maybe realize I am doing exactly what they do when the weather is warm but, the weather being cool, I am dressing for it.
Sometimes, someone will understand completely, and will join me.
I saw a woman on her verandah cleaning her windows the other day and that made me think of furniture polish. It wasn't a direct thought - more a meander from spring cleaning to dust bunnies to dry skin to dry wood .... furniture polish.
What about making my own? Good ol Google. Seven million replies in a tenth of a second and most of them mentioned oil and juice. Olive oil and a lemon were in the kitchen.
There was some debate online about the proportions of oil to juice and I got a bit distracted with a link to a recipe for cookies and that led to an interesting blog ......
When polish popped to mind again I headed for the kitchen and poured out some olive oil and squeezed the lemon into it until it looked polishy.
Put some on a cloth and wiped it on some furniture and left it to dry and forgot about it.
When I came home today I immediately noticed how shiny this bureau looked. Wow. It worked.
I cannot say that it had any lemon scent at all which is fine with me; but now I am wondering what a drop or two of lavender oil would do. Hmmm.
I imagine furoshiki have many interesting stories to tell because of the variety of things they have wrapped - books, bottles, lunches, groceries, gifts, etc. It is always exciting to come across one at a thrift store or church sale.
This is a recent find. It had been hemmed at top and bottom to hang, I suppose, as a curtain, perhaps in a doorway. Usually furoshiki are square and this one is not quite square, maybe because it was suspended. (click on IMG to get it to appear)
It is furoshiki material and wraps beautifully.
Here a large heavy book is being enclosed with the opposite corners of the cloth being simply knotted; four corners two knots.
Dah dah.
It carries well.
Here the furoshiki is tied around a knitting project and, slipped on the end of a walking stick, could be held over a shoulder, hobo-style. Or hooked on the handle of an umbrella.
These are all furoshiki; the two on both sides more like napkin material, the lower and upper like scarves.
If you google there are many interesting sites with information and how-to's on this ancient Japanese practice.
Napkins or blankets or dishcloths or scarves can be used, of course. It is fun.