You will need 4 and 6mm needles for this project.  It also calls for bulky wool and DK wool.  Now as each manufacture is different (thanks very much!) check her post for more details on the gauges.  I am particularly horrible at doing gauges.  I just tuck in and start knitting.  Touch wood I’ve been lucky so far. 

For the basket I got 50gs of the brown, 100g for the pink and 50g for the green.  I did have yarn left over.  So I need to find another project!

To knit the basket 2 pieces need to be knitted using 6mm needles. Do the following according to her directions:

Cast on 25 stitches

Knit a garter stitch until it is 13cm or so in length

Next Row (K2,K2 tog) to last stitch, K1 which leaves you 19 stitches then knit 7 rows

Next Row (K1, K2 tog) to last stitch, K1 which leaves you 13 stitches then knit 5 rows

Next Row (K1, K2 tog) to last stitch, K1 which leaves you 9 stitches.  Thread the yarn through, pull tight and fasten off.

The next bit is to knit the rosebuds.  Her directions said to knit 15, which I did, but I only ended up using 14 once I put them on the cosy as I wanted it look balanced.  Normally an odd number does make it look balanced but I couldn’t get it to do that without it looking a bit lopsided so I went with an even number.

I also had to play around with the pattern as I believe there was a typo.  Here is how it played out:

Use 4mm needles and the rose yarn.  The pattern said to use st st throughout K2 rows.  Wasn’t sure if she meant 12 so I tried that and it was too long so I went with 6 rows.  A little long but looked better.  She may have meant 2 rows.  Once you have the rows it is time to decrease.  Decrease at the beginning of the row and every knit row for 10 rows.   She suggested Sl1K1PO to decrease and that worked really well.  Then cast off.  You want to leave a long piece of yarn at the end for finishing later.

I really deviated on the leaves which is the final component to knit.  Her directions had you knitting 21 stitches but somehow doubling back and then knitting one leaf at a time.  For the life of me I couldn’t figure that out.  I was flummoxed!  So I did each leaf separately and knitted 30 leaves.

I cast on 7 stitches using the 4mm needles and knit one row.  Then for the next 5 rows I st st.

To make the leaves an even triangle I decreased at each row until you are left with 2 stitches and then P tog and cast off.

It was now time to put it all together.

First the basket had to be sewed together.  It is a good idea to use a teapot to figure out the openings on each side. Per her instructions I sewed an inch on the bottom on each side.  Then I sewed the top seams together leaving an opening to match the spout and the handle.

Once that is done it is time to work on the roses.  I pretty much followed her directions at this point as it worked well for me.  Place the rose piece flat on the surface with the long length towards you.  On the straight edge roll it a couple of times towards the angled side.  Then stitch halfway up and back down again to hold it into place.

Next do a gathering stitch and pull in a bit.

Continue to roll the rest of the way.  Sew round the bottom to secure the rose.

Once all the roses are done I connect the leaves in groups of threes.  I attached them at the corners and used a gathering stitch to pull them in a bit so it would curve round the roses.  Place round the rose then sew halfway up the leaves attaching them to the rose.

Now it is time to attach the flowers to the basket.  Per her tip I placed the basket over a teapot and it does help figure out the placement of the roses.

I followed the directions of taking 3 roses with leaves and placing them near the top and adding a filler rose without leaves in the centre of that.  Then I placed the rest of them round the cosy.  To attach I used a crochet hook to pull the pink threads through the basket.  I had tied off the green threads and trimmed otherwise you would have a ton of yarn to deal with on the inside of the cosy!  I then weaved the yarn into the surrounding roses to pull the bouquet together so it wouldn’t be floppy.

Pull the yarn through to the underside of the cosy.

Next I needed to tie off all that yarn.  So I separated the pairs and tied the yarn off with different pairs then trimmed the yarn.

And it was done!

It wasn’t an overly difficult project just time consuming as I have so much going on.  I will be looking at her other cosies to try out as this came out pretty well.    And mum liked it!

It is quick and easy and you can have dinner done in an hour from start to finish.  In a large bowl mix a cup of ricotta, 2 eggs beaten, 1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, herbs of your choice (about a tsp), and 1 cup flour.  For this I used marojam, sage, and thyme.  Mix it all together until if forms a dough.

The dough will be soft but you don’t want it overly sticky so add flour if need be.  Take about a third and roll it out into a rope.  Cut them into inch long pieces and use the fork to put grooves in.  Place on the plate.  Do this for the rest of the dough.  Once done place it in the fridge while you do the sauce.

I just did a simple sauce for this with our tomato sauce and veg.  Once that was made up I brought the water to a boil and tossed in the gnocchi.  It will sink but once it is done it will float.  About 4 minutes or so.

Once it is cooked toss in the sauce and it is ready to serve.

It is a great meal for when you want something tasty but easy.

Again it is important to make sure everything is sterile.

While continually stirring bring the whey up to 195-200F or 91-93C.  It is important this does not boil!

Once the temp is reached let it cool back down to 190F/88C while stirring.  Now it is time to introduce the acid.  You can use lemon juice or vinegar, usually white or cider.  To do this 1 tablespoon is added at a time until the curds separate enough.

Have a colander lined with cheese cloth or butter muslin over a large bowl to drain the cheese.

Once most of it has been drained hang in a spot that is not drafty to let the rest of the whey drain.  This takes about an hour.

Salt to taste if you like and then store in an airtight container in the fridge.  It keeps about a week.   I didn’t salt this as I wanted it for a recipe.

What to do with the leftover whey after this recipe?  Compost pile or the garden. 

It takes 5 or 6 days to get the harvest so it is pretty easy overall.

You will need some seed, water, a mason jar, butter muslin, and some bleach.  Store the seeds you don’t use in a sandwich baggie.

To start it is important to sterilise the seed in a bleach solution of 1 tsp bleach in 1 cup of hot water.  The seed is gathered in fields with animals and you don’t want to risk e coli.  Soak for about 15 minutes.

Pour into a strainer and rinse thoroughly.

Rinse the jar and pour the seeds back into the jar.  Cut a small piece of butter muslin and place it over the opening of the jar and tighten the ring over it.  Fill with water and pour most of it out again and leave on the draining board upside down so the excess water can drip out.  Do this bit daily until it is ready to “harvest”.

Using a large bowl tip out the sprouts and gently loosen the clump.

Fill with water and let the seed shells float to the top and skim off.

Drain until mostly dry then store in an airtight container in the fridge.  It is great on salads and sandwiches.

The weather was perfect and they had a wonderful beer festival at Harmon’s Cross so there was a great festive feel to the whole weekend.  In Swanage there is a great spot on the bridge to take pictures of all the action coming and going.

The next day was gorgeous so we hiked to Corfe Castle and saw the trains rumble past.

And of course we had to stop at Harmon’s Cross to sample the local beers and ciders.

And lucky for me they still kept the steam trains running.    They had a bit of fun and added the D to the number for the occasion.

Personally, I like to be where all the fun is so I grab a footplate ride when I can.  My FIL is the driver on this trip.    It’s the best seat in the house!

They have the steam gala in September and some day I hope to go to that one.  That would be amazing.

This is what the cheese looked like from the first batch.

Before starting sterilise everything!

As we’ve made our previous cheeses we only use raw milk.  Pasteurization breaks down the proteins needed to make great cheese.  Especially the ultra-pasteurization.  That is pretty much useless.  When buying raw milk just make sure the farm does regular testing so it is safe.

Pour two gallons into a large pot.  Heat the milk to 90F.  Stir as the milk heats so it is consistent and doesn’t catch on the bottom.  We usually have the heat at medium for this.  You don’t want it to heat rapidly.  Once the milk is at 90F then the thermophilic starter is added.  We buy the pre-portioned packets but if you prepare it then 4 oz is needed.  Stir well.

The take 1/4 milk of the milk with the starter mixed in and add 1 tsp of Propionic shermannii to the 1/4 milk and mix well.  Add back into the milk on the stove and mix well.  This needs to ripen for 10 minutes.

The next step calls for the rennet.  We purchase organic vegetable based rennet.   The directions on the back are a bit strange.  It says it is double strength so use 1/3 the amount called for in the recipe.  To me if it is double strength then it should call for using 1/2 the amount in the recipe.  Right?  So about a minute before the milk is done ripening prepare the rennet.  Use 1/4 cup of spring water because you don’t want any chlorine in it.  The recipe calls for 1/2 tsp rennet to be dissolved so we used 1/4 tsp plus a couple of drops.  Pour into the milk and stir up and down.  If you are using raw milk like we do then it needs to be top stirred for a few minutes to keep the butter fat down.  To do this, use the bottom of your spoon and stir 1/2 inch to and inch down from the surface.

At this point the milk needs to rest at 90F for 30 minutes.  The thermophilic starter generates heat so if it goes a few degrees above 90 don’t panic.  If it drops just turn the heat on a bit to bring it back up.  After it sets and the curds pull away from the sides it is time to cut the curds.  Her recipe states 1/4 inch cubes.  In a large pot that is impossible.  Use a curd knife for the blocks by cutting straight one way then cutting lines 90 degrees from the original lines.  Then you need to cut at an angle to cut the interior of the curd.  Then gently use a whisk to cut them into the small curd.

Now get ready for a ton of stirring.  The first bit is for 40 minutes.  You stir gently while keep the temperature at 90F.  According to Ricki’s book this is called foreworking.  It helps expel the whey from the curds.

Then to add a bit of a challenge the next bit calls for raising the temperature a degree at a time until it reaches 120F.  You need to keep this as close to 30 minutes as possible as this extracts the whey from the curds.  You’ll notice the curds getting smaller through this process.

At the end of the 30 minutes the curds should be smaller and squeaky if you eat them.  This stage is called the “proper break”.  A way to test them is to take a small handful and press into a ball.  This ball should easily break apart into the little curds again.  Turn off the heat and let it rest for five minutes.  While it is doing that prepare some cheese cloth or butter muslin in a strainer.  You’ll want a couple of large containers to catch the whey.  Don’t throw out the whey!  You can use it to make fresh ricotta cheese.  Stay tuned for that post.  Pour into the strainer.

At this point you want the mold set up.  My husband made a great contraption so we can press the cheese.  This recipe calls for a two pound mould.  Place the curds into the mould still wrapped in the cheese cloth or butter muslin.

Fold in the cloth and place the pressing part into the mould.  Place the top of the press over this.  It is important to do all this before the curds cool.  For the first pressing you need 8-10lbs on top and let it stay there for 15 minutes.

You should see whey being pressed out.  At the end of 15 minutes remove the curd and gently unwrap the curd.  Turn the curd over and put it back into the press.

Up the weight to 14lbs and press for 30 minutes.  Turn the cheese and press for 2 hours.  Turn again, increase the weight to 15lbs and then press for 12 hours.  We usually leave this overnight.  Once the pressing is done the cheese needs to be soaked in brine for 12 hours.  To make the brine you want to dissolve 2 lbs of cheese or kosher salt in a gallon of spring water.  Let the cheese soak in the fridge during this step.  The exposed side needs to have some salt sprinkled on it.

At the end of 12 hours pat the cheese dry, place on a clean board and place in the “cheese cave”.  Now some have a real cheese cave.  We haven’t gotten that far so we use a wine cooler.  The temp needs to be 50-55F and the humidity should be around 85%.  For the first week the cheese needs to be turned every day and wiped with salt water.  Do not soak the cheese.  You do not want wet cheese!

Part 2 will be posted when the cheese is done and will have the final steps to it.  This cheese needs to age at least 3 months.  It is very hard to wait! 

Preheat the oven to 275F/135C

I salt and peppered the lamb then heated up a skillet with olive oil to sear the lamb.  Sear both sides for about 4 minutes each.  If it is a thicker piece then do it for longer.

Chop up several cloves of garlic and some fresh rosemary.  We have a plant that survived all winter so I was able to use that.  And for someone that is horrible with houseplants, this is huge!

In a shallow baking pan put in 1 cup stock of your choice.  I used turkey stock and added the garlic, rosemary, and the lamb.

I decided to use this red wine as it’s a great drinking wine.  Not very mellow so I think in hindsight I would choose a mellow Italian but this wine was really good with the roasted potatoes and parsnips I served with this.

I added about 3/4 cup of wine to the dish.

Cover and slow cook for about an hour and a half.  If it is a thicker cut cook longer until it is done the way you want it.

Remove the lamb and over with tin foil and keep in a warm place while you finish the sauce and the rest of the dinner.  I put the plate on top of the toaster oven that I was roasting the veg in.  Pour the liquid into a sauce pan and bring to a simmer.  Add a bit of flour to some water and add to the sauce to thicken.  Because the wine was a strong flavour I added a bit of veg bouillon to give a bit of depth to the sauce.  Reduce down.

Once the veg is done, plate and drizzle the sauce over the lamb.

I really enjoyed this dish and will definitely experiment with the slow cooking of this meat.

Preheat the oven to 450F/232C.  In a mixing bowl add 4 cups flour, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp baking soda.  Mix that well.

The recipe calls for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups of buttermilk.  Basically start with the lower amount and add if you need to as it depends on the flour if it needs more moisture.  You don’t want it overly wet or sticky as a dough.

Mix it all together.  You can tell if it needs more buttermilk as mine did.  It looked very clumpy.

After adding another 1/4 cup of buttermilk the dough came together.  It needs to be kneaded a few times to, as Darina said in the book, “tidy it up”.

When preheating the oven I put in our large pizza stone that we also use to bake bread.  So for the next step I laid the dough out on parchment paper for ease of transfer.  Work the dough into a round disc.  About 2″ thick or so.  Then, and I love this part, “cut a cross on it to let the fairies out!” 

Bake for 15 minutes at 450F/232C and then lower the temp to 400F/204C for 20-30 minutes until it sounds hollow on the bottom.

It says to cool but I love hot bread with butter melting into it.

This is a great quick bread and it will be wonderful with homemade soup.

So when I was pinning various stuff on Pinterest I came across this recipe for Lemon Meringue Cupcakes from King Arthur Flour and knew I just had to make them.  It flashed me back to when I was small having the lovely treats.

Now the recipe calls for making the lemon curd in the microwave.  I was sceptical to say the least but Maria Dernikos posted the other day about this method and said it worked.  So I gave it a try.  It is very tasty.  Not the same as mum’s homemade mind you but it does the trick.  I made the whole recipe today but I recommend doing the curd the day before.  Nothing is overly difficult but there are many steps to this.

First I baked the cupcakes.  So I pre-heated the oven to 400F/204C and lined a muffin tin with cupcake paper.  The recipe calls for a light spray of oil so I did that as well.  Not sure whether that is needed but as these are my first real cupcakes (not just using cake batter in muffin tins and keeping fingers crossed) I followed the directions.

In a mixing bowl add 1 1/2 cup flour, 1tsp, baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup butter (room temp), 1 large egg, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/3 cup buttermilk.  Mix all together.  It will be dry at first and you’ll need to scrape the sides as it mixes.  But it will smooth out.  Then add another 1/3 cup of buttermilk and mix until smooth and blended.

Spoon batter into the cupcake paper filling about 2/3s full.

Bake 15-18 minutes until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.  Put the cupcakes on a cooling rack to cool fully.

Next I made the lemon curd.  I bought some lovely organic lemons from our new local co-op for this.

You will need one cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice, one cup sugar, 1/2 cup of melted butter, and 2 large eggs.  Use a fairly large bowl for this as the curd tends to expand near the end of cooking.  Mix all of this together.

Now King Arthur recommends cooking in the microwave one minute at a time with stirring in between.  This is because every microwave is different and it could be done quickly or if your microwave is old like ours it can take awhile.  But you need to stir each time.   As it gets close to being done it will rise up quickly in the bowl so I found towards the end I was doing 20 second intervals.

The curd should coat the back of the spoon like a syrup.

This needs to chill for a few hours to thicken.  Another reason to do it the day before.  Once the curd is ready it should look a bit like this does.

The recipe mentions a cupcake corer.  Clearly I need to learn more as I had never heard of such a thing.  I just used a knife to take out plugs of cupcake which left little cones for the curd.

Spoon in the curd into the little cones.

I then put the cupcakes into the fridge to set some more while I did the meringue.  For the meringue take 3 egg whites and 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar and put it into a clean mixing bowl.

Whip until you have soft peaks.

Add 1/8 tsp of salt and mix it in.  Then add 6T of sugar, one at a time, as the mixer whips it into a lovely meringue.  I did this on high speed until I got the stiff peaks and it was “light and billowy” per King Arthur.

It mentions then piping it onto the cupcakes.  One that just leads to more dishes and two I like the random peaks, just like the pie.  So I spooned the meringue onto the cupcakes and created the peaks.

Then place under the broiler until golden.  This happens very quickly as I learned today as, ahem, some came out more toasted than the others.  Oops.

Once you slice into this lovely lemony dessert the curd should be slightly runny but not too much.

Well worth the effort.  Though the only bad part about this is it only makes 12!  Sigh. 

I took my inspiration for my daughter’s purse from All Things Thrifty.  So off we went to the store to pick out what duct tape the kids wanted to use.

My daughter had an old shirt that didn’t fit anymore so it was perfect for this project.  I recommend using a tray as well for this.  And a good pair of scissors.  Sounds like a no-brainer but I grabbed our worst scissors and as we were doing this at a park with a picnic we ended up struggling a bit.  We’ll know better next time!

Cut out a piece of fabric that is the size you would like for the purse.  This will be folded in half to cover both sides of the purse.  Tape it down on the backside of the tray.

Take the chosen duct tape and cut to length you need and tape it down in the pattern you want on the fabric.  My daughter wanted horizontal stripes for her purse.

Trim the tape it is all even on the edges.  Remove from the tray and fold in half.  If you used good scissors the fabric would have been cut smoothly and you won’t have to worry about the tape sticking together.  I didn’t do that so there were some tricky moments!

Tape up the sides.  Here is the trickiest part of the whole thing.  The bottom corners need to be tucked in to square off the bottom and sides.  The outside and inside need to look like this:

Next tape up the bottom and inside seams to strengthen and finish off the edges.  Also, tape along the top to finish that edge.

My daughter chose to have fabric handles so we took the sleeves of the old shirt and cut them into strips.  Then we braided them and attached them with tape to the inside of the bag.

And before you know it you have a really cute bag!

For my son we did a little satchel that followed this from Craft-Create-Connect.  We used a sandwich ziploc bag for him as he just needed a small bag for Lego.  He was so excited they had Angry Birds!