Knit & Nosh

new blog

I have moved.

stockingthelarder.wordpress.com

Hope to see you there.

 

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wtf

It appears that I have managed to delete an entire year of blog posts. When I post, Blogsy keeps a local copy, this makes it easy to go back and catch the typos. From time to time I clear those copies out. That is what I though I was doing right now, but instead I was deleting from the blog. Jeeze Lousie.

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sweeter off the vine

I pre-ordered this book ages ago. The Look Inside preview on Amazon is very generous and it only took reading through a couple of recipes to know that this is a book that will be used often at my house.

Sweeter Off the Vine by Yossy Arefi is one of those books that make you want to take to the couch with a cup of tea in order to savor every word and photograph while planning what to make first.

Broken up into seasons, the recipes are varied and inspiring.

Here in the Seattle area spring has just begun and the only thing growing in the garden is rhubarb. Yassy provides four rhubarb recipes, each more delicious sounding than the last, that will keep me happily plucking rhubarb from the garden for months. Rhubarb and Rose Galettes, Rhubarb Semifredo, Roasted Rhubarb Pavlova, Rhubarb and Rye Upside Cake.

Rhubarb make another appearance in a Cherry Rhubarb Slab Pie.

We are fortunate to have apple, cherry, plum, and fig trees growing in the yard. We do our best to eat, freeze, or jar everything the trees provide, but I have to admit that last year I was a little bored making the same things I have been making for years. Sweeter Off The Vine is going to change all of that. The recipes are new, but not crazy, just a new way to look at a familiar ingredient.

A few recipes from the book are available in the Amazon Look Inside, and the book is also excerpted in the most recent issue of Bake. There is not doubt that this book is going to see a lot of action in my kitchen.

 

 

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white trash cooking, and netty irene's macaroni & cheese recipe

I was clicking around on some website and this popped up.

I laughed out loud. Not because the title and cover are pretty funny, which they are, but because this proclaims to be a 25th Anniversary Edition. If you have never heard of this book, you are probably surprised that something like this has persevered for 25plus years. But if you happen to own the original printing, as I do, you are pleased as punch.

My copy is much used and well loved. I was newly married when this cookbook was given to me, and it is from these pages that I learned to make succotash (still a favorite), and baked beans, and onion pie. As someone who grew up in Southern California, these dishes were as foreign to me as if they had come from a distant country across the ocean.

Just in case you think I might be off my rocker for loving a book of White Trash Cooking, know that I am not alone. The book was reviewed and loved by Roy Blount Jr., James Hunt Jr., J. William Fulbright, William Least Heat Moon, Helen Hayes, and Harper Lee. Yes, you read that right, Harper Lee wrote, "I have never seen a sociological document of such beauty - the photographs alone are shattering. I shall treasure it always...Now that it's harder than ever to identify the genuine article on sight - with two generations of prosperity white trash looks like gentry - we've long needed something other that the ballot box to remind us of their presence: WHITE TRASH COOKING is a beautiful testament to a stubborn people of proud and poignant heritage."

Ms. Lee is right, the photos are amazing. It is nice to think that there are parts of this great country that Starbucks has not touched.

 

This is a recipe for Netty Irene's Macaroni & Cheese. I have made mac & cheese with all manner of fancy cheeses and pastas and seasonings, with whole cream, half cream, and Irish butter, but I have never covered it with bacon. Totally making this, exactly as written, on Saturday.

 

Netty Irene's Macaroni & Cheese

 

4 cups cooked elbow macaroni

1 cup grated or chunked yellow cheese

3 eggs

1 cup Carnation evaporated milk (no substitute, please)

10 bacon strips

salt and pepper

 

Blend the eggs and milk together and pour into macaroni already in a flat pyrex baking dish. Put in the cheese and poke it around until thoroughly mixed. Salt to taste. Then put enough black pepper to coat it all real good. Place on bacon slices and cook in a 350-degree oven until it gets a good crust on top and has hardened a little. About 30-40 minutes. Don't cook it too long, you want it runny in between the elbows.

"This recipe is from Miss Myrtle Talmadge's Home-Ec class and I made it for the Senior Prom Dinner. It was so good I been makin' it ever since," Netty told me.

 

 

 

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chocolate caramel mason jar lid tarts

I want to share a sweet dessert recipe I found yesterday. Chocolate Caramel Mason Jar Lid Tarts. It is an except from the book Dessert for Two by Christina Laine, and the finished tart is shown on the book's cover. The author says that many of the recipes in the book use mason jar lids because they work the same way as a tart pan with removable sides. Brilliant. I do intend to give this a try, using gluten free graham crackers. A copy of the book is on the way to me, and I will write up a review, but I wanted to alert you to this recipe in time for Valentine's Day.

One note about using mason jar lids, flip the lids over. If you can a lot, you may have the new BPA free lids, but chances are the lids sitting in your drawer are not the new variety. Just flip them over so that the white part is facing away from your food and you will have nothing to worry about.

Maybe you are not a canner and do not have a drawer or cupard full of jar lids? I suppose it is possible. You can purchase a box of a dozen lids and rings at your local grocery store for around $5.00. I can not wait to see the rest of the recipes in this book.

Do you have a Valentine's Day plan yet?

 

 

 

 

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noro lace

If you have been knitting for any length of time you have encountered Noro yarn. A google image search brings up pages and pages of beautiful colors that are worthy of their cult status. The company behind Noro has put out a number of books and their newest edition, Noro Lace is full of inspiration.

The book was released just a few days ago and is already #1 in it's catagory on Amazon. Kniters are carzy for Noro. This is a big, hardcover book with lots of beautiful photos. Unlike many pattern books, you get photos of projects from multiple angles, I love that. The book moves right on to the patterns, no filler or fluff.

There are patterns for items both big and small and each set of instructions suggests a skill level. Most of the projects are listed in the mid-range of difficulty, but I think the author erred on the side of caution, and that most of the patterns could be knit by a new lace knitter. And you do not get just one pattern for each item. There are a selection of mittens, gloves, scarves, cowls, wraps, hats, sweaters..all showing off pretty yarn using elegant stitchwork.

Using just two skeins of Noro Taiyo Lace you can knit an airy scarf.

 

Two seins of Noro Silk Garden become a jaunty hat.

If you are a bobble fan, this one is for you.

 

There is an interesting shrug AKA bed jacket that begins with a square and includes some origami type folding.

 

The square really shows off the beautiful yarn.

An Infinity Scarf is a classic and you can never have enough of them.

I love this blanket. Customized to coordinate with the your own interior, it would be beautiful in any house.

 

My absolute favorite! I would love it even if there were no pink. It is listed as a shawl, but I can also see it as a throw that lives on the couch, begging to be wrapped around you.

Just stunning.

 

 

 

 

 

**This book was provided to me by the publisher. No money changed hands and my opinions are my own.**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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dinner, brought to us from the nytimes cooking newsletter

photo by Karsten Moran for the New York Times

 

Pork Chops With Apples and CIder

I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious. Sort of a Steak Diane for pork, with apples. The recipe calls for dusting the pork chops with flour before cooking. I did not do that and it was just fine, making this recipe gluten and grain free. I served the pork chops with some scalloped potatoes, and green beans, for a very tasty dinner. Give it a try.

Do you know that the New York Times offers a cooking newsletter? It is pretty terrific and they have given me many good dinner ideas. You can sign up for it, and lots of other interesting newsletters, here.

 

 

 

 

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i'm a little teapot

Over the past couple weeks I have been doing little things to prepare for Oldest Daughter's homecoming. I am excited to have her home, and anxious about her health, and doing little things keeps me from going crazy.

I have cleaned out her closet and dresser. We had been using them for storage. I bought new sheets and made up her bed, I have stocked her room with new books and cross stitch supplies, and I picked up some of her favorite candy.

 

And I knit a cozy for her tea pot. In Holland they call them tea hats and I just love that.

I began the project with red yarn, broke two needles, bought new needles, and finally finished the first half of the tea hat. A trip to the scale told me that I did not have enough yarn for the second half. Because my stash was all organized it was easy to pick out yarn that matched her tea pot and get to work.

The pattern can be found here and I highly recommend it. Well written and produces the cutest cozy around. I will be making more.

 

 

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a wee bit of stash

Over the weekend I went through all the yarn. It is not that much, but if I am going to share with Youngest Daughter, some order is required. First, I pulled out all of my lace and gave it away to my BFFs and my Mom. My hands are never going to let me knit lace again, just the way it is.

Then I collected all of the little bits of leftovers from knitting socks and other fingering weight projects, and got them into bins to use for the sock yarn blanket. I really need to do some knitting on that project. Maybe my knitting goal for this year should be to knit through one of these bins?

I have a little basket of yarn I love that does not yet have a project,

and a basket of the current knitting.

That leaves one big bin in the garage that holds a good selection of colors and weights. I like having a little stash. Not so much that I find myself defending it to the other occupants of the house, but enough to be able to cast on a project without having to go shopping.

How is your stash doing?

 

 

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the secret to great gluten free chex mix

Chex Mix is one of those things you might think about making during the winter holidays, but it is so easy to make, and brings such delight to people when they see it presented, that it really should be allowed to come out to play more often. As you may be aware, there is a big eating event, and even a football game this Sunday. Surprise your friends and family with a batch of Chex Mix, and watch your gluten free guests light up when you let them know they can eat it too.

You can find the original Chex Mix recipe here, and my gluten free version is similar but there are a couple of tricks that I have learned the hard way. Instead of three different kinds of cereal, I use just Rice Chex. A gluten free corn variety is also available, but the flavor does not fit here. Stick with all rice. A cup of bagel chips is called for, and I know they make gluten free bagel chips, but it has been ages since I have seen them in a store, I use Pop Chips instead. The final ingredient tweak is to double the seasoning mix. Rice is bland, boring, flavorless, it needs a lot more help then its wheaty brother. Lastly, a key technique. When mixing the wet and dry ingredients you need to hold back the Pop Chips, or bagel chips. Those things are very sponge like and if you pour the butter mixture directly over them they become soggy, over seasoned bits, and less flavor is left for the mixture around them.

 

9 cups Gluten Free Rice Chex

1 cup gluten free small pretzels

1 cup salted nuts, use which ever are your favorite

1 cup bagel chips, or Pop Chips, broken into small pieces

12 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons Lee & Perrin's Worchestshire sauce *

3 teaspoons Lawry's Seasoned Salt*

1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic

1 teaspoon granulated onion

 

Heat the oven to 250F.

In a big bowl, mix Chex, pretzels, and nuts.

Place butter, worchestshire, salt, garlic, and onion into a small bowl and microwave until the butter is melted. Stir well to combine.

Pour about a third of the butter mixture over the cereal mixture and stir well. Do that again. Do it one last time. Add in the bagel chips or Pop Chips and give it all one last stir.

Pour the raw Chex Mix onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake in a 250 oven for 1 1/2 hours. If you can remember to give it a stir every 15 minutes, great, but as long as you stir it a couple of times during the baking it will turn out just fine. Let the mix cool (it will crisp up further as it does) and serve. So, so good.

 

*The brand names you know, Lee & Perrin's Worchestshire, and Lawry's season salt are made without gluten. If you are using a different brand, be sure to check your labels.

 

 

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