Perfect, easy peeling, boiled eggs

Back when I worked in a commercial kitchen making perfect hard boiled eggs involved steaming them in the steamer in a perforated pat for exactly 14 minutes. It was easy. But now that I'm retired I have to use the stove and boil them. Can you believe that I had to do some research into how to make the perfect boiled egg? And what I found was that there are many, many opinions on how to do this. I wanted an egg that didn't have that gray overcooked edge on the yolk and that was consistently easy to peel. Two separate problems to solve. I already knew that 10 minutes of boiling gave me an acceptable egg most of the time but the problem was the peeling. I like to make deviled eggs for pot luck type of situations and you want your deviled eggs to look appealing (get the pun) hee, hee. So with my research here is what I worked out. Your mileage may vary, this is what works for the altitude in Minnesota. I know for a fact that it doesn't work in the Colorado mountains at 9,000 feet - the eggs have to cook for some unknown time longer - I'll work on it when we go to the cabin this summer.

Take the eggs out of the refrigerator and put them into a pan. Fill the pan with HOT tap water and put it on medium heat. Bring to a steady but not hard boil and boil for 10 minutes (use a timer). When the timer has about 2 minutes left to go, prepare an ice cold water bath for the eggs. Put a tray of ice cubes into a bowl and fill with cold tap water. When the timer goes off, immediatly drain the eggs and rinse with cold tap water. Then put them into the ice cold water bath and leave them until the ice melts. When you peel them, crack them all around the middle of the egg and the shell should just come off in large sections. Works for me - try it and let me know if it works for you. Popular folk lore says that you should only use old eggs for boiling but I've used them fresh from the farm and it's worked.

Here's one of the things I do with boiled eggs. This "recipe" comes from my grandmother so that must qualify it as an heritage recipe - except that my kids and the Compadre think it's gross so the recipe is bound to stop with me. Anyway, take a peeled egg and slice it. Drizzle oil and vinegar on it and then sprinkle salt and pepper on it. Mmmm, brings back memories every time.

If Only I Could Remember My Camera

If I could remember my camera then I would have wonderful pictures of the cute alpacas that I saw at the Minnesota Alpaca Expo last Saturday. It was a fun day. Although I have no knowledge whatsoever about judging alpacas it was fun to watch. Everywhere you looked there was a cute alpaca head looking back at you! Some of my friend's alpacas placed very well. I had the most fun watching the kids with their alpacas play "Simon says" during the lunch break. Little kids with their alpaca on a leash leading it around the ring. Cute and cuter. But sorry, I forgot my camera, you'll just have to imagine it. Oh, and there were vendors - yarn vendors. I bought another kit to make yet another tulip sweater for Abigail! I love, love, love making that sweater and Abigail looks so cute in it. Christmas present here we come.

And if I had thought that there would be a camera opportunity I would have brought it to the sock machine get together last Monday. We got a tour of the wooden box factory that is a family business for one of our members. It was like going back in time - the boxes are made with very old technology and this is one of the only places that makes wooden berry boxes. We saw the basswood logs being made into the thin veneer and scored and sliced into the pieces for the boxes and then watched them being stapled into the actual boxes. I just love factory tours and this was especially great because of its history and because I know one of the people involved.

I learned how to make the tiny felted mittens on my sock machine on Monday too. They are fun to make. The idea is to make coin purses out of them by sewing velcro in the top. When I got home and showed the Compadre what I had learned he started laughing! He pointed out that the entry for Monday on the Yarn Harlot's daily calendar was about making mittens because they're a small project. And she had the idea to sell them as small purses (tongue in cheek) because you don't need as many mittens as you do socks. And here I was actually making small mitten purses! Talk about a coincidence.


I'll leave you with a picture of a different baby! This is Natalie, she's the daughter of my nephew and his wife. They were visiting last week. Also in the picture is my son and his fiancée and my daughter. What a cute baby.

It Was A Very Good Trip

The Compadre and I went on a quick trip out east to visit Abigail – and her parents of course. The Compadre was on spring break. Funny, now that I don’t have to worry about the school schedules the Compadre does. We had such fun playing with a 15 month old Abigail. She is enjoying her mobility as she walks all over. Her other grandparents came too and so Abigail had what we called “staff”. If she started out walking somewhere she looked to see if someone was following – and if no one was she made sure one of us did! Amy was a little worried that when we all left Abigail would be a handful but as of our last phone call she handled it fine.

For such a short trip we packed in a lot of visiting, yarn shopping and eating out. I visited Amy’s favorite yarn shop – Stitches with Style on the way in from the airport. It was fun to see that Abigail is such a regular at the shop that the staff gets down on the floor and plays with her. She’s also been well trained that she leaves the yarn alone!! She does have her own yarn that she can play with. I did have to stimulate the economy there and I bought some sock yarn and a cool necklace made out of slices of aluminum knitting needles. We ate at wonderful Malaysian restaurant twice while we were there. I wasn’t too adventurous but I did eat a dish called Fried Pearl Noodles. The noodles were kind of the shape and consistency of gummy worms but they tasted like fried rice. Very good. We also visited Amy’s other favorite yarn shop Vulcan’s Rest Fibers. This shop is in a small town on the Chesapeake Bay. I wished we had had more time to explore the area. This shop had spinning and weaving supplies. Of course I had to stimulate the economy there also and I bought some more yarn and some roving. I wanted Amy to use some of the roving to practice her spinning but she is reluctant to use “good” fiber to practice. Keep spinning Amy, you’ll get better and better and then you’ll be happy to use good fiber.

Abigail was dedicated at their church on Sunday. It worked out that the dedication could be scheduled when we were there and so that was a bonus. We got to meet a lot of Amy and Eric’s friends too. Abigail wore a dress for her dedication that I had made when my girls were little. This particular one is one of a matching set that I made for Amy and her sister and it was worn by Anita. I need to re-learn how to smock so that I can make some cute dresses just for Abigail. Another bonus was getting to know Eric’s parents better. It was fun to spend time with them.

Take a look at this

I've been working making bread from the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day cookbook but I have to say I need to do it a few more times before giving you my review. But in the meantime I discovered this video of a 93 year old woman giving her stories and recipes from the depression. I can remember my mother feeding us pasta with ketchup on it and as kids we liked it!! She has a total of 10 videos if you like this one.

Quick Turkey Alfedo Soup

Yesterday we had a biggish snowstorm. Yesterday I was scheduled to drive my younger son from work to school because his car died and he needed me. Yesterday the Compadre had class to teach in the evening and he was sick. I'm sure the snowstorm wasn't a blessing to everyone but to us it was. School was canceled so I didn't have to drive in the snowstorm and the Compadre got to come home and have a sick "evening". He's a busy man - he only gets to be sick for one evening. Tell that to his body!

So I was planning to have the evening to myself because the Campadre would be teaching. My dinner on those nights is usually leftovers, or popcorn, or whatever I can scrounge up - you get the picture. Confession is good for the soul I hear. But the Compadre came home and he wanted something to eat! And he was sick. I checked the cupboards for chicken soup and the cupboard was bare (of Campbells chicken soup that it). So I remembered that my daughter - you know, Abigail's mother - had told me of a yummy alfredo soup that she made. With the wonders of cell phone technology I called her up and asked her for the recipe. She told me how she made it and then I proceeded to make it my way. And it was yummy!

It all started with a Pampered Chef recipe that Amy had. The basic premise is a jar of alfredo sauce and a can of chicken broth. It also included broccoli - but if you remember my last post - I can't do broccoli. So, here's what I did.

I found a cup of cooked diced turkey meat in the freezer and put it in a pan.
I dumped a jar of alredo sauce in the pan
I added about 3/4 of a box of shelf stable chicken broth (about 24 0z.)

I stirred it all up and started it heating.

Then I added:

1 cup of sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery including the leaves
1/2 of a medium onion, diced
1 clove's worth of chopped, bottled, garlic

I cooked the soup until the vegetables were done and then we sat down to eat it. Yummy. Turkey soup for the grumpy, sick, Compadre. He pronounced it good. And it was super fast to make.

By the way - if you have extra cooked turkey or chicken meat, dicing it up and freezing it in small baggies make for easy meals later on. And if I had some, homemade broth would have been better - less salt and all the other mystery ingredients in the boxed stuff. I'll have to get on that - soon.

A Bad Night Last Night

I think that every writer goes through dry periods, sometimes called writer’s block. I guess I qualify as a writer now since I’ve had difficulty thinking of something to write lately. But I have a few backup ideas in my mind and now is the time to use one of them. QoE of Yarn and Chocolate tagged me a long time ago for the 6 things about me meme. I know all about the facebook controversy about the 25 things and narcissism and all that and really I’m not sure what I’d tell you about anyway but I’ve been meaning to tell you about one thing about me for a while.

I have a lot of allergies. They all showed up, the nasty things, when I became middle-aged. And they keep showing up. I’m allergic to a whole bunch of foods and some hay fever inducing things too. Oh, and some medications also. The family joke is that some day all I’m going to be able to eat is white rice. Most of the food allergies but not all of them are related to the latex allergy I have. So, let me tell you what it’s like to be me.

Last evening I must have eaten something that I was allergic to. I’ve gone over in my mind everything that I ate last night and nothing was on the known allergy list. That means probably another food is heading for the do not eat list. The prime suspect is chocolate. I might cry if that’s true. Some people who just don’t understand, think when a person who is allergic to a food tells them they can’t eat such and such “oh, they just don’t like that food and don’t want to eat it”. I like to eat cherries, cranberries, kiwi, bananas, avocado, pineapple, salmon, broccoli, artichokes. And I love chocolate. In fact sometimes I crave one of the foods on my do not eat list, but I don’t want to spend a night like I did last night for the short period of enjoyment I would have if I ate one of them. So, last night, it started with stomach cramps, like you normal people would get with the worst flu you’ve ever had and then it worked its way down to abdominal cramps. Basically I can feel the offending food working its way through my system. Sometimes I can sleep it off but it took a long time of tossing and turning and sweating and getting the chills last night for it to get through me. Not pleasant. I hope it’s not the chocolate.

And then there is the latex allergy. Food service workers and nurses are the most likely to have this one due to the latex gloves that we wore until we were sensitized to them. In my case it causes a red rash sort of like a bad sunburn but it itches and then hurts like the dickens if I scratch it. So, latex is a natural rubber product and is found in all kinds of things. Like elastic in your underwear or socks. This is one of my “justifications” for having a sock machine and knitting all my socks. I went on a tour of a sock factory in Indiana during the sock machine conference and noticed that the label on all their socks said that latex might be in the product. I mentioned that to the manager who was leading our group that maybe they could use a non latex elastic in their socks since there were many who were allergic to latex and his attitude was “that’s your problem, not mine”. Most medical establishments understand and take measures to make sure that latex is not a problem – in fact some have banned latex completely. Kudos for them! By the way balloons are made with latex. One popped balloon spreads powdered latex into the whole room. And elastic, I have a hard time finding underwear – most labels don’t even tell what the elastic is made out of. I found a brand I could wear and then they changed the way they’re made. So I’ll have to do some more searching and find another one. Or I could always make my underwear!! Not. And did you know that most condoms are made with latex. Heh. That’s all I’ll say about that one.

Some people actually could die if they eat the food their allergic to – my Aunt Ann is one of them. She’s got the type of allergy to nuts that closes up her throat and she can’t breathe. Some of the kids in school who have peanut allergies are that allergic – I pity their mothers. Can you imagine fearing for your child’s life every day when you send them to school?

I’ve met my share of people who are intolerant towards people who are allergic. Allergic people don’t choose to be that way, it’s not like we’re trying to make life difficult for you – it’s just that it’s difficult for us and we would like you to be understanding and helpful. Yes, you might not be able to have your favorite food when we’re a guest in your home in deference to the person that is allergic to it or you might not be able to wear your favorite perfume to some public places. And if you’re a manufacturer it sure would be nice if you would put accurate labels on things, not just generic labels that say the product might contain the allergen in order to cover your butt. But keep in mind that what you might be called on to do to defer to the allergic person is just for a short time – we live every day like this.

And just because what's a post without a picture - here's another picture of Abigail.

A Pair of Hats

I've been into the quick gratification of hats lately. I have some long, long projects going too but every now and then it's nice to make something that works up fast. And once you complete a hat you don't have that pesky second one to make - or if you do it's just another hat of a different type. So here we have it. A pair of hats.

The first one I made is from another CiD Hanscom pattern. Do you remember Radar from MASH? Well here is a hat like he wore. Only prettier. I was glad that I worked on this one during open knitting at Double Ewe because I got the instructions for the brim exactly backwards in my thinking. I don't know what I was thinking, really. But one of the gals at knitting had knit it already and even had CiD's phone number on her cell phone. She got me straightened out in my thinking even before CiD called back and it was clear sailing from then on. I'm showing you the inside and outside of the brim in hopes that you won't think backwards like I did. The hat is cute and really probably looks better on a younger model but what can I say.... This Radar cap is made with Frog Tree Merino for the main color and Frog Tree Alpaca for the contrasting color. Both in worsted weight. Very soft and comfy.










The second hat I made for the Compadre. I looked at his dismal collection of hats and decided it was a case of the cobblers children - you know, they never had any shoes. The Compadre was wearing either a store bought acrylic hat - ugly as sin - or a red and yellow polar fleece hat that I had made as a gag when we had students at Iowa State. Embarrassing. I guess I didn't think to make him a hat because I was afraid that he would lose it. He does lose things, but he takes offense that I consider it a given that he'll lose this hat. We'll see, I'm just protecting myself from being too crabby if he does lose it. Kelly is calling a disposable hat. And by the way, I have enough yarn to make another one with the colors in the opposite order. And Compadre, that doesn't mean you should lose this one! I made the hat using the Seaman's hat pattern with Brown Sheep Nature Spun yarn left over from Felted Rudy. It was fast to knit and I had fun designing the stripes. I like that there is a purled turning row for the brim - it makes it look neat and tidy. By the way - he requested a plain hat - I couldn't stand it so I added the stripes.


Oh, and Miss T gave me permission to show this picture of the super secret test knitting project that I'm doing for her. It's one of the perils of test knitting - do over.






And just because I'm a Grandma.....Abigail feeding her baby. Notice, she is using the bottle upside down - she's never used a bottle and she drinks out of a cup now - so the baby is drinking out of a "cup" too.