The Friday Hodgepodge

The backs are just as
pretty as the fronts 

Sigh, it's the last weekend of summer here in the U.S. The Labor Day holiday always signals the end of all that summertime fun - bbq'ing, hitting the beach, and long, lazy, light-filled evenings during which one can craft away.

Well I, in fact, can't say I bbq'ed or hit the beach. However, I've been working furiously behind the scenes on designs for fall, which I'll be able to reveal in just a little bit.

In the meantime, I'm starting a new September JAL in my Ravelry group for my Tunisian Meets Tartan Bag, and I'll be using the following Cascade colorways to work on my own bag right along with the JALers:



Cascade 220 in Heather, Lichen, Camel and Banana
Cream, with George Bailey as accent 

This is a great way to solidify your tunisian simple stitch skills, so I hope to see some of you there.

Additionally, I thought I'd share photos of my most recent America's Test Kitchen recipe test - it's massaman chicken curry:

It came together fairly quickly - I charbroiled the aromatics and chilies in the oven, put all that in the blender with a hefty amount of ginger (like, 3 oz worth!), some liquid and blended to make the curry paste. Then, I toasted the paste in a little oil to bring out the flavors, added appropriate seasoning, browned chicken, diced potatoes, and more onion, and then let simmer. This curry is incredibly flavorful but not hot at all - I used anaheim chilies which register at, like, zero on the chili heat scale. It will, however, ward off most colds and Dracula - the amounts of garlic, onions and ginger are off the charts.

Finally, I leave you with the flowering sights of a late summer walk here in the Pacific Northwest - we are indeed lucky to live in a climate that allows for blooming flowers throughout the entirety of the summer months.

Have a happy, restful holiday weekend (everyone in the U.S.) - and get ready for back-to-school (if it already hasn't happened). And don't forget to check in with Andrea over at Wisdom Begins in Wonder and see what everyone else is working on this end-of-summer weekend.

P.S. - Andrea, the shawl is almost done. :)