more georgian cheese-bread.

even better with laughing cow.

first day of summer: baking

maybe a slight rip-off of the original– used cheap cheddar instead of the havarti & mozerella called for.

intended use: picnic.

beautiful.

Domesticity

Knitting:

the vest I’ve been making for Dad for his birthday– not quite done. Worked up the armholes last night, in a Girl-Talk-fueled, long-needed stretch.

Baking:

I am proud of this. The enticingly named “Fast White Bread” from the Joy of Cooking. I haven’t tried it yet; am resisting the urge to call everyone I know and invite them over to try some. (“You want me to come over to… what? Eat white bread?).

Mending:

Sewing on a button, sewing a ripped seam (the only possible outcome of biking in a dress– it’s going to happen, sooner or later).

Otherwise:

I will finish this precis on Winston Churchill before I go to work at 6.

all well with the world.

a pan of baked kale for lunch

and, for Maggie, a headband, for warmth-while-biking, in exchange for contact solution (I was out).

Pattern: Calorimetry

Yarn: Leftover Devon from ages ago (bayerische socken), leftover peruvian baby silk from last year (a cardigan I gave to Nic), leftover Jawoll from this summer (cabled socks; Nic’s gloves). All used up. Success.

Needles: size 7 Takumi straights.

pretty.

EPIC FAIL

the success of candied oranges and candied ginger went, perhaps, to my head.

but, then again, candied grapefruit is not too unreasonable of a leap.

this is why I ate 6 grapefruits yesterday– for their peels.

cut them up, blanch them a few times to get the pesticides off, etc etc.

shouldn’t be too difficult.

although the pot is full of what looks like tentacles.

roll them in sugar, let them dry, not a problem.

Schön, oder?

except!: the fact that they are NOT DELICIOUS– instead, they have this unfortunate bitter aftertaste.

you’d think they’d be tasty. you’d think it’d be just like candied orange peels. you’d think blanching them would get rid of the bitterness.

not so!

so, what I’ve been doing is:

eating one, recoiling. a few minutes later, convincing myself, “maybe they’re not so bad. maybe it was just that one. maybe you can get over how bitter they are,” and having another one.

this has got to end.

the sad thing: there are so many of them– 6 grapefruit’s worth.

at least the house smells like grapefruit.

A Present.

better to give than to receive.

this is what happens when I don’t feel like reading Hannah Arendt.

I make candied ginger.