True Blood rocks my socks!

Bill: Can I ask you a personal question?
Sookie: You were just licking blood outta my head...how much more personal can you get?


God I love On Demand. I really, really do. All those nifty tv shows that I've been missing out on because of previously un-had cable...I get to play catch up during the daytime, which comes in handy because well, daytime TV basically sucks. Unless of course you're watching BBC America or Food Network, but let's face it. There's only so much BBC and Food Network that you can watch before you get sick of it. Of course, this could be bad for knitting. I'm one of those knitters that can't really knit AND watch tv unless it's something really mindless.

Okay, okay, I know that I suck for real when it comes to blogging. I just haven't had much of a chance until now. What have I been doing, you ask? Moving!!! That's right, as of August 8th, I ceased living in my MIL's house and now live in a lovely 1 1/2 bedroom apartment in Fall River, MA. It's third floor, but I really can't complain much about it. My fat ass needs the exercise, that is fo' sho'.

Seriously though, I love it here. We have a great view of the water from our living room windows, my dog has all the room to run around that she wants, and I actually don't have a galley kitchen to cook in so I've been getting lots of use out of it. I've been baking, and cooking way too much. But I'm loving it.





From the top: Banana bread and homemade chicken pot pie. Super yum! My wife complains that since moving out she's eating too well and therefore finds it hard to actually want to go to a restaurant once in a while. Of course, I'm just pleased as punch because that means that I'm finally turning into the kind of home maker that I've always wanted to be! YAY ME!

Also, for all you folks that like to cook out there, I have a recipe to share. It's one of my mother's that I've adapted a little to make it just a wee bit more flavorful! I don't have a name for it, so I can't give you that, but if you've ever got chicken breast on hand and have no idea what to make with it, you could try this. It cooks up relatively fast and is definitely no scrimp in the flavor department!



Ingredients:

Chicken Breast (I used 1 whole breast to make enough to feed two with leftovers for a crispy chicken salad the next day)
Dried Parsley
Garlic Powder
Paprika
Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Onion Powder
Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Mix
Unbleached flour (for dredging and for mixing with the pancake mix)
1 can of Campbell's cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk/light cream
2 eggs
Vegetable Oil for frying

Take about 1/2 cup of flour and put it in a large bowl. Beat the eggs with a little water until they begin to foam, making a nice light egg wash. Cut the chicken into about 1 1/2" wide strips (I did mine a bit more on the narrow side) and dip into the egg wash then dredge in the flour. Put the dredged chicken back in the eggwash and then mix about 1 - 1 1/4 cups of the pancake mix (more or less to your taste of course!) into the remnants of flour. If there's no remnants of flour in the bowl, that's okay,just add a bit more flour to the bowl. Season the pancake/flour mixture with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powders, paprika, and add a generous pinch of parsley. Seasoning is done to your taste.I like to season liberally with just a pinch of the paprika so as not to turn the flour red. Whisk all these ingredients together until well-blended and then remove the chicken from the egg wash and drop into the bowl, making sure to coat ALL surfaces generously.

Heat your oil (a little tip: You can tell your oil is ready for frying by dropping a bit of plain flour into the oil. If it sizzles, it's ready) in a deep saute' pan. When it's ready for frying, place the chicken in it and fry until it's a deep golden brown. Drain on a paper-towel covered plate, and set aside

Take the soup and put in a medium sauce pan. Pour in the milk/cream, add a pinch of garlic powder, a generous pinch of pepper, salt to taste and if you want you can throw in some parsley flakes. Heat and stir until creamy and warm. Serve spooned over the chicken, and serve with white rice, and your vegetable of choice.

I hope if anybody tries it, they like it. It's not exactly the most non-fattening of meals (though I'm sure you could make it so easily), but it is delicious!


As for knitting...mneeeeh, well I haven't been. Not so much anyway. The Ravelympics was an epic fail for me simply because I never found the time to actually cast on for my Luna Moth Shawl, never mind actually knit it. So yeah, that didn't go so well. I did recently start it though and I have to admit without too much bragging that I could have easily finished it in time to not have a failure if I had bothered to take the time to do so. This is an excellent first lace project. Excellent. I even tried to take a picture of it...and I hope you all appreciate it because after this picture I will have to frog back to the lifeline and fix something funky that happened while I was trying to take the pins out. This probably aggravates me more than anyone else, but well, I'm sulking about it so give me a break! ;)



I'm using a skein of Michelle's (from the Sweet Sheep)merino fingering in the "Fields Forever" colorway and I have to say that I really, really love the way the colors pool on this shawl. I just wish I didn't have to frog. Ahem. Okay, I'm finished bitching about it. It's still looking damn good though, right? And at least I had the foresight to put a damn lifeline in it.

I've also found that a good knit for those fascinating TV shows is Meg Croft's Strawberry Sachets. Not only are they super cute,but they are super cheap to make. And when you stuff them with lavendar, they smell super yummy!



That's the first one I made. Since then, I've made roughly about ten. Be warned before you attempt this pattern! Because they are so easy to make, they are super easy to give away. I made ten but gave away three, so I'm stuck with just seven. I think I'll keep making them because whoever my next lucky swap partner is will end up with one or two of these sweet little sachets in her package!

I managed to finish the entrelac tote up a bit, though I still have to do the I-cord around the bottom. Keep in mind guys, if you do end up knitting this bag, make sure you DO put the I-cord edging around the top at least. I know, I-cord edging is a huge pain in the ass - especially on a large scale, but without it, the bag is gigantic and wider than my 7th grade English teacher's butt.



Yes, before the edging, I could fit a taller eight year old child inside it. (Thanks Zoe for being willing to snuggle up in it for the camera, and yes Pam, I will send you a copy of the picture!)It's a scary thought, I know...but never fear. It is going to be felted. I can't imagine trying to line that monstrosity, so even if it weren't meant to be felted, I would felt it anyway.

I think the next bag I knit will be this one. Something about it just calls to me. It keeps saying "Caaaaaadence...kniiiiiiit me. You luuuuuuurve meeeee...you waaaaaants meh sez I!" And it's right. I do. So I must make it. Although, I have no idea what colors I want to make it yet. Maybe something autumny.

By the way, on an almost random note, I'm vaguely disappointed in the new fall Knitty. Oh, the sockiness is wonderful, but there really aren't that many sweaters and I desperately want to knit a sweater after my Talia fiasco so that I can redeem my faith in my sweater knittiness. (Speaking of that, I did manage to snag a picture of the horrifically HUGE Talia and well, I'll post it after this paragraph so you can laugh at me). Alas, it was not meant to be. So instead, I'll just have to knit one out of the newest (or maybe this is a brand new knitting magazine...I have to confess, I have no idea) Debbie Bliss knitting magazine. She has gorgeous patterns in it, and hopefully, one's a top-down so I can try it on as I go.



Depressing isn't it. Still, my SIL thinks (and I'm thinking she may be right) that the hugeness is all in the straps so maybe if we rip them back a bit it'll be okay. Still, that means not only unbinding off but also unseaming. No fun. So, that'll have to wait for another day and it can just sit in the box that I put it in and stay out of sight until then.

On a happier note, I bought my dog a super silly tutu-dress for her to wear around the house and well, she may not like it too much, but it's definitely a keeper. She looks so cute when she jumps up and down in it (and she does jump up and down an awful lot) so whether she likes it or not, she's got a new dress. Here's proof that I actually wrestled it onto her!



I just wish she'd let me paint her nails too so she could have had pretty pink toes to match! And while I'm at it, here's a couple more pictures of doggie cuteness!





Doesn't she sort of blend in with the futon? It's a good thing she's got those reddish brown patches on her.

Aaaanyway, as much fun as this has been, I have to force myself to step away from the computer long enough to finish the dishes and make dinner (and whoopie pies) for tonight! I promise...I will blog again sooner than two months from now! Cross my heart and stick a needle in my eye or something...;)