The Week in the Review

It has been a bit more than a week, but, amazingly enough, I've been busy.  Occasionally, there is a lot to do (though not necessarily in this small town). Grad school started back.  This is my last semester--I hope.  I had to revise and update my research project.  Work is also sputtering back.  Intermittently because of the bizarre schedule someone thought would please people.  I've manage to do a bit of knitting. The featherweight cardigan is coming along.

I'm also continuing to keep socks on the needle.  I think this is third (?) pair this summer. 

I don't often knit with this color blue. Maybe it should be a theme this summer.  The short-sleeved sweater is still waiting to have the seams sewn together.  The shoulders seams are done.  One sleeve is pinned into place.  Now, it is languishing on the sofa in the den for me to decide to finish.

I've done a fair amount of cooking this week. We had pizza night. I used Emeril's deep dish dough recipe with a few modifications and then used it for thin crust pizza.  I got okra and beans at the market.  I've made one batch of crispy oven okra.  I haven't decided what to do the rest.  I also got some lovely farm fresh eggs.  It's nice to see eggs colored naturally instead of all white clones sitting freakishly in a carton. Since it is another rainy fall afternoon in the middle of AUGUST!!!! and I had bananas turning brown and black on the counter, I heated up the oven for some banana bread (sans the dreaded tree nuts that wreak havoc on my system).  Since I smashed my finger in the pantry door, I've treated myself to two pieces already today.  Maybe the loaf will survive the day.  Hopefully, it will since it is too wet for wimpy me to venture out into the soggy, soggy day to run it off.

Work starts back in full swing this week. Hopefully, the stress will not be overwhelming.  Most of the college visits are out of the way.  It's not quite time for applications to be completed. We are just taking everything one step at a time.

Now, to take advantage of some endangered quiet time.

Baby, It's Dry Inside

My herb garden is overflowing (at least with catnip and marigolds).  The basil and parsley are doing okay.  The others are languishing.  The potted herbs are not fairing much better, and perhaps worse, due to the tremendous amount of rain and lack of sun this summer.  At least the mosquitos are pleased with the weather.  They are big enough and numerous enough at this point to carry off a small pet.

After securing some herb containers from Ikea, I have started some serious harvesting and drying of herbs.

I have found that oven drying works best for me.  I don't have a dehydrator, and I don't have the patience for air drying. What works best for me: preheating the oven to about 250° F, putting the herbs on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, put them in the oven, and turn the oven off.  Leave them in for thirty minutes to an hour. The house smells lovely while they are drying.  Then, I transfer the herbs to the appropriate container.

Next time, I think that I will invest in some smaller Mason jars for herbs with particularly large crops, like catnip.  I like the idea of the herb containers that you put on the magnetic strip in the kitchen, but my kitchen layout is not conducive to using those.  Again, there is the issue of the containers being able to hold limited amounts of the herbs.

For those of you who are concerned about the fact that I have so much catnip that it may lose its strength before it gets used up, I have some willing consumers in the house:

If you need help relaxing or sleeping, catnip tea is great remedy.  I like to add it to other herbal teas and put in a touch of honey.  If you like really earthy tasting tea, feel free to drink it straight.  Catnip reacts for humans in exactly the opposite way it does for cats.  So, while I'm relaxing, my kitties will come sniff my tea and go nuts. The dogs settle back to watch the entertainment.

Bread Craving

I have been craving good Italian bread lately.  Sadly, there is no place near me to get great, fresh Focaccia. My solution to similar problems has been to make my own.  So, that is just what I did this rainy Wednesday.  Today, it has been cool enough to crank the oven up to the 425° F necessary to bake the bread correctly. Since my little finger is still bothering me too much to knit (vacation injury), I decide to proceed with my plan.  I started with a basic recipe from King Arthur Flour's website.  I quickly realized that some major adjustments to their recipe would be needed in order for it to work with the materials available and the lovely climate in the area (which for months has been massive amounts of rain followed by a day of sunshine blocked out by millions of mosquitos). The result is  a lovely focaccia that should last through tomorrow (maybe).  Now, if I could just find some fine (and affordable) Italian wine to sip.