Handmade Gifts-Special Christmas

Best Christmas Ever!  Again!  This year we made some of our gifts once again.They are some of the most fun.  Even our little grandson joined in and made pine cones filled with birdseed mixed in peanut butter (somewhat messy) and bundles of kindling wood for fireplaces. We started out looking all over the yard for sticks but found quite a stash on his grandfather's woodpile that he decided would make great gifts:

I received coasters, cut and made from wood from our own property. Notice the mug, also a gift, from an awesome potter, check out his website. His pottery is beautiful and of excellent quality.  This happens to be a handwarmer mug--holds in the heat of the drink and fits my hand beautifully!

I went to a light show with my daughter over Christmas at a local park--beautiful Christmas lights with hot chocolate and cookies.  I kept my ears warm with a snuggly headband from my daughter-in-law (or other daughter!):



My daughter knows I'm obsessed with her pillow cases and made two more for me along with a basket of New Year's cheer for everyone!



There were bought gifts and fun gifts. Mostly there was family and food and moments to remember.   And a gift from me for someone special to come.

Booties

If you're a knitter and don't follow the yarn harlot, you're missing one of my favorite blogs. She is hilarious even if you're not a knitter.  And she's going through what I've been going through for a couple weeks--waiting for a special little baby to arrive and knitting until it comes!  Ours is here!  Our second little grandson arrived a couple days ago and we couldn't be happier around here!  (Jen is still waiting and the yarn harlot is still knitting.)  You really should go there and see the cute baby things she's making and making and making.  Adorable!  I'm working on a little hoodie but so far all I've completed is a pile of booties:

The first ones I made were from elastic yarn.  They are knit from top down and only have a seam on the center of the sole. I showed those on a previous post.  They are the light blue, tan and white ones above.
Then I made a pair from a pattern I really like in which the sole is knit first, then the sides, top and cuff. There is no seam at all in those.  These turned out a little bigger than I wanted because I was experimenting with sizes and yarns.

Since there was still no baby and I love making booties, I decided a plain blue pair might be nice.  But there was some gold yarn nearby and this is WV and a couple of his uncles are serious Mountaineer fans and . . . look what happened:

On this day of 9-ll, remembering what happened ten years ago and all the special memories that were shared of loved ones today on tv, makes me all the more thankful for our new little one and for all the special family that gathered around to welcome him into our life.

My Favorite Zucchini Bread

I have made three versions of zucchini bread this summer.  So far this one gets my vote. I used "Mom's Zucchini Bread" at allrecipes.  I used the recipe exactly as it is.
I prepared my ingredients:

I got my soapy water ready. Forever burned into my brain is the voice of my high school home ec teacher,"keep your work area clean!" I wash my tools as I go--only takes a second and it's so nice at the end!

I don't sift ingredients that often anymore, but I did for this bread: 

Then I mixed the eggs, oil and vanilla:

 

I added dry ingredients to the wet mixture:

After mixing I used two 8-inch loaf pans:

In the oven they went at 325 degrees and out to knit and watch the clothes dry, I went:

After about an hour:

Like all the other recipes I've tried, this one was still sweeter than I need.  I'll try half as much sugar next time.  I liked the walnuts but missed the raisins.  Next time I'll soak a cup of raisins in boiling water about an hour, drain and use them in place of nuts.  The  3 tsp. of cinnamon was yummy and I loved the 3 tsp. vanilla. For now this will be my basic recipe that I play around with. It would be good with different fruits and I might try different flours, etc., but for flavor and texture this is really good!

Little radish and other sandwiches

I grew up eating slices of homemade bread and butter topped with all sorts of fresh veggies and salt.  Mostly we sliced radishes or green peppers to top the bread.  Occasionally we sliced our own homemade dill pickles as a topping.  Recently I've read that this is very "French."  I don't know the origin of these little sandwiches, but our home was Polish and German and all we knew was these were really good.  Radishes alone can be a little strong but the bread, butter and salt mellow them right out.  The green peppers are good with that fresh green pepper flavor that just needs just a little something to soften it a bit.

The bread must be homemade or some form of  robust white or sourdough bread.  I'm using sliced ciabatta  here.  I love ciabatta with all its holes and chewy texture.  The butter is cold from the fridge to make thin smooth bits on the bread.  I don't care for soft room-temperature butter. (My husband insists it has to be soft and "spreadable."  We fought about this until we decided to keep mine in the fridge and his on the counter.)
Don't use much butter.  It detracts from the veggies--we don't want this to be creamy. I tried fleur de sel on top but prefer smaller grind table salt.  The crunchy salt crystals were too much on these sandwiches for me.

I had some fresh red raspberries in the refrigerator that caught my attention. How about on lightly buttered bread with some confectioner's sugar on top?

YES that's lightly buttered bread, fresh raspberries and a dusting of powdered sugar!  Yummm. It's a creamy light dessert! I'm heading to the teapot to make another cup and have another one of these.

Swimming In The Rain

Last night I resigned from the worldwide community of knitters.  I had two baby bootees on needles.  I was excited because both were departures from the expected and from the very old patterns I was using. As I was completing the foot and starting up the cuff of the mossy-green-meadow variegated bootee, I kept ignoring the obvious and clinging to my hope that this is going to be beautiful. Then I stopped and really LOOKED at it.  It looked like a thick rectangular stiff light yellow-green  box that a tiny baby foot was supposed to go into.  The yarn was too thick, the needles too small and there was no way of saving it. Ok. I had the other one to turn to.  I had chosen medium gray as the yarn for the panels and white for the outlines to make bootees that would have the look of little gray panels all over, bordered with white around each one.  This time the yarn and needles were the size the pattern called for.  I knitted along, thinking, again, that it was looking kind of big.  After I finished the cuff, working top down, I did what "they" try to tell you to always do, BEFOREHAND. I checked the gauge.  Instead of 9 stitches per inch, I was getting 6 stitches per inch.  I threw it all in a box;  I quit knitting. I decided I needed to get back to exercising and being active.  I had sat with my needles too long and was becoming sloppy.  In the morning I would start the day with a swim.

I got up this morning and it was raining.  Now that's not a complaint.  Our garden has become so dry there's no saving some of it. The morning glories had drooped for several weeks, just surviving on the little water I gave them over the drought. For the first time in forever, their leaves are full and strong this morning.



The black-eyed susans are really pretty and I brought some in for the table.

Remember my plan was to start the day with swimming.  I looked at the rain coming down heavily into our pool.  There was no lightning.  I went swimming.  Water drops were coming down all around me with millions of air bubbles forming on the blue surface.  The air temperature was cooler than the water temperature and it was amazing. This picture was after the rain stopped but I just wanted to see the blue here.

My breakfast this morning is a banana smoothie.  I freeze sliced bananas, add skimmed milk and put them through the magic bullet.  It's healthy but thick as a milkshake from the frozen bananas.  This time I added just a little cold coffee and sprinkled the top with grated semisweet chocolate.  Ready to go.

I'll be rejoining the knitting world this afternoon with soft, light-blue, fingering-yarn bootees.



Staying Cool While Knitting

August 1 is no time to be sitting on this deck knitting little bootees.  It's probably over a 100 deg. out with a warm breeze.  But a new little grandbaby is on the way and the bootees have to be knit.   I 'm in and out of the pool to cool off and back on the shady deck to knit. Don't feel like stopping to make lunch and my husband comes out with just the perfect snack. This is why we're still together after more than 40 years.  That and he makes me tea every morning.

Honestly, nothing beats fresh fruit just as it is on a hot day.  Summer cobblers and pies are delicious but since I'm eating healthier my tastes have changed some.  I love the clean taste of just the fruit.  And it's beautiful.

Finished the bootees--for a little boy.  And I'm already starting on two more pair.

Hubby is grilling hamburgers.  I'll get back to cooking tomorrow.

Zucchini and Red Onion on Naan Bread

A friend gave me this recipe for using zucchini that is now stacked to the ceiling of our kitchen.  I don't know its origin,  but it is one of the most delicious zucchini dishes I've tried.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

young zucchini, thinly sliced

medium red onion, thinly sliced

Naan flatbread

1 tub Garden Vegetable cream cheese, softened (the original recipe calls for Garlic Herb Boursin Cheese, but I didn't  have that on hand that day--both are delicious)

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian Parsley

salt

Saute the red onion in a little canola or olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and remove from pan.  Add a little more oil and saute the zucchini in that pan until lightly browned.  Salt lightly and remove from pan.

Spread Naan with cream cheese.  Sprinkle with some of the Parmesan.

Place cooked onion in a row at one end of the flatbread. Place zucchini next to it in another row. Add another row of onion and another zucchini and end with another row of onion.  Add chopped parsley over the top and the remaining Parmesan cheese over the top.

Place in oven and bake about 20 minutes.

The amounts don't have to be exact.  I used white Naan bread but the recipe called for whole wheat (healthier), which I didn't find in our market. Pita or other flatbread would also work. 

Cut into quarters and eat like pizza.