November 11, 2012

Le Weekend: No. 392

One of the things about working five days a week, after working four-day weeks for the past few years, is that I have to cram a lot of things into a short period, but I usually manage.

We started off Friday with some cooking – me trying a recipe for Grapefruit Curd, and our friend Merryn making an amazing Indian meal. My attempt at the Grapefruit Curd wasn’t altogether successful. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t inedible, either.  I tried a new technique of starting everything in the pot at a cold temperature and gradually bringing it up to an almost boil. I thought the eggs wouldn’t set if I did it this way. There were still bits of scrambled egg in the curd, and it didn’t 1) have a strong grapefruit taste, or b) set up very well. It also had a slightly eggy after-taste, even though the recipe I used only called for four eggs instead of eight egg yolks.Even after adding a drop of red food colouring, it was still mostly yellow. No problem, I only made three small jars, so I can try other recipes.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Our friend Merryn spent six months in India and brought back some great recipes. So she prepared an Indian dinner for six of us.

There’s tandoori-style chicken, lentils, yoghurt and cucumbers, jasmine rice, curried potatoes and roasted cauliflower. The cauliflower was really amazing and without the curry, would make a great side dish for the upcoming holidays.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

On Saturday, I went down to visit some friends who’ve just moved from their amazing house on Baltimore’s Inner Harbour, to a waterfront house just at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. true north

You can just see Key Bridge to the right of the small boat house. We also saw great-black-backed gulls, mergansers, golden-eyes and much more bird-life. It’s just fun to sit on the deck and watch the water, or check out the commercial shipping traffic in real time, via here.image

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pal David was busy this weekend, too. He’s a total clothes horse, but generally can’t leave well-enough alone. So over the weekend, he made some alterations. dw1This was originally a black and white shirt from Gap, but after David got through with the Sharpie marker, it was completely transformed. He took this look from the book, Piranesi's Prisons. It’s amazing in its detail. dw3

Because that wasn’t enough, he also recreated a silk tie, dw4and added steel caps to a pair of boots.dw2He’s so amazingly creative!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

After an absence of months, I’ve finally added some things to my Etsy shop. I’ve neglected it horribly, but now I’ve got some holiday items up.

I found a cache of Royal Copenhagen Christmas Plates from the 1970’s and 80’s stuck under a table at a thrift shop. These are just the most beautiful plates and the designs are amazing.

I am also whipping up some of my patch-cashmere scarves and they should be on the site later this week. IMG_7407I also have some great equestrian china, some blue and white pieces and more. Let me know if there’s anything specific you’re searching for, and I will see what I can do.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Finally, I will leave you with a picture of Connor being strange. Please don’t ask me why he sleeps with his nose in my shoe. It’s not the first time, and it certainly won’t be the last. This is a much better look, don’t you think?

7 comments:

  1. I think that Connor sleeping with your shoe is a lot better than Jones eating my new Tory Burch shoes!!! Luckily I caught him before too much damage was done!!
    Mary

    ReplyDelete
  2. sooo jealous -i love Indian food! This cooler weather is great for cooking and nesting though -we did the same.
    I've never heard of or had grapefruit curd but I'm sure I'd love it. I love lemon curd but in particular I love grapefruit anything. Have you had the pink grapefruit perrier? It's the most delicous stuff, it was on sale this weekend at the grocery store and I bought a case! haha

    ReplyDelete
  3. Connor looks so sweet with his nose in your shoe. It's because he loves you so much. This week my golden decided to steal a bra off the drying rack and I found it in the back garden, nicely muddied up. It was a reminder that I've not been home enough! She loves to dig my socks out if the hamper too.
    When are you listing the equestrian plates on etsy? I love them!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Connor's not strange at all. My cat, Chaucer, has always loved to sleep with his nose in, particularly, a recently worn leather shoe. There must be something about the odor coming from the shoe that is very appealing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Such a wonderful weekend + adored the photos! Connor is such a sweet doggie. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Because the smell of his mom is bliss

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dogs like to sleep with their noses buried in things. I was with my friend and her poodle the other day up in Westminster and Deja slept with her nose buried in her paws. My friend also kept saying to me, "You really need to get a dog." For now, I am "Auntie." I'm sorry the grapefruit curd didn't work out as you wanted. When I saw "grapefruit," I thought "bliss." Adore it. And "yes" to AD's comment on the pink grapefruit Perrier. Addictive stuff.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for reading and commenting on Pigtown*Design. I read each and every comment and try to reply if I have your e-mail address.