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Springerle, tortellini, lavender, basil
Feb. 24th, 2012 09:35 amYesterday, I rode out to buy lavender and Bayer All-in-One plant food / insecticide / fungicide. Okay, it's an odd combination, but I didn't buy them both in the same place. And I kept the food in one basket and the Giant Jug o' Doom in the other. I am planning to wage chemical warfare on anything with the temerity to bite my Hippeastrums. Which continue to look pretty good, despite the wonky leaves on some of them.
I baked the second pressing of springerle today. Despite having left them out to dry for about six hours longer than the first pressing, their designs aren't as crisp. Goes to show you the difference between doing them in dry weather and doing them when it's raining. I ate one lavender test cookie fresh out of the oven and was....underwhelmed. Where the heck was the lavender flavor? Next step in the test is to seal them in a tin and wait a couple days. It's possible that the flavor will mature, but I don't know.
After the bike ride, I rode the #17 bus down to the Acme in South Philly, as I didn't feel much like getting caught in the dark or the rain. I had a defiant desire to buy myself a treat for dinner, and I did: fresh tortellini, a Wolfgang Puck sauce and a pint of ricotta. Mmmmmmmm. Preceded by a shot of really good whiskey and followed up by several proper springerle (anise and lemon), I was replete. And I'm paying the price this morning. Salt plus damp weather is causing my knees to say bad things.
Meanwhile, all the germination tests of February 13 have panned out and I know I can have thyme, windowsill basil (a wee thing with leaves the size of squirrel's ears), and pesto basil, which was the last to come up but which is sprouting with abandon. There will be flavorings.
There's a possibly feral kitty who is making a strong pitch to be our kitty. He visits in hopes of catching a sparrow, but seems to get along with The Scamp. He's been strident in his flopping, stropping, and calls for skritchies. I'm still suspicious that if I put a hand down He'll bite it, though. Oh, and he may be a she. And s/he has gunk around one eye and possibly has ear mites. S/he made a dash for the kitchen when The Scamp came in, but I foiled it.
Roy gave himself a rail fan holiday for his birthday, two days at a bed and breakfast on the NS/Amtrak main line near Horseshoe Curve, said b&b run by an old friend. He'll be back later today.
I baked the second pressing of springerle today. Despite having left them out to dry for about six hours longer than the first pressing, their designs aren't as crisp. Goes to show you the difference between doing them in dry weather and doing them when it's raining. I ate one lavender test cookie fresh out of the oven and was....underwhelmed. Where the heck was the lavender flavor? Next step in the test is to seal them in a tin and wait a couple days. It's possible that the flavor will mature, but I don't know.
After the bike ride, I rode the #17 bus down to the Acme in South Philly, as I didn't feel much like getting caught in the dark or the rain. I had a defiant desire to buy myself a treat for dinner, and I did: fresh tortellini, a Wolfgang Puck sauce and a pint of ricotta. Mmmmmmmm. Preceded by a shot of really good whiskey and followed up by several proper springerle (anise and lemon), I was replete. And I'm paying the price this morning. Salt plus damp weather is causing my knees to say bad things.
Meanwhile, all the germination tests of February 13 have panned out and I know I can have thyme, windowsill basil (a wee thing with leaves the size of squirrel's ears), and pesto basil, which was the last to come up but which is sprouting with abandon. There will be flavorings.
There's a possibly feral kitty who is making a strong pitch to be our kitty. He visits in hopes of catching a sparrow, but seems to get along with The Scamp. He's been strident in his flopping, stropping, and calls for skritchies. I'm still suspicious that if I put a hand down He'll bite it, though. Oh, and he may be a she. And s/he has gunk around one eye and possibly has ear mites. S/he made a dash for the kitchen when The Scamp came in, but I foiled it.
Roy gave himself a rail fan holiday for his birthday, two days at a bed and breakfast on the NS/Amtrak main line near Horseshoe Curve, said b&b run by an old friend. He'll be back later today.
