As you know, it’s Mom’s birthday today. (Did you go wish her a happy birthday? Her new eFriend did!) We couldn’t come up with anything more exciting to do, so after much agonizing, we went out for coffee to this cute little coffee shop in Chester. We’ve stopped there before, but we’ve always had Chappy (or Katy) with us, so I’ve never really  been inside.

It’s a charming little place though. Three tables. Yummy baked goods. Good coffee. But, even more, it was so obviously the right place for us to go today because it turned out that the owner and the one woman who works for her are also both Valentine’s Day babies. How often do you go someplace where the people NOT having birthdays are outnumbered by the people who ARE?

We also stopped at a nice little LYS called “Why Knot Knit,” which is run by a pair of very friendly sisters. We actually spent quite a while chatting with them (and, hi, if you’re reading this!). And, um, oh yeah, I bought a little sock yarn. I mean, it was only the polite thing to do! They were trying to get their wireless router set up while we were there, and took my card when I mentioned that not only do I write knitting book reviews, but that I freelance and write websites, too! (I didn’t even mention the photography thing.)

You know, it was really nice to be in a yarn shop that had a selection of roving, along with the yarn!

Then we came home, had a quick bite of lunch (leftover fried rice from the other night cooked in some of my homemade chicken stock–instant soup), and then I started baking.

I blame Carole for these. Because while they might look like muffin tins full of tomato paste…

They are actually Red Velvet Cupcakes.

Guess how they got their name? Yep, that’s RED. As in, “two full bottles of red food coloring”-red. Darn tasty, though, despite the cream cheese frosting. (Which has never  been a favorite of mine and is now even less a favorite what with the way dairy products aggravate my asthma these days. But, well, you can’t argue with tradition, right?)

I’m extremely proud of myself for accomplishing this without staining anything in the kitchen red, except for one spot on my wooden spatula handle. Mom would have killed me if I’d gotten red dye in her white sink! (Really, you’d think she’s a nice, mild-mannered mother–and she mostly is–but you’ve never seen how obsessed she is about keeping her sink clean.)

After the baking, I sat down for about half an hour … did I mention I also made chocolate cake for tomorrow’s ice cream cake? Then, I went back into the kitchen and started supper. No, wait, first I made the cream cheese frosting. Then I started supper. Two suppers, actually. I started assembling ingredients for tomorrow’s beef stew, tonights rotisserie chicken, and a pot of chicken stock (because, well, there IS that extra carcass from the rotisserie chicken, right?)

So, I did my whirlwind impression–sauteeing some chicken legs to start the chicken stock, cutting stew meat into manageable pieces, browning those, then chopping onions–one for the stock pot, one for the stew pot. Carrots, ditto. Celery. Then (oops, get the chicken in the oven), start adding water to the stock pot while peeling potatoes for the … well, for supper first, then for the stew. LOTS of potatoes for the stew!

I added basic seasonings to the stew and the stock pot, then brought the stew to a simmer and turned it off. (It will finish cooking tomorrow, but tonight all the ingredients can start getting to know each other, while chilling in the fridge.) Got the chicken out of the oven, carved it, and then dumped the carcass in the stock pot, added more water, and gave Chappy the carving dish to clean off. Mashed the potatoes. Phew!

So, dinner was chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, and Red Velvet Cupcakes, and now I’m beat!

Which means you’re going to have to wait until tomorrow to see modelled pictures of my sweater. Which I had WANTED to steam-block today. I think when I folded and tacked down the bottom hem, I should have attached it one row further up, because the bottom hem is flaring outward just a touch. I’ll try blocking it, but if that doesn’t work, I’ll have to either (1) leave it as is or (2) undo the hem and re-sew it. (Except for the parts that are knitted into the button bands, of course.)

But, here, I’ll leave you with some Saturday Sky. (Technically taken the other day on my way to work, but hey.)

Now, I’m going to go take my shower, grab my knitting bag–with relief because I’m down to one project and it FITS in the bag (for a little while, at least), make some tea, and then relax with Mom and watch a movie.

Hope you’re all having a good Valentine’s Day. I know Chappy is!

Tags: Baking, Family // 7 Comments »