Weekend Activities
We had a really gorgeous weekend in these parts - beautiful weather and very comfortable temperatures. Myria and I went on a picture-taking expedition Saturday and we had a lot of fun. The conditions were so good that even my ancient (as far as digital technology goes; it’s about 8 years old) camera picked up some decent shots. The sidebar picture was taken in a little conservation area in Dunstable, a tiny town a few miles away from us. Dunstable is really just a wide spot in the road, but it’s out away from the highways and the active areas so it’s also very peaceful and, usually, very quiet. Of course the day we were there, the church was running a carnival/fair type thing so the town was getting roughly 10 times the amount of traffic that it normally sees.
Knitting, so to speak…
Yesterday I worked again on the Dragon Skin pattern making no further progress than before. I know I’m missing something simple and stupid. It’s just a matter of figuring out what it is.
I think I have decided to forgo the stockinette exploration of the slippers for now and just make a garter stitch pair for myself. I probably won’t be needing them any time soon, but it’ll be nice, come the cold weather, to have them all ready. I’ll be using this wool for them:
Bazic Wool
I’m not sure how I’ll use the purple and blue, except that those will be the top colors. The grey will definitely go for the soles :)
I have frogged the Meadow Flowers shawl. While I was working on it, I kept thinking how lovely it would be in mohair and finally realized that the Primavera cotton blend (much as I like it) wasn’t going to make a shawl I’d be happy with. I’m looking into other possibilities for that. Unfortunately, I’m not in a position to afford mohair at the moment, but I’m sure the time will come :) There’s no hurry.
I have also been looking at this:
Weaver’s Wool Mini Shawl
I think I’d make this bigger - add a couple of wedges and make it longer. Of course, I don’t have enough of anything to make this either, but it’s on my “to play with” list. I like the semi-circular design of it and the construction. I don’t like that it’s garter stitch as that could mean considerable length-wise stretching. Stockinette would narrow the wedges, but I’m not sure that would be a bad thing - especially if I add more wedges :) I did work out a bit of it last night with the aid of some margarine-colored acrylic. I should try it again in stockinette and see how that works.
Another Stupid Kitchen Trick 
We are determined to try and shed some tonnage this summer. One of our biggest problems is dessert, well, sweets in general. Over the weekend I tried something that might just help us out in that area (apologies to those who are offended by gelatin products or for whom this is old news).
I had found some sugar-free gelatin boxes hiding in one of the kitchen cupboards and decided to make some up. Jello isn’t my first choice for dessert, but it can be acceptable in the summer because it’s fast, easy and almost calorie free. It’s also cold - a nice plus for a summer dessert. While we were going through this batch, I began to wonder about using low-fat, sugar-free yogurt as the cold “liquid”. It would add substantial body to the finished product and still not be a significant source of calories.
Well, I tried it. I made up two packages of sugar-free peach gelatin (using the 2 cups of hot water called for) and then added two 8oz cups of fat-free, sugar-free peach yogurt instead of using 2 cups of cold water. I had worried that the live bacillus in the yogurt might affect gelling but…
It worked!
...it solidified (semi) just perfectly. We tried it last night and you know what? It was pretty, darned good - a lot more like a pudding than a gelatin. Even with a glop of non-dairy whipped topping, this comes in at less than 100 calories and that’s pretty good for a dessert. The peach (lovely, lurid color, isn’t it?) has a nice tang to it. I’ve got strawberry lined up for the next effort and I expect that will work just fine too!
The only problem is I can’t figure out what to call this stuff! Jellgurt? Yoglo?
Nahhh….
Happy Monday!
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You can also fold the non-dairy whipped topping into the gelatin. Just when it’s beginning to set and is still kind of syrupy, stir in the whipped topping. You end up with a fluffy mousse type stuff. You can even add some fruit to it if you like.
I used to make this all the time. My way - make Jello as usual and put it in the fridge to set. When it begins to gel, fold in the yogurt. Yum. I need to make some now! Good luck with your diet - I need to do that now, too.
Charlotte - I had read about that trick, but I kinda thought the yogurt was a bit healthier. Not that I’ve given up the topping, you understand!
Jane - Ahh - great minds think alike! I’m looking forward to trying this with other flavors.
My Mum used to do something similar when I was small. In the UK, it goes by the traditional, exciting and evocative name of “Shape” or, sometimes “Mould”. If she whipped it up before leaving it to set, it had the slightly more appealing name of “Fluff”.
“Shape” might work and “Fluff” is pretty good - think I’ll steal that to use! Thanks Pam - and thank your Mum for me!
When I was little, a neighbour (my family has never eaten dessert) used to make jello with milk, she called it “Moo” and had a cookbook from jello to prove it.
Moo? Heheh - This is never going to replace chocolate mousse or apple pie with ice cream, but it’s better than nothing. Better than bread pudding too (shudder).
Hope springs eternal…I wonder if this comment will post? Just wanted to say “thanks” for the dessert idea - it’ll dovetail perfectly with my diet.
I also really like that shawl…hmmmm…
Yay Bron! It worked! I have no idea what’s different - but I’m glad you got through! Real glad to see you!
