Dissatisfied with the tapenade recipes I found on the Internets in comparison with C.'s Uncle Charlie's recipe, I hounded Chaz for his formula. Raise all your friends' blood pressure (while simultaneously lowering their cholesterol) this New Year's!
Ingredients:
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 3/4 cups whole, pitted kalamata olives
1 (2 oz.) can anchovy fillets, rinsed
2 T capers
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
3 T lemon juice
4 T olive oil
Directions:
Combine garlic, olives, anchovies, capers, thyme, rosemary and lemon juice in an electric blender. Slowly drip the olive oil into the blender while you are blending the ingredients together. Blend until a paste is formed.
Proposed additional funding package for Iraq war in Congress: $80 billion
W's inauguration ceremonies: $30-40 million
Aid US government pledged to South Asian tsumami relief effort: $35 million
Pathetic. To put it in perspective, event the adjusted amount of funding (up from $14 million) represents only .04% of the proposed package of war funding now before the Congress.
Read more on Indymedia.
Find out the latest on relief efforts at the Southeast Asia Earthquake and Tsunami blog.
Donate to one of these aid organizations.
In 2003, I visited my friend Jana in Munich during Oktoberfest. I love Bavarian beer and lederhausen as much as the next girl, but the highlight of the festival's offerings, in my opinion, was this mysterious cheese dip that complemented the famous Bavarian soft pretzels. Jana and I probably polished off one order every day we went to Oktoberfest. She didn't know what it was called or was in it, or pretended not to know, so we continued inhaling artery-defeating quantities. In thinking of unusual party recipes that might be good for New Year's, I remembered the dip and did a little internet research. Turns out it's called "obatzda," and the key ingredients are camembert, cream cheese, butter, beer, and paprika. It tastes just as good as it sounds, and I bring you what seems to me a pretty accurate recipe. Don't forget the soft pretzels:
Another of my favorite unusual dips, should you be lactose-intolerant (in which case the obatza would, well, it just might kill you. just thinking about it is probably making you gassy. it's okay, don't be shy!), is olive tapanade. It's actually kinda healthy, if you ignore the vast quantities of salt:
The craftiest of the wonderful Christmas/Chanukkah gifts C. got me this year was this awesome needle roll for double pointeds and circulars, purchased at Park Slope's own Stitch Therapy. It's handmade by Katharyn Crippen Shapiro, and non-Brooklynites can get one from Morehouse Farms. Thanks, Biggie - I love it! Mwah!
Pattern: Garter Cuffed Gloves from Weekend Knitting
Yarn: School Products Cashmere DK, some kinda blue
Needles: US 4 double-pointed needles
Recipient: Chris' Mom, Nancy
Comment: Only one glove was ready by Christmas, so Mrs. Anderson indulgently did her best impression of the gloved one whilst she awaited completion of its mate. Unfortunately, I was in such a hurry to give them to her that this photo of one glove just out of the wash is the best one that exists.
Again, I wasn't thrilled with this pattern because it ended up being just way too big for anyone with normal-sized hands, it seemed. That could have been due to my yarn substitution. I'll fess up and say I was in too much of a hurry to knit a swatch.
What I ended up doing was knitting according to the original pattern up to the thumb, then basically following the Patons Convertible Mittens / Gloves pattern for the rest. They looked odd lying flat, a bit like one of those construction-paper palm turkeys kids make at Thanksgiving. Once on, all the oddities stretched out and looked just fine. The result was a long, luxurious glove.
The search continues for the perfect glove pattern...
We're headed to a Christmas Eve open house at Erin and Lee's in Collingswood, NJ. They're our fancy friends who got married on Halloween last year, and they just bought their house last month. For the holidays, Erin entered an essay contest sponsored by the local Fox affiliate, and as a professional writer, she won in what I can only imagine was a landslide. Their house is reportedly lovely! (also look for Erin on NPR in the coming weeks - she'll be on some show talking about "Flavor Trends of 2005," since she works PR at a food flavoring company).
Anyhoo, we needed a fancy host gift for our fancy friends, so we whipped up a batch of icebox shortbreadK, a la this month's Everyday Food. One batch is spiked with dried cranberries and tangerine zest, the other with sesame seeds and candied ginger. I don't know whether it will turn out when they bake it, but the packaging sure looks cool. They were quick and easy to put together, and the fact that they need no baking is a lifesaver Chez Anderson, where the oven hasn't been replaced since it exploded (harmlessly, if you can believe that) on Chris' mom last Thanksgiving.
Gift tags! Stamps by Impress Rubber Stamps on white string tags and metal-rimmed key tags.
= 
You'll need:
- glasses (try the dollar store or thrift store for cheapies)
- etching cream
- small paintbrush
- masking tape
-- OR --
- contact paper
- exacto knife
- cutting mat
- permanent marker
You can also create stencils with binder reinforcers (great polka dots), vinyl ABC stickers, other stickers, or anything sticky that will provide an outline.
We made glasses using masking tape, contact paper stencils drawn freehand, and with the strange stencils that came with our etching kit. The prefab stencils didn't turn out that well, so I wouldn't recommend using them. A better option if you're not comfortable with freehand would be to find a piece of clipart online, print it out, trace it onto contact paper and cut it yourself.
 | Here are some of the cutouts I made with the contact paper, with which we had the most success of all the methods. Contact paper is especially handy because you end up with two stencils: the cutout and the scrap. We used the scrap because it used up less etching cream than using the cutout would have. |
 | Dena had the brilliant vision of making an entire set of glasses with yiddish names for people, like "schlep," "mensch," "messhug," and a few others more obscene that we won't mention here. That way you could say "hey, you got the 'schlep!'" etc., when drinking in company. Since we didn't have enough glasses or time for that, Dena drew "Oy vey" on contact paper, cut it out, and applied the resulting stencil to her glass. |
 | You can also use masking tape to create stripes. Sarah is an expert applier of masking tape. |
 | Apply the etching cream with a paintbrush. Layer it on pretty thick, and don't mess with it too much once it's on - if you do, it will leave scratch-like marks in the resulting etched surface. Leave the etching cream on for approximately five minutes, then rinse. Note that etching cream is not nice to porcelain or plastic sinks, so if possible use a steel sink. |
Results:
Related Entries:
Glass Etching Extravaganza: Etching Resources
C. and I exercised our raw power as New Yorkers and saw The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou last night, which is only open in NYC and LA 'til Friday. I'm a Wes Anderson fan. Not a maniacal one, but I like his films. With that in mind, here are my thoughts:
Yaay:
- Great performances by Bill Murray and Anjelica Houston
- Quite a good comic performance by Willem Dafoe
- Seu Jorge's ("Knockout Ned" in City of God, remember Valentine's Day '04?) earnest renditions of classic David Bowie tunes translated into Portuguese
- Use of Starálfur, one of my favorite Sigur Rós tracks, at a key point in the film (though why isn't it on the soundtrack?).
- Bud Cort, though much-changed since Harold & Maude.
Baaah:
- Overall, not a very coherent film. As C. said, it seemed rushed in the way that a good filmmaker can seem rushed by a huge amount of money from a huge studio and a lot of pressure to finish. I'm not a stickler for coherence, especially if a film has a lot of other great elements. This one didn't have quite enough other things going to carry it.
- Owen Wilson. Even though I know his brother, I thought his deadpan went beyond its utility and just made his character seem really flat. A little too dead I guess. That flattened the film overall.
- Special effects that, while nice, were not spectacular given what you'd expect with Disney backing.
Clearly, Wes Anderson is, like the rest of our society, obsessed with megalomaniacal men and father-son relationships. He gets some feminist points for always making his women have it together a lot more than his men, it's just that he doesn't seem too interested in making a film really about anything remotely female. Anyway, take my reactions for what they're worth, go see the movie, and lemme know what you think.
25 page paper on teacher tenure laws? check!
10 page book review on Unspeakable Acts, Ordinary People: The Dymamics of Torture by John Conroy, extremely relevant given the news today about orders to use the "five techniques" in Guantanamo Bay and reports of beatings and dog attacks on immigrants awaiting deportation in NJ? check!
Tax exam? Evidence exam? check check!
I'm done for the semester and Sarah is coming over today to etch some glasses! I've been itching to etch, you could say, for a long time. I'll post pictures soon, but until then, enjoy this list of etching resources:
Tutorial & Examples:
Etching on Craftster: This classic Craftster post contains tons of examples by clever crafters (much cleverer even than Martha or HGTV), especially burn, baby, burn!, flaming coffee cup, the couple platter, Irish wedding glass.
The Pros:
Etching at HGTV
Martha's etching instructions: Includes templates for transferring initials onto contact paper.
Craft Palace's tutorial includes a bit of freehand.
Supplies!!!!!*:
Vinyl letter stickers
Etching cream
* I feel so UHF when I say that.
Related Entries:
Project Tutorial: Etching Glass
Meet Murphy, our Christmas tree!
Murphy is a handsome Vermonter, about 6 and a half feet tall. He's a little chubby around the middle, but we like him that way. And he has the most alluring scent!
I'm Jessica. It's unclear what I should say about Fig and Plum, except that it's a hobby, sort of a hobby documenting other hobbies. I knit, and sometimes do other things. Sometimes I write the occasional bizarre scree about The New York Times, health food, or the credit economy. Most of the time I'm a law student, but most of the time it's unclear precisely why. I'm 28, a native Hoosier, and a current Brooklyner - Park Slope, Brooklyn, to be exact. Park Slope doesn't really count as Brooklyn, though. It's more like Chicago.
I live here with my domestic partner, or whatever, Chris. He's a Ph.D. student in journalism / media studies. Ph.D. student + law student = poor and overeducated, but happy nonetheless. I just love that man (even if I sometimes gross him out).
We have two naughty cats, Catty and Moses.
Current Projects:
Cashmere Glittens (only need to weave in ends)
Space-Dyed Socks
Yarn Purchases:
8 oz. 100% Cashmere DK for 2 pairs gloves or glittens (gifts)
24 oz. Worsted / bulky (?) weight cashmere, Navy, to be (1) a scarf for Chris ("Mens's Cashmere Scarf," Last Minute Knitted Gifts) and (2) a simple crew- or scoop-neck sweater for me
1 10-ball pack Noro Cash Iroha, #063 (Raspberry Ripple), for Last-Minute Knitted Gifts "Hourglass Sweater" (btw, I joined the hourglass knit-along, and so should you!)
You might have figured out I'm on hiatus for my law school exam period. I'll be back regularly 12/20 with my glittens pattern and more ridiculous fun. Until then, I'll be inflicting back problems on myself by sitting for hours at a time in awkward positions hunched over books and my laptop. To make matters worse I've had a perpetually drippy nose for two weeks, and two months ago I switched to the generic of my BC pill and it's wreaking havoc (please, if your doctor suggests this, protest! protest!). My boobs hurt, I'm tired, and I have just eaten most of a box of Wheat Thins. So long story short, I'm kind of a mess. Hopefully my brain will get it together for exams. Until then, adios!
Oh, one more thing: despite all the stresses around this time of year, please ENJOY your holiday season! Nothing makes you appreciate the holidays more than being in a library 12 hours a day during it.
My Xmas, Christmas, solstice list: Find me a vintage portrait painting. You can help build my collection! That's what I really want. eBay, or any local thrift store, are good places to start.
If you can't or don't want to get that, there's always my wishlist as a backup.
Wonder what others are wishing for? Visit Amazon.com's list of most-wished-for items, based on the most frequently included items on Amazon wish lists. It's kinda sad that the most-wanted personal care item is a home defibrillator.