many things

So, Empanada Saturday went smashingly. On Saturday morning, i headed down to Rachel's house and we went to a farmer's market in a Catholic church. they had very little on offer, as apparently winter markets are a new enough phenomenon in Chicago that the local farmers don't have a handle on how much to produce. so, no produce (verb the first time, noun the second ...). but i did get some MEAT from a family-run, free-range, antibiotic-free farm in NW IL. bacon and breakfast sausage!!
then, back to Rachel's house, where we mixed up the dough. i got the recipe from epicurious.com, where all of the reviewers said this was the best recipe ever. it did turn out pretty darn well, despite me misreading the recipe and using it to make twice as many empanadas as it was supposed to - the dough still held up to being that thin! we filled the empanadas with eggplant-almond filling, the recipe from Mom for enchiladas. i was so fat and happy by the end of that meal that i went home and went to bed while my friends went out on the town.
on Sunday, Rachel and our friend Zack came up to Evanston for my session. it was a grand old time. when 6:00 rolled around, the usual quitting time, we headed back to my house and made hippie pancakes (meaning, cornmeal and whole-wheat flour, with yogurt, the ones that Adam wouldn't eat) and bacon and stuffed ourselves silly. my apartment still has a little ... aura of bacon to it. what a treat! it had been a while since i'd had that, and it's *good* bacon.
i am now on my third week of baking pumpernickel bread, and i keep betting better. i think i might be a convert. it's just so satisfying (to eat, i mean - making it doesn't feel any different than other bread).
oh, also on Saturday, Rachel took me to her neighborhood knitting store and i bought some more supplies, including a Stitch Dictionary so i can learn fun tricks! so now i'm trying to finish this hat before i move on to anything else - no Drawer of Unfinished Projects for me! i think i'll be done by bedtime tomorrow. (fingers crossed - i mean fingers knitting furiously!)