stuff.sonia.love: April 2012

Monday, April 9, 2012

i want to start knitting again....and i love throws

Large wooden knitting needles and the black knit throw blanket. Image via Mo by Maurice.

6 skeins of thick black yarn.

12mm-sized circular knitting needles.

1 medium-sized crochet hook for weaving in the edges.

Instructions:

To make a 45-inch-square throw cast 80 stitches on to your 12mm knitting needles and work three rows of knitted stitches across.

You'll be knitting in the basic stockinette stitch, so following the three rows of selvedge, alternate knit rows with purl rows.

Knit the first 3 and last 3 stitches of each row for a selvedge to keep the edges from curling in (the danger of the stockinette stitch).

When you've reached a stopping point in the work or at about 43 inches, loosely bind off the final row ending in with a knitted stitch and not a purled one.

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http://us.woolandthegang.com/en/articles/view/200

Saturday, April 7, 2012

making....for a party...

PINK DEVILED EGGS

8 medium or large pastured eggs
2 beets
1 cup reserved beet water
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
3 tablespoons mayonnaise or Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon whole grain or Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
1/4 teaspoon salt

handful of finely chopped chives or parsley for garnish

First, cook the beets in one or two cups water until soft.

While the beets are cooking, prepare the eggs. Place the eggs in a pot and fill with cold water. Bring to a boil. When the water is boiling, turn off heat, cover and let sit for 12 minutes. Drain eggs and place in an ice bath to cool. Peel when cool.

When the beets are soft, after about an hour or so, remove from heat, reserving the liquid. Peel skins from beets.

In a wide-mouth quart jar, combine the beets with one cup of the colored water, the vinegar and the black peppercorns. Add the eggs. Let the eggs sit at least overnight. Longer sitting will more deeply color and pickle the eggs.

For the deviled eggs:

Slice eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks and place in a mixing bowl. Add mayonnaise or yogurt, mustard, relish, salt and mash with a fork. Using a small spoon, scoop the mixture into the yolk cavity.

Best served soon after preparing but may be kept, covered, in the fridge until ready for use.

from great food blog:

http://theyearinfood.com/
happy easter!

oh and more on coloring the eggs naturally:

Natural Colorant	Egg Color	Directions	Hints
turmeric powder	bright yellow to deep gold	Put -1-2 tsp. ground turmeric powder in heat proof cup. Fill 2/3 full with boiling water. Add 1 tsp. white vinegar.	Works quickly. Turmeric stains so be careful. Wipe dusty spice residue from eggs.
chopped red cabbage	blue/teal	Put 2-3 tbsps. chopped red cabbage in heat safe cup. Add boiling water. Add 1 tsp. white vinegar.	Let sit overnight. Avoid excess handling.
onion skins, yellow	light peach to gold/orange	Use 1 large handful of onion skin for each cup of water. Simmer 20 minutes then add 1 tsp. of white vinegar.	A perennial favorite. Easy.
grape juice	blue to purple	Add 1 cup frozen juice concentrate to 1 tsp. vinegar.	Eggs may be simmered right in the juice to cook.
grated red beets	magenta red	Put 2-4 tbsps. freshly grated beets in heat safe cup. Fill 2/3 with boiling water. Add 1 tsp. white vinegar.	Speckled design. Dye may be strained before use. Orange beets may be used to obtain saffron color.
red cabbage & turmeric	green	Pour scant tsp. of turmeric and 2-3 tbsps. of chopped red cabbage in a heat safe cup then add boiling water.	Speckled design. Wipe vegetable off with damp cloth.
red cabbage & beet	purple	Put 2 tbsps. grated beet and 2 tbsps. red cabbage in heat safe cup. Add boiling water.	Striking and intense.
onion skins, red	pale celadron green	See directions for yellow onion skins.	Allow long steeping time.

This Easter try coloring eggs the natural way. Use hard cooked brown or white eggs. After eggs are cooked, quickly cool the water or rinse in cold water. This helps to prevent "greening" of the yolk. Natural dyes take a bit longer to color the egg, so plan on extra time, or leave the eggs in the refrigerator overnight.
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