pjbknit

I is for Iced Tea

I couldn't come up with an idea for I, except for Internet. DH suggested Insect, then Iced tea. I went with the iced tea idea. He dragged a heavy table into the shade and distracted the dogs so I could have a photo shoot. Boy.am I full of tea. I was getting warm and started drinking the props.

My photo assistant was lying under the tea table behaving himself, while DH restrained his friend the bulldog. Anyone need a sweet terrier and bulldog? DH named them Skipper and Little Buddy.

Afternoon Tea

I asked for tea this year for Valentines Day. Here is what DH got for me. I got him some Off-Road Crocs, which are made tougher than regular Crocs.

C is California Roll

I wanted to share this photo, as I don't get California rolls very often where I live in the sticks. I dislike raw fish, so this is the closest to sushi I get.

What I Did Today

Well, I haven't done any knitting so far. My FIL loves waffles, and we have not been maintaining the supply recently, so I made waffles for what seemed like half a day. Here is a shot of the freezer.

I finished my smaller bag yesterday, and made a matching tissue cover.

All these photos were taken near a window. Look what is in the window.

Recipes

Here is my recipe box for The Grandma Mabel Memorial Recipe Box Show & Tell Contest
This is my "fancy' one, with my favorite recipes printed on 4x6 inch cards, using Mastercook software. The file folder, however, contains MC printouts, (several copies from when I can't find what I want) newspaper and  magazine clippings, etc. and is what I usually cook from.

While not really from my box, I wanted to share my father's recipe for BBQ sauce. This was for the Lions Club Chick-n-que.  He had a brass exterminator's sprayer with which he applied the sauce to 1,500 halves.  Note: the mineral spirits is for starting the fire, not adding to the sauce.

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We also have cookbooks from DH's mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Here is his mother's

Also, here is my mother, Kitty Barnett's,  recipe for a special occasion nibble.

Nippy Cheese Wafers.

2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup butter
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
3/4 cup nuts, finely chopped

Mix and shape into rolls. Wrap in wax paper and chill overnight. Slice thin, bake at 350 degrees until light brown. Dough may be frozen

Still Baking

I had to make DH a sour cream  pound cake for Christmas.  I tried for some more artistic shots. The nonstick Bundt pan did not let go readily last time, so I sprayed the pan with the Bakers Joy stuff with flour in it, and the cake slid right out. The knitting does not look any different, so here is a pound cake.

A Couple of Things, Knitting Included

First, I have almost finished the first River Run sock from Wendy Knits pattern and Fearless Fibers Pride sock yarn. (from the Seven Deadly Sins sock yarn club.) It just need a little ribbing at the top. The blocker is leaning on an amaryllis plant on the patio. It was 72 degrees outside, according to the car, when I returned from the grocery store around noon.

I think one of my Target amaryllis has a bud. Does it look like a bud to you? The other one is not doing much.

I made Nippy Cheese Wafers from my mother's recipe. I suspect the red pepper is to keep you from eating the entire batch.

We finally managed to get the Christmas tree put up. It is decorated with knitted and crocheted ornaments, and ... the USS Defiant, from I think Star Trek Deep Space Nine.  Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments. You plug these into the tree lights, and they glow or blink. The Voyager ship has lights too. Cool. DH says.

Peppermint Marshmallows

I have wanted to try making marshmallows since I saw them on a cooking blog, Baking Bites, last year. I decided to try peppermint. These have peppermint extract. The red food coloring did not quite form as pretty a pattern as I envisioned. Oh well, DH washed the Kitchenaid's bowl before I could show you the solidified mess left. He said they look like a surrealistic painting. You cut them when they are set, and dust the cut edges with powdered sugar. Then you plop them in hot cocoa. I saw this done on the Food Network show with Paula Deen's sons last night.

 

This is homemade cocoa mix, made with milk, with just a wee bit of extra flavoring. DH agreed there is probably more alcohol in my nighttime cough medicine, as I am a wimp.

Checklist

Well, let's see. Today, I got up, (late, because this is the only day this week that the library is open until 11 p.m., so I have to work late) and made a cranberry-grapefruit salad. It has gelatin, jellied cranberry sauce, grapefruit sections and pecans. DH's grandmother always made it for holiday dinners.

Yesterday. I made a sour cream pound cake, from my mother's recipe.. It has a missing section now, and it's not as photogenic. Had to check it out, as I have been known to make mistakes, ya know

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Saturday before lunch I made a Sweet Potato Casserole with Praline Topping from a Cooking Light recipe. It is a lighter version of Sweet Potato Crunch, which my sister in law always made.

I baked a pan of cornbread before I left for the grocery store in the afternoon on Sat., then made cornbread dressing when I returned. These two are ready to be baked, once they come out of the freezer.

Oh yeah, I finished the Los Lobe Hose sockie earrings, then got sucked into a movie on Bravo, and sat there for 2 hours with my knitting on my lap, untouched. I did not think the movie was worthy of the DVR.

How About Them Apples?

Saturday Sky:

Well, I managed to get some good horsey photos today. They actually got too close to the camera.

I had to bribe them. Then they even let me rub their noses. (They didn't get these. These were cooked. They got bruised and windfall apples.)

Little Girl and Strawberry say, "You brought us apples!"

Did all that distract you from the lack of knitting content? I have two wedges done on a pumpkin from Knitty. My brown and green  Cascade 220 have been wound. I also ordered some Wool of the Andes in pumpkin from Knit Picks, as well as a set of Harmony wooden dpns.