Instead of upgrading to the new Blogger...

Bread Crumbs... is in the process of migrating to WordPress...

Yes, there were some other poems posted here until recently,

...but they've been relegated back to "Draft" mode for further review, to return when they've aged and been revised a bit.

a moebius scarf on steroids

I really didn't mean to make it this large; it just sort of happened. You can't really tell how long it's going to be while you're knitting because the circular needles are looped in a doubled coil fairly tightly, and the size does not become evident until you begin casting off. Of course, there are other, more savvy, knitters who are able to determine from a swatch, and it's corresponding gauge, how many stitches to cast on for the desired size. But the casting on, in this case, is also peculiar. In any case, I probably cast on too many. Still, it doesn't look too bad if you wrap it more than once and let it drape. And, if it were really cold, you could wrap your head up in it, too. It's my first one. I'm sure I'll figure out the formula eventually.

on knitting and nepotism

I just added a new link to my blogroll: Pixelated Knitting. It belongs to a knitting blogger (or a blogging knitter?) with whom I share significant DNA, and whom I imprinted with "knitting" when she was but 3 or 4 years old and still had chubby fingers. I think she knitted just a small square then... but a few years ago began accumulating the accoutrements of a serious knitter: stash, patterns, needles, books, more stash, more books, and a set of Denise needles....

My daughter and I went to a book-signing at a nearby yarn store last weekend, and were both inspired by the two women who met online on a knitting blog, developed a relationship in the comment threads, and started their own blog, which yielded them a book deal. And now a book tour where they get to meet their many and ardent fans. They were actually new to me, but I am now a fan, and am trying to imagine a way to combine moebius knitting, a technique I have just learned, with Kay Gardner's log cabin knitting technique. Perhaps a boxy coat or jacket with a moebius/shawl collar? I'm thinking... I'm thinking....

Apparently, my daughter is, too, and has begun scheming how to combine her obsession for sudoku with said log cabin knitting technique. (I was also thinking that sudoku would be a great pattern on a knitted and felted tote bag, just large enough to carry a sudoku book. I think she has something more ambitious in mind.)

Women's History Month at A Chef's Table

This month, Jim Coleman is featuring women-- chefs, cookbook writers, and photographers-- on his weekly radio program. Yesterday, Coleman interviewed several women, including Laura Schenone , the author of A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove: A History of American Women Told through Food Recipes and Remembrances.

I was particularly struck by one thing she said while talking about the many roles-- personal, charitable, and political-- that cookbooks have played in women's lives. Schenone is working on a theroy that women have often written cookbooks in order to deal with difficult situations in their lives. One example was Erma Rombauer, author of The Joy of Cooking, whose family suggested that she write a cookbook to deal with the death of her husband. And out of her grief was born "Joy."

If you would like to hear the program, you can find it here for now, until it is available in the archives for March 25th.

Other featured books include:

Putting Meat on the American Table: Taste Techonogy and Transformation, byRoger Horowitz

The Cooking of Southwest France: Recipes from France's Magnificent Rustic Cuisine, by Paula Wolfert

A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove: A History of American Women Told through Food Recipes and Remembrances, by Paula Wolfert

Daughter of Heaven: A Memoir with Earthly Recipes, by Leslie Li

Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals:Featuring 200 Recipes for Quick and Easy Dinners, by Sara Moulton, Dana Gallagher, Photographer

More Retro Diner: A Second Helping of Roadside Recipes, by Randy Garbin and Terri Dunn

Lidia's Family Table, by Lidia Bastinach

Meat Me in Manhattan: A Carnivore's Guide to New York, by Josh Osersky, photographer Kate Gardner

The 70% solution... ?

I was planning to post something about chocolate anyway, and then there was a news story today about its health benefits-- especially for the cardiovascular system-- which included a link to a peer-reviewed article with lots of details, many of which were over my head.

However, I did catch the one about consuming 100g per day for two weeks in order to lower one's blood pressure. (Mine's gone up a bit since I've been eating butterscotch like it's going out of style.) And, I thought it might be worth a small trial of my own. Especially, since my favorite bar comes in exactly that "dose." And apparently there is a dose-response. At least in elderly Dutch men. This will mean a trip to CVS, where I can both take my blood pressure, and purchase a larger supply of Lindt bars than I usually have on hand. Further updates will follow...

And, in the meantime, another story on some surprising relationships between food and health arrived in my emailbox via The Progressive, and this one went much further than merely advocating for chocolate...

UPDATE ~ Same Day:
Today's BP: 138 over 74 w/ a heart rate of 76.
[I always use to be well under the "normal" 120 over 80.]

UPDATE ~ March 5th: [I decided to measure it twice.]
1st BP: 137 over 76 w/ a heart rate of 71;
2nd BP: 132 over 74 w/ a heart rate of 66.

Breakfast began with saffron-flavored rice

I wanted something simple for breakfast, but with enough complexity to be satisfying. So, I started off by cooking a package of saffron-flavored rice, to which I added some peas at the very end. Meanwhile, I cooked three slices of bacon (which was a 2-for-1 special sale), poured off the excess fat, and lightly browned a small amount of finely chopped onion, which also deglazed the pan and incorporated all of the leftover bacon flavor into the onions. They needed a little bit more fat, though, so I added some olive oil. Once the onions were done, I set them aside on a plate, and added more olive oil to the skillet (non-nonstick, stainless steel). While it was heating, I beat a couple of eggs, and when the oil was very hot (almost smoking), I added the eggs in a stream, while stirring, and quickly stirred them in the pan, since it was pretty hot, and I didn't want them overcooked.

On a bed of the saffron rice & peas, I added a layer of the onions, then the scrambled eggs, and topped the whole thing with crumbled bacon.