Sorry for no post yesterday, but I was sick with a cold and made a deal with myself that I wouldn’t go on to the internet or start any new projects. So, I spent the whole day in bed watching episodes of Downton Abbey and Sherlock and napping, a lot of napping.

The one thing I did work on was knitting a pair of ears and one leg for my version of a pound puppy.

With the weather turning colder and my resistance to buying long yoga pants, I have caught the leg warmer knitting bug. I wanted a quick and easy pattern that if worked on while watching a How I Met Your Mother marathon -damn you Netfix instant streaming- could be easily completed in a weekend. But there really wasn’t a pattern like that out there, so I came up with this one.

notions needed

size 10 dpn or circulars large enough for magic loop
2 skeins bulky yarn-main color (Araucani Azapa used)
1 skein of bulky yarn-contrast color (Drops bulky used)

stitch marker
darning needle

pattern

cast on 38 stiches
row one: k1, p1* continue till end of round
row two: k1, p1 till mc measures 12 inches
change to cc
row one: k1, p1* knit 4 more inches
bind off in pattern and sew in ends

let me know if you have questions! Oh and check out this great article about knitting behind bars.

Demetri Martin on WhoSay

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This past weekend I made fried cheese curds and forgot how lovely it is to explain what a cheese curd is, if you don’t know go here. I was also asked to share my recipe for the beer batter that I used to coat the curds, recipe bellow or download the pdf here.  Also, this is the same recipe I shared before but with the website migration got deleted.

Beer Batter Recipe

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 beer (pilsner or ale, nothing heavy)

1 pound cheese curds

1 quart oil for fryin

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the eggs and beer. Mix until smooth. Add more beer to thin out the batter. Coat the cheese curds with the batter.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat or in a Fry Daddy. Fry the coated cheese curds approximately 1 minute each, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Today I also spotted this great DIY cheese kit from Urban Cheesecraft, which will be purchased as soon as I move in to my new apartment.

A friend is coming in to town today to play a show with the band Mount Moriah so in the tradition of making a few goodies for him and his band mates, I made butter balls.  I know they don’t sound that great but they are tasty.  The recipe is from a family member who gave me the recipe in late May and it is so easy to make.  If you have kids or aren’t that great at baking I would give this one a try.

Ingredients 

1 cup margarine

4 tbls granulated sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

2 cups Sifted Flour

¾ cup ground pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream margarine, add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla add flour mix well and fold in the pecans.

Shape dough in to small balls and place baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until a light golden brown.  Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet for 2 to 3 minutes or till cool enough to handle.

Gently roll balls in powdered sugar, let sit out and cool completely.  Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Here is a pdf of the butter balls recipe.