I hate WATER

Back from business trip just in time for the big rain - and I mean big rain like soaking - pouring rain & wind... By now it is so bad that my roof starting leaking :-( I don't know why but I am jinxxed with water damages in my apartments wherever I live. I usually get lucky and find nice places to live but water is stalking me - maybe I should file a constraining order??!!

To ease my pain I am going to have "Blood Orange Royal" - yummy:





So easy to make but really delicious.

Bring 1/2 cup of sugar with 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup blood orange juice and orange peel to a boil until sugar is dissolved. Let cool and strain through fine sieve.
1 part blood orange syrup to 4 parts Champagne - voila: "Blood Orange Royal"

Tomatoes and Knitting

Obviously I love knitting and another favourite of mine are tomatoes. I like them raw just by themselves, with basil/mozzarella, feta/oregano, in stews, as a sauce, grilled,... I could go on and on and on.

Not sure if you have tried them yet but heirloom tomatoes are really yummy and they look great too with their different shape and colours - salad made out of them is like a painting in a bowl.

But today something weird happened - my knitting and my tomatoes match:

How great is that?!!!

Bon apetit and Happy Knitting :-)

Singapore

OK - I don't get it... everybody I talked to before my trip to Singapore had rave reviews how nice and clean and interesting this city is.

Maybe my expectations because of that were sky-high... I did not get the vibe at all!!! It was hot and humid (I know to be expected) and other than that it was just another big city with nothing that really caught my eye. I actually think that the issue was that it is so nice and clean - no edge to catch your eye; nothing that made it stand out in a unique way.

Oh well, likely it's me as I had the experience before that for some bizarre reason I like cities better that are a bit less orderly (Barcelona, Rome, Berlin, NYC,...).

Off to Lima in a couple of weeks ... that may be the other extreme ha-ha.

Spoilage alert

Off on business trip to Asia... and almost forgot the veggies in the fridge. Not sure what I was thinking when I bought all of them - likely sub-conscious I was not in the mood to go on another trip so soon ha-ha.

I love my veggies so have to do something about them before they go bad.

POA:

1) Cauliflower soup with curry = freezes extremely well (something to look forward too when I get back)

2) Italian-style mixed veggies with mascarpone melted in

An hour later - all done!! Soup is cooling to go into freezer (not very photogenic but delicious) and the Italian veggies are yummy just as they are - no need for pasta... I eat them right out of the pan hehe.

I love cooking. It gives you instant gratification without a lot of effort - don't you wish all things in life would be so easy?!!

Frog day

Nah, not the zoology one... the knitting/crocheting kind of frog, sigh!!!

First I decided to frog some fingerless gloves as they had an odd hole at the thumb but will give those another try later again.

While I was on "frog mission" my eye caught the baby blanket that I was working on - was supposed to be a quick project to give to a friend at work who is due soon. In a moment of clarity I decided that it just did not look right - there was no tweaking that would make it better hence another frogged project (really bad part: frogging took me longer than crocheting that far as I worked with multiple strands of yarn which upon frogging decided to not cooperate but get all tangled up... but in the end I won).

Hopefully the alternative baby gift project (easy booties) turns out better.

Enough already - PLEEAAASE

I am not a snow-loving person in the first place but I can cope with it between Thanksgiving and the New Year when in anticipation of the holidays I curl up on the couch with some hot tea and a magazine or my latest knitting project.

After New Year's day - please have spring roll around. Well, who's listening to me... not the one in charge of the Tristate weather this year!

Almost March and this is what we get...

Please, please, please where are the spring flowers.

Sunday

Sundays are not my favourite day of the week - why you may wonder... most people are off work, you sleep in, get to see family and friends and so on BUT the next day is Monday. I am just not a Monday person bc I have to force myself out of bed early, drag my protesting body into the city and to the office regardless of the weather and usually before I even get there my email is filled with some kind of (often subjectively perceived) disaster. And all I do is wish it would be Thursday already - yes, Thursday is my favourite day of the week. You can smell the weekend... there's only the Friday left in the regular work week and then yep, there is the weekend where I can fiddle around with things that I really enjoy and choose to do.

So what did I play with this weekend? I finished a scarf "Hope" (posted on Ravelry) for a great Charity which is called Compassionate Creations and gives hand knit items to victims of sexual and/or physical abuse. I am very lucky that I was loved so much at home that it would be enough for at least two life-times so that is my humble thought that maybe I can give some of that love back.

Did some cooking - my own Indian Curry creation with Cucumber Raita. First time I made the Raita and I was surprised that it turned out quite well. If I just had had the patience to drain the Jogurth - it would have been even better. Well, goal was to use up the veggies that I still had in my fridge before they developed a life of their own... mission accomplished with quite tasty outcome.

Monday here I come with a full & happy belly =)