Spend an Evening in Chile ~ Pollo Arvejado

Sharing and caring. Personal sacrifice. Kindness. Whether a tragedy on the magnitude of the Haitian earthquake or those smaller ones that take place in our own communities it is these attributes of the human spirit that bring people together.

I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.

-- Stephen Grellet

Spend an Evening in Chile and enjoy Chilean Pollo Arvejado

January is universally a cold and blustery month and a good time to share recipes for warm and delicious meals that bring comfort to a winter night.

Years ago when Steve and I traveled through Chile we met a young woman who was working as a hospital resident in the port city of Antofagasta located in the remote Atacama Desert. It is an extremely poor city which exists mainly to support mining and industrial work. Those few consumer goods available have their prices displayed in "layaway" terms (i.e. the price broken into monthly payments) even for common items such as shoes and clothing. The purchases we made came without boxes. At least those were the conditions when we were there in the mid 1990s.

Steve, who was a practicing physician at the time, saw this as an opportunity to share how medicine is practiced in the United States with someone just beginning her medical career in a disadvantaged area. So we invited this young woman, Annie, to stay with us so that she could get experience in the US and qualify to take US medical exams, which she did.

This was a busy time in our lives and we all were going in different directions but I did manage to corner Annie and get a few recipes and learn a little about her life during the time she stayed with us!

Annie loved drinking merlot wine and as you might know Chilean wines are excellent. From her stay, to this day, I have a preference for merlot and enjoy it best the way she taught me. Cooking for Chileans is a social time in the kitchen and wine is sipped and enjoyed during the cooking process. The wine bottle is placed on the stove top so that it warms and releases its fragrance to mingle with the food being cooked. I'm not sure what a wine connoisseur would say about this, but for a merlot I find it works really well.


And this is one of Annie's recipes, Pollo Arvejado. In the past 15 years I've made this dish countless times and always enjoy it. I hope you will too.

Chilean Pollo Arvejado

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken cut into pieces (organic or kosher chickens have the best flavor)
1 yellow onion - diced
1 medium potato - diced (I like yukon gold potato in this dish)
small amount of grated carrot
peas

Steps:

1. Remove skin from chicken pieces and dry thoroughly. Rub kosher or sea salt over the chicken pieces and then coat in flour just before cooking.

2 Brown chicken pieces over a high heat in olive oil (Edit: use just a small amount of oil - approx. 2 tablespoons). When nicely browned, lower heat to simmer and add the diced onion, diced potato and grated carrot. Sprinkle with salt to taste. Cover and cook for approximately 1 hour, depending on size of chicken pieces.

3. Place on serving dish and add a few peas and garnish with parsley. Serving remaining peas as a side dish.

Enjoy!


Mr Puffy Update

We are just so tickled, Mr Puffy made the news! You can see Mr Puffy in the Orange County Register here.

Until next time, be well, love well, and share this warm and delicious meal with your loved ones!

Shetland Triangle Shawl

A cascade of silk to enfold me. A gift from a fellow knitter, fiber artist, kindred spirit, and most importantly, a dear friend, who is known as Pink Knitter in all the important circles, i.e. Pink Knitter can be found here on Flickr and here on Ravelry. If you don't know Sherry go say hi, you won't be sorry you did!

Lace shawls always remind me of something a spider might have spun in the garden overnight. I spun this shawl using the Shetland Triangle pattern which is easy to knit, as all of Evelyn A. Clark's patterns are.

I like to think that I'm a renaissance woman knitting and wearing shawls from a bygone era. But unlike the shawls worn by our grandmothers I like to update the look with use of modern yarns and colors. I'm eccentric by some standards, but I don't wish to be conspicuously so. And yet. I am drawn to the beauty of authentic cottage shawls worn in that time that has now long passed away.

Have you ever heard of Tasha Tudor? Curiously clad in clothing of another time...... so goes the description of her in a recent Victoria Magazine Article . If you have never heard of this woman you are in for a treat discovering her legacy of art, baking, and of course, knitting. This iconic woman lived on a farm, dipped her own candles, and created and wore her own homespun shawls and on top of all that managed to find time to become a well known author and artist. Now that truly is a renaissance woman. She also was known for her frequent afternoon tea parties, which makes her all the more endearing to me. You can learn more about her at Tasha Tudor and Family.

Nancy Bush, an iconic woman in her own right, has given us all a chance to bring a little Tasha Tudor into our lives by writing a free cottage shawl pattern, aptly named Truly Tasha shawl which can be found on her retail site Wooly West. I think a beautiful rustic lace wool might be just the ticket for this pattern so I'm keeping my eyes pealed for just such a yarn.



Particulars: Shetland Triangle printed in Wrap Style; 1 skein Handmaiden Seasilk; US 6 needles. Modifications: I knit one extra repeat (for a total of 9 body repeats); I used the bind-off method used for the Flower Basket Shawl, because I believe that method gives a little sturdier edging. Notes on that bind-off method can be found on my Ravelry page. Some have eliminating the final edging rows to diminish the scalloped effect. But one reason I enjoy these shawls is the scalloped edging so I knit that part as written. Finished dimensions: 60" x 24"

Some Time Away in San Clemente, California

One of the things I love most about being in San Clemente is taking walks along the beach. We live on North Beach and there is a wonderful footpath that connects this beach with the San Clemente pier, and beyond.

We took these pictures on our walk down to the pier late on Saturday afternoon. It's a lovely time to take a walk as the sun is setting and the various bonfires are being lit all up and down the beach. I'll say this about San Clementians. They do love their beach Bar-B-Ques. And why not.

There is something particularly nice about grilling at the beach. Growing up in Santa Barbara we occasionally had family and church picnics down at the beach and those were happy times. If you have never had a picnic at the beach, you need to plan one right now!

We stopped for dinner at Cassano's Pizza (a family owned restaurant) situated directly across from the San Clemente Pier and enjoyed a casual meal of pizza and salad sitting out on their patio. It's nice to see Steve looking relaxed and happy as he always does when we are in San Clemente.



I know some of you have missed seeing Mr Puffy modeling lately. The reason is that Mr Puffy has expressed some concern that the pictures that I have chosen make him look foppish and he has been reluctant to pose. I have assured him that is not the case and no one thinks that. Nevertheless, I have acceded to his wish that he be allowed to pick the pictures of him that are posted. He chose this picture because it gives him an air of intrigue which he believes is better suited to his personality.


It's finally Spring and Easter will soon be here. I love to color eggs and ice cookies to celebrate the season and hope to visit a See's Candies for some chocolate eggs too. I hope you all are enjoying Spring and that the memories of cold will soon fade away when you see all the beautiful Spring flowers.

Food for Thought

After enjoying a very temperate summer for SoCal, we are in the throes of a heatwave. I'm completely unmotivated to even take pictures of knitting in this weather so I'm switching gears to another topic near and dear to my heart. Food.

We all have a favorite restaurant where we live. Someplace that locals know about but is not widely known otherwise. It doesn't have to be fancy but good food is key and its nice when it also has an appealing atmosphere whether quirky, quaint, or elegant. Literally nestled into the canyon side, the Inn of the Seventh Ray is just such a place in Topanga, California.



In the entryway is a bookstore that looks like it leapt from the pages of the The Hobbit. But, since this is Topanga, it sells "new age" music, crystals and incense. If it were up to me it would be filled with yarns, teas, mystery books, and chocolates. How much nicer that would be!



Steve doesn't often make an appearance on the blog, but I've caught him here looking very relaxed having finished his meal. He is traveling so much these days it's a treat when I have him to myself and we can enjoy an afternoon together.



Here I am looking woefully under dressed. Sometimes we pop down at the last minute and brazen out the casual attire. Speaking of attire, since this is Topanga you see everything from A to Z which makes people watching part of the fun. But, it's the food that brings us back. I'm not that impressed with the regular menu but the Sunday champagne brunch is out of this world. Everything is very fresh and the salads are exotic and colorful; the hot dishes are savory and unique; and the desserts are beautiful and delicious. Yes, the brunch is the only way to go.



But, since most often we eat meals at home, I'm going to share with you a delicious savory meal that doesn't require going anywhere (truth be told, the type of meal Steve and Mr Puffy prefer).

This is a wonderful recipe that I found online. It is Tyler Florence's Herb Roasted Chicken with Wild Mushroom & Marsala and here's a link to a video which shows him making this dish:

Tyler Florence's Herb Roasted Chicken With Wild Mushrooms & Marasala (as slightly modified by me to better suit our tastes. Original recipe can be found here:



Ingredients:

Organic or free-range chicken (regular chickens have too much juice to work well with this recipe)
1 rounded Tbs. Fresh Rosemary
2 Tsp. dried Thyme
1 Clove Garlic crushed
Cremini mushrooms or assorted wild mushrooms
1 large sweet onion cut into rings
1/2 Cup chicken stock
1/2 Cup sweet marsala wine
Olive Oil
Sea Salt

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Wash and dry chicken. Combine herbs and garlic into a paste and push mixture under skin of chicken around the breast and cavity area.

3. Arrange mushrooms and onion around chicken and pour chicken stock and Marsala Wine into baking dish. Drizzle chicken with olive oil and sprinkle chicken and mushrooms with sea salt.

4. Bake for approximately 50 to 60 minutes or until done. Remove chicken and mushrooms/onions from the pan and place on serving dish. Place pan with juices on oven burner and cook over high heat stirring with a wooden spoon until mixture thickens. Pour thickened pan juices over chicken and mushroom.

5. I like to serve this dish with mashed potatoes.



Oh yes. Since I'm having the summer doldrums I've joined a swap to perk me up! Yep, I've taken the plunge. I've signed up for A Vintage Halloween Swap which is hosted by the delightful Heidi at Foxgloves, Fabric and Folly.



Finally, on a sad note, Chan has lost her little dog Mugsy. Through Chan's blogging at Chan Knits I had gotten to really know this little guy and will miss him.

Some Bunny Loves Me

I have never knit anything for a baby before. So when friends of ours had a grandchild I didn't know what to make. Do I knit a hat, blanket, booties, bib, sweater? There are just so many choices. But once I saw this picture of him I knew instantly what I would knit. I have some Schaefer yarn in my stash that is an exact color match to the outfit he's wearing! It was a sign, no?

I bought this Schaefer yarn to knit a bunny toy. Below is a picture of the bunny from the pattern cover. It's manly enough for a boy baby I think. The pattern is #308, Lola Bunny Love, and it is now available for free as a pdf download on Ravelry (Ravelry link: here). Yarn: Schaefer Lola 100% merino wool superwash.

Now that that's decided......

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

Here at Mr Puffy's Knitting Blog we focus mainly on tea treats. Lest you think we never eat anything else I'm starting a new category of recipes with the heading "What's For Dinner." These recipes will focus on simple and flavorful meals that are easy to make. Spring is a wonderful time of year as all the fresh spring vegetables and herbs are newly arriving and one herb I look forward to in particular is basil. One of the ways I enjoy using basil is in a pesto and here is how I make it:



Pesto Recipe:

Fresh basil
garlic
lemon juice
olive oil (Greek preferred)
walnuts (or pine nuts)
salt

Steps:

This is a very forgiving recipe. All of the ingredients are just to your personal taste. Combine all of the ingredients in a mini food processor and process until smooth. Add olive oil and/or lemon juice until the mixture is a soft spreadable consistency. Refrigerate and use within 1 or 2 days.

I love pesto and use it to garnish sauteed portobello mushrooms, grilled chicken sandwiches, broiled swordfish, hamburger patties and lots more. Last night I made burgers which I topped with pesto. This burger recipe comes from my mother.

Burger Recipe:

Approximately 1 lb. ground turkey meat (I don't use the extra lean that's a bit too dry for me)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 chopped green onions (white part only)
2 tablespoons soy sauce (Tamari preferred)
Lawry's Seasoned Salt (to taste)

Steps: Combine all ingredients and form burger patties. Place on foil lined baking pan. Broil approximately 10 minutes on each side. Serve with a dollop of fresh pesto or steamed spinach.



Lastly, where is Flo you ask? Well, my week did not play out as I had planned. But I'm feeling happier today because I've reached a decision. I'm not seaming Flo. I am not. I'm going to treat myself to having it professionally seamed. Mr Puffy and I discussed it and decided that was the only reasonable course to follow. He and I were a little giddy after the difficult week we have had and while playing with some of the pieces of Flo, he suggested that I just take it in and have someone else seam it for me. What a great idea! Tomorrow I'm dropping it off.

What would I do without him?