crochet & other stuff

Today was my crochet class. These are my last projects. Starting in two weeks, I'll begin a bead stitch class. Bead stitch has been popular in the U.S. for some time now and is only starting to pick up in Japan. This frilly necklace was the last project needed in order to receive a certificate which allows you to teach bead crochet.

This other project was made by fusing all the loose silver wire that gets leftover after making projects (you can't throw anything away when using sterling silver wire!) to make a long wire. Then, with a perfectly good wire and semi-precious beads and pearls, crocheting the two together to make this necklace.

The retro look is coming back in style here. A company in Kyoto called Pagong makes these cute tank tops, camisoles and aloha shirts with traditional yuzen prints. Yuzen is a style of dyeing for kimono--the traditional Japanese dress.


At a department store, they were having a Hokkaido Gourmet Fair. This is when the department store brings in vendors from Hokkaido to sell their wares--mostly food items. Since Hokkaido is often known for their seafood, Satoshi was drawn to this bento. Look at all that seafood! Not bad for $16, huh?

Recently, the Candied Quince sent me her recipe for Lavender Pound Cake. I finally got all the ingredients together and tried it this morning...can I just say, that I really need MORE counterspace and a really BIG mixer (like a KitchenAid, maybe?)

Plus, I should have cut the recipe in half (I had originally envisioned baking them in muffin cups, but at the last moment put the batter into my one and only loaf pan--since I don't own a bundt/tube pan)...The aroma while baking was heavenly!

We had a couple slices for breakfast and it was great! (Thanks for sharing, Tania!)

Lavender Pound Cake
Adapted from:
The Herbal Kitchen: Cooking with Fragrance and Flavor by Jerry Traunfeld

2 tbsp lavender buds, fresh or dried
2 ½ cups sugar, preferably superfine
1 ½ cups butter (3 sticks)
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp fine salt
5 large eggs, at room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
¾ cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350F. Heavily butter a 10-inch tube pan, coat it with flour, and knock out the excess. Whirl the lavender and ¼ cup of the sugar in a spice grinder, mini food processor, or blender until very finely ground.

Put the butter, the remaining 2 ¼ cups sugar, the lavender sugar, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle. Turn to medium high and beat for 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat another minute. It will be fluffy and nearly white. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating the batter well before adding another. Alternately add the flour and sour cream (1/3 of the flour, ½ the sour cream, another 1/3 of the flour, the rest of the sour cream, and finally the remaining flour), beating each addition into the batter completely before you add the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times during the whole process.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan as evenly as you can and gently whack the pan on the counter a couple of times to expel air pockets. Bake the cake for 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes, or until it is golden brown and springs back when pressed, and a wooden skewer emerges dry after being inserted into the center. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for about 15 minutes, then turn it out onto the rack. Once it’s completely cool, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. It will be best the second day and still moist after about 4 days.

Makes 16 to 20 slices.

Enjoy!
Hang in there, one more day until the weekend!