Chunky Braided Winter Headband

Last year I posted a pattern for a braided winter headband. After making one for myself, my mom and my little sister I soon realized it was the most popular knitted item I've ever created. The problem is, I'm really lazy and unless I'm determined, I really hate making these headbands. It's simple, any beginner knitter could do it, but it takes too long and I lose interest.

I decided to try the pattern on larger needles with thicker yarn. Turns out I actually prefer the pattern this way. It goes by much more quickly and the texture stands out more strongly.

I'm still pretty lazy and can't get myself to produce enough to sell, but I thought I might as well post my pattern so I don't forget how I made it (hence the whole reason I started this blog in the first place).

If these instructions aren't clear enough, you can always look at my other pattern for a slightly different explanation.

Materials:
2 skeins of worsted weight yarn (you'll be knitting them together) OR one skein of bulky yarn
size 10 double point needles
darning needle
three attractive buttons
needle and thread
straight pins

Directions:
Using two double point needles, cast on 24 stitches. Knit in seed stich (also called moss stitch) till piece measures 12 inches. I always slip the first stitch of each row to keep the edge even.

*Next row: seed stitch the first 8 stitches onto an empty double pointed needle. Work back and forth on this "leg" for 12 inches.
Next row: k2tog, seed st. 3 stitches, k2tog
Next row: K2tog, k2tog
Bind off next row*

Repeat * for each of the two remaining "legs" of the headband.

Finishing:
Weave in the first tail of yarn.

Braid the three "legs" of the headband till there's about 2 inches left at the ends. Pin the three ends to the beginning of the piece, creating the headband shape. Make sure the ends overlap the beginning of the piece so there's a good amount of space for the size of your buttons.

Pin the braid in place. With the darning needle, secure each end in place using the tails from the "legs."
Turn headband inside out. With needle and thread, whipstitch parts of the braid so the "legs" are secure and don't move or twist apart when stretched.

Sew on your buttons.

Pickled Beets = yum yum yum

I love most things pickled. Never give me sugar again, but I wouldn't survive without salty snacks. Being pregnant and all, I'm supposed to be eating well, namely cramming veggies down my throat every meal of every day.

Beets are a great source of nutrients such as vitamin C, dietary fiber, iron and calcium. I never had them as a child and wasn't quite sure how to prepare them as an adult. One of my coworkers introduced me to canned pickled beets and I was hooked.

I decided to try out Alton Brown's pickled beets recipe, since any time I want to cook something new I just Google the food with Alton Brown's name next to it.

He has you roast the beets with shallots, olive oil and fresh rosemary. Since shallots cost a lot up here, I just used some red onion instead.

He also instructs you to put the beets in jars. I didn't have any big jars so I just used a big tupperware container with a tightly fitting lid and that worked just fine.

After several days in the fridge, I tasted them and they were fantastic. There were a little on the crunchy side (I think my beets were larger than the recipe called for so they probably didn't cook as quickly in the oven) but the beets were infused with rosemary. I felt the flavor would be more balanced with a little more sweetness so I just added a bit more sugar and let the beets pickle another couple of days.

These will last in the fridge for a long time, but I think I'll eat through them pretty quickly.

Here's his recipe:

Ingredients

• Roasted Beets, recipe follows
• 1 large red onion, frenched
• 1 cup tarragon wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup water

Directions

Remove the skin from the Roasted Beets and slice thinly. Arrange in 1-quart jars alternating layers with the onion. In a small pot boil the rest of the ingredients and pour over the beets. Tightly lid the jars and place in the refrigerator for 3 to 7 days before serving.

Roasted Beets:

• 6 medium beets, cleaned with 1-inch stem remaining
• 2 large shallots, peeled
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl toss all of the ingredients. Place into a foil pouch and roast in the oven for 40 minutes.

Granny Blanket for Baby

Finally, after more than a year of teaching myself to crochet, I have made something substantial. All it took was being pregnant!

Baby Blanket pictured with Beary, my older sister's favorite bear

I crocheted a blanket using the classic granny square technique. I used Lion Brand Vanna White yarn. I love the colors and it's super cheap at JoAnn Fabrics, although I had to go to Michael's for the blue color. They have better baby yarn selection with the Vanna White yarn.

I think the blanket cost about $35 and it took me just a week to make. My granny squares were about 6 inches so I didn't need to make too many to make a substantially sized baby blanket. Just 16 squares, four rows of a border and a simple trim and it was done before I knew it. Joy!

I had never stitched together granny squares, although I've made quite a few in a failed attempt to make a blanket last year.

I just love Attic24's colorful, detailed instructions on all things crochet. Her blog was my inspiration to learn crochet.

Click here for a great tutorial on stitching together squares.

Click here for simple border and trim instructions (she uses UK terminology but translates it for us Americans).

I think the trim will be good for when baby is able to grab things because it feels nice between your fingers.

Overall, this blanket was a success, but I think I stitched the squares together too tightly because they poof out in the middle and doesn't lie quite flat.

Apple Breakfast Sandwich

My husband and I just spend the holidays in Pittsburgh with his mother and my sisters. I love visiting new cities because there is usually so much good food. Pittsburgh was no exception. Our first morning there, we ate at a greasy spoon called Eggs 'R' Us with unsurpassable homefries and perfect over-medium fried eggs.

On our last day in the city we tried to eat at Franktuary, a hot-dog place inside a church, but they were closed. My little sister instead took us to a kitschy place in Garfield called Quiet Storm. Their menu was full of unique vegan and vegetarian diner fare.

This morning I whipped up a breakfast sandwich inspired by their Apple Panini. I added some of my homemade breakfast sausage. The sweetness of the apple and jam blend perfectly with the salty sausage and tangy cheddar. The cream cheese brings it all together.

Ingredients:
1 thin bagel, or thin bread of your choice
1 breakfast sausage patty
2 slices of granny smith apples
cream cheese
strawberry jam
2 slices of sharp cheddar

Directions:
Heat the sausage patty over medium high until browned on both sides. Lightly toast the bagel and spread the jam on one slice and the cream cheese on the other. Place one piece of apple on each bagel slice and top with cheddar cheese. Place under the broiler till cheddar is melted. Add the sausage patty and enjoy!

How to Take a Neat Christmas Tree Photo

I really wanted to take a photo of our little Christmas tree without using anything but the multi-colored lights.

Click to get the full effect

You'll need a digital camera where you can change the ISO and the shutter speed. Nothing too fancy!

Here's what to do:

Set the ISO to the highest speed you can. This is the highest number, which is 1600 on my camera. 

Next, set the shutter delay to two seconds. This will ensure you won't be touching or shaking the camera when the photo is taken.

Now set the shutter speed to really slow, like 1/6th of a second. 

Set your camera on a tripod or a solid surface like a table.  Take the photo. If your photo isn't glowing enough, tinker with the shutter speed. Make is slower and see if that does the trick. If there's too much light, make the shutter speed faster.

Christmas magic!

Feliz Navidad!

Sunrise, Punta el Custodio, Nayarit, Mexico

Side of seafood store, Zacualpan, Nayarit

Party shrimp, San Blas, Nayarit

Sunset, Punta el Custodio

Crab Bisque

While basking on the beach yesterday in Punta el Custodio, Mexico, the boys decided to behave like, well, boys and torture a few of the small blue crabs in the tide pools.

After a half hour of chasing them with long sticks they decided to actually catch some.

I was impressed they caught 33 of the poor creatures. I was even more impressed when they cleaned and boiled them. Bisque was on their minds. My dad gave us his recipe he made up last month when it was crab breeding season in the estuary and he captured 240.

It is a time consuming process, but the bisque turned out rich and bursting with flavor.

Ingredients:
3-5 pounds fresh whole crab
Chicken bouillon
6 cloves garlic
One onion
2 carrots
3 Tbs. butter
8 ripe tomatoes or one large can chopped tomatoes
Pepper
2 tsp. smoked paprika
1.5 cups cream

Directions:
Rinse crabs thoroughly in fresh water, getting out any grit. Use protective work gloves if using live crabs.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Put crabs in batches into water and cook about 5 minutes.

Rinse crabs again and cut off and discard females' tails if they contain eggs.

With a cleaver, chop an "x" in the backs of each crab and crush the claws with the blade of the knife.

Bring another large pit of water to a boil and toss in all the crabs. Simmer without the lid for 3-5 hours. You should have a concentrated broth that smells über crabby and kind of gross. Strain broth into a smaller pot and discard all the crab parts. Stir in bouillon based on how much broth you have. I added two teaspoons.

Let the broth cool and then refrigerate if you don't have time to finish bisque on the same day.

Toss the butter into a tall-sided frying pan and turn to medium heat. Chop up the garlic and add to pan. Sauté for a few minutes, but don't let it burn. Roughly chop the onion and grate up the carrots. Add to pan and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add more butter if it gets too dry.

Chop up the tomatoes if using fresh. Add tomatoes to the pan and cook till everything is soft and cooked through -- about 10 minutes.

Let cool and place in a food processor. Process till smooth, about two minutes.

Add this mixture to the crab stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for three hours with the lid off so the bisque reduces a bit. Add paprika, salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat and leave the bisque till it's room temperature. Stir in the cream.

Serve room temp or pop a bowl in the microwave for 40 seconds before eating.

Virgin Mojito

Ok, so it's been challenging being on vacation in Mexico and not being able to drink. I've been playing blind bartender for my friends, serving up tequila sunrises, margaritas, and mojitos.

So tonight I tried to make a pregnant lady mojito and it turned out great.

Mexico has a store bought simple syrup called Jarabe, which is just the tastiest, but you can make your own of you think of it ahead of time. Just boil a cup of water and add a cup of sugar. Stir till fully dissolved and then cool.

Ingredients:
One shot glass of freshly squeezed lime juice
1.5 shot glasses if simple syrup
6 fresh mint leaves
Club soda
Ice

Directions:
In a tall glass, add the lime juice and mint. Muddle with a fork or wooden spoon handle. Add the syrup and the ice. Stir well and top off with club soda. Garnish with a sprig of mint of you like.

Bananas à la Lechera

My parents' banana tree produced about two dozen red bananas and they've been hanging in the hall for a week ripening. They are finally ready to be eaten so we have to get to work!

I thought I'd make a simple fried banana dessert and it was scrumptious.

You could use any type of banana as long as it isn't over ripe.

La Lechera is just Mexican brand sweetened condensed milk. It can be found in the Mexican food section of the grocery store.

Serves four

Ingredients:
three bananas
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup warmed Lechera
Cinnamon

Directions:
Cut the bananas in half lengthwise. Heat butter in a frying pan over medium high heat. Set the bananas in the pan cut side down and fry till brown. Flip and fry on the other side. Transfer to a plate and drizzle Lechera over bananas. Dust with cinnamon.

Grilled Jalapeño Poppers

These beat deep-fried poppers hands down. Also, they are wrapped in bacon so that's automatically the best thing ever.

Ingredients:
Fresh jalapeños
Cream cheese
Bacon

Directions:
Cut off the tops of the jalapeños. Cut the peppers lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.

Fill each pepper half with about two teaspoons of cream cheese.

Cut each slice of bacon in half and wrap the half slices around each jalapeño.

Place the poppers on metal or wooden skewers. I suggest soaking the wood ones for about ten minutes first.

Place on a medium high grill and turn a few times till bacon is cooked. Enjoy!