A little here and a little there, a little bit everywhere

Each holiday season, there are plenty of "little" gifts you need to secure.  "Little" is a misnomer.  More often than not, these "little" gifts are for folks who help the world go 'round.  Teachers, mail deliverers, music instructors, care providers, co-workers, neighbors.....the list goes on and on.

I have a lot of friends who are teachers.  I listen to them.  (Heck, I admire the fool out of them.  They have chosen a career I know I am not meant to do.)  One thing they have drilled into me:  teachers do not expect gifts.  They do not expect families to spend money on them.  If a family feels compelled to present them with a gift, it doesn't need to be expensive.

RULE #1:  Small gift cards are GREAT!

A $5 gift card can be great!  Coffee drinker? Local coffee shop or Starbucks - whatever is closer to the school.  Target?  A teacher can ALWAYS find something at Target.  Local grocery store?  Everyone need to make a quick grocery run every now and then on the way home from work.  Select a store near the school (preferably on the quicker route away from school).  While it may seem boring to grab a $5 gift card to a generic store, we all run in and out of these stores and that is $5 they don't have to spend out of their pocket!

RULE #2:  No coffee cups full of candy!

Apparently teachers get LOTS of coffee cups full of candy.  They don't need anymore.

RULE #3:  Homemade food is nice, but can be creepy.

This one was hard for me to wrap my head around UNTIL a teacher explained it to me.  It is great that people want to share food with them.  There are people who have issues with eating food prepared by people they don't know well.  I can respect that.  Keep it in mind when you are preparing food as a gift.

Additional gift options for teachers and others:
Levenger offers a variety of games during the holiday season.  Many are moderately priced, such as:  Story Cubes, Literary Charades, Ever After Memory Game, Orijinz, Tell Tale, Spot It, Name Chase, or Zip It.  (There are more great educational games to consider for the offsprings and others on the gift list too.)  My absolutely FAVORITE little gifts/teacher gift/stocking stuffer are book bungees.

Penzey's has some great spice boxes for small gifts:  Kind Heart, Mini Gift Box, Grill and Broil Mini Gift Box, and Baking Mini Gift Box.

If you want some food treats to include, there are a wide variety of holiday options available at:  Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Earthfare, and many local grocers.  I have found nice bowls and containers at Tuesday Morning and TJ Maxx (not coffee mugs!).

Have fun.  Be creative.  Most of all, enjoy the act of giving!

Food is love, so gifts of food are fabulous!

We can't always provide someone with a gift of homemade food.  Logistical (distance), safety (it is a bit weird to receive homemade food from someone you don't know that well), dietary (allergies and medical limitations), and preference (some folks really like prepared foods - I've been trying for years to understand it without much success) all play a role.  There are some cool options available though!

All of these food options are family/local businesses.  They just aren't necessarily located around the corner from your house!  Purchasing from them still supports the small business backbone of our economy during these tough times.  Best of all:  their products are FABULOUS!

Many years ago, my spouse had a business trip to Racine, WI.  A colleague (originally from the area) enabled introduced him to Danish kringle from O&H Danish Bakery.  When their kringle became available for online ordering and delivery, we haven't had a holiday season (or his birthday or Father's day) without a delivery.  He hoards it.  Literally.  It disappears to the spare frig in the garage to stay out of view of potential guests.  The offspring scores servings now that he has proven he will eat the entire allotment and not waste any.  The great thing about ordering from O&H is that you can schedule your delivery when you order (i.e. order now and have them arrive at the appointed location on the days of your choosing during the holiday season).  You don't have to worry about logging in multiple times to take care of your list.  I have scheduled for kringle to arrive at holiday locations the same day we drive in.  Additionally, we have yet to send kringles as gifts where the recipients weren't hooked afterwards.  Favorite flavors of the spouse and offspring (in no particular order):  cherry, pumpkin caramel, raspberry, pecan, turtle, maple walnut, cranberry.

Sunnyland Farms pecans (and treats) are awesome!  There is always a debate as to whether orange frost or sugar and spice is the ultimate favorite.  Either way, the recipient is a winner.  (Full disclosure: I'm in Camp Orange Frost.)  There are lots of other great goodies to choose from too.  October is pecan season so gifts from Sunnyland Farms will be fresh when they arrive for the holidays.  IMPORTANT:  when you order, make sure you are on the list to receive the catalog next year.  You'll understand why when you receive it.  One of my favorite fall activities is reading the Sunnyland Farms catalog.

I have mentioned Gearhart's chocolates before in the blog.  A gift from Gearhart's is the ultimate in indulgence.  Treat yourself (the spouse and I do EVERY year) or someone else.  The standard assortments are great, but for $1 more you can create custom assortments also.

Gifts that keep giving:
For the foodie or wanna be foodie:  Bon Appetit
For the foodie who wants more information/detail:  Cooks Illustrated
For folks dealing with allergy/medical issues:  Living Without

Needle news:

Birthday gift for my mother-in-law.  She requested a felted handbag.
Pattern: Little Slip of a Thing
Yarn:  Ella Rae 100% worsted weight wool; one skein each purple and gray

True sign a nip is in the air.  Freshing up the socks.

Celebration

It has been a busy month or so.  Can you tell?  When the day winds down, I focus on spending time with the family, cooking, and - obviously - knitting.

We have celebrated the offspring's birthday!  Rule at our house:  birthday celebrant sets the menu for the family meal.  Oh, how I love my child!  The menu: homemade macaroni and cheese with bacon; cooked apples; baked sweet potatoes; lima beans; and ice cream cake.

I've never made an ice cream cake.  As usual, I developed a plan and dove it.  First, I baked a homemade brownie layer (cake style vs fudgy) in an 8" layer cake pan.  I removed the brownie from the pan.  After it was completely cool, I wrapped it and placed it in the freezer.

Next, I began making the ice cream layers.  The offspring chose (from bottom to top): mint chocolate chip, cookies and cream, and cherry chocolate.  I softened the ice cream and used the 8" layer pans to form the separate ice cream layers.

After at least overnight in the freezer, I began to assemble the cake.  I placed the frozen brownie layer on the serving dish.  One-by-one, I removed the ice cream layers from the pan by dipping each in a sink of warm water for about 10 seconds and turned it out on ice cream cake.  I placed the assembled cake in the freezer overnight.

The next day, I prepared a double batch of Super Stabilized Whipped Cream and decorated the cake the day of the dinner.

After decorating, the cake was in the freezer for approximately 6 hrs before serving.  All components were frozen.  It was a little difficult to insert the candles in the whipped cream.  The next time, I will most likely utilize the Stabilized Whipped Cream for frosting.

It was enjoyed by all.  We will definitely have another sometime.

I could have done without the mint chocolate chip and the cherry chocolate together.  Of course, it wasn't my celebration.

Our birthday gift to the offspring was a trip to Universal Florida and a visit to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  We had great fun.

The offspring had a few items on a punch list for the trip:

We drank butterbeer.  (Both frozen and liquid - frozen won out as the favorite for our family.)

Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans were consumed.  (Plus more brought back for sharing.)

Pumpkin juice was consumed.

And most importantly - a wand was procured from Olivander's.

Several knitted items have been completed during the blog absence.  I'll gather all the pictures and include them later.

I also have some wonderful holiday gift suggestions.  I'll include those next time.

Bits and Pieces

What a month!  I have had every intention of posting, but work has gotten in the way.  New (relatively temporary) duties have required even earlier hours and have sucked up my knitting time during the offspring's afternoon activities.  In a fit of "I must accomplish something fiber-related or I might pop" on a Saturday, out came the following bits and pieces busters.

I am sure I'm not the only one who hangs on to bits and pieces of skeins of yarn.  You never know when you might need to make Silly Socks for school or an anemone for a diorama or mend a hole in a sock (I'm still ticked at some bug) or anything else that might pop up.

As my hair has gotten wider longer, I have been in search of an effective, yet comfortable headband.  This particular Saturday, as I was sipping my cappuccino, I decided to check Ravelry for patterns.  Low and behold, I came across the perfect match!  All you knit is a simple I-cord.  Rachel Bishop takes the time to pictorially show how to knit an I-cord.  Easy as can be!  I-cords are a good way to get use to double points or magic-loop.

It took me about an hour to knit each of these.  All were knitted from my "leftovers stash".

Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend

Handspun

Forest Has a Long Memory

Merino/Tussah Silk

2-ply

Spinning Awesome Good

I knitted three I-cords, braided and attached to the hairband.

I-cord for 3 inches.  Increase to 8 stitches.  Slip stitch beginning of row, 2x2 cable for 8 inches.  Decrease to four stitches, I-cord for 3 inches.  Attached to hairband.

Handspun

Navajo ply

Northern Lights

Blue Faced Lecester

Spinning Awesome Good

For my pseudo-offsprings:

Cherry Tree Hill

Supersock Select Azalea

Single chain crochet flower in Northern Lights (see above)

Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend

Flower in discontinued color of Knit Picks Stroll

Koigu PPPM in a long-lost color

Flowers in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Select Azalea and Knit Picks Stroll

It was a fabulous, fiber-productive-feeling weekend.  Plus, there are several girls enjoying their one-of-a-kind headbands that don't pinch or hurt!  Fabulous!

Holiday gift ideas:

Teachers - I received a Penzey's Spice catalog this week.  They have  a teacher's gift FOR FREE with a purchase.  Code: 83018C (one per household)  It is an AWESOME deal.  You can purchase additional kits for $8.78 each.  Kits include:  1/2 c jar Penzeys Forward seasoning, 1/4 c jar Penzey's cinnamon, Teachers Care bumper sticker, Teach! pin, and Teach! book of stories and recipes. (You can also get a free 1/2 cup jar of Penzey Forward for yourself with coupon code: 15958C)

If you have a potential sock knitter (i.e. they have been discussing it, but haven't taken the plunge), enable them for life by shopping at Knit Picks.  Knit Picks double points are great and affordable.  You can purchase individual sets (select sizes 0-2 for sock newbies) or a great set for those bitten by the sock bug.  Throw in a skein or two of Stroll and you have a full sock knitting kit!  (At VERY AFFORDABLE prices.)

One of those people

That would be me.  I have already started Christmas shopping.  I actually started some time ago, but this is the time of year I begin to ramp it up.  (If it makes you feel better, I don't start wrapping until the tree goes up the first week in December.)

From now through the holidays, I will try to offer gift suggestions for the fiber and food lovers on your shopping lists.  I will try to offer a wide variety of ideas for every budget.  Hopefully you will find something just right for your loved ones.

If you shop for a hardcore sock knitter who has everything, Blackthorn DPN are the ultimate splurge.  Many knitters would feel guilty spending this on a set of DPN (double point needles for the non-sock/hat knitting folks) so a set would be a wonderful expression of "I know you would never treat yourself, but I know you will use them constantly" caring.  [Honey, here is your hint - 6" size 00 would be perfect.]

For the foodie on your list, spice gift boxes are a fabulous option.  Penzeys offers gift boxes for every budget.  Spices are also something that need replacing every so often also.  Spice blends can open up new doors for cooking creativity also.

Fiber fanatics who would like to give hand knits for gifts, now is the time to start!  Scarves (in particular lace ones) are great gifts for colleagues, teachers, family members, etc.  There are tons of pattern options on Ravelry (most are free!).  The Cherry Tree Hill semi-annual yarn sale occurs Labor Day weekend.  Cast on and start knitting!

Saucy!

The heat of the summer is upon us (heck, the heat of the summer has been here a.l.l. s.u.m.m.e.r. l.o.n.g.).  One of the pleasant things about the end of summer is harvesting a crop of basil and stashing next year's pesto!  (This year's heat has resulted in a modest basil crop. [insert grumbles])

Making fresh pesto and stashing it in the freezer for the winter is a snap.  You only need a few supplies.  (If you want a recipe, you can find a simple recipe here.  If you want to buy the book (it is great), please consider visiting a local, independent bookstore before "clicking".)

First, wash and spin dry the basil.

Toast pine nuts in a dry skillet.  When I toast pine nuts, I usually cover the bottom the skillet and put the leftovers in the freezer for pasta and breads.

Gather your supplies and ingredients.  I add fresh lemon juice to my pesto to help retain color.  I squeeze it through a fine mesh strain directly into the food processor.

If you need lemon zest for something else, harvest it before juicing the lemon.  I have found that lemons stored in the refrigerator produce a higher juice yield.

After the ingredients have been added to the food processor (basil, toasted pine nuts, fresh garlic, salt, pepper, and lemon juice), add about 1/2 of the recommended olive oil.  Process, taking time to scrape down the sides and add more olive oil until you have the proper consistency.

I prefer pesto for freezing to be slightly thicker in viscosity than if I were planning on using it immediately.  The consistency will change when it is thawed.  I add oil after thawing to achieve the desired viscosity for my application.

I freeze pesto in ice cube trays.  It is important to note:  DO NOT ADD CHEESE to the pesto before freezing.  Cheese is added to the pesto after thawing.  The cheese will not freeze well.

Once frozen, pop out of trays and store in a zip top freezer bag.

Frozen pesto cubes are also great to throw into red sauce.

So simple!  (and wonderful - all year round)

Recently off the needles:

Back in June, I shared a recent handspun.  It has now turned into -

A Rain Drop stole.  (US 9 needles)

Before blocking.

On the pins.  (Sorry for the craptastic lighting.  The cat REALLY wanted back on the bed, so I was hurrying.  Hey, she's 20 yrs old.  She has earned the right to be pushy at times.)  This is stretched on a queen size bed.

My future's so bright, I've gotta wear shades

I'm always asked, "Don't you want a daughter?"  Honestly, I am thrilled to be blessed with a child.  I had no preference for either gender.  I truly just wanted a healthy child.  There are many people who assume that I must have a burning desire for a daughter since I cook, knit, sew, etc.  While I do enjoy sharing these pursuits with children, I don't necessarily have to produce my own daughter, I can "rent" one of just about any age from my dear friends (who don't have any sons - see, the whole thing really balances out).

This summer, "the girls" and I undertook a yarn-related project.  The two older girls (older is relative) had requested knitted purses.  I had read an article about dying yarn with Kool Aid.  How can you pass up a perfect storm such as this?

I ordered several skeins of Knit Picks Bare (varying weights and fiber content).  I downloaded the Knit Picks Kool Aid Dyeing Tutorial.  We were ready to roll!  The girls begged asked their mothers to take them shopping for Kool Aid.  I bought quart wide-mouth canning jars.  I was smarter than the average bear - I dyed my own sock yarn before starting the endeavor with young, highly excited children.

I knotted the yarn randomly throughout (and across) the skein to have areas of white and color.

Lemon-lime Kool Aid is bright.  (I was expecting it.)  For the whole skein of sock yarn (Stroll, fingering weight, superwash wool/nylon), I used a two quart glass pitcher for dyeing.

The yarn definitely has the fruity smell when it comes out of the dyeing solution.

I was quite pleased with the final results.

Currently on the needles.  (I will totally wear these with a business suit to a meeting.)

I split the skeins of worsted weight wool in half for the girls' purses.  The Kool Aid flavors (front to back):  strawberry-watermelon, berry blue, strawberry lemonade, berry blue, strawberry-watermelon over dyed with another bright pink flavor that escapes me (skein of sport weight superwash wool/nylon for another purpose).

Finished skeins (in the same order).

I made drawstring bags.  I began by casting on and knitting a 6" square.  I evenly picked up stitches along all edges. (US 9 needle)  Both purses have beads knitted in.  I knitted a ruffled edge above the eyelets.  I made an I-cord drawstring of each color.

 After felting, I shaped the bags on overturned quart canning jars.  I installed 3/8" grommets in the eyelets.

This is the strawberry-watermelon/berry blue purse with silver beads.

This is the strawberry lemonade/berry blue purse with purple beads.

Since there was a little sister also involved, she was surprised with a purse (random wool in the stash and Eros).  Another improvised design.  (Felted measurement: approximate 6" wide)

Recently off the needles:
Skew in Koigu pppm (colorway 145).  This is my second pair of Skew.  I love the concept of the pattern, but the easement through the ankle leaves a bit to be desired when putting them on.  Once they are on, they fit like a glove.

Alas, these are destined for other feet (as soon as they have a bath - the socks that is).

That time of year again

Summer completely blew by us.  (I'm sure you could tell from the lack of activity on this blog.)  It has been hot.  Incredibly hot.  The offspring has attended day camp (taking tons of field trips - we didn't have that many fun things going on in day camp when I was a kid), Music and Arts Week, vacation Bible school, Tae Kwon Do camp, and his absolute favorite - Camp Grandparent.  (Camp Grandparent = a week with each set of Grands and the 24/7 motto: What would you like now?  There are benefits to being the only grandchild for both families.)

Now, (thankfully) it is time to get back into the school routine!  The offspring really couldn't wait for school to start.  He misses it.  Heck, he LOVES school.  (The genes are strong in this family.)  He has plowed through a veritable ton of books during the summer in the mist of all his activities.

I thought I would share a few favorite back-to-school items.  All of these items have stood the test of time in our household.

This backpack has been going strong for 2+ yrs and doesn't show signs of stopping.  The only small problem we have experienced happened when the school stuck a sticker on the back and the adhesive pulled some of the reflective strip off.

The offspring carries his lunch to school every single day.  We have completely random food allergies in our household.  While I could go on and on about the nutritional state of school lunches offered in the US, moral of the story - the one vegetable the offspring is absolutely allergic to is on heavy rotation in the school lunch menu plan.  Epi-pens are maintained at school and the offspring takes his lunch.  His lunch box is in GREAT shape.  He uses it everyday of school and off and on throughout the summer.  It is literally showing NO signs of wear.  I used a Sharpie to label it with his name and address on the inside.  The labeling is still highly legible after years of cleaning.

My husband and I have become champs at packing a lunch box.  The offspring makes his selections each evening during dinner and we take care of corralling it all as we clean the kitchen.  We have a little shelf on the refrigerator door only used for lunch box staging.  For 2+ years, we have used the same containers, water bottles (place it in a ziplock bag for those times with the kiddos doesn't get it closed **quite** enough), and ice packs (place in a ziplock bag in case it springs a leak).

The offspring insists on yogurt and cheese everyday.  We freeze yogurt tubes and they are thawed by lunch.  We also figured out to include a pair of safety scissors in the outside pocket of the lunch box for days when the pull tab doesn't work as expected on the yogurt tube.  (This was particularly important when all the front teeth were missing.)  Our favorite brands of yogurt tubes (lower sugar content) are Trader Joe's Squishers, Squeezers, Tuberz, and Simply Gogurt.  Some of the most requested snacks are:  Z bars, fruit twists (which are apparently now called "Z Fruit Ropes" - both Zbars and Z Fruit Ropes can be purchased at Sams Club in the nutritional supplement section at a much cheaper price than mainstream stores), and freeze dried fruit.

Each day, the offspring gets a small dessert with lunch.  I try to keep a variety of brownies or other bar cookies on hand.  I bake a 9x13 dish and after it has cooled, cut them into small squares, place in a gallon ziplock freezer bag and freeze.  We will pull one out the night before, package it, and place in on the lunch box shelf in the refrigerator.  The offspring loves having a variety of homemade treats as a surprise each day.  It is the small things that can make a huge impact on a person's life.  Don't forget it.

(The Blond Brownie recipe from here has been a HUGE hit.  I blended bittersweet and milk chocolate chips.)

There has been a lot going on in the kitchen and on the needles.  I promise to update soon.

On the road again....

Work travel has been a bit much recently.  (I know, I know - there is at least one person who reads this blog that I can not hold a candle to their work travel schedule.)  Summer generally brings a spate of speaking engagements and professional meetings.

For the past five years, I teach for two solid (and I do mean S.O.L.I.D) days at a particular university located in Madison, WI.  Between traveling to and fro (along with giving that pesky exam the students seem to enjoy so much), it takes about 4 days out of my crammed summer schedule and zaps the heck out of me.  (While I do enjoy talking, lecturing almost 8 hr a day for two days straight is a bit much.)

If I am lucky, I finish up lectures one day in time to hit the Penzeys Spices right down the street from the university.

They have expanded since last year!

(Yes, I asked the staff if it was OK for me to take pictures while I shopped.  They are so kind, they didn't in bat an eye when I told them I wanted to blog about it.)

 This gives you a minute example of what awaits at every store.

Personally, I thought I did pretty freaking well.

1) I only spent $68 on some fabulous new things and a few old favorites that needed replenishing.
2) I was "quick" and actually finished just at 7p when the store was closing.  (I didn't arrive until 6p.)

Other random things from the trip.

This was my view on the flight from Chicago to Madison.  I asked if I had been assigned that "time out" seat.  The flight attendant and I spent a good bit of time chatting since she was seated in front of me most of the flight (only 21 minutes flying time).

This water fountain ROCKS.  As a person who carried a stainless steel water bottle with me almost everywhere, it was awesome to have a water fountain available to accommodate reusable water bottles.

It doesn't take a whole lot to excite me.

Want to attract all young girls within a three gate area at the airport?  Knit a splashy colored pair of socks.

Most exciting news yet?

The offspring has earned his first level provisional black belt in Taekwondo!

He is beyond excited and we are extremely proud!

Crying fowl!

As much as I dislike a certain grocery store chain, there is a store in the same shopping center as the Taekwondo studio the offspring attends.  It is hard to justify an additional stop during an already busy day/evening when you have an hour available to walk over to the store.  Last Friday, I went to grab some fresh cilantro (since it won't make it 6 days between "grocery day" and when it was needed) and cheese (greater consumption than planned) for dinner.  Commuting from produce to dairy led me past the frozen turkey case.  What do I spy?  A HUGE sale.  ($0.59/pound for whole birds vs $1.89!!!)  So, I schlepped a 12.5 lb bird back to Taekwondo.

Time to smoke some turkeys!

I called a dear friend and she grabbed one also.  (Which found its way to our house.)  After thawing in the spare refrigerator for a week, I started the brining/smoking process.

I started by giving the herbs a bit of a hair cut.  (You can't even tell I was out there.  They are loving this summer.)

I placed two bags (you can use trash bags - if your brand of trash bags has an issue with leaking, use three) in a large stock pot.  I used a 16 qt and a 20 qt for the two turkeys.  I threw half my herb assortment in along with a handful of whole peppercorns.

I placed the turkey in the pot with the back facing upwards.  If you end up with an air pocket in your bag, the back will not be submerged in the brine vs the breast.

Make sure to remove the neck and giblets from the abdominal cavity.

I mix up a brine.  The ratios I generally use are:
1 gallon water/4 lbs of bird weight
1 lb salt/gallon of water
1/2 c sugar/gallon of water

(For my 12 lb bird, I used 3 gallons of water, 3 lbs of salt, and 1 1/2 c of sugar.)

Dissolve the salt and sugar in the water.  The salt and sugar will dissolve more easily if you mix up each gallon separately.  Pour the brine into the brining bag set-up.

Pull the inner most bag up and squeeze out as much air as possible.  Make sure to jiggle the bird a bit to ensure you have all the air out of the abdominal cavity. 

Twist the bag and secure with a rubber band.

 Pull up the second bag and repeat the closure process.

Place the bird in the refrigerator and allow it to brine for about 12 hours before smoking.

Twelve hours or so later, prep your grill.  My husband prefers to set the fire on one side of our grill and place the meat for smoking on the other side.

A good bit of fat comes out of the turkey during the smoking/grilling process, so we line the turkey side of the grill with aluminum foil to ease clean-up.

Once the fire is ready, remove the bird from the brine and allow it to drain.

Pat the bird with some paper towels.  Immediately dispose of the paper towels to prevent potential microbial cross contamination.

Place the birds on the grill.

My husband prefers to cover the grate of the "fire side" of the grill with several layers of foil to help direct the heat, and more importantly, the smoke towards the birds on the "cooking side".

(In this picture, all of the fire is on the left side of the grill.)

We prefer hickory wood chunks for smoking.  We soak the wood chunks for at least 30 minutes before using.

I like to smoke turkeys for about one hour.  After this time, we only add additional charcoal to the grill.

(After the smoking process is over, I like to throw any cast iron in need of a new seasoning coat on the "fire side" of the grill.  Might as well make good use of the long fire.)

We maintain a steady fire throughout the smoking and cooking process.  We shoot for approximately a 300F average temperature on the "cooking side" of the grill.

Cook until the deep portion of the thigh registers at least 165F.  The two 12 lb birds took about 4 hours today.  They taste fabulous!

We ate some for dinner.  The rest was froze for both families to use later.

The carcasses are sitting in the spare fridge waiting to be converted to smoked turkey broth.  (I refuse to waste anything.)