Quick and Easy Knit Wash Cloths: Continued

The second of a series of easy knit wash cloths is complete.

Using Paton's Grace yarn, and US size 5 needles cast on 60 stitches.  Knit the first stitch, move the yarn to the front of the work between the needles, purl the second stitch, then move the yarn to the back of the work between the needles.  Repeat this pattern for all stitches to the end of the row.  Flip the work, and repeat the pattern starting with a knit stitch.

This pattern is called single ribbing. 

Continue to work in the single rib pattern until the wash cloth measures six inches in length.  The finished cloth should be a six inch square. 

The fabric will look like stockinette stitch but it will be elastic, and lay flat without any curling. 

** If stitches needed to be added or taken away to obtain a six inch wide square, make sure there is an even number of stitches for the single rib pattern to work out correctly.**

Crusty Homemade Bread Bowls Recipe

Crusty Homemade Bread Bowls

6 bread bowls

1 cup water
2 3/4 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine or quick active dry yeast
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

Measure carefully, placing all ingredients except egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water into bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer.

Select dough/manual cycle. Do not use delay cycles.

Remove dough from pan, using lightly floured hands. Cover and let rest 10 minutes on lightly floured surface.

Grease outside of six 8-ounce custard cups. Place cups upside down on ungreased cookie sheet. Divide dough into six equal pieces. Roll or pat each piece into 7-inch circle on lightly floured surface. Shape dough circles over outside of cups. Cover and let rise in warm place 15 to 20 minutes or until slightly puffy.

Heat over to 375°. Mix egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water: brush generously over bread bowls. Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. carefully lift bread bowls from custard cups-bread and cups will be hot. Cool bread bowls up right on wire rack.

*1 Bread Bowl: 204 calories (20 calories from fat); 2 g fat (0g saturated); 35 mg cholesterol; 360 mg sodium; 50g carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber); 7g protein.

**Success Tip: When placing the dough circle over the cup, do not let the dough curl under the edge of the cup. It will bake onto the edge of the cup and be difficult to remove.

Recipe Source:  Betty Crocker's Best Bread Machine Cookbook, page 190.

Knitting Quick Tip: Cast on Length

Here is a quick tip. When casting on a large number of stitches it can be difficult to know how much yarn will be needed. To make a good estimate, wrap the yarn around the needle to be used as many times as stitches need. For example, if you need to cast on 130 stitches, wrap the yarn around the needle 130 times. Then give yourself an additional inch or two.

Cake Pops

I love food on a stick. It is just more fun.

Ask anyone, they will tell you.

Especially if they are under the age of 10.

While web browsing one evening I came across one of the most amazing blogs:  Bakerella.  This incredibly creative person puts all sorts of desserts on a stick.  I have made many cookies on a stick over the past few years, thanks to my Wilton cookie pop pan, but the lovely things on this site put my cookies on a stick to shame.  The most intriguing item was cake pops.  After viewing these, I went to the store the next day to try it out.  My friend was having a birthday and it seemed like a fun gift.  The recipe as given works easily.  It is simple, and really fun to make.

My first attempt was a bouquet of balloons.

They were delicious.  

Then a few days later, I went to a Superbowl party.

They were a big hit.  Delicious, and cute.  Too bad my photography skills are shameful.  This picture does them little justice.  

These really are fun to make, and the possibilities are endless.  Hopefully in there will more of these in the future.

Ballerina Sweater Update: Gaining Momentum

Since the ballerina sweater debacle, my knitting momentum has been more or less non existent.  Only because my daughter so desires this sweater do I continue to push myself through the second iteration.  The back panel and two front panels have been successfully completed, and so far it seems the original design was too wide in the shoulders.  I was suspicious there was also error in the sleeves in the original design, and will begin the second try this evening.  Having the three largest pieces complete has boosted the morale, and the project is finally gaining momentum.

Artisian Bread Bowl Recipe

I have been a little crazy this past month, and have made bread bowls from scratch at least once a week. The Crock Pot Ham and Potato Soup is delicious in a bread bowl, and the husband has been perfecting his beer cheese soup skills, which is also amazing in a fresh bread bowl. 

Admittedly if you notice my backside a bit fuller, the bread bowls are the reason.

Until recently, my favorite recipe for bread bowls was from the Betty Crocker's Best Bread Machine Cookbook.  In fact, it was my only recipe.  The dough is easy to make in the bread machine, and it is easy to handle.  The bowl is formed by molding the dough over oven safe ramekins and baking.  They taste good, look cute, but are a bit small.  To try to make a slightly larger bowl I tried bigger ramekins, however the dough seemed to get stretched too thin on the bottom and not bake properly, or hold soup well. 

Next, I decided I would try to just form small round loaves with the dough,
 

and hollow them out.

This was better, however, the bread ended up a bit too chewy.

After a month of searching, baking, and eating, it has been decided that the following recipe is my favorite.

Artisan Bread Bowls

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
2 teaspoons yeast
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons oil
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water, enough to make a smooth, soft dough

Let yeast dissolve in warm water until creamy, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients—by hand, mixer or bread machine— and knead till you've created a smooth dough.

Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 45 minutes; it should become puffy. Divide the dough into 5-6 pieces, depending on how large you want your bread bowl to be. Roll each piece into a ball. Place on a lightly greased or parchment covered baking sheet.

Cover the bread bowls with greased plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours (or up to 24 hours); this step will give the bread bowls extra flavor, and a delightfully crisp-chewy texture. Two or more hours before serving, remove the bread bowls from the refrigerator. Uncover, and let them sit for about one hour while you preheat the oven to 425°F.

Just before baking, slash the top surface of the bowls several times with a sharp knife to allow them to expand. Bake for 22 to 28 minutes, until the bowls are deep brown, and sound hollow when thumped on the bottom. Remove from the oven, and cool on a rack.

I still use my bread machine to make the dough, thus skip the part crossed out.  This dough is a bit more challenging to handle, but the bowls come out beautiful, big, and delicious.

The next time you plan on making soup, give some homemade bread bowls a try.  They really bump up the fun factor.  Enjoy!

Tip:  These bowls also freeze well and are easy to reheat.  Thus they can be made whenever you have the time.

Snickerdoodles

This wonderful Snickerdoodle recipe comes from Books and Bites.  When I make cookies I always substitute half the butter for butter flavored Crisco.  So in this recipe I used 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco.  This substitution gives the perfect chewy to crunch ratio.

Once the dough was mixed, a scoop was used to make uniform balls.

The balls were then rolled in a cinnamon sugar mix, and placed on a cookie sheet to bake.

They came out looking scrumptious.

Just in case they weren't irresistible enough, I then dipped some of them into Wilton's chocolate candy.

And then, just in case they weren't fun enough, I put a few on a stick.  Everything is more fun on a stick.

A Stickerdoodle.  And yes, this is two cookies with a stick sandwiched between them, and chocolate acting as the glue.  

It really is quite obscene. 

My apologies.