Crunchy granola

I've begun making King Arthur Flour's crunchy granola every week. The photo above is from the first batch, using whatever we had in the house--walnuts, raisins, dates, and dried apricots.

We modified the recipe somewhat:
1/3 c. oil (instead of 1/2 c.)
1 c. nuts (instead of 3 c.)
1/4 tsp. salt (instead of 1/2 tsp.)
rice syrup (instead of maple syrup, because it has no sucrose)
2 c. dried fruit (instead of 5 c., to cut down on the fruit sugars)

It's fantastic. It came out exactly as the recipe said; here it is baked up, before the fruit is added (I didn't mess around with parchment paper--just greased the baking sheets):


We figured out that our recipe comes out to $6.08/lb. (King Arthur says on their blog entry that their recipe is $6.70/lb.) That's .38/oz. It sounds expensive, but the cheapest granola that we can get at our grocery store without added sugar is .50/oz., so we're coming out ahead--and that's even with the fancy, organic walnuts! With farmers' market dried fruit and nuts, in a different mix every week for variety, it's even cheaper--and more delicious.

(And in case you're wondering, our version is 225 calories per cup.)

Pasties

The September challenge for Ravelry's Pie Challenge group (requires free account to log in) is the, "Take-Along Pie challenge. Mini-pies for the lunch box, turnovers, empanadas, baby quiches, things that are easy to carry with you as life gets busier again."

An excuse for pasties!

As usual, the filling was a combination of what was in the fridge needing to be used up (some aging green onions, yellow onion, and a bit of red bell pepper) and what looked good at the market (crimini mushrooms, sweet potato, turnip), combined with some sort of grain--I was out of barley, much to my surprise, and didn't want to make another trip to the store, so this time I used rice--and the usual herbs (bit of leftover fresh basil) and spices (I never remember what I toss in--it's different depending on the veggies used):


I have to admit, the combination of red bell pepper and, well, everything else, was less than successful--that flavor really dominates. Live and learn!

(Photos by Paul.)

Scarf Mania by Chris Lanier

This is a cartoon written and animated by Chris Lanier, and although I've known Chris for a while, I saw the cartoon for the first time tonight and loved it--I think knitters & crocheters might like it, too. Although it really has nothing to do with knitting or crocheting, I find it interesting for making me think about how comfortable one can be--or not--in one's garments, and the influence of fashion.

And I think Romanov is adorable.

Ginger pigs

Ever since my father-in-law told us how much he loved ginger cookies that were made in the shape of pigs, we've made ginger pigs rather than ginger men (or any other of the shapes in our farm cookie cutter set).

The recipe is from the Fanny Farmer cookbook, "Gingerbread Men," rolled very, very thin, and baked until golden and crisp. We also substitute rice syrup for the molasses, and agave syrup for the sugar.

Photo by Paul, pigs by Paul and I.

Better cornmeal scones

These are the best cornmeal scones ever--forget the ones I already posted about. These surpass those in every way.

I came across the recipe, "Crisp Cornmeal Scones," in the April 2009 issue of Better Homes & Gardens, picked up on a whim from my public library's magazine exchange. (You can get the recipe for free from their site, I believe, if you register.)

If Hamlet were a knitter, or, A WIPs Sililoquy

I wrote this for my Ravelry team, Team Middle Earth, for WWM09 (WIPs WrestleMania 2009), and offer it here with great apologies to The Bard, for the enjoyment of all who are trying to deal with their unfinished "Works in Progress:"

To finish, or not to finish–-that is the question.
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of gorgeous designs
Or to lift hands against a sea of projects
And by opposing, frog them. To finish– to stitch
No more; and by finish, to say we end
The heartache, and the thousands of stitches
That WIPs demand. ‘Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To finish, to bind-off,
To bind-off, perchance to block; ay, there’s the rub!
For in that project’s blocking what fit may come
When we have bound off this garment’s stitches
Must give us pause. There’s the respect
That makes calamity of such long stitching.
For who would bear the WIPs and scorns of time,
Th’ project’s photos, the proud fiber’s spinning,
The pangs of despis’d gauge, the needle’s breaking,
The insolence of charts, and the abbreviations
That patient merit of th’ beginner’s deciphering,
When he himself might his design make
With a bare bodkin? Who would these project bags bear,
To grunt and sweat under a bulky wool,
But that the dread of something after WIPs–
The undiscover’d project, from whose casting-on
No Raveler resists–puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those WIPs we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?

Cedric and coral

Cedric loved his visit to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps. Besides the seahorses, the coral reefs were his favorite--he's long been a fan of the IFF's crochet coral reef, so he loved the opportunity to see the real thing.