In which I go Greek

So, Summer is either in full swing, nascent, or on it's way for a number of us (not so much the Southern hemisphere, but the rest of us), and I personally am starting to feel the cooking groove in my hands again. I'll be honest, I have barely cooked in the last year (in fact, I have eaten quite poorly for a good part of it). The other night, I whipped up a meal that made me (and my co-habitants) really happy. It was a fun meal to cook and it turned out well. So, in the interest of self-motivation, I am going to try and write a little bit about food and cooking and just keep track of what I'm up to on here more.

So, my gift to you for early June... my family's Greek Salad recipe.
This is something that my parents and I always ended up coming back to as a refreshing salad, super easy to make, and with a wee bit of attention, can be the core of a surprisingly hearty meal.

You will need cucumber (field or English), tomatoes, onion (yellow or red), kalamata olives (pitted or non), feta cheese (whichever type you prefer - I love Macedonian feta, if I can afford it), fresh (FRESH) basil, olive oil (ideally extra virgin, but again, not necessary), and optionally, balsamic vinegar. I find that half of a good sized cucumber and one or two tomatoes will make an amount sufficient for a side dish for about four people.

English cucumbers are good to use as is, but sometime with field cucumbers, I find that the skin can be a bit tough or bitter, so if you don't want to risk that getting in the way, just give the field cucumber a really quick peeling, but don't worry if there is some skin left, it won't ruin anything.
I recommend removing the cucumber seeds (cut into quarters lengthwise, then just scoop or cut them out) and the tomato juice/seeds (again, quarters, then just sort of squeeze around until the goop is out). Removing the innards of the veggies is not necessary, but I have found that it greatly improves the storage life of the salad. It will then be good for a few days in the fridge without getting completely soupy and soggy. Of course you can keep the innards and make a veggie slaw or spread or whatever tickles your fancy.

Dice/chop the cucumber (I prefer it on the finer side, not big chunks) and tomatoes (these can be bigger as they don't have the solidity of the cukes) and toss them in your mixing/serving dish of choice.
Mine/dice a small amount of onion (I use yellow, and you probably need about a fifth of an onion for the other amounts I use, but add to taste), and add the bowl.
Throw in your olives (with pits in I find taste better and usually are just nicer, but if there are young ones present, or you don't know if you'll be able to warn everyone, go with the pitted).
Ah, the cheese... I love (LOVE) feta, but I find a certain amount of restraint is good here. Crumble in enough so that there is maybe a 3:1 ratio between veggies and cheese at most.
I like sweet (Genovese) basil, but I've yet to try a variety that didn't taste amazing. Tear up (don't cut, or else your basil will brown. Also, tearing basil is fun) a good number of leaves. Basil is amazing, I can't imagine overdoing it in the dish, so add to preference.
A good splash of olive oil (3-4 tablespoons?).
A dash of balsamic vinegar if you want (I love the slight bite it gives-helps mellow out the feta).

Either mix it up, or make it straight in the serving dish. People will go picking through it for the favourite bits anyway, so I just serve it straight.

I know that's a lot of writing, but it really takes about ten minutes to put together, tops. The other night we had this with focaccia bread (olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping) and a small steak. The salad is substantial enough that you really only need a small amount of other food to supplement it (I splurged and bought a *good* cut of beef, but it was all we needed on the side).

And now I have to run to work. Have a good week peoples, I'll see you soon.

In which "Run! Godzilla!"

Well, since I still can't show you any of my knitting (it's going, I swear, albeit slowly), I'll show you a little something else I whipped up.


Baba Yagas Chicken Legged Hut

I drew this for part of a friends birthday gift. Baba Yaga is one of my favourite characters from Eastern European folklore, and her story is just deliciously creative. In short, I'm not dead yet, just not posting.

Take care peoples!

In which I explain. A little.

I have two wee pieces of news.

Piece the first: I am working on a semi-secret project (the recipient reads this blog sometimes), and there is a small amount of info on Ravelry if you're desperate (sorry to non-Ravelers).

Piece the second: I've worked out the numbers for an EZ raglan sweater that I am about to star knitting right now! So I should have some blog material soon.

Take care everyone.

In which neon takes over

At the behest of my co-habitants, I whipped up a tea cozy the other night.
I think it's ridiculous and kind of retro-hideous, but everyone else loves it!



Have a good weekend, peoples!

In which 'gloves will keep us together' *sung*

Let's see. I've been out of blogging commission for almost a month now, oops!



Pattern: Endpaper Mitts, size small
Yarn: Harrisville Designs New England Shetland. Don't remember the colours, Maybe russet and gold? Well under one skein of each.
Needles: 2.25 and 2.75mm DPNS
Start: February 2, 2009
End: April 1, 2009
For: Old Man
Modifications: None!
Verdict: Totally easy to knit, the second one took about a day and a half! The yarn is wonderful and bloomed nicely after washing and did soften a good degree. All around a winner, the recipient loves them, too!

It's hard to beat a nice nap in the sun.

In which *fluff content*

My, how he's grown.





And isn't he just a handsome devil? (and you can all get off my back about posting more cat pictures now ;) )

In which some things just never change

So I was sitting around, and I went to pick up some yarn for a project I'm working on (I'll let you know more later), and what do I see?











Looks like they stuck with me through not one, but two moves.

Happy week, peoples!

In which I continue to claim I am not dead!

So, I have stopped counting the months between postings. It's shameful, I know.

But I have been squeezing in knitting time little by little, and when I did get a minute, it would just fly by. As a result a pair of socks was finished!



Pattern: Ironworks, size small
Yarn: Tanis Fibre Arts Blue Label Fingering Weight in Peacock
Needles: 2.5mm aluminum circulars
Start: September 24, 2008
End: Jan 24, 2009
For: Old Man (neither an old man, nor my old man)
Modifications: None!
Verdict: Love knitting this, it sped by whenever I could have enough time to get into the pattern groove. The yarn is gaaaaaaawgeous, and just fabulous to work with. No word yet on the wear, but given it's a wool/nylon blend, I am not too concerned. As the clincher, the recipient loves them! I just feel bad it took me so long to finish.

In which I present proof

Well golly gee, I only finished this first sock AGES ago, and am still trying to get the second done when I have bits and bobs of time.

Not really in the mood for chatting folks. See you around!

In which the beast surfaces!

Oh.
Oh dear.
Oh dearie dearie me.

I am terribly sorry for my complete and unforgivable disappearance from the interwebs, fine people!
I would post more (er, at all), if I had any free time! I am just barely keeping afloat in my courses (I'm doing well enough to be comfortable), and trying to keep my place of employment in one piece (or at least several *clean* pieces).
There has been knitting, minimal but present. I have completed 1 (one) Ironwork sock, and will get my tuccus in gear after the current round of tests and papers clear out. I am still negotiating the use of a camera (so desperate...), but hopefully come mid-December I will be able to cram knitting in aplenty (I have an urge to make a sweater - just a simple-ish raglan), else I may lose it completely!

Miss you all, and I will be back the second I have pictures!

love, Michael

P.S. The little fuzzball is doing well, quite the terror still.