A Life Auto Reboot

Yes, I know back in May I announced that I'd be writing more often... then life happened.

Change and lots of it all at once.

The Shake-up...

After over 11 years my position was discontinued during a

downsizing and merging earlier this month. I'm not the only one cast off (which doesn't make me feel better about it.) It's been difficult to just stop. I'm no good at "relaxing." What does relaxing really MEAN anyway?

(I don't just sit still well.)

The Good news...

My feller and I are waiting to hear from the sellers bank on a house we're in contract for... and I'm packing up to leave my beloved apartment after over 11 years here (I've accumulated a lot of stuff and can't wait to have a BIG house to be able to use it all in!!)

The Bad News...

Add to that my 24" iMac hard drive frying last week in the middle of a back-up. The computer no longer even recognized that it HAD a hard drive. Yes, it's under warranty and it's being replaced -- and yes, all info is toast but I wonder if any of the in-process back-up will be usable. That brings us current!

How have I been spent my first two unemployed weeks (thankfully on 4 months severance)?

After having my resume written (first time in 12 years - scary - I have a great woman I can suggest if you're in need), I've been getting my resume out there for jobs that won't go against my 4 month non-compete, watching World Cup matches at various spots around town with friends who have taken work time off to see them, gardening, reading, cooking (I've got some great recipes to post!!) and writing up some hand knitting patterns (3 of which I fear died with the iMac crash) for a book I've begun to write.

Wanting Work...

I'm interested in sample making (sewing, knitting, crochet), writing (crafts, cooking, travel) and teaching (fashion, craft, cooking) jobs if anyone has any leads out there. I can do hat related jobs after October 9th, 2010.

Part-time and freelance are also VERY welcome!!

The garden...

I've picked beans, lettuce and peas from the garden. Yum! The tomatoes and basil have jump started in the heat of the last week.

Live Entertainment...

My fella and I joined his boss & family to see Cavalia at the Meadowlands in NJ. A beautiful show indeed!! You can see when it's coming to a city near you at the link above.

Movie Entertainment...

I've enjoyed a few movies ($6 morning movies at any AMC theatre in NYC!!) I've especially liked The A-

Team and Toy Story 3 3-D. The A-Team completely surprised me. It was much funnier than I had expected it to be. Totally entertaining. Toy Story 3 brought me back through my own childhood. The loss of a favorite toy. Really a great moive. Get Him To The Greek had funny parts. Please Give was OK. On video I can recommend The Ramen Girl for any of you foodies out there (one of Brittany Murphy's last films.) It fed of my passion for Ramen.

Randomly --- Been researching for a new blender and really want the 5200 Vitamix. Does anyone out there have it? How do you like it??

I have no idea what to do career-wise next. It's all a bit foggy. It could be a blessing that I may not be working as we move and can unpack. I may travel a bit at some point after the move. Regardless my gut says this is a blessing - I'm just not yet sure how/why.

That's the update for today. Time to go watch this afternoon's match and work on a UFO. I've been attacking my UFO box between new designs. There will be hand knits and sewn gifts for Christmas this year!!!

Happy Sunday all!

She's Baack!

The last year seems to have flown by in a blur. Woooosh!

So much has happened and yet little has changed.

BUT -- changes... THEY ARE A-COMING!

I’m still designing hats as a by day (and sometimes night), knits as a hobby (although I'll have a piece in the latest Stitch-n-Bitch book due out in 2010) and cooking up a storm!

I’ve really missed writing here and will be resuming! YEAH!!!

I’m packing up for a trip out to Sacramento for a trunk show at The Village Hat Shop (123 K Street Old Sacramento) on Saturday, April 10, 2010 from Noon to 4pm. Those of you inthe Sacramento area, keep an eye out for me on Good Day Sacramento at about 8am on Saturday morning!

I’ll be tweeting as the day progresses. Follow the Tweets at Madhatrk.

A flash of what the last few months has brought...

An amazing few weeks in India with the BF showing me his hometown and home country:

Knitting (in 4 countries in 4 months!):

Yes - Many friends have had babies these last few months!

Cooking in my kitchen:

Entering the annual Grill It! contest. Shot on a VERY cold day in February. Brrr! Made it to the finals this year...but not on the show. Next time!


Thanks for stopping back by!

I’m BaaaaaCK!

You Take The Good, You Take The Bad...

Sitting here in Chang Ping, China I must announce that the videos are in and the choice was made and sadly I was not chosen this time to join Bobby Flay on Grill It season 2! It would have been fun for sure.

Perhaps they didn't like the video (it was difficult to cut it down so much!), didn't like the recipes (which would be shocking since all of my taste testers have left their plates clean) or I simply didn't fit into the mix this time. There's always next time.

Longer versions of both recipes I'm adding below (includes more info on the recipes themselves that was cut from the submitted version.) Thanks to the great Jimmy Chan for both doing the photography and editing! I will be helping Jimmy on a project of his own between trips to Massachusetts, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Toronto and California...and that's just the travel coming up on the next 2 months!


Grilled Pork Skewers



Grilled Red Snapper with Thai Vegetables


Enjoy!

NOW I'M COOKING & NEED YOUR VOTE

My entry video is posted!
My entry video is posted!!
For what you ask?

I've entered for a chance to head out to LA and do one episode of
Grilling It! with Bobby Flay!!

My video is posted HERE.

Please go take a peek and if you like it, which I'm sure you will, PLEASE RATE IT!

What's on the menu? Two recipes that I created.

Appetizer:
*Pork Skewers with a Mango Dipping Sauce (the skewers are tastily marinaded before grilling)




Entree:
* Grilled Red Snapper with Coconut Thai Veg (all wrapped up in a banana leaf!)

You will have to sit through a 10-15 second commercial from Food TV (sorry), but I'm sure the video will entertain enough to make it worth your while!!!




Go, Click, Rate and even comment if you have the time! I'd love to hear what you have to say!

Please also pass this along to your friends!

If for some reason the link doesn't take you directly to my video, my video is titled Grilled Pork Skewers & Red Snapper with Coconut Thai Veg and is currently listed under Most Recent.

Thanks everyone!!!

(In the photo with me that's Jim, the videographer, during a break trying some pork... It was all gone in a flash!!)

Pretty

Sometimes things in the kitchen are just so pretty. (ie: leeks and tomato in the pan cooking at right.)

I made this soup today -- Winter Lentil Soup -- which is perfect. I can't think of a single reason to change the recipe.

Try it! You won't be sorry!!!
Oh -- and it's super healthy to boot!!!

Who's Birthday? SJ's!
Happy Saturday!! Happy Birthday SJ! A little mani-pedi.... some shopping for those last minute things needed for his trip to South Africa and a new 3G iPhone... a picnic in the park and a little food shopping. What a full day!

With little time to cook I was happy to be able to make a fine two-course dinner for SJ's birthday. Always tough when using someone else kitchen, it came out nicely if I do say so myself. It helps that he has good cookware, knives and a nicely stocked spice cabinet!!
Paired with one of the lovely whites we picked up at the 13th Annual Hudson Valley Food and Wine Festival... and with the promise of cheese to end the meal... which we fell asleep before getting to?

Busy!
The cold...it took. Cloudy head, stuffy nose. Thankfully we'd brought back a few boxes of Samahan from Sri Lanka.

I LOVE that stuff!!!

Dissolve into hot water, and drink! It doesn't taste bad either and it gets the cold moving right along.
5 days later I'm left with that linguring dry cough but not much else. Yeah! What have I been up to (aside from planning my next trips -- San Diego & Hong Kong both for work starting later this week...more on that later.)
In no particular order...

I bought these:
plants for my garden after finally singing up for Zipcar! My first experience with Zipcar was stellar indeed! I rented Terry the Toyota Tacoma pick-up truck for 4 hours and dashed up to the Matterhorn Nursery thirty some miles up the Palisades and back, unloaded and returned the truck to the lot from where I picked it up.

Friday night we checked out a French Caribbean restaurant called "A" on Columbus between 106th & 107th streets. I popped my head into this wee little spot (seats perhaps 24 people?) and was greeted with a smile. I reserved a table for 15 minutes from then and dashed to the liquor store up the block for a nice bottle of wine.

Let me state here how MUCH I like BYOB restaurants!!!

If you go, also note that it's also CASH ONLY so hit the ATM before you arrive! Upon my return, Sebastian, the owner, greeted my smile with a big one of his own and showed me to one of the four open seats in the small room. Upon popping open my wine he suggested a few dishes on the petite but lovely menu that would go well with my wine selection. Dan was running a bit late while he wrapped up a school deadline and encouraged me to order a little something while I waited. So I did...the baked Shrimp with rum curry special.

Let me interject here and say there will be no photos of the food as the lighting was very dim and I couldn't get a single one that did the food justice. The kitchen is very tiny and part of the dining room.

The music, mostly 80s favorites, came from a stereo atop the fridge and everyones heads bobbed as you looked around the room. Smiles too. No one looked at me oddly when I pulled out my knitting and sat knitting and people watching until my dish arrived.

Upon Dan's arrival, we ordered two more appetizers, the baked pear with raw honey and Gorgonzola and the pate. Yums all around! We followed that with the chicken and duck entrees, bith served with a nice couscous - yums again!

I was FULL...but when they threw in a dessert I had to eat it up! YUM! He had gotten the Chocolate creme brulee (which he commented was less cremey and more puddingy but good none-the-less) while I enjoyed my French apple tartin - very buttery and not too rich. I can't believe it's been in the neighborhood for seven years (as I have too!) and this was my first visit. Shame on me! I'll be back! Yum!

I also had a lovely meal at Mama Mexico's, after our mani-pedi date, with Jennifer and a tasty meal with Linda and Michelle later in the week at Gennaro. It was a good eattin' week!

Back to that fun word above... KNITTING... I have cast on a new project for my weeks of travels ahead. I'd stopped into Yarntopia this week and decided I HAD to have this beautiful BRIGHT TURQUOISE (#204) yarn - Artyarns Ultramerino4 and a hank in a bright apple green too!

What am I knitting?

The Undulating Rib Socks (pg 93 in the Favorite Socks book from Interweave.) I'll do the heels and toes in the green. Yum! The photo doesn't do the color justice at all!! I'm knitting them both at once on two Addi-turbos. Weeeeeeee!


I'LL BE TEACHING
I also found out from Dona at Yarntopia that I'll be teaching a class on Intarsia in August at the store, and likely one on socks in the fall. So, hop on over to the store website and sign onto the email list and she'll email out the entire class schedule list later this week. Oh, and her downstairs knitting lunge is NOW OPEN! Yeah! It's a great color too! Walls are a Raspberry and the floor is a pretty rusty orange. Fun!


Cooking -- I think I've perfected the steamed Chinese fish. Yum!! I've made it a few times these past few weeks.

It was amoungst the dishes of July 4th. Also Mango Salsa (yum!) and a stone fruit cobbler of sorts. Although I've been enjoying trying out many new restaurants, our wallets and tummies haven't been as happy. So I've been trying to fit in cooking some meals...difficult when I can't use my own kitchen... although I've been told the job will be DONE Tuesday...I have hope!!

Last Day Away

Today was the last day away, returning to the city in the evening.
A fun day though!! Relaxed with the Sunday Times, sat at the beach for a bit, enjoyed the chicken wraps (the ones I showed cooking from yesterday.) Not bad at all! I always use dark meat because it tastes better, but the chicken I bought on my way out was spoiled when I opened it! Thankfully Allegra had some chicken breasts in the freezer which I substituted!

As promised, here's the chicken recipe. I've adapted it from a recipe I found years ago on the Food TV website. I'm sure it's still there if I took the time to look. There's recipe was a bit more fussy.

SPICED CHICKEN WRAPS
serves 3-4

1 14oz. can either whole tomatoes (you chop them) or chopped tomatoes
1lb dark meat chicken (thighs, legs) *Using chicken on the bone provides better flavor!*
1-2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon Cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne dried hot pepper flakes (or liquid) to your taste
Hot pepper flakes or liquid to your taste
*I often use a spicy chili powder in place of the cayenne AND hot pepper

Wraps (I like whole wheat)
Avocado
Lime
Cucumber
Cilantro
Salt

Melt the butter and brown the chicken a little. (Cook for just a few minutes.)
Pour the contents of the can of tomatoes, including juice, cumin and cayenne into a pan with the chicken and left it cook for about 40 minutes. Add the hot pepper if you are going to add it...a little goes a long ways! Cook a further 10-20 minutes.

Turn off the heat. Remove chicken parts. I use two forks and shred the chicken off the bones, returning the chicken to the pan. Cook down a further 10-20 minutes, watching as the liquid cooks off. It will disappear suddenly, so keep an eye on it. When liquid is gone, remove from heat and add salt to taste. (I use very little.)

I cook this up a day in advance and put it in the fridge overnight to let the flavors mix.

To serve, I mash up an avocado and juice from 1/2 of a lime and spread it on the wrap. I peel and thinly slice the cucumber, lengthwise, and toss it in a bowl with the other 1/2 of the limes juice.

Put some chicken mixture in the middle of the wrap. Add some cucumber strips and some cilantro leaves. Wrap it up (the avocado can also be used as the glue to help the wrap stick together.)

Yuuuuuum!
Enjoy!

After lunch and some beach time, we wandered to the next town over for some ice cream and chatting while Dan wandered around taking photos. I really like this photo Dan took of Allegra and I.
Now it's back to city life and work! (Which in iteself isn't all bad either!)

What a busy day!
I shot downtown this morning to meet Allegra for brunch at a sweet french cafe called Petite Abeille - YUM!! Great COFFEE and wonderful buttery steomp (a carrot-potato mash that comes on the side of most brunch dishes.)

From here I dashed through food shopping so that I could get home and start making turkey soup. Hours of cooking down the carcass paid of!! It is one of the best turkey soups I've made to date. Good freezer filler for those cold days ahead.

Watched Prarie Home Companion -- really dissapointed in it.
Oh, and somehow I came from behind and beat Dan in a good game of Scrabble!!!

Weeeeeeeee! A fun way to spend a chilly day!