Mad Caterpillar

I love making stuffed artichokes. You can get as creative as you like with the filling and spices, and they are always a big hit with everyone in my house. Here's the basic recipe, but it's also good when you add a little cooked shrimp, or maybe some ground beef or sausage, or maybe add some apples or raisins if you like that sort of thing...

• 2 whole artichokes
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
• 1 small zucchini, finely chopped
• 8-10 crimini mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 portobello mushroom, finely chopped
• 2 cups breadcrumbs
• 2TBS olive oil or butter
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper

1: Cut the tips off the artichoke leaves wtih a pair of scissors to remove the nasty little sticky points at the top of the leaves. Then cut the bottom stem off the artichoke, and make an "x" shape in the bottom with a knife. Steam the artichokes for about 35 - 40 mins over medium heat. The goal here is to get the artichokes mostly cooked but to make sure they don't fall apart when they are removed from the steamer.

2: While the artichokes are steaming, saute the onions in the olive oil or butter (or a mixture of both) over medium heat. After about 5 minutes, add the carrots. After another 10 minutes or so, add the zucchini and mushrooms. Once everything is cooked and softened (probably another 10-15 minutes) remove from heat. Add breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese -- mix well and add salt and pepper to taste. If the stuffing is too dry, add a little more olive oil. Or for added flavor you could add a little chicken or vegetable stock. My favorite trick is to dissolve a teaspoon of this in a tiny amount of boiling water and add that in for a bit of moisture and flavor. The stuffing should now look something like this.

3: Make a couple of rings out of aluminum foil. You will be placing the artichokes in these rings to stabilize them during stuffing and to elevate them from the water in the final baking stage. The rings should look something like this.

4. When the artichokes are done, let them cool a little then place them in the aluminum rings. Gently spread the artichoke leaves and add some stuffing inside each leaf. Be sure to pack some stuffing into the middle of the artichoke. At this point they should look something like this.

5: Place the artichokes on their rings into a pan, and add a little water to the pan. Cover the entire pan with aluminum foil and bake in a 350-degree preheated oven for about half an hour. Serves two as a main dish, or cut in half for four side-dish servings.

Enjoy!

Posted by Danielle at 04:54 PM | | Comments (1)

My great grandmother used to make these by the bucketful, and every time we'd go to visit her she'd send me home with one or two. I didn't appreciate them as a young girl as much as I do now, but fortunately I had the sense to hold onto them. Now that I am older, I know the skill and the love that went into them, and I treasure them for the heirlooms that they are.

With my foray into the world of granny squares, I have found that crochet can be kind of addicting. And for some reason, I started to wonder if I could create one of these little lace pieces myself. So armed with this book, a ball of cotton thread from Joanne's, and a tiny crochet hook that had heretofore only been used to pick up dropped stitches in knitted socks, I proceeded to make the wee trifle above. Despite several mistakes I think it turned out rather pretty, although it is indeed very small. I have a couple ideas for what I will do with it, but in the meantime it does make a lovely trivet for my favorite teacup:

Posted by Danielle at 06:58 PM | | Comments (3)

I finished my first Sockapalooza 4 Sock Pal's sock last night at around midnight. Here it is, after a good soak and a block:

Click here for a closeup of the knitted fabric.

This Fleece Artist yarn really knits up fast, and the four-row repeat of the "Go with the Flow" pattern really keeps you going... With the flow, I guess. I cast on right away for the second sock, in a hopeful attempt to avoid the dreaded Second Sock Syndrome, to which I tend to be susceptible, as evidenced by this sock which has languished in twinless sock limbo for the better part of two years now. But fear not, oh mystery Sock Pal, I promise to finish in good time.

I like weaving in toe ends because it gives me the chance to use this wonderful tool:

It's a yellowheart darning egg turned by Phil Powell that I purchased from Janet Lynn at The Wheel Thing. She has an extensive collection of gorgeous fiber tools on her site and she is a true pleasure to do business with. I have no affiliation -- I'm just a happy customer and I recommend her store highly. And Phil Powell's work is beautiful, a true testament to form and function.

Posted by Danielle at 08:04 PM | | Comments (12)

Here is the sock as it stands right now, just past the gusset and enjoying the sunset view from a local park:

Here is what the sock was looking at:

It was a beautiful evening here in Seattle.

On the topic of socks, if there are any visitors here from Sockapalooza, I'd love to get your input on whether or not you use sock reinforcement thread at the heels and/or toes of your socks, and what your favorite type is. I usually use Schoeller+Stahl Fortissima Socka reinforcement thread at the heels and toes of most of the socks that I make. It seems to come in a variety of colors and you can find it almost anywhere. I'm using a dark brown in this latest sock for my Sock Pal. Does anyone know where one could find this stuff in bulk -- on small cones or something like that?

Posted by Danielle at 08:47 PM | | Comments (12)

The state of the weather.

My family outgrew our tiny house in Seattle several years ago. But the housing market here being what it is, we can't afford to upgrade. And our location is so convenient, that we're not willing to move as far away as we'd need to in order to get more space. So we make do with what little space we have, fighting a losing battle with clutter, and remembering to enjoy the advantages of a short commute and proximity to the things we love to do and the places we need to go. What our house lacks in size, however, it gains in view. In fact the thing that attracted us to this house many many years ago is the beautiful view of the Olympic Mountains that we appreciate every single day that we are here. Even when you can't see the mountains, you can see the weather. And weather abounds here in the Pacific Northwest. Take yesterday, for example. It started out overcast and damp, progressed to slightly sunny, and by mid-afternoon it was obvious that a storm was about to roll through. Here is the view at 3:15pm:

And again at 3:45 pm:

And again at about 6:30pm. The storm blew by in a couple hours, and bright sun shone from behind the mountains as it set in all its weather-laden glory:

It looks like we're in for similar weather today.

The state of the granny.

I have finished 20 of these little squares so far. I have 364 more squares to go to make the size of blanket that I hope to end up with. This is going to take a while.

The state of the sock.

I am really enjoying knitting my Sock Pal's sock. The Sea Wool is delightful to work with, the colorway is even prettier than I thought it was in skein form, and the pattern is turning out gorgeous. I was a little skeptical about the cuff that the pattern called for, as the picture in the book really doesn't do it justice. (I'm knitting the "Go with the Flow" pattern from "Favorite Socks".) But I love how it looks in person, the ladder lace cuff is really different and feminine, and looks great with the main pattern of the sock. I really hope my sock pal likes it. Here's where I'm at so far:

Posted by Danielle at 03:45 PM | | Comments (0)