Project Spectrum’s EAST theme is coming to a quick close – two months just whooshed right by in the blink of an eye.  Yellow is one of the most “misunderstood” colors in the rainbow… and through four incarnations of Project Spectrums, I have to say, I have become quite fond of this color.  It truly signifies happiness to me.  The other themes for this group of PS – the material, the season, and the element – really added a lot of depth to the creative process.  To those of you who are on this journey with me, I would love to hear more from you about your experiences with this round of Project Spectrum.

Sun beams and honey and warmth and beauty…
my photo collage for this month is just as flowery as my speech!

As always, there is so much beauty and lots of inspiration on both the Project Spectrum Flickr group, and the Project Spectrum Ravelry group.

~ and now the gold turns into red, and we look towards the SOUTH ~

I am planning more cooking and baking to go along with the *fire* theme, lots of photography, gardening, some writing, and some creative things possibly made with yarn and some needles…

The fresh fruits and vegetables of summer are truly my favorite part of the season.  I am instantly inspired to spend time in the kitchen after a nice trip to the farmers’ market… my mind just whirls around with all the amazing possibilities of foods.

So a trip to the market was in store …and my bags were full of delicious ingredients for amazing recipes in a short matter of time…

: Dinner was served :

I found this recipe in a back issue of Shape magazine, and adapted it for a vegan diet.   It worked pretty well!  The only thing is that it is terribly unphotogenic… no matter what I did, the food just looked like a brown  crispy blob.  But, a delicious brown crispy blob, if only I had had a fresh red tomato for the photo – then it would have looked delicious  …  It is a bulgur wheat and beans with vegetable ans spices formed in to a patty accompanied by tahini slaw. I also stuffed some zucchini flowers from the garden with the same mixture as the patty and lightly fried them in some oil.  They turned out very well, and the photo of them is slightly more photogenic than the others!

Bulgur Vegetable Burgers with Tahini Slaw
(my adaptations in red)

• 1/2 c bulgur wheat
• 1 c boiling water
• 1/2 c canned white beans (navy beans)
• 2 T finely chopped cashews
• 1/2 c shredded carrots
• 1/2 c spinach, thinly sliced
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t ground pepper
• 1/2 t paprika
• 1 t curry powder
• 1 egg  (replaced with 1/3 c ground flaxseed and a dash of flaxseed oil)
• 1/2 c bread crumbs
• 1 T olive oil
  

Slaw

• 2 c shredded cabbage (red, green, or mix)
• 2 T yogurt (soy)
• 1 T tahini
• 1/4 t cayenne (I used more ~ 1 teaspoon)
• 1/2 c green chile peppers

Mix slaw ingredients first and set aside in refrigerator.

Combine bulgur and boiling water in a heatprood bowl.  Cover and let it sit for 30 minutes.

In a medium bow, mash white beans into a paste.  Stir in nuts, carrots, spinach, scallions, spices, and the egg (or flaxseed); add breadcrumbs and the bulgur and mix well.  Form into patties with about 4 inches in diameter.

Heat oil in the skillet over medium heat.  Cook the patties for 4 minutes and then flip and cook the opposite for about 3 minutes, or until heated throughout and golden brown.  Serve on a hamburger bun with traditional condiments.

The replacement of the egg in the mixture worked out just fine.  The flaxseed oil did a fine job holding it all together, much like the purpose of the egg.  You could easily sub any green leafy vegetable in place of the spinach – kale, mustard greens, beet greens, collards – as they would *spice* the mix up even more.  I will likely try a different green next time since I have them in my garden.

The slaw could easily work as a topping for the burger or as a side dish.  Try it both ways!  This seems like a nice dish for the summer – especially with upcoming cookouts and summertime holidays…

Oh, but wait!  there was more to the feast!

I picked a whole batch of cherries at the market – some sweet, and some sour.  The sweet ones were eaten pretty quickly, and I planned to find some sort of recipe for the sour.  So glad I found this recipe on Recipezaar!  Vegan, raw, and no refined sugars!

The recipe was easy to follow and has plenty of ways to substitute, both with the nut combinations, as well as the fruit on top.  Strawberries would work quite well too.  I love the cherries!  The tartness of the cherries was really neutralized by the chocolate.  I used agave nectar in place of any sugar, and also sprinkled a tad of sucanat on top for a little crunchiness.  It is a no-bake recipe – perfect for the hot summer days when you don’t want to turn the oven on!

I wish there was a way to have you all over to share some with you!  So yummy!

Why is it that vacation time is at least double the speed of regular time?  Anyone figured out that little quandary of quantum physics yet?  it just goes by too darn fast.

… I slept in… read three books from cover to cover…  made some progress on my knitting… ate way too much candy…  went to an arboretum… walked on the beach with my nieces… took many photographs…  went on a boat ride…  stayed up late…  my vacation in a nutshell 

The Adkins Arboretum is a privately owned sanctuary on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, near the Delaware state line.  They are dedicated to the native plants and trees of Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic states.  Kris and I so enjoyed strolling around the trails and looking at all of the flowers, trees, and mushrooms.  [Full Photoset Here]

Since I got back earlier in the week, my knitting progress has been so slow… this is why I hesitated to blog, honestly… truth is, I have spent a lot more time with my nose in books,  in the garden,  in the kitchen, or in the yoga studio rather than knitting right now.  So, at least for a little while, I will be sharing blog posts of book reviews, recipes, and gardening shots – hope this is agreeable!  I won’t be such a stranger…

Kris and I are enjoying a few days respite at the beach… it’s our annual trip to the Maryland shore with his family.  It always seems to fall at a nice time – and this year was no different.  Work has been quite busy for both Kris and myself and we were both projecting for this trip – sleeping in and lazy days.  So far so good

…I have read two books from cover to cover and started a third just this morning.  I am planning to write up a nice summer reading post very soon, and I will include information about these books, no doubt!  The rain and fluctuating weather has primarily kept us indoors, but we did enjoy a nice cookout and boat ride with Kris’s uncle and family last night.  It was a lovely evening on the Bay – and we managed to fit 14 people on a pontoon boat with no consequences.  Of course, you know I will have plenty of photos to share when we return home… you all well know by now that my camera is pretty much strapped to me at all times!

In that spirit, I will whet your appetite with some photos from our previous trips to the beach… from 2007 and 2008 trips

This is a perfect time in my knitting career to have babies to knit for – there are *so* many great patterns that I just don’t know where to begin.  (As evidenced by my Ravelry queue with the tag: “baby”…) Check it out:

• Just this week, the new Petite Purls site launched – the wonderful efforts of Allegra and Brandy and a great design team.  Adorable free patterns specifically for babies and children!  Congratulations!  I have already queued up several patterns and have to play eeny-meeny-miney-mo to decide which goes on the needles first!
• With the launch of the new and improved Interweave Knitting Daily site, there is a free PDF “e-book” of  seven sweet baby knits from back issues of Interweave Knits magazine.  You have to log-in or join Knitting Daily to download.  The new site looks great and offers some nice resources.

The newest addition to the baby knits category on my side bar:

Victorian Baby Bonnet

Pattern: Knitalong: Celebrating the Tradition of Knitting Together, by Larissa Brown
Yarn: Tahki Cotton Classic – / .5 skein ~60 yards
Needles: Size US 6 circulars

Such a sweet pattern – and the lace repeat is actually one that I can handle without the need to rip!  This little golden yellow skein has been in my stash for ages so it was nice to produce something from it.  I still have some leftover since it only used about half of a skein.  I see more of these in my future… relatively quick to make, sweet, and a lovely gift.  Perhaps my new little niece can have a little rainbow of bonnets… but if I know anything my sister, baby girl will be  fully outfitted in purple!

This project was a stashbuster, my last one for the Stanley Cup Stashbusting knitalong, as well as a knit project for this round of Project Spectrum.  The EAST direction is coming to a close before too long, and the direction will shift to SOUTH – reds, oranges, fire, and summer!  Looking forward to it…

For a little more Project Spectrum yellow inspiration, I stepped out into the garden this morning for a quick look around and saw all the lovely blossoms – marigolds and  squash flowers!