sugarbush

  

  

We braved the mud over the weekend to get our maple syrup fix. The Maple Syrup Festival did not disappoint. I drank maple syrup tea, which they make by ladling out hot sap from the evaporator and steeping black tea in it. And I stuffed myself with waffles covered in fresh syrup and topped with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. It's such a decadent breakfast, but I'm already dreaming of re-creating it at home.

After filling up on a sweet, syrupy meal we rambled around the festival. Or I should say, others in our group rambled around. Me? I made a beeline to the handspun yarn booth, where I spent all my festival time gawking over yarn and talking to Kate, the shepherdess, spinner, dyer, and knitter in charge of the whole operation.

I came away with a couple of handspun skeins, a year's supply of syrup, and the smell of woodsmoke on my clothes. It was a good day.

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I hope you all had a good weekend too!

P.S. If you're near the Southern Indiana area, you've got another chance to visit the festival this weekend.

rocky coast update

Rocky Coast progress

I may have overestimated my ability to finish a cabled, worsted weight wool sweater in the heat of August. Some days it's hard to muster any enthusiasm, and the cardigan sits alone in a heap in my stuffy upstairs living room. I am still chugging away most days and am nearly finished with the first sleeve. That's progress! I think my knitting group is tired of hearing me complain about how much I dislike knitting sleeves, so I'll keep the whining to a minimum here. Just know that I am having no fun at all knitting these sleeves. Ha. Well, it's not so bad actually. K and I have been hanging out and watching movies together, which makes for good knitting time.

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I haven't spent all my days knitting. My mom, sister, and I went to the Kentucky State Fair over the weekend. We watched spinning demonstrations, looked at all the knitted and crocheted entries, strolled through the layer cakes, watched a circus show, and finally took in the colors and crowds of the midway.

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I'd love to hear what you've been doing! 

What projects are you making? What sights have you seen?

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weekend snippets + menu: city and country edition

Pink Palace on St. James Court

So it's Tuesday and I'm still basking in the glow of my incredibly full weekend. I wish the events had been spread over many weekends so I could have spent more time enjoying each experience instead of rushing around and exhausting myself. Oh well, happy exhaustion isn't too bad, is it?

We had friends from out of town staying with us, so we got to show them around and play tourists in our own town. We strolled around Old Louisville to take in the Victorian architecture and the local color (haha--I'm talking about you, Pink Palace!). 

Then we drove downtown where our new German friend made himself right at home with the World's Largest Baseball Bat. We also spotted the 21c's bejeweled limo. 

Hood and bumper

(A sidenote: I am dying to stay at the 21c. I don't usually go in for fancy-schmancy hotels or restaurants, but I'll totally make an exception for the 21c. I think a free night in exchange for a glowing review on this little craft blog is completely fair. 21c people, contact me!).

I squeezed in some knitting time in my spare moments. This thick green sock is the one I'm knitting for class. The worsted weight yarn and chunky needles make it easier and quicker than the sock weight version I've been working on. Knitting class has been so much fun! So far I've had two sock classes--in the first we learned to cast on and knit the leg and in the second we learned how to make the heel. In the final class we'll do the toe and finish the sock! That's right, after three classes I will have precisely one sock. 

Maple tea

As if all the running around town weren't enough, Mom, Julie, K, and I headed to the Sugarbush Festival to gorge ourselves on local maple syrup. After stuffing ourselves with syrup-drenched waffles and maple tea, we decided to partake in the woodsy activities. Julie threw tomahawks and we both took up a saw to cut our own slice of wood. We are such city girls. The festival continues next weekend, so if you're in the Southern Indiana area, check it out.

What moments are you savoring from this weekend?

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Weekly Menu

Sunday: Veggie burgers, mashed potatoes, salad

Monday/Tuesday: Tomato and Mushroom Soup with lime, quesadillas

Wednesday: U of L game night/excuse to eat nachos for dinner

Thursday/Friday: Vegetable Lo Mein

Sugarbush Festival

The maple syrup festival was only a 35 minute drive, but it felt like a world away. Lots of trees, remnants of snow clinging to muddy ground, woodfires with the sweetest smelling smoke, and cold, crisp morning air. I know I've been longing for spring, but the festival was a wonderful cold weather activity.

the approach (so blue)

mom's waffle breakfast

 

my pancake breakfast

 

woodpile

another woodpile (love them)

icicles and log for sawing

 

There were lots of things to do: seeing the tapped trees in the woods, touring the sugar house, eating lots of homecooked food, browsing craft booths, warming by the fire, throwing axes, and more. The festival continues this weekend, and I'd highly recommend going if you're in the area.

Oh, and thanks to Sue for recommending the maple cotton candy. It tastes so sweet and toasty!

Wishing you a day filled with sweetness!

Old-fashioned dinner rolls + links

These rolls, these rolls...They are soft and flavorful and a little bit mysterious. It seems they disappear! Rachel, who writes the Heart of Light blog, calls them "Fly off the plate rolls," and she's not kidding.

These are yeast rolls, good for weekends or days off when you can start them around lunchtime so they'll have time to rise for dinner. I made these on Monday, my work-at-home day, to go with a big pot of chili for dinner. 

I did worry briefly about having so many rolls and only two people to eat them. Of course, K and I had no problem. These rolls are excellent the next day (and the day after...and again the next day...) sliced and filled with your favorite sandwich fixings. We filled ours with egg salad, and lunches this week have been pretty amazing!

The recipe is here. I've made these twice, once Rachel's way with milk and once with the milk powder the original recipe called for. Both were spectacular! 

The flavor of these rolls reminds me of my Grandma Alice's batter rolls. It's old-fashioned, yeasty, and buttery. I love my grandma's recipe and will always make hers for holidays (it just wouldn't be the same), but I must say that the Fly off your plates are easier and take less time. Grandma's batter roll recipe calls for scalding milk, folding the dough a special way, and tucking a pat of butter into each individual roll. Delicious? Yes. Reminiscent of childhood holidays? Of course. Fast? Not exactly.

So the Fly off your plate rolls will be my go-to for easy, simple suppers. As an added bonus, I think these rolls bake up beautifully. It may be that I'm longing for spring so much that I'm seeing the signs of it everywhere, but doesn't it look like a flower? 

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Links of things I'm loving (and thought you might like, too):

Tyrol Hat: I'm so in love with this hat. Old-fashioned and whimsical, sign me up. 

Cardigan Re-vamp: I would love to reinvigorate a sweater like this. I don't think I've ever mentioned it here, but I'm kind of cardigan fiend. As in, I wear a cardigan pretty much every day. I can't help myself, I love them so! 

Bib dress: Novita made such a pretty dress in just my style--girly and twirly.

Lemon tea and blueberries: I think I could make time for this one. Doesn't it look like such a gorgeous, calming moment?

Quilts and pillows from vintage kimono fabric: A riot of color and snuggly to boot! Makes me long to take a trip to Japan and comb through their thrift stores. They have amazing used shops!

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Have a wonderful weekend! I've got a test tomorrow which I'm antsy about, but I'm going to a maple syrup festival on Sunday. I've never been before but it sounds like fun. I'm hoping to see a tree being tapped and the sap running! If you're local, you should check it out. It's this weekend and next.

CSA Day: Our first pumpkin of the season

Luke of Finger Pickin' Farms loaded up our CSA box with all kinds of good things this week.

Starting at 12 o'clock and continuing clockwise we have: broccoli, spaghetti squash, a type of acorn squash, arugula, Long Island Cheese pumpkin (I love that name!), mustard greens, sweet potatoes, lettuces, butternut squash, and turnips.

I used to like salad, but I never loved salad until we started getting lettuce through our CSA.

It's so crisp and fresh, and I love those gorgeous curly leaves.

The mustard greens are beautiful! The fronts of the leaves are deep purple and the backs are green.

I picked up some eggs and apples from Misty Meadows Farm. Don't they look pretty together?

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Our farmers' market festival was this week, and of course I forgot my camera. Mom and I couldn't stay long, but we managed to sip some sweet apple cider fresh out of an antique cider press and listen to some live music. Also, we sampled a delicious dish of orzo, shiitake mushrooms, beets, cilantro, granola, and olive oil. It sounds like the strangest combination, but all the flavors played so well together. I saw quite a few people go back for seconds (and I might have been one of them).

I hope you're eating lots of fresh fall food this week!

Weekend plans

There is no shortage of things to do if you find yourself in Louisville this weekend.

Here are just a few that caught my eye:

Quills Coffee is celebrating their grand opening today with lots of bands, good coffee, and good fun! I was talking to the owner of Quills last night, Nathan Quillo (who is married to my cousin), about the tea service that they offer at the shop. It's fair trade, organic tea bought from tea farms in China. I'm excited to try their tea service now because they're really particular about temperature and steeping time to make sure you get the best cup of tea. They also give the customer information about the tea service, so that even novice tea drinkers can feel comfortable steeping and straining their own tea. Nathan said the sencha and peach blossom white are two of the most popular teas they sell, both of which sound absolutely delicious. So if you're in the area today (930 Baxter Avenue), stop by Quills for their celebration and a cup of coffee or tea.

In addition to the Quills party, the Original Highlands Art and Music Festival is going on today on Baxter Avenue from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. The street will be closed off and filled with artists' booths and a couple of stages with bands. It sounds like a cool, casual festival.

Another festival that I'm interested in is the September Art Fair at Mellwood. It's going on today and tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. I'm excited to see what local artists are making. Plus, I've never been inside the Mellwood Arts and Entertainment Center and this is the perfect excuse to check it out. It was formerly a meat-packing facility, but now houses artists' studios, galleries, and shops among other things.

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What are you up to this weekend? Whatever it is, I hope you enjoy it!

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair

Midway Edition

Ok, ok, I know the fair is over but that doesn't mean the fair fun has to stop. Here are some pictures of the midway rides that I snapped while out and about with Julie. I really think I like looking at the rides more than I like riding them. The bright colors, neon lights, and retro decorations always make me feel nostalgic.

Ferris Wheel: The crown jewel of the midway

Himalaya: A midway must-have

How can you pass up an offer like this?

And such fabulous prizes!

If I had bought some tickets, I definitely would have gone on the Fun Slide. It's like 3 stories high, and it says right there in the name, it's FUN!

The Yoyo: Slightly terrifying, but what every kid dreams of when they say, "I want to swing higher!"

The Tilt-A-Whirl: A carnival classic

I hope you have a sugary sweet weekend full of childlike wonder! I know that's my goal.

Fair Food

Here are some pictures I snapped at the Kentucky State Fair last week with my sister. I love the colorful booths and elaborate signage. The fair continues until August 30th, so you've still got time to get out and enjoy it.

Strawberry Season

Loads of strawberries in the back of a truck, $12 a gallon




Mom, Tomoko, and me enjoying our giant strawberry shortcakes

Refreshing frozen strawberry drinks


On Saturday morning Mom, Tomoko,* and I drove to the Starlight Strawberry Festival in southern Indiana. Mom used to take my sister and me when we were young. I remember the highlight was always the "Make your Own Strawberry Shortcake" booth, where we loaded on as many strawberries and as much whipped cream as possible. Actually, that was a highlight again this year!
In addition to gorging on sweet little strawberries, we also meandered through a yard sale (I scored some yellow and pink vintage sheets and some cross stitch paraphernalia), looked at craft booths, saw the crowning of this year's Strawberry Festival Queen, cheered on a pie-eating contest, and gulped down some oh-so-cool strawberry drinks. It was a full, fun time.



*Tomoko is a Japanese student who is currently staying with my mom for a month. She was actually my student for the two years I taught in Japan.