by Kat | Oct 13, 2016 | General, Words
First there was 10 On Tuesday:
I am sad to say that I was late to the 10 on Tuesday party, although I had been reading Carole’s blog for a long time I was an infrequent (ok, maybe less than infrequent) commenter and it was not until last November when she inspired me to join her in NaBloPoMo that I finally began actively participating.
Once I started I loved it!! I eagerly awaited the arrival of the weekly email! I was a such religious 10 on Tuesday poster that on weeks that Carole was on vacation, I made up my own Ten on Tuesday posts (here) (and here)!
That being said, every week was not always an easy list of 10 things to write about, however, if I wanted to participate, I needed to get creative! And those bits of writing about something I really did not like taught me to stretch my writing muscle!
When Carole made the decision that 10 on Tuesday had perhaps run its course, a big part of me was so sad! And, I shared those sentiments on her post and imagine my surprise when she and I began a discussion around those thoughts!
A new idea was born:
Welcome to Think…Write…Thursday!
It will be similar to Ten on Tuesday in that you sign up for the weekly emails right here and in return for signing up, you will receive an email prompt (Just like Ten on Tuesday) with a topic for you to write about. Are you ready to have some fun with us? Expand your creative writing muscle? Write about a topic however the creative flow strikes you? (I mean, there are no writing police for blogs and there are no minimum or maximum word counts!)
PLUS, there is this amazing, incredibly loyal, and kind blogging community that Carole has built around her Ten on Tuesday posts.
Won’t you join in and write creatively with us? I really hope you do!
by Kat | Oct 12, 2016 | General, Making
After spending the weekend in Knitting Time out (both me and the sock!) I ripped back on Monday and started the process of adding more inches to the Sock of Doom.
I fearfully began the decreases and stopped. There would be NO MORE RIPPING of this sock. I waited for the Large Footed Recipient to get home from work and try it on before I went any farther.
Sock One is done. Now all I need to do is cast on for the second one.
Perhaps a queuing up of the Gilmore Girls on Netflix (which, by the way, I never watched…) will make the second sock less painful than the first.
In the reading department, I have two books in the finished column:
- Ashes in My Mouth, Sand in My Shoes by Per Petterson
- The Shepherd’s Life: Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape by James Rebanks
I loved both of them! They were dynamically different but each were fantastic reads. I highly recommend both of them.
I am listening to Clara read Knitlandia to me; I am about halfway through and I am thoroughly enthralled!
I begun The Year of Living Danishly and I also started reading another Karin Fossum novel – The Murder of Harriet Krohn. No thoughts on either yet as I am just a few pages in on both.
However, the reading might have to wait because on my task list for today is to turn these beauties into an oven roasted applesauce.
What’s on your agenda today?
by Kat | Oct 11, 2016 | General
Leaves turning. Early fall farmers’ market. I’ll buy apples, pork, kale, squash, and spend the weekend dancing in the kitchen. Cant’ wait. ~ My Kitchen Year, Ruth Reichl
Last summer I was fortunate to have read Ruth Reichl’s book, My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life. To say I loved it is an extreme understatement. And, inspired by Ruth – Tuesdays here at Casa del KatKnits are going to have a new focus.
Each week I will share with you a recipe from her book, or a recipe inspired by her book. Because that was what really came through for me in My Kitchen Year – being inspired.
To kick it off this week is the perfect Ruth Reichl inspired fall supper:
Pumpkin Ravioli with Turkey Mascarpone Sauce
Now, if you want easy – this is it. I get my pumpkin raviolis from a small local market and they are so good and are only available in the fall. However, if you are inspired to make your own – please, by all means do!
Turkey Mascarpone Sauce:
- 24 – 36 pumpkin ravioli (I used 6 raviolis per serving)
- 1.5 pounds ground turkey (I used 93-7 Turkey)
- 1.5 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
- 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 – 8-ounce container of mascarpone
- 1/4 cup half and half
- 1 to 1.5 Tbsp. fresh sage leaves, minced (reserve 1 or two leaves for topping the pasta)
- Grated parmesan cheese
Serves: 4-6
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil to prepare the ravioli.
Brown the ground turkey, seasoning it with the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. When the turkey is almost browned, add in the fresh sage and cook for a minute, until it begins to soften a bit. Once the turkey has browned add in the mascarpone, stirring to combine. Add in the half and half and the grated nutmeg – stir to combine and simmer over low heat a few minutes to allow the flavors to come together.
While the turkey sauce simmers, cook the ravioli – following the manufacturer’s instructions.
Drain the ravioli well before dishing up and topping with the sauce.
Sprinkle the pasta with the reserved minced sage leaves and some grated parmesan cheese.
This is really such a super easy dinner to make. It is done in less than 30 minutes! I hope you enjoy! I would love to know if you try this!
Save
by Kat | Oct 10, 2016 | General, In This Moment
The weekend just FLEW in my neck of the woods, which could be directly related to the amount of rainy weather that filled the days.
There was no outdoor cocktail hour because it was raining so hard. This also put the kibosh on a backyard bonfire, however, the indoor Tapas were excellent!
Saturday we had a successful trip to the local farmer’s market, managing to get in and out in between raindrops as well as a bit of retail therapy. (Yay for indoor activities!)
There was not much knitting, but there was some reading – although I did not finish any books.
There was a tiny bit of spinning though – this Whitefaced Woodland from Sheepspot is just amazing!
Today, I think will spend part of the day ripping back that darned sock while I catch up on Poldark. I hope you have Monday off, and if not, then may it be one you can ease into and it is over before you know it!
by Kat | Oct 7, 2016 | General
Most of the time a short week is a good thing – but a short week after a vacation was perhaps not the smartest idea. My list barely has a dent in it! (However, laundry is almost done and yogurt is made!)
I had what I thought was a brilliant idea to get one of Steve’s socks for length so I could perhaps finish sock numero uno yesterday. That might have worked if he cut his toes off. Seriously, I thought about suggesting it for more than half a second! Today will find me ripping back the toe and knitting another inch (really, I am knitting WAY more than an inch and hoping they will be just a bit too big!!) Promising him and his size 14 feet a pair of hand knit socks was perhaps the most epic disaster of my knitting life. Really. I will persevere and finish these suckers, however painful it is. And trust me, it is plenty painful! I am trying to avoid the urge to put these socks in Knitting Time Out.
Rather I am going to focus on the beauty that is the Frankfort, Michigan beach.
Instead of feeling bogged down like these poor benches, buried up to their necks in sand!
How about a double dose of Friday Links?? There has been plenty of good stuff over the past couple of weeks:
That is all I have this week. Tonight, there will be a Grand Traverse Distillery Manhattan or two to usher in FriYAY and Steve is taking a half a day – so while it is technically not a “long weekend” it will be starting a wee bit early! The weather is calling for a backyard bonfire too!
I hope your weekend is fantastic, see you back here on Monday!
