The Silly Tale of Three Mittens

I love to knit mittens and each pairs gets a bit better than the last. My mother admired the mittens that I made around Christmas time and so I decided that she would get the next pair. I thought she would want red and white gnome mittens, but after purusing all of the options on Raverly, she picked a lovely pattern, one I would not have even considered for her.

She opted for the Rainbow Mitts by DROPS. I carefully choose yarn that was warm, but easy to care for and durable. I picked a nice variegated yarn that had just a small touch of sparkle. I set about happily knitting a nice mitten. I was pleased to watch the design growth from my needle.My favorite part of the design is the three lines that run the entire side of the mitten and thumb.

I quickly finished the first mitten and cast on the next one. Once I was about 3/4 of the way through that mitten I went to try them both on to compare how the lines of colors between the mittens. That is when I realized that I had blindly followed the pattern and had knitted two right hand mittens. Silly me. I was a little amazed that I had been so automatic about it and had not even considered that I was simply making a second mitten exactly like the first. I thought about whether I should tear it apart and start a new left handed mitten. In the end I realized that I had enough yarn to make another mitten. The third mitten seemed to go a bit more slowly, but I am pleased with the result. They will look even nicer once I block them. My mother will be happy to have them for the next storm which happens to be rolling into town tomorrow evening.

Here's what we had for dinner tonight. It was pretty quick and very popular.

Sweet and Spicy Sriracha Sauce BBQ Shrimp
via: MyMansBelly.com

Serves: 2-4

¼ Cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce
⅓ Cup Tangerine Juice
1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
2 Tablespoons Palm Sugar
2 Tablespoons Sriracha Sauce
1 Clove Garlic (minced)
1½ Teaspoons Tangerine Zest
1½ Pounds Raw Shrimp (head on or at least shell on)
2 Tangerines (sliced thin)
Lime Juice
Kosher Salt
Chopped Green Onions

Add first 7 ingredients to large pan and heat over medium high heat.
Heat, and stir, until the sugar has melted and it begins to boil.
Continue cooking another 2-3 minutes so that the liquid thickens a bit.
Add the shrimp to the hot pan.
Cook, and stir, until shrimp are pink and curled.
Continue to cook until liquid thickens up (about 2-3 more minutes).
Toss in 5 or 6 of the tangerine slices and stir them around so that their juices get added to the pan.
Give a good squirt of lime juice over top of the shrimp and stir to combine.
Taste the sauce add salt, if desired.
Garnish plate with remaining tangerine slices and chopped green onions.
Serve.

Notes: When you add the shrimp, you may think the pan looks a little dry. Don’t panic, the shrimp will add some of their liquid back into the pan. If you really don’t think it’s enough liquid, add 1-2 tablespoons of water to the pan.

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Orange Julius Smoothie
via: Sweet Treats and More blog

1/2 cup low-fat or skim milk
1/2 cup cold water
2 tbs sugar or sugar substitute
1 tsp vanilla extract
4-5 ice cubes
6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate (I cut a 12 oz can of frozen orange juice in half and save the other half for your next smoothie)
**add one egg white (optional-helps make it frothier!)
Instructions
Place everything in a blender and blend for several minutes until smooth and frothy.

Holiday Dinner party - Our Turn to Host (Lots of Recipes)

Two weekends ago with had a small and wonderful dinner party with Wendy, David, Caroline and Laura. Last Saturday we invited them over to our house for dinner - and oh, what fun we had!

(Caroline and I)

Ellie helped by doing the tablescapes. The kid's table was a challenge since we used a card table. I loved using my Christmas dishes. (I have a "thing" for dishes.)

Ethan helped by making the pizzelles.



Larr managed the family to make sure the house was in order - getting ready was a family affair.

We cooked up a lot of great recipes. I made a kid friendly mixed drink that was very festive.

We began with appetizers that were wee phyllo cups with Italian sausage and mozzarella, Ham & Swiss, and a cheese with mushroom mixture. We followed it up with Ellie's favorite, Zucchini and Garlic Soup.

Wendy and Laura don't usually eat meat, so I went with a primarily vegetarian menu. I plated a nice Moroccan salad with Quinoa, pomegranate seeds, almonds in sea salt and olive oil, craisins, sauteed zucchini coins and avocados. You can find the recipes I was inspired by here.

From there we moved onto lovely cheese fondue. I offered many items for dipping including tricolor fingerling potatoes roasted with olive oil and rosemary, green apple bites, coins of venison Polish sausage and cubes of two types of rustic, crusty bread.

We enjoyed lots of interesting conversation and wine. All of that was followed by some of Ellie's special hot chocolate drinks and two kinds of cookies, including Chocolate Kissed Gingerbread. You can find the recipe here.



Reisha always enjoys a good party and a chance for more pets.


Holiday Cranberry Spritzer

4 cups Cranberry Juice
3 cups Ginger Ale
3 TBL. Lime Juice
* Garnish - pomegranate seeds, cranberries, wedge of lime)

Mix together and serve.

Classic Swiss Cheese Fondue
Adapted from: Fondues by M. Weston
serves 4-6

1 Garlic clove, smashed with the side of a knife
1 Onion, small, finely diced
3 TBl Olive Oile
1 cup Dry White Wine or Chicken Broth (kids seem to prefer this over the wine)
1 tea Lemon Juice
2 cup Gruyere Cheese, grated
2 cups Emmental Cheese, grated
2-4 TBL Cornstarch
Pinch of White Pepper
Nutmeg, freshly grated, if possible

Rub the inside of the fondue pot with the garlic.

(I make my fondue on the stove and then transfer it to the fondue pot. That allows me to make extra for refills later on.)
Saute the onion in the olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat, being careful to not burn the onion. Add the wine/broth and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and gently stir in the grated cheeses. Be sure to stir with a wooden spoon for the best mixture and smoothness.

In a small cup mix the corn starch with a small bit of cold water. Just before serving the fondue, stir the cornstarch mixture into the melted cheese mixture and stir. This will cause it to thicken after 2-3 minutes. Grate a bit of fresh nutmeg into the fondue, transfer to the fondue pot and serve.

I do not recommend doubling this recipe. When I need more, I simply make two pans of the lovely stuff.

Zucchini and Garlic Soup

2 Zucchini, small, cut into coins
1 Onion, small, diced
3 TBL Olive Oil or Butter
4-5 cups Broth (chicken or vegetable)
5.2 oz Boursin Gournay Cheese with Garlic and Fine Herbs
2 TBL Cornstarch

Saute the onion and zucchini until they are both limp. Add in the stock and cook for about 20 minutes. Add in the Boursin cheese and stir to break it up. At this point I use a stick blender to puree most of the soup. Just before serving mix the cornstarch with a small bit of water and add to the gently boiling soup. Stir 2-3 minutes, or until thickened. Serve with slices of good sourdough bread.

Pizzelles

YIELD - Makes 30 pizzelle cookies

Ingredients:

* 3 eggs

* 1 3/4 c. flour

* 1/2 tsp. anise seed or extract (optional see substitution ideas below)

* 1/2 c. UNSALTED butter (1/4 lb.)

* 2 tsp. baking powder

* 3/4 c. sugar

* 1 tsp. vanilla extract (I use 1/4 tsp. Anise Extract, orange extract is nice, too.)



Procedure

* Beat eggs and sugar.

* Add cooled melted butter and vanilla and anise.

* Sift flour and baking powder and add to egg mixture.

* Drop the stiff batter by spoon.

(Batter can be refrigerated and used at a later time)