Pasta Ponza

I got this recipe from Giada DeLaurentiis' cooking show. It looks and tastes fantastic. Easy, too. The tomaotes taste similar to sundried...nice and rich. Figure friendly, too.

Pasta Ponza
Ingredients
Butter for greasing
2 cups (12 ounces) red cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 cups (12 ounces) yellow cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup capers, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
1/2 cup Italian-style seasoned breadcrumbs
1 pound ziti or other short tube-shaped pasta
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 ounces) Pecorino Romano cheese , grated
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions
Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch glass baking dish. Set aside.
Place the tomatoes, capers, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in the prepared baking dish. Toss to coat. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the tomato mixture. Drizzle the top with olive oil and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the top is golden. Cool for 5 minutes.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.
Place the pasta in a large serving bowl. Spoon the tomato mixture onto the pasta. Add the cheese and toss well. Thin out the sauce with a little pasta water, if needed. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve immediately.

What to do with all of those tomatoes?

I am crossing my fingers and am waiting with anticipation for my tomatoes to grow up and bear fruit. I have planted tomato seeds that were started in the kitchen and will be ready for the great outdoors in a couple of weeks. I have decided to do a small garden in raised beds and was able to purchase some half wine barrels in hope to keep critters at bay (and peeing dogs).

Happy Easter!!

Knitters....

It never ceases to amaze me how cool knitters are. I was getting my nails done at my local manicurie at the end of a horrible day at work. A conversation begins with another woman sitting in the adjacent chair and somehow she mentions the "k" word. My ears perk up! She is new to the area (about three years) and is a knitter- does a lot of knitting on commuter flights! We simultaneously gush about Sebastopol's LYS "Balls and Skeins". All of a sudden, I begin to feel better. I mean, I felt like shit when I rolled in for my pre-Easter manicure and all of a sudden, I am feeling much better. We are both on fire for knitting. Had a wonderful chat about sock knitting. Showed off my latest WIP and my nifty Namaste bag. You have got to love it!

Hearts & Stars Blanket

She's getting there.

heavy sigh....

Chocolate Easter Bunny

Zero points.....

don't try and label me.....

charming!

My Aunt Tillie sent this fabulous charm to me for Christmas. It took me forever to get a close-up picture that was not blurry and I finally got a decent shot. I guess I could have read the instructions that came with the digital camera...that would have been too easy. I just love this. I need to dig out my old charm bracelet!!

Blankie

Started 2/13 for a baby to be born in June. If I knit one "strip" per week, I will have it done in seven weeks!
This pattern is really cute- Zoe Mellor's Hearts & Stars blanket pattern knit with Cascade Sierra 80 cotton/20 wool in pink.

bootie

Pummus

It's like hummus with roasted red peppers...

2 cans garbanzo beans, drained
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained (save some liquid)
5 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbs olive oil (stream in while blending)

Toss above into food proecssor and blend until nice and smooth. Add some of the liquid from peppers to thin out if need be. Serve with raw veggies or pita wedges.

Fruity Hat

Made for my co-worker Astrid's baby "Silas".
Pattern by Ann Norling
Mission Falls 1824 100% cotton

Bobby V and Bug

Army Watch Cap in Lamb's Pride worsted. Hey, it's almost 65 degrees out.

grooviest buttons

These vintage Czech glass beauties were worth every penny. There is a seller on ebay who
has a huge selection. Next time I will buy the buttons first and knit the sweater around them. I had a terrible time finding the right color green, a style that I liked and something with the vintage look that I was after. I scored with these. The picture does not do them justice.

Woven Cable Scarf

chunky......color looks sort of yucky, it's a beautiful cranberry color that is hard to capture on digital camera.

Example for cable class at Cast Away

Will be made up with two skeins of Misti Alpaca Chunky. I am trying to get this finished quickly so it can be on display at Cast Away in Santa Rosa for a class on learning cable stitch that I will be teaching. I am really excited about this!! This is a fabulous new yarn store located in Old Railroad Square in downtown Santa Rosa.

FLS

So far, so good!

White Bean Soup

Diane’s White Bean Soup

4 cans white beans, most of liquid strained out or one bag of white beans, sorted and soaked over night, then strained
4 cans chicken stock
1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
Handful of chopped pancetta (or bacon if you cannot find pancetta)
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp dried Italian herb blend
2 bay leaf
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Fresh ground pepper, to taste (about 4-6 twists)
Fresh basil, cut into ribbons
Fresh baguette, thinly sliced, toasted and topped with fresh shaved Parmesan cheese


Saute onion, garlic, pancetta/bacon and carrot in olive oil until onion and garlic are translucent in large stock pot. Add stock, beans and all other ingredients except fresh basil. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cook for one hour. Remove about four cups soup, ensuring that you are getting mostly beans and some liquid and place into blender (blend one cup at a time), then return pureed soup to pot and allow to simmer an additional ten minutes.

Serve with fresh basil, top soup with toasted baguette slices and additional grated Parmesan cheese.

Dad's vest

I love how this turned out. It looks great on him.

the boys

FInished in the St. Nick of time....

I am really pleased with the way that this turned out. I pick it up from the dry cleaners this morning and off in the mail it goes.

Block n' Roll

This has been a bear to block. I am trying to get the edges as flat as possible and am struggling. It's difficult to see any detail in this picture- the yarn is pretty fuzzy. I am about half-way finished with the other front and then I can do the edges, sew up the seams, slap on some nice leather buttons and be done with it. This has been a tougie. Actually it's been a yawner. It's big, it's grey and has no fun cables or lace patterns. Just lots of stockinette. Yaawn. Done on #4 needles with DK weight, it has gone painfully slow. It will be so worth it and I know it will look great on the giftee.

vested

Christmas gift for someone special who might read my blog. Unisex Vest pattern by Lionbrand in Berocco Ultra Alpaca will be nice, toasty and natty.

A cardigan that fits!

Love this- I just need to find a great button for it- a nice big button. This fits me just right, not to loose, not too snug. Like the 3/4 length sleeves. Lionbrand CottonEase is great for bargain knitting. I will certainly do another project with the stuff. This cost me less that $30.00! Best of all, it is a microfibre blend, so it should not get all streatched out and funky while I am wearing it. Joy!

Mr Greenjeans

finito

Knit Kit

This watch cap is from an original Red Cross pattern printed in the 1930's. I am knitting it with two strands of wool sock yarn so it should be nice and warm. Last night was chilly. I hope in some small way that this cap will help. I guess it could be worse- you could be a homeless veteran living in Wasilla, AK or some other really cold place, don't chya know.

Knit Your Bit

As part of Knitters for Obama, I am knitting a hat for a homeless veteran. In WWII women at home were asked by the American Red Cross to "knit their bit" by making wool socks and hats for GIs over seas. I will do my bit by making a hat for a vet here at home. They are not hard to find. There is one man who I see in front of Trader Joes. This once bright, handsome fellow who served in Viet Nam is begging for food and money on the streets of Santa Rosa. I usually get him a sandwich and hand it to him on my way out of the parking lot. I wonder if he enlisted or was drafted? He deserves better treatment- both mental health and healthcare. It is a crime that he does not have a home. We did not learn from that war that these guys needed treatment for PTSD. They were left twisting in the wind. I do worry about the men and women fighting in the Middle-East and what they will face when/if they get home. We need to do better by them.

I found this cool little "Knit Kit" which came with a sock pattern, knitting needles and enough yarn for a couple pair of socks or watch caps and it came in this nifty tin. I plan on knitting up a cap for my BF and for Soldier Joe.

Mr. Greenjeans is almost done

My Mr. Greenjeans cardigan project is part of the Ravelry 2008 Football KAL (Knit-A-Long) and just needs sleeves to be complete. I needed a project to take me through December (when the season ends) but, alas have been able to crank this bad-gal out pretty quickly. I love the idea of KALs- you get great ideas on what to knit next, plus advise and photos of what others are knitting. I saw about 500 examples of this sweater alone on Ravelry, modeled on just about every body type, using all kinds of different yarns. It really is inspiring.

weeeeee-haaaaaaa!

We had the BEST seats- front row! It was also colder than a witch's you-know-what. The ampitheatre is right on the lake and we got the wind right off of it. As luck would have it, there was an old moving blanket in the back of my car (Kozmo's blanket!) it saved the night. We got past the furry, doggy, groddiness of it when the sun set and were able last through the show. Don't know what we would have done without it! THANK YOU TISH AND CRAIG!!

Allison and Robert

picures courtesy of Craig Davis

A dream realized....

Last weekend my sister, her husband and my guy-friend went and saw Allison Krauss and Robert Plant. It was a GREAT show. Plant still has it- a great voice and as easy on the eyes as ever. OK, he is a little grizzled, but WTF, we all are a little bit. Krauss is amazing and has one of the strongest voices I have ever heard live. Together they were amazing.

life be good

i love my dog

He really has not changed much, just a lot bigger. I came across this photo and recall that I was working night shift at the time and was trying to sleep during the day. These guys really are like having a baby. They never want to sleep when you want them too. Luckily, they grow up and all they do is sleep. Just look at those paws- they are huge.

memory lane

Mr. Greenjeans

Yes, that is the name of the sweater pattern. I am doing it as part of Ravelry's 2008 Football Knit-A-Long. It will be for me when it is done. So far, so good.

fin

for the Orr's pumpin patch

artiste

artiste

Kozmo Zito

Caution!

So hot that it's cool......

Caution!

The beverage that you are about to enjoy is soft and cuddly!

you look radishing!

Kozmo and his baby

The Great Pumpkin

ephemera by bobby v

Miss Lilly

She may never get used to the black dog. This is where she spends her time when she manages to sneek past Kozmo.

Socks of Kindness

Koigu Handpainted KPPM 100% Merino wool

FRANKENBOOB

I did it!!! A twenty year dream was fulfilled last week and I underwent bilateral reduction mammoplasty- AKA breast reduction. It has been six days as of this writing and I feel really good. Only needed pain medication for the first twenty-four hours and it's been Advil ever since. Today marks day six and every day gets easier. Yay!!

Cheap thrill....

I just won a Tupperware Burger Press and Store on ebay for $8.00. My plan is to make my own beautifully shaped and formed Garden Burgers! I found a great looking recipe via the internet and will let you know how my latest endeavor works for me. Hey, the burgers are about $5.00 for four patties and the recipe looks fantastic (and dead-on). Stay tuned!

spooooky.....

This ball glows in the dark and it's a riot to see the ball move up and down in the dark. I guess you would have to be there.....

herbacious.....

too cute for words...

Cascade Fixation baby socks for my co-worker's grandbaby.

Ariann

Started 8/4/08......we'll see how I do with this yarn. Started with fuzzy grey Berocco Ultra Alpaca and ripped it out. Could not see any stitch definition, so decided it was not worth doing anything intricate.

French Onion Soup

4 large sweet onion, sliced into rings
1 tbs butter
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp sugar
several twists of fresh ground pepper
2 10.5oz cans beef consomme
2 10.5oz cans beef broth
1/2 cup dry sherry

In large skillet, melt butter and add onion, thyme, sugar and pepper. Cook on medium heat for 20-30 minutes Transfer onions to stock pot and add sherry, consomme and broth. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer for 20 minutes. Top with cheese toasts (sliced baguette topped with Gruyere cheese, broiled until brown and bubbley). Oui Oui!!

Yaaaa hooooooooo!!

Yee haaaaa!

My Monkey Socks won first place at the fair!! I am pleased as funnel cake! There were all kinds of wonderful knitting projects being displayed it was a lot of fun checking out everyone's stuff.

BUCKWHEAT LIVES!!!

I begged Bobby V not to cut his hair.....

Cup O' Joe

Caution! Hot coffee!!

Happy Birthday, Papa Harry.....

You are sorely missed. Tonight when we are blowing up firecrackers, we will think of you and toast you. You were the only one of your kind in captivity.

Chemo cap

Made for my co-worker's husband Randy. With good Ol' Cascade Superwash Wool.

Hot Water Bottle Cozy

Knitted up with Cascade 220, pattern courtesy of Yarn-A-Go-Go. Bring on the cramps.

Itchy, pretty socks

really itchy- bummer.

Scarf for Dad

A natty scarf for a natty guy. Cable scarf designed by me made with Patons Marino.

Old man

My pal has a white goatee.