Slices of Cocoa-Nana Bread
Posted: January 31, 2008 Filed under: Baking, Quick Breads 5 Comments »
shared with co-workers. Intensely chocolate-y but the banana flavor still comes through. Recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours.
Pumpkin Spice Socks
Posted: January 28, 2008 Filed under: Knitting, Socks 15 Comments »
Yarn: Yarntini Pumpkin Spice, 1 skein
Pattern: My generic 56 stitch top-down sock with slip stitch heel
Needles: US #2 / 32 inch for ribbing; US #1 / 32 inch for all other parts
Sausage, Cheese, and Basil Lasagna
Posted: January 23, 2008 Filed under: Cooking, Entrées 7 Comments »
I’ve got to give credit to Hubby here, because he’s great at putting together lasagna!
Recipe found here. Mods:
:: used a mixture of spicy and sweet sausage
:: reduced amount of cheese between layers
While this lasagna was delicious, I should mention that it is also quite heavy. The recipe says 6-8 servings, but I think you could definitely get 8 servings out of it (particularly if you pair it with salad). It most certainly qualifies as winter comfort food!
Year in Review
Posted: January 19, 2008 Filed under: Reflections 10 Comments »Today is my third blogging anniversary, and the tradition for me on this day is to reflect on the past year. After my first year of blogging, I wrote about the many roles of knitting in my life, how blogging connected me to inspiring individuals, and my excitement at exploring the craft of spinning. Overall, I was excited about the fiber arts and eager to see what would unfold in the coming months. Last year, my reflection was noticeably less optimistic — I was disappointed in myself because I felt that I was all over the place with my crafting and didn’t excel at any one thing. I felt lost with my crafting.
If I had to describe my feelings about the past year in one word, it would be content. This was the year that I switched over from “Knot Without My Knitting” to “Knitter in the Kitchen,” which more accurately expresses my interests in knitting, cooking, and baking. I seem to have settled on these crafts as my primary hobbies and I am quite happy with them. I finally let myself feel okay when I preferred one over the others. Instead of viewing them as competing interests for my time, I am now perfectly comfortable cycling through them in accordance to what I am currently interested in doing. It’s okay for certain hobbies to be on the back burner for awhile; I no longer feel guilty for ignoring my baking because I am focusing on knitting, or vice versa. I am still making progress. In essence, the change this year occurred in my perspective.
Last year I wasn’t ready at all to set goals for 2007, which bothered me because I am a goal-oriented person. This year, I have some loose goals for 2008.
Knitting:
–Finish Chevron Scarf (in progress since October 2007)
–Finish Central Park Hoodie (in progress since August 2007)
–Finish Wicked Sweater (in progress since August 2007)
–Knit Juno Regina (gift)
–Knit another Clapotis (gift)
–Knit at least one pair of socks (gift)
Spinning:
Spin. At least a little. Once in awhile.
Cooking/Baking:
Try at least one new recipe per month.
As you can see, I am trying to keep it simple in order to keep it fun. We’ll see how I do this year!
More Mitts for Mom
Posted: January 16, 2008 Filed under: Fingerless Mitts and Mitts, Knitting 6 Comments »
Yarn: Cascade Yarns Cash Vero, Color 19
Pattern: Irish Hiking Wrist Warmers
Needles: US #7 / 32 inches for Magic Loop
Modifications: Knit in the round. Many thanks to Marin for teaching me how to do this so very long ago! These are my mods for circular knitting:
Cast on 38 stitches and join the round.
Rows 1-7: K2, P2, K6, P2, K2, P2, K6, P2, K2, P2, K6, P2, K2
Row 8: K2, P2, CF6, P2, K2, P2, CF6, P2, K2, P2, CF6, P2, K2
Knit rounds 1-26 as above.
From rounds 27-38, knit back and forth (i.e., not in the round), maintaining the cable pattern. The odd rows (WS) here will be P2, K2, P6, K2, P2, K2, P6, K2, P2, K2, P6, K2, P2. The even rows (RS) are the same as above.
Re-join to knitting in the round on round 39. Stop after round 45, and knit 7 rounds of 1×1 ribbing.
Fingerless Mitts for Mom
Posted: January 10, 2008 Filed under: Fingerless Mitts and Mitts, Knitting 11 Comments »Almost two years ago, I knit my mother a pair of Irish Hiking Arm Warmers. She mentioned to me recently that the yarn was now pilling quite a bit. That’s not exactly a surprise — I used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino and while it’s very soft, it’s not exactly known for holding up well. So I whipped up another pair of fingerless mitts for her.
Yarn: Cascade 220, color 8895
Pattern: I based them on the Tweedy Mittens pattern and essentially knit up to one inch less than the desired length before switching to five rounds of k2p2 ribbing to finish them off.
Needles: US #7 / 32 inches for Magic Loop
Admittedly, these are very plain-looking mitts compared to the Irish Hiking ones, but the plus side is that they have a thumb, right? I am planning to knit my mother a “fancier” pair in the future…either another pair of Irish Hiking Arm Warmers, or maybe Fetching?
Stash Sale on a Stormy Day
Posted: January 4, 2008 Filed under: Knitting 4 Comments »I have an unexpected day home from work because of the weather. We are experiencing a severe storm with heavy rains and winds up to 65 mph. For Northern California, these conditions are intense! Drivers were advised to stay off the roads if possible, and after listening to the wind howling all night I was more than willing to comply.
I figured today would be a good time to post about the yarns I have for sale. I went through my stash recently and realized I still have a number of yarns I probably won’t ever use, so it’s time for another stash sale! I have Noro Cash Iroha, Ella Rae Classic Wool, KnitPicks Andean Silk, and Duet Sock Yarn up for grabs, so please take a look here.
Apple Crisp
Posted: January 1, 2008 Filed under: Baking, Pies and Cakes 8 Comments »Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday with your family and friends. I have been enjoying a lovely time off from work, and there has been much baking going on in the last couple of weeks. In addition to the Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies, I also made Swedish Visiting Cake, lemon bars, oatmeal raisin cookies, and apple crisp. The apple crisp recipe is new to me and came from a colleague who adapted it from The California Cookbook (1970) by Jeanne Voltz. The crisp is simple but delicious, and is now my go-to recipe when I don’t feel like rolling out the dough for apple pie.
6-8 apples to yield approximately 6 cups (I used 6 small golden delicious apples)
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/8 cup flour
10 1/2 tablespoons butter, cold (I diced the butter right before using it)
Peel, core, and cut apples into 1/2 inch slices and place in a buttered 7 x 11 baking dish. Stir cinnamon into water and pour mixture over apples. Work together sugar, flour, and butter with fingertips until crumbly and distribute over apples. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes (I baked it for about 45-50 minutes because I wanted my crust a little more golden). Serve warm or cold with vanilla ice-cream. Enjoy!
