There is a town in Pennsylvania called North East. Yes, that’s the name of the town, not just a direction. About 150 miles north of Pittsburgh, near Erie, it turns out it’s the northernmost town in PA.
My friend Roberta went to the North East Farmer’s Market and saw a vendor with yarn! There were chairs behind the display table and knitters sitting and knitting. She told them about her friend the knitter (me) and that I’d even been on a knitting cruise to Norway with Arne and Carlos . (If you’re unfamiliar with this creative duo who live in a Norway, you can click their name to learn about their creative designs.)
Sunday night Roberta came over to my front porch to celebrate my birthday. We shared Taiwanese takeout she had brought with her, Blackberries on vanilla ice cream and pizzelles were dessert.
Then I opened a surprise birthday gift she brought. It’s so cool she chose such lovely yarn for me and although she’s not a knitter, she knows I have a passion for it.
Yes, she knew I’d love the yarn from the Three Tulips Yarn Company “…dream up magical colorways in tiny, individual batches so that your project will be truly unique. We love yarn and believe that each stitch should be a joy to create.”
You can meet the team at Three Tulips Yarn Company here
Here is what she gave me
Colorful and feels so squishy and a teacup on the birthday card!
Hand-dyed Micro Batch Yarn by Three Tulips Yarn Company I think to make a Hat on the left /Socks on the right.
Look who gave me the gift of a birthday song video.
Sam Barsky and his Artistic Sweaters came to Yarns by Design in Oakmont PA in 2019 summer and I blogged it. Click on his link to see the list of sweaters he’s knit. Here are a few of his artistic designs.
Sam Barsky gave me the gift of a birthday song while wearing a birthday cake sweater. Click to see his video we have a mutual friend. A prolific knitter, Naomi, whom I “met” on McWalker YarnsKnitting Zoom .
Father of Flag Day” honors have been given to William T. Kerr, who was credited with founding the American Flag Day Association in 1888 while still a schoolboy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Tuesday afternoon I met a friend for dinner. We used to teach in the same school but are in different schools across the city now. It was good to catch up. When we walked into the restaurant,La Tavola Italiana, I could not believe what I saw in front of me! A St. Joseph Feast spread from the day before. Later Carmela came out to speak with us about how we were enjoying our dinners and she was taking photos with her iPad to send to her family. She uses the iPad to keep the restaurant calendar for parties and other aspects of her business.
I asked if she made the St. Joseph Cavazunes filled with the chick peas and she said, “NO, they are Calabrese.” She is Sicilian and she makes Zeppoles.
I said that I’d photographed all the bread and would send her the photos but would she like to pose with all her handiwork and she did! I didn’t notice she put the iPad down onto the cloth in front until I saw it on the computer. She was gracious to allow me to photograph her. NEXT year we have to go to actual feast! It sounded like a terrific party.
Today my friend J(of Pittsburgh, not Omaha) and I went to the Tin Front Cafe for lunch. We heard about the St. Joseph the Worker statue having been removed from the nearby church. Judith Tener told us where to find him in a parking lot and so after lunch we wound around one- way streets and asked a few people for directions but eventually we climbed up hills and back and found this beautiful statue waiting for us. He was striking. There were the huge stone barrels pouring molten steel out onto the world. Flames carved in stone. See detail below on image three.
A big crane erected this statue (which was blessed in Italy by Pope VI) on St. Michael the Archangel Church in 1966 in Homestead. Many Slovaks helped build this church.
When the church closed, the diocese took the statue down in 2010.
People missed looking at St. Joseph high above the buildings, overlooking Homestead and the Monongahela River.
A memorial to the hard workers of the mills in this town. He was loaded on a flatbed and taken to St Anne’s now 3 combined parishes to form St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish. Read the names of the people etched in bricks- Vehec, Tarasevich, Godleski, Milchalk, Straka, Pavlik, Sklencar, Sayko to name a few.
The statue was designed by sculptor Frank Vittor (b. 1888 in Italy) who also made the Honus Wagner Statue now at PNC Park. His story on the link if you click on his name tells how he came to work with Stanford White and then a week later White was murdered…but that is not the main idea of today’s post and I am getting off track. It was just incredibly interesting. Vittor taught at Cooper Union in NYC and also at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University)
Here are two views of the giant St Joseph the Worker statue. And a detail shot, too.
There are plans in the works to get him relocated in a place of honor but will keep you posted when this happens.
There is an historical marker honoring sculptor Frank Vittor by the Columbus Statue in Schenley Park, Pittsburgh
This page is from the January 1, 1977 New York Times Magazine.
My sister sent me the photos of the clipping today as Epiphany or Three Kings Day is January 6th. This day is the traditional day families would take down their Christmas decorations when I was growing up .
One side of the magazine page is Three Kings’ Cake recipe article by Mimi Sheraton. This recipe makes two Loaves of sweet bread with yeast and lemon and orange rind, currants and mixed fruits. Almonds are hidden in the dough to be discovered by one lucky eater .
On the reverse side of the paper is an ad to order seeds for Spring planting. Park Seed is celebrating 150 years of being in the gardening business.
(This is not the same king cake of February’s Mardi Gras.)
Three Kings’ Cake by Mimi Sheraton Park Seed- 150 years in business in South Carolina
My friend Roberta sent me an email this evening with a video from the University of Pittsburgh French Nationality Room Galette Des Rois (click the name of cake to watch) see how to make another type of Kings’ Cake with Almond paste and puff pastry. The French version.
Eggnog, egg nog or egg-nog, historically also known as milk punch or egg milk punch, is a rich, chilled, sweetened, dairy-based beverage. It is traditionally made with milk, cream, sugar, whipped egg whites, and egg yolks.” Wikipedia
And if yes, spiked or non-alcoholic? And if spiked, what alcohol do you add? Rum, bourbon, whiskey?
A rich and creamy adult milkshake it was called in one recipe I read. I think it’s a love it or hate it but we’ll see what response we get.
My mother made it with raw eggs when I was a kid and sprinkled nutmeg on top. She used a hand held egg beater, a rotary one, non-electric, to whip the egg whites into froth. There was no cooking involved that I remember but there is definitely cooking in Alton Brown’s recipe.
The Happy Day Cake Recipe post is from a birthday post I made for her ten years ago. For many family birthdays it was the 1-2-3-4 Cake recipe or the Happy Day Cake recipe on the back of the Swan’s Down Cake Flour box, frosted with Penuche icing. My mother would put the saucepan filled with boiling brown sugar and butter, into a sink of cold water and then beat it by hand once it cooled.She’d add Confectioner’s sugar to it. I can hear the ring of the metal loop at the end of the pan’s handle. She added a dash of vanilla extract. My dad would pour milk over a stale slice of cake and eat it with a spoon. Cake and frosting recipes below photo.
Mary bought me this vintage cake pan when we were visiting our brother in Okanogan Washington
Happy Day Cake
2½ cups sifted cake flour
1½ cups sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
Sift flour with sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir shortening to soften. Add flour mixture, ¾ cup of the milk and vanilla. Mix until all flour is dampened, then beat two minutes at medium speed. Add eggs and remaining ¼ cup milk. Beat one minute longer. Pour into two 9-inch layer pans that have been lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans; remove from pans and cool thoroughly on racks.
This cake also may be baked in three 8-inch layer pans for 25 to 35 minutes, or in a 13- by 9-inch pan for 30 to 35 minutes. Batter may be spooned into 36 medium paper baking cups in muffin pans, filling half full. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
Penuche Frosting Butter is Key
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup milk
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar, more or less
hot water, optional
vanilla extract
PREPARATION:
In a saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Add the brown sugar. Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium low and continue to boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually add sifted confectioners’ sugar. Beat until thick enough to spread. If too thick, add a little hot water. Frosts top and sides of a 2-layer cake or a 13×9-inch cake.
Happy Birthday Mary.
I didn’t count the cake posts I’ve created in the last 12 years but if you have time on your hands and like cake you can look at some photos from theblog tagged CAKE here
