CSA summer, week two

Ah, summer. When the days grow long, the sprinklers start sprinkling, and the local breeze becomes welcoming (as opposed to that frosty gale we’ve been used to for so long) it’s time for 20 bountiful weeks of Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA.

The particular farm we use, Brookford Farm in Canterbury, NH, selects vegetables and packs them for you. All we have to do is make a weekly visit to our local farmer’s market to pick up our box. There are other CSAs where the client can choose the vegetables, but I kind of like getting a weekly surprise in a box, and the farm does an excellent job providing as much variety as possible.

Buying fresh local vegetables directly from the farm is overwhelmingly a positive experience, but it’s also a bit of work. Every new box comes with veggies that need to be sorted, washed, and packed for the fridge. (This farm does wash the veggies before they arrive, but the veggies nearly always still need one last bath to remove that last bit of grit). Last week, we received one enormous bag of spinach; two different varieties of lettuce (one head each); one bunch each of garlic scapes, dill, and green onions, a pint of strawberries, and a bag of sugar snap peas. The strawberries I trimmed and washed immediately before packing them in a Tupperware for the fridge. Because I got home late, the rest of the greens were stuffed in plastic grocery bags without washing — I would deal with that later.

I’m not good at cooking food on the fly — virtually everything I cook is from a recipe. I just can’t function any other way. My favorite moment during CSA time is when I find a recipe that brings together two or more of the items received. This week, that moment happened when I stumbled upon the Summer Vegetable Pasta with Crispy Goat Cheese Medallions recipe from Eatingwell. Spinach? Why yes! We still have half a bag, even after eating giant spinach & strawberry salads earlier in the week. Dill for rolling the goat cheese in? Why yes! There’s just enough in this little bunch. My joy was expanded when I figured out I could use the garlic scapes instead of the onion and garlic called for in the recipe.

The rest of the food did mostly get eaten, although I did give one head of lettuce to a colleague at work, and half of the other is still in the fridge. Week three’s box will arrive tonight, but I’ll be out of town for a conference the entire week. It’ll be up to my husband to figure out what to do with our bounty.

Summer of the sock

Basic Ribbed Sock,
knitted by pieKnits

I have a strange attitude about socks. I used to completely hate them - all socks, of every manufacture. Tube socks, lacy socks, cotton socks, nylon socks. I hated the word sock. I hated the way so many people like to wear "fun socks." (Those of you who think this a sneaky fun thing that no one notices? Um, hello. We do). I hated socks with colorful stripes and I hated socks with little animals on them. If I had to wear socks, I made sure they were plain, either light brown or black. But mostly I just wore sandals.

Then I moved to New England, and I had to start appreciating the sock. I still get creeped out by thick cotton athletic socks (gross! so gross!), but thin cottons are okay. I even have a pair with owls on them. And wool socks?! Oh yes! Wool socks are the best. The day my mother-in-law discovered that her children and their spouses truly loved receiving SmartWool socks for Christmas was a beautiful day. My drawer is now filled with soft wooly sock bounty.

I learned how to knit around the same time I learned to appreciate socks. It makes sense that moving to a colder climate would motivate such a shift in sensibilities. But the idea of knitting socks was scary. The concept of "turning the heel" or "turning a corner" was mystifying and frightening. I might make a pair of socks someday, I thought, but in the meantime, I knitted scarves, cowls, hats, handwarmers, and finally, sweaters. I got over a fear of fingering weight yarn, and thought that for summer 2016, I would knit my first lace shawl. But then, opportunity kicked in my door -- with a stockinged foot.

Foot Notes, in Ultramarine Batik

I am a sometimes-participant in the Mystery 220 KAL group on Ravelry. (KAL stands for Knit-A-Long, for those of you not in the know). Each month a new mystery project of approximately 220 yards (more or less) is incrementally knitted, following directions posted by the moderator. This summer, one of the moderators suggested adding a bit of fun - why not learn to make something new, in a non-mystery KAL? The ideas and votes were placed, and the Summer of the Sock won out. I looked at the discussion board with renewed interest. I could learn to make socks with a bunch of other people! I wouldn't have to stress over choosing a good beginner's pattern, either -- she had done that for me, choosing Kate Atherley's Basic Ribbed Socks. And, lo and behold, I had recently taken ownership of a beautiful skein of Foot Notes, by Fiber Optic Yarns. The sock universe had my attention. I bought a set of 2.5mm double-pointed needles and cast on.

Finished the heel!

I'm about halfway through my first sock and I am thoroughly happy; it's been smooth sailing from the start. Following the directions to turn the heel wasn't difficult at all -- although I must admit, if I were pressed to explain the mechanics, I'm not sure I could. But, the pattern totally makes it easy. I had no idea Kate Atherley was such a well-known knit designer until I happened to hear Becky interview her on the Knit Actually podcast. It's no wonder the pattern is so well-written -- Kate is a knitted sock guru!

Tomorrow is Worldwide Knit in Public Day, and I will be out in full force, finishing the foot of my first sock. This former sock hater can't wait to try it on. And make another. And, perhaps, another. And another.

Yogurt without the fine print

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a class of my dreams: Cheesemaking 102, with Sarah Carroll, daughter of the famous "Cheese Queen" in Northampton, Mass. I originally read about the workshop in Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal Vegetable Miracle, and, as an avid cheese lover, was excited to experience the class for myself.

In the intervening years I acquired the book One-Hour Cheese by Claudia Lucero, which showed me how to make my very first fresh cheese. (I highly recommend it for anyone new to cheesemaking). The workshop definitely expanded upon what I had already taught myself, but the biggest surprise was the yogurt.

Historically, I am not a lover of yogurt. Many years ago, I had a boyfriend who would eat yogurt like it was going out of style; he would buy a large tub every week. Under his influence, I decided to give yogurt another try, and bought a few containers of Yoplait. I found I could stomach the Whips! or the Thick and Creamy varieties -- nothing more yogurty than that. But if there's such a thing as a gateway yogurt, those sweet varieties of Yoplait must be it. I grew accustomed to the taste and eventually actually began to find the Whips! to be much too sweet. Lately, simple Yoplait Light has been my go-to, and I actually like it now; I'm not just forcing myself to eat it.

But the yogurt at Sarah's workshop! Oh my gosh! Delicious! And much like applesauce, salad dressing, or mashed potatoes, one wonders why we spend money on the prepared stuff. It's not difficult to make. You heat the milk to 185 degrees, hold it there (stirring occasionally) for 20 minutes, add culture, and... let it sit. That's where the yogurt-making appliances come in -- the milk has to stay warm for many hours while it sits around becoming yogurt. Sarah's workshop provided three different flavors to taste (each flavor resulted from using a different culture), and each one was pretty delicious. Much like Mikey in the beloved Life cereal commercial, I liked it.

And so, instead of coming home with cheesemaking supplies, I came home with a yogurt maker, complete with seven 6-oz glass jars with lids. The next morning, with a bottle of typical pasteurized milk, I made yogurt. When the timer on the yogurt maker beeped seven hours later, my husband and I peered cautiously into the jars. I tilted one. The white stuff didn't move. We sniffed. "It smells like yogurt!" we exclaimed happily. Quickly we screwed on the lids and put them in the fridge. Yogurt for a week! Yay!

A week later, I repeated the process -- this time being more careful to stir the milk occasionally on the stove (I admit I was lazy about that the first time). Either because of the stirring or because I was better this time at keeping the temperature constant, the yogurt in the second batch came out thicker and creamier. Total success.

Now, of course I want to crow to my friends about how I am making this awesome yogurt, and "it's so great, because I know exactly what I put in it!" which is what I usually say when I make something from scratch. But this time, that phrase gave me pause. What exactly did I put in it? A package of culture I bought from the Cheese Queen. Y5, they call it. But what in the heck is Y5? What, indeed, is a "culture"?

According to the National Yogurt Association's home page, the culture is actually a living organism -- well, two: Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. The culture causes the milk to ferment, creating the thing we know as yogurt. I have of course heard all about "live and active cultures" in yogurt, and I know they are thought to have health benefits. But giving Latin names to the word "culture" still didn't really do it for me. What is this organism we named Lactobacillus bulgaricus? What about that organism's buddy, Streptococcus thermophilus? Sounds like a disease to me.

Fortunately, I'm a librarian and know how to figure these things out. The Encyclopedia Britannica explains: "Genus Lactobacillus, any of a group of rod-shaped, gram-positive, non-spore-forming bacteria." Further, "various species of Lactobacillus are used commercially during the production of sour milks, cheeses, and yogurt, and they have an important role in the manufacture of fermented vegetables (pickles and sauerkraut), beverages (wine and juices), sourdough breads, and some sausages." They didn't have as much to say about Streptococcus thermophilus, other than to note that it is partially responsible for the ripening of Swiss cheese. But I get the picture, and I imagine that slightly different bacterial strains are likely responsible for the differences in the yogurt flavors. We'll explore that topic more in a later post.

So how about that. I also recently developed an appreciation for fermented vegetables... maybe this is just a result of my taste buds changing as they age. Whatever the reason, I am super excited about my new yogurt-making adventures. I think I might buy the double-decker to our yogurt maker. Why just make seven jars when you can make 14?

"Lactobacillus." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Britannica Academic. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 16 Jun. 2016. <http://academic.eb.com.libproxy.plymouth.edu/EBchecked/topic/327373/Lactobacillus>.

Tired eyes, tiny needles

This week, I am forced to face it.

I'm aging.

With some trepidation, about 10 days ago I cast on for the Icarus Shawl from Interweave. I've never made a shawl before and I've never knit with lace weight yarn before, so this is all new territory.

Right away, I made a bit of a mistake. I bought a beautiful new pair of circular needles, Addi Turbos in size 2. For those of you not familiar, they are nickel plated, resulting in a shiny silver finish.

My yarn is JaggerSpun Zephyr Wool/Silk, in colorway... (drumroll please) Steel.

And so, I'm knitting with lace weight yarn that happens to be the same color as the needles, and I discover a new problem, a problem that had kind of been lurking around for a little while... my ability to focus close up. I am now relegated to that group of people who stand around squinting and holding the object close, then far away, then in the middle, then under the light. Yup. That's me now.

At first I really blamed the yarn color/needle combination, but on Friday night I went out to dinner with my husband to a very dimly lit restaurant. And I found I was struggling to read the menu. Great.

Mouse wearing shawl, by Natasha Fadeeva

Over dinner, I confessed this new turn of events to my husband, and he asked what could be done. "I think bifocals," I said. He made a face. We laughed ruefully. But he did remember that they do make bifocal contact lenses now, so hey, that might eventually be the way to go. We shall see. I am pleased to note that in spite of my inability to focus, the lace shawl is coming along well -- if I bound off now a mouse would have a lovely garment.

In other news, I committed to making my very first pair of socks. I realize now that I'm setting myself up for disaster - one project on size 2 needles, the other on size 1.5! Yeesh! But the Mystery 220 Ravelry group decided to do a non-mystery sock KAL this summer, and since I've never knit socks before, this seemed like a good opportunity to start. Unfortunately I haven't actually started yet, because I don't actually have size 1.5 needles yet. Shopping trip tomorrow should remedy this.

And so, may be the summer of 2016 be a summer of firsts. First socks, first lace shawl, first time I'm trying to make two projects at once. I'll continue to report on my progress. Huzzah!