One of the wonderful things about having a husband that works from home, is that once in a while (like, twice a year) I can convince him to play hooky and take me out to lunch. I had been wanting to try the restaurant at the cooking school in Portland, because I totally support anyone who wants to learn how to make good food, and it doesn't hurt that it's hella cheap!
I totally forgot to take pics of our first 3 courses, but here's what I had:
*Herb ricotta gnocchi with chanterelle mushrooms and brown butter
*Frisee salad with pears, red onions, hazelnuts, and blue cheese
*Braised pork cheeks with braised greens and root vegetable puree
*Lemon meringue tart
The meal exceeded my expectations, and I'm still jonesin' for the gnocchi, which was really fantastic. They change the menu every 10 weeks, and we're already planning on our next visit!
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Scrunch (the scarf, not the monkey)
If you are a fan of the Ratchet and Clank video game series, then you will know what I mean by monkey. If not, no biggee. Let's move on to the knitting, shall we?
Over the weekend, I was poking around my yarn stash. I do this every so often because I find that I always uncover something that I had long forgotten about. When this happens, it's like I suddenly got new yarn and if I'm lucky, it'll be something that inspires me to make something out of it. This scenario is exactly what transpired on Sunday.
In a plastic bag, which was inside a plastic box, which was under a bunch of packing boxes, I found a pre-wound skein of Merino Bulky from handpaintedyarn.com. I've had this yarn in my stash for over 2 years now, and it suddenly called to me. I'd forgotten how freakin' soft it is! Once I squeezed it, and felt how, well, "scrunchie" it is, I knew I wanted to make a scarf out of it.
So, on to Ravelry I went, searching for the perfect pattern that would really marry well with the cushiness of the yarn. Lo and behold, I found the Scrunchable Scarf pattern. It's amazing how a simple 3-stitch pattern can result in such a neat looking (and feeling) fabric!
I used US 10 needles, slipped the first stitch (extra selvedge) of each row, and voila! A 3"x60" super-soft scarf!
And if you're wondering why I'm not busy with all those Christmas ornaments I said I'd make... well, I decided not to make them out of the STR. I just couldn't! The yarn is so pretty and I just couldn't convince myself that the colors were Christmasy enough. I really feel that it would be better as a scarf or shawl. No, not socks. I hate knitting socks. We don't need to go over that again. BUT, I have another idea cookin' and I'm just waiting for the yarn to show up and we'll be on our way toward holiday cheer.
Over the weekend, I was poking around my yarn stash. I do this every so often because I find that I always uncover something that I had long forgotten about. When this happens, it's like I suddenly got new yarn and if I'm lucky, it'll be something that inspires me to make something out of it. This scenario is exactly what transpired on Sunday.
In a plastic bag, which was inside a plastic box, which was under a bunch of packing boxes, I found a pre-wound skein of Merino Bulky from handpaintedyarn.com. I've had this yarn in my stash for over 2 years now, and it suddenly called to me. I'd forgotten how freakin' soft it is! Once I squeezed it, and felt how, well, "scrunchie" it is, I knew I wanted to make a scarf out of it.
So, on to Ravelry I went, searching for the perfect pattern that would really marry well with the cushiness of the yarn. Lo and behold, I found the Scrunchable Scarf pattern. It's amazing how a simple 3-stitch pattern can result in such a neat looking (and feeling) fabric!
I used US 10 needles, slipped the first stitch (extra selvedge) of each row, and voila! A 3"x60" super-soft scarf!
And if you're wondering why I'm not busy with all those Christmas ornaments I said I'd make... well, I decided not to make them out of the STR. I just couldn't! The yarn is so pretty and I just couldn't convince myself that the colors were Christmasy enough. I really feel that it would be better as a scarf or shawl. No, not socks. I hate knitting socks. We don't need to go over that again. BUT, I have another idea cookin' and I'm just waiting for the yarn to show up and we'll be on our way toward holiday cheer.
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