Strep-land, population 2, and the impending garden

This week, I have witnessed a return of my childhood foe, strep. I got this horrible sore throat illness about five times a year growing up. It really didn't help that I also had very large tonsils that, when swelled, nearly sealed together to block my entire airway. Fortunately, my mouth has grown into my tonsils. Unfortunately, to find that out, I had to undergo strep as an adult. And inadvertently pass it on to my partner.

I'm on the mend, but neither of us has done much cooking (being unable to swallow it for several days). I do have a fabulous Japanese dish to share from last week that celebrates the start of May, our family's Japanese month 2011.

Another plus, I had plenty of free time while recooperating (I couldn't concentrate on work when every time I swallowed it felt like my head might explode) to finish the last of the amigurumi vegetables.

The Pea Pods!

The open pod enough folds up to look identical to the closed one, just with peas peeking out.

As enchanted as I am with the knitted veggies though, I'll be excited to start growing some real ones. Growing season is upon us. The forecast looks like rain until friday, but if there's a break in the clouds on tuesday, we'll be out in our garden, breaking it in for summer. Tomatoes, here I come.

The Gas and Electricity Nazi (No Food for You)

I spent the majority of last week in Michigan visiting relatives. There was a funeral to attend for a very fun-loving, woodworking cousin who will be missed. After, of course, was Easter. The Friday between those two all-important events was my man's birthday (as well as Good Friday and Earth day). We made great plans for a Monday celebration of his 31st, complete with cake and special dinner, you know, when we returned to the normalcy of home.

Unfortunately, we woke on Monday morning to a problem with the gas line. No matter how much I click-clicked the starter, no flames filled the burner, nor the oven. The birthday feast got scrapped and we ended up eating canned soup with Easter candy for desert (Mom gave us a 6-pack of Reese Eggs).

The lack of gas also hindered my ability to make vegan muffins for my last poetry workshop class of the semester, which was to include a potluck feast as farewell. I, thus, came empty-handed.

The gas returned on Tuesday, when I have night class (and coincidentally a dinner consisting of potluck food from those members of the class with functioning stoves and ovens). Wednesday I was on campus all day for various classes and came home to scrounge in the cupboards for a quick meal. But I kept in mind that there would be Thursday. Thursday, I would make something great and new and I would be blown away by how it made my tastebuds dance. Instead, at 5 Thursday morning, the power went out due to a major windstorm that made clouds fly by as though they were jets. There was nothing to be done. Art managed to boil my tea water by taking a standard matchbook match to a burner with the gas on full. He almost singing off his arm hair in the process. We couldn't check email, do work on our computers, exercise via wiifit, or cook anything really respectable.

Instead, I read an entire book (Martini's Hillbilly Gothic) finished another knitted vegetable, took a long shower, drained my tea mug of its lemon/honey contents, and worried over how my new haircut would hairdry since I couldn't use the hairdryer. Then I looked to my cellphone to find that it was still only 11:30. Deflated, I got on the train and headed to campus, where my office has a functioning computer and an internet connection. When I got home at 7, the power was happily restored. Another night of potential meal creation thwarted by circumstance. This was a bad kitchen week.

On the plus side, my knitted amigurumi cuke is adorable.

The garlic I did my week in Michigan ended up quite nice as well.

A Vegetarian Knitaganza

In addition to experimenting in my kitchen, eating, and writing (not to mention reading, I also knit. I'm in a bit of a knitting craze actually. No matter what I'm doing, I would rather be knitting. It's an addiction to metal sticks and a ball of string.

Usually, what happens to be in my knitting bag has no relation to this blog, a blog of food. However, in my lasted project, my love of vegetables has combined with my love of turning fiber into fabric. I am making my nephew, for his second birthday, a basket of plush knit amigurumi vegetables, compliments of the patterns in the first section of Amigurumi Knits by Hansi Singh.

There is a tomato, an eggplant, a carrot, a cucumber, a peapod, even garlic. So far, I've finished the eggplant, tomato, and carrot. To go with it, I have an adorable T-shirt (size 3T) that I found on clearance at Target. The shirt features a cartoon broccoli floret and the words "Trust me. I'm delicious."

My main motivation for this: my one-year-old nephew's joy in life is food. His second joy is to play with pots and pans. When he turns two, I figure what's better than stuffed vegetables to put in his pots and his mouth. Yarn is baby friendly.

My secondary motivation for this: I want one kid in my family who appreciates a good vegetable, even if I have to brainwash him with clearanced fashion and stuffed animals.