Yarn Bowl

I received many fantastic birthday gifts, one of which is a lovely handmade item from Foodie that required bit of an explanation….a yarn bowl. The idea is quite clever and when function meets fabulous, how can one possibly go wrong? The bowl is big enough to hold a standard skein of yarn and is constructed with a little canal through which yarn is threaded to keep it from escaping as knitters or crocheters work their woolery magic. The yarn is pulled easily from the skein as a project progresses and, because the bowl confines the yarn, it does not roll around and pick up dirt and other stuff (like dog hair).

Creative, huh?

And useful.

Foodie is an excellent “thrower” of clay on the pottery wheel and as you can see from the shape of the bowl, she began with a standard bowl shape and then pushed the clay in as she worked her way towards the top. She probably created the little canal with a needle tool or pottery knife. One of my favorite features of thrown pieces is the circles you see from the throwing process…I tried to get a good photo of that for you. Once fired, Foodie glazed the bisque piece and made the fun design with “slip” which is merely a more liquid form of clay used to decorate clay pieces. It was fired again to give it the gleam you see.

I am normally too lazy to roll my yarn in a ball, but wanting to use this practical and handmade gift, I dutifully rolled my yarn for my current v-neck vest project (I have a few “current” projects going and maybe one day I’ll finish one, besides a doggie sweater). It’s a beautiful silky 75% acrylic/25% bamboo blend from Caron in an “ocean spray” color. Simply exquisite yarn that is knitting up nicely.

When older daughter saw the yarn bowl she said “wow, cute and nifty”…..high praise from a cautious critic! So here you see two types of transformations…clay into a delightful and functional piece of art and yarn into (hopefully) a warm and wearable piece of art.

OCNJ

This past weekend, older, younger daughters and I spent a long weekend in Ocean City, NJ in a lovely B&B called The Bayberry Inn located at 811 Wesley Avenue. Younger daughter was the first to greet our lovely hostess, Bonnie, with a request to use the facilities and the fact that she didn’t think we were a bunch of nuts I knew from her gracious reception that we would have a special visit.

On Saturday morning we enjoyed the most delicious cheese, bacon and tomato frittata and although I did not get the recipe from Bonnie, I post a similar one on the recipes page.

We spent the afternoon on a “surfers” beach and it was fun watching those kahunas ride the waves. I often wished I could surf, but I’m clumsy so adding a surfboard would make for quite a calamity! When we got back to the B&B, we had a treat waiting for us… the best homemade chocolate chip cookies and freshly-brewed iced tea. Later, we strolled the Boardwalk and made our annual pilgrimage to our favorite jewelry store, Terry Ivory, where I purchased this lovely necklace from Holly Yashi called “Gypsy Bloom."

The next day was my birthday and I started the day with a run (thought I was going to pass out…it was already 90° at 7:30 in the morning). After I took a shower and recuperated, I had coffee on the cozy porch and watched a Red Finch feed her babies that were safely tucked away in a porch fern nest.

Sister and mother joined us later that morning for a trip to Uncle Bill's Pancake House where I feasted on my favorite, buckwheat pancakes, YUM! In the early evening, we sat on the porch and watched a pretty intense storm, complete with wizard-of-ozesque roof shingles flying all over the place.....very exciting! We decided to stay put and to have a picnic dinner in our room with a $9 bottle of screw-top wine and Italian take-out from a little place at 9th & West called Voltaco's.

A delightful weekend.

Little Red Roof

As you know from a previous post, I collect chintzware and I absolutely love the different patterns and colors of my collection. I routinely search ebay for special additions to my compilation and found the sweetest little creamer and sugar bowl. Most of my pieces come from England, New Zealand or Australia, but this particular set came from Illinois.

I was not familiar with the Red Roof pattern and found little on-line and nothing in my chintz book. So, I emailed Royal Winton to ask about the Red Roof pattern and the very prompt and polite Lorraine responded that “our old Royal Winton records are very limited, but I can tell you that the Red Roof Pattern was manufactured in the 1930's pattern number 7363 and it was hand painted.” The peachy-pink background makes the wooden fence, orange lilies, purple/white verbenas and green foliage pop! How lovely.

This pattern is very charming and I am thrilled with my most recent acquisition!

Huevos en los Pimientos

I had a wonderful time this weekend in Rehoboth Beach with Architect and her family....Foodie was there too. The weather was glorious and it was nice to relax on the beach and do absolutely nothing but people watch...one of my favorite beach activities. We saw some dolphins swim by and they surprised their beach-bound spectators with a spontaneous performance…they jumped completely out of the water…so exciting!

Architect's hubby, also an architect, and Foodie's hubby -- architect # 3 – grilled on Saturday evening and among the assortment of grilled goodies were peppers and eggs. Peppers and eggs…on the grill?

This dish was unlike any pepper and egg sandwich or omelet I ever had.

And, I have to admit, I was a little skeptical.

Let me clarify.

These were actually eggs poached in grilled peppers – Huevos en los Pimientos. Each red pepper was cut in half lengthwise and rubbed with a bit of olive oil. Mr. Architect placed the peppers cut side up on the grill and when the peppers softened a bit, he cracked an egg into each pepper half....the egg cooked right inside of the pepper. When served, each pepper half was flawlessly grilled and the egg was perfectly poached right inside!

Please give this a try...they are quite delicious. An ideal breakfast treat too!

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

If I didn’t live so close to and love Philadelphia, I would want to live in Boston. I am struck by the charm and history of the city and the delightful accent is as clearly recognizable as that of Philly or New York.

One of my favorite classes in college was Sociolinguistics…it’s the study of the relationship between language and society. Regional accents developed in the United States partly as a result of the country from where settlers immigrated. For instance, the East coast dialect was highly influenced by Puritan English, Italian, Irish and other Eastern European immigrants, the Midwest by German and Scandinavian immigrants, parts of the South by those from Scotland, Ireland, and Western England (Shakespeare’s English). The western part of the United States is a somewhat neutral, blended mix of rest of the country. I took this class as a senior in college, and I would have changed my major if I’d taken it sooner! Fascinating stuff.

Anyway….

In the mid 1800’s, Boston’s then Parker House Hotel is credited with serving the first Boston Cream Pie, a creation of their French chef, M. Sanzian. As you all know, this pie is really a yummy combination of yellow cake, custard and chocolate glaze. So, this past weekend while thinking about a dessert to serve to mother, sister and older daughter who came for dinner.....

....I opened my cupboards and discovered a bottle of chocolate glaze and a yellow cake mix. You know, thought she, if I got some instant pudding cups, I could make quick and easy Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes, and that’s exactly what I did.


First, I baked the cupcakes and with a wooden spoon handle, poked a hole in each one. I could have used my apple corer but I couldn’t find it and was too lazy to look any harder than opening the drawer and moving a few things around.


Then, I filled a sandwich bag with the contents of two pudding cup containers and snipped the corner and I piped pudding into each cupcake.


Next, I frosted. Sister suggested I fill a shallow dish with the chocolate glaze and dip each cupcakes to frost…that worked very well.


Then, we ate them. Easy, smeasy (and a little fancy) Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes!