Knit & Nosh

wal-kie

It has come to my attention that I spend a great deal of time not moving much more than my hands.  Writing, reading, knitting, cooking...not a whole lot of activity going on there.  I used to walk all over town, up and down hills, carrying heavy loads and pushing strollers.   Now I watch other people walk by the house and sometimes I wave (more hand movements).  It is time to start walking again.

I am a creature of habit.  Once I establish a routine any deviation makes me cranky.  I think talking myself in to leaving the house for an hour when it is cold outside is going to be difficult.  Seriously difficult. But it is time.  I can't stop getting old, but there are factors I can control that will help the getting old part go more smoothly.  Ee gads it never occurred to me I would get old.  Funny how that works.

gluten free in 5 minutes a day

If you have been reading the blog for over a year, you may remember that I am a big fan of the Artisan Bread In 5 Minutes A Day books.  Before I had to give up gluten, you could always find a container of dough in the fridge.  Oh how I miss pulling those rustic loaves out of the oven and listening to the crackle of cooling bread on the counter.  Guess what?  They have developed a gluten free version!

You can find a preview from the new book here.  The dough is not vegan, but is easy to make dairy free.  The first recipe from the preview is for challah!  I cannot wait to give it a try.  Is it possible to have tasty GF challah this Friday?  I am more hopeful than ever.

here come the dark days

I'm in, what about you?

the reveal

OK, enough teasing about next year's handspun adventure.  2012 will be my year of the Handspun Blanket.  Specifically something like this.

I slurped this photo from the pattern page as it shows the structure really well.  This blanket uses brightly colored Noro to make each square.  I do not want something quite so loud, this is going to be a blanket for the bed and calming hues are preferable. 

This is more like what I am after, but I am OK with a little more color variation in each square.  This version uses handspun.  Can you imagine how great it looks spread across a bed?  It would call to you from the other room, "I am so beautiful, come lay with me."

The trick has been finding the right spinning technique to make it work.  After five test spins and four test knits, I think I finally have it.

Here is the test knit using fat singles.  I spun this without breaking up the braid at all and while the yarn is lovely, the color runs are too long.   The fabric is drapey and airy.

The second test knit.  For this I broke a 4 ounce braid into two legnthwaise strips and then plied those singles together.  I did not think it was going to work, but I kept an open mind as I cast on.  I love the color in the beginning, once the marling starts I am not so enamoured, but I pressed on.  In the end I think it would work.  The fabric is dense and fairly stiff.

For the third test knit I split the braid into four strips and then n-plied.  I like the way the n-ply keeps the colors together, but the color repeats are too short.

Lastly, a braid spun in one piece, n-plied.  I think this is the best choice.  It is going to hold up better than singles,  and it is going to be Warm, capitol W warm.  I am at that age where I do not always want any blankets at night, even in the middle of winter, but when I do want to burrow under the covers, I need all the warmth I can find.

I have not decided what color to make my borders.  I think I will knit up all of the squares, decide on a color and then go back and add borders. I want fat borders like those in the second picture. That will be the boring part, one color, round and round all those squares.

Who is with me?  Anyone else up for The Year Of The Handspun Blanket?

pomegranate and prosecco jelly

Oh happy day.  A little space in the afternoon to play with jars produced a new favorite taste treat.

It is hard to believe that I used to make jelly in a kitchen with 3 feet of counter space, none of it next to the stove.

The new island and its companion 15 foot  counter never fail to make me feel grateful.

The recipe is from H2H and I made it as written, swapping out prosecco for champagne, because that is what I had on the rack.  It is delicious!

Pomegranate and prosecco and the lovely red color makes me think the jars will make good holiday gifts.  Did I mention that it is delicious?  So good that I do not want to give them away.  Of course that means I need to make more. 

a white whale

Have you seen Ann Weaver's newest book?

I am a sucker for literary themed knitting, and Moby Dick is a personal favorite.  It really is one of those books everyone should read, even if it takes you all year.

The cover pattern is The Whiteness of The Whale and will one day be on my needles.  The book contains a nice selection of garments,  two sweaters, a hat, wrap and cowl.  As soon as it went up for sale I grabbed a copy.  My one regret is that I did not purchase the hard copy book.  The ebook gave me instant gratification, but lacks the wonderful artwork of Matt Kish.  If I had known that going in, I would have waited, it would have been worth the wait.  Maybe I need to pick up his book as well.

painted ponies

This month's wine label fiber club brings us 14 Hands Hot To Trot Red.  The club originates in New Mexico, but this wine is local to me and can often be found on my home wine shelves.  It is fruity and easy to drink and less than $10 a bottle.  What's not to love?

Perfect match.

This fiber has long color bands from one end to the other and seems the perfect candidate for Spinning Test #3.  To the wheel!

My thick singles are not as consistent as I would like them to be, but they are getting close.

I was aiming for yarn that is a little fatter, but it is airy and I think will plump up nicely when worked in garter stitch.  The only way to know for certain is to swatch.  Once the swatch is finished all will be revealed.

Ed King **spoiler alert**

I am going to give away plot points from Ed King, David Guterson's newest book.  If you do not want to know, please turn away.

The first book I read by David Guterson was Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense.  It was the tipping point for me.  When we were considering homeschooling I read many dozens of books and I felt like I was headed in the right direction, but Family Matters, that was the one book that made me realize that homeschooling was the right choice for our family.  Everything I read after that, was just affirmation.

I continued to read and enjoy David Guterson's books.  He is a local author and a homeschooling father so he is on my radar.  Also, he is a really good writer.  So, last Tuesday I made  space in my day and ran to the store to pick up his latest book, Ed King.  I starting reading the next day during Youngest Son's wrestling practice.  Now I knew going in that it is an Oedipus story, but I expected it to be more veiled.  I mean Ed King kills his father in the same way as the original, in an act of rage on the road into town.  GTO's, horse drawn carts, its all the same. 

My biggest gripe with the book is that it is probably 100 pages too long.  David did his research and did not want to leave a single word of it out.  Often I found myself thinking, "Get on with it already."  Like in Moby Dick when Melville goes on and on about the different whales.  OK, I understand that you know your whales, but I am here for the story.  Also, the book (Ed King, not Moby Dick) has WAY too much sex.  In hindsight I can think of three sex scenes that mattered.  The rest did not move the story forward, they stopped it dead in its tracks.  And what is up with Guido?  Like Ed, I too wished he would just shut up.  I have a feeling he is only there to facilitate the authors love of anagrams.  The epilogue contains names that I am certain are anagrams clever to the story, but I did not care enough to figure them out, beside the obvious Guido. 

I did like the ending.

The positive side?  It is going to make a fabulous movie!  The rights must have been optioned.  All of the tedious research will become background and make the story better.  The sex will have to be slashed and the story will flow perfectly.  People will love it, especially if it is not billed as a modern day Oedipus.

good advice

Perfect timing.  I hope I can remember to heed such good advice.

pumpkin fiesta rice

Because I can not eat gluten or MSG, and must be careful about dairy, all meals are made from scratch.  It is next to impossible to find anything in a box or bag that does not contain those ingredients.  Now you know I like to cook, and I am very happy about the meals that come out of my kitchen, but sometimes, being able to take a shortcut would make the day so much easier.

Last week I came across a recipe for Pumpkin Fiesta Rice that calls for a rice mix from a box.  A rice mix that does not contain any of the things I have to avoid!  I contacted the company and asked if I could reprint the recipe on the blog, they said of course, and then sent me samples of  their gluten free mixes. 

If you are a canner who has jars of cubed pumpkin on the shelf, this recipe is made for you!  It will come together in a snap, just stir in your pumpkin towards the end of cooking to heat through. The rest of us need to cook some pumpkin.  The ingredients lists 4 small pumpkins, but in reality you only need one.  The other three are used as bowls for presentation which you may or may not want to use.  Don't limit yourself to pumpkin, this would be great with any of the winter squashes.  I often have a bag of  butternut squash in the freezer that would work well.  For a pretty presentation use a whole butternut squash cut in half lengthwise and baked, then fill with the rice and  slice for serving.

 

PUMPKIN FIESTA RICE

1 package of Nueva Cocina Mexican Rice Mix

4 small sugar pie pumpkins (3 for serving purposes and 1 for recipe ingredient)

1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

~Heat oven to 350F.

~Cut pumpkins in half, remove seeds and strings then rub with olive oil.

~ Place six pumpkin halves on a parchment lined baking sheet, cut side down. Bake for 45 minutes or until soft.  The size of your pumpkins will vary the roasting time. 

~Combine 1 cup of uncooked  pumpkin flesh that has been peeled and cubed with a box of Nueva Cocina Mexican Rice Mix.  Add water and oil as called for in the box and cook as directed.  When the rice is done, spoon it into the roasted pumpkin halves and serve.  If you are not worried about the dairy, a sprinkling of queso fresco would be perfect.

I skipped the pumpkin halves and served the rice alongside grilled tofu and a green salad.  If I were entertaining, it would be pumpkin bowls all the way! 

The only thing that would make this easier is to be able to use a rice cooker.  I thought I should give that preparation method a try.  Great success!  Popping a box of rice mix and frozen squash in a rice cooker, then hitting the COOK button and walking away (or heading to wrestling practice) makes this a super easy weeknight side dish.  Hooray!