Wednesday, May 17, 2006

bananas on parade

i just made the best banana pudding ever (and i don't even like bananas). last month when i went to new york, i had the most delicious banana pudding from magnolia bakery. the place is known for its cupcakes (which i think are overrated and not that tasty) but we also tried the famous banana pudding. the pudding itself isn't actually banana flavored, it just has bananas in it, which is probably why i can eat it. and it's got cakey bits of nilla wafers mixed about-mmmm. i bought this book, just for the pudding recipe. little did i know that this recipe is available online here. it came out tasting pretty similar to what i got at the store so i am happy. however, i have a huge vat of it now and don't know what to do with it. i just wanted a little bit.

DSC03337
this is kind of a crap picture.

here's the recipe for anyone who wants to try it. it kind of killed the fun by making it because now i know what's in it. and what's in it is NOT good for you, but it's worth it.

magnolia's famous banana pudding
taken from recipe link

  • 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

  • 1 1/2 cups ice cold water

  • 1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (preferably Jell-O brand)

  • 3 cups heavy cream

  • 1 (12-ounce) box Nabisco Nilla Wafers (no substitutions!)

  • 4 cups sliced ripe bananas

  1. In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight, before continuing. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set.

  2. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.

  3. To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity. Arrange one-third of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl, overlapping if necessary, then one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer of the pudding. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours - or up to 8 hours, but no longer! - before serving.

a little bit of knitting going on. here's the left front of the astrakhan sweater.

DSC03338

it's going well so far, but i think i might be short on yarn. it's gonna be really tight and now i am debating whether or not to order another ball or wait and see if i can finish with what i've got. i also have no idea what yarn i am going to use to sew it up, as the astrakhan is way too bumpy and weird to sew anything with.

DSC03340

the mason dixon dishcloth. most people can finish one of these in a few hours but i'm still going on mine. i just can't seem to stick to one project so everything only gets a little attention. this'll be done soon, though. and look how nice the colors are.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

holding my breath

did you guys see grey's anatomy tonight? i can't believe all the sh*t that's going down. tomorrow night is the season finale and it's two hours long! i think i'll be biting my nails for most of it. i didn't get a ton of knitting done this weekend but i did manage to finally finish the collar for the astrakhan sweater. fronts, here i come! i know i was supposed to be good and not start any new projects but i've been reading the mason dixon knitalong and i just had to try one of those cute little dishcloths. one trip to joann's later and i cast on. i really wanted the peaches & creme yarn but they only carried sugar n cream, which i hear is almost the same. i am still looking for the peaches & creme, but it seems like only walmart carries it. oddly enough, there aren't a ton of walmarts in the la area so it looks like i'll have to wait. this is what i have so far:

DSC03330

i know it's not much but i like seeing the pattern show up in the ombre yarn and the colors are so bright and fun. i don't know what i am going to do with all of these dishcloths i plan on making, as the thought of washing my dishes with them sounds kind of icky. i just imagine bits of food stuck to the cotton. ew. give me a sponge any day.

hope you all had a great weekend. and happy mother's day, too. :)

Thursday, May 11, 2006

buried

i came home this evening to find that the new owners painted our entire building yellow. i don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing but my building's yellow. now when i give out directions i can say, "...and then it's that yellow building on your right." i have been knitting, although somewhat sporadically. i feel like i never have enough time to knit or i end up using some of that time to do other things, like read. it's too bad that work takes up so much of the day.

and lately it seems like my wip basket is overflowing with things that are just not quite done yet. the lure of new projects calls everyday and i am trying hard not to give in. but here's a mini rundown of some of my bigger wips.

DSC03317

remember this puppy? it's cyd, from jaeger. i think i started this last summer and here it is still not done. i had some issues with the shoulder shaping and the back (which i made sometime last year) seems way too big. luckily the front is a bit slimmer i think because of the intarsia. since this photo, i've finished one side of the neck and i hope to finish it soon. i still like the vest but i started it before i was really into noting and counting my rows, so it's kind of a mess coming back to it every few months. i gotta be good and work on it consistently.

DSC03318

i started shedir on a whim with a ball of rowan felted tweed i had lying around but got stalled with the chart reading. i don't mind charts but it's not really good for mindless tv knitting. so this has been put aside for a bit.

DSC03319

oh here is the lovely atacama t-shirt sweater. i was so close to finishing this before i realized that the back was way too red. the atacama yarn is really beautiful but the variegation is a real bitch. i switched balls every two rows but i think the skeins i used for the back were just redder than the rest of the sweater, which is more blue. i thought i could live with it and even sewed up the sides before realizing that i wouldn't be able to live with it. so i ripped it out and am now in search of two more skeins of more atacama to match. unfortunately not too many stores carry this yarn in my area and i want to see the yarn before i buy it to make sure it matches. so this is stalled until i find more yarn.

DSC03320

the debbie bliss shawl collared jacket in astrakhan. i've been working on the collar for awhile now. it just never seems to end. it's take more than 2 balls of yarn! luckily it's almost done and i'll be starting the fronts soon.

DSC03321

you didn't even know i started this one. it's forecast from knitty. i am using some beaverslide wool i bought awhile back. i started this on a whim, too, and have been working on it bit by bit. it's pretty interesting to see it form from the top down and the texture is great.

DSC03322

ooohh...bobbly goodness. just looking at all of these unfinished projects makes me tired. but i will persevere and i know that one day, something will be finished. well it's off to watch "the office" for me and then to bed. have a great friday!

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

bananas on parade

i just made the best banana pudding ever (and i don't even like bananas). last month when i went to new york, i had the most delicious banana pudding from magnolia bakery. the place is known for its cupcakes (which i think are overrated and not that tasty) but we also tried the famous banana pudding. the pudding itself isn't actually banana flavored, it just has bananas in it, which is probably why i can eat it. and it's got cakey bits of nilla wafers mixed about-mmmm. i bought this book, just for the pudding recipe. little did i know that this recipe is available online here. it came out tasting pretty similar to what i got at the store so i am happy. however, i have a huge vat of it now and don't know what to do with it. i just wanted a little bit.

DSC03337
this is kind of a crap picture.

here's the recipe for anyone who wants to try it. it kind of killed the fun by making it because now i know what's in it. and what's in it is NOT good for you, but it's worth it.

magnolia's famous banana pudding
taken from recipe link

  • 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

  • 1 1/2 cups ice cold water

  • 1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (preferably Jell-O brand)

  • 3 cups heavy cream

  • 1 (12-ounce) box Nabisco Nilla Wafers (no substitutions!)

  • 4 cups sliced ripe bananas

  1. In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight, before continuing. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set.

  2. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.

  3. To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity. Arrange one-third of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl, overlapping if necessary, then one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer of the pudding. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours - or up to 8 hours, but no longer! - before serving.

a little bit of knitting going on. here's the left front of the astrakhan sweater.

DSC03338

it's going well so far, but i think i might be short on yarn. it's gonna be really tight and now i am debating whether or not to order another ball or wait and see if i can finish with what i've got. i also have no idea what yarn i am going to use to sew it up, as the astrakhan is way too bumpy and weird to sew anything with.

DSC03340

the mason dixon dishcloth. most people can finish one of these in a few hours but i'm still going on mine. i just can't seem to stick to one project so everything only gets a little attention. this'll be done soon, though. and look how nice the colors are.
Read More


Sunday, May 14, 2006

holding my breath

did you guys see grey's anatomy tonight? i can't believe all the sh*t that's going down. tomorrow night is the season finale and it's two hours long! i think i'll be biting my nails for most of it. i didn't get a ton of knitting done this weekend but i did manage to finally finish the collar for the astrakhan sweater. fronts, here i come! i know i was supposed to be good and not start any new projects but i've been reading the mason dixon knitalong and i just had to try one of those cute little dishcloths. one trip to joann's later and i cast on. i really wanted the peaches & creme yarn but they only carried sugar n cream, which i hear is almost the same. i am still looking for the peaches & creme, but it seems like only walmart carries it. oddly enough, there aren't a ton of walmarts in the la area so it looks like i'll have to wait. this is what i have so far:

DSC03330

i know it's not much but i like seeing the pattern show up in the ombre yarn and the colors are so bright and fun. i don't know what i am going to do with all of these dishcloths i plan on making, as the thought of washing my dishes with them sounds kind of icky. i just imagine bits of food stuck to the cotton. ew. give me a sponge any day.

hope you all had a great weekend. and happy mother's day, too. :)
Read More


Thursday, May 11, 2006

buried

i came home this evening to find that the new owners painted our entire building yellow. i don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing but my building's yellow. now when i give out directions i can say, "...and then it's that yellow building on your right." i have been knitting, although somewhat sporadically. i feel like i never have enough time to knit or i end up using some of that time to do other things, like read. it's too bad that work takes up so much of the day.

and lately it seems like my wip basket is overflowing with things that are just not quite done yet. the lure of new projects calls everyday and i am trying hard not to give in. but here's a mini rundown of some of my bigger wips.

DSC03317

remember this puppy? it's cyd, from jaeger. i think i started this last summer and here it is still not done. i had some issues with the shoulder shaping and the back (which i made sometime last year) seems way too big. luckily the front is a bit slimmer i think because of the intarsia. since this photo, i've finished one side of the neck and i hope to finish it soon. i still like the vest but i started it before i was really into noting and counting my rows, so it's kind of a mess coming back to it every few months. i gotta be good and work on it consistently.

DSC03318

i started shedir on a whim with a ball of rowan felted tweed i had lying around but got stalled with the chart reading. i don't mind charts but it's not really good for mindless tv knitting. so this has been put aside for a bit.

DSC03319

oh here is the lovely atacama t-shirt sweater. i was so close to finishing this before i realized that the back was way too red. the atacama yarn is really beautiful but the variegation is a real bitch. i switched balls every two rows but i think the skeins i used for the back were just redder than the rest of the sweater, which is more blue. i thought i could live with it and even sewed up the sides before realizing that i wouldn't be able to live with it. so i ripped it out and am now in search of two more skeins of more atacama to match. unfortunately not too many stores carry this yarn in my area and i want to see the yarn before i buy it to make sure it matches. so this is stalled until i find more yarn.

DSC03320

the debbie bliss shawl collared jacket in astrakhan. i've been working on the collar for awhile now. it just never seems to end. it's take more than 2 balls of yarn! luckily it's almost done and i'll be starting the fronts soon.

DSC03321

you didn't even know i started this one. it's forecast from knitty. i am using some beaverslide wool i bought awhile back. i started this on a whim, too, and have been working on it bit by bit. it's pretty interesting to see it form from the top down and the texture is great.

DSC03322

ooohh...bobbly goodness. just looking at all of these unfinished projects makes me tired. but i will persevere and i know that one day, something will be finished. well it's off to watch "the office" for me and then to bed. have a great friday!
Read More