Knit Think

Nice is not a dirty word

At least, not when it's used in this context:

This was presented to me by the very-nice-herself Miss T.! As I reminded her, "nice" is not always the word that people would associate with me, but I'll happily accept the award, and happily pass it along.

According to Bella Enchanted, who came up with the award, Nice Matters honors “...those that are just nice people, good blog friends and those that inspire good feelings and inspiration! Those that care about others that are there to lend support or those that are just a positive influence in our blogging world!”  To that I'd add, it's not always surface niceness that counts. Sometimes the snidest commentary perks me up like no other, and anything that makes me giggle is worthy of being called nice.

With that in mind, here's who I send the award to:

Bezzie (don't laugh, Bezzie--your K.A.Y.E. program this year alone deserves the award!)

KMKat (possibly awarded this just based on the grumpy pre-Christmas post)

Sarah (I still love my scarf, Sarah!)

Katie (for not only providing laughs, but FOOD)

Carrie (because just the name of her blog makes me chuckle)

This is, of course, just scratching the (nice) surface of the wonderful world of bloggers out there. It's odd to me to think that, just three years ago, I didn't read any blogs. Now, well, hmmm....I hesitate to calculate how much time I spend reading blogs. I tried to weed out my Bloglines the other day, to no avail--everything on my list is something I enjoy reading. And for that, I thank you, my fellow bloggers!

Christmas tidings

I recently won a contest over at the Bronte Blog. The idea was to find a quote from one of the Brontes that expressed some aspect about Christmas, whether it was directly about Christmas or had some thought that, although not specifically about Christmas, could be applied. Here's my entry:

It's from a diary selection of Emily's, as published in Juliet Barker's edition of The Brontes: A Life in Letters, from the July 30^th, 1845 entry:

"…I am quite contented for myself – not as idle as formerly, altogether as hearty and having learnt to make the most of the present and hope for the future with less fidgetness that I cannot do all I wish – seldom or ever troubled with nothing to do and merely desiring that every body could be as comfortable as myself and as undesponding and then we should have a very tolerable world of it—"

Merry Christmas, everyone, and like Emily, I merely desire that all of you could be as comfortable and undesponding as myself!

Friday food

--and it's a holiday two-fer! Two easy-peasy holiday treats.

Let's start with the cranberry slush.

That's it. Four whole ingredients. That you dump into a freezer-friendly container and freeze.

Specifics soon, but first, a Knit Think holiday memory. See that apricot brandy? That stuff is potent--it's 35% alcohol. The first year I made this slush, my father went wild. He rarely drinks alcohol, but he loves cranberry juice. I was watching him chug this stuff, and I kept saying, "Dad, slow down. Dad, that's really strong stuff in there. Dad, you don't drink much. Dad, you really need to slow down."

Did my father listen to me? Of course not. Did he get bombed out of his skull? Why, yes. Later that evening, we were going to drive out and see some Christmas lights (no, we had no plans to let him drive). Our house has a mudroom with a boot bench that opens to store, well, boots. The top was slightly open. My dad reached down, tucked his fingers around the edge of the top, then sat on it, slamming his fingers right into the bench. He still had marks two days later.

My brother pulled me aside and said, "I'm worried about Dad. Do you think there's something wrong with him?"

To which I replied, "Nothing that a good night's sleep and some aspirin and Alka-Seltzer won't fix."

It can't be said that my father doesn't learn from his mistakes. Now he carefully sips his one glass of slush and doesn't ask for seconds.

Like I said, this is about as easy as it gets:

Cranberry Slush

1  48-ounce jar cranapple juice

1 quart 7-Up

1 12-ounce can of frozen lemonade concentrate

1 bottle (fifth) apricot brandy

Combine all ingredients and freeze for 3 days, stirring every 12 hours. Yes--it's called cranberry slush, people, not cranberry slab o' ice. Stir every 12 hours. This is what it looks like:

Pretty!

OK, on to number 2. The Knit Think children are terribly deprived because Mommy just doesn't like to bake. That's a serious hindrance this time of year. But I do have one cookie recipe that's so easy even I can do it.

Again, not so much with the long ingredient list. And one of these ingredients is food coloring, which really doesn't count.

First you beat some egg whites until they're stiff, then add sugar and food coloring. Once those are blended, gently fold in the mint chocolate chips (an ingredient that only seems to be available this time of year).

I used my pretty winter spatula that I got on clearance after Christmas last year from Sur la Table. 

Here's what it looks like, all mixed together and ready to bake.

These have to be made the night before, as you'll see in the recipe instructions.

Mint Meringues

2 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

Red or green food coloring

1 six-ounce package mint chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400F. Whip egg whites until stiff, about 2 minutes. Slowly beat in sugar on lowest speed, then add food coloring to your preference. Gently stir in chips and spoon onto greased cookie sheets. Put the sheets in the oven, then turn the oven off, and leave cookies in oven overnight. Yields approximately 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

They're odd little cookies--the texture is a bit like styrofoam, but the barely-melted chocolate chips and the mint flavor redeem the texture. They're pretty tasty. And easy. And do-ahead. All of my favorite things.

Friday food

I realize it's Saturday. I'm sure many of you were up until the wee hours, gnawing your nails and worrying: What will we DO if Ms. Knit Think doesn't post Friday Food today??? Well, never fear--your weekend food treat is here!

It's an easy one, too.

Have I mentioned how much I love bacon? Mmm. Bacon. It makes me all Homer Simpson. This recipe takes some cottage cheese, chopped fresh chives, Worcestershire sauce, salt and fresh-ground black pepper, dumps them in a food processor, and whirs them about until all is creamy. Then stir in some chopped fried-up honey- or maple-cured bacon and chopped toasted almonds. Refrigerate for a few hours.

It's a little dull looking, but it's not dull tasting. Spread on toast points or crispy crackers, this was pretty yummy. I think the only thing I'd do differently is use regular bacon rather than sugary honey or maple versions; I like good old-fashioned bacony bacon. Or peppered bacon--say, that might be good too.

Anyway, this little gem is from The Bacon Cookbook by James Villas. This recipe, Bacon-Almond Cheese Spread, was also featured in the Star-Tribune a week or so ago, but apparently they didn't get the online rights, because I can't find it on their website. Still, it's a short list of ingredients; you could pretty well guess and come up with something reasonably close.

Speaking of bacon, one of our favorite pasta sauce recipes, which uses peppered bacon, is here. It's delicious, it's quick, everyone likes it--and the real key to this one is to leave the bacon drippings in the pan. They're part of the sauce.

Somewhere, the doctor who keeps telling Ms. Knit Think to eat more healthfully just felt a cold shudder pass through her body.

Finally, for any bacon-loving gift recipients on your holiday list, Cooks of Crocus Hill has the ultimate stocking stuffer:

Yup--chocolate covered bacon.

I bought two.

At long last...

I finished something!

The Cat's Paw Lace Shawl in Malabrigo, Citrus colorway.

I'm pretty happy with it. It's not perfect. And sometimes the colors made me a bit cross-eyed. But I think the recipient will be happy with it too. I sure do love that Malabrigo. And can we please just notice the fact that this is done well before Christmas?

I've actually been doing a lot of knitting, but I've been very ADD. A few rows of this, a few rows of that. Shortly before I finished the shawl, I realized I'd have a good amount of yarn left over, so instead of finishing the shawl, I started a bear for the Mother Bear Project. That colorway makes a darling bear. Or it will, when I finish it. After I do a few more rows of this and a few more rows of that and cast on another, oh, say, four or five projects. Let's see...I still have three scarves, two socks, one bear, a sweater, and a hat on the sticks...and my goodness, there are so many other things I want to knit.

In the meantime, however, since I gave you the reason I love November, here's why I love December:

Friday food

Today's installment is brought to you courtesy of Thyme for Cooking, which created the Seasoned Eatings Exchange! The idea of this exchange was simple: select a spice that is either very specific to your area or very near and dear to your heart, then "Secret Santa" it out to someone else.

I received my secret spice recently:

This came from Simona in California, along with this explanation:

"I am sending you this blend of herbs which are organically grown in Humboldt County, CA, where I live. I have chosen the Italian blend because I was born and grew up in Italy, so in the small bag my country of origin and my adoptive one meet in a savory way."

She goes on to note she bought the herbs at her local farmer's market on its last day for the season (in late NOVEMBER--shall those of us in northern climes pause for a moment to sigh in envy?) and included a recipe for roasted potatoes. My intention was to make the potatoes last night, but driving The Teen around for numerous things led to a late dinner that didn't involve potatoes. Tonight I will make them, and look forward to it--you obviously can't tell from looking, but this little package is so, so fragrant. I think it will also do well on meat or in a pasta sauce. Scrambled eggs, too.

Thank you, Simona!!!

Christmas meme

Saw this over at Marianne's blog and thought it would be fun. No worries--I'm not going to tag anyone--but if you play along, be sure and let me know, so I can read your answers.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both. Bags are fun, but I have lots of gift wrap, courtesy of school fundraisers.
2. Real or artificial tree? Tee hee--this year we went out to buy our usual $14.99 tree from Menard's, and came with two--count 'em, two!--artificial trees. I have a terrible history of not remembering to water the tree. It's right there in my face all season long, and the water can sits on the kitchen counter, and somehow I still can't remember to water it. No problem now.
3. When do you put up the tree? Well, due to #2, it used to be a week or two after Thanksgiving. Now--hey! I can put up the tree Thanksgiving weekend! I like Christmas trees.
4. When do you take the tree down? New Year's weekend or thereabouts.
5. Do you like eggnog? Blech. No.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Hmmmm...there were certainly lots of good ones. I'd have to say Dancerina. Remember her? The big pink ballerina doll? She had a pink plastic crown with a button you'd push, and she'd dance? Loved that doll. That was top of my list that year, and I was so happy.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? No.
8. Hardest person to buy for? My mother. She's very particular. The gift can't be too useful, then it's utilitarian and that will never do for Christmas. It should be somewhat sentimental. On the other hand, she doesn't need any more knickknacks.
9. Easiest person to buy for? Lately, my father--he used to be the hardest, but now that he's 85, he's made it clear that magazine subscriptions and gifts of meat from Costco are good choices. Seriously.
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? GAAAAHH. An organ. No, not a body organ. A musical organ, when I was 14 or 15. My dad loved organ music and thought I must too. I played the piano for years, but never had any interest in the organ. I remember him asking me a few weeks before Christmas if I'd like an organ and I said no, I didn't really like organs. And he said, oh, you'd like one if you had one. And I knew right then what the gift was going to be. The bad thing about that type of gift is: 1. it's expensive, which means other things I did want didn't materialize, and 2. I then had to spend months pretending I liked it and spending time playing it when I really hated it. This is a gift I remind myself of every year when I'm tempted to buy something for the kids that they should like just because I do.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mostly mail.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? "A Christmas Story." Laugh until I cry every time.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? The first time I see something that would make a good Christmas gift. Might be February, might be October.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No. Donated to charity, yes, but recycled, no.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Lefse!

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Both.
17. Favorite Christmas song? That David Bowie/Bing Crosby duet from years ago, Little Drummer Boy.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? stay home. We all get new pajamas and I get to take a nap with my favorite nap accessories (a.k.a. the dogs).
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Blitzen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Vixen, but do you recall...the most famous reindeer of all...of course!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Neither. Santa.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Road rage. Seriously. It's always worse this time of year. Especially around shopping areas. Get over yourselves, people. If you hate shopping that much, go online. I probably did 80% of my shopping on the internet this year. So relaxing. And the UPS man is so cute. But I digress.

23. Do you decorate your tree in any specific theme or color? Well, we do buy a new Star Trek ornament every year, is that a theme? This year's has a lovely battle scene from the Wrath of Khan movie.
24. What do/did you leave for Santa? Cookies and milk, natch.

Remember...if you play along, let me know!