You wouldn’t think a person could rattle on for three full minutes in a radio interview about the “Knit and Quit” classes her shop is running WITHOUT ACTUALLY MENTIONING THE NAME OF THE SHOP. But oh yes, it can be done (1.9MB MP3). That’s me on Brisbane Radio 4BC this morning. In my defense, it was really early and I assumed they’d have mentioned the shop in my intro. But they didn’t. Instead I managed to namecheck both Patons and the WoolBaa and bring up the stupid bikini anecdote AGAIN. Sometimes I’m too stupid to exist. So much for my fifteen minutes of fame!
Author: Kris
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Crochet Eyeballs
Crochet Eyeballs (PDF). Now I just need to learn to crochet before Halloween! (Link courtesy of Julie.)
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Bacon
My bacon knowledge is formidable.
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Politics
As a soon-to-be-minted Australian citizen, I’ve been taking a greater interest in politics. I think it may be time to join a political party. This morning I checked out the websites of the three main options I’m considering: Labor, the Greens, and the Democrats. I have to say, the big picture of Kim Beazley “tearing up” Industrial Relations laws put me right off Labor. It’s just so clichéd and ridiculous. Yeah, I know they’re the only party with even half a chance of knocking out the Liberals, but somehow they just don’t appeal to me. (Sorry, Peter.) It took me too long to find their platform details on their website and when I did, they were incredibly long and boring. The Democrats were better (and definitely have the best website), but I found their list of party objectives really vague and hippy-dippy. That leaves the Greens, who up til now I’d pictured as simply raving Greenpeace types. But hang on! Their little “Policy Snapshot” booket is surprisingly readable! It has actual plans in it! I like that. And I agreed with nearly all their positions. (I can’t understand this whole fear of GM foods. Bring on the synthetic meat, I say!) So it looks like I might be a Green. Anybody want to try to sway me either way?
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Mysterious Home Zoo
Mysterious Home Zoo. Okay, those are oddly creepy. And I can’t figure out what the one with the flippers is supposed to be. A frog?
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Today Show
Oh DEAR GOD. The Today Show is filming a live piece on the Knit and Quit here in the shop tomorrow morning. I need some knitters to fill out the background. Anybody available??
Later: NEVERMIND. The bastards cancelled on us. Something about not having a satellite truck available. It’s been postponed for the time being. Of course, I’ve just wasted an hour of my life trying to get people around for it and probably alienated half the knitting groups in Sydney with my desperate pleas. Why am I doing publicity? I’m the STAR, dammit! I should just have to turn up!
That’s sarcasm. But not really.
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Hello, Brisbane!
Eep! I think this may officially be my fifteen minutes of fame. I’ll be chatting with Peter and Ross of Brisbane’s Radio 4BC Breakfast Show tomorrow morning at 6:50am. You can apparently listen live via the website if you’re so inclined, though I’m sure the Snook will be recording the stream. It appears that all of Australia has been captivated by the “Knit and Quit” concept. We don’t even have a shop in Brisbane!
Eighteen hours later: Okay, here I sit and they haven’t called. I must have been bumped. I got up early for this!
Eighteen-and-a-half hours later: The guy just called. He slept in! We’re going to do it again tomorrow. Argh. This media crap is starting to piss me off.
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MenKnit
MenKnit.net. Nice! Their tone is a little strident – and they definitely have some issues with Debbie Stoller – but I can’t fault what they’re trying to do. Whenever I get some guy scoffing as his girlfriend buys wool, I always bust out the “knitting used to be a manly art” history. (Mental note: Link to this in the next TC newsletter.)
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I Made This
I was at last able to pick up the Snook’s super-secret birthday surprise tonight – two beer mugs that I made him in my Ceramics class! (He didn’t mind that they were late; I couldn’t get them out of the kiln any sooner.) I had a lot of help from my tutor Peter. They have extruded handles and I finished them with a hand-painted pewter glaze. They turned out pretty much exactly as I’d hoped. They’re pleasantly heavy without being too chunky; they’re slightly wonky and obviously handmade; they look rather medieval and masculine. The photo makes the one on the left look chipped, but that’s actually water from where I’d just rinsed them out. Snookums only had them out of the wrapper for about two seconds before he’d filled the big one with beer!
And yes, that is a football-sized ball of Silk Garden. I pulled my cardigan apart. It’s a long story.
That last picture is my dinner creation for tonight – Chicken Pot Pie. Yes, I decorated it with a bird made from puff pastry. It was delicious!
Recipe:
Okay, this is just a slightly-modified version of the Chicken Pot Pie recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens New American Cookbook, which is my all-time number-one go-to cookbook for just about everything.
First, you’re gonna need some cooked chicken. (The recipe calls for three cups.) You can either pull it off a roast chicken, or you can poach your own. Poaching’s pretty easy so I go with that. Just whack a couple breasts in a skillet and fill it with water. Cover and simmer until they’re cooked through. Sometimes if they’re really thick I cut them in half so they cook faster in the middle. Once they’re done, fish out the chicken and set it aside to cool.
Now get out a pot and fry up a chopped onion in a quarter-cup of butter. (Mmmm.) When the onion is soft, you’re going to dump in one-third of a cup of all-purpose flour, half a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of dried thyme, and a good grind of pepper. Stir it around a bit so the flour soaks up the butter and cooks a little. (This is what makes the sauce thick.) Now you’re going to dump in two cups of chicken stock and three-quarters of a cup of milk. Stir it around and cook until thickened and bubbly. Now throw in your vegetables. Tonight I felt like using a lot so I put in carrots, potatoes, peas, broccoli, and green beans. While that’s cooking, go back to your now-cool chicken and tear it up into chunks. Add that to the pot. You’re nearly done!
All you have to do now is pour your mixture (basically a thick chicken stew) into a big Pyrex baking dish (or you can be fancy and put it in little individual dishes). Cover it up with some puff pastry (buy it frozen but let it thaw first) and cut a few slits to let the steam escape. If you’ve got some left over, you can go nuts with the decoration (a la my bird). Pop the whole thing in the oven on a fairly high heat (at least 180C if not more) and let it bake for 15 minutes or so, basically until the pastry goes flaky and golden. Pull out and eat!
