Dec 2011 Ornament for swap

Dec 2011 Ornament for swap, Thumbprints of L, P & E
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

The kids participated in their first craft exchange- they made this little ornament out of craft sticks, glue, paint, yarn & felt. The snowman is made from the three kids thumbprints (and of course we made extras to give them to grandparents ;) )

We were inspired by this family fun activity: http://familyfun.go.com/magazine/familyfun-magazine-archive/familyfun-june-2011/colorful-crayon-letter-1015552/
Lillian had a great time making this for her teacher, hopefully she'll like it.

Knit Hat & Scarf Set

Nov 2011
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

Here is a little hat and scarf set I made. This one was for Phoebe but I also knit it in dark blue and purple for my nieces. Here is the pattern as I remember it:

Scarf:
CO 30
K3, P3 (repeat row 4 times)
P3 K3 (repeat row 4 times)
until desired length
in green - K row, P row 6 times
back to original color and pattern

Hat:
CO 80 (green)
k round until 2 inches
switch to blue, k round until desired length (5inches from where the edge rolls up)
K8 K2tog repeat
k all
k7 k2tog repeat
k all
k6 k2tog repeat
k all
k5 k2tog repeat
k all
k4 k2tog repeat
k3 k2tog
k2 k2tog
k1 k2tog
k2tog
thread through and BO

Flower
CO 10
k all
p all
kfb (20)
p all
kfb (40)
p all
kfb (80)
p all
BO

sew flower on to hat and scarf

Taco Seasoning

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/taco-seasoning-i/

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Sensory bin

Sensory bin
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

Welcome to the new rage- Sensory Bins. Our first indoor sensory bin is rice with all the old train set stuff and a couple random things I found. The girls absolutely love it and I see more sensory bins in the future. Here are some of my ideas:
construction (trucks, rocks, tp tube)
fishing (marbles, fishing rod & fish from swap)
holiday themed
alphabet soup filler & ?
Great ideas here: http://puppydogtails.blogspot.com/p/sensory-bins.html

cardboard people Dec 2011

cardboard people Dec 2011
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

We got a gift in a very large box so the girls had a great time creating life sized versions of themselves. Lillian said it would take too much time to put stripes down the body of the shirt, but if you notice, the arms are in the same color sequence as her shirt. Phoebe had a great time drawing details- including a belly button, fairy panties & the boo boo on her knee.

soup to try

Coconut Kale Curry
http://peasandthankyou.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6000507

ice scraper

I drafted this and meant to post a while ago... I wanted to make a bunch of my gifts this year. This idea came to me from a book- I got nearly halfway through the book pattern before I realized I hated it. I ripped the whole thing out and began again, this time with my own pattern. I didn't write it down and it took me forever to recreate the damn increase round. Lesson learned. Write it down immediately next time! So, I am pretty sure this is the pattern- or close enough.

CO 16, join in the round careful not to twist
[k2, p2] repeat until piece measures 1.5 inches
k1 kfb (24)
p all
k1 kfb kfb kfb (42)
p all
kfb (84 stitches)
p all
k2, [p2, k6, p2, k4] repeat 5 times, p2, k2
add a cable every few (maybe 5?) rows on the k6 - until there are 8 cables
k all
p all
repeat last two rows 5 times
BO

Rainbow swap Oct 2011

Rainbow swap Oct 2011
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

I knit this little bag for an upcoming Rainbow swap. I made my own pattern for it which was a lot of fun. I'm not sure I remember exactly what I did but basically cast on 40 stitches, knit in the round 7 rows then increased twice every other row with a cable running down the middle. I think I increased to 60, knit an inch or so more then decreased evenly around the bottom (cable pattern stopped at the decrease).

Yummy fried rice (w/o soy!)

now that we've added eggs back into the diet we gave fried rice a try - but it still needed to be soy & dairy free so here is what we tried:
http://www.thenondairyqueen.com/2010/08/soy-free-fried-rice.html

It was pretty tasty!

Knit chickens

Knit chickens
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

Just a few little chickens for the upcoming bits of goodness farm swap. These were a bunch of fun to make and Lillian is begging me to make her one.

goldfish crackers

I want to make these... I'll be back with an update http://chefchloe.com/on-the-side/vegan-goldfish-crackers.html

Knit rattles for Baby B 7.2011

Knit rattles for Baby B 7.2011
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

Fun little project for a baby girl on the way...

Chipper the Chimpanzee

Chipper the Chimpanzee
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

A little gift for a 2 year old :)

Knit Elephant

Knit Elephant
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

A little birthday gift for a 4 year old. Lillian liked this so much she wants me to make one for her.

Blanket for SJ's baby

Blanket for SJ's baby
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

It's done! This blanket took me a month of night time tv knitting & it was so much fun to knit.

Homemade Bread

I have been making my own bread in my bread machine for a couple years now. It's a fabulous recipe and works well (I'll include it here). But I lost the paddle to my bread machine the other day so I thought I'd try making bread in the oven. Here is the recipe I tried: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/fabulous-homemade-bread/Detail.aspx. I let all six loaves rise once, then I baked two and froze the other four. Somehow I messed up the final rise on the two BUT I have baked two from the frozen batch and they rose nicely and are super yummy. I would like to experiement with my recipe to make it in the oven.

The recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast (2 1/3 T)
  
• 1/4 cup bread flour
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 cups quick cooking oats
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 10 cups bread flour

Directions

1. In the mixing bowl of an electric mixer, stir together 1/2 cup warm water, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/4 cup bread flour, and yeast. Let grow for about 5 minutes. It will bubble almost immediately.
2. Measure oats, 4 1/2 cups warm water, whole wheat flour, salt, 2/3 cup sugar, and 2/3 cup oil into the mixing bowl. Mix on low speed with a dough hook for 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed slightly, and begin adding bread flour 1/2 to 1 cup at a time until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Humidity determines how much flour you need before the bread pulls away from the edge of the bowl. It is normal for the dough to be sticky.
3. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
4. Divide dough into 6 pieces. Shape loaves, and place in greased 8 x 4 inch pans. Let rise until dough is 1 inch above rim of pans, usually 1 hour.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F ( 175 degrees C) for 35 minutes, or until tops are browned. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

My recipe:
1 1/4 c water
1/8 c oil
1/4 c honey
2 c bread flour
1 1/4 c ww flour
3/4 c mix of oats, sunflower seeds, millet, sesame seeds
1.5 t salt
scant 3 t yeast (put into little hole)
bake on ww setting.

5.11.11

5.11.11
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

http://healthycrush.com/veggies-with-spicy-peanut-ginger-sauce/

YUM

Mushroom rattle for Baby L 5.2011

Mushroom rattle for Brynn 5.2011
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

This is version two. The first wasn't quite as nice and b/c baby L was 11 days late I had time to make a 2nd a better one. This was a lot of fun to knit. I sized down the needles for the gills and stem (which is what makes #2 better)

Sloppy Lentils

This was an awesome recipe - so much better than the last sloppy lentil recipe I tried: http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2008/05/f-n-sloppy-lentils.html

I changed it up a bit and I doubled the recipe for two families. Here is my revised version for the single recipe with my revisions in red:
3 cups water
1 cup lentils, rinsed
salt to taste
1 cup chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
15 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2-1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste (omitted)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon mustard powder (I used prepared mustard b/c I didn't have the powder)
1 tablespoon chili powder
3-5 tablespoons rapadura, molasses, or honey (I used honey)
1 Tbsp white vinegar
salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 hamburger buns, split
Combine water and lentils in a saucepan; season to taste with salt if desired. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, cook onions with the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until the onions have softened and turned translucent, about 4 minutes. Add tomatoes, garlic, tomato paste, ketchup, mustard powder, chili powder, molasses/sweetener, vinegar, salt and pepper; blend roughly with an immersion blender simmer 5 to 10 minutes until thickened (I added it to the lentils first and then simmered)
Drain lentils and reserve cooking liquid. Stir lentils into sauce mixture, adding cooking liquid or water as needed to obtain the desired “sloppy joe” consistency. Serve on buns.
I served this with the rolls that are a few posts down.

tomato hat 5.2011

tomato hat 5.2011
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

This was so much fun to make! I only wish it were a bit bigger. I'm going to have to tweak the design to make matching ones for the kids this fall.

food art 5.2011

food art 5.2011
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

We had a little fun with our lunch the other days. The girls wanted to eat at 10:30. With a little stalling and this project we were able to hold out until 11:20.

Easter Sweaters 2011

Easter 2011
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

My first knit sweaters... for the 12" dolls taken from a free ravelry pattern. Not too shabby.

Gavin

April 2011
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

For fun, Gavin the Garden Gnome has started writing letters to Lillian and Phoebe. I plan on having Gavin get the girls to do all sorts of art projects and fun things through the summer. Gavin regularly leaves books at the library for us. Lillian has taken a liking to caring for Gavin during the day. She even made a little bed for the 12" Garden Gnome that clearly says on the bottom "THIS IS NOT A TOY" hee hee.

Knit wash cloths for exchange

April 2011
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

Here are the cotton washcloths I knit while watching Buffy. Each one took 4-6 hours. I made them for a bits of goodness exchange. The stuff I received back kinda stunk this time. Oh well. Next time I'll just keep the washcloths ;)

Hamburger buns

It seems as though no one sells dairy, soy & egg free hamburger buns and I am just sick of having hamburgers on bread so I ventured out and made my own buns tonight. I have to say, they turned out really yummy. They just took FOREVER. Next time I do this I'm going to have to start at noon b/c they need a total of 3.25 hrs to rise plus all the mixing, kneading, baking time. Anyway, here is the recipe taken from: http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2008/06/hamburger-buns.html

INGREDIENTS

- 690 grams (24 oz/5 cups) all purpose flour

- 290 grams (10 oz/scant 1 1/4 cup) water

- 200 grams (7 oz/1 cup less 1 tbsp) soy milk OR RICE MILK

- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

- 2 tsp sea salt

- 30 grams (2 tbsp + 2 tsp) olive oil

METHOD

1. Mix flour, water, and soy milk together with the dough hook attachment until combined into a rough dough. Let sit for 20 mins.

2. Using the dough hook, work the yeast into the dough, then the salt, and finally the olive oil. Add extra flour until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl and knead for 5 mins. The final dough will be sticky when you remove it from the dough hook. After kneading, transfer to a large well-oiled bowl, turning to coat dough.

3. Cover, and let dough rise in a warm place for one hour. Remove dough from bowl place it on the counter, smooth side down. Whack the dough with a flat palm to degas it. Gently stretch the sides of the dough then fold them into the centre. Rotate 90 degrees and repeat. Return dough to bowl and cover.

4. Let dough rise another hour and repeat step 3. Return dough to bowl, cover, and let rise for 30 mins.

5. Weigh the dough on your scale (should be about 1257 grams) then turn out onto a floured surface. Divide that number by 12 to determine the weight of each bun (should be about 104 grams). Weigh out a piece of dough, then repeat step 3 to shape the bun. After folding, pinch dough with your thumb and forefinger from the sides into the bottom of the dough ball to create tension on the top surface. Seal the seams by pressing ball in the palm of your hand. Dust bottom with flour and place on a baking sheet (leave an inch or so of space around each bun). Repeat with remaining dough. You will probably need 2 baking sheets.

6. Spray buns lightly with oil and press down on them with splayed fingers to flatten. Cover with a towel and let rise for 45 mins.

7. Preheat oven to 450 degrees while buns are rising. Right before the buns go into the oven, gently press down on them once again to flatten. Brush with soy milk and top with sesame seeds (optional). Bake for 10-11 mins, then remove from pan into cooling racks. Only bake 1 sheet at a time.

IF YOU ARE MAKING SMALL BUNS FOR THE VEGAN SLYDERS:

- Make twice as many buns (i.e. half the size) and place in them in two 9 x 13 baking pans. Bake for 7 mins, them remove from pan on to a baking sheet and bake for 3 mins (to brown up sides).

Hiding chicken and yummy bread

These two recipes came from a friend. She brought them for a sunshine meal when Ezra was born and the kids love them. Phoebe especially likes the 'hiding' Chicken.

Roasted Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup

http://www.marthastewart.com/332311/roasted-chicken-and-butternut-soup

Ingredients

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and diced medium
• 1 small yellow onion, diced medium
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or water
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet, toss together chicken, squash, onion, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer and roast until squash and chicken are cooked through, about 30 minutes.

2. Transfer chicken to a plate and let cool. Transfer squash and onions to a medium pot and add broth, cumin, and coriander. Bring to a simmer over medium-high. With a potato masher or back of a wooden spoon, mash some vegetables until soup is thick and chunky. Discard skin and bones from chicken; cut meat into small pieces and add to soup. Stir in lemon juice; season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, top with fresh cilantro, if desired.

Braided Brigit Bread from "Circle Round"

2 Tbl yeast

1/2 cup warm water

pinch of sugar

1 cup milk (I used rice)

1 egg (I used flax meal)

1/4 cup sugar ( I would reduce a little. It seems too sweet to me)

1/4 cup vegatable oil

1 tsp salt

1 clove garlic, finely minced or passed through garlic press

1/2 tsp each dried oregano, thyme, and basil (I would add a little more, but that's just me)

4 Tbl tomato paste

water

5 - 6 cups unbleached white flour (I subbed whole wheat for 4 cups)

1 egg yolk beaten (I skipped this step)

Dissolve the yeast in warm water sprinkled with the pinch of sugar. Combine the milk, egg, sugar, oil, salt, garlic, and herbs in a large bowl. In a measuring cup, place the tomato paste and add the water until it reaches the 1/2 cup point. Pour into the milk mixture and stir well. Add the yeast mixture.

Begin adding flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough can no longer be stirred. Turn out onto a floured board and knead, continuing to add flour to keep the dough barely dry. This is a loose and soft dough, so be careful how much flour you add. Don't let it get stiff. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn it over to coat both sides. Let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch down, Cut the dough in half, divide each half into thirds, then roll into thick coils. Braid three coils into a loaf and pinch the ends together. Set on a lightly oiled baking sheet .Repeat with the other three coils. When the loaves have doubled in size, paint all surfaces with the egg yolk (or not) and bake for 35-40 mins in a preheated 375 deg oven or until internal temp of bread measures 200 deg.

NOTES as of 5/2011: I used tomato sauce instead of paste and the bread was still awesome.

banana bread

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=26374.0 (I made with sugar and omitted the flax)

Beautiful Banana Bread

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

nonstick spray
3 bananas
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a loaf pan. In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas well with a fork or potato masher. Add applesauce, maple syrup, sugar, and flax seeds; mix to combine.

2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; mix thoroughly. (Or you don't have to do this step if you don't feel like it, it works just as well to just dump all the dry ingredients into the wet without mixing first.)

3. Add the dry to the wet and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Add nuts if you're using them. Pour into prepared loaf pan, and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the loaf starts to turn golden brown and the toothpick test is successful.

4. Remove loaf pan from oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Transfer loaf to wire rack and let cool completely, or as long as you can wait.

Slice and enjoy.

Source of recipe: I came up with this recipe after mucking around with other banana bread recipes, trying to find one that suited my tastes.

Makes: 1 Loaf, Preparation time: 15 minutes

Sheri's Awesome Soup & Stew

Jamaican Spinach Soup

3 tbsp olive oil 1 1/4 tsp allspice
1 cooking onion, chopped 1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 stalks celery, chopped 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced 4 cups chopped zucchini
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger 6 cups Roasted Vegetable Stock
1 tbsp raw unrefined sugar Pinch cayenne pepper
2 tsp sea salt 1 cup chopped fresh spinach (packed tightly)
1 1/4 tsp turmeric 1/2 red pepper, minced

l. Heat oil in a pot over medium heat.
2. Add onion, celery, garlic, ginger and sugar. Cook for 5 minutes or until onion is softened.
3. Stir in salt, turmeric, allspice and nutmeg. Cook for a couple of minutes.
4. Add potatoes, zucchini and Roasted Vegetable Stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer
10 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
5. Remove from heat. Add cayenne pepper and spinach.
6. Using a hand blender, blend until smooth. (If you are using a blender, let the soup cool before
blending, then reheat.)
7. Garnish with minced red pepper and serve.

* I omit the red pepper and cayenne. I do not wait for soup to cool before blending, I blend it while it's hot. After blending the soup I add one can of coconut milk and cooked potato chunks to make it a little more hearty (and E loves potatoes).

Chickpea stew
1 Can of Chickpeas
1-14 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 inch of fresh ginger grated
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Garam Masala

Add veggies to taste (optional)
Saute onions, garlic and ginger for about 5 minutes. Add all other ingredients except Garam masala to the pot and cook on simmer for 1 hour. Just before serving, mix in Garam Masala
When I double the recipe I only use 1 tsp of salt.

Valentines Project 2011

Valentines Project 2011
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

We're a bit early this year, but I wanted to get our valentines cards in order before the new baby showed up. Here are three of the 17 that Lillian made. The hearts are covering lollipops.

Knit hats

I wanted to make something special for my friend who is going to have a baby soon & I wanted to use the yarn that we used for her motherblessing. So after some trial and error I made this hat. The little one was the size that it was originally (thin yarn- I hadn't increased the size enough) and the larger one is the finished project. I'm going to give the mini one for the big brother to have a doll hat that matches his new baby sisters.

For reference, I used size 2 needles with size 1 thin wool/bamboo yarn - I cast on 144 stitches for the big one and 72 for the little one. I k2/p2 for a few rows to get the ribbing, knit up 4.75 inches for the big one (would increase to 5 next time), and 2.5 for the little one (increase to 3), then decreased using this pattern:
row 1- k6, k2tog
row 2 & all even rows knit
row 3 - k5, k2tog
row 5 - k4, k2tog
row 7 - k3, k2tog
row 9 - k2, k2tog
row 11 - k1, k2tog
row 12 - k2tog
thread needle through remaining loops & tie together.

and this: http://www.purlbee.com/heirloom-hats-for-newborns/ was very helpful