Wednesday, September 27, 2006

New Recipes Tried (sans knitting photos)



I did knit and spin this weekend. Lady Eleanor Entrelac was finished and blocked (minus fringe, which I'm probably leaving off), and I started the Ram's Horn Jacket. In fact, I liked the Ram's Horn Jacket so much, I started it twice. Well, in reality, I found I was in total denial about the gauge my swatch told me and realized I needed to either (a) knit the (slightly heavier than worsted) yarn at a gauge that made it feel like iron or (b) knit a different size to get the right measurements. I chose (b), because I liked the fabric I had at 4.5 sts/in. and would not like the fabric at 5.5 sts/in. As it is, this will be a fairly heavy sweater. It is quite a change to be knitting on size 7 needles again; most things I've been knitting lately seem to be on size 4 or smaller.

Lady Eleanor Entrelac is lovely, and I will have photos soon. I do wish I'd knit it at a tighter gauge, as the Karaoke grew a lot in the blocking process. However, it's perfect for a heavier wrap, and it's light enough that I could potentially use it as a scarf on the coldest winter days. Enough for the teasing, though--more to ocme when I have photos.

In food news, we really enjoyed the Pork and Pineapple Tacos from Cooking Light. It's a great blend of smoky and spicy with sweet, especially if you find a good salsa verde for it. We had Goya Black Beans and Rice with the tacos. Both were also good as leftovers. I ended up subbing a Mrs. Dash blend with chipotle for the ground chipotle, since neither of my local stores carry it. Penzey's does, if you have time to plan. Overall, a quick, easy, and tasty change from normal tacos.

We also enjoyed the Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta, to a lesser extent. There are too many shallots in the recipe, I think, though it does taste better on the second day. I would recommend a good, sharp provolone and thick-sliced bacon for this. The sweetness of the squash and the smokiness of the bacon are quite good together, and I could imagine using them in something else--maybe mashed butternut squash? In some ways, though, this dish had too much going on, from the squash to the bacon and shallots to the pasta. I will probably make this again, even though it was somewhat time consuming and messy. It makes a good work lunch.

Next post: Lady Eleanor photos, progress on the Ram's Horn Jacket, and (perhaps) discussion of my desire to take up weaving.

5 comments:

Kaitie Tee said...

I thought I'd tell you that I tried the pizzas you reviewed awhile back and they were delicious!!

MiniLaura said...

So when I visit you, we will wear our GWTF tanks and our LEs. Hopefully your two knits will go well together. Mine will--a great advantage of always knitting in the same color family.

Anonymous said...

Both of those meals sound great! Bacon and squash are indeed natural partners - I mix mine with apples, bread crumbs, a VERY small amount of onions, and stock to make a stuffing-like filling, and then bake acorn or kabocha squash with the filling mounded up in the seed cavity until the squash is done. Same flavors without having to focus too much on stuff like pasta.

If you have a Mexican grocery near you, you can find ground chipotles pretty easily for cheap...

Sarah said...

I NEED to see the Lady Eleanor!

PICS NOW!

j/k.

whenever you're ready.

Hmmm, pasta sounds good to me!

I'm a more is more in food sometimes kinda gal.

Anonymous said...

My mouth is watering......