When Ling Ling decided it was time to be up this morning it appeared to be light outside a lot earlier then usual. Discovered we had about an inch of snow over night, it is snowing now, so the ground is white again. The mild weather that began before Christmas was sort of confusing. Felt like we got trapped in a holiday or post-holiday limbo with mud.
My mom put their Christmas decorations away yesterday to make the transition to just regular January. This is the time of year her sewing circle usually meets, but will be different now that great aunt Clara has passed. They had been meeting at her house.
Not a good omen, but 2006 started with a migraine for me. Has been almost a week since I had the computer on.
We did manage to pull off a surprise for my dad’s birthday. I remembered a recipe I got while working at the Ophthalmology Department at the Medical College of Wisconsin from Janice, a fellow chocoholic. Thought my dad would like it. I talked it over with my mom and she contributed the main ingredient and we agreed that I would bake it here. Was the second use of my spring form pan this season.
- 16 oz semi-sweet chocolate
- 5 oz sweet cream butter
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 1 tablespoon unsifted all purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
This unusual recipe is reported to be from France. If you see it in a book, buy it. The small amount of flour is correct, probably what puts it into the category of cake.
It comes out with the texture of cheesecake and with the high chocolate content, was a hit with my dad. We held out until he asked my mom if she was planning to make him a cake at breakfast the morning of his birthday. She then told him it was made already and she picked up the cake, me, and a half pint of heavy cream to whip and we made an early lunch of it.
We agreed that I would continue to make them outrageous desserts for special occasions, following the kügelhopf for Christmas. My mom likes to bake, but often forgets something or has to substitute, so will make a second and often a third batch before she is satisfied. Of course, all has to be eaten. She also tries to use “healthy” ingredients, which as a food snob I detest — my preference is for butterfat over sugar. Figured a more intense but shorter duration hit on rich food would be better in the long run.
I finished a pair of socks in charcoal gray Harrisville Designs New England Shetland wool for my mom then a pair in grey/brown tweed for my dad. They picked out the yarn in the middle of December, so was a bit of a crunch to get them done. I gave my Dad his on New Year’s day, but as Christmas lasts until January 6, still regarded it as in season.
I have another pair of socks, a navy blue fingering weight floppy hat, and a dress to sweater conversion on needles now.
On New Year’s I looked in vain for slip that would fit under a knit dress, then ended up wearing it under a jumper. The yarn was vintage Bear Brand fingering yarn in a rich brown that I got at a yard sale on the East Side when I lived in Milwaukee. I spotted a box of roving but someone snatched it up, but they missed this yarn, 7 or 8 full skeins and some partial ones.
I held onto the yarn for a while, started knitting it when I was undergoing tests for mitochondrial disease in 1997. I remember bringing one of the sleeves on sock needles along to work on while riding the bus to Froedtert and waiting to see the doctor. I started at the hip line casting on a Size 2 circular needle, then knit up joining the sleeves for a raglan in a typical Elizabeth Zimmerman percentage system sweater. When I joined the sleeves and decreased to form the neck, found there was quite a bit of yarn left over, so I made a wide and deep ribbed turtleneck. There was still plenty of yarn left, so instead of putting a border of ribbing on the bottom to finish it, I picked up the cast on stitches and knit down using a full skein then the bits and pieces. When it got to knee length, I knit back and forth for a 1 inch garter stitch hem.
The first few years at my last full time job were formal business dress, so it made sense, would wear the dress under a blazer. In the cold operations area, was nice and warm to wear. I hadn’t been wearing it much lately, so picked the hem loose and unraveled the skirt into skeins to wash. I picked up the cast on stitches and knit them onto a size 1 circular needle. I have about two inches of k2p2 ribbing now, 428 stitches around. I had forgotten what a pleasure the soft, fine wool yarn was to work with. Unfortunately they stopped making it long ago…
I have another sweater ready for its third incarnation. It started as a Guernsey style pullover, then I made it into a cardigan. Several years ago I put patches on the elbows, where my sweaters usually wear out first. The neck ribbing got frayed, so am thinking of adding a collar and maybe some “afterthought pockets” which is another Elizabeth Zimmerman innovation. In the process of packing and unpacking, think I have located all the remnants of the original yarn plus a pair of socks with the cuffs intact that I can unravel.
And here it is (a bit late, is afternoon now), the obligatory photo:
Looks like we got over an inch so far today. I swept the back porch, then hung out a sheet and pillowcases to dry in the brisk wind. Next I swept the front porch and visited the mailbox. The ground is still soft with mud just under the surface. Suppose it will take a while for the ground to freeze again.
