Xmas Knitting and Pottery

I started this rainbow scarf when I was in Salt Lake City this summer. My sister Jeaka flipped over it, and asked for it outright. This was supposed to be a lightweight scarf for my occasional Key West chilly days (like today…53 degrees!).

But how could I keep it for myself when she begged for it shamelessly?

All any knitter wants is a properly grateful and gushing person to wear and show off their time-consuming handiwork!

For my mom, I knitted something ghastly. I used a beautiful minty green, super bulky, nubbly, spun-cocoon-looking yarn. It made the most lopsided, lumpy, misshapen “purse” one could ever knit. I struggled with it for weeks before finally chucking it as a failure and buying her this lovely bowl instead.

It was made by my friends Adam and Kelly at Honest Works Pottery here in town. They are famous for their boisterous use of color and their rooster mugs are hugely popular. Roosters always make me think of my mom, who made the mistake of mentioning that she loves them and that they remind her of her own mother. I am not the only person always tempted to give her rooster gifts.

Roosters are Key West’s pests and icons; well photographed by tourists and hated by anyone with a bedroom window. I frequently photograph the prettiest ones when I’m out and about.

I’ve started making Key West christmas gingerbread roosters (becoming an annual tradition).

For knitters: the scarf used three balls of Koigu PPPM (no, I don’t have any clue as to the color numbers) and this Churchmouse linen stitch pattern. This was an excellent exercise in forcing myself to knit continental, because the constant switching between k, p, and yf, yb would have taken even longer if I had “thrown” my yarn the whole time.

July Games

Everyone in my family knows this game:

This boy’s favorite part is taking the little travel case all apart and putting all the pieces and piggies back where they go. And “reading the structions” each time.

We played laundry day tent. What’s that on his face?!

Cookie dough! Didn’t have enough honey, so used sugar and molasses in these chocolate chip cookies. Hours later somebody was still ramped up.

Deep Dark Honey Molasses Ginger Unsnaps

After lots of other disappointments trying to substitute honey for the sugar in recipes, I’ve finally hit upon a success!

My little  helper and I set out to bake some ginger snaps using my mom’s recipe (a spicy family favorite).  The recipe  calls for 1 c. brown sugar, so I used 3/4 c. local raw honey.  I ended up adding a few tablespoons of flour in after all the ingredients were mixed together, but only until it didn’t feel so wet. Here is a photo of the dough at the right consistency:

You may be tempted to add more flour, and you will end up with a more puffy, cakey cookie if you do. At this point, you MUST chill the dough, or you won’t be able to roll it into balls. You must also lick the beaters and the spatula.

Note to self: NO SUGAR for this kid. Even honey. He was so cranky for the next hour, and couldn’t fall asleep for another hour after that.

I won’t be winning any foodie bloggy awards for these pictures, but you can trust that these cookies are delicious straight out of the oven and stay moist all day.

Deep Dark Honey Molasses Ginger Unsnaps

350 degrees, 9-12 minutes

In your kitchenaid (with paddle attachment), CREAM:

• 1 egg
• 3/4 c. raw honey
• 3/4 c. softened butter
• 1/3 c. molasses

In another bowl, SIFT:

• 2 c. all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• a dash of nutmeg

Add flour mixture to honey mixture, mix well, then add a few spoonfuls of flour as needed, just until dough is no longer wet. CHILL well. Roll into 1-inch balls, cookies will flatten as they cook.

These cookies are so dark that you must tell doneness by texture rather than color. When they progress from spongy to firm-spongy, they’re done!

Unfortunate Cookies

I had a group of friends over on Saturday for our monthly Crafty Afternoon. We celebrated Chinese New Year and made fortune cookies with custom messages…

A few of my favorites…

“NO, those pants look great!”

“You knew what I was when you picked me up”

“You’re kind of boring…you should get a hobby”

We used this recipe and these tips, and they turned out just right, but they were tricky! After this photo was taken, we refined our technique and subsequent cookies looked nicer. Then we drizzled them with melted callebaut semi-sweet chocolate. We called these “hand-crafted” and “lace-edged” and “rustic”.

But, definitely the tastiest fortune cookies I’ve had. Happy Year of the Rat!