Happy Mother's Day!

I am already having a happy one. . . it is 20 minutes after nine in the morning and I am still in my pjs, having stayed up late to watch Becoming Jane with my reason for celebrating Mother's Day -- my sweet daughter Clara. She arrived home just in time for dinner last night -- her timing is always perfect! It is a joy for us to have her in the house again, though she is at loose ends after all the hubbub of finals and packing up her dorm room.

When I arrived in Saratoga Springs on Wednesday afternoon, Clara was still in her drawing critique. She hadn't packed a thing! So after dinner we worked til 10 pm getting stuff together, and started again the next morning at 10 am. We finally finished at 3 pm! That girl has more clothes than Blooomingdales, I swear!

We had a late lunch at Putnam Market -- they make such delicious sandwiches. I had the Royal -- roast beef, Stilton cheese, mango chutney and alfalfa sprouts on French bread. Yummy -- and it was so big I saved half for supper on the road. Of course, Clara stocked up on cheese while we were there. And the cheese guy remembered me from 3 weeks ago and saved me this fabulous sea scallop tin I admired in the seafood case. What fun! I'll use it in the studio to store stuff.



Anyway -- now it's time to shower, walk the dog, and finish painting the trim on my newly refurbished front porch. Look for it in a future post . . .

Another Trip to Saratoga Springs . . .

No rug hooking this time -- Clara takes her last final this morning and I'm going to help pack her up and move her home. She's worked really hard this semester and done really well and she really needs a rest! It'll be great to have her home again. . .

Another UFO . . .

Here is another unfinished object I need to finish sometime soon . . . This one is not so old -- I started in November 2007 for my friends Anne-Marie & Mike and their two daughters, Natalie and Charlotte. It's a housewarming rug (they moved at the end of October) featuring their two basset hounds, James Bond and Lola. James is the big guy -- Charlotte and Natalie say he's "portly." Lola is mostly black and has a big chunk missing out of her left ear. They are characters -- like all basset hounds -- and they are built like Mac trucks. I know, I've tripped over them more than once. It's like hitting a brick wall -- they don't move, but I go flying.

So my aim is to finish this one up sometime this summer. I just took on a job to finish the background on a rug for a lovely woman who had rotator cuff surgery and can't hook anymore, so my ufos are going to take the back burner again. But I'll keep you posted!

Happy May Day . . .

a day late . . .

When I was a little girl, I would weave small baskets out of colored construction paper on May Day, then fill them with violets and periwinkle and hang them on my neighbor's doorknobs. I was planning on doing that this year for a few of my favorite people, but work and construction got in the way . . .

So you get a picture of our cherry trees. Years ago, the village of Greenport planted tons of cherry trees all over the village. We're lucky enough to live on a street that has them lining both sides of the road. I smile every time I walk or drive down the street and see them. I have a rug in mind for this scene -- an impressionistic landscape of sorts . . . Soon it will be "Pink Snow" time -- when the wind sends the petals swirling through the air. . .

I've Been Dreaming of . . .

chocolate cupcakes. Yes, chocolate cupcakes. It started a few weeks ago. I woke up from a nap with a picture of the perfect chocolate cupcake in my head. I resisted the image for as long as I could, substituting raspberry sorbet or a piece of fruit, hoping the craving would go away. But it wouldn't. So last night I got out my mother's old cupcake tin and made my favorite chocolate cake recipe. Then I whipped up some chocolate buttercream (no crisco for this girl . . .) with really good Belgian chocolate. I poured a glass of icey cold milk and took a bite. . . I was transported back to childhood and went to bed with a smile on my face . . .



Here's the recipe, from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

1 2/3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and lightly flour 2 8-inch round cake pans or one 9 x 13 inch pan. Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Add the buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla, bewating until smooth. Spread in the pans and bake about 20-25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before turning out on rack.

My tips: Use really good cocoa and good vanilla. That imitation vanilla will ruin anything it touches.

Another Road Trip to Saratoga Springs

My sister Barb and I took another road trip this past weekend. We combined a visit with Clara and a rug show in a little town just east of Saratoga Sprins called Victory Mills. I've posted some photos of the rug show on the blog we share -- Hallowed Hill Primitives -- if you'd like to take a look. There were many beautifully hooked rugs, but this one, called Too Good for the Doorway designed and hooked by Marian Bigelow was my favorite. The hooking technique is amazing, and I love the simplicity of the design -- the circles breaking the straight lines. It really is too nice to wipe your feet on.



But you can read about the rug show on the other blog. . . I want to tell you about dinner on Friday night. Clara invited several of her friends to join us, and, of course, they picked the best and most costly restaurant in town. But it was worth every penny -- obviously, since it is now Tuesday, and I'm still talking about Friday's dinner.



The restaurant is Max London's, right next store to Mrs. London's, the well-known bakery. It was very busy when we finally arrived (Clara had to blow dry her hair, you know. . . ) I asked the waiter for his recommendations and I took his advice on everything. I started with a mixed green salad with beets, walnuts and blue cheese that was perfectly dressed. He recommended the skate for my main course -- he said it was the best fish dish he had ever eaten -- and he was right! It was served with cavolo nero (I had to ask -- that's Italian for black kale), butter beans, and preserved lemon. I wanted to lick my plate when I was finished, and I found it very hard to share tastes with my fellow diners, that's how good it was.

The dessert menu didn't excite me -- I had to ask what Chocolate Maximus was (a flourless chocolate torte served with pistachio ice cream) and what's a budino? (Can you tell I let my subscription to Gourmet lapse?) Our waiter explained that budino is Italian for pudding, and that this black-bottomed butterscotch pudding was the best dessert he'd ever eaten . . . He was right about the fish, so I ordered the pudding. It came in an unassuming glass -- and my sister was thinking "You paid $8 for that?" I'd pay twice that to have one right now . . . It was layered chocolate and butterscotch pudding topped with an unsweetened whipped cream, soft caramel and fleur de sel. Yes, salt! It was AMAZING! I am going to try to replicate it soon . . . Or make the 5 1/2 drive to Saratoga so I can order it again . . Barb ordered a BLT pizza that looked great, and the Chocolate Maximus, which was also delicious. Clara ordered seared duck with wild mushroom risotto which was also lovely. (She learned to love duck when we went to Paris -- it was during the height of the Hoof and Mouth scare and she wouldn't touch beef . . .)

Now I have to go think of something to make for dinner tonight. . . I wish Max London lived next door. . .

The Webshow Closes Soon!

If you have not had a chance to look at The Eclectic Artisans first webshow, hurry on over there! It will be closing on Monday, April 21.

The good news is that we have scheduled 3 more for this year! Here are the dates:

Monday, June 10, 2008

Monday, September 22, 2008

Monday, November 24, 2008