Knit & Nosh

jardinere with garlic and chilis

There are so many recipes for Jardiniere and Gardinera and End of Season Pickles.  I knew three things when settling on a recipe. 

~It could not include either cauliflower or celery. 

~It must contain chilies.

~Garlic was going to make it in to the bottom of the jars no matter what. 

In the end I cobbled together my own list of ingredients, paying careful attention to quantities and methods.

I love the smell of chilies in the morning.

Between my first pot of tea and Youngest Son's schoolwork, this

turned in to this. 

 10 pints of summer garden loveliness.  Husband is going to be SO happy.

The Can Jam ingredient for October?  Chillies.  My chilies were not going to wait until October.  While it is possible I could put up a third batch of chili goodness next month, I kinda doubt it.  You will see these pictures again the third week of October.  That post will include the recipe and a review of my experience using Tattler lids with this canning session.

an apple sweater

Because my cozy prowess knows no bounds.  Behold!

The apple sweater.  Crocheted no less.

The pattern came to my attention when a friend of Youngest Daughter asked her to make one.  Youngest Daughter does not crochet, but there was no way I was not going to make an apple cozy.  Its actually a good idea,  keeping the little guy protected while it bumps around in your bag.  It look all of two hours to make and is so darn cute. 

This is the smallest apple the cozy will hold.  the opening in the middle is meant to expand around the chubbier varieties.

Would it be too much to cozy up a large bowl of fake apples and leave them out as decoration?

chili alert

Today's list of things I need to do is so long I will not be able to squeeze in a canning session.  But the chillies hanging in the kitchen are fading fast, they will need to be dealt with tomorrow morning.

They are such a bright spot in the torn apart kitchen.  I will miss them.

 

end of the dickey

The FO Dickey post is up.

applesauce

Monday was for applesauce.  My case of fresh picked Yakima Gala Apples became 10 quarts of pink applesauce.

I just love the color!

It has been many years since I jarred applesauce.  Usually I just make it as needed.  The memory of standing in the kitchen peeling and coring and chopping an entire case of apples kept me from doing any more than 8 apples at a time.  Then I learned that the peeling and chopping was not necessary.  I just needed a food mill.  Last week one of these entered the house.

So easy!  I washed and quartered the apples and threw them in a big pot.  Cooked them until they were good and soft, ladled them in to the food mill and cranked away.  There was surprisingly little waste. 

I was hoping for more than 10 quarts,  my case must not have been quite full, but I think 10 will work for us.  I try to put up a year's worth of whatever it is I am canning.  This weekend we will give the sauce a taste test with a batch of latkes.  YUM!

a knitting covered bridge

This is amazing.  So beautiful.  Go check it out!

socks and a cowl

With Quills at the halfway point I decided to return to Sivia's cowl.  Last night I knit until it was time to add beads.  I am not at all sure what I am knitting is going to look like the finished picture.

It seems WAY too long.  I thought about taking it off the needles, to see what it looks like in a relaxed state, but I am afraid I will screw up the mobius thing when I try to put it back on the needles.  To top it off I have begun to worry about having enough yarn.  I hate that feeling.  It is almost done, I can always take out the last repeat if needed.  Right now it is sitting in the WIP basket until I can get out and pick up beads.

I have also been working on some socks.  A few months ago a sock kit came in to the house.  Oldest Daughter really liked it and asked if I would make the socks for her.  OK.  The pattern began with a cuff that is knit sideways, joined, and then the leg is knit down from there.  I did that and the results were not good.  The cuff rolled in unexpected places.  It seemed more a result of the stitch pattern then a blocking issue.  I ripped it out and began again with a different cuff.  After a couple of inches, I did not like that one either.  The yarn was knitting up in a way I did not like. 

Oldest Daughter picked out a new yarn and I heavily modified the pattern.

In the end, the sock bears little resemblance to the kit that first entered the house.  I have taken to calling it Spirited Cherries.

quills, peppers, apples and scones

It was a busy weekend around here.  Friday night Husband and I took Oldest Daughter to Teatro Zinzanni to celebrate her 21st birthday.  We had a great time.  She had a couple of fu-fu drinks and the staff was so nice to her.

I managed to reach the halfway point of Quills. 

Yippee!  I like knowing that now my rows will begin to get shorter and shorter.  My brain knows it will take the exact same amount of time to knit the second half as the first, but its the whole decreasing thing that makes it feel faster.

Saturday morning, before kitchen construction resumed, I managed to put up 5 pints of sliced jalapeños.

The chilies came from Ellensburg.  They were fat and dark and smelled so good. 

More chilies came home from Ellensburg.

I plan to have Husband give them a try and let me know if they are suitable for next weekend's Jardiniere adventure.

Lastly.  Apples.

The most beautiful apples.  It is obvious they were hanging on a tree just a few days ago.  They are dirty and smell delicious.  Fingers crossed I get to them today.  I got a little sidetracked int he kitchen this morning.  Right now there is a batch of Pumpkin Scones in the oven. :-)

spinning day

Last night I spent a little time sitting in front of the wheel, with my feet on the treadles and look what happened!

This is some seriously pretty yarn.  As soon as the tea is ready I plan to click on NPR and spend some more time with the wheel.   What a great way to start the day.

a fibery post

Quills (rav link) is almost at the halfway point, just 6 repeats to go.

I still love the project.  So simple and pretty.  My goal is to reach the halfway point and begin decreasing by the end of the weekend.

This blob is Harmonia's Rings Cowl.  Right now there are a lot of stitches on the needles and I spend a fair amount of time moving them around.  It is hard on the hands and I have decided to let it rest for a few days. 

It is almost at the point where I will need beads.  Only 23, I think I can handle 23 beads.  The construction is so interesting.  While I know what the finished cowl looks like, it is hard to imagine that what I am doing will turn out like the picture.

Lastly, its spinning time. This is last October's shipment from the Happy Hooves Batt Club.  Colorway Lily, as in Munster.

The fiber was a dream to pre-draft and I am thinking I will spin with Travel Shawl in mind. I would like to make it a bit larger than the written pattern.  Only time will tell if I am able to get enough yardage.  If not, maybe I can finish off the edging with commercial yarn?