Tuesday was day one of weaning myself off the pain meds. I have another half-day left, but I'm a bit paranoid about any medication I get that's a controlled substance, so I try to make the switch to OTC early, saving the powerful stuff for later in the recovery when the ibuprofen won't cut it. Though I think this procedure finally has me to the point where I'll be pain *free*. Yes. I wonder what that's like?
I'm also happy to report that I have finished FIVE squares of the new afghan project. I think I'm averaging one and a half squares a day. I think they'd go faster if I wasn't obsessively weaving in all my ends as I go, but once the blanket is finished, the last thing I'm going to want to do is weave in a bazillion ends. Anyway, there are 12 squares total in the project, although I'm thinking about ordering extra yarn and making it a 4x5 (20 total) afghan instead of a 3x4 (12 total) afghan. I don't like having to stretch a blanket to cover my toes. I like being totally swathed in them, without fiddling and effort.
I was tempted to cast on my next project, a Girly Top cotton tee, but even though I threaded the size four tips onto one of my circular needle cords, I stopped there. Yay me! I am determined to not let the Classic Lines Cardigan undo my so-far successful New Year's resolution to knit one thing at a time. I have slipped on buying yarn, but at least I'm still practicing serial knitting monogamy.
The tee pattern looks simple enough, though, that I may get bored with it. Right now I'm frustrated with the start-and-stop nature of the modular knitting of the afghan. I'm hoping they will balance each other out.
As soon as the exterminator (he STILL has not made his visit, the idiot) leaves tomorrow, I will be setting up my table again and possibly take a small break from knitting to make a nice tote bag out of the ultrasuede I bought a few weeks ago. It looks like a half-day project... square cuts and straight lines. I shall also set up my lighting for taking pictures and maybe get some shots of the finished CLC, my afghan in progress, and some hand spun yarn to show off.
Quite honestly, if he is a no-show again tomorrow, I'm giving up and putting all my pots and pans back in the cupboards. He can bite me.
Showing posts with label dentist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dentist. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Food: Recipes for Survival #4 - They're Not Crabcakes
My dentist did a royal number on me... I'd swear he was trying to kill me if I didn't know that my teeth were trying to do it first. NEVER get your kids three sets of braces... by the time they're 40 the enamel is going to be shot anyway apparently from the cement they fix them on there with. I'm having a bridge installed to replace a missing tooth that was originally a mistake another dentist made over ten years ago. I won't tell you how much money we're dropping on this little venture, but think very nice used car and you might be close. He has me on the good drugs and it's a little strange... weird things taste sweet, and while my eyelids refuse to stay up, my brain is still running as normal, so I'm mostly stuck listening to music or audio books.
My focus is a little fuzzy too, so while I'd like to provide a meat-free alternative this week, I just couldn't come up with one. Falafel perhaps? I don't have a tried and true recipe for that though, so we'll just have to muddle through.
This recipe is another family favorite. My daughter would live on these if she could. My grandmother used to make these all the time with canned salmon, a holdover from her days living in Alaska, I think, but they are just as good with tuna.
Fish Patties with creamed peas
2 - 15oz cans Pink Salmon or 4 - 8oz cans of tuna, water-packed, drained well
3/4 - 1 Cup crushed saltine crackers
1/4 C mayonnaise
2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
2 whole eggs or equivalent egg substitute
2-4 Tbs milk
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
Place crackers, egg, mayonnaise, and Old Bay seasoning into a medium bowl and mix well. Add enough milk or additional crushed crackers to make a mixture that's about the consistency of raw meatloaf, if needed. Add the parsley flakes and tuna or salmon. Mix thoroughly and set aside to let the crackers soak up some moisture.
Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Meanwhile, start the creamed peas:
2 Tbs butter or margarine
2 Tbs flour
1 C Milk
1/2 C frozen peas (NOT canned. They're too mushy to hold up to the stirring)
In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium-low heat. It should barely foam, and definitely should not start browning at all. When the butter is melted, add the flour, creating a paste that's called a roux. Turn up the heat to medium-high, stirring constantly until the mixture has bubbled at the bottom of the pan for a minute or so. If it takes on a little color at this point, that's okay. You want it to look kind of foamy. Add the milk all at once, still stirring continuously, and turn the heat up to high. When the milk has thickened properly, it will look like a thick gravy in consistency. Let it bubble and thicken for one minute, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and add the peas, still in their frozen state, barely stirring them in. They're fully cooked already, and will absorb the warmth from the white sauce while you're making the patties.
Time to make the patties. Divide the fish mixture into even patties about the size of your palm, less than a half-inch thick. Fry them in the non-stick pan with a little butter or oil until they are firm to the touch and browned well on both sides. Do NOT flip them too often or they will fall apart. The milk in the mixture will make them brown quickly, so test done-ness by poking them gently with your finger in the middle. They should feel just as firm as the pad of your thumb. If they get too dark too fast, turn your heat down a little bit, but make sure they are cooked until firm.
Taste your creamed peas and add salt and pepper to taste at this point. Serve by placing one or two patties on the plate and cover with the creamed peas.
*End of recipe*
When making the white sauce, it's important to keep stirring. It will stick to the bottom like nobody's business. You can also add some shallots or green onion, but I don't like to complicate it too much. I usually serve this with an orange or red veggie, such as cooked carrots or red bell-pepper strips or tomato wedges with a little italian dressing. Bread or rice on the side is also good, mostly for soaking up the rest of the sauce.
While this sounds complicated, you'll find that once you have the cooking principles behind this down pat, you can get this from can or freezer to plate in less than 20 minutes. Just make sure the patties are reasonably thin, so that the raw egg in the middle gets cooked in a reasonable amount of time.
I'm doing this from memory, and as I've stated I'm a little off my game right now. If you try this recipe and it goes kerflop, please let me know.
My focus is a little fuzzy too, so while I'd like to provide a meat-free alternative this week, I just couldn't come up with one. Falafel perhaps? I don't have a tried and true recipe for that though, so we'll just have to muddle through.
This recipe is another family favorite. My daughter would live on these if she could. My grandmother used to make these all the time with canned salmon, a holdover from her days living in Alaska, I think, but they are just as good with tuna.
Fish Patties with creamed peas
2 - 15oz cans Pink Salmon or 4 - 8oz cans of tuna, water-packed, drained well
3/4 - 1 Cup crushed saltine crackers
1/4 C mayonnaise
2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
2 whole eggs or equivalent egg substitute
2-4 Tbs milk
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
Place crackers, egg, mayonnaise, and Old Bay seasoning into a medium bowl and mix well. Add enough milk or additional crushed crackers to make a mixture that's about the consistency of raw meatloaf, if needed. Add the parsley flakes and tuna or salmon. Mix thoroughly and set aside to let the crackers soak up some moisture.
Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Meanwhile, start the creamed peas:
2 Tbs butter or margarine
2 Tbs flour
1 C Milk
1/2 C frozen peas (NOT canned. They're too mushy to hold up to the stirring)
In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium-low heat. It should barely foam, and definitely should not start browning at all. When the butter is melted, add the flour, creating a paste that's called a roux. Turn up the heat to medium-high, stirring constantly until the mixture has bubbled at the bottom of the pan for a minute or so. If it takes on a little color at this point, that's okay. You want it to look kind of foamy. Add the milk all at once, still stirring continuously, and turn the heat up to high. When the milk has thickened properly, it will look like a thick gravy in consistency. Let it bubble and thicken for one minute, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and add the peas, still in their frozen state, barely stirring them in. They're fully cooked already, and will absorb the warmth from the white sauce while you're making the patties.
Time to make the patties. Divide the fish mixture into even patties about the size of your palm, less than a half-inch thick. Fry them in the non-stick pan with a little butter or oil until they are firm to the touch and browned well on both sides. Do NOT flip them too often or they will fall apart. The milk in the mixture will make them brown quickly, so test done-ness by poking them gently with your finger in the middle. They should feel just as firm as the pad of your thumb. If they get too dark too fast, turn your heat down a little bit, but make sure they are cooked until firm.
Taste your creamed peas and add salt and pepper to taste at this point. Serve by placing one or two patties on the plate and cover with the creamed peas.
*End of recipe*
When making the white sauce, it's important to keep stirring. It will stick to the bottom like nobody's business. You can also add some shallots or green onion, but I don't like to complicate it too much. I usually serve this with an orange or red veggie, such as cooked carrots or red bell-pepper strips or tomato wedges with a little italian dressing. Bread or rice on the side is also good, mostly for soaking up the rest of the sauce.
While this sounds complicated, you'll find that once you have the cooking principles behind this down pat, you can get this from can or freezer to plate in less than 20 minutes. Just make sure the patties are reasonably thin, so that the raw egg in the middle gets cooked in a reasonable amount of time.
I'm doing this from memory, and as I've stated I'm a little off my game right now. If you try this recipe and it goes kerflop, please let me know.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Knitting: I Can't Get No...
... Satisfaction. Even at the ancient age of 40 (and something), I know I'm a little young for that particular Rolling Stones tune. Still it fits. Go, Mick.
I'm not technically done with the Blue Log Cabin yet. I bound off the last segment, but I haven't picked up the stitches for the new segment. It's about the size of a very large and bizarre shawl, but I think I'm done with it for a while. I can only do *so much* garter stitch.
I think the Purple Moderne Log Cabin blanket is felted into my couch, I haven't touched it in so long. Even in Knit Picks Palette, it's frikken expensive.
So late last night I started a fairly simple scarf (Scarf with No Name... pattern designer's words, not mine) with some Twisted Fiber Arts Circle sock yarn... I want to say it's her Arial yarn base, but who knows? I don't have a memory for these things, and I wound it into a ball months ago, thinking I was going to start some socks. Hah. I suck at socks. When I complete a pair, they're great, but dang it takes me a while. My point being, the label is long gone.
I've hit the point in the "Some Coat" project where I split for the sleeves. I've done the left front and the back segments, and am about a third of the way through the right front. Soon I'll be reconnecting for the long haul to the bottom, then the sleeves, finishing, and it's done. A quick look with my tape measure, and it appears it will be as long as the photo implies. I guess the model is a full-heighth woman after all. Those numbers looked really, really small though.
So I'm excited about knitting again, which is nice. The scarf is a quick knit, but it's lace, so it's not recommended for bedtime knitting when you want to relax. The blanket coat is not as boring as the name implies with its alternating squares of stockinette and reverse stockinette. However I want to finish it faster than the small amount of late-night knitting I do allows. So I'll probably be trading off the two projects during the day, and doing "just a few more rows" on the coat at night for the relaxy factor.
Meanwhile, another dentist appointment today. New insurance, so he wants to do a full workup again since the last one is three years old. Normally I would say this smacks of fraud, but there have been enough changes that I believe he's right. He was even kind enough to schedule a bit of extra time in case any work needed to be done. I'm hoping not, but you know how that goes. By the time *you* know you need dental work, it's already almost too late, really. I know it's a pain, but keep up with your checkups, people. It makes a HUGE difference in your health.
And it's no fun not being able to chew. :D
I'm not technically done with the Blue Log Cabin yet. I bound off the last segment, but I haven't picked up the stitches for the new segment. It's about the size of a very large and bizarre shawl, but I think I'm done with it for a while. I can only do *so much* garter stitch.
I think the Purple Moderne Log Cabin blanket is felted into my couch, I haven't touched it in so long. Even in Knit Picks Palette, it's frikken expensive.
So late last night I started a fairly simple scarf (Scarf with No Name... pattern designer's words, not mine) with some Twisted Fiber Arts Circle sock yarn... I want to say it's her Arial yarn base, but who knows? I don't have a memory for these things, and I wound it into a ball months ago, thinking I was going to start some socks. Hah. I suck at socks. When I complete a pair, they're great, but dang it takes me a while. My point being, the label is long gone.
I've hit the point in the "Some Coat" project where I split for the sleeves. I've done the left front and the back segments, and am about a third of the way through the right front. Soon I'll be reconnecting for the long haul to the bottom, then the sleeves, finishing, and it's done. A quick look with my tape measure, and it appears it will be as long as the photo implies. I guess the model is a full-heighth woman after all. Those numbers looked really, really small though.
So I'm excited about knitting again, which is nice. The scarf is a quick knit, but it's lace, so it's not recommended for bedtime knitting when you want to relax. The blanket coat is not as boring as the name implies with its alternating squares of stockinette and reverse stockinette. However I want to finish it faster than the small amount of late-night knitting I do allows. So I'll probably be trading off the two projects during the day, and doing "just a few more rows" on the coat at night for the relaxy factor.
Meanwhile, another dentist appointment today. New insurance, so he wants to do a full workup again since the last one is three years old. Normally I would say this smacks of fraud, but there have been enough changes that I believe he's right. He was even kind enough to schedule a bit of extra time in case any work needed to be done. I'm hoping not, but you know how that goes. By the time *you* know you need dental work, it's already almost too late, really. I know it's a pain, but keep up with your checkups, people. It makes a HUGE difference in your health.
And it's no fun not being able to chew. :D
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Did I mention...?
I had dental surgery a week ago. Nothing major... just something I'd put off for a while. Today I get to have my stitches taken out... whoopee.
Ironically, I feel worse today than I did two days after my procedure. This always happens when I'm on a long course of anti-biotics... towards the end, even the good bacteria have given up and strange things start happening to my mucus membranes, mostly in the nose and throat. I won't gross you out with the details, but I'm glad my last one was last night. Now I'll be scarfing yogurt and attempting to bring everything back into balance.
The blankets are proceeding apace. I ran into a minor glitch in the wool one when I didn't have enough of one color to finish a panel, so I concentrated on the cotton one for a while. Now the situation is reversed. I'm trying really hard to use this as an opportunity to destash, but these projects don't seem to want to let me do so.
On the horizon after the blankets, I have a crap-ton of projects I want to do, mainly because of my recent purchase of this book, French Girl Knits
This is the first book in a long time that I want to make EVERY SINGLE PROJECT in it. It's insane... like I don't want to knit enough things already. I feel like a knitter's version of Julie and Julia
I'm contemplating whether to start with the (Ravelry links follow) Wrenna Leather Laced Cardigan or the Cybele Vest. I have the yarn for both. I have the notions and needles for both. They both look like really fast knits. Decisions, decisions....
I *do* want to knit a couple of things before I embark on such a journey. My uncle Doug, with his large feet, diabetes, and allergy to wool, needs custom socks. Barronius is still carping on (ha ha) about his lack of a fish hat. And I do need to make myself a decent coat for this winter, as taking Monkey Pants down to the bus stop can rival the snow storms in Minnesota. Seriously. It snowed here last year, and the wind chill makes it dangerously frigid. What *will* I knit next? Stay tuned... :D
Ironically, I feel worse today than I did two days after my procedure. This always happens when I'm on a long course of anti-biotics... towards the end, even the good bacteria have given up and strange things start happening to my mucus membranes, mostly in the nose and throat. I won't gross you out with the details, but I'm glad my last one was last night. Now I'll be scarfing yogurt and attempting to bring everything back into balance.
The blankets are proceeding apace. I ran into a minor glitch in the wool one when I didn't have enough of one color to finish a panel, so I concentrated on the cotton one for a while. Now the situation is reversed. I'm trying really hard to use this as an opportunity to destash, but these projects don't seem to want to let me do so.
On the horizon after the blankets, I have a crap-ton of projects I want to do, mainly because of my recent purchase of this book, French Girl Knits
This is the first book in a long time that I want to make EVERY SINGLE PROJECT in it. It's insane... like I don't want to knit enough things already. I feel like a knitter's version of Julie and JuliaI'm contemplating whether to start with the (Ravelry links follow) Wrenna Leather Laced Cardigan or the Cybele Vest. I have the yarn for both. I have the notions and needles for both. They both look like really fast knits. Decisions, decisions....
I *do* want to knit a couple of things before I embark on such a journey. My uncle Doug, with his large feet, diabetes, and allergy to wool, needs custom socks. Barronius is still carping on (ha ha) about his lack of a fish hat. And I do need to make myself a decent coat for this winter, as taking Monkey Pants down to the bus stop can rival the snow storms in Minnesota. Seriously. It snowed here last year, and the wind chill makes it dangerously frigid. What *will* I knit next? Stay tuned... :D
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