Snow Running!

In addition to being a relatively new knitter, timid knitter is also a new runner (essential considering the absolutely extraordinary food we consume at our Tuesday evening soirées). Timid knitter has run in the rain, on the beach, in the wind, amid falling leaves and in the glorious sunshine, but never in the snow for fear of falling. Well not any more!

This morning, timid knitter donned her running pants, laced up her sneakers (when she had her gait analyzed, she requires a “stability” running shoe…(significant? we promise, more later) and took to the streets. What an experience! Only one noteworthy slip, no falls, but better yet, one more thing accomplished! We took a picture of her “run steps” in the lightly-fallen snow to memorialize the occasion.

We can eat the things we love (in moderation)…our bodies need food, but our bodies also need movement (we are incredible machines indeed!). Try to work up a sweat at least once a day, you will be amazed at how good you feel! We’ll shut up now.

Ninja Needles

So, the timid knitter of the group was sitting on a train (heading to DC) knitting one of the baby hats we talked about…next to her was a 20-something young lad who the timid knitter could see was guardedly eyeing the flailing foursome of needles (she has enough trouble with two needles when two more are introduced, we have quite a site, let us tell you) and wondering “what the hell is she doing?” The look on his face was bewildering indeed…timid knitter dropped her yarn at some point and young lad must have thought “I’m not going anywhere near those needles” because he did not budge to offer assistance (otherwise, he may have because he looked like a “fine, upstanding young man” – TRIVIA: can anyone name the song (and the artist) in which these words appeared? This seemed logical to timid knitter who, when she got home that evening, embarked on a “Google” journey to find an easier tool.


A search entitled “12 inch circular needles” produced such a tool – the “AMAZING addi TURBO” circular needles….”the fast needle with the natural touch…available in 8 convenient lengths” (hmmmm…never mind). Despite the uber-advertising and her promise (to attempt) to spend money only on necessities during Lent (she rationalized these needles as a necessity – after all, the babies needed hats), timid knitter ordered the needles. Much to the timid knitter’s glee, the needles arrived on Saturday (see picture) and, they are quite the (little) doohickey. The more-standard 16 inch circular needles are too large to knit a hat small enough for a tiny baby (hence the ninja needles) and their smaller counterparts are perfect, just as the packaging suggests. Timid knitter just started a project on these “amazing” little needles, so we will post a picture later.


Last night, we had dinner at the architect’s house. She made semolina gnocchi with a light tomato sauce (absolutely delicious), spring mix, grape, goat cheese and pine nut salad, and homemade lemon-filled cupcakes (YUM), lovingly contributed by the accomplished knitter.

We thought a lesson on how to make these delectable little dough balls would be a fabulous idea, so…
Step #1 - Sprinkle semolina in milk and butter
Step #2 - Let simmer for 15-20 minutes
Step #3 - Remove from heat and beat in more butter and egg yolks
Step #4 - Add cheese and spread on a cold surface about ½” thick and sit for two hours
Step #5 - Cut out circles and place in a buttered oven dish with cheese, more butter and nutmeg (we know, lots of butter, but oh so good!)
Step #6 - Drink copious amounts of wine
Step #7 - Bake for 20 minutes at 425
Step #8 - Drink more wine and enjoy

More snow forecasted for our area…..comfort food may be in order!

A Sunday Morning Treat!

Blueberry-Raspberry muffins with flax seed…YUMMY! Sometimes, we put a drop of cream cheese in the center of each before baking to offer a extra treat with each bite!

To the readers of our newborn blog (who at this point are probably family and friends who feel somewhat obligated to read our quirky narrative but nonetheless we hope will chat about it and encourage others to follow) from time-to-time we’d like to offer some books, primarily about friendship, cooking and/or knitting (we might throw in some others if we are feeling rather frisky), we liked. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jabobs is a delightful tale about a woman who finds surprise, friendship, and an unlikely, but necessary, support system in the knitting club she hosts every Friday evening at her Manhattan yarn shop.

"Do You Like My Hat?"

By the time we started this blog, we had already shared many weeks of wonderful meals. A sampling….Coc au Vin, Pot Roast with Root Vegetables and Polenta (we wish we had a picture of this to share, not only was it yummy, it was also very colorful), Tuscan Bean Soup (inspired by a recent visit to Tuscany (sigh)), Spaghetti with Clams, Rigatoni and Chicken in a Marsala Cream Sauce and too many bottles of wine to mention (or remember, which is why we created this blog!). Sometimes our children join us for our little luxury, but mostly, it’s just us three (and we have to admit that we enjoy our short-term “no boys allowed” treat – not that the timid knitter had a boy to ban, but that’s a story for different blog, uh, day!).


Okay…back to our Tuesday night affair (so as not to get anyone reading this blog twitter patted, we use this term in the (most innocent) social sense, meaning an “occasion only vaguely specified” (as defined by Webster). Tonight (ok, we know it's not Wednesday yet) we had Pork Tenderloin marinated in orange juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and thyme, Beet Barley “barsotto” (barley made like risotto), sautéed fennel, and Caesar salad.


The one with many hats presented a sampling of her bountiful bonnets, and we post a picture for your amazement. It’s good thing that she has many willing beneficiaries of her creations! In addition to the bonnets, she has recently made some fantastic cabled hand warmers that have come in quite handy of late in this neck of the woods (we endured 45” of snow in a one-week period. The architect's daughter, a very smart and beautiful student, liked these hand warmers very much so perhaps this is a future project for her mom? This timid knitter of the crew is going to attempt a simple cardigan to include the tree pattern we posted….we will keep you updated on her “progress.”

A Physician Assistant who works at a local university hospital suggested that the NICU could always use hats for their babies, many of whom are micro-preemies, some of whom come from severely unfortunate circumstances. The university’s mascot is an owl, so continuing with our owl theme, we will knit little hats with owls for these tiny angels. We post a picture of a hat in progress and we will post others when we gather more. If you are a knitter, we would certainly accept donations! Just comment and we will respond.

Wine Cooler

This past Friday, the architect of the threesome, hosted an event at her home to rally support for a local politician running for US Congress. Despite the snow, many people attended to meet the hopeful, listen to his message, talk about our issues, and enjoy the evening with friends who are equally concerned about our country’s tribulations. There were plenty of goodies on which to munch that included eggplant stuffed with gorgonzola dip (which presented beautifully), homemade meatballs, fabulous cheeses, and a healthy vegetable platter. Of course, there was wine and the recent snow fall doubled as a cooler (not merely a meteorological nuisance).

Snow Covered Trees

Ravelry: Twining Trees by Sarah Bradberry

The beautiful snow covered trees inspired us to look for knitting patterns with trees... we found a pretty one on ravelry.com. Enjoy!

Our First Post!

This blog is the (evolving) story of three (long time) friends. One day, these friends decided that we would get together to cook (and drink) and knit (not necessarily in that order) each Tuesday evening…so every Tuesday (without disruption), one of us hosts this little soiree. The meals are always very interesting and tasty (they always involve wine) and the knitting…well let’s just say that one of us has a lot of hats. Considering the aforementioned wine, we are always surprised that there is any purling progress!

It occurred to us that we should keep a journal of our cooking and casting-on adventures to share with other curious, counting (k1, p2) and culinary minds (and also to jog our failing memories…more on that later), so here goes…

Last night, we had Moroccan chicken with wheat Couscous, fig salad, homemade bread, chocolate (to-die-for) mousse and, of course, the aforementioned wine. See the above picture of the chicken that was prepared in the crock pot…very tasty and we will happily share the recipe.

You would think, considering the menu and the aforementioned wine, that these three friends would closely resemble the Three Little Pigs, but not so. We three are as fit as a fiddle for a group who one day (to our collective dismay) made it to the AARP mailing list (we like the discounts).

One in our group, the one with many hats, is the most accomplished knitter of the trio and she reads our patterns and teaches us what the text-message-like lingo means. S1St is not a virus or erotic suggestion and who knew that c2bk2, c2fk2 is actually quite easy.

One evening the one with the many hats whips out this absolutely adorable hat into which she cabled “owls” (the pattern is available on www.ravelry.com). The least accomplished and timid knitter of the three LOVES the hat but is intimidated by the cabling required to create the hooting friend…not a problem for our most accomplished knitter who easily customizes the pattern to include only one (manageable) owl. A picture of the hat-in-progress.

We will update our blog every Wednesday (being that Wednesday usually follows Tuesday which is when we cook and knit), or following special gatherings such as when Bachelorette #1 (the reason she is Bachelorette #1 is not because she is the #1 bachelorette, but because she is the only bachelorette) hosts her annual Ornament Exchange which involves a lot of food and the aforementioned wine, but no knitting, although some guests do wear pearls…or when the youngest of our little group (who is also half of a very talented duo of architects) hosts a political event at her lovely home.

We hope you will enjoy and follow this whimsical and (loosely) informative (and sometimes touching) journey with three dear friends who just happen to like to cook, cast-on, cackle, and converse (ok, sometimes we whine (not to be confused with the wine we drink), but we always laugh and have a good time.