Things That Make You Go, Ribbit!

I'm very disappointed to report that I had to frog my apple hat. Sad, but true, my fellow Loopy Ewes. I was knitting here and there and neglected to measure the length from time to time. When I finally got around to it, it was way too long. I tried to "ribbit" a little at a time, but it was no use. So I closed my eyes and away I ripped. Now for my second try, I'm going to attempt the fancy way that Dawn K casts on to get me started. So far, it's not as easy as she makes it look. Ah, but the weekend is young, right?

I think that frog looks way too smug, by the way.

Pam's baked Brie

Pam, Thank you for bringing the brie. Oh, my it was so good. I wished I had taken a picture to post with your recipe!

Here it is......

Brie
Pillsbury Pie Crust (dairy case)
Peach Preserves
Dried Cranberries
Egg Wash (I just brushed the pastry with egg beaters)

Unroll pie crust

Spoon peach preserves in the middle of pie crust the same size of brie wheel you have. I used about 1/3 of the jar and then sprinkle a good amount of cranberries on top. Lay the brie, top side down, and wrap the pastry up around it. Brush the top and sides with the egg wash and bake. I started it at 350 but it wasn't browning so I upped the temp to 400. It was about 30 minutes.

Sew...a needle pulling thread!

Look what our own Dawnelle made (yes, Ingrid Dawn sewed!). It is just beautiful Dawn. You did a wonderful job and we are all PROUD of you :) :)

Thanks ladies for such a fun night. Pam, I've been thinking about the brie all day today. It was so good.

I think I might actually be looking forward to the boat trip next week.

Cathy, welcome! I hope you enjoyed yourself last night.

Ingrid we missed you, but I'm sure the trip with your family was "probably" more fun than being with us.

Kathleen, I hope you had a better day today!

Judi I am going to see if I can find that pattern for you.

take care,

Dawn K

Ding, Dong - The Shawl is Done!!

Ladies, you'll never believe it, but I finally finished the shawl. I was completely determined to have it ready to give it to my MIL on Monday, so I was up a little late on Sunday night. It was completely worth my time to complete it, and I'm so happy that it's all wrapped up. (LOL!) It does have some "design features" ;-), but it felt like the right time to give it to my MIL, so I just went with it. She really appreciated it and gave me a big hug. I really hope it will provide her with comfort and warmth when she needs it.




Looking forward to seeing all of you Loopy Ewes this evening! I've had "a day" already, so I need a fun night with the girls!
Kathleen

I finished the sweater

Well here it is. I finished Mackenzie's sweater. The tricky part of this sweater was that everything was in metric and not sized! I had to measure Mackenzie and guess! She was over yesterday and I held it up to her and it looks a little big so it should be fine for the fall and winter. Now, I want to finish the two pair of unmatched socks!

See you Wednesday.

take care,

Dawn K

New Side Bar

I added a daily cartoon to the side bar. You can just click on the cartoon to enlarge it to read it.

ETA: I also put a "snack calendar" schedule so we can remember who has a turn when!

Have fun!

take care,
Dawn

The food is always so good!

and so is the company :)

Judi, thank you so much for all of the yummy food! You really went above and beyond :)

Thanks everyone for another fun night of knitting/chatting/eating! Someone email me pictures of Dawn's house - she says that she lives in Dennis, but after 6 years of not really 'knowing' where she lives, I'm not so sure :)

Last night's chicken

....And I don't mean Dawn not wanting to take her turn to do that cat walk LOL!

Thanks for the bag Ingrid. I just love it. You're a good EWE for doing that for us!

Here's the chicken recipe. I hope you enjoyed it!


Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts cut into (two inch) cubes
76 whole-wheat or original RITZ crackers (2 small bags)
1 ¼ stick of butter melted with garlic
2 cubes of frozen crushed Dorot garlic or 2 minced garlic gloves
2 tablespoons of minced fresh curly parsley

Take each small package of RITZ crackers one at a time and place into zip lock bag and roll with a rolling pin to crush into desired size for coating the chicken cubes, then set aside. Wash and cube four chicken breasts and set aside. Cut butter into small pieces and place into a large microwaveable dish. Add two frozen crushed Dorot garlic cubes or two minced garlic gloves into microwaveable dish with the butter. Then microwave to melt according to your microwave instructions. Meanwhile, wash and mince enough curly parsley to equal two tablespoons. Set aside one tablespoon of minced curly parsley for later. After butter and garlic has been melted put one tablespoon of the minced curly parsley into that mixture. Then place cubed chicken into the butter mixture and massage (yes with your clean hands). Roll each cube of chicken into crushed RITZ crackers and place onto Pampered Chef rectangle stone or rectangle cookie sheet. Make sure you use all the butter mixture and do not overlap the cubes of chicken. If any butter mixture or crushed Ritz crackers are leftover sprinkle evenly over the top with your remaining one tablespoon of minced curly parsley.
Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until brown on top.
Enjoy!

take care,
Dawn

Notes on a Different Apple

Instead of talking about the naughty dog, I thought I'd post a picture of a different apple - the Apple Hat. You know, I have really felt lately like I've been in a knitting rut with this shawl, treating it like a long lost chore to get to. (Yes, I hang my head shamefully because it's a gift for someone.) I took a break from it this weekend and finally started working on the baby hat. I finished it last night at about 1 am, and I discovered that I haven't lost my enjoyment of knitting. Making decreases at the top, adding the stem, making the leaves were all so much fun, so I did not notice that time was flying. Now maybe getting back to the shawl won't seem as tedious a task now that I have had a breather.



As for the other Apple . . . Let's just say that it's a good thing that knitting is therapeutic and relieves stress! :-)

Kathleen

Kermit???

I thought this quiz was cute :) So, which muppet are you?
Ingrid is...

You Are Kermit

Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know. You're a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life's problems. Don't worry - everyone know's it's not easy being green. Just remember, time's fun when you're having flies!

The Muppet Personality Test

Knitting Bags...

Just wanted to let everyone know that I ordered the CANVAS bags today :)
They are coming from Georgia, so they won't be in till Tuesday, but we can have them embroidered by Wednesday.
I'm doing the bags at our cost - $6.50 - which includes shipping (and no charge for the embroidery).
I found some great project bags at Vera Bradley!!!!!!!!!! http://www.verabradley.com/Site/Store/ProductDetail.aspx?dept=11051&sku=260:35
they are listed as "travel pouches" and are on sale for $11.00 each.
Yes, Dawn, the bag-lover that I am, I ordered 5 of them tonight. I am going to embroider "socks" on one, "clogs" on another, etc.... yes-sir-eee.... I am going to have some stylin' project bags :) :) :)

Thanks for another fun night, Loopy Ewes!

Last night was lots of fun, as always, ladies. Ingrid, thanks so much for hosting the festivities once again! Who knew that we would have stripping, bag envy and hoe. . .cakes all in one night?!? :-) Since you guys asked, here are some of the recipes from last night.

Lemon-Thyme Dip (from Everyday Food Magazine Jan/Feb 2007)

• 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/2 cup light mayonnaise
• finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon (about 1 teaspoon zest and 2 to 3 tablespoons juice)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
• coarse salt and ground pepper

In a small bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon zest and juice, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with more thyme; serve with crudites, or cover and refrigerate, up to 3 days. Makes 1 1/2 cups

Crudite suggestions from the recipe: steamed cauliflower, broccoli, new or small potatoes, brussels sprouts; raw carrots, endive, celery and fennel

Hoecakes (from Williams-Sonoma June 2007 catalog)

• 1 cup fine-grind cornmeal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
  
• 2 T sugar
• 2 T finely chopped green onion, white and light green portion
  
• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 T unsalted butter, melted
• 2 T canola oil

In a bowl, stir together cornmeal, baking powder, salt, sugar, and green onion. Add egg, buttermilk and butter; whisk to combine. Heat nonstick pan or griddle over medium-high heat and add 1 T of oil. Pour tablespoon amounts of batter onto hot pan. Test 1 or 2 hoecakes to make sure pan is hot enough; cakes should be done when cooked about 30 seconds per side. Repeat to cook remaining hoecakes, adding more oil as needed. (Cooking instructions adapted by me to do on the stovetop)

Barbecued Chicken (Cooking method for chicken from Barefoot Contessa Family Style Cookbook)

• 2 split bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• barbecue sauce (I used Bulls-Eye Original)
• 3 scallions, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Rub with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin.

Put the meat into a bowl and use two forks to shred the meat. Add barbecue sauce to taste (I think I used about 3/4 cup), scallions and parsley. Serve warm on top of hoecakes, if desired.

Enjoy! Kathleen :-)