Just keep knitting...

Ever watched Finding Nemo?  Remember Dory?  "Just keep swimming.  Just keep swimming."  I have repeated that phase many times over the past few months.  I used to make quilts for the babies of family and friends.  Now, spending time in a sewing room just does not work with the family.   So I started a quilt for the last family baby and embarrassingly, I never finished it.  This was two years ago.  Now they have had another baby.   Yikes.

I decided to try to knit two baby blankets.  I didn't let the fact that I have never knit a blanket before stop me.  How hard can it be?  I cruised patterns on Ravelry.

The first pattern I found was the Baby Love Diagonal Baby Blanket on Lionbrand Patterns.  I liked the ones where people threaded ribbons through the yarn-over holes but my favorite one was done in stripes and changed halfway through.  I love the stripes, but weaving in all the ends was a chore.

The next pattern was the Moderne Baby Blanket from Mason-Dixon Knitting.  I liked that it was based on a quilt and required no sewing.  I apparently got stuck in a blue-green rut.  The yarn is the softest pima cotton called Crayon from Knitpicks.  I tried other color combos, but nothing else was doing it for me. Mason-Dixon Knitting is a good book.  I have made a couple of the patterns and the writing is fun and clear.  I got a ton of this blanket done while flying for work.  Yes, you can bring knitting needles on domestic flights.

I am soooo glad that these are done!  Not because they are late.  Really late.  No, I'm glad because they were literally miles of garter stitch knitting.  I'm not sure if I can purl anymore.  There were moments (okay days) when I thought they would never be finished.  I would plug along and knit some hoping that they would eventually add up to a blanket.  Finally, they did!

Now all I need to do is finish a Dead or Alive? fish hat for their big brother, write an apology/congratulations note, and get these in the mail.  Phew!

Homemade Pizza

The kid has been asking for pizza for a week.  Frozen pizza is not worth it in my opinion.  We decided we could make one for way less than delivery and it might be fun. 

We found this recipe for dough: Pizza Dough III.  4.5 stars for 400 reviews is good in my book.

Here is are the before and after dough pics.  The kid is trying to wrap her mind around the idea that yeast is alive.  But she loves the idea that all the air pockets are little farts.

The farmer bought a can of pizza sauce for the adventure.  I am going to can pizza sauce when the tomatoes come in.  If I can make tomato sauce, I can make pizza sauce.

The kid likes pepperoni.  I don't know why, because she invariably picks it off.   I like sausage and mushroom.  We compromised and went half and half. 

Bummer.  It was too doughy.  Good, but it could be so much better.   It has the potential to be easy, cheap, and great.   

We tried again today with some changes: more flour (2.5 cups), a hotter oven (400-375), and we used one of the cookie sheets to get a bigger pizza with a thinner crust. 

Much better.  Now to research sauce recipes...

Chili Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Seriously. 


There were zukes and yellow summer squash in the box this week, so we planned to make a chocolate zucchini cake.   It has been so hot that we had to wait to cook anything.  I thought we were doing pretty well when we made the menu and planned the shopping list to fill in the gaps.  Somehow, I forgot to check if we had any chocolate. (!)  Blame it on the heat.   We only have about a half a cup of cocoa powder.


I cruised the pantry and found a bar and a half of chili chocolate (~6oz).  We keep thinking that we should like it, but we don't seem to eat it.  So I googled "chili chocolate zucchini."  A few sites came up, but they all have this recipe: recipecenter.com.  I can modify that.

My Version:

Ingredients   2 1/2 c flour, sifted 1/2 c unsweetened cocoa 1 tsp Baking soda 1 tsp Salt 1/2 c butter 1/2 c  vegetable oil 1 3/4 cup  sugar 2 Eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 c sour cream 1/4 c milk   2 -3 cup Zucchini, grated ~6 oz   chili chocolate - grated or chopped

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 2. Grease 2 loaf pans or a 9x12" pan 3. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. 4. In a separate bowl, cream the butter, vegetable oil and sugar, beating until the mixture is light and fluffy. 5. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. 6. Next, add the vanilla. 7. Mix in the dry ingredients that have been set aside, alternating with the milk and sour cream. 8. Stir in the zucchini and grated chocolate 9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. 10. Bake for about 55 minutes or until a toothpick in center comes out clean. 11. Cool cake in the pan on a wire rack. 12. Sprinkle with some powdered sugar to make it look pretty. We ended up using loaf pans for bread instead of cake.  Have I told you how much I like the salad shooter for grating zucchini?  Love it!  This recipe works as a cake with frosting, or as toasted bread with butter.   You have to love food that you can eat for breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner or desert! It is really good.  You cannot tell that the zucchini is in there.  There is just a little heat from the chili chocolate.  This experiment is a keeper.

Is it Lettuce or Escarole?

  

We got escarole in the box this week.  At least that's what we think it is.  It might be lettuce.  Anyway, the Rainbow Chard was on it's last legs, so we ended up substituting that instead.  We found this recipe on the Marquita Farms website.  They have turned out to be a great resource.

Our version of: Sausage, Escarole and White Bean Stew
makes 4 servings

1 pound spicy Italian sausage
1 onion

1 garlic clove, chopped (optional)
1 head Rainbow Chard (1# ish), cut crosswise into inch-thick pieces
3 cups chicken broth

2 cups white beans
1/3 cup chopped basil
S and P to taste 

1. Spray a large dutch oven (nonstick if you have one) with olive oil (or other) spray and set over medium-low heat.  Add the sausage and onion/garlic and cook, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. Remove sausages to a cutting board and slice when cool enough to handle.

2. Return sausage to the same pot; add the escarole, broth, beans, and water. Bring Stew to a simmer and cook until escarole is just tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the basil and add S and P to taste (it might not need any salt), and serve. (note: You can substitute most any cooking green for the escarole) 

From: Mariquita Farm

We will use the escarole in a bacon/chicken/ranch salad tomorrow.

We used basil from the garden.  I threw the extra into the mini processor with a little bit of olive oil.  Then it went into a little freezer bag and rolled up to get the air out..  It is the perfect amount for a white clam sauce recipe I make.  I'm hoping that this fall I can grab a little bag of basil and get some of that great flavor.  Dried basil just does not cut it. 

Homemade Dog Biscuits

The Dog likes cookies, but he is  not terribly interested in the supermarket dog biscuits.  However, he really liked some "gourmet treats" that we found a few weeks ago at http://www.dogdazepetshop.com/.  This weekend, we picked up some more from these folks:http://www.jackssnacks.com/.  They were at a Farmers Market we visited in Providence.  The dog loves them.  I personally have not tried them.

The question is, are they worth it?  I'm not sure that the grocery store ones are.  He seems pretty indifferent to them.  I want the dog bakeries to stay in business, so I try to purchase from them.  But...  I'm a cheapskate at heart and $6.50 for a bag of treats seems pricey to me.  I remember my Mom baking dog treats, so I started looking on line for recipes.  Here are three sites with lots of recipes.

http://www.bullwrinkle.com/Assets/Recipes/Recipes.htm

http://www.twodogpress.com/dogfood.html  They have some interesting information on foods to avoid as you consider ingredients.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-00,dog_biscuits,FF.html

After reading tons of recipes, this is the one we went with:

Tempting Training Treats

Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups flour -- all-purpose or whole wheat
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup grated cheese -- like parmesan
1 large egg
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup powdered milk -- non-fat 

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; mix well; Roll the dough out to size of a cookie sheet; Pat the dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, bringing it to the edges. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut desired sizes into dough (just score through). If you're using as training treats, cut them into small pieces; Sprinkle a little extra cheese and garlic powder if desired on dough for flavor. Bake in a 350 degree oven about 15 minutes until golden brown. Turn off the oven and let cool for a few hours; They will keep hardening the longer you leave them. Break them apart; store tightly covered or in the freezer.

from: http://www.bullwrinkle.com/Assets/Recipes/Classic%20Canine%20Cookies.htm
 

We have all the ingredients in the house and it has applesauce in it!  

If you know me, you know I cannot follow a recipe to save my life.  We only had a cup of regular whole wheat flour, so I substituted in 1 cup of buck wheat flour and a third of a cup of oat bran.  I cut the garlic powder to a third of a teaspoon and added a third of a teaspoon of chicken bouillon crystals.  If we had parsley in the kitchen I would have added that, 'cause lots of recipes call for it.  The picture does not have the milk powder, but it is in there.  I use it when making yogurt...  

It is a very thick dough, so I wound up kneading it by hand to get it all well incorporated.  The kid was grossed out.   She did have fun rolling it out and scoring it with the pizza cutter.  It actually smells pretty good baking.  It took maybe 10 min to mix it up and get into the pan.  We spent  more time looking at recipes.  We got 107 treats that are approx 1" square and 1/4 of an inch thick.  Breaking them apart was easy and fun. 

Success!  He likes them!  We will make dog cookies again.  Sorry Dog Daze.


Oh, and no.   I still have not tried one.

We have an emergency fund for a reason.

While driving on the Thruway yesterday, we pulled into the toll plaza, took a ticket and the car stalled.  He re-starts it and it idles really roughly and stalls again.  We get it started again and pull off the road, 50 yards from the toll plaza.  We open the hood, but neither if us have any idea what we are looking at.  I re-start the car and it sounds like someone is throwing tin cans under there somewhere.  None of the engine lights are on.  We decide not to chance driving it so it can die again someplace less safe.

This is why we have AAA.  We have the "Plus" version of roadside assistance.  It costs $140 a year.  AAA transferred us to the Thruyway Authority who called a tow truck for us.  Paul from SunnySide Garage was there in less than half an hour.  The kid and the dog were a bit nervous.  That is the smallest part of the car he could wedge himself into.

They tow us to Pep Boys.  No charge because we have the AAA Plus.  No one else is open on the holiday.   We agree to pay $90 for a "drivability test".  Jay our mechanic says that whatever it is in is in the engine, and it's not good.   He thinks we either need to have our engine rebuilt or get a used engine and put it in the car.  Estimated cost: $2k.  They don't do it there. 

Jay drove the Farmer to the local airport so he can rent a car.  Did you know that Enterprise does not always "pick you up"?  They also won't rent you a car with a debit card unless you bring in two mortgage or utility statements.  He went to Hertz.  $500 to rent a Toyota Camry for the week.  We could have gotten something smaller but it would have cost the same.  AAA will pay $350 of it.  We drove the rest of the way home. 

Now we wait for the Service Manager to come in and make recommendations on what to do with it.  Suddenly, this weekend trip has gotten very expensive and our only car is sitting in a garage in Albany.  This is why we have an emergency fund.

We can buy a pig!

Our local CSA sent out an email that they have 12 pigs for sale.  $75 deposit.  We have toyed with the idea of buying local, grass fed meat, but it is expensive and sometimes our cheap-skated-ness overpowers our better judgment. We call for more information and these are the Farmer's notes.

$4.50 a pound "on the hook"

Half a pig is 75-100#

Whole pig 150-200#

sausage and bacon are more expensive.

So give or take $465 for half a pig.  How much meat is that?  How much is that per usable pound of meat?  How do we turn that into bacon?

 The Farmer decided to do some research.  He found the Eat Wild site.

We think we are gonna plunk down our money with these folks: Happy Hooves Organic Farm.  We are thinking that half a pig and half a cow should have us in meat for most of a year.  The upfront investment is daunting.  Half a small cow is 300# on the hook.  So at $3.35 a pound, we are still talking a grand for beef.  Add another $400+ (I want sausage and bacon!) for pork.  The Farmer (who does the shopping) thinks this is still a good deal.

Sorry, not gonna post any picture of happy cows or pigs to go with this post.  We are doing our best not to name them...