Knit & Nosh

socks, yarn, and more socks

Let's talk knitting. With corn out of my diet and the inflammation down, I am able to knit for short periods at a time, the sort of knitting that is perfect for socks. Last month my BFFs and I spent a day over the mountains shopping for boots, cider, ice cream, wee amplifiers, peaches, and yarn. I brought home a ball of Auserman Step with Aloe Vera to make socks for Husband.

The morning routine requires that Youngest Son and I are up at 5:00 and I hang out with him while he has breakfast and makes lunch. What do I do? Knit.

I started these socks three weeks ago when school began and am surprised by how much knitting can be accomplished during an hour. With this pair done I needed more yarn.

You can not believe how surprised I was to find this yarn at Michael's. 60/30/10 merino/nylon/cashmere. Pretty colors, VERY soft, and only $6 a ball, what more could I ask for? About the time I was thinking about casting on with this yarn the mailman arrived and brought this.

A present from one of my BFFs! My BFFs are the best! I had been admiring her candy corn colored yarn so she sent some Halloween yarn of my very own.

The colors make me think of glowing Jack-O-Lanterns sitting on the front step. So pretty. Because of the short color runs I expected pooling, but nope it is knitting up in a very random way.

 

The morning's knitting. These socks are for me and will be finished in plenty of time to wear while passing out Halloween candy.

 

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cbrm - the kitchen pantry cookbook

To me, a pantry is where you keep the things that do not need to be refrigerated. So when I saw The New Kitchen Pantry by Erin Coopey I was thinking it would be full of stuff to put in jars and keep on the shelf. I was wrong, and I could not be happier.

Y'all know that I am a big fan of making things for myself, but there are some things I continue to buy. Sometimes it is being in a hurry and not wanting to take the time to make (and possibly remake) mayonnaise. Sometimes it is because I have not found a recipe that gives me the same flavor or texture of a particular product (I am looking at you Grey Poupon). Mostly, it is habit.

I gave up bottled salad dressings years ago, but still have trouble finding good recipes online. That is the trouble with recipes online, there are millions of them, but only a few of them are any good. But I had not thought about making my own steak sauce or Caesar dressing or Nutella. Now I am definitely going to be making those things because there is a good recipe right here at my finger tips.

The Kitchen Pantry Cookbook has recipes for every store bought thing that is currently in the door of your refrigerator. After actually testing a few of these recipes I trust that they are all good.

The book starts off with basic mayonnaise, aioli, and all the sauces that use those as a base. There are a lot more than you may realize. I have made mayonnaise by hand, with an immersion blender, a regular blender, and a food processor, and maybe I am a little slow (probably) but it was not until I read this book that I realized my food processor has a built in tool for making mayonnaise and when you use it you get fantastic results every time. Thank you Erin Coopey.

Then comes mustard, seven different mustards! I made the dijon and it was very, very good. Mustard is followed by ketchup and all manner of sauces. There are nut butters, fruit butters, and curds. A section on vinegar is followed by salad dressings and all of your favorites are here. I tried the Italian and was surprised to see fennel seed included. It makes sense, as that is one of the flavors you get in italian sausage, but I had never thought to add it to salad dressing. Amazing. There is a section on stock followed by pickles, relishes, chips, and all those delicious dips.

"With the onslaught of food allergies and sensitivities, autoimmune disorders, and obesity and the landslide of diseases that accompany it, I don't think any of us can take for granted what goes into our food."

Ms. Coopey is right, and she also points out that homemade just tastes better. So I am as happy as can be to have this book in my kitchen. It will be well used and well loved.

Prepared horseradish,

"Nutella",

pickled onions,

chips AND all the dips they need.

 

 

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the new fangled

It has been ages since I posted a new cocktail recipe, let's fix that.

Awhile back, one of my BFFs brought an assortment of bitters to Jamboree. We tried them all, added to glasses of bubble water, and I liked the Black Walnut best. It was not as refreshing as the grapefruit or rhubarb bitters, but a little more substantial, with layers of flavor. After the bubble water experiment I turned to whiskey.

It was late in the evening and I did not feel like muddling a bunch of drinks, so I took the flavors of an Old Fashioned and made something a little lighter. A drink that would be appropriate on the deck during a sunny afternoon, or in the evening while playing board games. Not quite an Old Fashioned, I am calling it the New Fangled.

 

New Fangled

2 ounces bourbon or rye

1 ounce simple syrup

Orange quarter

Black Walnut Bitters

Bubble water

Add ice to a double rocks glass and squeeze in the juice from a quarter of an orange. To that, add the simple syrup, bourbon or rye, and a few dashes of Black Walnut Bitters. Stir to combine. Top with bubble water and stir ever so slightly.

 

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