Seems I've come down with the dreaded lurgy. I currently feel like I have a bus parked up my nose, and that I've been eating sandpaper. Foolish me thought that I was immune from colds since I'd already had one this winter. So I'm dosing myself with echinacea and lots of tea, and I've had a couple days off work. Problem with this is that I'm also have a knitting free week. So I've had two days off of work, and I can't knit. Maybe I'll try a little, see how I go. I've been itching to try my new sock wool. Although I'm also keen to get my Tubey jumper finished.
Also I've been working on the website for the Adelaide KTog group. I am so proud of all the pics that I've made up. Believe it or not, but those balls of yarn are pics I've taken off wool I had laying around the house. Using PhotoEditor (you know that basic picture editing program that came with MS Office) I've used the stamp effect to give the outline, and then paintbrush to colour it in. Yup, really basic programs, and I still get a decent clipart picture. I've still got a lot of work to do, but its building nicely.
As you can see, I've also started adding recipies. I've got the list code almost sorted, so that will go up in the side bar soon. The lasagne is one of my favourites. One of those meals that Denise won me over with. I've always loved lasagne, but I thought it was rather involved to make it.
Actually I told a small lie before, I have been crochetting on my time off. I've finally finished the beige blankie. I finished the edge, washed it, and measured it. 1 metre square.
I also came across a surprise find in the back of the wardrobe too. A bag of beanies I knitted last year to go to the Guardian Angel program. I think I found 7 beanies that are suitable to go (one is too small to fit any head, except for a doll, and the other is made out of wool that I'm now using to make the purple blanket, and I need every scrap of that wool I can get.
I've washed everything that is going, and we'll take a photo of the whole loot before sending it off. I'll also have a final tally of completed knitted goods.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Denise's Vegetarian Lasagne
This recipe is one from Denise's family, is a great meal for impressing people with, and it gets rid of all those limp carrots and other vegetables sitting in the bottom of the fridge.
Our recipe involves the wonderful help of a food processor, but if you have the time and a sharp knife, chop away.
I'm a near-enough cook. I don't believe in measurements, that near enough will still turn out okay. These quantities can be changed, if you like more garlic, or no garlic, or if your tomato sauce doesn't have enough tomatoes in it, add more. However try to stick the the quantities for the Bechamel Sauce otherwise you'll have thick or very runny cheese sauce.
Vegetable Sauce
Process 1 onion. Saute onion in large saucepan with oil and garlic (1 crushed clove or 1 tspn of minced) until cooked. Turn down the heat so it doesn't burn.
Use any vegetables you want: maybe 3 potatoes, 2 carrots, ½ sweet potato, 1 capsicum, broccoli, basically anything in the fridge. Leafy things such as spinach can be roughly chopped or ripped and added later.
Put the vegetables in a food processor until minced, add to onion mixture.
Add sliced mushroom, peas and corn if you wish.
Simmer on the stove with 1 large can of tomatoes, parsley, basil, any other herbs, and leafy vegetables, stirring often.
The mixture is cooked when the vegetables are soft and not starchy.
The best test would be if you are happy eating it in its own right as a pasta sauce.
Bechamel Sauce
Melt 1½ tablespoons of butter in smaller saucepan over low heat.
Add 3 tablespoons flour, cook 1 minute.
Add 1 cup milk, stir continuously, making sure to blend the butter/flour mixture into the milk so that it is not lumpy.
When the milk mixture is thick, turn heat off but leave on stove.
Mix in grated cheese (mozzarella is preferable but tasty is good too).
Constructing the Lasagne
Put one layer of lasagne noodles in the pan. Put vegetable sauce in a layer on top of it.
Put another layer of lasagne noodles in the pan. Put bechamel sauce on top of that.
Put another layer of lasagne noodles in the pan. Top with more grated cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes in the oven, 180 degrees.
Remove lasagne, top with a mixture of cream and parmesan cheese (usually one small 300ml carton of cream is adequate, parmesan mixed in so that it is plentiful, but so that it will all blend in). Bake for another 15 minutes in the oven, 180 degrees.
Eat!!!
(it tastes even better the second day, if there's any left)
A disgusting variation we tried once, omit the vegetable sauce, and make layers of cheese sauce and lasagne sheets. Oh decadentent!
Our recipe involves the wonderful help of a food processor, but if you have the time and a sharp knife, chop away.
I'm a near-enough cook. I don't believe in measurements, that near enough will still turn out okay. These quantities can be changed, if you like more garlic, or no garlic, or if your tomato sauce doesn't have enough tomatoes in it, add more. However try to stick the the quantities for the Bechamel Sauce otherwise you'll have thick or very runny cheese sauce.
Vegetable Sauce
Process 1 onion. Saute onion in large saucepan with oil and garlic (1 crushed clove or 1 tspn of minced) until cooked. Turn down the heat so it doesn't burn.
Use any vegetables you want: maybe 3 potatoes, 2 carrots, ½ sweet potato, 1 capsicum, broccoli, basically anything in the fridge. Leafy things such as spinach can be roughly chopped or ripped and added later.
Put the vegetables in a food processor until minced, add to onion mixture.
Add sliced mushroom, peas and corn if you wish.
Simmer on the stove with 1 large can of tomatoes, parsley, basil, any other herbs, and leafy vegetables, stirring often.
The mixture is cooked when the vegetables are soft and not starchy.
The best test would be if you are happy eating it in its own right as a pasta sauce.
Bechamel Sauce
Melt 1½ tablespoons of butter in smaller saucepan over low heat.
Add 3 tablespoons flour, cook 1 minute.
Add 1 cup milk, stir continuously, making sure to blend the butter/flour mixture into the milk so that it is not lumpy.
When the milk mixture is thick, turn heat off but leave on stove.
Mix in grated cheese (mozzarella is preferable but tasty is good too).
Constructing the Lasagne
Put one layer of lasagne noodles in the pan. Put vegetable sauce in a layer on top of it.
Put another layer of lasagne noodles in the pan. Put bechamel sauce on top of that.
Put another layer of lasagne noodles in the pan. Top with more grated cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes in the oven, 180 degrees.
Remove lasagne, top with a mixture of cream and parmesan cheese (usually one small 300ml carton of cream is adequate, parmesan mixed in so that it is plentiful, but so that it will all blend in). Bake for another 15 minutes in the oven, 180 degrees.
Eat!!!
(it tastes even better the second day, if there's any left)
A disgusting variation we tried once, omit the vegetable sauce, and make layers of cheese sauce and lasagne sheets. Oh decadentent!
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Frankie and the Beige Blankie
Back from Ballarat and I have to say, I was mildly disappointed. It wasn't that cold that the really warm winter woollies were needed. It was still cold, and big warm jumpers were essential, but I ventured outside without my beanie several times (and considering my hair is once again short, I need the extra warmth in winter).
The knitted gifts were appreciated though. Denise's mum got the Red Tweed socks (not me or Rodney), Nan got the Port Wine socks with the white heel and toe, Pop got Alpaca wrist warmers, and Denise's dad will be getting blue twist wrist warmers. Everyone loved them (or will love them, Denise will be sending the wrist warmers for her dad up on Monday) and Nan even took her thin shop bought socks off straight away to wear her new woollen socks, and showed them off to everyone she saw. She told us that her feet hadn't been that warm in years. So this is spurred Denise to make lots of socks for her Nan. We've been out twice in the last day to get more sock wool, two balls of Sirdar Town and Country sock wool from Needle Nook and some really nice Sirdar Snuggly Fair Isle baby wool from Yarn Barn. Hmm, imagine how nice and soft that is going to be on the feet!!
Well I didn't get to take my crochet hook on the plane. Seems that while Jetstar's website only says knitting needles, there is a Federal law that goes into further detail, that includes crochet hooks and sewing needles. I'm going hunting those laws. But I think thanks to the latest security scare in the UK, knitting needles are the least of my worries. I can't justify paying $5 for a lousy bottle of water.
But I did learn how to finger knit. I picked up some balls of Moda Vera fluffy acrylicky yarn stuff from Spotlight (it's on clearance at the moment) and in the scarf pictured there are two strands. I was going to add a third strand of plain yarn but I forgot to pack it in the rush to leave at 4:45AM!!!!!
Denise watched me part of the way, and we decided that to make anything of any size to wear as a scarf, it would probably be better to make three of these ropes/mini-scarves and plait them together. Denise was going to make herself a scarf to go with her brown business suit for an interview. She was going to make three mini-scarves of three different shades of brown and then plait them. If only I'd known before I started on the Beige Blankie.
Talking of the Beige Blankie, I'm just edging it now. Finishing it off in dark brown. I'm enjoying making it now, despite how long it takes me to do a side. I sit with it across my lap like an old granny and it keeps me so warm. And Frankie loves it too. Whenever I work on it, she'll jump on my lap and cuddle down. She's going to be sad to see it gone.
As you can see, she was annoyed at being disturbed having private time on the blanket.
So far the tally of things to go to the Guardian Angel Program is:
Actually there were 6 pairs of socks to go, but one is about to be sent off to Ballarat for Denise's no longer pregnant friend. She had the baby yesterday evening, a baby boy we've been told. No name yet, but he already has some nice warm goodies being sent his way.
Also, I've decided to start adding instructions for some of my creations to this blog, namely some of my knitting patterns and vegetarian recipies. Denise and I are both vegies, and me not being able to follow instructions too closely, I've learnt how to fix my disasters and adapt meals to better suit us. I love cooking from Super Food Ideas magazines, although there are a lot of meat meals. So I use meat substitutes or extra vegies. And eventually they are so far different from the original recipe, there is no way you can call them the same thing. Same goes for many things I knit. I even knitted my felted bag designed on a free promotional satchel I got at uni. So they will start popping up between posts, and a drop down list is being designed to go in the side bar so you can search through them. That may take a bit more fine tuning though.
The knitted gifts were appreciated though. Denise's mum got the Red Tweed socks (not me or Rodney), Nan got the Port Wine socks with the white heel and toe, Pop got Alpaca wrist warmers, and Denise's dad will be getting blue twist wrist warmers. Everyone loved them (or will love them, Denise will be sending the wrist warmers for her dad up on Monday) and Nan even took her thin shop bought socks off straight away to wear her new woollen socks, and showed them off to everyone she saw. She told us that her feet hadn't been that warm in years. So this is spurred Denise to make lots of socks for her Nan. We've been out twice in the last day to get more sock wool, two balls of Sirdar Town and Country sock wool from Needle Nook and some really nice Sirdar Snuggly Fair Isle baby wool from Yarn Barn. Hmm, imagine how nice and soft that is going to be on the feet!!
Well I didn't get to take my crochet hook on the plane. Seems that while Jetstar's website only says knitting needles, there is a Federal law that goes into further detail, that includes crochet hooks and sewing needles. I'm going hunting those laws. But I think thanks to the latest security scare in the UK, knitting needles are the least of my worries. I can't justify paying $5 for a lousy bottle of water.But I did learn how to finger knit. I picked up some balls of Moda Vera fluffy acrylicky yarn stuff from Spotlight (it's on clearance at the moment) and in the scarf pictured there are two strands. I was going to add a third strand of plain yarn but I forgot to pack it in the rush to leave at 4:45AM!!!!!
Denise watched me part of the way, and we decided that to make anything of any size to wear as a scarf, it would probably be better to make three of these ropes/mini-scarves and plait them together. Denise was going to make herself a scarf to go with her brown business suit for an interview. She was going to make three mini-scarves of three different shades of brown and then plait them. If only I'd known before I started on the Beige Blankie.
Talking of the Beige Blankie, I'm just edging it now. Finishing it off in dark brown. I'm enjoying making it now, despite how long it takes me to do a side. I sit with it across my lap like an old granny and it keeps me so warm. And Frankie loves it too. Whenever I work on it, she'll jump on my lap and cuddle down. She's going to be sad to see it gone.As you can see, she was annoyed at being disturbed having private time on the blanket.
So far the tally of things to go to the Guardian Angel Program is:
- 5 pairs of socks
- 2 beanies
- 2 small crochet baby blankets
- The Beige Blankie
- 1 pair of mittens
Actually there were 6 pairs of socks to go, but one is about to be sent off to Ballarat for Denise's no longer pregnant friend. She had the baby yesterday evening, a baby boy we've been told. No name yet, but he already has some nice warm goodies being sent his way.
Also, I've decided to start adding instructions for some of my creations to this blog, namely some of my knitting patterns and vegetarian recipies. Denise and I are both vegies, and me not being able to follow instructions too closely, I've learnt how to fix my disasters and adapt meals to better suit us. I love cooking from Super Food Ideas magazines, although there are a lot of meat meals. So I use meat substitutes or extra vegies. And eventually they are so far different from the original recipe, there is no way you can call them the same thing. Same goes for many things I knit. I even knitted my felted bag designed on a free promotional satchel I got at uni. So they will start popping up between posts, and a drop down list is being designed to go in the side bar so you can search through them. That may take a bit more fine tuning though.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Leaving, On an Airplane
We're off to Ballarat for the weekend. I enjoy going, it's great to get away from home for a bit (although we both miss and worry about Frankie), but it does involve a plane trip, and one and a half hours without my knitting!!!
Logic seems to escape when it comes to knitting needles on a plane. In America, a country seemingly so uptight about security and terrorists, you can knit to your heart's content over those stressful flights. But here in Australia, sharp objects (and how sharp is any needle over 3mm really) have to be declared and put in your luggage. I'm going to test it to see if it extends to crochet hooks (completely different object in my view, nothing like a knitting needle), especially plastic ones. Otherwise I may have to resign myself to some alternative knitting. Knitty.com had an article in their last edition about finger knitting. So I bought myself some fugly acrylic fluff from spotlight (forgive me, for I have sinned) and will pair it with some... feathers yarn and maybe a third strand of whatever in my stash matches, and make myself a finger knitted scarf. Could be kinda cool, could be really nasty. Have to wait and see.
Alternatively I'm hoping to get up into the old suitcase that houses the other half of my stash, including some super super chunky yarn that looks more big hairy spider legs than yarn, and try hand knitting. I read this in the Australian Creative Knitting magazine a few years ago, and I bought the yarn last year when Lincraft had their special get rid of everything old super cheap sale. But do I really want a really loose shawl? I'll see if the yarn still grabs me when I get the suitcase down.
The other thing hiding in that suitcase that I want to get my hands on before the trip to Ballarat is some lovely handspun, hand-dyed chunky wool that is just begging to be made into some thick house socks/slippers, and a long beanie. When temperatures average 10 degrees C, then I'm glad I'm a knitter. And my lovely cable beanie cannot be pulled down far enough to keep me warm. (Some days I try to get it to keep my nose warm!)
And on the beige blankie front, I casually mentioned to mum that I was knitting this thing to get rid of all my beige/brown yarn that was breeding in the stash, so she decides to offload some of her stuff onto me! So now I have enough yarn for a second blanket. Out of most of the balls there isn't enough yarn to do one round, so I figure if I make this next one in several small panels I'll have enough of the same colour in large blocks.
Today at work I took Denise's pair of Fetching with me. So nice and warm, and no mouse hand frost. Nothing worse than sitting at a computer all day, using mainly the mouse so you have one toasty hand which can be shoved under thighs, under armpits, or around the coffee mug, and the other one so cold and blue you can barely click with it. And forget about scrolling.
Hmm, maybe I should design the geek's mouse mitt for cold hands. Ideas forming.
Thanks to Denise for the spell check.
Amendment:
To amend everything I have said about knitting needles not being dangerous, I have done something really, really, really stupid.
I managed to stab myself with a knitting needle this morning, and more than just a bruised point under the skin. I up-ended our tin of dpns on the floor to find one, and lent forward into a small (I think it was a 2.5mm) dpn needle. I don't know how far it went it, but it hurts to walk. I have a puncture hole just above my knee. Thankfully my tentanus shots are up to date.
Maybe karma is out to get me for complaining too much about needles not being sharp and dangerous.
So to amend my idea, you have to be really strong (or really stupid) to be able to do damage with a knitting needle, and really only under a certain size anyway.
Logic seems to escape when it comes to knitting needles on a plane. In America, a country seemingly so uptight about security and terrorists, you can knit to your heart's content over those stressful flights. But here in Australia, sharp objects (and how sharp is any needle over 3mm really) have to be declared and put in your luggage. I'm going to test it to see if it extends to crochet hooks (completely different object in my view, nothing like a knitting needle), especially plastic ones. Otherwise I may have to resign myself to some alternative knitting. Knitty.com had an article in their last edition about finger knitting. So I bought myself some fugly acrylic fluff from spotlight (forgive me, for I have sinned) and will pair it with some... feathers yarn and maybe a third strand of whatever in my stash matches, and make myself a finger knitted scarf. Could be kinda cool, could be really nasty. Have to wait and see.
Alternatively I'm hoping to get up into the old suitcase that houses the other half of my stash, including some super super chunky yarn that looks more big hairy spider legs than yarn, and try hand knitting. I read this in the Australian Creative Knitting magazine a few years ago, and I bought the yarn last year when Lincraft had their special get rid of everything old super cheap sale. But do I really want a really loose shawl? I'll see if the yarn still grabs me when I get the suitcase down.
The other thing hiding in that suitcase that I want to get my hands on before the trip to Ballarat is some lovely handspun, hand-dyed chunky wool that is just begging to be made into some thick house socks/slippers, and a long beanie. When temperatures average 10 degrees C, then I'm glad I'm a knitter. And my lovely cable beanie cannot be pulled down far enough to keep me warm. (Some days I try to get it to keep my nose warm!)
And on the beige blankie front, I casually mentioned to mum that I was knitting this thing to get rid of all my beige/brown yarn that was breeding in the stash, so she decides to offload some of her stuff onto me! So now I have enough yarn for a second blanket. Out of most of the balls there isn't enough yarn to do one round, so I figure if I make this next one in several small panels I'll have enough of the same colour in large blocks.
Today at work I took Denise's pair of Fetching with me. So nice and warm, and no mouse hand frost. Nothing worse than sitting at a computer all day, using mainly the mouse so you have one toasty hand which can be shoved under thighs, under armpits, or around the coffee mug, and the other one so cold and blue you can barely click with it. And forget about scrolling.
Hmm, maybe I should design the geek's mouse mitt for cold hands. Ideas forming.
Thanks to Denise for the spell check.
Amendment:
To amend everything I have said about knitting needles not being dangerous, I have done something really, really, really stupid.
I managed to stab myself with a knitting needle this morning, and more than just a bruised point under the skin. I up-ended our tin of dpns on the floor to find one, and lent forward into a small (I think it was a 2.5mm) dpn needle. I don't know how far it went it, but it hurts to walk. I have a puncture hole just above my knee. Thankfully my tentanus shots are up to date.
Maybe karma is out to get me for complaining too much about needles not being sharp and dangerous.
So to amend my idea, you have to be really strong (or really stupid) to be able to do damage with a knitting needle, and really only under a certain size anyway.
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