May.

I start this month with three more projects finished. All of them supposed to be finished before the hot weather would arrive in Mexico City. Wishful thinking because unfortunately the winter here was quite warm and it was difficult to work on any winter project. Then came January with its few cold days and in just a week or so the weather started to really climb. We reached close to 32oC and there was no way possible to either work or even wear any of those projects. Anyway, trying here to conclude "works in progress" I managed 3 altogether. Yes!
The above picture shows one of them, a quite "toasty" pullover made up of 100% alpaca wool. It is a crochet project that I liked the minute I saw it first at Interweave Crochet magazine. Anyway, I decided to change the colors as the ones suggested were a bit to sad. The great part of this project is its simplicity because almost all of it is worked with single crochet. So after cooking while posing for the picture, this project is now well kept in my closet. A piece of confort after such hard work is that I WILL have to wear it next winter.

This is a picture of another finished project. This one is from Vogue Knitting's Holiday 2008 issue. It all started because I had some left wool yarn in my stash that wasn't all that much, just a little over 250 grams. I bought such yarn years ago and I never got inspired to use it. To finish the top I had to use a bit of the same alpaca yarn I used for the crochet pullover above. The stitch used is nothing more than Stockinette stitch and a pretty basic rib, still, what I love about the finished top is its amazing fit and softness. It is the perfect project for fall weather and I just added a "little something" (an i-cord bow) to soften it a little. I named it "Dijon on Rye" because the colors are so like Dijon mustard over rye bread. Yummy :)

And now that we are talking about food, well this May I added up two more books to my all mexican recipe books: "The Larousse of Mexican Cuisine" by Alicia Gironella de Angeli, and the "Larousse of Desserts" by Paulina Abascal. I must say that they are both amazing. For someone like me who loves cooking, these two great mexican chefs offer a selected and well revised compendium of mexican recipes, both traditional and modern.



The "Larousse of Mexican Cuisine" really is worth having for anyone serious into learning about Mexico and its cuisine. I, who have some experience in the field was amazed at the thorough research done by its authors on the ingredients, recipes, tools and techniques. The "Larousse of Desserts" is another jewel for anyone with a sweet tooth. Being a Patissier I loved the modern edge Paulina Abascal gives to traditional recipes of sweets and cakes from Mexico. I am so glad I have them to accompany two of the best mexican recipes book I own: "Cocina Esencial de México" (The Essential Cuisines of Mexico) and "México, una Odisea Culinaria" (Mexico, A Culinary Odissey). Both from mexican cuisine connoisseur Diana Kennedy.
These books are also available in English and you can find more of the same author at bookstore websites. If you like reading about adventures into remote spots of Mexico and Mexican Cuisine, Mrs. Diana Kennedy is your author.


Buen Provecho!