Eight Great ... Spring Vegetables

It's high time I did another post in my Eight Great series! And seeing as a) I'm doing the healthy thing at the moment and b) I firmly believe that cooking is an art as well as a craft, I thought I'd do one on seasonal produce. So I fondly present:

Eight Great Spring Vegetables! (And Some Fruits Too)

1. asparagus

Mmmm, asparagus! When I was a kid, I hated it! Blech! I can't remember the first time I tried it again, but now I'm quite enamoured of it. To be honest, it probably came about because I was looking for excuses to eat Hollandaise Sauce, which is my favourite food. Now I like asparagus for what it is. The crisp taste and long, upright stalks epitomise Spring for me.
I would probably have it in:
Asparagus and Hollandaise Tart or Asparagus and Goat's Cheese Frittata

2. corn

Biting freshly cooked corn straight off the cob is one of the simple pleasures in life. Its origins being South America, it evokes the exotic - chilli, salsas and Mexican tortillas. It's also found in Asian food such as chicken and sweet corn soup, and more homely foods like fritters and breads. I love how the kernels burst between my teeth and the flavour just sings of sunshine and the colour yellow.
Some o' the good corn:
Corn, Cauliflower and Chicken Pies or Chilli Corn Muffins

3. zucchini

The fresh, green taste of zucchini fits well in Mediterranean dishes as well as stir fries. They do just as well as corn grated into muffins or breads. I like to add long strips to a pan of roasted vegetables, about half an hour before the bell goes off so they're cooked at the same time as the potatoes and pumpkin. The strips are also great brushed with a little extra virgin olive oil and given the once-over on my George Foreman.
Zucchini lovin':
Zucchini, Chorizo and Fetta Pasta or Zucchini and Haloumi Fritters

4. tomatoes

Now, I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with tomatoes. I hate raw tomatoes! I'm not ashamed to pick them out of sandwiches and burgers in any kind of social situation. However, I just adore a good tomato-based pasta sauce or a sprinkling of roasted cherry tomatoes in my salad - just as long as they've been cooked to within an inch of their lives. It's hard to believe now that tomatoes originated in South America and have only been known in Europe for the last 500 years. They seem like they just belong in Spanish and Italian cooking. The cheeky little boogers!
They've wended their way into:
Spicy Tomato, Ricotta and Thyme Pasta or Tomato Curried Sausages

5. mandarines

I know that many people spell it 'mandarin'. But Wikipedia says both spellings are OK and we all know the interwubs never lies, right? *cough* Mandarines have a sunny look and feel that reminds you that summer is coming. The main reason I like them is because they're easier to peel than oranges ... and they're sweeter. They're great just on their own, but sometimes you want something a little more sophisticated from your fruit.
So I would make:
Mandarine Filo Rolls with Cardamom Clove Syrup or Chilli, Chicken and Mandarine Stir Fry

6. snow peas

When I was a kid, I hated peas and beans of any kind. Snowpeas brought me around with their crunchy texture and exotic flavour. With snowpeas in the mix, you don't need to put much more into a stir fry or salad to feel that you've had a satisfying culinary experience. They're the perfect foil to the heaviness of a black bean sauce or the dense sweetness of pumpkin. In France they're known as mangetout which means "eat all", which is appropriate, I think!
I'm ready to whip up:
Singapore Noodles with Lamb and Snow Peas or Chicken and Snow Pea Chinese-Style Pancakes

7. strawberries

Strawberries are summer! But they first appear in spring, and remind me that warmer weather is on the way. Actually, different varieties ripen at different times, so we can enjoy strawberries most of the year. Personally I find strawberries are often too tart for my taste, but with that bright red colour and shaped like a love-heart, I just have to forgive them! Being a sweet-tooth, my favourite ways to eat strawberries are in jams, syrups and chocolate fondue. Strawberry yoghurt and ice cream are also fab. I went for some classic recipes with this one.
Some "berry" good desserts : [sorry, I just had to!]
Strawberry Jelly with Rosewater Cream or Strawberry Shortcake

8.broad beans

Broad beans, also known as Fava beans, are another food that I couldn't stand until just recently. I remember tasting them when I was a little kid and having to exert all of my self control not to spit them out! Then at Easter this year I was having lunch at a winery. The first course of the set menu included a Fava bean salad. It slipped my mind that they were the same thing as the hated broad bean, just in disguise. When the salad arrived at the table, I was quite perturbed. Perhaps it was just the wine talking, but I decided to try one. It was delicious! I was amazed at how my tastes could have changed so completely over the years. Ever since then I've been busting for them to come back into season so I can try cooking with them for myself.
As soon as I see them at the grocery, I'm going to make:
Broad Bean, Bacon and Spinach Risotto or Broad Bean Dip with Rosemary Crisps

Eat and enjoy!

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Previous Eight Greats...	More Food...
... Blogs I Just Found	In The Kitchen: Muffin Tops
... Products I'd Like To Get My Hands On	Easter Baking: Greek Tsoureki Bread

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I finally finished my dice!

A few years ago I made a set of knitted fluffy dice. I posted them on Ravelry and I thought it was all done and dusted. Not so fast! It seems that, along with a few other projects that I made up myself, I accidentally posted them as a pattern, not a project. For a long time, I didn't realise that this would be an issue. Then in February of this year, I got a lovely and polite message from an admin asking when/if I was going to be posting my patterns to my pattern page. .... What the? ...

I was very surprised to find that, due to clicking the 'wrong' button 2 years ago, I have somehow become a knitwear designer. I was as shocked as you, my friends. There didn't seem to be any way to get out of it, so the only recourse was to finish the job off and actually write the patterns that were supposed to be on the website. I even chose a 'designer name' for myself. It was all very exciting and very scary. I had to make decisions like:
What should my designer name be? Do I need to add anything to my profile?
Is my blog what I want it to be, knowing that people will be linking to it from the Ravelry site?
Are the items I've already made up-to-scratch or should I make more professional examples?
Can I use the photos I already have or should I take new ones?
Should I put the patterns on my blog or should I make them into PDFs?
What's the best way to knit a cube?
How do I express that in the best way that others will understand?
And many more.

The worst part has been: the patterns are already listed on the site as patterns, even though they weren't actually there. People are able to search for them. They started asking me questions about them. I started feeling pressured and stressed. Like I had a deadline. I couldn't say what that was, but it was stressing me out. I had obligations all of a sudden. I had to make decisions that could be important in the future, and I had to make them quick! Anyone who knows me knows that I don't work very well under these conditions. Even just choosing a meal in a restaurant with the waiter there can make me freeze up.

In my own special, procrastinatey way though, I've been working diligently on the patterns. And I'm proud to announce that I finished the biggest one today! It involved knitting an example, and taking photos of it (Boy did that bit, he's a hero!), and re-configuring the dots and writing a pattern and drawing a colour chart and merging them into a PDF and figuring how to post it to Ravelry. And I did it!
Voila!


KNITTED FLUFFY DICE

The Pattern!
Even though the pattern is hosted on the Ravelry site, which requires an account to access, anyone can download the PDF from the above link.

*massively relieved*

Now I only have 2 more patterns to (re)write, and I will have paid my dues.
Then I can get started on some new ones. I'm actually quite liking this gig.
;)

A Short Interlude

japanese fashion, originally uploaded by RIDSNAP.

Why?
Just cos I like the prettys sometimes!

Recent Activities, Crafty and Otherwise

1. Last weekend I went to the European Masters from the Staedel Museum at the National Gallery. There were some familiar faces and some unexpected pieces. It was worthwhile. It was a beautiful, sunny winter day and the company was lovely.

2. I've been working on a baby blanket. I'm calling it the Giant Granny Square. Cos that's basically what it is. It's good zombie knitting crochet. I'm using Bendigo Woollen Mills wool (love that stuff) with coloured stripes. It keeps my lap so toasty warm when I'm working on it that I'm tempted to keep it!

3. Yesterday I went to visit the baby in question. I hate babies normally, but I love this kid! He's my nephew, so I'm probably genetically forced to love him, but I don't care. Isn't he adorable?! I had a lovely time hanging out him and his Mummy and Daddy.

P.S. That's not my hand, it's Boy's. Just thought I should point that out. =D

4. I whipped up this scarf for baby Alex earlier this week. It's so short, it's actually amusing. It wasn't even long enough for him to wear as a headband. I put extra long fringes on, but it did nothing at all to disguise its lack of length. I've realised that, no matter what I make for Alex, he'll probably already have at least 10. I just can't help myself though!

SHOP STUFF
It's been literally years since I did an update on Shop Stuff. The shop has been kind of chugging along in the background a bit. Up until this week I hadn't made any sales for two months - but it took me a long time to even realise that. And I was surprised to find that I wasn't really fussed. In fact, it made me feel motivated to write new zines. I even had 2 ideas in one day! When I'm in that mood, I compose in my head while I'm on mail runs at work and then write it down in my lunch break (if I can remember it!). Then this week I made 3 sales! Phew! I'm happy, but at the same time it kicks off my anxieties: what if the person doesn't like my zines? What if something goes wrong and they don't arrive in the mail or there's some other kind of problem? In my more confident moments, I know I can handle all of that. But Negative Nancy has to stick her big nose in and try to stop me from putting myself and my stuff out there! Well, get stuffed, Negative Nancy!

Pattern: Subtle Stripe Scarf

Subtle Stripe Scarf
by Katie TheodorusThis pattern came about because I wanted to knit a scarf for a male friend using two different colours, but I didn't want to make an ordinary striped scarf. I wanted it to be more ... subtle. The pattern is so simple that it barely even deserves to be called a pattern, but I will lay it out for you anyway! The only requirements are two different colours of yarn, and appropriately sized knitting needles. Smooth (not novelty) yarns are recommended. After the pattern I have shown some samples with different combinations of yarn.

Materials
Main Colour (MC), approximately 100 grams
Contrast Colour (CC), approximately 30 grams
pair of straight knitting needles (size depends on thickness of yarn)

Pattern
** Using MC, cast on in the method that you prefer. The scarf can be any width that you desire.
Row 1: Knit to end.
Row 2: Pick up CC and knit using both strands held together. Knit to end.
Row 3: Drop CC and knit to end using MC only.
Row 4: Knit to end using MC only.
Row 5: You will now be back to the side where CC was dropped. It will now be a couple of rows down, but that doesn't matter. Pick up CC and knit using both strands held together. Knit to end.

** Rows 3 to 5 form the pattern. Repeat until the scarf is as long as you desire - or you run out of yarn!
** Cast off using the method that you prefer. Add a fringe if desired.

Samples
** [Below] This scarf was knitted with two colours of Double Knitting weight Patons Fireside pure wool, on 8mm (US Size 11) needles. The yarns are different shades of blue. Because both yarns are the same thickness, there tends to be a little bumpiness on the side edges, but sometimes that rustic effect is what you want. Also, the striped effect is a little more pronounced because the Contrast Colour is more visible.

James' Scarf

** [Below] This scarf was knitted with Bulky weight Patons Inca alpaca in dark grey as the Main Colour, using 10mm (US Size 15) needles. A light jersey-grey acrylic in Sport weight is the contrast colour. Because the Contrast Colour is much thinner, it has much less effect on the physical bulk of the scarf. The stripes are also less visible and (even) more subtle. Two different shades of grey create an elegant, misty effect.

Stew's Scarf

** [Below] This baby scarf was knitted with Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic, a Double Knitting weight pure wool in cream as the Main Colour, and Cleckheaton Baby nylon Sport Weight as the contrast colour. I used 5mm (US Size 8) needles. This time I knitted it sideways. It shows how a another effect can be created by mixing pastel colours.

Alex's Scarf (baby)

Experiment
Now you know the basic principle, you can experiment with colours and textures as much as you like!

Knit / Wear

Question: what do you do when you want to wear a necklace, but you also want to keep your neck warm?

Answer: You make a knitted necklace!

It's basically just a ridiculously long piece of i-cord with the ends joined. I can wind it around my neck up to 8 times to create different lengths - and different degrees of warmness.

Mmmmm, warmness!

Photo credits: Boy arranged the knitted necklace on Hedda (my head model) and took these photos. I think he has quite a talent for styling.

What I Wore Drawings

Here are two drawings that I did last week. I posted them to the What I Wore Today group on Flickr.

Done in my Blue (Dry) Journal.
Materials Used: Kuretake Zig waterproof pen, watercolour, watercolour pencils, metallic rub.
Boy drew the arms in. I normally leave them off because I'm not very good at them yet!

Done in my Blue (Dry) Journal.
Materials Used: Kuretake Zig waterproof pen, watercolour, watercolour pencils, metallic acrylic paint on rubber stamp.
This time I used a guide to proportions that Boy showed me. I think it looks much better!