Cupcakes, a Finished Project and the Rocket Man

I forgot to mention last weeks baked goodies, so:

Week 7: Coconut Macaroons
Week 8: Fastest Fudge Cupcakes

I found the cupcake recipe here and have to admit they taste pretty good!

I also managed to get a photo of my first ever fairisle hat before I sent it off to its new home:



Pattern: Fairisle Hat from Interweave Knits - Holiday Knits Issue
Yarn: Nature Spun Worsted - Victorian Pink, Stone & Aran
Needles: Size US#7 Circular
Started: January 12th, 2007
Finished: February 19th, 2007

I loved making this and the way it turned out so I’m sure that there will be much more fairisle in my future!

Finally, we had a fantastic night on Saturday when we went to see Elton John (I still can’t believe he came here to Albuquerque). He played all of my favourites and put on a great show. I was totally impressed when he took time to sign autographs before he started his encore and how he stood to thank the audience after every song. He is such an amazing pianist - some of the piano solos were just awesome!

Weird Science

I've been enjoying reading the "Six Weird Things About Me" meme that I've seen on several blogs lately, so it came as a surprise when I was tagged by kgirlknits! So without further ado:

Six Weird Things About Me:

1. I love action movies, especially James Bond. I think it comes from watching them with my dad when I was growing up. I have a soft spot for Roger Moore (I watched a lot of his films when I was young) but of course my favourite is Sean Connery. Although, I've got say that I was very impressed with Daniel Craig in the latest film Casino Royale. He was exactly what I imagined an MI5 agent to be like and there were a lot less of the special effects that ruined the last few movies.... As I said, I love James Bond films.

2. I like the taste of bananas but I can't eat them. I think it is a texture thing. Give me banana cake, banana lollies, anything with banana flavour but don't give me bananas! The mushiness really grosses me out.

3. I'm a band geek. I used to play the flute in high school and even went to band camp! I played from year 7 thru to year 11 and by the end I actually wasn't to bad. It's pretty gross, but when you play for a while the condensation builds up inside the flute and drips out the end. After a concert, we would all have a little puddle on the floor next to us. I occasionally think about playing again (it's packed away somewhere back at home) but I think I would like to learn the piano now instead.

4. When they use that little polisher thing at the dentist to clean my teeth I get a tingle in my lower back. It's not exactly a good or a bad feeling but sometimes it can get so bad that I almost have to ask them to stop.

5. My family thinks I blow my nose unusually load. The worst time is during spring when I suffer from hayfever. Every morning I would get the usual comments like "The trumpet is starting again". I don't think it's that bad and Brad hasn't complained.... yet.

6. I don't mind travelling by air but I'm not a fan of turbulence (as most people probably aren't). My hands start to sweat at the first sign of bumpiness so to help my nerves, I close my eyes and pretend I'm in a bus on a bumpy road. Sometimes this helps, sometimes it doesn't.

Anyway, there is six weird things about me that you probably didn't know. I'm going to tag Jenny now!

Have fun!

Week Six - Valentines Day

Who can believe we're into week six of 2007 already? Today we're celebrating a white Valentines Day (not that we really celebrate Valentines Day). That's right, it's snowing again. Last night we went to bed with a dusting of snow on the ground and woke up to a good 4 inches! I think it's pretty much stopped now, but it was definitely enough to close down the schools. Needless to say, work has been pretty quiet today.

Getting back to Valentines Day, one thing I've realised is that the more I'm overwelmed with advertising (and trust me there is a lot over here) the less I want to celebrate the day. I'm not saying that we've never done anything to acknowledge it (in the past we've been out to dinner, gone on picnics etc) but I just don't understand the need to go and spend big bucks on this one particular day. And don't forget the pressure... I've got guys in my office telling me how much trouble they're going to get in if they don't get their wives presents! I guess I'm just one of those people who believes that you don't need one day to tell someone how much you love them. Anyway, enough of my ranting...

Baking went well this week. I've picked another winner - white chocolate chip cookies. Mmmm.....

And the knitting's going along fine an dandy too. My cardigan behaved so well on the weekend it's finished! I just have to buy a hook and eye to join it in the front. I've also nearly finished my first attempt at fairisle (which I loved). I made a hat and just have to attach a pom pom to finish it off. So you should be seeing some FO photos soon....

The Cooking Monster

That's me! As I previously mentioned, I've been trying out my baking skills. So for an update on what's been cooking:

Week 4: Berry Choc Chip Muffins - Using my standard muffin recipe but adding some left over frozen berries and choc chips.

Week 5: Mint Chocolate Brownies - These did not turn out anything like the picture but still taste pretty damn good.

I know I should start taking some photos of my goodies before they get eaten!

Also, seeing as though I'm such a fantastic wife, I made pinwheels for Brad to eat during the Superbowl on Sunday (and of course I ate a few myself too).

Then to top it off, I thought I'd whip up a recipe of my own for dinner last night! I don't know about anyone else but I get sick of making the same stuff over and over. Anyway, I thought I'd give this a shot:

Chicken Filo Triangles
2 cups chopped bbq chicken
1 1/2 cups feta cheese
1 cup sun dried tomatoes
3/4 packet frozen spinach (cooked) - next time I would use a full packet
A few shakes of black pepper
Filo pastry

Mix the above ingredients. Spray one sheet of filo pastry with olive oil (or you could brush with melted butter). Place another sheet of pastry on top. Place a couple of heaped spoons of chicken mixture onto pastry, then fold into a triangle (fold over repeatedly to use full sheet of pastry). Spray lightly again and place in oven for about 20 minutes or until golden. I served these with roast veggies.

I definitely need more experience working with the filo pasty but overall these turned out pretty well. It made 6 triangles but really you could make them any size - you could even serve them as an appetiser.

Even though I've been a busy cooking monster, I've still managed time for knitting. I'm onto the second sleeve of my cardigan (I got plenty of knitting done during the superbowl). Hopefully I'll have some finished photos for you soon!