Pretty? Ugly? Pizza?

There are color combinations worth contemplating!

A fortuitous color combination came together for the knitting. The multi-colored Koigu thought by some to be the Nirvana of knitting, just didn't work for me in this bright green combo. (That's one of the hazards of phone order shopping). I had tried several stitch patterns and eventually combined it with the right shade of green in Berocco Touche, Sweet Pea. That made a nice scarf for Joyce, but took less than one hank of the Koigu. After playing with the way too bright Koigu again at a Lax game, I hit upon this combo with an oddball of Tahki Davos. The thick and thin Davos brings the color out in various areas -- brilliant!

The combination inspired a trip to Uniquities in Vienna, the first in a long time. I'll have to take a photo of the yarns purchased! (But some might be for gifts and that could ruin the surprises). I did by more blue, but not Davos, to use up more of the acid green Koigu.

Curiously, I must have enjoyed working with that color scheme as the pizza combo from Saturday night complements the hat! Tom asked me to remember the three pizza combos, but didn't suggest *where* to record such data. Left to right: (1) Basil and Arugula Pesto, sauteed red pepper, Vidalia onion slivers, (2) Sauteed red peppers, sauteed mushrooms and sauteed arugula, (3) Fresh tomato, vidalia onion slivers, topped with arugula, after grilling. Two were grilled and one was baked in the oven. Gianfranco Becchina's Olio Verde was used for every step of the process, from the pesto made the night before, to the sautee pan for the veggies, and even brushed on the pizza dough.

The weekend began with a thrilling lacrosse game, won in the last second. The ball was in the air when the buzzer sounded. Thank you, Megan. Congrats Robinson girls. On Saturday after rain, cancelled soccer, on-schedule field hockey and a quick shopping trip to the Exchange in Bethesda, we got to see the Weinermobile.

Mother's Day brought a cool, but pleasant morning, huge grocery run at the commissary, and rain, rain, rain, the rest of the day. Tom, Carly, and Katie prepared lobster tails (which Katie wouldn't touch....) while I watched a "taped" show from HGTV: House Hunters International -- on selecting a home in the Greve area of Tuscany.

Later in the evening, amidst torrential rain, clearing clogged gutters and downspouts and catching up on ironing(!), we purchased tickets for next weekend's NCAA Men's Lacrosse Quarterfinal games at the Naval Academy. That should be very exciting!

Lacrosse/NCAAs makes me think of MA and Greg. I didn't get to connect with MA this weekend, but she's in my thoughts as she flies to Phoenix for the funeral of a former neighbor, Margie who lost the battle with breast cancer. From this distance, I know that Margie's battle was long...and hope that her family finds a peaceful new path.

Truffles, Olive Oil, and More

Scarf picture has nothing to do with Truffles. You'll have to read on down to find out why it is here.

Do you remember your first Truffle? Not the chocolate kind which are surely mighty fine, but the sublime cousin-of-a-mushroom? Mine was at the Fourways Inn, in Bermuda in late March or early April of 1981.

Spring Break with MA was not the raucous kind. We’d already gone to Ft. Lauderdale as Freshmen and Sophomores so Junior Year was time for Bermuda. (We were out of ideas –or money-- by Senior year…)

Last week Olio2go received a case of Selezione Sliced Black Truffles in olive oil. We’ve priced them low, so it is a spectacular treat for anyone not willing or able spend $999 a pound at the local grocery store. Olio2go now has the jarred truffles, truffle salt, and truffle oil. What more could anyone ask?

Oh, what did we do with them? One of us made risotto and the other made scrambled eggs. Go figure! And, the jar still has enough for 2-4 more recipes!

Truffle butter is something we don’t have so I picked up a small container from Wegman’s gourmet butter case, next to the bread. Merchandise can work so well! The D’Artagnan Truffle Butter has lovely black specks of truffle. It’s an inspiration to make something as simple as toast, just to eat more truffle butter. Price about $7 for the equivalent of 1/2 a stick of butter.

Memories of Ireland abound at this time of year, and I find myself craving Irish Soda Bread. First, what we have here, is often “better” than the bread in Ireland. Perhaps if I’d been brought up on real Irish bread, I’d have a greater appreciation for the bread on Irish soil. That said, I have a recipe that’s pretty good, second only to that found at Kell’s in Seattle or Portland. Whole Foods Irish Soda Bread was pretty dismal. Great Harvest’s was pretty good. I still have a quart of buttermilk in the fridge to make some. What’s a good one? It needs to be firm, slightly sweet with a good balance of raisins and caraway seeds.

I will commend Whole Foods on their gelato offerings—the best we’ve shared since Florence.

Recent Olio2go olive oil tastings included Tenuta di Nozzole from Tuscany. It’s another great Tuscan. We also tasted a yet-unnamed oil from Marche. We’re looking forward to their name and packaging.

I’ve just finished reading Stolen Figs and Other Adventures in Calabria by Mark Rotella. It was a very pleasant travelogue through one of Italy’s less-traveled regions.

I finally finished the Koigu Scarf. The pattern is based on an odd-number of stitches and on every row, simply Knit the first stitch and then continue across with Yarn Over, Knit 2 together until the end. Turn and repeat. Mine is in a colorway I’ll call eggplant or aubergine as that is the dominant color.

Last Saturday, we finally made it to 2Amys for pizza. The four of us went for lunch. It’s so noisy that it’s a bit difficult to carry on a conversation. The pizza was great. I wonder if there’s a time when it is any quieter? While at 2Amys a Bucknell classmate, Jill, stopped by our table on the way out. It was nice to see her and to begin talking about our reunion in June. After leaving the restaurant, we took a stroll to the National Cathedral. It’s an architectural wonder, but it doesn’t quite have the character (and tombs!) of cathedrals in Europe.

Paula and I attended the International Wine & Food Show at the Reagan Building last weekend. The crowd was overwhelming!

After a lovely St. Patrick's Day, Katie and I took one last roll down the ski slopes at Bryce yesterday. Someone remind me to buy gear in the fall! The drive was a little longer than anticipated, but it was a great last day. I love Spring skiing!