Bootie and Bossy Eat, Drink, Knit

Our recipe for this episode is perfect for busy back to school nights: Pineapple Marinated chicken breasts! It's super easy, tasty and you'll probably have everything you need in your larder except the chicken and the fresh pineapple. The leftovers are fantastic too! Bossy first discovered the recipe in the September 26, 2021 edition of the New York Times.

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Our Knitting in Pop Culture moment is brought to you by Wallace and Gromit's "A Close Shave" where we are introduced to Wendolene Ramsbottom who owns a wool shop and plays Wallace's love interest. We're also introduced to the charming Shaun the Sheep (even his name is a pun!). From start to finish, it's a treasure trove of knitting puns and simply a delight. We also love Chicken Run where the sheep are knitters. I mean, right?

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Happy 90th birthday to our dear Aunt Ruthie who is rocking the poncho that Bootie made for her!

Show notes can be found at www.bootieandbossy.com

Our recipe for this episode is a summer classic: Gazpacho! Bossy has been making this recipe for many years, as evidenced by all the splatters in her cookbook. It meets all of our criteria: makes a lot, uses one pot, and you have most of the ingredients in your larder. And it's versatile! It's perfect for a hot summer day. We recount our visit to a wonderful yarn shop during Bossy's recent visit to the PNW, introduce our newest feature: knitting in pop culture, and give updates on our projects. Please check out the Show Notes at www.bootieandbossy.com

Here comes Janet with her damn four bean salad! This is the first recipe our mom (Hi Mom!) included in the recipe book she gave to us. It's perfect for the summer when you don't feel like cooking or if your kitchen is under renovation like Bootie's. We made it a little more gourmet by using fresh green beans and fresh herbs. So let's celebrate the "thousand extra hands" that we get when we open a can of beans! We discuss the history of industrialized food and recommend the January 3, 1955 issue of Life Magazine, along with a documentary about food and one called "Brandy Hellville and the cult of fast fashion." As always, we give updates on our current crafting projects.

We have made it to episode 30 and you guessed it, time for another cocktail! This one is from Laylita.com. The melon sangria is a combination of delicious summer melons (your future self will thank you for balling up the melons and making melon ice cubes to have on hand), grappa, honey, and moscato. It's the perfect summer refresher. And there's a nonalcoholic version too. Bootie recounts the joys of her Alaskan cruise and Bossy has a finished object to share.

Mom's banana bread has been a staple in Bootie's household for forever. And now it's even better with the addition of a little buttermilk, nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut. If you want to take it over the top (pun intended), you can add a crumble or cream cheese frosting. It's so good! Bootie and Bossy give updates on their current projects.

Our beautiful sister, Melissa generously agreed to come back on because we need more vegetables in our repertoire! Melissa discovered this recipe for roasted tomatoes on NPR and if anyone know who deserves the credit, let us know. The recipe is as simple as it gets--throw a couple of cans of diced tomatoes in a pyrex, along with a bunch of cilantro, olive oil, salt and pepper, then run around panic cleaning for before your guests arrive. Melissa also shared her recipe for baked polenta--a total game changer. Melissa also describes some of her current projects.

Bootie and Bossy discuss their mostly failed efforts at spring cleaning (anybody else storing a large box of dirt in their basement?). As promised, you will feel better about your own efforts.

Even though we are not in her demographic, Bossy and Bootie very much enjoy the food porn on Tieghan Gerard's website, Half-Baked Harvest. We tried the chicken tortilla soup and it is a winner, winner, chicken dinner. It's perfect for those nights when you need a little comfort food because you pulled eight ticks off your dog, got poison Ivan (as Bossy's son calls it), and there's a snow storm, all in the same week!

Bootie and Bossy are embarking on their first official KAL (knitalong) and would love for you to join us!. The pattern is Glymur by Jennifer Weissman and we're both using Treasure Goddess Yarn's Yak Silk DK Treasures.

The recipe for this episode is Bossy's homemade granola. It's the perfect blend of healthy grains and delicious fruits. Bootie and the rest of the family look forward to receiving the granola every year in her Xmas and birthday packages and now that she knows how easy it is to make, Bootie looks forward to making it herself. Wait a second, this is exactly what happened when Bootie encouraged Bossy to knit! Bootie has been had! Oh well, she can now console herself with a bowl of granola and it makes so much that she might even share with her friends.

Bootie and Bossy discuss the highs and lows of swatching. We highly recommend Patty Lyons' book, Knitting Tips and Tricks, as well as a touching and funny video about what happens when you don't swatch. Show Notes are at www.bootieandbossy.com

Whelp, Mom is in the hospital again, so it's time for another cocktail! Update: she's out of the hospital and in a rehab where she is making excellent progress! So cheers to that! Bootie first learned about the Bobby Burns cocktail from Darcy Cameron, the owner of Shibui yarn on her blog, Shibui Life. Bootie and Bossy did not have the required Scotch (or Benedictine, or Absinthe, well, ok, Bootie had the absinthe but is keeping the bottle purely for aesthetic reasons), so they used what they had on hand, and it was delicious. 

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As for Robert Burns, a.k.a. Bobby or Rabbie, he is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and an early promoter of the Romantic movement. When he wasn't farming and writing poetry, he was quite busy fathering children (12!). His birthday is celebrated on January 25th, and many toast him with this cocktail. In addition to writing the New Year's classic, "Auld Lang Syne", he wrote this gem, "The Answer" (can't you just here the Scottish brogue?):

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Ev’n thena wish (I mind its power)

A wish, that to my latest hour

Shall strongly heave my breast;

That I for poor auld Scotland’s sake

Some useful plan, or book could make,

Or sing a sang at least.

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Bootie and Bossy review the book A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage. We loved how he highlighted the fascinating details about beer, wine, distilled drinks, tea, coffee and Coca-Cola while putting them in the context of larger and broader historical trends. 

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We also give some knitting updates.

Melissa reads the chapter "Imperfect Hearts and Roses for Valentine's Day" from her memoire, Match-Liss Tales of Online Dating by Melissa Klein