Zanahorias en Escabeche

It was 96° yesterday! We haven't had much summer this summer, and it was blissful to finally be too hot and sticky lazy to move.

Whiskey Sour + Lime + Sunset

In weather like this, I usually end up making tacos for dinner, especially Baja-style cod fried up crisp. Just as quick and cheap to make at home as to pick up, I like mine with a little green cabbage, salsa fresca, and a pickled carrot and jalapeno mix called zanahorias-en-escabeche.

Anyone who knows anything knows I'm kooky for pickles, and this is one of my very favorites.

Spicy, garlicky, slightly crunchy, and just a little sweet, it's wicked good on hot dogs, too.

This recipe takes no time at all, and makes about 3 cups.

3 carrots
2 medium jalapenos
1/2 red onion
4 cloves garlic
5 bay leaves
2 tsp peppercorns
1 tsp oregano
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 water
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
3-4 tbsp oil, for sauteing 

Peel carrots and slice carrots and jalapenos diagonally. Slice onion in thin rounds. Slice garlic in quarters or halves lengthwise.

In a small saucepan, heat water and vinegar to a simmer. Remove from heat. Add brown sugar, salt and lime juice. Set aside.

Heat oil a deep sided, heavy bottomed frying pan. Saute carrots, about 3 minutes; add onion, peppers, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, and oregano. Saute until garlic begins to brown.

Put pickles in a jar, cover with liquid. Cool, and keep refridgerated.

Yipes! Stripes!

                  I turned around one day in July, and realized I'm in the midst of a craze for stripes.

Mad Simple Shapely Legwarmers

Top Down Summer Sweater

Little Anklets

This is hardly surprising. Return with me now, if you would, to the dark ages of the late 20th century, before there was a Hot Topic in every mall, before Harry Potter and Hogwart's house colors. Should a girl want something like the Doubtful Guest's scarf, or Dorrie's long and never-matching socks...

from one of my favorite Edward Gorey books

from Dorrie and the Blue Witch

 

...there was only one thing to do. Learn to knit. Somewhere in a trunk, I still have that first black and white striped scarf. It's about 1.56 miles long. I wore out the stockings long ago.

The Rikke Hat

-Stripes are completely addictive to work. "Just one more row"  easily becomes, "Just one more stripe".
-Stripes are thrifty, and eat up those single skeins all knitters have lurking in their stash.
-Stripes are a fantastic way to play with color; against a neutral background, even wild colors look fresh.

Different Lines

You'd think I'd be sick of them by now, but I'm plotting some old-fashioned stripey knee-highs for fall. Maybe I'll mis-match them, just like Dorrie.