cooking

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Happy Easter

I was lucky enough to have the whole 4 days off, but man was it busy.

I thought I’d take a moment to share the recipe I used for the slightly unorthodox Easter dinner I hosted.

Instead of the usual ham and egg-y fare, we had Italian food! The feast was complete with cesar salad and tiramisu for dessert. I also made these little guys as something for people to snack on (I had to have something that reminded me of Easter):

I got the recipe for them here. They were very good. Scroll down on that page to see my notes for some changes I made (including adding pretzels, a definite improvement).

And now, for the pièce de résistance,

Lasagna with spinach, mushoom, and pine nuts

A fairly traditional version, but with the addition of extra veggies and pine nuts. The pine nuts are particularly great in the vegetarian version, as they add a bit of “meaty” flavour.

You will need:

  • 1lb lean ground beef (not extra lean as it is too crumbly) OR 1lb textured soy protein (such as Veggie Ground)
  • 1 small sweet onion
  • 1/2 tbs garlic powder
  • 1 28oz can of diced tomatoes
  • 2 5.5 oz cans of tomato paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tbs sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground chili pepper
  • 4-6 oz can sliced mushrooms, drained
  • 1 15 oz container of light ricotta cheese
  • 2 eggs, well-beaten
  • 1 10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
  • 50 grams of toasted pine nuts (or toast ’em yourself for 5-8 min at 350°C)
  • 1 500 g bar of mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 1 package oven-ready lasagna noodles

Directions:

1) Dice onion and place in large pot with the ground beef or soy (if using soy, add 1 tbs olive oil) and the garlic powder. Stir frequently until beef is browned and/or onion is clear.

2) Add the next nine ingredients. Simmer on low heat for 40 minutes. Remove from heat and skim off any fat (likely there won’t be any).

3) Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ casserole pan. Cover bottom with one layer of noodles. Be careful to slightly overlap the noodles so that the bottom is not visible.

4) Cover the noodles with half of the meat mixture, followed by a think layer of spinach and half of the pine nuts. Mix the ricotta and eggs together well. Spoon half of this mixture over top of the meat mixture. Then sprinkle with half of the mozzarella cheese.

5) Place another noodle layer over top, followed by the meat mixture, spinach, and pine nuts. Cover with the last of the ricotta mixture. Finish by sprinkling the remaining mozzarella over top. Bake at 375°C for 45 min. Let cool at least 10 min before serving

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Back from the netherworld…

…of becoming an adult.

I’ve been silent for a bit, I know. You see, we bought a house, moved into said house, are still planning a wedding that is now only a little over two months away, and in the meantime I’ve been working 6 day weeks. Yay!

At least we got this out of it:

house

No FOs at the moment, since I’ve had precious few minutes to knit (must get on the flowers and shawl…)

However, I did want to share a few quick knitty things before I dive into a post I’m planning on my day job (libraries, specifially children’s services).

1) Stitch Maps! Lots of chatter on the interwebs about this new knitting pattern format and, while I do think it is very cool, I must support the crocheters who are quick to point out that they have been using a format akin to Stitch Maps for forever.

stitchmap      crochetdiagram

                             Stitch Map                                     Crochet Diagram

I rest my case.

2) WWKiP in Toronto happened! Lots of events at High Park and at local stores.

My Instagram pictures from High Park:

More pictures here, here, here, and here. This one’s my personal favourite:

Sistering

3) Other things I’ve been up to. Baking very nerdy things.

beef&baconpie

My previous Game of Thrones baking adventure using the A Feast of Ice and Fire cookbook can be found here.

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More noodles

I spent some time concocting in the kitchen tonight, and have this rather successful (to say so myself) new recipe to share.

One Pot Thai-Inspired Rice Noodles

You’ll need:

2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon coriander powder
2 ½ tbs soy sauce
1tbs fish sauce
6 cups chicken broth
1tbs rice vinegar
2 tsp vegetable oil
1-2 tbs sriracha hot sauce (or other chili sauce)
2 tsp finely minced fresh ginger
2tbs corn starch, dissolved in 1.5 tbs water
1 cup sliced red pepper and zucchini (I used frozen mixed vegetables in a pinch for a quick meal)
2 breasts cooked chicken cut into 1inch cubes.
1 400gr package thick rice noodles
Crushed peanuts (optional)
Fresh Coriander (optional)

Directions:

1) Mix all ingredients except chicken, noodles, and vegetables into a large pot. Cover and bring to a boil.

2) Add noodles. Gently boil covered over medium heat for 5 minutes.

3) Add vegetables and chicken. Bring mixture back to a boil. Cover and let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4) Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Serve garnished with peanuts and/or fresh coriander.

I’ve posted it on Allrecipes.com and have submitted it for Kitchen Approved status. Wish me luck!

PS: the orange crocheted place mat in the background? Crocheted back in the day by my great-grandmother ❤

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Hi-yah!

Besides the fact that the fiancé and I were sick for a bit, it’s been a good couple weeks. First off, I must take a moment to point out an initiative very close to my heart that I found out about through a post on the wonderful Simply Notable blog:

The idea behind the Purple Stitch Project is to knit, crochet, or sew purple (the epilepsy awareness color) gifts for kids with seizure disorders. These gifts will serve as a reminder that they are not alone — that they have community support. The 2nd goal of PSP is to raise awareness about epilepsy, the 3rd most prevalent neurological disorder (next to stroke and Alzheimer’s). With every purple stitch made and every handmade item worn or carried, perhaps a collective conversation will begin about a disorder that surprisingly little is known about.

As some of you know, my fiancé has epilepsy, hence I am super excited to hear about such an awesome initiative. The fact that it involves the hobby I love helps too.

There are all kinds of patterns listed on Craftsy and Pinterest. Including awesomeness like this:

Everyone should make one!

j

In other news, my shrug is coming along well. If I like it, I might also make it in white for the wedding 😀

Isn’t the drawstring square-bottom project bag you see in the photo awesome? I got it, along with another one in a funky pink, gold, and white fabric, from one of my fellow World Wide Knit in Public Day organizers, who made them for all of us who helped plan WWKIP Toronto Edition. It was such a nice surprise!

g

On Friday I went to the latest

If you’ve never been and you’re ever in the area, you should go. Click on the Knitty logo/banner for the link to more info, but essentially it’s a great time in one of Toronto’s greatest (and probably coziest) yarn stores, The Purple Purl. You and twenty-nine other knitters get to test and review five new yarns ranging from super luxury skeins to bargain ones. The reviews are used by Knitty for their magazine.

Voilà, the swatch I had at the end of the night. There be alpaca, merino, and even cashmere in them there hills of inadvertent garter stitch.
And their are door prizes! I went home with this:

And the entire store was on sale, so this had to follow me home:

Did you spot my invasive cat in, not one, but both of the pics above? Because, you know, I don’t give him any attention, not at all.

More free things! :

This is chunky/bulky weight wool yarn from Briggs & Little that I got from a destashing friend.

Last weekend I visited family out in the country, and came back from antique shopping with some pieces of handicraft history.

These are two antique yarn bobbins/spools. Well used from the looks of them. See how they would have been used here.

This handkerchief is hand embroidered and edged with crochet. I love the little pieces of detail. And I couldn’t very well resist a four leafed (leaved?) clover.

Beyond that I’ve found myself cooking and baking a lot. It’s the fall weather – it is finally not too hot to have the oven on, and nothing is better than long-simmering soup, à la this recipe for Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup I made on the weekend. Pinterest is likely also partially to blame. I’ve been pinning way too much.

Speaking of baking…

We had a potluck at work. One of my colleagues and I are a) very nerdy and b) share a love of Game of Thrones (we’re librarians, so it’s not a surprise). Plus there is my love of all things medieval. This led to us using this:

To make things like this (complete with explanatory notes) :

Whole story here.