pasta

Friday Roundup: Back in the Groove

What I’m Knitting:

I’ve been doing a whole lot of planning and swatching this week for two designs. One is for a submission that I can’t show you, but the other is a hat to match the Mystic Falls Mitts I released last fall. These ones (did I ever show off the final pics here? I lose track of these things…):

I knew I wanted the hat to have a similar feel, but not quite the same pattern. The mitts were an experiment in yarn dominance and required switching the dominant yarn halfway through the back colorwork. Since I’d have to do much more than two panels on the hat, switching yarns all the time could get really annoying, really fast. So I’m scrapping that idea for the hat and focusing on getting the colorwork swirls along with the square check pattern on the palms in there.

My swatch has been ripped out a few times and doesn’t look like much at the moment, but here’s an idea of how it might look (as long as I like the way the swatch comes out!):

What I’m Cooking

Remember the tasty vegan alfredo that I forgot to take a picture of last week? Well, I liked it so much that I made it again this week. Over some gluten-free pasta and veggies with some garlic bread on the side, it was delicious:

For my weekly meal-for-a-crowd, I made shepherd’s pie with a new recipe, one that used parsnips (really good!) and skipped the lentils. The big revelation was the vegan, gluten-free gravy I tried out to go on top. I figured it wouldn’t be that great, but it ended up being delicious! (Not the greatest picture, but you get the idea.)

What I’m Reading

I finished the first book in a new YA series this week, The Naturals. It was really good, and I’ve already snagged the second one so I can keep going.

Friday Roundup: Thankful

What I’m Knitting

As promised, I’m knitting away on other designers’ patterns for the Indie Designer Gift-A-Long! I finished my Cascada Mitts—didn’t they come out beautifully?

I was planning to keep them for myself… but the stash yarn I chose just happens to be my sister-in-law’s favorite color, and I think she’d love these. So they’re going to her, and I’ll just have to knit another pair for myself.

Here are the FO specs:

Pattern: Cascada Mitts by Karen Troyer Ladman

Yarn: Cephalopod Traveller in Finger Lakes, about 1/2 of a skein (left over from my Concord Vest)

Notes: This is my favorite kind of gift knitting—simple enough so the pattern is easily memorized, but complicated enough to keep the interest and attention. I didn’t even have second mitt syndrome on these!

I’ve also discovered that Magic Loop is my absolute favorite way to knit mitts, although I tend to prefer DPNs for sleeves. Separating the mitt into two pieces (instead of 3 or 4 with DPNs) tends to work better, since there’s usually patterning on the back and stockinette or a simpler pattern on the palm.

I’ve started the next pattern on my Gift-A-Long list, an adorable aviator hat for my son. More about that next week!

What I’m Cooking

Whew, a whole lot of stuff, thanks to US Thanksgiving being yesterday and us hosting dinner for 15 people! I did manage one recipe from my low-fat vegan cookbook challenge, but then all bets were off when the big day rolled around, haha.

Here’s a cauliflower ricotta lasagna from the cookbook (forgot to get a pic while it looked all pretty, oops):

And the few things I managed to get pictures of on Thanksgiving Day (there was a lot going on!):

For an appetizer, I made tiny deviled potatoes. I bought a cheap pastry bag and tip to pipe in the filling, and they tasted as good as they looked:

I made roasted balsamic Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, and zucchini gratin for the main meal, which you can kind of see in this pic of my plate (along with my mom’s fantastic marinated fake meat turkey loaf!):

And for dessert, I made two kinds of apple pie, which went perfectly with the four other kinds(!) brought by other guests:

It was a fabulous meal and a fun night with family and friends. We’re still enjoying delicious leftovers. :-)

What I’m Reading

My friend Amy Reichert’s book released this summer and I’m finally getting a chance to read it! Lots of fun and yummy food so far.

Friday Roundup: A Finished Vest and a Ridiculously Cute Model

What I’m Knitting

I finished the vest, woohoo! I conscripted my son for a photoshoot and actually had a really hard time choosing which of these photos to use to show it off. Sometimes I can’t believe this adorable guy is actually my son and not a retouched Gerber baby, seriously.

I’m really pleased with the way the vest came out! Sizing it will be a little bit of a challenge, since the cable pattern I used on the chest has about a 3.5″ vertical repeat, but I should still be able to offer it in at least 4-5 different baby/child sizes.

Here are the specs on the FO:

Pattern: My own, to be released in the (hopefully) near future!

Yarn: Good for Ewe Claddagh in Leprechaun Green, about 1.5 skeins. I was worried about running out of yarn, because most of the sport-weight vests I found on Ravelry called for 350 yds and up and I only had 328 yds. But somehow I still have a half-skein left. No idea how that happened.

Notes: I’m really in love with this construction. Knitting the cable strip is fun and easy, and it was so portable at this stage that I could just throw it in my purse and go. And since a third of the knitting had been finished, knitting down from the strip and then up for the top felt like they went ridiculously quickly.

What I’m Cooking

I started with some yummy oatmeal raisin muffins for Saturday morning breakfast:

And then some banana french toast, made vegan by using a flaxseed mixture instead of eggs since we don’t usually have eggs in the house. It was delicious! I used this recipe. Totally making this again—I really like that it didn’t have any added sugar but was still nice and sweet from the bananas. We didn’t even need syrup.

On the cookbook challenge, I knocked out another two recipes this week. First up, lentil chipotle burgers! I had never made my own veggie burgers before, so this was kind of a challenge for me. But beyond them being a little crumbly, I did a pretty good job. And even the crumbly ones tasted delicious.

And finally, pasta with mushrooms, red onions, and edamame pesto. Very tasty. The addition of the edamame to the pesto means you don’t have to use much oil at all. Brilliant!

What I’m Reading

I’m on to the last book in the Tiffany Aching series, The Shepherd’s Crown. I have to hurry, because my husband is reading the series too and he’s only one book behind me!

Friday Roundup: New Recipes and Half a Mitt

What I’m Knitting

The colorwork mitt is chugging along! Gone are the days when I could have finished something like this in a few days of knitting, sigh, but at least I’m nearly done with the thumb gusset now:

I’m using my Knit Picks Harmony interchangeables to work the Magic Loop technique for these mitts. Normally I prefer DPNs for hand stuff, but getting the colorwork floats the right tension at the edges of all those needles is a nightmare. The cord on these needles is so flexible that they’re really nice for Magic Loop.

What I’m Cooking

Lots of stuff from the new cookbook I got (Appetite for Reduction). I love this cookbook so much that I’m actually contemplating working my way through the entire thing, Julia & Julia style. My husband’s on board—it’ll mean we try a bunch of new-to-us ingredients and tastes, so it should be fun!

This is a low-fat wine sauce over pasta, with (delicious) vegan eggplant “bacon” on top:

And these are sweet potato biscuits, a clever recipe that replaces nearly all of the butter/shortening usually found in biscuits with mashed sweet potato:

They were perfect with this kale, quinoa, potato, and white bean stew:

And last but not least, this AMAZING tortilla soup. Holy cow, was this yummy.

I did have a little mishap with this one. It called for a couple of jalapeños, which I’ve cooked with before without any problems. But somehow I got some of the juice underneath a couple of my fingernails… and they were on FIRE for the whole rest of the day. I cut the nails short, scrubbed them with an old toothbrush, soaked them in soapy water, used rubbing alcohol—nothing helped. It finally wore off on its own overnight, but yikes. Think I’ll wear some gloves next time I cut hot peppers.

What I’m Reading

I just finished a re-read of one of my favorite books, by my favorite author: The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. The last book in the series is coming out in a few months (very bittersweet for me, because the author passed away a few months ago and this is the last new book of his I’ll ever read). I decided to re-read the previous four books before the new one.

Friday Roundup: Two FOs!

What I’m Knitting:

Remember the sneak peek of the blue yarn from a few weeks ago? Well, the yarn (Knit Picks Preciosa Tonal) has now been released, so I can show my new FOs off properly.

Here are the specs:

Patterns: My own Give ‘Em the Slip Set, modified slightly for the different row gauge of the Preciosa as compared to the original Malabrigo Worsted.

Yarn: Knit Picks Preciosa Tonal in Maritime, 1 skein for both (with a generous amount left over!). This yarn is yummy! It’s very much like Malabrigo Worsted, but slightly lighter–and with more generous yardage as a result. I love that I got both parts of the set from a single skein.

Notes: I wrote these patterns and knit the original samples three and a half years ago, when I was just a baby designer. They were only the third and fourth patterns I published. It was kind of fun to knit from something I wrote so long ago and see that it was well-written and error-free. Not to toot my own horn too much, but I think that’s pretty cool. :-)

What I’m Cooking:

I snapped up some shiitake mushrooms on sale this week, so we had a sort of vegan pasta carbonara:

The day job has still been crazy, so I was looking for quick meal ideas mid-week. In the grand tradition of taking something pre-made and making it my own, I started with this:

Added a whole bunch of green veggies:

And ended up with a tasty and healthy meal!

I also made a double batch of our favorite vegan queso. This stuff is OUTSTANDING. Cashew cream, miso, nutritional yeast, veggie broth, and spices are blended together and cooked up with fresh onions and jalepeños. We put it together with some sautéed bell peppers and other fixings on corn tortillas:

What I’m Reading:

Don’t you hate it when life gets crazy the moment you start a good book? I’m still working on THE INQUISITOR’S MARK, but not because I don’t like it–in fact, I’m frustrated every time I have to put it down! Ah well, at least it means I get to savor the book longer.

Friday Roundup: Comfort Knitting and Comfort Food

What I’m Knitting:

I’m almost finished with my Transposed baby hat in the adult size.

It’s such relaxing knitting–an easy colorwork pattern that I’ve already knit before, so no surprises. This skein of Malabrigo Rios in Pocion is the kind of crazy colorway I usually wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole, but I LOVE the way it’s working up in this hat.

What I’m Cooking:

Lots of comfort food this week! I started with a nice goopy stir fry (love me some thick, glossy sauce):

Early in the week I was craving pasta, so I made some roasted red pepper sauce and poured it over quinoa-corn pasta. We’re not a gluten-free household, but I was happy to discover this GF pasta that’s much more tasty than any other kind I’ve tried. Sometimes you don’t want a whole plate full of wheat, y’know?

The leftovers were delicious over some steamed broccoli the next day:

A few days ago, I had to come up with something to cook for a crowd that included vegans and GF people… so I decided to make the same thing! This time I threw in lots of veggies, though. With fake parmesan cheese (raw cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and salt pulsed in the food processor), a salad and crusty bread, it was deeelicious.

The last vestiges (I hope!) of winter are making themselves felt here in Indiana today, so I’m planning a big pot of hearty stew. Can’t have enough of that, right?

What I’m Reading:

I just finished Stormbreaker yesterday. I wasn’t a huge fan–it was like one of those loud action movies in book form, although it was decently written. Today I’m starting Greenglass House by Kate Milford, because I keep seeing rave reviews. I want to know what all the fuss is about!