Unexpected partners, quiche and red chili oil

There was quite a bit of cooking on a grey cold Monday morning,  crust free spinach quiche and red chili oil. I've been thinking about both for a while, and thought well why not both? 

The red chili oil is from Yeung Man Cooking on YouTube and the  quiche from a long ago internet friend (Patti, if you're reading, it's Diane's recipe!)

So many spices in play for the oil. I subbed long red pepper for the Chinese red pepper he used, caraway seeds for tahini seeds, didn't have star anise, nor ghost peppers, but I used jalapenos, same idea.  I don't make as much as he does, because it lasts a while for me. 

I used the jar my berbere had been in, without wiping, since the remaining berbere would add heat, fine.

On the right you see spices and seeds toasting in a dry pan, other items waiting around. 

Meanwhile on the other counter

The doings for the quiche. I added in mashed firm tofu with the cheese, and beat the onions and torn up spinach into the egg mixture. Worked a treat.

Here's the chili oil, red because of the red pepper in it, and the quiche ready for the oven, 350°f  for twenty minutes.

Here it is, smelling great and ready to serve 

And here's lunch 

This really was excellent, even if I do say it myself. The spices were mellowed by toasting and sauteing, and the onions and garlic, too. 

The idea just occurred to me when I realized the onions were cooked in the oil for flavor then strained out, so there they were ready to use, no need to make another lot for the quiche. A rush of brains to the head.

I was thinking about old language after the first footing discussion, and the Viking influence on the region I'm from. 

You see it in place names

And Norse words were common in the language of my childhood, particularly in the country. 

If you were tugging in the thumb latch on the back door, you'd be told "Don't rive at that sneck!". And playing out: if you go up fell, don't fall in 't beck! Translation if you're playing near the hill don't fall in the stream.

When I went to the uni I had to drop a lot of terms that the other students didn't understand, being from non Norse regions. And some pronunciation, too. 

We lived in Gribdale, outside of Great Ayton, famous for Captain Cook. The next village was Little Ayton, known to us as Canny Atton

but when I asked a farmer about that a couple of years ago, he being a new resident from the south, he was baffled. And there's Chop Gate, said as Shop Yat, and I hear that pronunciation is gone too.  

Times change and we change with them. 

Tempora mutantur et nos mutamur in illis. That's as accurate as I can get it without researching, but I don't remember who said it. 

Probably a Roman complaining the language had gone to hell since all the foreigners moved in.

Happy day everyone, you say you!

Memories of Marigold as long as we're reminiscing. This was her last night, age 16. 

Walking returns

Sunday morning was cold and windy but very bright, so I got out walking before returning to the sofa to read and weave. 

Before I left, I did a  few minutes' farmer's carry with 5lb weights, wearing my boots, around the living room. It's a gradual process, but Sunday was dry, so I wore Tretorns for walking. They're a bit too big, always something.

Chilly chairs for snowmen 

Look at the pale gold of these beech leaves, hanging in for most of the winter 

Creepy shadows, cue scary music. It's like good tree, bad tree.

Crowds of kids later in this area, kicking balls, throwing spirals more or less, having a great time, girls and boys all playing, reminded me why I like living here rather than in a  quiet,  little retirement development.  

A lot of my friends live in them and like it, I'd hang sooner, but there, you do you, they'll do them. I love the energy of kids fizzing about.

Happy day everyone, fizz away! Sez Ted and Big Ursy 

And here's dear G fizzing away with me on a recent visit. She's one of the few people this 5'2" woman can tower over, I love it.

Belated New Year, cardboard art, weaving

Handsome Son visited Saturday, bringing shortbread and ginger ale for the New Year, adding to the tea and banana bread I provided. 

Since the first person over the threshold this year was a blonde woman, we missed the first footing. But HS,  the dark haired man arriving a bit late with food and drink, was close enough.

For people unfamiliar with first footing, it's a tradition in the North of England where I'm from.  It brings luck if the first person over the threshold in the New Year is a dark haired man bringing fuel, food and drink. 

Usually men would leave their houses before midnight, with the items - piece of coal, bottle of Scotch, slice of cake -- and chat in the street until they heard the ships' sirens and bells and, locally, pans beaten with spoons, sounding in the New Year. 

Then they'd be welcomed in with a glass of something good and a kiss from the lady of the house. Local legend has it that it had to be a dark haired man, not a Viking red -blond, this being the territory where Vikings raided. Not inviting one in!

We enjoyed our belated observance as a good start.

Speaking of cardboard as an art material, here's a wall piece I made from the insert in a Misfits grocery box 

And the weaving is progressing while I listen to A Pocketful of Rye.

This determined enjoyment and making is protest against the regime. 

Happy day everyone, make your protests heard by your MOCS.  

I got weaving

The main event on Friday was the weaving I set up.

I'm pleased about how this worked out. I used that piece of corrugated cardboard for a loom and realized a good way to set up the even warp threads was to insert skewers right through the channels in the cardboard. 

When I ran out of skewers I used small knitting needles. Then I warped up the loom. You'll see the warp threads run right over the back, too.  I wanted a seamless pocket for a potholder, so I set it up that way on the loom.

I used cotton warp thread, and wool handspun for the weft. It came out as 6 epi, ends per inch. That's the weaving equivalent of stitches per inch. 

As you see, I used a crochet hook to draw the weft through. After a while I switched to a size 4 Tunisian crochet hook,  which worked better.

Saturday Handsome Son is visiting to get tea and his share of banana bread. Out of one loaf I get a couple of slices. Mostly it's a shared thing with son and neighbors.

The reviews for it are pretty good so far.

Happy day everyone, get weaving, whatever that means in your life.

Sez Ted and Big Ursy 

 

Proof of delivery

New Year's Day I sliced up the banana bread and delivered to several neighbors to wish them a happy New Year.  

It was bitterly cold and windy with a skim of snow and I tried my footing to see if it t was slippery. Not as long as I proceeded with caution.

Mark my footsteps, good my page tread thou in them boldly. 

Happy neighbors, and one came over later with split pea soup, yay.  She says it's gone very thick which made me wonder if I could convert it into pease pudding, which I love. With the last of the ham. Hmm.

Making plans, meaning plans about making,  involve that nice piece of cardboard and small amounts of handspun yarn. And weaving a seamless pocket type potholder. 

Thereby using up handspun, upcycling the cardboard as a loom, and avoiding all the small burns I get on the back of my hand from the upper stove shelf. 

You see the openings at the edge. I may insert skewers to maintain an evenly spaced warp. I haven't measured but it's probably 6-8 epi. 

This will be fitted into online games and reading Griffiths, Delderfield, and listening to Boland. It's all go.

Happy day everyone, White rabbits and a happy New Year. And Freecycle, the gift that keeps on giving 

New year's eve, such excitement

 I spent New Year's Eve as I usually do - changing the bed, doing laundry, taking out all the garbage and recycle, baking a cake to share with neighbors for New Year. 

Banana bread with cranberries and chocolate chips. 

Then I can be obnoxiously smug on New Year's Day, reading my detective mysteries and eating cake and drinking tea.  

Happy New Year everyone! For me, I'll settle for not having a joint replacement, crashing my car, needing my house wall replaced, having a microwave burst into flame, replacing a heatpump and, hardest of all,  losing more friends younger than I.

They were the bits of 2025 I'm glad to have in the rear view mirror.

What I'm happy about and hoping for more of in 2026 are blogistas encouraging and amusing me, my knitting group's continued friendship, growing flowers, making all the things, cooking interesting food.

More peace on earth especially in the US is my hope, and I have plans to do my bit there

Happy New Year everyone!

Tuesday Knitting Group, Textiles and Tea, Anthony DiRenzo

The high winds Tuesday made driving quite exciting but it's a small distance to the library for the group.

I have to show you this newborn size shrug! Ready for a baby shower next week 

Tiny! This just covers the baby's back, like a micro shrug.

The maker, a new member, was wearing a sweater she'd knitted herself

And here's gloves, handspun and dyed and knitted by M

I'm working on a shawl made from pinloom woven squares 

It's mainly about using up the squares I made in a weaving frenzy. I made a summer vest with another group, in a fine thread.

It was a good afternoon, talk ranging over newborns, patterns, Norwegian yarn, the  Red Bank arty community, dementia, autism, deaf blind finger language, my cousin Marie, expensive knitting conventions, Quebec, birthdays, measles, New Year celebration, embroidery, and more.

Home in time for Textiles and Tea with Anthony diRenzo , a former Montessori teacher of fiberart and Spanish, now a recognized teacher of fiberart to Middle school and Montessori teachers and workshop presenter. 

He studied in Oaxaca, and spins, knits, weaves, dyes and designs. He has had his students weave scarves using low and no cost rescued yarns. They're donated to homeless Lgbtqia youth.

He gets the materials partly from volunteering at FABSCRAP , a great Brooklyn-based nonprofit, which rescues fabric, notions and other fibers, left over from designer workshops. 

They recycle and save masses of surplus fabric from the landfill. They're a kind of Misfits for the garment trade. I've written about them before and I was so happy to see he makes great use of their resources 

 He's a great teacher and social activist, as we'll as fiber artist. 

These are rigid heddle looms he acquired and set up for student use,see the different approaches in progress

 

Small samples he wove before deciding on a bigger application

Cochineal dyed wallhanging

Great day again, last Tuesday of the year. Looking forward to more next year.

Happy day everyone, enjoy Tuesdays. And other days. All of them.