Year: 2021

checking-in & thanksgiving plans

Published by fairfaxhill

Hello! It is a beautiful day in Marin today and I am dying to drive out to the beach. I’m not sure where I’ll go, but the sand and the ocean are calling my name. Stinson? Limantour? I’ll probably bring my knitting project and grab a coffee at the little shack if it’s open. Nobody likes the beach as much as I do, here at our house, so I guess I’ll go by myself. I wanted to quickly sneak in an update before we get too busy with Thanksgiving preparations. This year we get to celebrate with Patrick’s family like we used to in the days before Covid. It should be fun! As has become our tradition, Patrick will bring some extra dressing to the party and I’ve been asked to bring something else, so I think I might make this apple cake which turned out quite yummy when I tried it last week — even if some of the apples stuck to the pan. Maybe it won’t stick this time? I also want to …

handknit sweater pieces ready for sewing

adding zippers to hand-knit sweaters

Published by fairfaxhill

Did you know you can order zippers to match your yarn? If you follow my Instagram, you know I’ve been working on the Jump Shot Hoodie pattern by Amy Herzog, at Sarah’s request. Now that I’ve completed the back and the two fronts, I started thinking about how to attach the zipper and where to find a nice one. This will be my first time ever applying a zipper to a knitted sweater and luckily Amy has a great zipper tutorial. While browsing the Vogue Knitting app I have on my phone, I stumbled upon another good resource for installing zippers, this one written by Deborah Newton, whose book Finishing School: A Master Class for Knitters I bought not too long ago. In the article she recommends zipperstop.com. One great thing about this store is that if you aren’t sure which zipper to buy (there are many styles and colors to choose from), you can arrange to mail them a sample of your yarn and they will help you find the right match.

summer tomato tart with ricotta and pesto

Published by fairfaxhill

I know summer is officially over, but I didn’t want to leave this gorgeous tart behind with my never-published blog posts of 2021 and not share it with you. Bookmark it and make it next summer if you don’t have any ripe tomatoes around. Or, if by some miracle you still have some, do give this a try. The recipe is by Alexa Weibel. I stumbled upon it on the NYTimes Cooking website, the day I suddenly found myself with the most generous gift: a bag full of ultra sweet, organic, homegrown tomatoes left at our doorstep by my friend, mother-in-law, and expert tomato grower, Pat. You can put together the dish pretty quickly (which always gets points from me), and it looks beautiful on the table (perfect for when you have friends over). Serve it as a light lunch with a green salad, or make it your side dish at dinner time. When you are ready to eat the tart, make sure every bite you take has a little bit of each ingredient. The …

Zucchini dish

carpaccio di zucchini inspired by our family dinner at cucina

Published by fairfaxhill

Cucina is one of our favorite restaurants. Slowly, it has turned into our go-to place for birthday dinners, especially when they fall in the middle of the week and we don’t have enough time to cook something special. Our order typically includes pizza and pasta. Bombolotti al Sugo is a favorite, and we all like to share the Frito Misto as our starter. We rarely order dessert, since the cake and presents are typically waiting for us back at the house. A few weekends ago we were there again to celebrate Patrick’s parents’ wedding anniversary and got to try some new dishes, including Funghi Ripieni, Carpaccio di Zucchini, Insalata con Bettole, and Donna’s Amazing Almond Cake.  I liked the Carpaccio di Zucchini so much, I had to try to recreate it at home. And guess what? It turned out pretty good. So, I’m sharing my recipe with you. But before I do that, I need to highlight that the key to getting this dish right is to move quickly. And, to make the salad look as pretty as the one …