I'm back!

We spent Christmas and New Year's in California with our parents. I totally dropped the blogging ball, not to mention the ball on my brother's sweater. He'll be visiting us in about 2 weeks and I still have most of a sleeve and everything above the armpits to finish. Can I do it all in 2 weeks? How do you get motivated to pick up your knitting again? What do you do while knitting? I keep checking my computer, which isn't helping. I sometimes watch movies on my computer so I can't use it. What else should I do? What helps?

Physics Friday: Crocheted Mathematical Objects

I made a Klein bottle.

I used double crochet and worked mostly in rounds. I used double crochet so it would work up quickly and so the rows that are worked back and forth wouldn't stand out so much against the ones worked in rounds. I sort of made it up as I went. Here's my pattern:

Work in linked rounds, which means to slip stitch the last stitch into the third chain of the first stitch in the round. Start each round with a chain of 3 and count it as one double crochet. This happens every round so I won't mention it every time. Work in double crochet.
Chain 12 and join with a slip stitch to make a round
Rnd 1: double crochet each stitch around (12)
Rnd 2: work each stitch
Rnd 3: increase in every other stitch, double crochet twice in a stitch to increase (18)
Rnd 4: increase in every other (27)
Rnd 5: inc every other (40)

Rnd 6: work each stitch
Rnd 7: decrease every third. work every 3rd and 4th stitch together (30)
Row 8: turn work. decrease every 3rd (22)
Row 9: turn work. decrease every 3rd (16)

Rnd 10: work as a round slipping into first stitch across gap. decrease every 3rd (12)
Rnd 11-17: work in every stitch.

finishing: slip stitch to join. cut leaving a long tail for sewing. Invert start end and push it through the gap made by the rows. Sew to other end.

Gift wrapping idea: painted gift box

I'll be taking presents with me on a plane this year. You're not supposed to wrap presents before hand so I did this instead. I won't seal the box until I get to my destination. I dismantled a box I received in the mail. Turned it inside out and glued it back together. I painted the inside white to cover all the stickers and where I ripped off the paint. I painted a red bow on the outside and a simple gift tag. When that was dry I wrote who it was to and from with pen.

What kitchen supplies do you really need?

I don't have the best equipped kitchen in the world. I have what I was able to steal from my old apartment (my brother still lives there), what I was given by my parents and friends before moving, wedding presents, and a few things we bought after we moved. That sounds like a lot, but we really have a sort of random assortment of things.

I don't have any 8x8 or 9x9 inch square baking pans. Instead I use a 13x9 lined with aluminum foil to make it the right size. It's not pretty, but it does the job. The foil also makes clean up easier!

I don't have a mesh strainer. I want one, but in the meantime I can deal with it. I have a big colander that I can line with paper towels or clean kitchen towels for straining liquids. I have a small holed cheese grater that I can use for things that don't need to be as fine. I want a mesh strainer for sprinkling powdered sugar, but I haven't needed to do that yet.

Those are the only clever substitutions I've come up with so far.

Some things I wouldn't want to live without:

My kitchen aid stand mixer. It makes cakes super easy. I wouldn't want to make icing without it. I also used it for mixing yams on thanksgiving. I use it about once every two weeks, but I think it deserves a permanent place on my counter. I like it better than a hand mixer because I can use it for bread (if I ever make any) and I can leave it running without having to hold it. I can have it whip egg whites or cream while I work on something else. Hand mixers are alway too heavy for me and I don't have the patience to make whipped cream with them.

A big pasta pot with a colander insert thing for easy draining. I don't know what it's technically called. Making pasta is super easy and I don't have to lug a pot of boiling water to the sink and then try to get it all in the colander. This is much easier for me. I also used it when making broth. I put all of the vegetables in the insert and then just pulled it out when it was finished. I didn't have to fish everything out or deal with big cheesecloth bags or any of that hassle. Then I put the broth into a big pitcher for easy access during Thanksgiving.

An immersion blender. My mom just bought one for us, so I lived without it for a while. (She bought us a red one that matches our kitchen aid!) I prefer a hand blender to a countertop one. I like being able to blend a smoothie right in the cup I'll drink it out of. I've also had bad luck transferring boiling soup into a blender and then into another pot. This requires less pouring of boiling liquid (always something I avoid) and less clean up. I don't have to clean two pots and the blender. I just clean one pot and the hand blender. I love anything that requires less clean up.

Twitter

I'm experimenting with twitter. I'm not sure if I like it yet. You can follow me @aasinanna.

Assembling a Fancy Cheese Plate on a Budget

Introduction
My first job was in a fancy cheese store. I spent hours thinking about how to create the ultimate cheese plate.  Cheese plates can get pretty expensive, but they don't have to cost a lot of money to be impressive. The cheeses don't have to come from a fancy cheese store to be good. A cheese plate doesn't have to be fussy and confusing to be good. I'd argue that a simple and accessible one, where anything  goes is better.

Abstract
This is a really word heavy post, so here's the gist if you don't want to read the whole thing.

• Buy your cheeses at the nearest supermarket that has a good cheese selection. See if they give samples and check the sale bin for good deals.
• A 3 cheese plate is a good place to start (and where I usually stay). Distribute the cheeses among the types of milk (cow, goat, and sheep) and among textures (soft but not runny, semi soft, and firm but not hard and crumbly) 
• Get blue cheese or strong fresh goat cheese if you know your guests like it
• Usually about 1/2 a pound to 1/3 of a pound per person is enough, but the amount is often dictated by the pieces available. It depends on how much other food will be available and how soon dinner will be, if dinner will be served. An after dinner cheese try can be wonderful too.
• Wine is a classic pairing, but don't stress too much about specific wine and cheese pairings. If you like it, eat it.
• Sliced baguette or crackers are almost necessary. I think bread goes farther for the money, but crackers can be less filling. 
• Choose some of the following: grapes, dried fruit (like apricots or cranberries), nuts (like roasted almonds or walnuts), honey (especially with blue cheese), and olives (not canned ones).
• Serve the cheeses totally unwrapped with a sign to indicate what type is which. Serve with butter knives, unless there's a cheese knife selection in the back of a drawer somewhere. Take the cheeses out of the fridge half an hour before they will be served.
• Remove inedible rinds or at least remove part of the rind to allow guests access to the cheese. 
• To store the cheese (if there's any left) wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, or put each into their own zip top baggie and squeeze out the air. 

Where to get cheeses?
Most supermarkets have a good selection near the deli. Fancy cheese stores are sometimes hard to come by and expensive, but most will give samples and suggestions which is helpful. Supermarket selections work just fine for me. Look for a sale bin. This is a great source for wonderful cheeses at wonderful prices. They might be expiring soon, so check for that, but even then they're probably fine (but don't quote me on that). Many cheese stores also have a selection of smaller pieces of cheese. These are usually thrown in a bin together. This can be a great way to try a selection of cheeses with one or two people or to have a mini cheese tasting to see what you like if the store doesn't allow sampling.

How many cheeses should you buy? 

I usually suggest a 3 cheese plate. This way there can be a good variety of tastes and textures without having an overwhelming selection. One or two cheeses can work too depending on the goal. If there are going to be a ton of other appetizers or it's a really small group, one or two cheeses might be all that you need. A five cheese plate can work, but I think it's overkill. Getting three or fewer cheeses can also keep the cost down, especially when it's not cut to order and there isn't much variation in the sizes of the pieces. 

How much cheese do you need? 

It depends on how many people the plate will be serving and when it'll be served. I suggest a quarter pound to a third of a pound per person. If there'll be a lot of other things to eat, you don't need as much cheese. 

What types? 

I like to buy a variety of textures and a variety of tastes. It's also fun to buy cheeses from all over the world, or to really explore one region, buy all Spanish cheeses or all Italian. For a standard cheese tray, I'd buy a soft cheese, a semi soft cheese, and a semi firm cheese. I'd avoid anything super ripe (runny and pungent) and anything too hard (difficult to cut with a butter knife). Know your audience. If you have adventurous eaters, get a blue, a goat cheese, or a stinky rinded one or even a really strong aged cheese. I'll break them into two categories, soft and firm, but try to get 3 that feel different. Either get two on the softer side and one semi firm, or two firmer cheeses and one soft one. Hard cheeses are really wonderful, but I would avoid them on a cheese plate because they are hard to cut and don't stick on crackers very well, but again go with your own tastes. I hope this post inspires enough confidence to throw everything I've written out the window and do what feels right. 

The soft cheese, choose one or two: 

Brie is always a classic. People like it and it's hard to go wrong with brie.

A soft goat cheese. Another classic. People know it and it's a fun alternative to a brie. Some come with herbs or other flavors. 

A camembert or a stinky rind cheese. These can be pungent and sometimes a little intimidating, especially when ripe, but the cheese is usually really complex and wonderful. Look for camembert, epoisses, and taleggio. 

A blue cheese can be a good choice. I love the complex flavors, but they're not for everybody. 

The firm cheese, choose two or one:

Some aged goats milk cheeses are a good choice. A firmer goat cheese tends to have less of the flavor that some people object to in softer goat cheese. A firmer cheese can be a good way to introduce a goat cheese if you're not sure of your audience. The drunken goat (this cheese sometimes goes by a different name) is a good choice. It's been soaked in wine and has a distinct purple rind. The wine gives it a great flavor and makes it a really fun party wine. 

Soft cows milk cheeses can be wonderful. Morbier is a good choice. It has a layer of ash in the middle to separate the layers of cheese. The ash is flavorless, but it makes it look cool. One layer is milk from a morning milking and the other is from an evening milking. They're supposed to taste different, but I can't tell. 

Sheep's milk cheese is really wonderful. I suggest including one on the cheese plate. The flavor is different than cow or goat's milk.
Cheeses to avoid: (again these aren't hard and fast rules, if you like them buy them)
I think it could be a fun challenge to make a cheese plate out of only things you've never tasted or buy the cheeses with the craziest names. I like to get types of cheeses that don't also come shredded in bags in the other part of the supermarket. I tend to avoid cheddar (although there are some really wonderful aged ones out there), swiss (although I'll never pass up a cave aged Gruyere), and mozzarella (although fresh burrata is heavenly if you can get it). I can't say it enough though, there aren't any rules.
If you're serving wine primarily, I'd avoid beer soaked cheeses.

What to serve with your cheese
You don't need all of these things with your cheese selection. Something to put the cheese on for eating is nice and sometimes fruit, nuts or honey make a nice pairing, but they aren't necessary. Sometimes too many options can be overwhelming. Wine isn't necessary. There are many cheeses that pair well with beer too and I'd dare say all of them go well without alcohol if that's not your taste.
Wine
There are books and websites devoted to wine and cheese pairing. People who make their livings by telling people what wines to drink with what cheeses. My rule is this: if you like it, eat it. Generally, milder cheeses are served with white wine and more robust cheeses with red wine. A blue cheese or a super aged cheese may be too peppery for a white wine. A nice brie may be totally overwhelmed by a red wine. If only red or only white wine will be served with the cheese course, then plan accordingly, but if guests can pour their own wine and choose their own cheeses, then let them eat what they like. If the cheeses are a focus of the dinner or party, it could be fun to look up a wine and the cheeses that pair with it. Then the combination of tastes could be discussed and compared. If the cheeses will be sitting out with other appetizers and not the focus of discussion, I wouldn't worry about it.
Bread or crackers? This is again a matter of taste. I suggest a mild cracker, but not a flavorless one, that will go with many cheeses. I think bread goes farther for the same amount of money, but it is also filling. If the cheese is supposed to tide guests over until a late dinner, I'd serve bread. Put a good amount of crackers or bread slices out, but have more ready and keep an eye out for a depleted supply.
Fruit can be a wonderful addition. Grapes, sliced apple (coated in lemon to keep from browning), and pear are really classic. Grapes require the least prep work and attention. I suggest red seedless grapes. Dried fruit and jams are often displayed near the fancy cheese selection. Fig jam is classic. Often dried apricot cakes are served with the cheese to be sliced and placed on top. These things can be very expensive. I suggest buying some dried apricots, figs, or cranberries and placing them on the cheese plate. I think this will be less expensive and easier to deal with than jam or a dried fruit cake.
I like nuts on a cheese plate. Fruit and honey are very sweet, so it's nice to have a savory option too. Marcona almonds are fabulous, but also pricy. Try them if you can, but you probably won't want to share them with your guests, they're that good. Roasted almonds are a good choice, walnuts can be wonderful, pecans can work in a pinch. I'd go with one of the three roasted and salted. Again, be mindful of guests. If any guests have nut allergies be aware of this. You know your guests better than I do; keep nuts in a separate container or don't use them at all. Avoid candied nuts, they're wonderful, but again the purpose of the nuts is to be savory.
Honey is fabulous with blue cheese, but I think it can be wonderful on anything. Honey comb is traditional but is also expensive, and not everybody knows what to do with it. I suggest plain old honey, you probably have some in your cupboard right now. If you have a nice honey pot, then use that and the special utensil that never gets used. If you don't, then put the honey in a small bowl or jar with a fork or spoon and let guests figure it out. Why not just put the bear out there? That's what I'd do.
Olives are another classic accompaniment. Avoid canned ones, and you should be fine. Be careful of pits. Many don't come pitted, so warn your guests. I wouldn't put the olives on the cheese necessarily, but they can be a nice thing to eat between cheeses.

How to serve the cheese
I think the cheeses should be left in big chunks and be totally unwrapped on a plate or platter (get one that suits the sizes of the cheeses, don't dwarf the cheeses with a huge plate). Get creative with presentation, a wooden cutting board or something can make a fabulous cheese plate.  Let guests take their own slice in the size they want. Special cheese picks are available for labeling cheese, but you'll probably only use them once. A toothpick with a piece of paper glued around it to make a flag works just as well. Write the name of the cheese on it and maybe the country of origin and the animal the milk is from if it fits. If you got some fancy cheese knives as a wedding present, dig them out of the cabinet now. If not, put a butter knife near each cheese and call it a day. If an accoutrement is better suited to one cheese than another (again, there aren't any hard and fast rules) then try to put them near each other. Make sure there are small plates and/or napkins nearby so that people can take the cheeses they want and walk away. The cheeses should be taken out of the refrigerator about half an hour before they will be served so that they can come to room temperature and be at their full flavor. Remove inedible rinds, or at least part of the rind. Wax rinds are inedible. Very hard rinds are inedible. Brie rind is edible. Many labels will say. It's sometimes a matter of taste. Although brie rind is edible, most guests dig into the cheese and leave the rind at a party. When the cheese course is over, wrap any leftovers tightly in plastic wrap individually (but not tight enough to deform the cheeses) or place each one in their own zip top baggie and squeeze out the air.

Conclusion
I hope this inspired you to make your own fancy cheese plate. Remember that anything goes. If you have specific questions or suggestions, email me or put them in the comments. Let me know how your cheese party turns out! 

Physics Friday: Thunder and Lightning

Hi All,

We all know what causes thunder and lightning, right?

Two clouds are heading toward each other. They're on a collision course.

They smack into each other making a huge spark and a very loud noise as shown below.

It's super simple. That's all there is to it.
Ok, not really, but I like imagining that's what happens. The truth is almost less interesting. You probably know most of this anyway, but here it is again. I also wanted to make a bunch of pretty pictures.

It's just like any other spark, only on a larger scale. It's the same principle behind a shock, like when you get out of the car and touch the door, or rub your feet in socks on the carpet and then chase your sister.

When you get out of the car or rub your socks on the carpet, the rubbing motion pulls electrons from one surface to another creating an imbalance of charge. Your body has more charges than it should and it's not happy about it (the carpet and car have a lot of charges, so it won't miss the charges as much). The next chance it has to get rid of them, it will, like when you touch the conductive car or your conductive sister.

So, you rub two non conductive things against each other, like socks and carpet, or pants and car seat. These charges can move through your body because it's conductive (that's how iPhone touch screens work) and they can move to other conductive things like metal or other people.

If you shock yourself in a quiet and dark place you'll hear a pop and see a spark. This is the same as lightning.

Clouds end up with unbalanced charges. I don't remember if they end up with positive or negative charges, but it's not too important. I'm going to guess that they're negative, but I don't know for sure. I'm assuming that they get the charges as things rub against each other in the atmosphere. When there are enough unbalanced charges, they want to get away from the cloud. The charges are all trying to get away from each other, resulting in a very unstable and unhappy situation.

The unbalanced charges in the cloud attract the opposite charges in the Earth (again a big thing that won't miss some charges or notice extra ones). It'll pull the opposite charge toward the surface.

Eventually the extra charges in the cloud will make a break for it. They'll rip through the air causing lightning. The sound that accompanies all of the charges breaking off is thunder.

There's a little more nuance to it, like the fact that positive charges don't really move, so a positive charge is created by negatives (electrons) moving away and leaving them unbalanced, but in principle this works. Scientists didn't know which charges were which for years, but the theories still work, so it's not crucial really.

Note: If you want to avoid getting shocked when you get out of the car, grab onto the metal door as you climb out. This way, charges you pick up from rubbing against the seat can move straight to the metal door without the shock. This is something I discovered, so I wouldn't quote me on it.

Disclaimer: I just want to note that all of this came from my memory, so it might not all be totally accurate, but the principle is there.