winter squash

i’ve been known to be a picky eater.  my relationship with vegetables is tenuous at best.  i used to hate them all, but i’m slowly learning to enjoy some of them.

last fall, one of my coworkers had me over for dinner and made a really delicious and simple squash.  i loved it at the time, then promptly forgot about it.  when i saw all the lovely acorn squash at the farmer’s market last sunday, i thought i may as well give it a go.

the results, delicious.

and easy.  i cut the squash in half and scooped out the pulp.  then place a pat of butter and a teaspoon of yummy wild berry honey (from sweet as can bee honey farm) in the center.  baked at 400 degrees for an hour.  i probably could have cooked it a tiny bit less as the edges charred a bit.

one super helpful tip i found online was to give the squash a couple pokes with a fork and nuke it for two minutes.  this made it much easier to cut the squash in half.

i also saved the seeds and toasted them w/ a little olive oil, salt, and ground cumin.  17 minutes at 275 degrees and they are just right.

i’ll definitely be exploring squash a bit more.  any ideas or recipes?

i made an awesome sweater

rosamund’s cardigan from interweave knits, fall 2009.  details here on ravelry.

handmade candy corn: some things are better left to the experts

i haven’t been a big fan of halloween since i was a kid.  as an adult i never enjoyed the pressure, yes pressure, of coming up with a good costume.  but, the one thing i absolutely L.O.V.E about halloween is candy corns.  little, sugary triangles of deliciousness.

this year, since i’m all about trying to make things for myself, i wondered if i could possibly make my own candy corns.  seemed crazy, right?  of course, on the internets you can find out how to make pretty much anything.

after sifting through what google had to offer, i settled on this recipe posted in the washington post and gathered all the necessary provisions.

the results…

aren’t they cute little fellas?

they are seriously delicious.  i could not imagine anything more yummy than a store bought candy corn, but these way beyond.  incredible creamy sugary-ness with a slight vanilla flavor.

however, complete pain in the ass!  the research i had done warned me that once the dough started cooling it would get hard quickly.  and it did, very, very fast.  my hands were aching and sore and the dough was barely pliable by the time i got the color incorporated.  i was able to manhandle about half the dough into the “corn kernels.”   there is no frickin’ way i could have worked fast enough to use all the dough.  once i was satisfied that i did, indeed, have some pretty kernel shaped candies, i decide to screw it and just cut the dough into bite sized chunks.

the bite sized chunks are just as tasty as the kernels, but everybody knows you’ve got to eat them by nibbling off one color at a time!  not having that option really does take away from the experience.

they were SO GOOD tho.  i’ll probably do a little more research to see if anyone has come up with a solution and try it again sometime.  next halloween, when the bruises on my hands have finally disappeared.

today’s farmer’s market haul

sundays in the fall are usually reserved for football and knitting.  all.  day.  long.  i don’t get to the farmer’s market much this time of year.  but, since the seahawks were unbearable to watch this morning, i decided to make a quick run to the west seattle farmer’s market.  it was a great day to visit the market; i’d forgotten how much i love fall produce.

whenever i hit the market, i can’t believe how much fantastic stuff i can get for $20.  today i picked up a big jar of honey, one each of four different types of pears, a couple of pounds of sweet potatoes, a pound of poblano peppers, and a couple acorn squash.  tonight i’ll be cruising the internet looking for recipes.  yay!

birthday, birthday!

friday was my birthday and i had some really good fun.

the cutest, funniest husband ever made me a delicious dinner of homemade macaroni and cheese.  he used the recipe from a local restaurant, the icon grille.  everything should have molten cheese sauce on it!

the next day, jess and i headed up to bellingham to continue the celebration.  we both got our bachelors at western and have some great (and some crazy, embarrassing!) memories of the place.

first stop, casa que pasa for the most delish burritos in the northwest.  i love the potatoe; jess likes the rancho.  we both crave these on a regular basis and try to make a trip to bellingham once every six months or so to get our fix.  pan friend potatoe cubes with beans, cheese, and an amazing sauce.  to die for i tell you.

we also did a little shopping.  our main stop was texture.  we both have at least three of the awesome comfy skirts handmade with organic fibers from texture.  they are so comfortable and cute.  i picked up a black one for winter.  although they are based in bellingham, texture has a booth at the ballard farmer’s market pretty much every weekend.

to keep it crafty, i picked up a couple knitting books at village books:  itty bitty toys by susan b. anderson and the knitter’s book of wool by clara parkes.  i can’t wait to crack into them.

then we hit up tony’s coffee to get our fix for the trip back home.

it was such a fun day.  i still love bellingham.  birthday’s are the best!  i do, however, have a wicked food hangover from all the mac and cheese and giant burrito.  oh well, i guess you only turn 35 once.  yikes!

little owls

i have a well documented love of handmade and bird related jewelry.  i just discovered an awesome etsy seller, lulubug, who does absolute beautiful work with precious metal clay.  i haven’t purchased anything from her, but i’m in love with this fabulous little owl.

sweet crafty link

Check out the awesome projects over at Craftastrophe.  Of course the knitter in me loves this.  I hear that the slankets are sold out, and this is only $349.

Thanks to my bud, Sarah, for passing on the ridiculousness.

lace kacaling and more wips

i’ve been neglecting my blog in lieu of gym and/or knitting time.  two things i very much need right now, but the wips and fos are backing up.

my knitting buddies over on the sundara yarn love group on ravelry just finished up a lace kacal.  we coined this activity as a kacal, “knit and crochet a long” as to not neglect our crocheting counterparts.  we had so much fun and so many finished beautiful, inspiring projects.  the encouragement of the kacal got me to finally complete my moon dance stole.

(Ravel It!)
Pattern:  Moon Dance Stole by Pink Lemon Twist
Yarn:  Sundara Silk Lace in Black over Fuchsia
Needles:  US 4 Bryspun Flex circs

this project took a really long time to complete.  i think i cast on way back in february.  the actual knitting time wasn’t too bad.  i just never focused on it exclusively; knitting a few rows a week until it was finally done.  honestly, i don’t have much to say about it.  it is one of those projects that i worked on for so long i’m kind of over it.

i also have a couple of new lace wips.  they both may take me just as long as the moon dance to complete.

cleopatra wrap by mariam felton from sensual knits in sundara silk crushed cherries colourway

peacock feather and tail scarf by nancy bush from (her fabulous new book) knitted lace of estonia in sundara sock colourway morning mimosa

both really great projects, but i’m going to save the details for another later post.;)

nakniswemo! and, go vote!

kick ass link of the day…check out this great sarah palin tribute sweater on the little red blog of revolutionary knitting.  crude and clever at the same time.  i love it.

on to my more mainstream style of knitting, i’ve decided to participate in NaKniSweMo this year.  this, for those of you who say that my blog is like reading the foreign language of knitters, is the annual “national knit a sweater in a month” event.

i’ve picked a project that seems pretty quick, the february lady sweater.  yarn of choice is dream in color classy in the colorway cloud jungle.

i’ve been admiring this color for quite a while, mostly because it is a bit odd. slightly variegated with every color you can possibly imagine. in the end though, it comes out looking most gray, and i love a good gray sweater.

my swatch grew like nobodies business, so i decided to go ahead and knit a size down. the whole thing is pretty nerve wracking. i’ve knit down to just a few repeats in to the lace and this is one tight ass sweater right now. if it stretches and grows as much as my swatch, i’ll be in good shape. if not…ugh! my knitting history has given me very little faith in swatching. thus far, my knitting success has actually been greater for sweaters where i’ve cheated on the swatching.

fo: nightshade cowl

after a little time off from blogging, i have a little parade of FOs to share.  the dreary seattle weather is making photographs difficult these days, so today i’ll just post a little one.

(Ravel It!)
pattern: darkside cowl by sarah fama
yarn: sundara sock yarn in deadly nightshade
needles: US 8 circs

the yarn is the from the most recent sundara seasons winter shipment.  called “deadly nightshade” it is a gorgeous variegated purple, varying from deep, mysterious plum to a lighter, icy lavender.  i was a little unsure what to do with it as it is pretty highly variegated, not something i like for larger projects.  so, i thought a cute, cozy cowl would be perfect.

the darkside cowl turned out to be a great choice.  i held the yarn double to get the an appropriate gauge.  it is really warm and cozy.  the stitch pattern is super squishy and stretchy, so gauge isn’t really all that important.

i’m really happy with the way this turned out.  great use of a single skein of sock yarn, and i’m always looking for uses for sock yarn that don’t involve knitting socks.  i think i’ve worn it every day since i finished.