Category: food

a wednesday problem

Work work work. The problem with freelance-type work is, it’s really hard to separate out work time and play time! It’s easy to just keep working and working. Well, for me, anyway. Mostly because I feel guilty if I have time to work and am not doing it. Does that make any sense?

Thanks to everyone who helped me destash – I had so many packages to take to the post office that when the woman there saw me, she took out a whole mailbag for my packages! A few more are going out today.

So. How about some knitting talk? I finally finished the sleeves of the Manos silk cardigan –

I did them both at the same time – which was kind of a drag when I was actually doing it, because it seemed so slow! But then I got up to the cap and then, behold! Not one but two sleeves! It was pretty exciting to finish them both together.

Now I just have to do the button bands and collar. I think the sweater’s going to take a little more yarn then I’d hoped, eight skeins rather than seven. Ah, well. I can make the collar nice and long.

Now here’s my Wednesday problem – I don’t know what to take to Knit Night tonight! The Manos cardigan is sort of at a tricksy point to take to a place where much talking and probably drinking will take place. Maybe it’s time to bust out some plain sock knitting? But what I really want to do is cast on for another sweater! What sweater, what yarn? Do I have the supplies? Do I have the brain power to start something new?

This is often my dilemma.

I do think I’ve solved what to take, though – the Manos sweater (the button bands won’t be too hard to figure out) and maybe needles and yarn for new socks. I could really use some new plain socks. Yeah, that sounds okay.

(Although I do still really want to cast on for a new sweater.)

Back to my lunch!

Chickpea salad: chickpeas, cucumber, tomato, chunks of haloumi cheese, lots of parsley, good olive oil, lemon, and a sprinkle of cumin. Pita wedges are obligatory for soaking up the dressing!

April 23, 2008
take it off my hands, part V – handspun edition

It’s also the final edition, at least for now! I put a couple more things up on my destash page, including a bunch of handspun skeins. All things must go! Make me an offer!

I don’t have much to show with the knitting (although that’s coming up shortly! just need some photos), but I do have cinnamon rolls!

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from Bon Appetit magazine

This is a lovely, easy dough recipe. It’s been while since I last made a yeasted dough (probably not since last summer?) but it rose well and really turned out great. Best eaten warm!

Dough
1 cup milk
3 tbsp butter
1 envelope instant (rapid-rise) yeast – 8g
3 1/2 cups flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt

Filling
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
2 tbsp cinnamon

Frosting
125 g cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup icing (powdered) sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Making the Dough:
Heat 3 tbsp butter and milk together in microwave (or on the stove) until the butter is melted and the milk is warm, about 60 seconds (longer if your microwave is old like mine). Place in bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment and add yeast, sugar, salt, and 1 cup flour. Mix on low speed for 3 minutes, scraping down sides.

Add 2 1/2 cups flour and mix until the dough forms a ball and comes away from the side of the bowl. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead, adding more flour if sticky, for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in lightly oiled bowl and cover with kitchen towel. Let rise for 2 hours.

Once the dough has doubled, turn out onto a floured surface and roll out to a rectangle approximately 15 x 11 inches.

Dot surface with 1/4 cup softened butter, then spread to cover dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Mix together brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over butter.

Starting with one long edge, roll up the dough, pinching ends to close. Slice the roll in half, then each half into about 9 equal pieces (about 1/2″ or a little wider).

Lightly oil two 9″ square pans and place 9 rolls in each pan. Cover pans and let rise for 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 F. Once the rolls have doubled in size, bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden. Turn the rolls out onto a rack and let cool 10 minutes before frosting.

Make the Frosting:
Mix cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and vanilla in stand mixer until smooth. Spread over warm rolls.

Devour.

April 20, 2008
more with the sewing

Following the success of my Built By Wendy top, I figured next up should be a skirt – I’ve made quite a few skirts, mostly pretty simple ones, some with zippers, some with elastic waists. I had three yards of Chocolate Lollipop “galaxy” print (ordered from Cia’s Palette) ordered just to make a skirt with. I’m a fan of circle skirts, but it turned out that I didn’t really have enough fabric – and I didn’t really feel like messing with letting the skirt hang before hemming, etc.

The next pattern I tried was a yoked one that looked really cute. I cut out all the pattern pieces, but then alas – the skirt pieces didn’t fit on my fabric. Turned out that the fabric was only 42″ wide rather than 45″, so there was just a little chunk of pattern hanging out! So that pattern got shelved as well.

Turns out third time’s a charm!

This one was made from a pattern (can’t remember which at the moment, and the envelope’s two floors downstairs) which has the front and back being made up of three panels each. So since the panels are narrowish, they finally fit on the fabric!

The skirt has a side zipper (which I put on the wrong side by accident) and just a waist facing, which I wasn’t such a fan of. I decided to do my own thing and sewed down the whole facing to the inside, making more of a waistband. My shape is a little bottom-heavy, and I like to wear my skirts fairly low on the hip, so the size 18 that I cut turned out just a bit small for my liking. It’s fine, and the cotton will stretch a bit, but that’s why I usually go with elastic waists!

I didn’t bother to try to match the patterns across the seams – the panels are angled, anyway, and there’s enough going on in the dots so that you really don’t notice it. One thing I did do, though, isn’t even visible from the outside:

I don’t have a serger, and I’m pretty lazy when it comes to sewing (hence the sloppiness that sometimes ensues) so I usually just zigzag stitch along my seam allowances to finish them. With this one, I love the fabric so much that I was compelled to do a little more. When I pressed the seams open (all eight of them) I turned the allowances under by half and pressed those down, then sewed down along each and every one. I could’ve done it as a topstitch-type-thing where the stitching shows on the outside, but I’m too messy a seamstress for that!

Anyway, the skirt turned out really well and I love it. Next up, the dress debacle.

And completely randomly, some food stuff.

I love asparagus. I had a craving for it the other day, went to the fridge and there it was in the drawer! (One of the perks of living with people who buy food, aka, parents.) We usually have it plain, steamed, which I can eat a ton of – but I wanted a little more something, you know? I roasted them up in the toaster oven (I love toaster ovens for these little tasks), dotted with butter and sprinkled with parmesan. It was in at 400 F for probably 10-15 minutes – I tend to follow the “it’s done when you can smell it” formula with stuff like this.

And a lunch from the other day –

I cooked 2 cups (or so) of penne in 2 cups water, 1 cup milk and a pat of butter until the pasta was done and the liquid mostly soaked up, and added frozen peas and some spinach near the end. Once the pasta was done, I mixed in a whole bunch of 6 year old aged white cheddar and a good helping of parmesan, black pepper, and a sprinkle of nutmeg (I love nutmeg). Serves 2, or y’know, one me over the course of the afternoon. Simple, easy, and totally yummy. Mmmm.

Can you tell I’m not afraid of butter and cheese? Hee!

April 10, 2008