Don't Be Scared

Yesterday I made cupcakes.

Thrilling, I know. But these weren't just any cupcakes. These were filled cupcakes, and an experiment, to boot.  I've never made filled cupcakes before, so I had to do a little research on the interwebs. I had though about filling them prior to cooking, but apparently that's not what typically happens. I found several different ways to fill them, including sticking the tip of a piping bag into a baked cupcake and forcing the stuffing in. I didn't think that sounded very appealing, so I went a different route.

I had made boxed yellow cake, which I know isn't very sophisticated, but there is just something about it I love. I knew I wanted to make chocolate frosting from a recipe my mom used to use, so I needed a filling that would work with the two. I decided on a jar of homemade blackberry jam from last year that had been slightly over-cooked and turned out really thick - thicker than honey, even. Instead of just using it as it, I mixed it in a pot with a couple tablespoons of water and heated it to boiling. I may have added too much water, but it worked pretty dang good.

To fill my cupcakes, I used a paring knife to cut out a cone shape from the center of the cupcake. To make space of the filling, cup off the tip of the cone. My jam was still warm when I put it in the cupcakes, so I probably could have skipped this step.  Fill the hole with filling, and plop on the cut out piece.  Frost as usual.

I tried to pipe my frosting because I didn't want cupcake crumbs to mess up the smooth top.  Turns out I should have let it cool a bit longer, or used less water, because there was no evidence of the star tip I used once the frosting oozed together into a solid fudgy mass.  Not that I'm complaining. It's still a delicious solid fudgy mass.

But it turns out that when you bite into my cupcakes, not knowing they are filled, and it being halloween and all, it looks like the cupcake is bleeding.

Now that I've filled cupcakes once I can't stop imagining the options.  Lemon curd filled rainbow chip cakes with strawberry frosting? YUM.

 

Fast Fudge Frosting

From Mom's Recipe Box

Ingredients:

1 lb powdered sugar (~4 ¾ cups)

½ cup cocoa

¼ tsp salt

1/3 cup boiling water

1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Combine sugar, cocoa and salt.  Add water and butter, blend.  Add vanilla.

Will frost tops and sides of two 8- or 9-inch layers. Leftovers, if you have any, will keep in the fridge indefinitely. 

Gifts

I finally sewed in the ends on my gift shawl.  It has been languishing in the knitting basket under my sweater for months. I'm kind of ashamed of that. But who needed a shawl in July?

It look s a little wonky, but it really is symetrically shaped. I swear.

I thought the stitch pattern was really cool.  After I figured it out.  I think I restarted this three times because someone would start talking to me while I was knitting and I'd lose a stitch.  Glad I frogged it though, because you can totally see a slipped stitch.

Pattern: Madeleine Shawl by Courtney Kelley, in Vintage Modern Knits
Yarn: Moda Dea Bamboo Wool, green
Needles: US Size 10

Unfortunately I don't get to add it to my Cold Sheep totals because it's already in there.  I'm just playing catch up with pictures.

But speaking of frogging projects due to slipped stitches....

Pattern: Zaggity Hat by Jenny Sorenson
Yarn: Filatura Lanarota Wool Heathers, 729
Needles: US size 5

I thought Peanut needed a hat that matches his little man sweater.  You can't see the design very well due to the low light, but there is a zig zag with knits, purls, and slipped stitches.  I kept reading the pattern wrong and had to frog it after row 12 the first attempt. Apparently I need to pay more attention to reading!

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Cold Sheep


Total Yards: 15,581.1
Total Grams: 9,870.6
Number of Skeins: 115.3
Finished Objects: 10

Mushroom Bliss

Another successful mushroom hunt!  My parents were in town a couple weeks ago and we took part in two of my favorite fall pastimes: football and chanterelle picking! The Huskies dominated Cal 31-23 on Saturday, then on Sunday we headed to the fungus fields.  We hit the "secret spot" early in the morning so they could make it back home at a decent hour.  After searching fruitlessly in one spot for 20 minutes, I decided someone else must have been there first and we moved on.  Then we hit pay dirt.  After finding their first "spore hole," both parents caught the bug and tromped around excitedly until our bags were full.

I made it home with about 8 lbs of chanterelles! I think Mom and Dad had about 6 lbs on top of that. 

I knew we wouldn't be able to use that many before they got all mushy, so about 5 of my 8 lbs were frozen.  I wanted to try drying them, but my coworker had mentioned that he had heard they don't reconstitute very well.  Dad tried it though, so we'll have to wait for a report from him. 

To freeze chanterelles, clean them by running under a steady stream of water until all loose dirt is off.  Set on paper towels to dry for 5 minutes.  Roughly chop while heating a saute pan over medium heat.  Cook mushrooms over medium heat until they release a lot of water, and it evaporates.  Add a small amount of butter and salt and cook for a few more minutes.  Freeze in tupperware in individual portions so they are easy to grab at a moments notice.

I have been slowly adding the rest of my horde to meals.  The best one yet was a full on cooking even we had two weeks ago.

Oven Roasted Chicken (from this post), bacon mashed potatoes, Parmesan chard, and pear and chanterelle stuffing. It. Was. GLORIOUS.

We really have that whole roast a chicken in less than an hour thing down pat.  We went from this:

(Note the baguette and goat cheese brie appetizer.  A must when you don't eat until 8:30pm.)
To this:

With barely even a thought.  Yeah, we're good.

But the star of this meal was really the stuffing. We poached the recipe from the Times, but it made such a big batch, and used so much butter, that we had to halve it.  Ten tablespoons butter?  Yikes.

Doesn't mean we didn't use any butter though...

I'm pretty sure that's the second butter addition to those onions...

We used a basic fresh bread loaf, which was fresh and way too soft, so it got ripped up and toasted in the oven for about 20 minutes on 250F.

And can I just say how hard it is to gauge how much half a pound of chopped mushrooms is? I'm pretty good at estimating a lot of kitchen goods, but mushrooms are apparently not one of those things. 

All I can say is that I hope I get the chance to go on a mushroom hunt again in November, because I don't want to pay $20/lb for chanterelles and this might just have to be the new Thanksgiving stuffing.

Chanterelle and Pear Bread Stuffing
Modified slightly from The New York Times

1 loaf french bread, cut or ripped into piece
1/2 lb chanterelle mushrooms
1/4 lb pancetta, diced
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1 minced shallot
Salt and pepper
2 pears, diced
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 cup chicken broth

1. Allow chopped bread to sit out overnight, covered with paper towels, or lightly toast in oven.

2.  Clean mushrooms and chop.  Set aside.  Place pancetta in large skillet over medium heat.  Cook slowly until fat is rendered, about 7 minutes.  Remove to a large plate.

3.  Ad 1 tablespoon butter to fat in pan and turn heat to medium high.  Add onion and shallots, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until just soft.  Remove to plate holding pancetta.

4.  Add 1 1/2 tablespoon butter to pan.  Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and quickly sate until starting to brown.  Remove and add to plate.

5.  Add remaining butter to pan.  Add pears and sugar and season with salt and pepper.  Sate pears over medium high heat until they begin to brown slightly.

6.  In a large bowl, add sauteed ingredients to bread.  Toss lightly to combine.  Add herbs and toss again.  Slowly pour broth over mixture and toss.  Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.

7.  Bake in 375 oven for 20-30 minutes, until a golden crust forms on bottom of pan. 

Cute Overload

Baby stuff is so awesome to knit. It's quick to knit and good practice for basic principles, and teeny tiny things are just so adorable!

I started this baby cardigan on Thursday, broke my needles on Friday* and had to switch projects until I could buy new ones, and finished knitting on Sunday. The quickest sweater ever!

The pattern was for 0-3 months or 6-9 months.  I used larger needles than called for, and smaller yarn, so I'll just say it's Peanut-sized when it will fit Peanut. I have no concept of baby clothes sizes, but I'm guessing it's smaller than 6-9 months...

Project: Baby Sophistocate by Linden Down
Yarn: Filatura Lanarota Wool Heathers, color 732 (Purplish)
Needles: US 9, 29 inch circulars

*I have bought two full sets of needles from eBay - one set of 9 inch DPNs, and one set of 29 inch circs.  I LOVE my DPNs and have really appreciated having needles of every size on hand at random times.  BUT! My circulars are crap. The tubing is hollow and is prone to kinking, breaking, and separating from the needle.  This was only the second project on my size 9s.  They broke during the last project and I was able to tape them back together.  After they broke this time I was fed up and bought good quality replacement.  I'll use the others a time or two, but at the first sign of breaking, I'm going to head to the store before I lose my work.

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Cold Sheep Totals
Total Yards: 15,664.3
Total Grams: 9,910.6
Total Skeins: 116.1
Finished Objects: 9

Just Like Daddy's Hat

Oops, I did it again.

Started this wee tiny baby hat after returning from the shower on Sunday.  Finished it Monday night after our dinner guests left.  How can I stop myself from knitting these adorable tiny things when they only take an hour or two??

This one is just a bit special - I found this newborn pattern that is basically the same pattern I knit up for my brother's birthday last year.   After stash diving for the right yarn, I came up with this soft lilac color.  Maybe not the manliest color, but baby soft and "purple." It also happens to be the same yarn I used to knit a hat for the baby's mama when I first started knitting years ago.  Funny how things fall in to place when you keep yarn around for five years...

Pattern: Eyelet Mock Cable Rib Hat by Lenore English
Yarn: Bernat Softee Baby Solids, in Lilac
Needles: US 5


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Haven't weighed the leftover yarn yet, so no new stats.

Finished objects from stash: 8

Dino-myte!

Now that the baby shower has come and gone, I can share my most recent creation for my unborn nephew, Peanut, with you.

Dinosaur!!

I knit up the sides and legs while driving out to Snoqualmie Pass and back for work. It was surprisingly simply, but the pattern was surprisingly bad. Had to frog the spines a couple times before I came up with something I liked.  Also, notes like "Embroider faces onto toys before sewing them up completely, as it is easier to tie off the threads from the inside of the knitting and then sew up the toy" belong not only in the introduction, but in the pattern as well. This pattern actually tells you to stuff and close the body, then stuff legs and attach to body, then embroider face.  I'd say that goes against the notes in the introduction, no?

But all complaints aside, isn't he cute?

I got frustrated a few times stitching him up, but goofed off a bit and it made me feel better.

Definitely glad I added the stripes to the belly.  It adds a certain  je ne sais quoi. 

Pattern: Roaring Dinosaur, by Zoe Mallor (published in Knitted Toys)
Yarn: Caron One Pound
Needles: US 3


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Cold Sheeping Tally

Total  Yards: 15,893.1
Total Grams: 10,020.6
Number of Skeins: 118.3
Finished Objects from Stash: 7

Note: New totals include a shawl that I finished knitting, but haven't sewn in the ends yet.  As soon as I have a few spare moments I'll get around to blocking and have a photo shoot.

Thoroughly Enchanted

Not much of note has happened around here lately.  A lot of "busy" time spent frantically running around, but not much to show for it. I haven't particularly been cooking or baking, and work has been fairly busy with both scheduled and random field work. I have been knitting sporadically in an attempt to finish a couple projects before the weather turns cold. Sleeves are just so boooooring though.... Maybe it'll be done by November.

I there was one thing I did that was worthy of blogging about. But I really shouldn't post any pictures.  You'll just be jealous.

Oh, well. Prepare to turn green!

The Enchantments.  Four days.  Three nights.  Nineteen miles.  Countless mountain goats.