Things to do on holiday...

Well, yes, I know it's been ages, as usual, but I do have a day job these days. Except when I'm on vacation. Then it's time to break out the "things I've been putting off" list and take a nap. Or, you know, live a little 'cause I'm in New York and I'd better act like it. So...what does one do on holiday, you ask? Prepare the lists (and the debates on proper spacing and the Oxford comma), grab a caffeinated beverage (hey, it's not 5 o'clock here for another 10 minutes!) and your favorite knitting needles, and hop on board!

1. Bum around Central Park with a cupcake.

Can't have mine, though. These babies are from the Sprinkles cupcake ATM (that's right, they dispense these things like the friggin' Jetsons) at 61st and Lex. And in time for Passover, they've got these gorgeous, rich, dense, utterly sinful (but possibly kosher?) flourless chocolate guys, complete with fondant Star of David. And when you're already halfway there, why not wander west a couple of avenues, hit up the park, listen to a jazz band, absorb a little Vitamin D, and then stop by the Strand kiosk and blow 10 bucks on half-price paperbacks on the way out? I know that's how I like to spend a sunny Monday afternoon in my dreams.


2. Troubleshoot washcloth patterns.

Have another wedding to knit for? Can't come up with ideas? Really just want to play around with LOTR motifs and see what emerges? I'd done a version of these for Comrade's wedding a couple years back, but couldn't be bothered to transcribe the charts, so this time I thought I'd try retracing my steps and seeing what comes out. So far the Tree of Gondor (the Aragorn part) is officially spreadsheet charted. Elven Leaf (Arwen) is still in paper form, but at least I know what to type into Open Office Calc when the time comes. Ravelry patterns to come...eventually...

3. File your taxes. Uuuuugggggggghhhhh!

4. Take the in-training (RISE) exam for your residency program. Sort of. We're allowed to take these at home (yeah, I know, WTF mate???), so guess who took hers with several cups of tea and while singing Regina Spektor songs and disturbing the neighbors?

5. Bake for Passover.
When Comrade asked me to bring dessert to Seder, I jumped at the opportunity (nothing says "I love you" like inflicting sugar and calories on one's friends and family, after all). And then I realized exactly how restrictive the no-flour, no-leavening, how-kosher-does-this-actually-have-to-be rules can get. Hazelnut torte (not shown here 'cause I forgot to take pictures), drawn from someone's granny's recipe, turned out a success, but oy vey the hazelnut flour costs an arm and a leg! We also won't mention the milk in the semisweet chocolate, right? Damn you, Hershey!

So for round 2, i.e. baking for my classmates who are not on holiday at the moment, I drew inspiration from Monday's cupcake adventure and went flourless chocolate. The lift in flourless desserts, according to the Food Network, comes from the eggs, usually separated and lightly beaten. Carefully. Underbeat and the thing doesn't rise at all (that's what she said). Overbeat and it rises like crazy in the oven, only to fall flat before its time (oh dear, that's what she said). Fantastic, I love beating eggs (no, seriously, there's something weirdly therapeutic about whipping a batch of yolks and whites into fluffy creamy shape, I admit I have a problem)! So imagine my surprise and dismay when none of the recipes I subsequently click on mentions separating the eggs! "Fuck it," she says, and decides to improvise.

The recipe on which my cupcakes are based can be found here. My version is this:
4 eggs, separated
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
pinch of (kosher) salt
8 oz semisweet chocolate chips/chunks/chopped up bar
1 stick butter, chopped
cocoa powder for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a 12-muffin tin with muffin/cupcake papers.
2. Beat egg yolks, sugar, and salt together until pale and creamy.
3. Melt chocolate and butter over a saucepan/double boiler.
4. Gently fold chocolate mixture into yolk mixture until combined.
5. Beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Gently fold into chocolate and egg yolk mixture until combined.
6. Pour into muffin cups and bake for approximately 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean or you get tired of waiting and are willing to eat a little goo.
7. Allow to cool, and dust tops with cocoa powder.
Makes 12 cupcakes...give or take a mutant screw-up or two.

By the way, if anyone's paying attention, your resultant batter is...chocolate mousse. I'd eat that shit raw. Have done so by the teacup-full, in fact. Any recipe that starts with "make a chocolate mousse then stick that fucker in the oven" is a winner in my book. And the souffle-cakes that end up coming out of the oven? Horrific to transport (see dime bags pictured here and imagine the slightly sat-upon end products of subway travel), but better than sex. Not too sweet, airy on top, decadent on the bottom. I should replenish my whiskey supply and make some...additions. But only for off-hours and not during religious holidays.

6. Pet yarn.

I have lived in New York for almost 10 months and just set foot in Purl Soho. I am a disgrace. But making up for lost time, apparently I stumbled in just in time to locate their 40% off table. Now, any local yarn shop worth its salt is full of beautiful top-tier yarns arranged by color and weight, helpful staff, and quirky customers. Not every local yarn shop causes me to drop over 40 bucks on positively scrumptious yarn on my first visit. But there was this...this single 300-ish yard skein of mohair-silk deliciousness the exact color and texture of fresh-spun cotton candy. I didn't--and don't--have a clue what to make with it. Something floaty and girly, yes (do I even do floaty and girly???). Well, no, what I really wanted to do was take it home and stash it and pull it out when I'm feeling blue and pet it.

But to make it feel less lonely, I purchased a couple of skeins of 100% merino in a shade of peacock that might well be a disaster with my skin tone but will look gorgeous on probably everybody else in existence. It will become some sort of upper body covering. Cowl or hood or shawl or something. I honestly haven't thought beyond "I love that color," "Oh, how soft it is" and "40% off!"

Which is probably about what Raiden thought (minus the 40% off bit) when I opened my bag of goodies. Better that than "Mommy, what the hell have you been doing cozying up with a large black poodle on your trip to Soho???" But we won't speak of that.