Don't Be Koi...Have a Cupcake.

Even though we've got some green coming up in the garden, it's been too chilly to do much digging. I was gratified to see Clarence recently, though. He made it through the winter without too much trouble, although he's gotten so fat that he can barely balance himself on the fence post. Still, a tiny handout can't hurt much!

Clarence is my garden companion. He's good company, sprawled out on the walkway, watching as I dig. He's always ready to lend a helping paw...well, mostly when he's helping himself to more food!

But I don't mind. Anyway, we haven't spent much time together lately. Mostly I've been paying attention to indoor plants. My succulents made it through the winter without much damage, and my geraniums are fine. I love their leaves!

I've continued to bring in more fresh flowers to arrange in vases around the house...mainly tulips, and sometimes mums...

...and this week, cheerful yellow daisies.

I had a mystery plant growing alongside my geranium, so I pulled it and repotted it in an egg cup. It's very nice for spring!

Next week I must get out in the yard and start clearing away debris. This week, though, I've had time for guilt-free knitting. Regrettably, my latest project is a bit of a bust. I've had the Kissing Koi mitten pattern for a while but didn't feel secure enough in my fair isle abilities to begin it. However, I decided this pattern was just what I needed to get me out of my knitting funk. The fair isle went smoothly. No puckers and no loose gaps, either. As you can see, the front is a koi fish and flowers...

...and the back is a simple diamond pattern, in place so that you won't have long floats of yarn to catch your fingers on. The orange line is my afterthought thumb.

I have very small hands, and for this size the pattern suggests size 1 needles. I decided to use size 0 needles - the smallest I've got - and still, this mitten is oven-mitt big. I've read notes on the pattern that indicate that it runs large...there's a lot of detail to fit! I'm unwilling to frog it and re-knit on size 000 needles, when it still might be a bit too big. I may make it into an oven mitt, or chalk it up to a learning experience, frog it, and use the yarn for something else!

I'm starting on a cardigan, using the snowflake fingering-weight yarn I ordered from England this winter. This is another experimental project. Gauge is 18 sts = 4 inches. Recommended needle size is 7. I had to go up to a size 10 needle to get gauge, and then the fabric is too "open" for comfort. So, throwing caution into the wind, I'm using a size 8 needle (gauge is 22 sts = 4 inches) and knitting a 40" cardigan in hopes that the cardigan will end up being 36". I think it will work! The thought of frogging a fingering-weight cardigan is something I'm unable - or unwilling - to contemplate, so I'm crossing both fingers and toes that my calculations are correct.

I've baked some beautiful loaves this week...

But man cannot live on bread alone. So, I made cupcakes! This was an unusual and last-minute choice. I had picked a double-raspberry chocolate cupcake recipe from Annie's Eats. But, as I stared at the 2 sticks of butter coming to room temperature on the counter, I started feeling guilty. I want to make nice treats for my husband as he's hard at work on his dissertation, but I don't want him to develop coronary heart disease as the result of my attentions. I decided to make several modifications. Instead of making a dense, rich chocolate cake, I found a pudge-free brownie recipe and went to work!

Pudge-Free Double Raspberry Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes (phew!)
Adapted from allrecipes.com
Makes 12 cupcakes

Cupcakes
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vital wheat gluten
2 egg whites
3/4 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
a splash of vanilla

Filling
Raspberry Jam

Icing
4 ounces neufchatel cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup raspberries
1/4 cup raspberry jam

For the cupcakes, mix together the dry ingredients. If you don't have vital wheat gluten, don't worry about it...but it does help your cupcakes to rise a little higher. Add wet ingredients and mix well. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake cupcakes for 18 - 20 minutes. Place on wire rack to cool.

I was pleased with the rise. The recipe is for brownies, not cupcakes, but adding the egg whites gives it a more cake-like consistency.

After your cupcakes cool, take a paring knife and cut a hole in the middle. See the little triangle you pull out? Cut the bottom part off and feel free to eat it...just to make sure it tastes all right, of course! ;)

Take 1/2 cup raspberry jam and heat it in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Stir well, and spoon a bit into the center of your cupcake.

Cover it with the piece you put aside. Voila! You've got filled cupcakes!

To make the frosting, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Because I used fresh raspberries, my frosting wasn't very stiff. If you prefer a stiffer frosting, leave out the fresh raspberries and just use jam. I piped it onto the top of the cupcake without any difficulties.

If you're a chocolate and raspberry fan (like my husband!) you'll love these! There's just a bit of butter and sugar but you've got a chewy, brownie-like cupcake with a double shot of raspberry - the stronger flavored filling, and the lightly-flavored icing. It's a nice balance. Let me just say...Todd's already had three, so I think they've got the stamp of approval! And they're relatively guilt-free.

Enjoy!

At Last...Fall.

I could see my breath when I went outside this morning. The air was delightfully crisp, and I'm so happy that the weather in general has finally aligned with the calendar. It's October, and fall is here!

Evidence is everywhere. Squirrels are busily carrying acorns and patching up nests. Squirrels can smell the saliva they leave on nuts, even through snow and soil, which is how they're able to dig up their treasures when needed.

Birds are busy, too. They've nearly stripped my pokeberry bush...

...but leave evidence that many more pokeberry bushes will grow in the spring.

I find lots of feathers around...birds are either shoring up old nests or shedding feathers during their daily rough-and-tumble routines.

There's not as much life in the garden lately. As our temperatures dip into the 30s at night, most carpenter bees have begun their hibernation, although I still see one or two anemically clinging to spent blossoms.

I still see a few moths, huddled amid the pine needles...

...but I haven't seen a butterfly in a while. Sometimes, though, I'll come across an old chrysalis, like this one, belonging to a monarch butterfly.

Snails still hide under rocks, but soon they'll bury themselves in the soil. They secrete a type of lime that seals off the opening of their shells, and they hibernate until spring. Believe it or not, a snail can live up to five years!

I see lots of mysterious nests in the fall. This could be the nest of a jumping spider.

Insects and spiders utilize leaves, too...any small place where they can spin webbing and be sheltered and safe from predators and poor weather.

Everything has gone to seed. This zinnia, with its conical center, still provides nibbles for birds. I won't take the spent plants down for at least another month.

I love tree seeds, and frequently bring them home to arrange in pretty glass dishes. It's not a very common way to decorate ("Do you think you could have a few less seeds out?" my realtor asked nervously), but I love it.

This sweetgum seed pod has several protrusions that remind me of long, grasping bird beaks; gnarled, like the type of bird a witch might have for a pet.

Of course, I always have lots of acorns. One day, when I'm more organized, I'm going to make big acorn wreaths, but right now I have to settle for little dishes of them. Once, a squirrel got into the house, somehow slipping down the chimney and forcing itself through a small grill at the bottom of the furnace. I think he felt right at home in my house, because he had plenty of acorns to nibble on during his captivity! He certainly depleted my stash in no time.

I love these maple "helicopters." The thin, dry tops are delicately veined...

...yet they're able to catch the wind and, carrying the seed along, twist and flutter their way to an opportune spot.

I've seen some interesting transformations lately. I always like to watch for these progressive changes. Here, a morning glory bud, still green, prepares for seed.

Just a couple of weeks later, the seed head is dry, and the leaves pull back to reveal a paper-thin seed covering.

Next, the covering splits, revealing the inky seeds within. As more sections peel off and waft away, more seeds are exposed, and can drop easily to the ground.

Finally, all seeds are gone, and the seed pod opens up to reveal all. I like the rice paper-thin slivers that at one time divided up the seed chambers.

Not all is lost, though. Just as my sedums have finished flowering, my mums start to stir. In the span of a week, they open. On Monday, I have the tightly-furled buds...

...but on Friday, some color is seen...

...and by Monday, the petals open to reveal their creamy yellow centers. Mums are great for fall color and, of course, they're perennials, so you'll get a bigger and more colorful display every year!


The sap is starting to flow from some trees. Trees sap in the fall and spring through a complicated process involving internal pressures reacting to the external environment.

Fall berries are ripening, much to the delight of the local birds...

And, of course, the leaves are beginning to turn.

I have great memories of raking up - and then jumping into - great piles of fall leaves. I love the way they look, I love the way they smell, and I love the way they crunch when you walk on them.

These oak leaves are just beginning to turn...

...and so is this maple tree.

However, some trees have completely changed color, like this maple, which is a lovely shade of gold.
This maple tree's leaves have all turned to a brilliant orange color.

In the spirit of the season, I knit a quick owl for my new nephew's Christmas.

And, fall baking has begun as well. I decided to make a pie, which I almost never make. The flavor? A rather unfall-like lemon meringue.

My KitchenAid mixer whipped the egg whites into meringue in no time, and they waited patiently for me to finish cooking the rich, custard-like lemon to sweet perfection. I poured the mixture into my pie shell and spooned the meringue on top.

I had just enough to make a nice, thick covering. It's important to bring your meringue all the way out to the edges of your pie, covering the fluted edges of your pie shell, or you might get a thin, watery layer between your meringue and your pie.

It was perfect!

Now that the weather is cooler, we'll be curling up in our flannels, bent over board games with steaming cups of cocoa at our sides. It's no wonder that fall is my favorite season.

Enjoy your fall days!