The Sweatshop of Love Blog

Since I got that Summer Sweater out of the way, I’ve been able to work on my other projects that have been hanging out on the back burner.

My Sweater Pattern

I separated the sleeves of the sweater pattern I’m writing. Cute, right? Tara’s Sweater inspired me to make my sweater stripped, and I’m working on it right now and looking at the picture of Tara’s sweater and it looks a lot alike! Right now I’m working on boob increases. It is hard to translate boob size to stitches increased, but I’m trying.

Working on it right now, you ask? One of the many joys of having a very old computer is that you have a ton of free time to knit, balance your checkbook, dance, whatever! while things are loading. I am never without a project while working on my Old Lady. Especially when I have a lot of programs going. Right now? iTunes, gchat, my photo editor, and this blog writing page. Old Lady is working hard. She is just lucky there isn’t a baseball game on.

F-BLTA Sandwich

If it is possible to die from an avocado overdose I’ve got to be close by now. After Saturday’s avocado soup and avocado salad, you would think I would have had enough of the stuff. Not the case! Yesterday PT suggested BLTs for lunch. With avocado, of course, though the letter is not represented. And if we are being technical, that is fake bacon. PT calls it bacon crackers, but I’m fine with it. I can’t remember what real bacon tastes like, anyway. This sandwich was unbelievable! Homemade bread, a little Miracle Whip, lots of tomato, romaine, bacon crackers, and a quarter of an avocado.

Egg and Avocado Salad Sandwich

Then I turn around this afternoon and make egg salad with avocado for lunch. This is so incredibly simple: one hard boiled egg, 1/4 of an avocado, fresh cracked pepper. Mash with fork. Throw on toasted bread.

I’m sure I am alive right now only because my dinner last night didn’t involve avocado at all.

Fresh Michigan Blueberry Pancakes, and Potatoes

One of the best parts about being an adult is that you can eat pancakes whenever you want. Hungry at 3am? Pancakes! Dinner? Pancakes! Hungover and just woke up at 2pm? Pancakes!

Our excuse? The Logan Square Farmers Market treated us right again yesterday with a pint of fresh Michigan blueberries for $4. One pint of fresh Michigan blueberries? Pancakes! These were cinnamon blueberry pancakes and heavenly. The blueberries exploded when I cut into them, so the blueberry juices would spill onto the plate, mixing with the syrup I sopped up with my pancake! Stop. Just stop.

The potatoes were excellent, too.

I still had those pancakes on the brain when I was hitting my Goggle Reader this morning. A blog I just recently started following, Bakerella, had a blueberry pancake orgasm on her blog, too. And while you are over there, check out the reason I’m following this amazing woman in the first place.

By the way, my boobs are size 12 stitches. I’m ok with it.

Flat McFlat Flat

I got cocky. Again. This always happens! PT and I ate that entire no-knead loaf of bread in about 36 hours, so I thought I would just throw together another loaf! I knew something was wrong right away, and then, of course, out came this hard, flat pizza crust like loaf. It was very disappointing, considering how amazed I was at the outcome of the last loaf, and how amazingly delicious it was with peanut butter.

Egg Salad with I'm Stupid Bread

Somehow PT cut this loaf and made sandwich-like slices out of it. It was very dense but crisp and a nice accompaniment to egg salad. We also roasted up some carrots with bbq seasoning and those made a nice accompaniment to the egg salad sandwich, so amazingly it all worked out. Another loaf, however, is rising it’s designated 18 hours as I write, and I kicked everyone out of the kitchen so I could count everything correctly. We will see what happens.

Asian Noodles

I found this food blog I’m liking called Keep It Simple Foods. These two women write it and its cute and all about eating simply, which I like. Friday they had a post about Asian noodles, and how simple they are to make.

Friday was the first hot day Chicago has seen this year and I thought some cold Asian noodles would be a great dinner choice! So I cooked up some Chinese noodles, stir-fried up some broccoli, carrots, and the last of the farmers market mushrooms, and made the Asian dressing she recommended. This dish turned out so well! PT and I both loved it so much that we made it again for lunch Saturday.

Asian Noodles, Part Two

We replaced the mushrooms with Vidalia onion for lunch Asian noodles. See all those sesame seeds? It is a great summer meal!

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds!

Yesterday we made our way to the Belmont Arts and Music Festival, where we sampled some amazing cinnamon roasted almonds, which might be my favorite outdoor food. I smell that sweet nutty smell and I just can’t say no! I want some sweet almonds. And these didn’t let me down! PT and I sat in the shade and enjoyed every last one. Unfortunately there was some terrible music playing nearby and I almost got run over by a couple strollers, but I don’t harbor ill will for the nuts. To get these you usually have to deal with strollers and bad cover bands and lots of sweaty people.

Me Enjoying Some Fresh Lemonade

We washed our sweet nuts down with lemonade, the perfect drink on a hot day. Bud would have you think it is Bud Light Lime, but we were sitting right across from the alcohol stand where you could get regular Bud and Bud Light for $5 and Bud Light Lime for $6, which would be enough for me to get the Bud Light (Actually I would just get another bag of almonds! You know me.), but douchebro after douchebro bought the Bud Light Lime! It just can’t be good.

After the fest we biked to the lake, where everyone in Chicago was.

North Avenue Beach

Float+Baseball=Heaven

It was a nice bike ride, but there were just too many people laying around, running and biking on the trail, walking around with huge coolers, that we didn’t stay long. And my Snow White skin can only take so many hours in the hot sun. We biked home and relaxed with some baseball and root beer floats.

I started on my Summer Sweater straps and am working through them. 35 is a lot of inches! And K1P1 is much less fun than the diamond lace pattern I was knitting in my sleep I loved so much. I’m going to have to think up a way to use that pattern again soon! I miss it already.

Me, my mom, and avocado plants go way back.

Last summer when I was camping in my mom’s front yard for 6 weeks my mom started an avocado pit. Just like I was 5 and she was teaching me about photosynthesis, we watched that thing like a hawk. First is split! Then it grew some roots! Then in split at the top! Then a plant started growing out of it!

Then I had to move back to Chicago and be a big girl. I visit the plant sometimes, though, and it is getting huge! It is like a little tree now. So my mom made me one.

My Mom's Pit

At Christmas.

Avocado Prune

Over the past 4 months it has gotten really wrinkly, the skin of the pit has started peeling, and I keep cleaning off the mold/slime that is building up on it. I would give up on it if it wasn’t so funny.

‘How’s that pit?’ My mom asks me during every phone conversation.

‘Fucking worthless!’ I yell, and we laugh. I just can’t imagine her asking and me stammering about how I needed the space for basil. That isn’t funny.

Replacement Pit #1

But I still want an avocado plant so about a month ago I threw a pit into this old yeast jar using sewing pins to hold it up.

Root!

I took a peak the other day and saw the little root trying to stick out! I immediately ran over to the pit I set up a couple weeks ago.

Replacement Pit #2

You can see it split from the jar!

Little Root!

So, officially that other pit is dead. I know that it is dead, but I’m pot committed to this stupid pit now! It has been sitting on my shelf for months. Mom? What do you think?

Big Salad and Egg Salad Sandwich

Without a newsletter to redesign and send out and everything Sweatshop related to send out, I had some extra time on my hands this afternoon! I’ve got some bread baking in the bread maker, I’ve got some lentil soup on the stove top, and I made myself this big salad and half an egg salad sandwich.