Cooking Sundays: Cooking to Knit By... Why Yes It Does Seem Chili to Me

After an awesome, awesome week away from home, it's back to the old grindstone.
(kinda sad face here.)

However.
Since I did visit a few yarn stores in my travels, why I could in fact sit and knit while the washer is rolling along...
Which leads me to ---

COOKING SUNDAY!
Yay!

The leaves are half fallen (sad), the chill is on the pumpkin (brr) and there's football on the telly (what! how did that get in there).
O-kay.
Well then, Hallmark Channel is firing up its christmas movie lineup. (Don't let them kid you... B actresses/ actors don't fade away, they move to the Hallmark Channel. Sorry couldn't resist. )

What does this all mean you say?
It means ---

Easy Turkey Chili!
And no, they will never miss the red meat in this dish. Promise. :)

Here. You. Go.

Easy Turkey Chili
Prep time - 15 mins.
Ready time - an hour or so
8 servings, but double this because you are going to need to

Ingredients
2 tsp. of olive oil or butter or I like a combo
1 pound or pkg. of ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
2 good spoon scoops of minced garlic (ok 2 Tbs. for you scaredy cats)
2 cups water + a bit more if it gets a little thick in the cooking process
1 large or (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 large or (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (16 oz.) can canned kidney beans, lightly drained (sometimes I add a mix of light/dark or maybe pinto or you get the idea)
2 Tbs. chili powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
anywhere from 1/8 tsp. to 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper (this is where a lot of the "heat" comes from in this recipe, believe it or not... tread carefully! Add to taste!)

To add to individual serving dishes - optional
a slice of provolone cheese in the bowl (or am. cheese slices work well, too, very creamy)
a small handful of tortilla chips hand crushed into the bowl
or a slice of cornbread of your choice on the side instead of the chips

Directions:
1.Heat the oil/butter in a large pot over medium heat.
Add turkey and cook until lightly browned, breaking up into chunks.
Add onions and garlic and continue cooking until tender.

2. Pour in water, stir in tomatoes, beans, spices.
Bring to a boil.
Turn to low, cover, and simmer 30 or more minutes (until the diced tomatoes soften and meld into the soup a little).

To serve:
Put a slice of cheese in the soup bowl, add broken up tortilla chips and pour soup over.
Serve and enjoy!

You can also make a vegetarian version adding some sweet red pepper slices and mushrooms instead of the meat and using just the olive oil no butter. Anyway, you get the picture, just experiment to make it vegetarian-friendly.

Note:
I automatically double the batch to make some for lunches/leftovers and to freeze.
And PS, if I posted a turkey chili recipe before, this is a variation. But, whatevah. Experiment and enjoy!

Desert Vista Dyeworks
Peppermint Hot Chocolate colorway
Vintage style stitch marker
- MooncusserBags on Etsy

The knitting I'm going to cook by today?
I have two choices.
Finish my Maine Retreat socks?
Or.
Start the mallory cowl with my newly acquired Quince & Co. yarn in the gingerbread color way?
Decisions, decisions....













Have a Spicy One. :)

BKFF

Remember that best friend in grade school?
The one who sat beside you in class?
Who tossed you notes when the teacher wasn't looking, saved the best swing for you, had your back with the playground "biotches" standing by the monkey bars at recess?
Who you talked to endlessly on the phone at night... even plotted what outfits you two were going to wear the first day of school?

Fast forward 30 or so years....
Do you still have one?

Well BFFs are alive and kicking... and knitting at a fall fiber retreat in Maine this weekend.

I only bring this up because... well, it's too great of a story not to.
And it because continues to point out how great people of New England (and beyond for that matter) really are.
And because best friends can be had at any age.
No, you are not too "old" to have a "bestie". :)


This last week I attended a knitting retreat hosted by Paula of the Knitting Pipeline video podcast. If you haven't tried your hand at listening or viewing podcasts - give it a whirl, you will not be disappointed. (they are on all subjects and hobbies - the choice is endless)

Anyway, since you already know I'm crazy over yarn and fiber since forever, it will not surprise you that I would drop everything to attend a short retreat in the heart of interior Maine - specifically at the Notre Dame Spiritual Retreat Center, Alfred Maine.

And while yarn and knitting was number one on the list of things to do while there, meeting and finding new friendships came in as close second.

Over the course of four days, one of my best friends - Erin from Boston - and I first wended our way over hill and dale, turnpike and country road and then immersed ourselves in the upper new england wooly retreat together... meeting people we had never met before to initially do the one thing we all had in common - use sticks and string to make things lol.

In a word or two, we had a ball! But more importantly, we made new friendships I don't believe we would have ever made out "in the real world" so quickly or so permanently.

There was Grace from Canada.

Grace with "hunky J" in the background ;)

Effervescent personality, kind and open heart, ridiculously creative ideas, projects and end results that would put a Disney exec to shame, I tell you.
Funny to the point of depends moments, deep to the point of endlessness and the kind of person you are sure if there is reincarnation has been a long lost relative in a previous lifetime. :)

And then spinner Jan from Pa. Calm enough to run a platoon (former armed services leader) of soldiers in work or knitters on a mission to save the world (using a pattern whose purchasing power could help fund reducing/eliminating chemotherapy in the future).

Mel and Erin
(Erin's photo)

Or how about Mel who's compassionate and open essence, funny and refreshing take on life could meld a heart into gold just by standing beside her.

Paula as sea nymph ;)
photo by Erin

And then fearless leader Paula (who plays bagpipe nobody's business!). A slip of a woman strong enough to whip a group of 40+ knitters into a cohesive circle of friends, funny enough to lift the even the most momentarily lonely spirit from being away from home, and creative enough to dazzle with her ingenious designs and instruction.

But best of all, I could finally spend time with my newest bestie, my BKFF Erin (Best Knitting Friend Forevah).

Saco River Dyehouse

We talked, we shared, we knitted, we kvetched, we problem solved with abandon! We shopped, we toured a yarn dyehouse , we sauntered, we reflected, we discussed, we laughed until we cried and we forged a bond of limitless proportions.

And on the last day, when I embraced the beginnings of a cold, she took on added care and concern effortlessly and with love and kindness.
Yes, the knitting was important... although for the life of me, I could barely get my sock project done over the noise of happiness and chatter. :)

my sock project
stitch marker by MooncusserBags
on Etsy

Saco River Dyehouse

Friends come in all shapes, sizes and ages, from every road of life and from every corner of the world. Whether we choose to keep and cherish these connections or let them fly up and into the winds of life is up to us.

carded sheep wool

You can always tell when two people are becoming best friends - they are usually having waaay more fun than they should be.











The whole retreat was kinda like that. :)

Have a Good One by going out and making a new friend (even if it's just at the local Starbucks).   :)

The One Where I Stopped Blogging For "Awhile"...

I didn't really want to not blog, but, well, you know, stuff happens.

And because it's been so long since I last blogged, I thought, well, you know, I owed  A) you  B) someone and/or C) anyone An Explanation.

But when it comes right down to it, I didn't really feel the need to explain because A) everyone's too durn busy to care and B) see "A." :)

So. To satisfy my formerly "always-feeling-like-a-guilty-school-girl-self," the following is a brief gallery of what the heck I was doing instead of blogging.

And if you don't care, skip the "Montage of Shame" and stop gawking, keep moving along and I will meet you right back here when I finish my next post.

Have a non-procrastinating Good One. :)

Winter Storm Prep

Winter Knitting Retreat

Mobius Basket

Yarn Tasting Night

Blanket for Jack

On the Way - Bodhi Path Meditation

Dinner with Mom

Baby Jack Born

Someone's a Big Sis lol

House cleaning while watching Bombing Coverage

Road Trip to Visit Jack

Mini Vacation at Winetu 

MoonCusserBags Prototype

My Etsy Shop Opening!

Meditation/Zen Garden in Progress

Summer Season Begins!

Woah. Wicked Stawm Comin'.

Yup.
Feeling like a sitting duck in the shooting gallery of a two-bit carnival about now.

But if there's one thing you learn about living in New England, it's just that. There's always a "wicked stawm comin'" on a regular basis winter, summer, spring or fall if it involves two words that strike dread in the heart of every New Englander: N'or and East'r.

Nemo from Space - NASA

It's still pretty early in evening, but already the three main towns of the island have lost power briefly - translation for landlubbers? Ruh-roh. Main island power link to the Cape. :(

The wind is sending up walls of sound and fury that ebb and flow like the astronomical tides predicted along with the snow. Temperatures have dropped, setting the stage for a seriously uneasy cold winter's nap. 

Mass. Governor Patrick has just prohibited all traffic on ANY ROAD IN MASSACHUSETTS. 

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.

But, like good New Englanders, we are ready. :)

Scallop boat out of water and tarped? Check.

Storm shopping done? Check.

Cars gassed and parked front headed out first? Check.

Cell phones, iPads, computers and storm radios charged? Check.

Ice scrapers, ice melt, snow shovels, snow plow service on speed-dial? Check.

Bottled water? Check.

Candles and batteries? Check.

Really good storm food prepped, but the junkiest of junk food in the pantry also? Check.

Snowfall predictions for MVY airport and BOS airport picked for the snow pool - winner gets a home-baked apple pie? Double-check!

Stop & Shop stayed open till midnight last night to accommodate shoppers. Regular store closing 9 pm. Gas station attendants pumped gas cheerfully despite the frigid temps (no self-serve here!). Customers waited patiently on queue to stock up on scripts at the local pharmacy. Not a single raised voice was heard on our full day of storm prep.

And because this is an island with limited roadage, whether the storm be large or small, clean-up is about the same. Sure, it might take a little longer to get the roads cleared initially, but once clear it's business as usual on the island. It will take days for the Mainland to get to any form of "normal" after such a large and severe weather occurrence.

Yankee ingenuity at its best, people.... ok maybe hooking up your L.E.D. christmas "twinkle" lights to a the computer back-up battery for lights inside the house might be a stretch lol.

But for now we're hunkered down, getting the latest in wind reports (gusts to 78mph, sustained 57mph) and awaiting the blizzard to come (last report full blizzard conditions raging in Connecticut)...

Crossing fingers and toes. 

Have a Warm One. :)

Dwelling in Possibility

It's January on the island.

The air fairly crackles with the crisp cold, and tree boughs dip low with an added ice coat.
Even the atmosphere over the water is so crystalline you can see the "heat" of the waters radiating off the crests of the waves.

Suffice it to say, it's winter here.
And January again, lol.

Which brings me to my next point: If it's January again, AND it's winter, how does one get oneself motivated for change?
After all, that is what we do in January again, isn't it?

Not everything is clear here, but one thing is certain: on this island, no matter what the weather, the season, the time or temp, people here seem to like to dwell in the possibility of things.
The percolation of transformation.
The gradual shift in the plate tectonics of life.

Latin origins of that word- possibility -  hint at ability.  The ability to be possible.
That's an interesting idea isn't it?
That you could actually be skillful in thinking something is possible, maybe even where it might not have been possible before?

To that end, I believe this year is the year to invite the possibility of change into being, rather than harbor a series of structured, and usually highly unattainable, resolutions for change that may never happen.

And, in thinking my way through what I personally may want to change, I'm focussing on 3 philosophical/scientific ideas:

#1. That anything you resist,  persists and usually grows stronger.

#2. That no two things or emotions can occupy the same space at the same time.
And
#3. That anything you allow to be exactly as it is, will at some point expend itself and disappear.

I've got my work cut out for me, don't I, lol?

How are these 3 principles going to help me dwell in possibility?

Well, let's take #1, for example.

Have you ever noticed that the longer you "run away" from a thing, an idea, a way of life, etc., the faster it comes after you and eventually engulfs you?

So, here's what I'm going to do: to that one issue that has been plaguing me, growing ever stronger the more I resist changing it... I'm going to stop running.
Stand tall.
Embrace it.
Hit it to win it, if you will.  :)

Second, the "no two things or emotions can occupy the same space at the same time" thing?
Well, let's just think about that for a moment.

Simply stated, THAT is a law of physics, for crikey's sake.
If you are seated on the couch, no one else can be seated exactly where you are.
If you are happy, you cannot be sad at the exact moment in time.
And, at this point in time, this very second in time, you cannot be anything but what you are.
So, life appears in a progression of moments of "now" - each one declaring "this is me, right now," or "this is what is happening at this moment in time."
The really kick-ass thing about that is: we are free to change at each moment in time, so anything is possible, no matter what happened in the moment before this.
Are we clear on this, lol?

Neela and little friend Rose' (like the wine) going with the flow

Last, how to "go with the flow":
Anything you allow to be exactly as it is, will eventually complete itself and disappear.
Oh I know, I know. It's a strrrretch to get this, let alone embrace it.
It's downright scary, if you think about it.
But also... freeing.

Haven't things that you've tried to get rid of, or pushed against, stuck around on some sort of level?
So here's what I'm going to do: be "the observer" for once. Just be aware, non-judging for once. Ride the wave to shore, as it were. Then get out and walk away freed.

Like my friend Terri says, to get over it you gotta go through it.

This might free me from years of old patterns, habits.
Resist an old pattern of life, gives it power over me.
Allow my life to be "in the moment", releases that power.
As my reiki instructors have said, "if you give it no importance, it will not be important."

Heady stuff, that.
Is it doable?
I'll let you know. :)

Have a "This Is My Moment" Good One. :)

PS
So for those knitters out there, who want to start the new year with a new philosophy of life, of knitting, of being, let me offer you this pattern:

                                                         The Go With The Flow Sock

Here's the link: http://sockpixie.blogspot.com/2009/03/go-with-flow-socks-free-pattern.html and
the pdf file: http://www.practiple.com/sockpixie/rolfebirthdaysock.pdf

Cooking Sundays: Cooking to Knit/ Veg Out by the Fire in Snowy Weather

Woo Hoo!
First snowfall's here, and I am ready to cook up a storm!
What's on the stove?
Let's use some of those leftovers from the holiday dinner, and make a new twist on an old New England favorite - Turkey Shepherd's Pie.

Deceivingly simple, quick and long on the yum factor!
Hey! I saw that look of doubt in your eye.
Just TRY it, really!


After the Holidays Turkey Shepherd's Pie

Here's what you will need:
Ingredients

2 c turkey, cubed, leftover from holiday dinner

1 c baby carrots, coarse chopped or leave 'em alone

1 md onion, diced

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 c celery, diced

2 Tbsp butter, unsalted

1 Tbsp olive oil, extra virgin

1 tsp thyme, dried

leftover mashed potatoes from holiday dinner

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 Tbsp butter, unsalted for dotting top

paprika, sweet mild, to taste

hot sauce or cayenne pepper to taste

Here's What You'll Do:

Directions

1. Saute vegetables in butter and olive oil until tender but not brown. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme. Stir in cooked, cubed turkey. I usually add a dash of hot sauce or cayenne to taste right here. You choose - plainer or hot-cha-cha.

2. Place in a casserole dish and top with mashed potatoes. Dot with butter and sprinkle with paprika.

3. Bake, uncovered, 350° for 20-30 minutes until the potatoes are browned and casserole is heated through.

4. If you have leftover sweet potatoes they are great mixed with the mashed potatoes and spread over the top also.

Bundle up, stay warm and knit up a storm or even better... get a family game out and have some good old-fashioned fun!

Have A Warm One. :)

Cooking Sundays: Cooking to Knit/Veg Out By - Yankee Bean Suppah!

Now that the wood stoves and fireplaces are beginning to warm up hearth and home around Old New England, I thought for my Sunday Cooking to Knit By meal this week could be one near and dear to many a New Englander's heart - Ham, Beans and Baked Brown Bread.

This curious combination - actually curious only to those outside the Original 13 Colony States - is one that has been a staple among church suppers here. Chances were, that if you were in New England on a Saturday night over the years, you would be attending a church supper.

Saturday night community suppers come from a centuries-old tradition that, if you believe in legends, may have had its origins in the idea that Pilgrims cooked baked beans and brown bread (I'll come to this in a minute) so they would not have to work on the sabbath. Truth be known, it was more than likely because beans of all sorts were available straight from New England soil. They were plentiful, filling and best of all, cheap.

First off: Oven-baked ham - the easiest thing to do is find a spiral-cut ham at your grocery store and follow the directions. Or use your own slow-cooked ham recipe. Then you can concentrate on the beans and the bread - which give this supper its true New England flavor.

The brown bread recipe I've included is easy, tasty and just unusual enough to try ONCE, at least. But, if you can find it, Boston Baked Brown Bread in the can from the grocery store, or gourmet food emporium, can be just as delicious.

Voila - New England Ham, Baked Bean and Brown Bread SUPPAH

Baked Ham - Your choice of slow-cooked recipe

New England Style Baked Beans
Serves 6-8
This recipe has one somewhat unusual ingredient for beans - rum, just a Tbs.
If you have a chance to buy a genuine Boston Beanpot, do so. Beans always taste better cooked in the bean pot!

Ingredients
1 lb. dried navy beans, picked over and rinsed
1 medium yellow onion, ends trimmed, peeled and left whole
4 whole cloves
8 oz. slab bacon or salt pork, trimmed and cut into 2"x14" pieces
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. maple syrup
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
2 tsp. dry mustard powder
1/2 cup ketchup
1 Tbs. cider vinegar
1 Tbs. dark rum
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions
1. Bring beans and 10 cups of water to a boil in a 4-qt. saucepan over high heat, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover the saucepan with lid, and let the beans sit for 1 1/2 hours. (This "quick soak" produces effects similar to those achieved by soaking the beans in water overnight.) Drain the beans in a colander, and discard the cooking liquid.

2. Heat oven to 250 degrees. Sutd the onion with the cloves and place in a 4-qt. dutch oven along with the beans, bacon, maple syrup, molasses, dry mustard, and 3 cups boiling water: stir to combine. Cover pot with lid, and place in oven; cook, lifting lid and stirring occasionally, for 3 hours. Stir in ketchup and vinegar. Cover with lid again, and return to oven; cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender and the liquid has reduced to a thick glaze, about 3 hours more.

3. Stir in rum; season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls; serve with brown bread, if you like.

Boston Brown Bread

1 cup rye flour
1 cup yellow corn meal
1 cup graham flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
3/4 cup molasses
2 cups sour milk (you can do this by adding 1 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice for each cup of milk, stir and let sit 10 - 15 mins., the milk should be starting to curdle slightly, and it's ready to use in the recipe)
1 cup raisins

Mix and sift dry ingredients. Dissolve soda in small amount of water, stir into molasses. Combine with sour milk, then mix into dry ingredients. Flour the raisins and add to batter. Mix thoroughly, pour into 2 greased molds filling 2/3rds to the top. (Old baking powder cans used to be the standard molds. Now most people use 1 pound coffee cans with aluminum foil for the top held tightly by thick rubber bands or greased lidded molds.) The cover should be high-fitting, and should be buttered before being placed on the mold. It should then be tied down with string so the the bread will not force off the cover as it rises. Place molds on a rack in a kettle containing boiling water which comes halfway up around the molds. Cover and steam for 3 hours, adding more boiling water if needed. Use a string to slice the brown bread. Slices slathered in butter taste the best, lol.


And, as Boston Proper Julia Childs always said, "Bon Appetit!"

Google Doodle for Julia's 100th Birthday

Have a Tasty One. :)

Wood Burning, Weigh-in Shacks and All Things Autumn

Don't you just love the smell of burning wood in the fall?
Swirling through the air, leaving that sharp sweet woodiness of fireplace, wood pit and stove returns.

Around here, once the stoves and fireplaces fire up, it can only mean one thing: we are rounding third and coming into home for the MV Striped Bass & Bluefish Derby.

by Julie Immelt

During Derby time (late Sept. - early Oct.), amazing things start to happen: people converse freely along grocery lines and over checkout counters.
The Weigh-in Shack is filled with onlookers and fisherman alike, waiting to see if "the big one" will be brought in on their watch. And all around, an atmosphere of jovial kinship emerges.

Does it matter that you don't fish?
Nope.

Does it matter that you can't even identify the four species of fish caught during the Derby?
Nawww. (Btw, it's Striped Bass, Bluefish, Bonito and False Albacore)

Does it matter that you don't know what a Grand Slam, Hat Trick or Division Leader is?
Heavens, no.

Only one things matters: it's THE DERBY, and YOU know it.

As far as fishing contests are concerned, there's some serious fishing going on around here.

For five nail-biting weeks, enthusiasts travel from all over the world and back to abandon themselves to a completely and insidiously compelling race to catch "the big one" or at least get "on the boards"  and win that miniature fish pin to flash proudly along with your Derby cap.

Each day in a weathered shack down on the Edgartown Harbor docks, participants haul their heaviest fish of the day in to see if they can make the boards - those dog-eared chalked-in charts divided into 8 categories that proclaim position 1, 2 and 3 leaders of the day.

Sometimes you make it... sometimes you don't.
Whatever the outcome, fishing the MV Derby is one of the highlights of vacationing and living here on the off season.

This year, our family is especially proud to be participating in the derby and on the boards.

In fact, let me just show you:

Early a.m. fishing - niece Julie

Staking a claim for surfcasting.

                                                  Catches and Keepers

Long walk to a good fishing spot


















Making the "Boards"

Will it make it?

Yes it Will!

                             Division and Grand Leader - Boat/Bonito - Andy Wheeler in the lead!

                                                                             

Honestly? they should hang a large sign down at the ferry terminal :

                                 - ONLY 11 MORE DAYS TO FISH THE DERBY-

Just sayin'.


Have a Good One. :)