recipes

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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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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!

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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!

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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.

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Ewes-ful information

Lookit! My last entry got noticed by Geek & Sundry. Thanks for mentioning me, guys 🙂

Speaking of things that are both geeky and awesome, I am very excited about something a friend showed me on Patrick Rothfuss’ website:

This is totally what I wear to work... I do want those shoes, however. In flats...

Speaking of work, I stumble across this post on Tumblr, which sums up why I’ve decided I want to persue work as a children’s specialist:

Sidenote: I have recently become rather obsessed with Tumblr (in addition to Pinterest…) Follow me!

The full quote, from Neil Gaiman (who else?):

“Stories that you read when you’re the right age never quite leave you. You may forget who wrote them or what the story was called. Sometimes you’ll forget precisely what happened, but if a story touches you it will stay with you, haunting the places in your mind that you rarely visit.” ~ from M is for Magic

Something else library related that I think will make your day:

Recently, a library customer left her laptop at the bus stop outside a library. Another library customer found the laptop and took it into the library, on the assumption that the owner might return to the library to look for it.

That’s exactly what happened. The owner took a cab back to the library and found the laptop waiting for her there. She left the note above for her anonymous saviour on the bus stop hydro pole, thanking him/her and relaying the cabbie’s similar story that he shared during the cab ride.

After a shitty day at work, with printer problems, kids breaking the elevator, and grumpy old men being indignant over having to prove they still live in the municipality once a year (“I’ve lived here for 40 years! I’m not moving any time soon.” Well that’s great sir, but I have no way of knowing that and unfortunately your word is not going to cut it with the Public Libraries Act) I really needed to read something like that 🙂

The CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) ended on labour day weekend. Here is a round-up of yarn and fibre-related goodness. Sorry, they’re cell phone pictures…

The Peru booth of hand-knits and crafts was a stop I had to make.

A close-up of the 100% alpaca coat. The fibres were more glorious in real life.

Incredibly detailed kids and baby sweaters.

This fantastic crochet top, I mean lady, sat in front of me at the talk by Richard Palmisano on hauntings at the CNE grounds.

These three pics below are of a display on sheep at the Farm Building ❤

Actual sheep!

This llama was not impressed with my taking her picture.

Alpacas with funny haircuts.

And now I’m off to finally start work on my shrug. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

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Life on the line

Don’t worry folks, it’s a pun! We’re on strike at my place of work.

(I just love this picture I snapped of a colleague. She made this flag herself! In case the symbolism is lost on you, we’re both librarians).

I’m not the type of person to deal with this well. Four hours a day on the picket line is surprisingly exhausting, but I find my Type A personality makes me a little stir crazy after a couple of hours once I’m back at home. You’d think I’d be knitting, but I actually tend to knit to relax and unwind at the end of a work day. No work day = wired Erin = must partake of active pastimes. So far I’ve cleaned the entire apartment, caught up on all of the laundry, concocted a recipe (see previous blog entry) and baked not once but twice. I blame the baking on my developing Pinterest obsession. First came a rather complex (for me, anyway – two different glazes!) lemon cake, and then muffins. And it’s only Thursday.

Cleaning the apartment lead to a sobering discovery. This is how much yarn I own:

Oh no, that’s not all. See the edge of the chair with the grey and cream afghan over it in the top right of the above photo? Well, this is what’s behind it:

The fiancé doesn’t know about this secret hiding spot.

Well, now I definitely won’t feel tempted to buy more yarn during the strike…

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It’s nom time

I’m still working on part 2 of Knitting Self-Help Books, but in the meantime here’s a random recipe! As Mom says, I’m becoming a regular house wife – knitting, baking, cooking 😛 Except that I work. It’s a miracle that I manage to blog.

Anyway.

When I was little, there was only one way my mom could get my brother to eat broccoli: smother it in cheese and noodles. I loved it too – it was a favourite Sunday meal in our house.

Seeking to make it on my own, I realized it is perhaps a bit heavy on the fat. Below is the rendition I developed that is a little lighter on the arteries, but equally as delicious.

Mom’s Broccoli n’ Cheese Noodles

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2 tbps margarine
3 tbps all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese.
¼ cup grated parmesan
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
2 large heads broccoli crowns, cut off close to stalk
1 ½ cups dried macaroni noodles, cooked and drained

Directions:

1) In a large pot bring enough water to cover broccoli to a boil. Add broccoli and let boil over medium-high heat until stems are easily punctured through with a fork, about 20 minutes. Drain.

2) Meanwhile, melt margarine over low heat. Slowly sift flour into margarine, stirring constantly.

3) Add milk slowly while whisking mixture. Continue to whisk frequently over medium heat until mixture starts to thicken, about 5 minutes.

4) Reduce mixture to low heat. Add cheeses, garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper and stir until cheese is well dissolved.

5) Add broccoli to mixture and stir well to separate florets. Let mixture simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally

6) Combine with noodles in a large dish. Stir well. Serve hot!