I'd like to say it was my plan all along

This past Christmas, I promised my mother-in-law a knit hat to help keep her ears warm during those frigid Iowa nights. (Or days, perhaps. We don't really do "frigid" here in the desert - it's been in the 70s for weeks - but I hear some places can have highs in the single digits.) When they visited last Thanksgiving, she and I even went to the local yarn shop to pick out something she would like. I was eager to finally start another knitting project.

But, for some odd reason, every time I sat down to start the hat, I had one problem or another: wrong size needles; wrong length; casting on difficulties; etc. After starting and unraveling the project at least 5 times on 3 different sets of needles, I finally got it right. At least, I thought I got it right.

Turns out, you should always, always, ALWAYS trust the gauge listed on the yarn. I didn't, so I inadvertently cast on too many stitches. Like 9 INCHES too many. By the time I realized my mistake, I was too far into the project to be willing to unravel it. I kept going, hoping I may find a way to save it in the end. However, since the hat was now too wide, I used up too much yarn, so had to finish it early. Like 2 inches early.

The result? As my husband described it, through tears of laughter: "yarmulke for a giant." It was pathetic, and no amount of stretching or blocking could restore it to any normal 'hat' shape.

Since the yarn was quality and the colors were pretty, I considered different ways I could use the, uh, 'project.' After much deliberation, I finally came up with the following:


It's not perfect, but it works. And if my mother-in-law's ears aren't warm, at least her tea will be.

Alas.

I shall attempt Round 2 in the near future.

orange harvest

We have a large orange tree in the garden that is at least as old as the house (early-1970s), if not older (this area was an orange grove before they converted it to a neighborhood). It had a rough life with the previous homeowners -- it was insufficiently watered, it was never harvested or fertilized, most of its leaves were choked out by a cat's claw vine that was allowed to grow all over it, and when they finally pulled off the vine it was not given any sun protection.

Needless to say, the poor thing produced no oranges our first winter here. I even thought it was dying. But each year, as I better learn how to care for it, the tree is becoming healthier and producing more and larger fruit. I'm not sure if it will simply decline with age, but I am looking forward to seeing how well it produces in this coming year.


Over the past couple weeks, I have slowly been harvesting all the oranges of this season. (Just in time... new buds are already forming!!) Many oranges were split, possibly because we installed a block well around the tree mid-summer, drastically increasing its irrigation halfway through the year. Several of the largest oranges were eaten by birds (foul birds!). And then many others were nice, juicy, medium-sized oranges. Our tree is one of the Arizona Sweet varieties, so the oranges make ridiculously delicious juice. Last year, a friend and I just juiced all the oranges. This year, I'm juicing most of them, but also wanted to try something different...

ORANGE MARMALADE!

I love this spread. Though traditionally made with Seville or bitter oranges, marmalade can also be made with sweet oranges. I did some research, combined a few different recipes, and came up with the following for my first batch. It turned out quite well. As soon as I get over this darn cold, I'm going to make a second batch.

Ingredients:

6 large oranges
1 lemon, zest finely grated and juiced
2 1/2 cups water
2-3 cups sugar
4 1/2 tsp low-sugar pectin
3 tsp calcium water

Instructions:

Scrub the oranges and remove a small slice from each end. If you have a mandoline, cut the oranges into 1/8-inch slices, removing seeds as you go; stack the slices and cut them into quarters. If, like me, you have to do it the hard way (a mandoline is now on my wish list), first quarter the oranges and remove any seeds, then thinly slice each quarter.


Place all the pieces in a large pot, pour in the water, and squish with a potato masher to release some of the juice. Cover and let sit overnight.


The next day, add the lemon zest and juice, bring the mixture to a boil, and then simmer until the rinds are tender, about 30-60 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit again.


On the third day (I actually did the previous step in the morning, then this final step that night), measure the amount of fruit and juice in the pot. Mine came out to about 6 cups. Return to the pot and add the sugar, pectin, and calcium water. If you want to get fancy, you can also add a pinch of ground cloves or a couple tablespoons of fresh ginger. Bring to a boil and cook until the marmalade gels, about 30 minutes. Stir frequently. Remove from heat and cool for another 5 minutes, stirring to release air bubbles. Skim off any foam.


Can using the boiling-water method. Ladle into hot, sterilized canning jars (4-oz or half pint are best for marmalade, though I ran out so had to use 1 pint jar also) and try to release any trapped air. The orange rinds seem to like trapping air bubbles all over the jar, so perhaps use a sterilized knife to poke them out. Process for 10 minutes (make sure you keep the pot covered, unlike in my photo above; I thought bubbling water would be more dramatic than a lid), remove from heat, and let the jars sit in the water for 5 minutes more. Cool on the counter for several hours, check your seals, and store for up to 1 year.

Makes approximately 2 1/2 pints.

I might experiment with some spices for the next batch. I'd also like to try grapefruit marmalade, since my parents have about a million grapefruit trees on their property and, really, how often can you find grapefruit marmalade in American stores?

gingerbread cheesecake

After the pumpkin-fest that is Thanksgiving, I thought it would be fun to try a slightly different kind of holiday dessert on Christmas Day. This cheesecake, which is slightly modified from one I found on allrecipes, was wonderful. (Perhaps I should say IS wonderful, since I just consumed the slice in the picture above.)

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar (or less)
1/4 cup butter

3 (250 g) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3 eggs

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix crumbs, butter, and sugar; press onto the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.

Using a mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until blended. Add molasses, vanilla and spices, and mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each until blended. Pour mixture over crust.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until the center is almost set. Cool completely and run a knife around the rim of the pan to loosen cake before removing the rim. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before consuming.

Enjoy!

cranberry jam

Every winter I like to make a batch of cranberry jam. I came across this recipe several years ago, and now cannot remember where I found it. Though it does not call for a bunch of spices, it's still very festive in its flavor and it goes well on toast, blintzes, and, of course, turkey sandwiches (mix a little in with your mayo).

Ingredients:

1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
1 12-oz bag fresh cranberries
1 - 1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup water

Instructions:

Scrape vanilla seeds from pod into a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Add pod and remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until thick (about 20-30 minutes). The jam will continue to thicken as it cools.

Puree jam in a food mill with a fine disk set over a bowl, discarding the skins and pod. (I do not have a food mill yet, so I force spoonfuls of the jam through a sieve with the back of the spoon. I'm sure this is a more labor-intensive method, but it works.)

If canning, fill sterilized jars and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Makes 2 cups, or about 4 half-pint jars.

update and Christmas project

I apologize for the long delay in posting. After a couple trips in July, I discovered in August that we are going to have another baby. Three months of nausea left me lying on the couch (when I wasn't chasing after a little boy), and I recovered just in time for the holiday season... so perhaps you can understand why I haven't been very crafty the last several months.

But I was able to bust out the sewing machine in time to make a cute little skirt and purse combo for my niece for Christmas:


Looking through various crafty-mother blogs online has inspired me to start sewing more. There are so many adorable ideas out there for kids' clothes! First up, however, is a knit hat I promised my mother-in-law.

In the meantime, I'll post a few of the more successful recipes we discovered this Christmas season.

homebrew

Husband's first attempt at making his own beer:


It tasted great, though sweeter than it will be eventually. As it ferments over the next month, the sugar will turn into alcohol. My fingers are crossed it turns out well, because my beer-loving husband will probably save a lot of money making his own, not to mention the fun he could have experimenting with different flavors.

it's cheese, Gromit!

My apologies again for a lack of posts recently. I could blame it on a couple trips out of town, but most likely the real reason is that it is too darn hot to do anything right now. My knitting is suffering, although I have recently started a new project.

I also - finally - attempted my first batch of cheese. Specifically, paneer, which seems to be the easiest cheese to make (no rennet or stretching as in mozzarella). Following is the recipe I used and a quick how-to with photos...

Ingredients: 1/2 gallon of whole milk and 1/4 cup lemon juice.


Next, create a device from which you can hang your cheese over a bowl to drain. This was mine: a plate rack and plastic spoon.


Prepare a colander lined with cheesecloth, set over another bowl.


Pour the milk in a large pot, and cook on the stovetop over medium-high heat until it begins to boil. Watch it carefully. I just stirred it the whole time because I've lost too many pots of boiling milk to that whole foam-explosion thing.


Once the milk is boiling, slowly add the lemon juice.


Almost immediately, curds will begin separating from the whey.


Turn off the heat or move your pot off the burner, and let sit for a few minutes. Then, pour the pot contents through the colander.


The curds will remain in the cheesecloth. Tie up opposite corners of the cheesecloth around your plastic spoon, or whatever you are using to hang it, and let it hang over a bowl for about 30 minutes.




Untie the cheesecloth, place it on a small plate, and lay the cloth flat across the curds.


Put another plate over the cloth and load it up with a couple heavy books. Let sit for about 2 hours.


Cheese!


I sliced the cheese into little cubes, which I then lightly fried and used to make palak paneer. It was delicious! The paneer is very firm. Well, mine was very firm. You should be able to knead the cheese during the post-hanging phase, but mine was too firm to knead. I think I might have been too ambitious in squeezing out all the whey. Some people add salt during kneading, or flour if it is too soft. You can also add herbs and spices to the paneer during the boiling phase.

You will have a large pot of whey when you are finished. Do not dump it down the drain! Whey has many, many uses. You can substitute it for water in bread recipes to make softer bread (I used it to make naan with my palak paneer). You can use it as a stock to make soups and sauces, or to cook rice or polenta. It is used to make ricotta cheese (ricotta means "recooked"). You can even use it in your bath to make your skin silky smooth - and judging by how soft my hands were after handling whey-soaked cheesecloth, I think it would work well. I almost want to make cheese just to have the whey available.

This recipe was a wonderfully easy way to start experimenting with cheese-making. Someday I would like to attempt mozzarella (caprese salad, anyone?). If you give this a try, let me know how you do!