Book Review: Plated

I really liked a lot of things about this cookbook. There are beautiful pictures and a bunch of recipes I am excited to try. 

I also like the seasonal section which gives you ideas about how to modify the recipe for the freshest ingredients each summer. 

There are some things I don't like. Some of the recipes have pictures that don't really show the recipe. The lamb kofta has a picture of hands squishing ground meat in a bowl. The boeuf bourguignon has a top view of a box of onions. 

I also don't like how it's organized. The chapters make some sense. Weeknight dinners, great for leftovers, make ahead... But, there isn't all that much difference in what is offered. I would prefer it to be organized by dish type. Like meats, veggies, grains... When cookbooks are organized like this I tend to not use them. They would be most useful if I wanted to take that cookbook and make something from it. I don't tend to use cookbooks that way. I usually decide I want something, say chicken, and go look for a chicken recipe. 

Despite the minor things I don't like, I really like this book. Next time I have people over I plan to make some things from it. 

Maker Faire!

I found out how to volunteer at the Maker Faire this year. I signed up to teach people to knit. This means I got in free! I also signed up Steven to teach people to knit. Free is nice. The last time I went to Maker Faire I thought it was overrun with poorly monitored children acting like everything was a toy, even the things clearly set up for an older audience. This year, it was probably also the case, but you can't complain about free. Also I signed up for the noon-4 shift, so the busiest time I was hiding in the knitting booth. 

Getting there early was great. We were allowed in I think 90 min early, but arrived just under an hour early. A lot of the things weren't set up yet, but the bigger art exhibits were. Even better no one was at them. 

Steven jumping to get to a higher high five.

Giant ball of yarn at the knitting booth. The only time it was empty...

Stilt lessons. For obvious reasons I did not partake. 

About 10 min before the public was allowed in we walked by the main entrance. I was very happy to not be in this mob. Going to the Maker Faire as a maker is so much easier. 

Tape. 

In the darkroom they had really cool things. Too many to take pictures of. The one picture that came out well is this light sculpture. It is made of plastic cups, and christmas lights. I might need to make one.

A robot playing chess. 

Automatic marker.

There was a little booth where you can make light up monsters. I made this one. If you squeeze it's tummy, it's nose lights up. I had it in my pocket while teaching knitting. I showed it to the children that were far too young to learn knitting and were just getting frustrated. Then directed them over there. Excellent solution. 

The teaching went fairly well. I signed up to teach both crochet and knitting. I hadn't expected to teach both at the same time... But, it all worked out. It still amazes me how many people don't know a slip knot. I've know this since I was a child, and always thought it was common knowledge. Most people got the basics down. One little girl was far too young to learn (she wasn't coordinated enough to hold the sticks) so I taught her finger knitting instead. 

Steven teaching.

My wrist was full of things by the end of the day. I was amused with the Safety First band. With so much Burning Man like things around, it's a different priority than their "Safety Third."

Mushroom Jerky

Free yarn from volunteering

The booth I was working in had knitting, crochet, needlepoint, spinning, and weaving. Three of these I can do well. Those three were very well staffed, and came with free take home supplies. You get to start a project and take it home to finish it. After I was done with my shift I wanted to try out the spinning and weaving. 

The spinning didn't have take home things. You could just try it out for a while. The only one teaching it was a 12 year old girl. She was a very competent spinner and teacher, but still odd to be the only one. 

The weaving was on a little hand loom. They only had about 5 of these, so you couldn't take them home to finish your project. I spent about an hour on mine, and I got tired of sitting and I was hungry. I finished it early. It's a tiny and cute thing, and I made a fancy design. The woman who taught weaving lives near me, so I may learn more weaving from her in the future. 

Latest knitting project.

I first attempted this pattern when I was still a new knitter. It did not end well. I got frustrated because I couldn't keep the increases and decreases straight and frogged the whole thing. Since then I have done much more complicated things successfully, but I still thought of this pattern as difficult.

At my knitting group a few weeks ago I was given some very nice Noro yarn from a friend who had been given it from a different friend who didn't want it. I love bulky yarn, and I love the colors of Noro. I had planned to make a different scarf, also a simple pattern, but it wasn't looking like I wanted it too. I searched for projects other people had done with that yarn, and this pattern came up. It had been written specifically for the Noro Iro yarn, taking the exact amount that I had been given.

I am not going to mention the specific pattern name. The pattern is awfully written. It has a chart that is far more complicated than it needs to be. I personally prefer charts when knitting, and the knitting on this scarf is so simple it doesn't need a chart. This is probably why I had so much trouble the first time around. I more or less ignored the chart this time.

Falcor getting in the way while I was blocking the scarf.