My sister challenged me last week to only post photos taken on Fridays for Flashback Friday. I was down until I realized that most of my favorite photies were taken on Saturday nights in my kitchen with my girlfriends.

It’s been a little while since I was blond and just when I was starting to miss it, the California sunshine has started lightening my hair quite a bit. I am on as long a break as possible from damaging my hair, but with any luck (and many hours poolside and at the beach) my hair will be light without any chemicals.

PS – next week new recipes!

Saturday, March 7 2009 – My crazy hair, Gill’s framing hands. <3

I did it!! Look! My sister won like 14, but whatever, I got one!

So with the Ravellenic Games behind me for another two years, the desire to knit my face off is still in full force. Thankfully my life is actually pretty conductive to that, so away I went casting on and finishing a pair of cute baby socks for my girl Sammie. Well, they’re for her baby duh, but that baby isn’t finished cooking yet. That gives me more time to knit other cute things for her!

But those socks are finished, May, where’s your work in progress?! These lovies were cast on shortly before the Games started and I set them aside to work on my puffs. The puffs are habit forming!! After I finished the pink baby socks, I immediately used the rest of the yarn to make puffs (I only got two out of what was left) and these socks are not even done yet and I’m already thinking about the puffs I will make with the leftover yarn. Here are Miss Wee One #3’s almost finished wee socks!

No lie, she is currently wearing the finished one. She wanted to wear the one that’s still on the needles, but eventually decided the one without the pokey things would be just fine for today. Don’t you eat cereal while watching My Little Pony on Netflix with one woolly sock on – in California in August?!

Sidebar: Our cousin’s girlfriend showed me Coursera a little while ago! Have you seen this?

I will be taking Networked Life, Model Thinking and Greek and Roman Mythology this term (they are all 10 weeks long) and then Nutrition for Health Promotion (6 weeks) in January. I’m excited that each of the courses I picked all award a certificate of completion if done well!

So, as you may recall, I jumped into the Ravellenic Games (aka the Knitting Olympics) on day 6, which is a little crazy but I figured I’d be able to challenge myself to something and actually do it.

I am beyond happy to report that I did! This is my official project page on Ravlery, I knit 100 puffs for my Beekeeper’s Quilt with literally just 15 minutes to go!

Since I focused all my efforts on this one event (the Modular Relay) I will only get one medal, which is what I originally set out to do, but as I watch so many other knitters collect a zillion medals for painfully easy tasks (like knitting 5 puffs, or knitting a stack of unstuffed puffs) I’m all butthurt! Haha. Which is totally ridic, I know. I could have chosen to knit like 10 puffs for that event, and I could have made cross-event projects (like if I had made a pair of quick baby socks from the pink bamboo in my stash it would have counted for 3 events; Baby Dressage, Synchronized Stash Busting and the Sock Put – actually, if I made them as a Chrismtas gift then I would have also gotten the Holiday Hurdles event). Anyhoo, I’m setting the lofty goal right now that I will try to participate in ALL the events in 2014. So I think I need a loom lol.

As for Menu Monday this week, I’m not sure what I’m doing because it’s been so hot! Last night we had sandwiches. Yes, really. At first I was thinking I should just BBQ this week, but I’m not as great with charcoal as I am with gas and my gas BBQ is about eleventy billion miles away. Soooo, we’ll see. I’m thinking at the very least I should have brought my slow cooker or toaster oven down with me for temps like these!

I did however, order this and can hardly wait for it to get here so I can make frozen treats for the wee ones!

New readers of my blog may not know that my husband and I married (each other) twice. The first time we eloped at 19 & 21 with only by bestie and her boyfriend as witnesses, and then again 8 years later in the Greek Orthodox church I grew up in. I picked these photies from the second time we got married (in May 2008) for Flashback Friday today because since moving to Los Angeles I miss my sister, my girlfriends, my parents and my extended family and I miss my husband’s family too (who totally feel like my family after 12 years). This day was one of those magical days when almost everyone that matters is together!! Happy Friday!

Greeks don’t mess around when it’s time to make a big deal out of something.

Le sigh. I love this photie. (l-r back row; my adorable sister, Wee One #3’s Godmother, my daddy, my mom, me, Wee One #1’s Godmother and l-r front row; my original bestie circa 1984, Wee One #2’s Godmother and my long time dear, dear sister from another mister friend that I got all bent out of shape about and no longer talk to). Damn. Should I call her?

I love when my mom smiles like this! <3

When I was a kid, scalloped potatoes was my hands down favorite side and maybe to keep the magic of it alive for me, my Daddy would only make it once in a while. I absolutely loved everything about it, like most kids I counted potatoes as my favorite vegetable and also like most kids, I had a real serious love of cheese. Now that I’m older though I understand that wasn’t just the marriage of cheese and potatoes that won my heart with this side, but the creamy, slightly gooey sauce that keeps it all from melting into a big unappetizing clump and the tiny hint of nutmeg. So many of my childhood favorites had a pinch of nutmeg in them. Thanks for setting the bar so high, Daddy! <3 This recipe is not his original. The only irritating thing about my father's kitchen habits is his refusal to use an actual recipe. He calls them a 'springboard' for his kitchen creativity. No controlling this guy with measurements or doing anything the same way twice! So his recipe for the scalloped potatoes I grew up with is a pinch of this and a dash of that and 'it's done when it smells done'. This recipe though, is pretty close!! One of these days, I will try to veganize it! Personally, I wouldn't attempt to make any kind of scalloped potatoes unless I had a serious mandolin, but if you're good with a knife - by all means slice them thin!

cooking spray
about 5 or 6 medium potaotes, I used red
3 pieces bacon, fried and patted dry
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1 cup fat free milk
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons thyme

After you slice your potatoes as thin as possible (or slightly thicker, if you prefer), fry up and then dry your bacon. Now make a gooey mixture with the melted butter, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Toss the potato slices in it and make sure they’re all evenly coated. Most recipes will tell you to grate your cheese but I slice mine into smallish chunks for this. Spray whatever dish you’re using and arrange about 1/2 of the coated potatoes on the bottom, then cover with about half the sliced cheddar.
Now scald your milk, nutmeg and thyme. Just bring it to a boil and shut it off. Give it another mix to be sure the spices are incorporated. Now add the rest of the coated potatoes, pour the milk mixture over them and top with the rest of the cheddar and the mozzarella and bacon. Cook at 425 for about 45 minutes.

Behold! Here are all 62/100 of the puffs I’ve been knitting for the Modular Event in Ravellenics 2012. Total I have over 100 puffs for the actual quilt I’m making these for, but as far as the knitting olympics goes, the count is 62, leaving 38 to do by Sunday. I think I can get them done by Friday, maybe even Thursday night. If I manage to do that I will cast on for another event over the weekend.

When I decided to challenge myself to make 100 puffs I figured getting one medal would be awesome, but my sister already has 12 (in order from most recent finish line crossed; TWO medals in the Shawl Sailing event, TWO medals in the Lace Longjump, Balance Beads, Synchronized Stash Busting, TWO medals in the Single Skein Sprint, WIPs Wrestling, Holiday Hurdles, Charity Rowing, and Scarf Hockey). Some of the events overlap, so for example if you make a scarf from stash yarn to save as a Christmas gift it would count in Scarf Hockey, Synchronized Stash Busting, and Holiday Hurdles. Clearly, I went about this all wrong. Watch out 2014!!

I’d like to make a little something special for Sammie‘s little one on the way, but I think I want to make her something more grand than a weekender project. Actually, I guess I could knit something small for her to go with a bigger package. If I do, that would be part of the Baby Dressage event, and hey if I make a wee pair of socks it would also count towards the Sock Put event (or the Toy Toss event if I made a little toy).

Anyhoo, less typing, more knitting!

As promised, here’s a little peek at some California adventures! Wee One #2’s Godparents were our first visitors since moving down here. They are some of our oldest friends but we’ve lived in different countries for the last nine years. They live on the west coast too and we are all so excited to be able to spend more time with each other! The La Brea Tar Pits was high in our list of places to see and our friends love, love, love museums so away we went. I learned so much!

Here’s a little background for you. The La Brea Tar Pits are a cluster of naturally occurring tar pits in the middle of Los Angeles. If you’ve heard of Hancock Park, that’s the park the city built around the tar pits. The tar here has been seeping up from the ground for tens of thousands of years. That itself is pretty amazing, and of course all the animals that have become trapped in the tar over all this time! The tar keeps the bones well preserved and I was really surprised at the kinds of animals found there like mammoths, wolves, horses, deer, llamas, camels (wait there were camels in LA at some point?!), bison, bears, ground sloths, even a woman (who has been dated at about 10,000 years!!) and of course the California state fossil, the saber toothed cat. Aside from things the general public would find interesting (there are also a lot of really beautiful gems found in the tar), there are all kinds of discoveries relevant to the scientific world like fossilized insects, plants and grains – not to mention 200-300 previously unknown species of bacteria!

All seven of us had a great afternoon wandering around Hancock Park and taking in the sites of all the different tar pits and the gardens surrounding them. We also spent hours inside the George C. Page Museum learning more about how the animals got trapped in the tar – and tested out an exhibit that gives you an idea of what it feels like to be trapped in it yourself!

Today, I’m linking up with Organizing Junkie

Sometimes I fear that if I post any more about my unending love for Mama Pea or her cookbook, she will think I am officially insane. Or like, get a restraining order or something. But I’m not crazy obsessed, I’m just smitten by a book filled with vegan recipes that not only doesn’t require me to sprout oat groats (wait, what?) but also tastes amazing and rarely takes a whole lot of effort – though when there is a recipe that does require a lot of effort (hello Crazy Good Hummas) it’s totally worth it.

This week is a bad week to be cooking a lot because the Ravellenic Games 2012 are still kicking and I reeeeeally want to finish the Modular Relay by Wednesday so I can attempt a second event. Incidentally, for those following along, last night I passed out with a puff count of 44/100. Today will be a serious knitting day. Hopefully. So anyhoo, while this week is a bad week to be playing in the kitchen, I’m going to anyway because I fell off the clean eating wagon a few weeks ago and have felt really uncomfortable and generally just gross since. I’m already starting to feel better and it’s only been a couple of days back on the wagon! Most of that is thanks to Mama Pea’s book. It really is inspiring. <3 This Week’s Menu – August 6-12

Sunday – Roasted Chicken with Root Veggies, Stuffing and Gravy for the fam, Vegetarian Pad Thai for me and Pea’s German Chocolate Cake for dessert

Here are a few photies of Mama Pea’s Baked Oatmeal Squares. Not because they’re on the menu this week, but because I’m snacking on one as I blog this morning.

I came across the first picture here this morning and had one of those ‘how do they get so big, so fast?!’ moments, and a couple other pictures of these two came to mind. It makes me all misty to see their little relationship growing over time! The first photo was taken the week Wee One #2 was born, the second one was taken shortly after Wee One #3 was born and the third one was taken last year, when we lived in a cottage by the lake. Be still my little heart.

Yesterday, the day ended with a puff count of 24/100 for Ravellenics 2012 – Modular Relay

2005

2009

2011

These little treats are almost a brownie, almost cakey in texture but are chocolate chip cookie all the way in flavor. Which of course means my kids love them – brownie, cake and chocolate chip cookie all at once? Oh! That actually gives me an idea for later! Ahem. These Congo Bars take maaaybe 5 minutes to get in the oven, 7 if you have a toddler pulling at your skirt and like 20 if your toddler insists on helping. I do my best to let the kids help when they ask to because some of my favorite times with my parents and my grandparents were in the kitchen with a mound of flour on the floor and dough in my hair. Thanks guys!!

No small talk for you today, it’s Day 7 (of 17) of the 2012 Ravellenic Games and I’m only 0.13% through my first event, the Modular Relay (puffs for my blanket) and I’d really like to do more than one event. So whip up a batch of these, and get knitting! 🙂

Congo Bars – via Six Sisters Stuff (adapted from Bakerella

2 3/4 cup flour
2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 c. chopped pecans (I made these for the kids & they weren’t feeling the nuts)

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt and then set aside. Cream the butter and the sugars, then add one egg at a time, then the vanilla. Once that’s all incorporated, mix in the flour and then fold in the chocolate chips (and nuts if you’re using).
Pour the batter into a greased brownie pan (I spaced and left mine at a friend’s house so I made mine in a pie plate). Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes and voila!