Getting More Crafty

Knitting is something that I always seem to do in spurts. I will do it for a month and then put it down and forget where I was entirely. That is why my next project is one that I could finish before I go back to school at the end of January. I had started knitting a small wristlet from the book Boutique Knits by Laura Irwin using a skein of red yarn I had bought from the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival over the summer, but the skein was not long enough and I had to start over. Luckily, I had bought this Manos del Uruguay yarn to start another project the day before...and started up again right away...   

I always feel good about buying Manos Del Uruguay because it is Certified Fair Trade and is handspun by rural women in Uruguay. But it is a little tricky to use because it does not come in dye lots. Because of the artisan-like style that the yarn is dyed, the solid-colored yarns can have a large variation in color. My mom ending up making a striped scarf out of some yarn from them after trying to make a sweater and ending up with a line in the middle where the color had changed suddenly. 

Merry Christmas

It's been a while since I posted. Two big food holidays have passed and much food has been made.

There were carrot cake cupcakes...

There was a cake for Thanksgiving...

And some mini holiday fruit pies...

As well as a "College" Thanksgiving...

...and two pre-Christmas dinners with friends...

One of my roommates gave me a HUGE Martha Stewart Cookbook for Christmas, and Christmas Eve Dinner consisted of her glazed carrots and striped sea bass...I still have to upload those...

At first I was unsure how much I could really use Martha's book because a lot of recipes seemed unapproachable, but now that I have tried two of them...Glazed Carrots with Whole Spices and Rosemary:

and Roasted Sea Bass:

The carrots are definitely going to be repeated, and the Sea Bass was pretty good too - although the fennel and white wine did little to add to the flavor. I think the cookbook is just right of amount of challenge to help me learn new things.

I have said before how I am a fan of going to company websites to find recipes... well while we were snowed in last weekend we made white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies with the ghiradelli recipe and they were delicious...

Apples to Apples: Braeburn

Stats

Color(Skin): Streaky/Blotchy Pale Red

Color(Meat): Pale Yellow-Green

Skin: Waxy, Thin

Meat Texture: Dense, not grainy, but almost

Flavor: Sweet with hint of bitter

Sweetness: Medium

Shape: Tall, thicker on top, narrowing to base

Weight: 9 oz

Price: $1.19

Additional Comments

- A little difficult to cut
- Did not stand out as amazing, but was not bad either

College Students are kind of like Pilgrims, right?

One of my good friends is going to Paris over Thanksgiving break, and I promised her I would make her a Thanksgiving dinner to make up for the one she will miss. There definitely has to be turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy. Pumpkin pie is also a possibility if there is time. In order to make this dinner without missing class I am breaking the preparation up into phases.

Phase 1: Weekend Before

-Celery and Onion Stuffing: My mom's classic stuffing is just a cup of onion and celery per serving, the instructions are on the bag. If the stuffing has actually been inside the turkey it can last for a few days in the fridge and I think the condensation from the plastic wrap adds moisture, somehow.

-Cranberry Sauce: I have never made this before but Alton Brown always makes recipes in a classic sort of way, and classic seems to be the theme.

Phase 2: Day/Night Before

-Cook Turkey: My turkey is coming from Whole Foods, but I think the most important thing is that it has a plastic popper to tell you when it's done cooking. Even a small turkey takes several hours, so I will put it in the oven as soon as I get back from class the night before and refridgerate it over night.

Phase 3: Day of the Meal

-Bake sweet potatoes: My friend is in charge of sweet potatoes; she covers them in maple syrup, brown sugar and mini marshmellows -delicious!

-Make instant gravy: Because it's necessary, but a pain to make.

-Buy fresh bread: Optional, but I think every good meal could use some good bread.

Dinner is planned for Wednesday night, so I will be recording all my problems and successes for the first thanksgiving dinner in my own apartment.

Comparing Apples to Apples: A Fall Series

With the wide variety of apples available in any and every supermarket, inquiring minds want to know if we should stick by our old standbys or try something new. This series will go through at least 13 varieties of apples and evaluate them according to their texture, color, flavor, shape, cost and any other ridiculous property I can think of. My boyfriend and I bought these yesterday and over the next few days we will be doing taste tests and I will post our findings.

A Repeat Performance

A few weeks ago, I made up a recipe for squash casserole. Today, I made it again, except this time I used 3/4 of the milk it asks for and I used a much smaller casserole dish. Now that I think I have finalized the recipe I am going to officially post it, and it's nutrition info - of course!

Zucchini Casserole

Serves 2 Hungry people
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes


Ingredients

1 Zucchini, sliced
2 Cremini Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 can of condensed cream of potato soup
~1 cup 2% milk
2 cups pepperidge farm stuffing
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 Tbsp butter


Directions

1. Saute onions and celery until brown, add zucchini and mushroom


2. Heat up cream of potato soup (in the microwave or on the stove, see the directions on the can), adding only enough milk to fill the can 3/4 of the way


3. Pour veggies into casserole dish, preferably small and deep


4. Pour soup over top of the veggies, and bake at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes while the stuffing is prepared


5. Make stuffing in a saucepan with the broth, butter and stuffing


6. Take dish out of the oven, pour stuffing over top and bake for another 15 minutes


7. Serve!















Nutrition Info














Compare these values to the recomendations for a woman ages 19-30:

• Estimated Energy Expenditure: 2403 calories/day


• Amount from 1 serving: 18.8%


• Fat (g): 27 g or less


• Amount from 1 serving: 37%


• Saturated Fat (g): 9 g or less


• Amount from 1 serving: 56%


• Sodium: 1500 mg/day


• Amount from 1 serving: 143%


• Fiber: 25 g/day


• Amount from 1 serving: 32%
  

Hmmm... Not as healthy as I was hoping. I think the salt content could go waayyyyyy down, and the fat leaves something to be desired. I guess this is not the last word after all....I will be back with some calorie-cutting methods to make one of my favorite new dishes a better frequent flyer :)

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Meringue

My first attempt at lemon meringue pie was only passable. But at least I can tell you WHY my meringue was nonexistent!
1. Even the slightest bit of yolk will prevent foam formation - naturally there was the slightest bit in mine I could not fish out
2. Once the foam has started to form peaks (it's ready), it should be poured immediately on top of the filling and thrown in the oven to achieve maximum volume
3. More egg whites would have helped too...apparently two are not enough to significantly cover a 9'' pie
All of which I knew from food science but failed to apply.

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