Sock Yarn to Socks: Here we go!

Not too long after Christmas I picked up this beautiful, green, hand painted sock yarn from Yarns, Ect...

Cascade Yarns' Heritage is 75% merino superwash wool and 25% nylon:  I was determined to make myself a pair of luxurious socks.  However, other projects kept coming up, getting top priority.  There was the ballet sweater, the teddy bear, the baby hat, the wash cloths.  Oh how I went nuts making log cabin wash cloths for a while!  Every time a project was complete, I'd go to my yarn bin, pull out the sock yarn and say, "Okay, today is the day," then I'd hold it, love on it a little, then put it away.  I have now been sitting on this yarn for six months.  Perhaps I'm hoping if I sit on it just long enough it will eventually hatch into a pair of beautiful, luxurious socks in just my size.

The truth is, this yarn scares me to death.  Not only is it the most beautiful yarn I've owned, it is so very fine.  And then there are the sock needles:  so tiny!  I'm frightened of turning this gorgeous, hand painted yarn into a disaster.  So, I avoid it.  I make a few more wash cloths, another hat, and use up the last bit of cotton yarn in my stash. Yesterday when I went to the yarn stash, and said, "Self, today is the day,"  it made it out of the bin and onto the kitchen counter.

By the end of the evening, and many expletives later due to knots and tangles, it was a ball.

Since there is no time like the present to face one's fears, as putting such matters off indefinitely cannot be healthy, cast on has commenced.

Wish me patience, as it will be needed!

Veggie Subs Recipe

Be forewarned, this is a ridiculously large sandwich.  That being said, it is delicious, and packed full of veggies.  The whole family will eat it, and when I'm feeling particularly ambitious, homemade french bread is divinity.  This is the perfect solution at the end of one of those days when you realized you've consumed no veggies.

Start by slicing a small red onion, and put it into a large bowl.

Next, slice up  1/4 of a large red bell pepper and add it to the bowl.

Slice 1/2 of a green bell pepper and add it to the bowl.  This is where things start to get pretty.

Grab a couple of large portabello mushroom caps, wipe them down well with a wet paper towel, and remove the stems.  Then take a minute to admire them, for they are truly magnificent.  

Once your admiration is complete, slice them, and add them to the bowl.

Next in a separate bowl, whisk together 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon chopped garlic, 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground pepper, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning.  Add this to the bowl and toss.

 Let this sit for a few minutes while you preheat the oven to 400°, then sautee them over medium heat in a large skillet until the mushrooms are brown, and the veggies slightly soft.

While the veggies are cooking, shred some Monteray Jack cheese.  The pre-shredded  stuff just doesn't melt right, so take the time to put a block to the grater and you won't regret it.

To assemble the subs, take two small french loaves and cut them in half.  Next, cut the halves in half to make sub-like rolls.  Stuff the veggie mix into the bread and top with cheese.  Place the subs into the oven about three to five minutes to melt the cheese. Serve it with some baked chips, and call it a meal.

Veggie Subs

Prep Time:  15 minutes  Cook Time:  15 minutes  Servings:  4

Ingredients

1 small red onion
1/4 red bell pepper
1/2 green bell pepper
2 large portabello mushroom caps
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
2 to 4 ounces shredded Monteray Jack cheese
2 small french loaves

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Slice the vegetables and place them in a large bowl.  Mix the oil, vinegar, and seasoning in a separate bowl, then toss with the vegetables. 

Sautee the vegetables over medium heat until the vegetables are tender, and the mushrooms brown. 

Cut the french bread in half to make four sub rolls, and stuff each with the vegetable mixture and top with cheese.

Bake sandwich for three to five minutes until cheese is melted.

Mango Breakfast Smoothie Recipe

This fast and delicious smoothie is refreshing way to start the day.

Mango Breakfast Smoothie

Prep Time: 5 minutes  Cook Time: NA  Servings:  2

Ingredients

1 cup non-fat vanilla Greek yogurt
1 medium banana
2 Tablespoons ground flax seed*
1 cup frozen mango chunks
1 ounce mango nectar* *(Trader Joe's)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk

Preparation

Place all ingredients in a blender and mix well.  Use additional almond milk to achieve desired consistency.  
Enjoy.

*Almonds make a great substitute for flax seed.

**Orange juice makes a good substitute if mango nectar is not available, however the resulting smoothie will be less sweet.

Steaks on the Grill

It is the time of year that I try using our grill for every meal.  Okay, perhaps that is a slight exaggeration, lets say, every dinner.  The current mission is to see exactly what is grillable, because I think the answer to this is everything..One of the prettier meals recently consisted of grilled fillet mignon, large portabello mushrooms, asparagus, and onion. Sauteed onions and mushrooms are usually served with steak at our house, however I decided to see how the meal came together with them grilled instead.

All of the players were drizzled with olive oil, then seasoned with Kosher salt, course ground black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.

The grill was preheated to 500° and everything was arranged just so before turning the heat down to medium.  After two minutes with the lid closed, everything was rotated and cooked and additional two minutes to create the nice crisscross grill marks.  Everything was flipped, and repeated for the other side, for a total grilling time of 8 minutes.

The end result was a perfect medium steak, with delicious grilled veggies.

Fantastic No-Plan-Ahead Pizza Crust

Up until yesterday I was making pizza crust in my bread maker on the dough cycle, and it took 1.5 to 2 hours to complete.  It is very good, and worth the wait if you can remember 2 hours before you want to have dinner that you need to start it.

Frequently I don't remember then we order a pizza.

I was mentioning this to a dear friend a few days ago, when she asked why it took so long.  She then proceeded to give me her recipe, that takes 20 minutes from start to finish.

It sounded too good to be true.  So yesterday, I gave it a try.

This might be the reason we never order pizza ever again.

20 Minute Pizza Crust

Prep Time:  20 minutes   Cook Time: 15 minutes with toppings  Servings:  One large pizza

Ingredients

1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 425°.

In the bowl of a kitchen mixer combine water, yeast, and sugar with a fork.  Let stand for five minutes.

Next add the remaining ingredients, and mix with a dough hook until all ingredients are well blended, 3 to 5 minutes.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let sit in a warm place 10 minutes.

Press dough onto a lightly oiled pizza pan, or cookie sheet (the oil gives the crust extra crunch and prevents sticking) and top with your favorite toppings.  Bake for 15 minutes or until desired doneness.

So, what are your favorite homemade pizzas?  Leave a comment, I need ideas, as I have a strong desire to make pizza. 

This one in the photo is a BBQ Chicken Pizza.  I shredded two leftover teriyaki grilled chicken breast and mixed them with 2 cups of Trader Joe's Pizza Cheese Blend and a cup of BBQ sauce.  I spread that mix over the unbaked dough, put the rest of the bag of cheese on top, and baked for 15 minutes.  Delicious!

Knit Teddy Bear Project

After completing the ballerina wrap it was time for a fun and simple project.  There is a pattern in Simply Baby by Debbie Bliss that I have been wanting to try, however the pattern looked a bit intimidating.  After reading it over two or three times, I decided it wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought (flash back to chemistry labs!) and with some modifications, the perfect project.  After my less than satisfactory experience with the Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino yarn, I decided to head to my favorite local store Yarns Ect... to find a suitable substitute.  Looking through all the yarns I finally decided on two 50g ball Sublime Extra Fine Merino Wool in Fruitcake and one 50g ball of Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk in Vanilla. Once I started, I had so much fun, the bear was complete in no time.

Cast on Date:  April 22, 2010

Date of Completion:  May 10, 2010

As knit by me:


Materials
2 50g ball Sublime Extra Fine Merino Wool DK in Fruitcake
1 50g ball Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK in Vanilla
Pair of US size 5 knitting needles
Washable toy filling

Gauge
25 sts and 54 rows to a 4 inch square in garter stitch using US 5 needles


Abbreviations
m1- make one stitch.
k2tog- knit two stitches together
sskI-slip, slip, knit "improved"
kfb- knit into front and back of next stitch
tbl- through the back loop

Body (Back)
With size 5 needles cast on 22 stitches in fruitcake.
Knit 10 rows.
Continue in garter stitch and increase one stitch at each end of next row and 6 following 6th rows.  I uses a make one stitch.  36 stitches. 
Knit 7 rows.
Shape bottom
Next row: K1, sskI, k13, k2tog, sskI, k13, k2tog, k1.  32 stitches.
K1 row.
Next row: K1, sskI, k11, k2tog, sskI, k11, k2tog, k1.  28 stitches.
K1 row.
Next Row:  K2, sskI, k9, k2tog, sskI, k9, k2tog, k1.  24 stitches.
K1 row.
Continue decreasing 4 stitches ever other row in this way until 8 stitches remain.
K1 row.
Next row:  K1, sskI, k3tog, K1.
Next row: [k2tog] twice.
Next row: k2tog and fasten off.

Body (Front)
With size 5 needles cast on 22 stitches in fruitcake.
Knit 10 rows.
Continue in garter stitch and increase one stitch at the end of the next row and 3 following 6th rows.  Use the same method of increase as used on the back.  I used make one stitch.  30 stitches.
Knit 2 rows.
Belly color contrast
Next row:  k14, change color to vanilla and k2, change color to fruitcake and k14
Knit 1 row using correct color pattern in previous row.
Next row:  k13, change color to vanilla and k4, change back to fruitcake and k 13
Knit 1 row using correct color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k1, m1, k11, change color to vanilla k6, change back to fruitcake k11, m1, k1. 32 stitches.
Knit 1 row using correct color pattern in previous row.
Next row:  k12, change to vanilla k8, change to fruitcake, k12
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k11, change to vanilla k10, change to fruitcake, k11.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k1, m1, k9, change to vanilla k12, change to fruitcake, k9, m1, k1.  34 stitches.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k12, change to vanilla k10, change to fruitcake, k12.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k13, change to vanilla k8, change to fruitcake, k13.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k1, m1, k13, change to vanilla k6, change to fruitcake k13, m1, k1.  36 stitches.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k16, change to vanilla k4, change to fruitcake k16.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k17, change to vanilla k2, k17.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k36 using fruitcake.
Knit 1 row.
Shape bottom

Next row: K1, sskI, k13, k2tog, sskI, k13, k2tog, k1.  32 stitches.
K1 row.
Next row: K1, sskI, k11, k2tog, sskI, k11, k2tog, k1.  28 stitches.
K1 row.
Next Row:  K2, sskI, k9, k2tog, sskI, k9, k2tog, k1.  24 stitches.
K1 row.
Continue decreasing 4 stitches ever other row in this way until 8 stitches remain.
K1 row.
Next row:  K1, sskI, k3tog, K1.
Next row: [k2tog] twice.
Next row: k2tog and fasten off.


Head
With US size 5 needles cast on 32 sts with fruitcake.
Knit 2 rows.
Next row: [kfb, k6, kfb] 4 times. 40 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [kfb, k8, kfb] 4 times.  48 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [kfb, k10, kfb] 4 times.  56 sts.
Knit 30 rows.
Next row: [sskI, k10, k2tog] 4 times.  48 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [sskI, k8, k2tog] 4 times.  40 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [sskI, k6, k2tog] 4 times.  32 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Continue to decrease in this pattern until 16 sts remain.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [sskI, k2tog] 4 times. 8 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [sskI, k2tog] twice.  4 sts.
Cut yarn, and pull through remaining stitches to gather.

Snout
With US size 5 needles cast on 36 sts in vanilla.
Knit 10 rows.
Next row: *k1, k2tog; repeat from * to end.  24 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [k2tog] to end.  12 sts.
Knit 1 row. 
Cut yarn and pull through remaining stitches to gather.

Legs
Make 2 pieces.
With US size 5 needles cast on 8 sts in vanilla.
Knit 20 rows for the bottom of foot.
Continue in garter st and cast on 14 sts at beginning of next 2 rows.  36 sts.
Knit 6 rows.
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of next 10 rows.  26 sts.
Change to fruitcake and knit 30 rows.
Next row: k5, sskI, k2tog, k8, sskI, k2tog, k5.  22 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k4, sskI, k2tog, k6, sskI, k2tog, k4.  18 sts.  
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k3, sskI, k2tog, k4, sskI, k2tog, k3.  14 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2, sskI, k2tog, k2, sskI, k2tog, k2.  10 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k1, sskI, k2tog, sskI, k2tog, k1.  6 sts.
Next row: [k2tog]  3 times.
Next row: k3tog and fasten off.

Arms
Make 2 pieces.
With US size 5 needles cast on 4 sts in vanilla.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [kfb] 3 times, k1.  7 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [kfb] 6 times, k1. 13 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [kfb] 12 times, k1.  25 sts.
Change to fruitcake and knit 36 rows.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k8, k2tog, k1, k2tog tbl, k8, k2tog.  21 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k6, k2tog, k1, k2tog tbl, k6, k2tog.  17 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k4, k2tog, k1, k2tog tbl, k4, k2tog.  13 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k2, k2tog, k1, k2tog tbl, k2tog.  9 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k2tog, k1, k2tog tbl, k2tog.  5 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k1, k2tog.  3 sts.
Next row: k3tog and fasten off.

Ears
Make 2 pieces
With US size 5 needles cast on 13 sts.
Knit 4 rows.
Decrease 1 st at each end of next row and 3 following alternate rows.  5 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Increase 1 st at each end of next row and 3 following alternate rows.  13 sts.
Knit 4 rows.
Bind off.

Finishing
Sew two body pieces together, leaving the shoulders (cast on edges) open.  Evenly fill with washable toy filling then sew seam.  Sew back seam of head, leaving the neck (cast on edge) open.  Evenly fill with stuffing.  Sew snout seam, leaving cast on edge open.  Position and sew to the head, filling lightly.   Sew bas of head to the shoulders.  Fold each ear in half and sew to the head.  Sew the front seam of each leg, then sew the bottom of foot into place, leaving a small opening .  Evenly fill each leg with filling, sew closed, and sew to body. Sew each arm seam leaving a small opening.  Fill each arm and sew closed.  Sew arms to body.  Make eyes, nose, and mouth from felt or yarn and sew firmly in place.

Menu Planning Monday, Week of 5/10/2010

I plan my menu every week, however I frequently forget to post it.  For those of you interested this is what is being served up this week.

Monday:  Banana Pancakes (recipe to post), Pasta Leftover, Flying Saucer $3.00 Pint Night

Tuesday:   Mango Smoothie (recipe to post), Lunch Sandwich, Rosemary Chicken Pizza
Wednesday:  Oatmeal with almond milk, Hummus Wraps, Mediterranean Omelet (recipe to post)
Thursday:  Cereal and milk, Chef Salad, Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Apricot Sauce
Friday:  Oatmeal with almond milk, left overs, dinner at a friend's house
Saturday:  Cereal and Milk, Lunch Sandwich, Crock Pot Meat Sauce and Pasta with a side salad
Sunday:  Waffles, Hummus Lunch, Crock Pot Chili (recipe to post)