AlisonH
Remember when I said I needed more rice bowls? Mel and Kris answered and offered to drop by with some today so that I wouldn’t have to be out in the sun at Kings Mountain Art Fair. They are *such* nice people; I couldn’t wait to see them.
RobinH emailed last night to say she was in town (she lives near where we used to in New Hampshire) and could she stop by?
Hey, let’s have a party! And so it was that I got me some wonderful Mel and Kris time and then I got me some wonderful Mel and Kris and Robin time, and chocolate torte and much laughter was enjoyed by all–except, next time, Kris, I promise to bake something celiac-friendly. Does anyone have a good gluten-free cake recipe they would recommend? (Kris, if you want something other than chocolate, chime in for me, because I’m intending to put that same ganache glaze on it for you so you can finally have some.)
Robin was working on a sock and also a gorgeous green Aran that just grabbed me, and it took me a moment to figure out why my reaction to its heathery greenness was so intense: my mom had knitted just that coloration in an all-over diamond pattern for her father when I was a kid. He had wanted something formal looking, something he could wear in the halls of Congress without his suitcoat on and still be proper.
Mom couldn’t find yarn thin enough and ended up buying fingering weight in the form of–are you ready–needlepoint yarn. Size 2 needles. It took her a year. He wore it for decades, till he died at 95.
I watched that sweater coming to be and I adored it. I begged Mom to knit me a sweater next, and she let me pick out the yarn. And of course I wanted it in that pattern.
Worsted weight and much bigger needles and much faster, but yes, she did. Now that I know what I asked of her…!
Mel and Kris headed out to Capitola for their next show.
I had to laugh, though, when Richard came up to the front door and a woman not his wife cheerfully pulled it open for him with a grin of Hi you live here don’t you.
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Now that is devotion – knitting out of needlepoint yarn. So many ends to weave in with those smaller skeins, such rougher texture, but what great color selections! Makes me want to scan the internet for photos to see if I can spot that sweater.
Comment by twinsetellen 09.11.10 @ 5:01 amSo I clicked on the ganache glaze link. I don’t think it’s fair to have that sort of thing lying around making me drool all over my keyboard!
Comment by Don Meyer 09.11.10 @ 9:27 amAlison, for gluten-free cakes, you might want to try some of the new ones that King Arthur now has in their catalog. I’ve been very happy with all of their products and would definitely recommend trying them. Hugs, Nancy
Comment by Nancy Weber 09.11.10 @ 9:37 amLynnH of Colorjoy has many gluten-free recipes on her blog. I LOVE her Pumpkin-Vanilla loaf, it is still my favorite dessert bread, bar none. (although it does have gluten, it shows the high standard of her recipes)
http://colorjoy.com/weblog/archives/2081
Alas, my memories of glutten free recipes are all pretty bad. We called the stuff “Billy Bread” after the brother with celiac disease. Fortunately, after a few wheat free years, he was able to tolerate wheat–so long as he eats the ultra refined white flour that is supposed to be so bad for the rest of us. He can still get pretty sick on that good, healthy whole wheat stuff. What an annoying thing to not be able to eat!!! I hope that gluten free recipes have improved in the last 45 years.
Comment by LauraN 09.11.10 @ 4:58 pmWhat a lovely visit with kind friends! Thanks for sharing your family’s knitted history with all of us.
Comment by Channon 09.12.10 @ 11:39 amAlison, I will send the flourless chocolate cake recipe I use. Eggs, chocolate, cream, espresso powder, and that’s about it. Wicked good. Just plain wicked. Like a baked truffle.
I also have a gluten-free margarita cooky recipe that even non-celiac friends like to nibble. Tequila optional, for those who can’t be seen going into liquor stores.
Comment by Margo Lynn 09.13.10 @ 6:14 amAnd I forgot to mention – Serious Eats has a “Gluten-Free Tuesday” column with posts including chocolate cake and S’Mores Pie:
http://www.seriouseats.com/cgi-bin/mte/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=34&category=gluten-free&search=&sa.x=74&sa.y=16
I’m here to say, that torte was every bit as good as I’d always heard! Yum. And Mel and Kris’ pottery is absolutely gorgeus!
Comment by RobinH 09.16.10 @ 12:28 pmLeave a comment
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