Category: cooking

  • chocolate chip cookies

    cardigan in progress

    cardigan in progress

    This morning I’m knitting a sleeve. I knit this chunky cardigan from the bottom up (Quince & Co Osprey in Pea Coat), but I cast on the sleeves provisionally so that I could knit them from the underarm down. I don’t love the wrestling that comes with knitting sleeves top down, but it IS really efficient in terms of yarn use and getting the sleeve length right! I didn’t put in buttonholes, so I’m thinking of either adding a zipper or ties.

    cooookies.

    Chocolate chip cookies? Yes please. Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker. (I only ate one for breakfast, I swear.) This is the recipe I go to most often, lately. I make the cookies a bit smaller than the original recipe calls for, because smaller cookies means you can eat more of them! They are a little bit crisp on the outside, but nicely chewy inside. I’ve streamlined the recipe a little to reflect how I actually make them.

    Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
    yield: about 2 dozen 3-inch cookies

    INGREDIENTS:
    12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
    1 cup packed (7 ounces) light or dark brown sugar
    1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
    1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
    2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt
    1-1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

    DIRECTIONS:
    1. Heat the oven to 325F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

    2. With an electric mixer (or by hand), mix the melted butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla until silky and combined.

    3. Add the flour, baking soda and salt, and beat at low speed just until combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir on low speed until combined. The dough may seem a bit crumbly, it’s ok!

    4. Gently roll golf-ball-sized scoops and place them on the cookie sheets a couple inches apart. Press down slightly until about 1/2″ / 1cm thick.

    5. Bake until the cookies are light golden grown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets for a few minutes then remove to a wire rack…or your mouth.

    Cookies keep quite well in an airtight container for a work week of lunchtime treats!

  • clogs and candy

    Also known as: Tuesday check-in!

    one giant clog

    The trusty Fiber Trends felted clog pattern is such a good one! Some of it does take a little bit of attention, but there are lots of plain knit rounds – and since the yarn is held double and worked on US 13 / 9mm needles, it goes super fast. I’m using Cascade 220 from my stash, and it feels good to use stuff I already have.

    I did cheat on the clogs by starting a new sweater yesterday though. Anzula’s For Better or Worsted is just lovely! I only have a small amount of yarn, so I’m planning to make this one shorter-sleeved.

    new sweater

    Over the weekend some friends came over for an epic caramel making party, which was so so fun. It took the 4 of us 5 hours to make 3 different batches of caramel, including cooling (which could have been longer), wrapping, and a lot of knitting and chatting. None of us had made caramel before, but it was nice to work on it all together!

    The chocolate ones (recipe from Martha) set really nicely. They look like Tootsie Rolls, but they’re much softer and darker.

    chocolate caramel

    The vanilla + sea salt ones are pretty runny, but delicious. Recipe is from the Homemade Pantry.

    a bit runny

    Not pictured, bourbon sea salt! I didn’t stir enough when adding the condensed milk, so it got a little brown on the bottom, but it turned out totally fine. So good.

    It was interesting to try out different recipes – the vanilla caramels used a lot of heavy cream and a tin of Lyle’s Golden Syrup, while the bourbon ones had a can of condensed milk and corn syrup. I think I’ll try making the vanilla ones again, but this time cook the mixture to a bit of a higher temperature for a slightly firmer, more chewy caramel.

    Watching: Just watched the Walking Dead mid-season finale (omg) and caught up on season 4 of Boardwalk Empire. I think I need to watch something lighter for a bit.

    Reading: Asunder by Jodi Meadows – quick read, engaging, and I was able to take out the eBook from our public library!

  • a lovely spinach tart

    a lovely spinach tart

    I had some dear friends over for a lovely evening of knitting and gabbing, and I made this spinach tart for dinner. It turned out really well, and I wanted to share it with you! It’s cobbled together from a few sources, mainly Deborah Madison’s “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone”. Right at the front of the section on savoury tarts and turnovers, she has several recipes for yeasted tart doughs. I had been thinking about just doing a shortcrust pastry for the tart, but the yeasted pastry sounded so interesting I had to try it. Madison notes that you do need to roll the dough quite thinly or it will be bready, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing!

    I served the tart with a simple tomato salad – garden tomatoes, basil, olive oil and salt. Yum!

     

    Yeasted Tart Dough with Olive Oil (adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone)

    Note: This makes quite a bit of dough! I made an 11″ tart and still had some leftover. If you make a smaller tart, you will have lots leftover.

    2 teaspoons active dry yeast
    1/2 teaspoon sugar
    1/2 cup warm water
    3 tablespoons olive oil
    1 egg, lightly beaten
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1 3/4 cups flour

    Dissolve the yeast and sugar in a medium bowl and let stand for a few minutes until bubbly.
    Add the oil, egg, and salt, then stir in the flour. Knead dough for a few minutes until smooth (I used the KitchenAid mixer and dough hook).
    Turn the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for about an hour. I preheat the oven for a few minutes while mixing up the dough, then turn it off and stick the bowl in the warm oven to rise.
    When the dough has risen, roll it out to 1/8″ thickness on a lightly floured surface and gently line an 11″ tart pan, trimming the excess.
    Place the tart pan on a sheet pan (to make it easier to handle) and place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
    Preheat oven to 400F / 200C and bake the frozen tart shell for 20-25 minutes or until firm.
    It might bubble, but you can deflate the bubbles with a knife.

     

    Spinach Tart Filling

    One 300g package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well (or fresh spinach, chopped and wilted)
    3-4 large green onions/scallions, chopped, whites and greens
    a handful of fresh herbs such as basil, dill, oregano, chopped (dried is ok too, a couple sprinkles)
    4 eggs, beaten
    1/2 cup cottage cheese
    1/2 cup or more crumbled feta cheese (I used 100g, a quarter of a tub)
    a splash of milk or cream (a few tablespoons)
    black pepper

    Turn the oven down to 375F / 190C. Mix all the spinach filling ingredients together, adding a little more milk or cream if it is very stiff.
    Note, I didn’t use salt in the filling because the feta is very salty!
    Spread the filling in the baked tart shell and bake for 35-45 minutes, until no longer jiggly, and just a bit browned on top. Let cool for a few minutes before slicing. It keeps well and is great in your lunchbox!