Yogurt mojo

If I thought I was becoming a outdoorsy hiker type who enjoys cooking local veggies, this year is trying to prove me wrong. I have not hiked to the peak of a single tiny mountain. I have not been to the farmer's market. I did not join a CSA this year. And it's JULY. And not July 1, or 2, or 3, oh no. It's the middle of July. I am a hot mess.

My only defense is that pollen season was so bad this year that I was, literally, sick for about a month. I still believe I had some other illness, because it honestly felt like the flu for about a week there, and the person who originally examined me was convinced I had strep. But no... and so I suffered. And then, when I got to feeling better, the bugs were bad. And then... well, then I was just lazy.

Fresh yogurt!
Image from http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Yogurt

In an effort to regain my mojo, I made yogurt last weekend. In my previous yogurt-making experiences, I initially found success, but the last couple batches failed to thicken. Now there are plenty of cultures who enjoy a nice yogurt drink, but that really wasn't what I was going for. I complained about this to my dad when I visited him in April, explaining I was pretty sure switching from full-fat to two percent fat milk was causing the problem, because that was the only thing I'd done differently. He made fun of me a little, saying it really doesn't make that much difference as far as calories are concerned, and that I should just use the full-fat milk.

And so, I did. And you know what? Worked like a charm. I have delicious, creamy yogurt with a pudding-like texture. I Googled how many calories are in six ounces of homemade yogurt made from full-fat yogurt, and held my breath.

And then I laughed. Dad was right! My little jars of yogurt hardly contain more calories than the cups of Yoplait Light I was buying. I guess when you figure there aren't any added sugars, etc. this makes sense.

Okay, so, one problem solved... up next, how to simplify dinner preparation.

Defeat by vegetable

With two weeks left to go in my 20-week CSA season, I concede. CSA, I am completely defeated.

I come to you today from my kitchen, paralyzed by the onslaught of vegetables from a local farm. There is an acorn squash, two delicata squashes, a pile of garlic, and an unidentified orange sphere (approximately the size of the acorn squash) in the bowl on the dining table. On the counter is a large, dusty turnip, a bag of approximately 20 orange carrots, a baby butternut squash, a wisp of fennel, four peppers, and a watermelon. Those things on the counter all came on Thursday, and I haven’t yet figured out where or how to fit these in the fridge.

Speaking of the refrigerator…

There’s another bag of carrots in there — most of those are the golden variety. I used some in a recipe for Glorious Morning muffins that I took to work, but there’s probably still 20 good-sized carrots in that bag.

There’s another watermelon, three ears of corn, four purple kohlrabi, a cucumber or two — no, wait, those have gone bad — a pound of beets, five more peppers, two heads of lettuce, six or seven leeks, a daikon radish, and several bunches of either kale or chard (or perhaps both). Oh and there’s also a head of cabbage that came a few weeks ago. If I ever get to that part of the refrigerator again, we’ll see if it’s still any good. There’s also a large bag of jalapeños. I gave a whole mess of jalapeños to two different friends who love hot things, but I still have enough to make a restaurant-sized appetizer.

In the pantry is a pound and a half of very small, very dirty, red potatoes.

Last year, I took on my CSA as a fun challenge. Being faced with eating only what is available in the here and now was interesting and eye-opening. But this year, I just can’t bring myself to expend that kind of energy on this. I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s absolutely no point in paying what divides up to $20 a week for a whole bunch of perishable food that I don’t have the energy to prepare or preserve. I sit in my kitchen, staring at all this fantastic local produce, and I really, really want to make this right. I really want to cook it and eat it, reveling in our local bounty. But I’m tired of trying to figure out how to prepare unfamiliar things (like that turnip… and what is that orange thing?), or how to sneak in the familiar that I don’t normally buy much of (like the peppers, including all those jalapeños)!  And I have to wonder: even if I were better at throwing things together, and even if we incorporated all these veggies into our breakfasts and lunches, and not just dinner — would we really be able to eat it all? There are only two of us.

When I think about how much of this I gave away this year, and how much went in the trash, I conclude that this is the last CSA year for me. It’s true that at farmer’s market, I won’t get half as much produce for my $20. But if I’m giving it away or throwing it away, what’s the point? I’d rather just get only what I need.

No goal left unbroken

I have one sacred rule when it comes to knitting. Every other project must be for me. I made this rule a few years ago, when I found myself getting less pleasure out of knitting, and realized it was because I hadn't made anything for myself to enjoy in quite a while. Knitting gifts is great, but there's got to be something in there for me on a regular basis. So I made a rule.

I just realized this morning that I am completely breaking that rule right now. Apparently, it wasn't so sacred after all. How did this happen?

Progress on the Icarus Shawl.

1) Good intentions toward my stepmother. My stepmother is also a crafter, and in recent years, she's found her happy place with quilting. Her quilts are incredible. She has the patience to cut tiny pieces of fabric and piece them together for a queen-size quilt. She's given me two. I started feeling guilty. I asked my dad, is there something I could make that she would like to wear? (Mind you, I was thinking maybe a hat). He suggested a traditional shawl would be nice.

I'm not sure what either of them would picture as a "traditional shawl" so I took a flying leap and landed on the Icarus Shawl by Miriam L. Felton. I mentioned this shawl back in July, when I was struggling to get in a groove with it. Back then, I had switched to bamboo needles. They were okay for a little while, but that catch at the join often encountered with inexpensive needles started to try my patience, and I ended up buying yet another pair. Knitter's Pride Cubics finally won out, and now I'm in a pretty good place with this project. But it still took me a long time to settle into the rhythm of the pattern, and I don't want to risk making mistakes.

Progress on Cindy's Blanket.

Because of this, I found I needed something else to work on in those evenings after work when I am just too exhausted to pay close attention. And so I turned to my friend Cindy's gift of yarn.

2) Ah yes. Cindy's gift of yarn. This gift was a bag full of different yarns she bought with the intention of making a blanket. Figuring she'd never get around to the blanket, she gave me the yarn.

I'm always grateful for free yarn, but... I don't really like most of these yarns. A lot of it is chenille. Not too crazy about chenille. So I got the idea to make her a blanket (The Boulevard Blanket, by Fifty Four Ten Studio) to give to her this fall. I'm in the middle of it now. It's one crazy-looking blanket but hey, she's the one who picked the yarn!

Progress on the baby blanket.

3) Babies! Babies babies babies! My coworker friend is due in December. Of course she needs a baby blanket -- Lion Brand's super-easy Diagonal Comfort Blanket. And a hat (not yet started). And, if there's enough yarn left, booties. This is actually the first time I've been reasonably close to a pregnant person since I was 14 and my older sister was pregnant with her first. (All I remember about that was her morning sickness. Makes quite an impression on a 14-year-old). So I'm pretty excited for my friend, and excited to knit baby things.

And so... my queue continues to fill with things I'd love to make for me. Perhaps my Christmas present to myself will be finishing all these gifts!

In the meantime, I also realize I've missed a couple other goals. Like keeping up this blog. (My goal was to post every other Friday). And getting my butt back in the gym. (I'm always a happier person when I go. And it's easier to hike when I work out regularly. This year was not a good hiking year). My mental health is suffering for all of this.

I'll admit -- I'll give this gift to myself -- that my work has demanded a lot of me for the past month or so. But, that rush of crazy is now over, and I can settle back into a routine. So. No more crazy. Back to my goals.

That's the great thing about goals. Even after a miss, we can always get up and try again.