this and that

Wouldn’t it be lovely to start the new year with an empty wips basket? I am trying to get at least all of my lingering socks finished by then. The above pair was a fun knit. The yarn is Felici in the Spring Blooms colorway and the pattern is a free one on Ravelry called the ifthen socks. It is a simple and lovely pattern for self-striping yarns. I modified the pattern slightly by omitting the eyelets for the back of the leg.



I celebrated a birthday a few weeks ago! It was a wonderful day filled with all of my favorite things: family, food, knitting and yarny presents (of course!)



I had the hubby buy me an extra special present from MustStash yarns. Aren’t the colors gorgeous!?! Can’t wait to dive into these as a special reward for getting the sock wips finished.



We are finally experiencing proper autumn weather with the temps dropping into the 50’s. It’s been lovely getting to bundle up in handknit sweaters and socks again. Not to mention putting all of my favorite cold weather dishes back into the dinner rotation: chili’s, stews, soups and casseroles. It’s been fun choosing a different casserole to cook every Wednesday, with the added bonus of having plenty of leftovers for the following day’s lunch. My favorite recipes are the simple ones that instruct you to dump everything but the kitchen sink into your largest casserole dish, sprinkle in a ton of shredded cheese and bake for 30 minutes. It’s the comfort food of my childhood since my mom learned how to cook “American food” from old church recipe books :)

What are you guys whipping up lately? Any favorite fall dishes or casserole suggestions?

5 things on friday

Why hello there! Can't believe that it's already October, my favorite month of the year. I've been having a little case of writer's block for the past few weeks so I'm hoping to jumpstart the words by writing a list of things that are making me feel all of the good fall time vibes:

Halloween Pixel Rise socks. So gruesomely fun to knit, especially when using the frankensocks Halloween edition kit by Havirland. She's a talented indie yarn dyer based here in Maryland.

Midori Traveler's Notebook. This is the planner/ journal/ scrapbook of my dreams! Even though I love the culture & style of the hobonichi planners, it was a total fail. Mainly because all of the pages are dated (of course they are! It's a daily planner duh!) which meant that I felt pressured to write something down every day. And of course I fell behind and ended up with a lot of blank pages. Which caused more guilt and avoidance etc etc. But the neat thing about the MTN is that it has different paper inserts which you can choose to customize it to your journaling/planning style. The inserts are easily removable and you can combine several different ones in the notebook. (Mine are all non-dated). All of which is held together by a beautiful leather cover which seems to get wonderfully aged with use. It feels good to be excited about journaling again.

Rhinebeck socks. No I'm not going. But a girl can dream. And wear cute stripey fall socks while she's at it.

A new weeknight mealtime game plan. One of my favorite food bloggers has just come out with her first ebook. It is filled with easy weeknight dinner recipes paired with the perfect side dishes for each. Also includes lots of yummy desserts. I think that my two guys are even more excited about this book than I am since they gobble up everything that I've ever cooked from Mel's website.

My favorite hangout spot (trader joe's) + my favorite month = everything pumpkin.

Hope that you are finding lots of reasons to celebrate this beautiful season!

on the verge

the view from terrapin beach, a mile's walk from my house

Summer around these parts includes lots of trips to the ocean which is happily less than two hours away. Even though we are lucky to have several beautiful local beaches here on the island, there's just something so compelling about the vast expanse of sand and sea and the pounding waves only to be found at the shore. Plus there's the boardwalk fries, ice cream, fudge and salt water taffy. I am missing it already! Also love all the beach knitting that was achieved while we were there last week and now I am finding myself on the verge of finishing a couple of projects:

just the bind off & blocking left on the Shetland Trader MKAL shawl

hitofude cardigan

Can't wait to get started on a couple of new projects as soon as these are done. I've got the yarn already lined up for a Morning Mist tee. Simple stockinette with a cute lace detail on the back. Perfect beach knitting project.

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July weekend for those of you who celebrate. I just ordered my first grill and can't wait to try all of the yummy summer recipes that I've been collecting over the years. Grilled pineapples...chicken kebabs...flank steaks....! What is your favorite thing to cook on the grill? Would love any recipe suggestions/links you might have.

seasonal goals :: winter

One of my favorite things to do in January is to read about everyone's resolutions and goals for the year ahead. So many wonderful intentions and inspiring ideas. I love the feeling of having a blank journal just waiting to be filled up. This year, I have decided to set seasonal goals instead of year long ones. Hopefully, thinking in the short term will result in more success and most importantly, be more fun!

So here are my goals for the next couple of months:

❄ Be more adventurous in the kitchen and start cooking recipes from my large collection of cookbooks. At least two new recipes a week. Different variations of spaghetti does not count.
❄ Start a recipe journal or box. Write down the ones that are tried and true family favorites for future generations to gush over.
❄ Work on Vietnamese language skills at least 30 minutes a day in preparation for my upcoming visit in March.
❄ Finish the following WIP's: Pine bough cowl, Amanda cardigan, Kraken pullover, Spirograph headband the second.

I think that all of the above goals are realistic and achievable. One caveat: since there won't be any shiny new projects to show off for awhile, things might get a little boring around here. However, I am hoping that my diligence pays off and there will be more finished objects to show you in the next couple of months. Otherwise I might have to resort to posting bad photos of my weekly recipe attempts.

hello July

I can't believe how fast June went by. Kinda like those elusive lightning bugs that I used to try to catch when I was little. We have lots of fun things planned for July. Really looking forward to some upcoming music concerts and carnivals, plus a return trip to the ocean in a few weeks. And everyday, we are trying to fit in some making of one kind or another. Today, there was this dangerously delicious mug cake recipe. The little guy went wild with the sprinkles. Can't say that I blame him one bit because you can never have too many sprinkles (or vanilla bean ice cream or blueberries) on top of a mug cake. Yum! In the knitting basket, I have a new sweater in the works using that stitch pattern that I fell for in Up, Down, All-Around. I wish that I can bottle up this bright summery blue color. Utterly captivating, although hard to photograph. I also did a little bit of non-knitting lately. Isn't it funny how we knitters label all those other crafts? Or is it just me? But it was a nice little break to make something not out of yarn for a change. Now I am obsessed with these bamboo jewelry kits from Red Gate Stitchery. I am not much of a jewelry wearer but these are so sweet and unique looking.

What fun things are in the stars for you this month?

a recipe from the garden

I continue to be amazed, grateful and delighted by this little garden of mine. Mainly because before this year, everything that I attempted to grow pretty much didn't, with the exception of weeds mint & rosemary. So it has been very thrilling to be greeted by all the thriving plants this season and to be able to enjoy their offerings. The strawberries were a big yummy hit with everyone, so next year we will be planting lots more of those. Nothing like fresh strawberries and vanilla bean ice cream to herald in summer. Now that strawberry season is over, we are looking forward to the tomatoes ripening. I already have a stockpile of fresh mozzarella waiting to be made into Caprese salad. And a few weeks ago, I think I scared the neighbors with my shout of glee when I spied a couple of eensy weensy baby watermelons among the jack and the beanstalk like vines. Yeah, call me a gardening newbie, but little things like that really add sunshine to my days. And now that the herbs are coming in full-blown, I need to start thinking of ways to use them. Please let me know if you have any good recipes or ideas for fresh basil, thyme, Italian parsley or lavender. The last will be interesting to experiment with, since I have never used it in cooking. Today, we are enjoying one of my favorite sandwiches of all time, pan bagnat, which is a specialty of Nice, France.

There are many versions of this sandwich floating around. Here's how I make mine:

one large crusty round loaf of bread 

extra virgin olive oil

red wine vinegar

one clove garlic, minced

freshly cracked black pepper

kosher salt

2 cans tuna in olive oil, drained

a couple of anchovy filets (optional)

3 hard boiled eggs, sliced in half

one small red onion, sliced thin

one ripe tomato, sliced 

a large handful of fresh basil

Cut the loaf of bread in half. Pull out some of the bread's interiors from both the top and bottom halves. Drizzle a good amount of olive oil and red wine vinegar on both halves. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and pepper, then the minced garlic. Lightly flake the tuna and spread it onto the bottom half. Then layer on the anchovies (if using), eggs, red onions, tomato slices and basil.Cover with the top half and tightly wrap the sandwich in some plastic wrap. Press down gently but firmly. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Enjoy!

*sometimes I also add in some chopped kalamata or nicoise olives, red bell pepper slices, radishes, cucumbers, capers (depending on what I have on hand and what I'm in the mood for).

daydreaming

If only....

yarn could grow on trees.

my second handspun

UFO's could finish themselves.

my I vow to finish you someday Aidez as soon as I figure out where I left off cardigan

one front and two sleeves could magically appear overnight.

Kaari pullover: back and pockets done

yarn ends didn't exist.

Chance of Showers cardigan: still waiting for a dyebath

dinner could be on the table with just a twitch of the nose, leaving more hours free for the fun stuff.

Happily, some daydreams can come true ; ) You can find this betwitched recipe here.

Sweet Treats

white chocolate macadamia nut cookies

Some sweet treats for my two Valentines. I figured these would be more appreciated than a handmade card. Happy Valentine's Day!

Family Recipes

Growing up in a large family consisting of strong personalities, food was often the glue that kept us all together. I can remember many sibling arguments being resolved over bowls of pho noodle soup. My mom's philosophy was sneakily simple: keep the peace by keeping our mouths full of food. And what food! My mom is one of those natural cooks that can make a feast out of humble ingredients, adding a pinch of this or a palm full of that to a pot and having it turn out delicious. One of my goals in life is to be more of an intuitive cook like her. I know that this will take years of practice and experimentation. There will be some hits and lots of misses. But I am slowly gaining confidence every day, even creating a personal collection of recipes of my own. Some are all mine, but most are modifications of recipes collected over the years from treasured cookbooks and more recently, talented food bloggers. To make it easier to reference these recipes, I have started writing them down in a series of notebooks.

I hope to one day hand these over to my son so that he can recreate the foods of his childhood. And when my mom comes back from her annual six months vacation in Vietnam, I am going to ask her to write down what a pinch of this and a palm full of that means.

Joyous Jelly Beans

holiday loot

Who needs a calender when you have Trader Joe's? During the week after Thanksgiving, while most people are braving the crowds at the mall, you can find me at my favorite hangout sampling the free chocolates and tea. Happy Holidays and Joyous Jelly Beans!

Perfect Excuse

There are days when I just want to stay home and do nothing but knit. Okay, so that's everyday. But to do this, I sometimes need an excuse. Here's where this recipe for what I call "Perfect Excuse Beef Stew" comes in handy. It's by the extremely witty cookbook author Ann Hodgman. You will need:

2 pounds suitable-for-stew beef, cut into 1&1/2-inch cubes
6 carrots, cut into thick slices
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
1 large baking potato, diced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
1 10-to-11 ounce can Campbell's Tomato Bisque Soup (or regular Tomato Soup if you can't find
Tomato Bisque) and food snobs need not sneer...this is really the best base for this soup
1/2 to 3/4 soup can water, depending on wether you prefer thick or thin stew
*I also add a cup of green peas towards the end because we are a pea loving family

Here's what I do:
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees
In a heavy, lidded casserole that holds about 2&1/2 quarts, combine everything and stir until well mixed. Cover the casserole first with a tight layer of foil and then with the lid. And then here comes the "perfect excuse" part.....bake the stew for FIVE hours! Yup, that's 5 whole hours of "Oh, honey, I can't go to Home Depot to buy that plunger you need because I have dinner in the oven." That's 5 whole hours of knitting & playing time with my little boy with the added bonus of a wonderfully tasting stew to show for it!

Warning: do not overuse! They will catch on and decide to boycott.