in the kitchen and a glimpse of cedar

It was, is, and may still be a rather satisfying weekend, offering up an air show on the beach, decent dog training, and the homemade brownie, courtesy of Cook's Illustrated:
I have to say, these brownies absolutely rock. They are simple, intense and moist. I am a big fan of Cook's Illustrated, the magazine and the cookbook. I like Christopher Kimball's little editorial letter each issue, extolling the virtues of Vermont's rural lifestyle, and I like the fact that the magazine is all about the test kitchen. And these brownies, well, I'm all about the baking from scratch.

In an unprecendented flurry of domesticity, I also made this Moroccan Chickpea Chili, from this month's Cooking Light magazine. Warm and rich, with cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, this promises to deliver some heavenly lunches this week.


I lost no time in bouncing back on the knitting horse after the debacle that was Clapotis. I am nothing, if not resilient.
So I've started Marilyn's Not So Shrunken Cardiigan from the inimitable Knit and Tonic Wendy. I have to say, this is one well-written pattern. I'm a bit of a baby when it comes to reading and understanding just what the knit designers are telling me to do, but Wendy...she gives good pattern. I'm using Jo Sharp Silkroad DK, in a beautiful color called "Cedar", and it is, indeed, the color of cedar trees after a rain, but it's a fickle color, at times showing black, sometimes showing a blue green cast, sometimes just a grey green. This shot, I think, on this monitor I'm using, is fairly true to sunlight. The yarn is soft, squishy, crispy and tweedy, all at once. Satisfactory stockinette, of course, with just a few increases ongoing, to keep it interesting. A veritable love fest, thus far.